EMRs: Reaching the Holy Grail
Broken or non-performing processes can’t be fixed with an overlay of technology. In fact, that approach only serves to magnify deficiencies, not correct them.
Quality Reporting Through a Data Warehouse
Developing a clinical data warehouse is a key first step toward improving quality reporting functionality, which supports the entire care enterprise.
Heparin: Improving Treatment and Reducing Risk of Harm
The short-acting, reversible anticoagulant heparin is widely used in hospitalized patients to prevent the development or extension of potentially life-threatening blood clots. However, numerous issues make the use of this high-risk agent particularly challenging and error-prone.
Medication Management: Integrate vs. Interface: Peering Under the Hood
Eliminating medication errors has been a priority for hospitals since the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released To Err Is Human.
Health Law: PSOs: What do providers need to know?
On November 21, 2008, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) released final regulations to implement the Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Act of 2005 (PSQIA, or the Act).
Technology and Safety: National Patient Safety Goals and Barcoding
Indiana newborns are mistakenly given adult doses of Heparin. A 33-year-old New York woman undergoes a double mastectomy intended for someone else. A 67-year-old California man dies when he receives blood meant for another patient.
Data Trends: Epidemiology and Impact of Patient Falls in Healthcare Facilities
In the National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG), The Joint Commission (TJC) has emphasized the need to reduce the risk of patient injuries from falls due to their high prevalence and associated adverse outcomes in at-risk patient populations.
AHRQ: IOM Recommends Residents Get More Sleep, Supervision to Improve Patient Safety
Evidence linking sleep deprivation to a higher risk of medical errors prompted limits in 2003 on the hours per week that medical residents could work at U.S. hospitals.
Health IT & Quality: Social Networking: A New Tool to Engage the Clinical Community
Editor’s Notebook: Stimulating Discussion
It will be some time before we know if President Obama’s Stimulus Plan revives the economy, but there’s no doubt it has stimulated debate about health IT in general and electronic health records in particular.March / April 2009.