Four Technology Recommendations to Reduce Alarm Fatigue
According to ECRI Institute, an independent, nonprofit organization that researches the best approaches to improving the safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness of patient care, alarm hazards are the number-one health technology hazard for 2013.
Ekahau Location Analytics Improves Asset Utilization, Staff Safety
Ekahau Inc., the worldwide leader in Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Systems (RTLS) has released Ekahau Vision™ 2.0, the company’s new location analytics platform for hospital administrators, staff and caregivers.
FDB Releases ICD-10 Codes within its Clinical Decision Support Drug Knowledge
Nellcor OxiNet III Remote Respiratory Monitoring Improves Patient Safety
Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products and recognized innovator in patient monitoring and respiratory care devices, has installed its largest capnography connected to a centralized remote monitoring system at the Medical Center of Central Georgia (MCCG).
Hospital Becomes First in New England to Implement Electronic Hand Hygiene Monitoring
DebMed, creator of the world’s first electronic hand hygiene compliance monitoring system based on the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Five Moments for Hand Hygiene, has announced that Cooley Dickinson Hospital has become the first in the New England region to implement the DebMed® GMS™ electronic hand hygiene monitoring system.
Ultrasound Gel and Infections: Researchers Propose Guidelines to Reduce Risk
In the December issue of Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, the journal of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, guidelines have been proposed by epidemiologists from Beaumont Health System to reduce the risk of infection from contaminated gels.
Patient Empowerment Possible Tool to Raise Hand Hygiene Behaviors
According to a study published recently, most patients at risk for healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) agree that healthcare workers should be reminded to wash their hands, but little more than half would feel comfortable asking their physicians to wash.
Editor’s Note: ‘Let’s Improve Our Way Out of This Mess’
Even at times of highest stress and acrimony during the recent political campaign, there were pockets of optimism within the medical community about our ability to solve the country’s healthcare problems. I’ve written about this refreshing and unexpected optimism before, following last year’s IHI National Forum. I ran into it again recently, not surprisingly, with Don Berwick, MD, who was the closing keynote speaker at the Pega Collaborative Healthcare Summit in Boston last month.
Change in Labeling for Total Strength of Heparin to Help Minimize Medication Errors
To address safety concerns about the expression of drug strength on labels for heparin sodium injections and heparin lock flush solutions, the U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) has revised its current standards for these products.
ECRI Institute Releases Top 10 Health Technology Hazards Report for 2013
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.