The Canberra Hospital Deploys Point of Use Implant Recording System

7 March 2005

The Canberra Hospital , a major 500 bed trauma and tertiary-care facility delivering acute and other specialty care for the people of the ACT and south-east region of New South Wales , has announced that they recently went live with their Point of Use Implant Recording system.

The system uses mobile computing technology to capture information about surgical procedures, specifically related to procedures involving prostheses products. The mobile computer has been implemented in the operating theatres of the hospital, and consists of a Symbol PPT 8800 device with an integrated barcode scanner.

The system captures the patient's Medical Record Number, and by scanning the manufacturers standard barcodes, creates a listing of all prostheses used on the patient during the procedure. This is made possible by HIBCC AU's UPN Repository, which forms an integral component of the system. The UPN Repository provides key information about the prostheses, referenced to the standard barcodes. This means that each time a prostheses product is scanned:

•  The supplier of the product is identified,

•  the product details are identified, and

•  the Schedule 5 rebate codes and other important information applicable to the product are identified.

At the completion of the procedure, and after capturing all required information, the portable computer is synchronised with ACT Healths Purchasing and Inventory Control (PICS) system. ACT Health are then able to create Purchase and Replenishment orders for all devices used, and create usage and rebate reports for Canberra Hospital management.

The system has initially been deployed in the operating rooms. The next stage of the roll-out will be to implement the system in the cath/lab, with trials expected to commence in early April, and live deployment in May.

For more information, please contact:

Kirk Kikirekov
(02) 9797 0883