While today’s health technology advances provide countless new ways to improve patient care, some also create new opportunities for harm.  And with the evolution of healthcare information technology systems such as electronic health records (EHRs), there’s a growing level of complexity and opportunity for error.

By Joseph Catapano, MD, MMM, CHCQM

As hospitals throughout the country sprint towards Meaningful Use, computerized physician order entry (CPOE), electronic medication reconciliation, ICD-9-generated diagnosis tables, nursing documentation, and bed side barcoding seem to be riding a tsunami incentivized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

Medical Protection Technologies has introduced the Fall-Safe^® Hip Protector into the U.S. healthcare market, featuring pads made from D3O^®—a unique shock-absorbing material that is soft and flexible in its natural state but instantly rigid when struck suddenly by an outside force.

Aditazz announced a strategic partnership with inventor Roger Leib to jointly develop and market the Patient Mobility Platform, a suite of mobility products conceived and designed by Leib, founder of Develop, LLC. 

The Transfusion Medicine RFID Consortium announced that S3Edge Inc., the software partner for the consortium has been selected to exclusively commercialize the RFID and barcode based Blood Product Tracking suite of applications designed and built under a private, academic, and public initiative funded by the NIH.

NovaSom, Inc., the leader in home sleep testing and cost-saving solutions for Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) management, has announced the launch of AccuSom Safe Recovery™. The full-service testing program is designed to enable anesthesiologists to quickly and efficiently diagnose OSA pre-operatively

InterSystems Corporation, a global leader in software for connected care, and eHealth Technologies™, a leading provider of imaging solutions for electronic health records (EHR) and health information exchange (HIE) solutions, announced today a partnership to provide single-click access to diagnostic-quality images such as X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, and ultrasounds via the InterSystems HealthShare™ strategic informatics platform.

IQMAX, a leader in intelligent healthcare communications, has launched IQCommunicate®, a complete suite of products specifically designed for healthcare professionals to securely communicate and collaborate in real-time for better care coordination.