National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) recently hosted a webinar to release the much-anticipated Patient Engagement Framework, a model created to guide healthcare organizations in developing and strengthening their patient engagement strategies through the use of eHealth tools and resources. The Framework is the result of several months of collaboration and iteration with many interested stakeholders.

By Michael Wong

According to ECRI Institute, an independent, nonprofit organization that researches the best approaches to improving the safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of patient care, alarm hazards are the number-one health technology hazard for 2013.

Ekahau Inc., the worldwide leader in Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) has released Ekahau Vision™ 2.0, the company’s new location analytics platform for hospital administrators, staff and caregivers.

First Databank (FDB), a leading provider of clinical drug knowledge that improves medication-related decisions and patient outcomes, announced the availability of the Tenth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases code set ICD-10-CM (clinical modification) and ICD-10-PCS (procedure coding system) within FDB MedKnowledge, the company’s proprietary clinical drug knowledge.

While today’s health technology advances provide countless new ways to improve patient care, some also create new opportunities for harm.  And with the evolution of healthcare information technology systems such as electronic health records (EHRs), there’s a growing level of complexity and opportunity for error.

By Joseph Catapano, MD, MMM, CHCQM

As hospitals throughout the country sprint towards Meaningful Use, computerized physician order entry (CPOE), electronic medication reconciliation, ICD-9-generated diagnosis tables, nursing documentation, and bed side barcoding seem to be riding a tsunami incentivized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

Medical Protection Technologies has introduced the Fall-Safe^® Hip Protector into the U.S. healthcare market, featuring pads made from D3O^®—a unique shock-absorbing material that is soft and flexible in its natural state but instantly rigid when struck suddenly by an outside force.

Aditazz announced a strategic partnership with inventor Roger Leib to jointly develop and market the Patient Mobility Platform, a suite of mobility products conceived and designed by Leib, founder of Develop, LLC.