Biomedical Device Integration: The Impact on Clinicians at the Point of Care
Biomedical Device Integration:
The Impact on Clinicians at the Point of Care
Hospitals are constantly evaluating new
technologies that promise to improve the quality of care, create a
safer care environment, and improve both clinical and operational
efficiency. If, however, technologies are evaluated solely on their
individual merits, they may introduce problems to the clinician’s
complex work environment. When new technologies are deployed, there is
often some impact to the clinical workflow.
Tests of Change: Simulated Design of Experiments in Healthcare Delivery
Tests of Change:
Simulated Design of Experiments in Healthcare Delivery
Hospital administrators and quality department personnel seeking to improve hospital processes often find it difficult to implement change. This is true especially when
recommended changes potentially are highly disruptive, directly affect
patient quality of care, or must be tested in a trial-and-error
approach. The risk aversion that arises from past failed attempts and
lack of confidence in the success of proposed changes exacts a
significant toll on continuous improvement efforts.
EHR Supports Healthier Patients and a Healthier Bottom Line
EHR Supports Healthier Patients
and a Healthier Bottom Line
Graybill Medical Group boasts 130,000 patient
visits per year and annual revenues of more than $22 million. But in
the tightly regulated and highly competitive Southern California
market, the practice, which serves patients from three site locations
in Escondido, Fallbrook, and San Marcos, is always looking for ways to
enhance outcomes, increase patient safety and satisfaction, and reduce
expenses.
Dr. Blumenthal Presents ONC Vision at HIT Symposium
Healthcare reform
is getting a mind-bending boost from the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act, with as much as $46 billion being directed toward
Health Information Technology. Managing this effort is the Office of
the National Coordinator for HIT, Dept. of Health and Human Services,
or ‘ONC’ for short. The ONC is spoken of in hushed tones, befitting an
organization with such enormous impact, so I was especially interested
to hear its Director, Dr. David Blumenthal, speak at the recent HIT
Symposium at MIT (June 30 – July 2).
ISMP Launches First Self Assessment of Automated Dispensing Cabinet Safety
More than 80% of hospitals across the U.S. have implemented automated
dispensing cabinets (ADCs) as an important part of their drug
distribution system, making the evaluation of practices and policies
surrounding this technology an essential step in ensuring patient
safety.
Cardinal Health Foundation Awards $1 Million to Fund Patient Safety Initiatives
The Cardinal Health Foundation today announced
it has awarded a total of $1 million in grant funding for new and
innovative programs to improve patient safety at 35 hospitals, health
systems and community health clinics across the country.
FDA Issues Public Health Advisory Regarding Levemir Insulin
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has
learned that some stolen vials of the long-acting insulin Levemir made
by Novo Nordisk Inc. have reappeared and are being sold in the U.S.
market.
ASQ Announces New Social Responsibility Medal
ASQ (American Society for Quality) announces the
new Spencer Hutchens Jr. Medal for Social Responsibility. The medal
recognizes the achievements of an individual who demonstrates
outstanding leadership as an individual, business leader, and cause
advocate for social responsibility — primarily focusing on the
marketplace, environment, workplace, and community.
Turning a Blind Eye: Hospitals Fail to Discipline Doctors, Exploit Loopholes to Avoid Requirement to Report Doctors
Though a federal law requires hospitals to
report physicians who have had their admitting privileges revoked or
restricted for more than 30 days, a Public Citizen
report found that in addition to inadequate discipline
of physicians, hospitals routinely exploit loopholes to avoid
government requirements, with nearly half of all hospitals not
submitting a single doctor’s name to the NPDB in the more than 17 years it has existed.
U.S. Health Care System Fails To Protect Patients From Deadly Medical Errors
Ten years ago, the Institute of Medicine (IOM)
sounded the alarm about the widespread toll of medical errors in a
groundbreaking report called “To Err is Human.” The report prompted a
rush of congressional hearings and promises of reform. But in the
decade since the report was published, little progress has been made
implementing key reforms recommended by the IOM to improve patient
safety, according to Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of
Consumer Reports.