TextSpeak has released the TTS-EM-HD2, a small yet all-inclusive voice synthesis paging and announcement product. Targeted to deploy with unified hospital communications, the stand-alone package requires only a single digital input signal to produce spoken audio.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced the next steps in the Obama administration’s work to help doctors and hospitals use electronic health records.

Group Health has selected Intelligent InSites to help make medical centers of the future a reality today.

By Mary Carr, RN, BSN, CPN

Each year, the experts at ECRI Institute release a “Top 10” C-Suite Watch List, enumerating upon the most important “technology-related issues” that health system leaders should pay attention to in the next 365 days. And, when applicable, the ECRI experts even suggest solutions.

Medication errors are among the most common and preventable causes of harm to pediatric patients. Often, these errors are related to incorrect dosing because pediatric medication doses are weight-based, unlike the standard dosing units used for adult patients, and the recommended dosages given in terms of kilograms. But children are still weighed on scales that read in pounds or kilograms.

By Tim Kelly

On August 8, The Joint Commission released a Sentinel Event Alert titled “Safe use of opioids in hospitals.” Sentinel events are unexpected occurrences involving death, serious injury, or the risk thereof. Hospitals must immediately investigate and respond to sentinel events, and The Joint Commission reviews organizations’ responses to sentinel events as part of its accreditation surveys.

Boarding in emergency departments, which is at the root of crowding and potentially dangerous wait times, could be virtually eliminated by implementing a number of strategies proven to improve efficiency, but federal regulation may be required to bring those strategies into widespread use.

Telehealth innovator Independa will integrate GreatCall’s 5Star Urgent Response™ system into its Artemis™ wireless monitoring platform, enhancing ability to remotely track the well-being of elderly people who live independently.

Surgical Information Systems (SIS), a leader in perioperative information systems, has released results of a nationwide survey showing that surgeons view specialized perioperative information systems as essential tools to drive OR efficiency, enhance physician satisfaction and improve access to patient information.

he Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released Common Format -Readmissions Version 0.1 Beta designed for use in the acute care hospital environment to gain enhanced understanding about the circumstances surrounding readmissions.