Top Patient Safety Concerns Touch on IT, Patient Identification Issues
This year’s list of top patient safety concerns proves that health systems continue to battle health IT implementation issues, while also struggling with patient safety stalwarts like disinfection, medication errors, and even patient identification.
Millions of Health Records for Sale by Hacker Who Allegedly Stole Them
The protected health information (PHI) of nearly 10 million individuals was allegedly posted for sale by the hacker who stole the data, according to Motherboard.
The hacker posted the first batch of approximately 655,000 records on June 25, and posted 9 million alleged patient insurance details on June 27.
To Do No Harm, Rethink How to Measure Hand Hygiene
By Paul Alper, BA Primum non nocere is a Latin phrase that means, “First, do no harm.” It is a precept taught to healthcare students around the world and paraphrased in the Hippocratic Oath. Unfortunately, a vast amount of avoidable harm still takes place in healthcare settings worldwide. The good news is that a new … Continued
Transforming the Continuum of Care With Technology
By Sally Graver Judy Murphy, RN, FACMI, FHIMSS, FAAN, has been a leader in health information technology (IT) for more than 25 years. She is currently chief nursing officer (CNO) for IBM Global Healthcare. Prior to joining IBM, Murphy served as CNO and deputy national coordinator for programs and policy at the Office of the … Continued
What Clinical Decision Support Can Offer
By Nancy Zimmerman, RN, BSN Advanced clinical decision support (CDS) systems are playing an increasingly important role in promoting quality and safety in patient care, especially in diagnostic assistance. While arriving at a correct diagnosis will always be a mixture of art and science, with physicians ultimately responsible for all clinical decisions, CDS systems support … Continued
Health IT & Quality: Why Things Matter
By Barry P. Chaiken, MD, MPH Compared to automobiles made just a few years ago, new ones provide an amazing driving experience. Expanding beyond the CD changer and iPod® dongle, automobiles now integrate our smartphones and use voice recognition technology, allowing drivers to keep their hands on the steering wheel. In addition to this … Continued
Using Automated Surveillance to Improve Diagnosis
By Tom Scaletta, MD, CPPS Every day, healthcare becomes more complex, and with that complexity comes a growing need to focus on reducing diagnostic errors. A recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Improving Diagnosis in Healthcare (Balogh, Miller, & Ball, 2015), estimates that 5% of adults seeking outpatient care experience a diagnostic error, while one … Continued
Weighing the Pros and Cons of Patient Safety Technology
Although some emerging technology promises a patient safety cure-all, hospitals need to evaluate clinician workflow before implementing new gadgets In the 21st century, technology offers a solution to just about any everyday problem. Don’t know that actor that just came onto your screen? Log onto the IMDB app. Need directions? Just type the address into … Continued
Health IT & Quality: Precision Requires FHIR
By Barry P. Chaiken, MD, MPH On January 20, 2016, President Barack Obama celebrated the one-year anniversary of his announcement of the Precision Medicine Initiative. The initiative, first announced in the president’s 2015 State of the Union address, initially included $215 million in research funding (“Precision Medicine Initiative,” n.d.). Most medical treatments are designed to … Continued
Department of Homeland Security Issues Ransomware Warning to Hospitals
In response to a series of ransomware attacks that crippled healthcare systems across the country, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT), and the Canadian Cyber Incident Response Centre (CCIRC) released a warning on specific types of ransomware used in recent attacks. The warning is directed at all organizations … Continued