Innovation

We use technology to optimize health and create greater value for our patients.

• Patient Online® continued to expand throughout 2007. Twenty thousand Park Nicollet patients have signed up for this service. It allows patients confidential access to parts of their medical record, and the ability to e-visit with a doctor, nurse practitioner or physician's assistant.
• Park Nicollet joined Carol.com - an exciting new venture that allows people to shop online to compare prices and services from 31 health care providers in the Twin Cities. Think of Carol.com as a shopping mall with health care provider groups as the major "stores." Park Nicollet and its co-owned TRIA Orthopaedic Center offer care packages in primary care, education, diabetes and orthopedic care, with more being developed.
• The most advanced robotic system in the world came to Park Nicollet in 2007. The da Vinci S HD (PDF) robotic surgical system allows our surgeons to perform complex procedures such as prostate, gynecological and heart surgery using dime-sized incisions. Da Vinci provides surgeons an alternative to traditional open surgery and conventional laparoscopic surgery. Surgeons sit at a console and control four robotic arms. These arms enhance the surgeon's range of motion, precision and dexterity. The 3D high definition image lets surgeons see vital anatomical structures with magnification 10 times that of the naked eye. Patients benefit in many ways, having significantly less pain, blood loss and scarring, as well as a shorter recovery time.
• Novalis® shaped beam robotic surgery (PDF) debuted at Park Nicollet in 2007. Novalis stands apart from other cancer treatment methods in its ability to precisely pinpoint and treat tumors and lesions in areas of the body once considered inoperable, including the brain, spinal cord and liver. In 2007, we treated 105 patients: 55 brain and pituitary, 17 lung, four liver, five spine, 18 prostate, two head and neck surgeries and more.