New tablet computers will be seen in the hands of staff at the Thielen Student Health Center.

These tablet computers are part of the new computer system coming into effect at the health center, which should help speed up test results and cut down on paper use.

“The computer system will help make scheduling and billing more efficient,” said Penni McKinley, program coordinator for the health center. “Our next step is to computerize all records.”

She said the health center received the funding from student fees and insurance, so the computers will not take more money from the university budget.

“It’s a really good idea if it saves on paper,” said Abbie Lehman, sophomore in biology. “It will help keep everything together.”

Lehman said she had a foot problem in April and had to have an X-ray, which took about 30 minutes.

“Any time you go to the doctor isn’t fun, but this should make things go faster and easier,” she said.

There will be little difference for students, who will still be requested to have their insurance cards with them when they first check in during the fall semester, in addition to their ISU Card for scheduling appointments.

“It will help students take their health information back home with them, to work or wherever they end up,” McKinley said.

It will also help the nurses by allowing them to graph important information, such as a diabetic’s blood sugar levels, she said.

“We’ll get the information much faster and it will allow us to see just how good — or bad — a patient is being,” McKinley said.

“Right now everything is handwritten so over the next few months, we’ll switch to the electronic system and everything they need will be right there in front of them.”

Sharon Himan, point of care coordinator and resident nurse at Mary Greeley Medical Center, says she shares their point of view.

“The biggest advantage is that all the members of the staff have access at any given time,” Himan said. “With paper, only one person can view the document at a time.”

With their system, Himan can store documents as long as she decides to keep them and they will always be up to date. They also use bar code technology on the medicines which helps increase safety.

“Right now, the nurses will tell you it takes longer to chart information, but it saves time in the long run when we’re looking for specific information,” Himan said.

The Mary Greeley Medical Center has regulations in place, which encrypted information and require staff to have a security code to access information.

“We feel it is more secure than paper could be,” Himan said.

Lehman said she would be concerned about security, but not enough to not give her information out.

McKinley said the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act will secure all student health information, all they need to do is sign the form.