What computer charting system do you use?

[SuzieQ_Scrapper]

I currently work in a very rural hospital that uses paper charting. On the first of October we are getting ready to go live with a computer charting system that I am sure I will NOT like. It is Meditech. It was not designed for L&D.

I decided if I am going to have to learn a new system I might as well do it at a new hospital while on orientation :chuckle I went for a job interview in a larger hospital in a city nearby and they said they used a system called WatchChild (I think that was the name). I know there is also a system called TraceVue that is designed for L&D. Anyway, wanted to know what systems some of you use, what you like about them, what you don't like about them, etc. Since I am looking for a new place to work, I might as well pick a place that has a cool computer charting system (if all things are equal) as well.

[RNKitty]

Okay, the administration at our hospital really have their heads stuck uta, because every floor uses Meditech (bought two years ago! It is DOS, and we actually live in the same state as Bill Gates. It is definitely not Windows friendly). Then, we have to print out all sorts of graphic for the paper charts which are now thicker than they were before the computor system. We also print out our nursing admission assessments and delivery summaries for the paper chart. For a paperless system, there is a heck of a lot of trees being killed.

We use Medpoint for scanning and administering medications, but of course Medpoint will not read to Meditech. We then have to print out our MARs for the paper chart.

Also, in L&D, we add WatchChild, which of course will not read to Meditech. You wouldn't believe the number of passwords we have to access the charts and pyxis. We have to print out the annotations, labor flow, and FHR tracing from WatchChild. Even with all this paper around, they have taken away our labor flow and forbidden us to use it - even though we can chart quicker and the information is condensed and easier for the providers to read in a glance. Our director came up with the brilliant idea that we only need to chart our fetal assessment q2H since it is all "recorded" on WatchChild (She wants us taking care of 2-3 patients and thinks this will save us time). We are speaking to a wall when we try to explain that no matter what she thinks, we still have to conform to national and community standards of care regarding fetal assessment, not to mention cya for legal issues. Besides, not all patients are on continuous monitoring. Some get up and walk around, jacoussi, sit on the ball and get doppler or intermittent monitoring per standard.

The doctors get to write their H&P, progress notes, and orders on paper. The orders have to be "scanned" down to pharmacy or input in the computor for labs, etc, by the HUC or nurse.

I would run from Meditech. Hospitals buy it because it is a cheaper system, but cheap junk is what it is.