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The Leading Edge of Technology

Patient Safety Technologies

• The Medical Center is piloting a radiofrequency identification system called Real Time Location System (RTLS) that monitors hand hygiene compliance. Specially made hand hygiene dispensers are wired to track the approach of employees wearing special electronic tags on their identification badges and to record their use of the hand hygiene dispenser. Developed by Patient Care Technology Systems (PCTS), the technology also will allow for just-in-time reminder alerts as health care workers approach the patient-care threshold. Wake Forest Baptist began its pilot test of the equipment in August 2009. It is the first hospital to test this hardware and software for hand hygiene monitoring.
• Wake Forest Baptist is a patient safety pioneer and early adopter of safety technologies. These include computerized physician order entry to ensure accuracy in medication and treatment orders, a robotic pharmacy to safeguard prescription fulfillment, and barcode medication administration at the bedside to safeguard medication administration, and electronic patient records. 
• Patient SafetyNet is an innovation that helps us monitor patient safety by analyzing “mistakes that didn’t happen” because they were caught in time; the program was developed by the University HealthConsortium (UHC). Our findings help improve procedures and patient safety.

Technology Innovations

• Wake Forest Baptist offers the region’s most advanced operating rooms, with high-definition, digital imaging technology that provides surgeons astounding picture clarity for their minimally invasive surgeries. In 28 of its 40 operating rooms, interactive, superior quality HD imaging allows surgeons to instantly call for and view high-definition, real-time video of their patient’s anatomy, as well as access archived images and medical records.
• Wake Forest Baptist was first in the region in 2009 to introduce single-incision laparoscopic surgery (SILS), an approach that speeds recovery and reduces infection risk and discomfort.
• The Medical Center was first in North Carolina to offer Gamma Knife^® a non-invasive, highly targeted radiation treatment for brain tumors and abnormalities. The Gamma Knife team is one of the most experienced in the nation.
• Our Center for Biomolecular Imaging (CBI) is revolutionizing medicine with incredible three- and four-dimensional views and the ability to quickly create models of structures within the body. The superior views help surgeons and other specialists to optimize treatments.
• Wake Forest Baptist is a leader in robotic-assisted surgeries using the da Vinci^® robot. Our surgeons are highly experienced with the technology and are developing new surgical applications. In urology in particular, the Medical Center is a world leader in robotic-assisted procedures.
• The Department of Urology is one of a few centers in North Carolina offering video urodynamics technology to diagnose the exact cause of incontinence. This combination of video and X-rays allows doctors to prescribe a treatment tailored to each patient's specific condition.