Electronic Vision, Inc.
Athens, Ohio
Highlights:
Mobile communication device for the delivery and management of clinical information in community-based healthcare settings.
Background:
Electronic Vision, Inc. is an interactive communication company providing all phases of project design and production for a variety of applications, including corporate training, point-of-purchase information systems, public information kiosks and mobile communications. FITNE, Inc., a subsidiary of Electronic Vision, is dedicated to supporting healthcare professionals who seek to integrate technology into healthcare education. Formed in 1987, FITNE is a leading provider of multimedia software, hardware, service and support to nursing schools and healthcare institutions.
Leveraging its expertise as a developer of Magic Cap personal intelligent communicator software, Electronic Vision offers a wide range of consulting and contracting services in mobile communications. The company's research and development team is partnering with General Magic to find innovative uses for the Magic Cap platform. FITNE, Inc. is pioneering the development of healthcare applications.
FITNE's flagship project is the Nightingale Tracker(tm), an interactive data collection and communication system for the delivery and management of clinical information in community health and home care settings.
Application:
The Nightingale Tracker integrates FITNE's custom software with Magic Cap and hardware such as Sony's Magic Link PIC-2000. It provides nurses and nursing students with a mobile communication system that can be carried into patients' homes to record and process information about the patient visit and interact with instructors or office staff. By providing real-time information, the Nightingale Tracker also helps instructors in setting up clinical rotations and generating student assignments.
"Clearly, the Nightingale Tracker could be adapted for users in any healthcare discipline, such as psychology or medicine," said Vicky Elfrink, FITNE project manager. "As healthcare becomes more and more decentralized, this is a good way for practitioners to stay in touch."
A unique feature of the Nightingale Tracker software is its use of the Omaha System, a clinical language developed for the use of practicing nurses in community and home settings. The language, which currently is used in over 200 community nursing agencies in the United States, provides a framework for encoding and communicating client data in a manner that assists nurses in making decisions about patient care.
The Nightingale Tracker is scheduled to be released in 1997. Pilot testing is currently underway with a group of community health nurses enrolled at the University of Cincinnati. Further testing is planned for locations throughout the United States.
Benefits:
As a personal interactive communication device, the Nightingale Tracker will benefit the nursing community by:
- Enabling students and instructors to participate in real-time communication during the patient-student visit.
- Providing clinical agencies with timely and efficient information, such as updates regarding the educational needs of the student, the actual patient encounter and the patient's status at the time of the encounter.
- Allowing healthcare providers (students, instructors and clinicians) to evaluate the quality of nursing care delivery.
For more information:
Bruce Tong
Systems Development Engineer
Electronic Vision, Inc.
(614) 592-2511