Medical Moment: Paperless emergency rooms
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Updated: 9:20 AM Jul 8, 2009
Medical Moment: Paperless emergency rooms
Call it the hospital of the 21st century. It is paperless, wireless and some of its most important workers are never tired or distracted. The government has committed $20 billion of your money to these hospitals of the future.
Posted: 3:47 AM Jul 8, 2009
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Call it the hospital of the 21st century. It is paperless, wireless and some of its most important workers are never tired or distracted.

The government has committed $20 billion of your money to these hospitals of the future.

No paper charts, taking notes or complaints about doctors handwriting in the ER of Swedish Covenant Hospital.

A speech recognition program turns the doctor's words into print

Hospital managers say the average turn-around time is about 30 to 32 minutes for any testing that they'd order for chemistry.

Here, one of the busiest workers is a million dollar automated system, doing hundreds of tests an hour.

It’s a system that doesn't get tired, distracted, upset or overworked.

The system is all in order to prevent human prescription errors. The president's plan calls for every hospital to eventually go paperless, and share a standard system.