Up Close: The marriage of medicine and technology

11:39 AM CDT on Sunday, April 10, 2005

By Shern-Min Chow / 11 News

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HOUSTON -- It is the miracle of life --- made sweeter and safer by modern miracles -- contractions and heartbeats: the two critical elements that help decide if it's "baby in or baby out."

KHOU

Computerized records cut down on confusion and allow doctors to check medical histories and drug interactions from their cell phone.

Right now, nurses relay that fetal strip information to doctors when they're outside the delivery ward seeing patients, prepping for surgery or in the car.

But in a matter of months, doctors will be able to see it for themselves -- wherever they are -- on a cell phone or PDA.

It's live, real time and stores up to four hours of data.

"To review the historical information in the last 30 minutes makes all the difference," explained Dr. Cameron Powell with Airstrip OB. "That's where the big clinical decisions are made."

The invention is Dr. Powell's "baby." The San Antonio doctor and a partner founded "Airstrip OB" two years ago.

"We actually met in church and formed our company in a Starbucks one night," said Powell.

"The small Texas company has partnered with GE. That gives them access to 70-percent of the baby business in America. Another astounding number: right now 50-percent of all ob-gyn lawsuits involve these fetal heart tracings.

"Whether it was reviewed? When it was reviewed? How was it reviewed? Was it discussed over the phone?" explains Dr. Powell.

Memorial City Ob-Gyn Ed Zabrek is an editor for PC Pocket Magazine. The techie also heads up Samsung cell phone's health care initiative, including e-prescriptions.

At the pharmacy, that reduces problems with look-alike or sound-alike drugs. It can also save you money by giving physicians instant access to insurance coverage.

"I can look and see if the patient is going to have to pay $50, $100 dollars for the medication or $5. If I can find a $5 medication, there is a better chance they're gonna fill it," explained Dr. Zabrek.

Federal law will require all records to be paperless by 2014. That saves space, time and money by reducing man-hours.

"Roughly, you're talking $5 to $6 to pull a chart versus 25 cents to look at it electronically," explained Michael Paquin with Nextgen Healthcare Information Systems.

It also saves lives. Computerized records cut down on confusion and allow doctors to check medical histories and drug interactions from any location before sending an "e-prescription."

Medication errors alone account for between 60,000 and 98,000 deaths a year, according to Dr. Zabrek.

All of the new technology isn't just for doctors and hospitals. It's for patients, too. They will able to access their records, such as X-rays or lab results, wirelessly. And their entire medical history can be kept on a flash drive at the end of a key chain.

"I have something that's alive inside me -- pretty cool," said the expectant mom as she listened to her baby's heartbeat.

It's technology that's helping give birth to the oldest and newest of man-made wonders.