It was very common over the years for a hospital or extended care facility patient to suffer the worsening of a condition due to record-keeping errors that would give the wrong treatment. Some people who have spent several weeks in hospital may have felt slightly uneasy during the night shift when robotic attendants and nurses seem indifferent when administering medication or taking blood. There would be many possible mix-ups that could cost (and have cost) a patient's life. Mercifully, the digital solutions available today provide greater accuracy in scheduling medication doses and times.

There have been countless improvements in hospitals, clinics, and long-term health care facilities that have extended the duration and quality of our lives. Computer networks can keep track of patient care as well as administration; specially-designed hardware assists doctors and nurses to access data anywhere throughout the facility.

Wireless mobile devices have brought a level of efficiency to the workflow in hospitals, clinics, and long term health care facilities. Accuracy of patient records has improved greatly and lessened the number of incorrect operations that were commonplace decades ago. Almost everyone has seen a newspaper story about the wrong organ being removed or a patient getting another patient's operation due to a mix-up. It stands to reason that the hectic environment of a hospital would be an easy place for confusion to reign supreme because of human error. Technology now exists so that an identifying bar code can be placed on the area in question to guide the surgeon.

The medication administration record (MAR) in many long-term health care facilities are still being written manually for each medication administration event for each resident. Misinterpretation of some scribbled notes could result in a dosage mistake or getting the medication totally wrong if the patient is mistaken for someone else in a different bed.

Medical software developers offer customized solutions for hospitals, clinics, dentist offices, and long-term heath care facilities to administer their entire operation in one package capable of cross-referencing data to coordinate all functions. Being mobile with laptop carts throughout the wards saves going back and forth from a centralized station. Laptop kiosks are used in some hospitals to shorten distances walked by attending health care staff.

Laptop carts for wireless access to the eMAR (electronic medication administration record) program are free and mobile so that time round the ward is more efficient and accurate. There are also med carts for the transportation of liquids, supplies, and medicines that can be locked for storage.

The same modern technology - both medical software and medical IT hardware - that is experiencing success in acute care facilities can be just as beneficial, if not more so, in long-term care facilities where residents need even more frequent med passes, treatments, and attention from nursing staff. It makes financial sense to acquire the IT accessories, laptop mounts, and EMR software needed for the extended care facility because the increased efficiency will reduce work hours for overburdened staff and provide better morale for everyone from the administration office to the worried sick patient peeking out nervously from under the sheets.