Business Systems Blog

Department of Health and Human Services safeguards against infection with Panasonic Toughbook H1

The Department of Health and Human Services in Tasmania (DHHS) has purchased 5 Panasonic Toughbook H1 Medical Clinical Assistants (MCA) to be used by clinical pharmacists in highly infectious wards. The Department is responsible for delivering integrated services that maintain and improve the health and wellbeing of individual Tasmanians and the Tasmanian community as a whole. DHHS was looking for a device that could be used by clinical pharmacists in both infectious and non-infectious wards in four hospitals – the Royal Hobart, Launceston General, North West Regional, and Mersey Community hospitals.

Clinical pharmacists provide medication therapy evaluations and recommendations to patients and other healthcare professionals. They offer advice regarding the safe, appropriate and cost-effective use of medications. It was important for the pharmacists that the device fulfilled a number of important requirements: it needed to be ergonomic, comfortable as well as being durable with a long battery-life; it needed to work with the Department’s communications systems and software, and it needed to be able to be easily disinfected.

After researching various hardware solutions including traditional notebooks and Mobile Clinical Assistants (MCA), Panasonic’s new H1 MCA stood out from the crowd. Its rugged and ergonomic design, as well as its extended battery life and ability to be sanitised with hospital-grade disinfectants, meant it was a perfect solution. The clinical pharmacists are able to bring the device with them and access critical information at the bedside. This has eliminated paper-based processes and decreased the risk of errors. The H1’s fully-sealed design is resistant to liquids, meaning the device can be completely disinfected. This proves vital when pharmacists are moving between infectious and non-infectious wards.

“We are able to bring a device into the infectious wards and this proved particularly helpful during the H1N1 (Swine) Flu pandemic.Due to its fully-sealed build-quality and resistance to hospital-grade disinfectants, the pharmacists were able to bring the device to the quarantine area without the worry of spreading the infection to other parts of the hospital.”

Amber Roberts, State-wide Medication Coordinator said the Panasonic Toughbook was an excellent choice for the Department.

With an extended battery life of six hours, it is perfect for staff on the move. The dual hot swappable batteries mean higher productivity with no downtime. A near-exhausted battery can be replaced while the device is still running, so it never needs to be powered down. The fully rugged H1 is tested to military standards (MIL-STD810F) to ensure it is capable of withstanding a drop of 90cm while operational – similar to the height of a patient’s bed. With a fully integrated camera, the pharmacists are able to take pictures and documentthe healing progress of wounds and infections.

Perth Mining Company, Byrne Cut Mining, is using Panasonic Toughbooks to help repair essential mining equipment in the depths of some of the world’s largest underground mines

“For us the big positive was the total return on investment. There were other models that were initially cheaper, however over the following 12 months the Toughbooks easily came out in front in terms of value.”

Jeff Knuckey, Byrne Cut Mining IT Manager

Byrnecut Mining is a contract mining company that employs more than 1,000 people and has a multi-million dollar fleet of specialised underground mining equipment. It operates on sites around the world, including Australia’s largest gold mine, Telfer. At Telfer, the company uses centre-articulated vehicles which resemble large dump trucks to remove the coarse ore from the stope to the surface. This can be a long journey with the deepest mines in Australia up to 1,800 metres below the ground. Byrnecut engineers and mechanics take Panasonic Toughbooks down the mines to provide diagnostic information from faulty vehicles to above ground workshops wirelessly. This onsite electronic evaluation allows for onsite repair and dramatically reduces repair time Byrnecut Mining IT Manager Jeff Knuckey said the company turned to Panasonic after amassing a ‘graveyard’ of notebooks not built to withstand tough mining conditions.

“At one point we were going through a notebook every couple of weeks, with everything from broken screens to seized drives. We were buying up six new notebooks a month and they really weren’t up to it,”

Jeff Knuckey, Byrne Cut Mining IT Manager

Panasonic Toughbook is recognised internationally as the benchmark in rugged notebooks. British Gas turned to Panasonic for assistance in developing a solution for their business. In a bid to streamline its engineering function and attain new standards in customer service, British Gas integrated Panasonic Toughbooks into their service teams…see the benefits for yourself.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ffcoeRvE6c

Download a PDF of the Case Study here

See more Toughbook posts here

Students at Rouse Hill High School get a head start with a Panasonic interactive whiteboard
The integration of a Panasonic Elite Panaboard Interactive Whiteboard at Rouse Hill High School has enlivened the learning experience for students through content-rich, technology-enhanced teaching.

The City of Nedlands in WA has purchased CF-19 rugged Panasonic Toughbooks for its Ranger Services, to provide a robust solution and improved productivity in the field.

The Ranger Services are involved in everything from camp patrol to education to providing Police and Emergency services with resources and information. When the City of Nedlands Council carried out an internal IT review to decide what was best and robust enough to suit their Rangers varied needs they chose Panasonic Toughbook. With its rugged exterior and its resistance to water, heat and dust Panasonic’s Toughbook CF-19 was perfect for the job.