Bethel Visiting Nurse Association (BVNA) provides home health services to patients from prenatal, to end-of-life care, throughout Northwestern Connecticut. Nurses begin their day at the non-profits headquarters where they meet to discuss patient updates. Following this daily assembly, the nurses and therapists make their way throughout Bethel’s nearby communities, each visiting up to seven home healthcare patients per day. The Panasonic Toughbook mobile computers have provided Bethel VNA staff with a reliable computing solution to support their daily routine as home health clinicians.

In home healthcare especially, digitizing patient records and adopting a reliable mobile healthcare technology solution are essential. Home health workers are constantly on the move, accessing real-time patient data and streamlining the flow of information to an EMR/EHR (Electronic Medical Record/Electronic Health Record), so it is imperative that clinicians have the ability to collaborate.

When Bethel VNA initially transitioned from pen and paper to a digital solution, they deployed an EMR on a PDA-style device. However, the nurses and therapists in the field found these devices difficult to work with due to their small keyboards and screens. As a result, the Bethel VNA began to research alternative mobile computing options.

Based on user feedback, BVNA determined their staff would be better equipped with laptops. The right mobile computing device would offer a full keyboard along with a large touchscreen display, so staff could easily check off boxes while charting and also enter longer, more detailed data into their EMR. Initially in 2005, the BVNA deployed the Panasonic Toughbook T-series of laptops. After years of positive experience with those models, it began working with the Toughbook C1 convertible tablet, which is built to withstand drops, bumps and spills. Nurses can now carry the device without fear of a device failure on account of inclement weather or an accidental drop while moving from one patient’s home to the next.

Interested in knowing more? You’ll find the full Bethel VNA Toughbook C1 case study online. The Panasonic Toughbook mobile computers have provided Bethel VNA staff with a reliable computing solution to support their daily routine as home health clinicians. With the Toughbook computers, nurses and therapists can update patient EHR/EMR records remotely, access data at the point of care and share real-time results; ultimately allowing the Bethel VNA staff to spend more time with their patients and less time troubleshooting IT issues.