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Watch where you park your wheeled computers!

Staff Development Weekly: Insight on Evidence-Based Practice in Education, June 14, 2007

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Battery-powered, portable computers-sometimes called Workstations on Wheels (WOWs)-help facilitate electronic patient charting. They represent the cutting edge of wireless technology, giving everyone in the building access to real-time updates on patient conditions. But they also pose a dilemma for safety officers: WOWs need to be accessible to clinicians at a moment's notice. The computers also must charge at wall outlets when they're off duty. That last point runs head-on into regulations if the WOWs charge in exit corridors, because they're big enough to violate fire codes and Joint Commission standards governing egress. Use the following suggestions on how to deal with charging WOWs and developing related policies in line with Joint Commission standards:

• Recharge WOWs in a central spot away from corridors. Ask whether the IT department has a central room with enough outlets available.
• Recharge them in alcoves. Although there might not be an entire room free to charge WOWs, some hospitals have alcoves off [RH1]hallways to stash computers while they recharge. Because such equipment can get hot, be sure that the alcove is free of combustible material.
• Keep WOWs with patients. If a workstation is parked in a patient's room (regardless of whether it's in use), it's not in the corridor blocking egress.

To get more information, go to Electronic Health Records Briefing (EHRB). For the cost of just three stories, you can get the entire June issue of EHRB. Click here to choose between the PDF and HTML versions for just $30. Subscribers to the online version of EHRB have free access to this article. Subscribers to the print newsletter can find this article in their June issue.

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