When Suburban Hospital’s ICU went from paper to electronic medical records, the hospital’s IT department created the FrankenCOW. This COW – or, Computer On Wheels – was essentially a glorified laptop with a battery on a cart that could be wheeled around. After a few months of use, Chris Timbers, Suburban Hospital VP & Chief Information Officer, said he found himself with a revolt on his hands. The nurses and doctors wanted to return to the paper records. They felt the records allowed them to easily see a large quantity of information all at once while the computer required toggling between multiple screens. Timbers fought off the return to paper, but didn’t find a solution until after the staff’s second attempt to return to paper. It was then that one of the ICU doctors asked Timbers (pictured left) about getting a FrankenCOW with a larger monitor. And when Timber’s staff couldn’t find one, they built one.
“And we haven’t heard a peep since,” he said. “But boy was that was one ugly COW,” he added, to the laughter of the more than 100 attendees of the latest Health IT Breakfast Forum.