Skip to main content
Log in

Design and Application of an Information System for the Emergency Observation Room in a Chinese Hospital

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Journal of Medical Systems Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The emergency observation room (EOR) in a Chinese hospital provides medium-term observation and treatment, as well holding patients who will be admitted to the wards. The operational pattern of the EOR lies between those of the outpatient and inpatient services. We developed a novel information system for the EOR to meet the specific requirements for issuing medication, which includes both order sheets and prescriptions, and tested it in a Grade 3 and Class A hospital. The system reduced the frequency of cashier interactions and the time taken for patients to access their medications, and also reduced the workloads of doctors and other staff members.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Cooke, M., Higgins, J., and Kidd, P., Use of emergency and observation wards. A systematic literature review. Emerg. Med. J. 20:138–142, 2003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Cooke, M. W., Higgins, J., and Kidd, P., Use of emergency observation and assessment wards: A systematic literature review. Emerg. Med. J. 20:138–142, 2003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Wang, G., Guo, X., and Huang, Z., Design and application of ward subsystem of emergency observation room. Chin. Med. Equip. J. 32:42–43, 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Madsen, T. E., Bledsoe, J. R., and Bossart, P. J., Observation unit admission as an alternative to inpatient admission for trauma activation patients. Emerg. Med. J. 26:421–423, 2009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Ochoa-Gomez, J., Villar-Arias, A., Echeverría-Echarri, L., et al., Attendance of patients with minor head injury in an emergency department observation ward. Eur. J. Emerg. Med. 7:267–270, 2000.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Martinez, E., Reilly, B. M., Evans, A. T., and Roberts, R. R., The observation unit: a new interface between inpatient and outpatient care. Am. J. Med. 110:274–277, 2001.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Fu, Z., and Ren, L. Z., Construction and application of the hospital information system. People’s Military Medical Press, Beijing, 2002.

  8. Tolchin, S. G., Stewart, R. L., Kahn, S. A., et al., A prototype generalized network technology for hospitals. J. Med. Syst. 6:359–375, 1982.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Watson, R., and Jenkin, M., A large-scale professionally oriented medical information system—five years later. J. Med. Syst. 1:3–21, 1997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Yang, T. H., Sun, Y. S., and Lai, F., A scalable healthcare information system based on a service-oriented architecture. J. Med. Syst. 35:391–407, 2011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Huang, Z., Wang, G., Guo, X., Construction of information management for emergency department based on HIS. Mil. Med. J. South China 2158–60, 2007

Download references

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant number 30900330).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Xiaolu Fei.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wei, L., Dong, S. & Fei, X. Design and Application of an Information System for the Emergency Observation Room in a Chinese Hospital. J Med Syst 37, 9906 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-012-9906-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-012-9906-3

Keywords