George Tuley/Caller-Times The Doctors Regional campus of Corpus Christi Medical Center spent about $20 million to renovate and enlarge its emergency room, where technician Elizabeth Jones (left) consults with certified patient access employee Stacey Norwood. The emergency room was expanded from nine rooms to 13.

Video networking and wireless laptops help health systems to advance, stay competitive

February 1, 2003
By Joy Victory
Caller-Times

At Christus Spohn Hospital Memorial, the medical staff is already deciding which new procedures and devices they will develop or purchase through 2006.

To stay competitive with other hospitals, they have to offer the latest and best to their patients. At the same time, they have to make sure that what they buy will be a good investment. "We have to consider how much a technology will be utilized. Will it give modest benefit to 1,000 or modest benefit to 20,000?" said Dr. Richard Davis, Spohn vice president of medical affairs. "One of the most difficult things facing hospitals everywhere is a declining reimbursement rate and at the same time, an explosion in technology. But because of the (increasing) litigation, we do not have the resources to buy everything we want." Davis is referring to two of the biggest problems facing doctors these days - a litigation-heavy environment and lower payment rates to physicians from health insurance companies.

New at the hospitals Reducing the risk of repeat heart attacks Christus Spohn Shoreline just brought in brachia-therapy. After a mild heart attack, physicians can open up a patient’s clogged coronary artery with a tiny balloon-like device. A wire stent is placed in the artery to keep it from closing. But about 20 percent of the time, scar tissue forms around the stent, causing a new clog, and possibly, a new heart attack, said Dr. Srikanth Damaraju, a cardiologist at Spohn Shoreline. A new procedure at the hospital reduces the chance of dangerous scar tissue forming around the stent. "Using a special catheter that is emitting radiation, I can use just enough to zap inside the (artery)," Damaraju said. "It cuts the risk of repeat scarring down to under 10 percent." Shorter recovery time for coronary artery bypass Corpus Christi Medical Center’s Heart Hospital now offers endoscopic vein harvesting. Coronary artery bypass surgery is a standard procedure for most hospitals to alleviate a heart attack. During a bypass, a vein is removed from the upper thigh and re-attached to the heart’s blood supply. Normally, removal of the leg vein can be quite disabling, said Carol Faciane, director of surgery. With endoscopic vein harvesting, patients have shorter recovery times because fewer nerve endings are severed, she said. A surgeon makes a very small incision and inserts a small tube with a camera and a cutting device. Driscoll system takes x-rays without the film Driscoll Children’s Hospital eliminated film from the x-ray process, thanks to a new $1.7 million digital picture system. X-rays are still taken the traditional way - with large machines and a crew of radiology technicians - but now the image is loaded onto the hospital’s computer network rather than printed on film. In a matter of minutes, the digital image is processed and accessible to anyone in the hospital with a computer password. The system is the first in South Texas, said radiologist Dr. Billy Cunningham.

While new medical developments are always on the horizon, their price tag means some hospitals simply can’t afford to offer them.

In spite of those problems, all three of Corpus Christi’s health systems - Spohn, Corpus Christi Medical Center and Driscoll Children’s Hospital - have been busy bringing in new equipment and services. The common thread of all of the hospital’s purchases: computerization.

For example, Spohn’s Cancer Center recently purchased a $1.5 million radiation therapy system called IMRT (intensity modulated radiation therapy) that is based on a new software program, where a high-end computer calculates a treatment plan. Other hospitals are following suit.

New emergency room Corpus Christi Medical Center spent about $20 million to renovate and enlarge its emergency room at the Doctors Regional campus, 3315 S. Alameda. The ER was expanded from nine rooms to 13, and glass partitions were added between all the rooms.

All monitors in the rooms were replaced. The staff also made sure to buy equipment that could be easily upgraded as technology changes, said nurse and Emergency Room director Jane Johnson. "It’s like buying a new computer, there is always a bigger one on the market," Johnson said. "The same is true of medical equipment, and probably even more so. There’s so many changes occurring all the time, it’s almost impossible. So a lot of the stuff we buy with the idea it can be upgraded." Order-entry system Spohn’s new order-entry system is a wireless device, like a laptop, that takes all the guesswork out of reading a doctor’s scribbled prescription.

As a doctor makes his rounds, he can call up a patient’s charts digitally. If he adjusts the medications, the orders are immediately sent to the pharmacy in a computer printout. The device also can warn a doctor if a patient has special concerns, like drug allergies. Spohn is still testing the new units and will probably start using them in four to six months, said Davis, vice president of medical affairs. "We are not promoting this as a time-saving issue. It probably will not save the physician time, but it may avoid him being called back later because the pharmacist can’t read his handwriting," Davis said. Border clinics With the addition of two clinics on the Texas-Mexico border, Driscoll now serves an area the size of South Carolina. To stay in touch, the hospital applied for a million-dollar grant to install tele-medicine networking devices. With the devices, doctors can view patient charts, order a treatment plan and communicate with them over video phones. In the past, they would have to trek over to Corpus Christi.

"We will be making sure the digital connections between Driscoll Children’s Hospital and the clinics is prevalent in all clinical areas," said Driscoll Hospital CEO Rick Merrill. "In radiology, it’s very important those images are online, so they don’t have to be shipped." What’s ahead Besides bringing in new technologies, the hospitals in Corpus Christi also plan to address the work force shortage and the increasing number of people needing hospital care.

CCMC has already seen the demand rise, mostly due to aging baby boomers, said John Ulbricht, chief operating officer. The hospital chain won’t build more wings, but does plan to increase beds. "Over the years, we had patient wings that we converted into other uses. We will be re-converting them back into patient beds," he said. Spohn will continue its efforts to encourage high school students to consider careers in health, said Jane Bakos, vice president of marketing. Spohn also works with area universities.

As far as the nursing shortage, all hospitals are grappling with the problem, Bakos said. "I just don’t foresee any brand-new, brilliant idea," she said. "Everybody is looking for a silver bullet. But I think that the whole community has to be engaged. That’s going to be very important."

Contact Medical Reporter Joy Victory at 886-3764 or victoryj@caller.com