PBX-PHS systems are now in use in a variety of industries, and one of the more remarkable applications of these systems is in hospitals. One example is the hospital information system installed at the Hitachi General Hospital. (The following article is taken from the Telecommunication magazine's January issue.)

Hitachi General Hospital, located in Hitachi city Ibaraki Prefecture, was established in 1938 by Hitachi, Ltd. to help look after the health of its employees, however, the hospital also plays an important role as a regional medical center for the citizens of Hitachi city, which doesn't have a municipal hospital.

Currently, 70% of outpatients are residents of Hitachi rather than employees of Hitachi, Ltd. The hospital is trying hard to provide not only improved medical systems but also a comfortable environment for patients as well, with the number of daily outpatients now in excess of 2,400. The hospital's information system, the first phase i ntroduced in July 1998, is typical of the efforts being made.
Under study from 1992, the system concept was to increase efficiency of telephone, TV fee payment system, inpatient data systems, nurse-call system, etc.

This system was built by Hitachi, Ltd. and a subcontractor, however, according to hospital staff, the system was not the result of an initiative by the manufacturer. Hospital staff took the initiative to make a new system better and more user-friendly by absorbing on-site opinions.

The following four blocks that make up the system are combined through LAN, TV network and the telephone network to work as an integrated total information system.
(1) Telephone facilities utilizing the PBX and PBX-PHS system
(2) CCTV system designed for inpatient bedside consoles
(3) Nursing duty support system
(4) Nurse-call system

Main configuration of block (1) is as follows.

• PBX-PHS systems, bedside telephones, nurse-call, etc. have been added to an extension of the existing PBX system which is composed of three sets of Primary Rate Interface (1.5Mbit/s) lines.
  
• 78 PHS Cell Stations (CSs) were installed within the hospital to cover all floors of the first selected outpatients' wards, inpatients' wards and the medical center.
  
• 148 PHS Personal Stations (PSs) were loaned to doctors and hospital staff in charge of each section. All PHS PSs, except for nurse station PSs, are also available for public service so that an unsuccessful call within the hospital will be automatically transferred to the public network due to the automatic transfer function of the PBX system to make it possible to speak with someone located anywhere with only an extension number.
  
• Nurse-calls are transferred with bed number to the nurse in charge so she can speak with her patient directly even while she is on hospital tour with a doctor.

Other notable features of this system are as follows.

• TV, telephone, PC-connector are equipped in inpatients' bedside console and the prepaid-card system handles fees for pay-TV, pay-phone, etc.
  
• In addition to the general TV programs, teletex, satellite, radio broadcasts, and hospital TV are all available at the bedside console. In case of emergency, the bedside console is automatically tuned to an emergency TV broadcast which is also used as an evacuation guide.
  
• A magnetic patient registration card is automatically made at the time of an outpatient's first arrival, and can then be used to download the patient's personal data at the nurse's stations, etc.
  
• Patient's physical condition, medical check-up schedule, operation schedule etc. can be input into the computer with the handy information terminal.

  With this data readily available, work sheets, nursing diaries etc. become a simple task. Patient temperature graphs etc. can also be displayed whenever needed.

With all the advantages of the new system, significant improvements in nursing care are expected. The nurses are able to concentrate more on primary care. The hospital's view of the system is that, "It's too early to make a definitive evaluation of the new system, however, we greatly appreciate the manufacturer's efforts to integrate our requests as much as they could. The system is quite high-level in terms of both function and ergonomics."
From its long-term vision, in order to improve nurses' skill to utilize this system fully, the hospital plans a training curriculum and expects to extend coverage to the entire hospital within a two year time frame.
Similar hospital information systems will definitely spread nationwide in the near future and accordingly, the importance of PHS as a fundamental component will also increase.