These days there all types of technological devices for doctors and hospitals as seen in the article by Michael Kanellos on CNET Intel unveils prototypes for doctors, health care (Published August 23, 2005) some of these new devices are similar to the familiar hand held devices and others were automated medical equipment. As Kanellos writes the health care industry has been very difficult to automate and computerize. Some of the current practices (such as written charts) can be very inefficient, costly, time consuming, and prone to errors.

Hospitals that have embraced technology have begun to reap the benefits of their technology as see in the article on RedNova.com Hospitals Reap Wireless Benefits (Posted on: Monday, 29 August 2005). From computerizing the admission process to ordering test and medications hospitals are adding wireless technology to try and improve service and patient care.

However, all this technology is great when your facility is up and running like normal, but when outside disasters hit, like Hurricane Katrina or the Great Power Outage of 2003, creativity is essential. As time goes on we will hear more stories as to how many people within hospitals were able get some outside help to leverage their limited resources to try and provide the best possible care they could.

Two such stories are:
Internet Telephony Keeps Baton Rouge Hospital In Touch When Hurricane Hits
Aug 30, 2005 By Corey McKenna

Baton Rouge General "operating on the power supplied by a back-up generator and with the availability of local phone service but no long distance, the hospital turned to technology to keep information flowing." With their still functioning Internet connection they used Vonage to provide voice over IP services via the broadband connections so that hospital personnel could call doctors, insurance providers, specialists and family members outside of the city. Their patient information was stored in a web interface database, so Baton Rouge General contact Dell to supply them with critically needed wireless laptops positioned in the "new patient areas."

A Horrible Dream
The inside story of how the staff of one New Orleans-area hospital heroically saved their patients and themselves.
By Susanna Schrobsdorff
Newsweek Web Exclusive
Updated: 9:09 p.m. ET Sept. 2, 2005

West Jefferson Medical Center in Marrero, La (suburb adjacent to New Orleans) had much bigger problems than Baton Rouge General. West Jefferson emergency action plan was unique not in how they used technology, but how they were able to still function without it (not losing a single patient due to the harsh conditions). The staff "put their hurricane plan into action long before the storm hit. Over the weekend, they began filling up buckets of water and devising a rationing system—one cup of water for each hand washing. Knowing that backup sewage would be a disaster, they figured out a way to use the disabled toilets with plastic bags they carried out for disposal themselves." Young family members of patients served as a communication network running messages around the hospital, and volunteers volunteered for days in the kitchen keeping food service going.

Depending on the hospital, you, the medical librarian, may be called upon to either research various alternative ideas for emergency disaster plans. Or if you are like my hospital, your library may be command center during an emergency. My hospital decided to make the library command center because it had the largest space with the most computers, phones, faxes, copiers and information. Technology can be an asset in times of an emergency, but planning and creativity can also help leverage what little technology is available to provide the best possible care.