Revolutionizing Healthcare: Bell Atlantic's Physician Linkage System

Strategic Insights -

Bell Atlantic's Physician Linkage service is changing the face of healthcare by introducing a virtual medical practice that enables seamless communication and collaboration among hospitals, health systems, and doctors. This cutting-edge system allows doctors to admit patients, prescribe medicine, access the Internet, update clinical information, and participate in video-based medical applications from any computer, on- or off-site. The system's portability and versatility have made it an invaluable resource for doctors like Alan Evantash, MD, a diagnostic radiologist at Christiana Care Health System, who can access patient information on their laptop or at home.

Key Takeaways:

  • The Physician Linkage system provides a virtual medical practice that enables doctors to admit patients, prescribe medicine, and access medical records from any computer, on- or off-site.
  • The system integrates all facets of a patient's care, including prescribing medicine, accessing medical records, and reporting discrepancies.
  • The system is customizable for each customer and provides end-to-end communications, including data storage and retrieval.
  • More than 80% of patient information is put into the system at the Medical Center at Princeton (N.J.), eliminating the need for paper replication.
  • The system saves a tremendous amount of time and automate data center management, allowing employees to focus on patient care.
  • The Physician Linkage system partners with other firms to provide network equipment, including telemedicine, wireless voice, picture, and image archiving.

Statistics:

  • More than 80% of patient information is put into the system at the Medical Center at Princeton (N.J.).
  • The system saves a tremendous amount of time by eliminating the need to search for misplaced records.
  • 80% of the paper could be eliminated through automation at the Medical Center at Princeton (N.J.) in a 1991 study.
  • The system is used by over 80% of employees at Christiana Care Health System to access patient information.

Sources:

  • "Bell Atlantic Hopes to Move Medicine into the Virtual World through Physician Linkage" (source not specified)
  • "Physician Linkage Lets Doctors Admit Patients, Prescribe Medicine, and More from Any Computer" (source not specified)
  • Alan Evantash, MD, Diagnostic Radiologist, Christiana Care Health System (Direct Quote)
  • Lucy Molfetas, Director of Information Systems, Medical Center at Princeton (N.J.)
  • Bob Sarelakos, Director, Market Management for Government, Education and Health Care, Bell Atlantic
  • Bell Atlantic's Physician Linkage Service (source not specified)