Technology

Technological leadership is an integral part of Our Lady of the Lake's approach to healthcare. Our medical staff and hospital executives are committed to seeking out the best and most advanced treatments to meet the needs of our patients.

Through our partnership with Cerner, the Lake was the first hospital in the world to use an integrated Radiology Information System (RIS) and Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) to achieve a completely filmless environment. This unified architecture enables clinicians to view a patient's entire medical history, as well as any diagnostic images, on a single application. As a result, mismatching of images and patient information is virtually eliminated; physicians and nurses are able to make more informed patient care decisions; and, clinicians save time without having to wait to receive a patient's chart or images from another department.

In addition to radiology, OLOL has utilized Cerner technology to help integrate nursing, laboratory, pharmacy and emergency department workflows. Electronic medical records are accessible by all hospital clinicians, enabling physicians to make more informed decisions at the bedside. When medications are prescribed, we check for adverse drug effects and other complications specific to the patient, further enhancing existing patient safety measures.

Ultimately, it is the teaming of machines, equipment, information systems and other advancements with doctors, nurses and members of our staff that elevates our Spirit of Healing to better serve our patients.

Recent technological innovations at Our Lady of the Lake:

• The only medical center in the area to use the daVinci Surgical System, an advanced robotic platform, for prostate and kidney removal and complex head and neck procedures such as removing tumors from the base of the tongue or removing stones from saliva glands.
• OLOL operate the state's only Mobile Virtual Critical Care unit, which provides patients at Our Lady of the Lake and our sister hospital, St. Elizabeth in Gonzales, with additional nurses and doctors to monitor care 24/7. This innovation has reduced the amount of time patients need to be hospitalized and improved survival rates by nearly 25%.
• Completed a hospital-wide deployment of a wireless medication infusion pump which automates medication orders. The nurse scans the patient's wristband, medication bag and pump barcodes confirming that the pump delivers the medication exactly as ordered by the doctor.
• Put an automated compounder machine, Intellifill IV, into operation in the Children's Hospital. Intellifill IV prepares small-volume IV medications by using robotic technology to increase accuracy and sterility.
• Invested in the Hansen Sensei^TM Robotic Catheter System to perform atrial fibrillation ablation and high definition imaging in our new ORs. Our Lady of the Lake is the only hospital in the area to have this advanced technology.
• Implemented the Eclipsys bed management system, which provides instant communication and an automated process for seamless patient flow from arrival to discharge.
• The first local hospital to pilot BR-Med Connect, an EMS telehealth program that provides video and a data link that uses high quality cameras, advanced cardiac monitors and other diagnostic devices to transmit patient information between EMS and our ER.