Marshfield Clinic rolls out tablet PCs, readies for"chartless" clinics

In a move that puts it ahead of most medical groups, the Marshfield (WI) Clinic has rolled out tablet PCs to all of its physicians and expects to completely eliminate the use of paper medical records in its clinics by next month. Marshfield physicians will now have either the Fujitsu LifeBook T4000 or Stylistic ST5000 tablet PC. The PCs give mobile caregivers access to EMRs, reports, images and prescription ordering, and will also allow physicians to use them for dictation.

The multispecialty group, which has 766 physicians in 40 locations throughout Wisconsin, has been working on the rollout for about three years. The effort seems poised to pay off in short order. According to its own analysis, the Clinic says $4.50 every time it avoids pulling a paper chart, and is also saving on infrastucture now that it doesn't need to provide fixed workstations in exam rooms.

For more detail on the rollout:
- read this Healthcare IT News article [1]

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MD group asks for federal help with EMRs. Report [3]