I'm an old Baby-Boomer and I love computers. I think the reason we love them so much is the ability to manage large quantities of information. The hospital I work at is 20 years behind the times. It really drives me crazy. A patient's chart can become 2 inches thick in just 4 days.

What I would like is a patient medical record in the format of Outlook. Every nurse would have a laptop or notebook. In the morning, you could import the entire medical record into your computer. It would consist of labs, radiology reports, ECGs, and the MAR. The physican orders and notes could be scanned and read as PDFs. As the day progresses, the nurse could sync the record as additional labs and reports are distributed into the patients file. Flow sheets and forms could be generated right from the laptop. Once completed they can then be exported directly into the record. What would really be cool, is if you could interface directly with the monitors and post vital signs directly onto flow sheets. And IV pumps linked up so you could change flow rates remotely from your laptop . . .I think I'll stop now.