Online Connectivity
Online Connectivity
The government campaign to stimulate physician adoption of health information technology is focused on electronic health records. But other types of information technology that are considerably more affordable and less difficult to implement can also help improve safety and care quality.
FDA Unveils Initiative to Reduce Unnecessary Radiation Exposure from Medical Imaging
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced an initiative to reduce
unnecessary radiation exposure from three types of medical imaging
procedures: computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine studies, and
fluoroscopy.
Patient Safety Advocates Launch Campaign to Reduce Resident Physician Fatigue, Boost Patient Safety
A coalition of public interest and patient
safety groups launched a campaign to increase public awareness and
gather stories about patients who have received inferior medical care
from fatigued physicians.
Schreiner MediPharm to Introduce Innovative Self-Lifting Label at Interphex 2010
Schreiner MediPharm, a Germany-based global provider of specialty
pharmaceutical labeling solutions for over 50 years will be exhibiting
their full line of specialty labels at Interphex 2010,
April 20-22 in New York.
Editor’s Notebook: Seeing the World Through Patient Safety Eyes
Editor’s Notebook
Seeing the World Through Patient Safety Eyes
I wish that everyone could learn and practice the skills we ask healthcare professionals to acquire in the name of safety and quality improvement. We’d all be better off, and many things in the world would work better if we respected each other and communicated well.
Health IT & Quality: Raison d’Être
Health IT & Quality
Raison d’Être
What is the purpose of health information technology? Why are we spending all these billions of dollars on this “thing” we struggle to understand, implement, and use? Is it achieving the goals of its purpose?
Health Information Exchange: NHIN: The New Health Internet
Health Information Exchange
NHIN: The New Health Internet
I have not been a big fan of the National Health Information Network (NHIN) concept. It was — and in large part still is — a top-heavy federal government effort to create a nationwide infrastructure to facilitate the exchange of clinical information. That is a high, lofty, and admirable goal, but one that is too far in front of where the market is today.
EMR Implementation: Clinical Informatics and the CMIO
EMR Implementation
Clinical Informatics and the CMIO
If you have a pulse, you’ve probably heard about the HITECH Act, which promises financial compensation (and IT bragging rights) for hospitals and physicians using an EMR in a “meaningful way.”
Patient Communications: Enhancing Patient Safety by Automating Discharge Instructions
Patient Communications
Enhancing Patient Safety by Automating Discharge Instructions
By Pattie Boast and Cathy Potts, MT (ASCP)It has been well documented that providing patients with the tools to become active, informed participants in their own care improves decision quality and prevents overuse of medical options (O’Connor et al., 2004).
Five Essential Components of an Effective Stroke System
Five Essential Components of an Effective Stroke System
Approximately 795,000 Americans will have a stroke this year. Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States and a leading cause of serious, long-term adult disability. The direct and indirect costs associated with stroke are projected to exceed $65 billion in 2009, according to the National Stroke Association.