Patients as Partners
Partnership for Patients: Better Care, Lower Costs
April 12, 2011—Doctors, nurses and other health care providers in America work incredibly hard every day to deliver the best care possible to their patients. Unfortunately, an alarming number of patients are harmed by medical mistakes in the health care system and far too many die prematurely as a result. The Obama Administration has launched the Partnership for Patients: Better Care, Lower Costs, a new public-private partnership that will help improve the quality, safety and affordability of health care for all Americans.
Technology
Ekahau Extends RTLS Beyond the Building Using Wi-Fi Enabled iPhones and Android Phones
Reston, Virginia, April 11, 2011—Ekahau Inc., the worldwide leader in high performance Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Systems (RTLS), announced that Ekahau RTLS customers can now use their iPhone or Android smart phones to extend location tracking capabilities to areas outside their defined wireless local area network (WLAN).
Infection Control
Cepheid Extends Rapid Molecular Diagnostics’ Leadership with FDA Clearance of Xpert Clostridium difficile/Epi
Sunnyvale, California, April 11, 2011—Cepheid announced that it has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its Xpert(R) C. difficile/Epi test. Cepheid’s first Xpert C. difficile test has been available in the United States since July 2009.
Technology
Five Leading Health Systems Create New Care Connectivity Consortium
Danville, Pennsylvania, April 6, 2011—Five innovative and leading health systems, each of whom are pioneers in the use of electronic medical records for their patients, announce a new initiative to securely exchange electronic health data, with the first data exchange planned in the next year.
Environment and Facilities
ICUs from 350 Hospitals Reduce Central Line Bloodstream Infections by 35 Percent
Chicago, April 5, 2011—An interim report released by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) shows a 35 percent reduction in central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) among adult intensive care units from over 350 hospitals that are participating in the national On the CUSP: Stop BSI project.
Environment and Facilities
Williamson Medical Center to Deploy ProVation® Order Sets
Minneapolis, April 4, 2011—Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information for healthcare professionals and students, announced that Williamson Medical Center has selected ProVation® Order Sets, powered by UpToDate® Decision Support, as the hospital’s electronic order set solution.
Patient Safety
Doctors Talk Openly about Medical Errors in When Healthcare Hurts
April 4, 2011—Any doctor can make a mistake, get a complaint or be involved in an incident. Several impressive, personal stories are now collected in the book When Healthcare Hurts. Doctors share their darkest hours.
Technology
Hospira Launhes Enhanced Theradoc™ Clinical Surveillance System to Support Patient Safety and Help Improve Care
Lake Forest, Illinois, April 1, 2011—Hospira, a leading provider of clinical information and medication delivery technologies, announced the launch of its enhanced TheraDoc™ clinical surveillance system, used by hospitals to help improve patient safety and prevent adverse events such as healthcare-associated infections (HAIs).
Patient Safety
Health Language Signs Agreement with Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association
Denver, March 31, 2011—Health Language, Inc. (HLI), the global leader in medical and administrative terminology management, announced that the Chicago-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) has selected HLI as a preferred vendor to help Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies transition smoothly and efficiently from ICD-9 to ICD-10 by the Oct. 1, 2013, deadline mandated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Quality Improvement
Ochsner Introduces Epic EMR for Increased Quality, Efficiency, Access
New Orleans, March 31, 2011—Ochsner Health System today announced it is deploying Epic’s industry-leading electronic medical record (EMR) software, EpicCare, across its eight hospitals and 38 health centers.