PIH Expands Surgery Solution, Improves Operational Efficiencies
Surgical Information Systems (SIS), a leader in perioperative information systems, has announced that Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital (PIH) has added the company’s anesthesia information management system (AIMS) to its Sunrise Surgery powered by SIS solution from Allscripts.
Group Health Selects Intelligent InSites’ RTLS Software
Group Health has selected Intelligent InSites to help make medical centers of the future a reality today.
Covidien Expands Offerings on Patient and Caregiver Education Website
Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, has updated its web-based patient and caregiver education resource to offer valuable information in four new clinical categories. The website, www.patientcare-edu.com, provides resources for addressing common care needs in acute, non-acute and homecare settings.
Late Summer Reading
In my column in the July/August issue of PSQH, I mentioned three books I read earlier this summer. I’d like to say a bit more about one of the three, Paul Levy’s Goal Play! Levy uses stories from more than 20 years of experience coaching girls’ soccer teams to illustrate leadership principles with wide applicability. He adds examples and case studies from the industries and institutions in which he has worked, with many examples representing his nine years as CEO of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston.
For Improved Patient Outcomes, Think Device Integration
Each year, the experts at ECRI Institute release a “Top 10” C-Suite Watch List, enumerating upon the most important “technology-related issues” that health system leaders should pay attention to in the next 365 days. And, when applicable, the ECRI experts even suggest solutions.
Johns Hopkin’s Armstrong Institute Receives Patient Safety Grant
Johns Hopkins’ Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety and Quality has received an $8.9 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the first award given as part of an ambitious new $500 million, 10-year program designed to eliminate all preventable harms that patients experience in the hospital.
CRICO Strategies Reports on Malpractice Errors to Enhance Patient Safety
Emergency Medicine Malpractice allegations were cited in about four of every 100,000 Emergency Department (ED) visits in a recent study of more than 90 hospitals across the country by CRICO Strategies. Missed and delayed diagnoses—stemming from vulnerabilities throughout the process of care in the ED—were the most prevalent allegation, cited in 47 percent of the 1,304 cases that made up the study.
Associations Identify Key to Avoiding Medication Errors with Pediatric Patients
Medication errors are among the most common and preventable causes of harm to pediatric patients. Often, these errors are related to incorrect dosing because pediatric medication doses are weight-based, unlike the standard dosing units used for adult patients, and the recommended dosages given in terms of kilograms. But children are still weighed on scales that read in pounds or kilograms.
Sentinel Event Alert on the Safe Use of Opioids and How IT Can Help
On August 8, The Joint Commission released a Sentinel Event Alert titled “Safe use of opioids in hospitals.” Sentinel events are unexpected occurrences involving death, serious injury, or the risk thereof. Hospitals must immediately investigate and respond to sentinel events, and The Joint Commission reviews organizations’ responses to sentinel events as part of its accreditation surveys.