Sun, Creative Healthcare partner at Aurora hospital

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In the health care field, providers are constantly trying to balance the seesaw between providing the best care possible and controlling costs. Aurora Community Hospital is now using technology to help achieve that balance, replacing its old PC system with something completely new, according to Chief Executive Officer Don Buchanan.|ret||ret||tab|

The new Sun Ray appliance system at Aurora Community utilizes health care software produced by Springfield-based Creative Healthcare Systems Inc. The local company's software products are grouped under the name MedGenix. Aurora Community Hospital is one of the first health care facilities to implement the Sun Ray appliance system, which is manufactured by Sun Microsystems Inc.|ret||ret||tab|

"We installed the Sun Ray system about six months ago," Buchanan said. "Before that we had a Pandora's box of different computers hooked up to the mainframe, dumb terminals a whole bunch of different things. We decided to go with a universal type of system."|ret||ret||tab|

According to the Sun Microsystems Inc. Web site, www.sun.com, the system provides "centralized administration while delivering a rich user experience." The appliances require no client administration or upgrades. |ret||ret||tab|

"On top of that, you get the unique capability of hot desking' the ability to instantly access your computing session from any appliance in your work group exactly where you left off," Sun stated. This hot desk technology enables health care providers to access critical patient information and move from room to room or between work spaces without logging out of patients' medical records.|ret||ret||tab|

As a result, "health care personnel can stop when they have to and return to the same session on any device in the work group," said Steve Everest, president of Creative Healthcare Systems.|ret||ret||tab|

Creative Healthcare Systems designs and installs Web-capable information systems with secure access.|ret||ret||tab|

Recently, Sun spotlighted the Sun Ray appliance system at a technology show in San Francisco by running a virtual hospital on Creative Healthcare's software.|ret||ret||tab|

The market targeted by Sun for its new appliance comprises community hospitals with connected facilities, "a market that includes 75 percent of all hospitals in the U.S.," said Robbie Turner, vice president, client and technical market products, in a Sun release.|ret||ret||tab|

Since forming in 1992, Creative Healthcare Systems has focused on meeting the technology needs of community health care facilities. |ret||ret||tab|

The company prides itself on serving community hospitals, a "market that deserves our undivided attention," Everest said. |ret||ret||tab|

The company's MedGenix Healthcare Information Network based on the Informix relational database and using Sun Microsystems Internet Network architecture has many modules: Patient Management, Patient Accounting, Patient Care Documentation, Clinic Management, Medical Records, General Ledger, Human Resources, Long Term Care, etc.|ret||ret||tab|

"Sun Ray came into play for us because it makes a great generic workstation for our products and is a low-cost alternative to PCs," Everest said. |ret||ret||tab|

In health care, expense is a major consideration. One reason Aurora Community Hospital opted for the new technology was to cut costs. |ret||ret||tab|

According to Everest, it's initially less expensive, and then the real savings start adding up over the life of the appliance. With the Sun Ray system, workstations are small and cost much less "the thin' client like Don Buchanan has deployed costs about $400 for each network appliance vs. $1,200 to $1,400 for a comparable fat' client PC," Everest said.|ret||ret||tab|

As defined by Everest, a "thin" client is one that needs only the basics the electronics required to accept keyboard commands to be sent to the central server and to display information received from that server. |ret||ret||tab|

The typical "fat" client has the usual conglomeration of hardware and software at the PC workstation. For the thin' client, the various components CPU, disk storage, CD-ROM, floppy drive, operating software and application software are located only at the central server.|ret||ret||tab|

Is the new system meeting expectations? |ret||ret||tab|

"Everybody really likes this system, especially the portability of the data," Buchanan said. |ret||ret||tab|

He cited several reasons: |ret||ret||tab|

users don't have to copy their work to disk to carry it around; |ret||ret||tab|

users don't have to worry about program versions or changes in formatting if they try to run it in a different computer; |ret||ret||tab|

don't chance damage to the media; and|ret||ret||tab|

the appliance is a compact unit that takes up much less space.|ret||ret||tab|

Regarding the future of technology in health care, "I think we're probably going to get to a Palm Pilot-type thing which will do bedside records. The doctor will be able to order tests via touch screen and there will be a hookup between all active doctors and the hospital system," Buchanan said. "The day will come when doctors with the right access code will be able to access patient's hospital records from their doctor's office." |ret||ret||tab|

Everest said, "Traditionally health care has lagged behind the current trends in technology. They need to step forward. We think the trends for health care technology are on the increase, but users have to be smart and move away from fat' to thin' and cut costs while attaining more functionality."|ret||ret||tab|

He added, "We think Creative Healthcare Systems Inc. is one of the best kept technology secrets of this city. It's my own personal belief that the city of Springfield should be investing more in helping technology firms expand and less in the pursuit of traditional smokestack industries because we're a better value. Technology firms are clean, and the salaries we pay are superior," Everest said.|ret||ret||tab|

Besides Aurora Community, the Sun Ray appliance and MedGenix software are being utilized in three other U.S. hospitals Bledsoe Community Medical Center in Pikeville, Tenn., North Oak Regional Medical Center in Senatobia, Miss., and Hiawatha Community Hospital in Hiawatha, Kan. |ret||ret||tab|

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