Beginning next week some patients in South Australian hospitals will have bedside touch screen computers under a $36.7 million deal between Telstra and the medical institutions.

Telstra will install over 3,500 computers over the next eight years for use both by patients and doctors. The computers will have 17-inch touch screens and be powered by Windows 7.

By August 2012, eight Adelaide and four county hospitals will have the bedside computers.

With the computer by the side of the patient, doctors could have easy access to clinical and patient information using the Personally Controlled Electronic Record (PCER) system which will be available by July 2012.

"The computers will improve safety - for example, clinicians will be able to order tests and medication directly, reducing the risk of errors with the traditional handwritten approach," South Australian Chief Medical Officer Professor Paddy Phillips said in a statement.

"The bedside computers will also enable clinicians to show the patient relevant health information, X-rays and test results on-screen at the patient's bedside," Mr Philipps added.

While waiting for the PCER system to be in place, patients could already use the computer for entertainment and to keep in touch through Internet access, digital TV and radio stations, pay TV channels, movies and a phone line.

To access these entertainment services, patients will have to pay $6 to $18 a day, although the fee would be waived for sick people in oncology wards and children confined in paediatric wards.

South Australia would be the first Australian state to make computers available to patients by their bedside. It could also help in the recovery of patients who need cheering up with entertainment or to while away their time while healing.

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