Information Technology—Pros and Cons—Drug Shortages, and Workplace Safety in Latest PSQH
The latest issue of Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare (PSQH) offers articles that focus on the pros and cons of information technology in healthcare, an interdisciplinary approach to managing drug shortages, new efforts to improve workplace safety for healthcare professionals, and more.
News: HHS Releases SAFER Guides for Health IT
A new set of guides and interactive tools to help healthcare providers use electronic health information technology products, such as electronic health records (EHRs), more effectively are now available at www.HealthIT.gov.
AirStrip and Dignity Health Launch Population Health and Telehealth Initiatives in California
On the heels of a successful first project launched in the Phoenix, Arizona market, AirStrip® and Dignity Health announced that the next phase of their mobile interoperability plan will center on enabling population health and telehealth initiatives in Dignity Health’s Central Coast region of California.
PeriGen Announces Partnership with University of Utah Hospital for PeriCALM Evidence-based Fetal Strip Interpretation
In a decision aimed at enhancing patient safety and improving outcomes while fulfilling its mission as a teaching institution, University of Utah Hospital in Salt Lake City has entered into an agreement to purchase PeriGen’s®PeriCALM® solution suite for labor and delivery (L&D).
Palm Medical Group Chooses HealthFusion to Provide EHR Technology to Physicians
The Palm Medical Group, a division of Hygea Healthcare, has selected HealthFusion, Inc., provider of top-ranked MediTouch® EHR software, as the Vendor of Choice for electronic health records (EHRs).
Solution Designed Specifically for Med/Surg Floors Addresses Unmet Patient Surveillance Needs in Hospitals
Welch Allyn, a leading medical diagnostic device company that delivers pragmatic innovation at the point of care to improve patient safety, has introduced the industry’s most comprehensive clinical surveillance system designed specifically for the medical/surgical (med/surg) environment.
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Selects Connexient Digital Wayfinding Solution
Mark Green, CEO of Connexient, has announced that Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, has selected Connexient’s MediNavTM, an innovative digital wayfinding and patient engagement solution.
HRET Selects Nancy Schlichting as 2014 TRUST Award Recipient
The Health Research & Educational Trust (HRET) of the American Hospital Association (AHA) has selected Nancy Schlichting, chief executive officer of Henry Ford Health System in Detroit as the recipient of the 2014 TRUST Award. As this year’s award recipient, Schlichting was noted for her commitment to create tremendous clinical excellence, an extraordinary patient experience and a great environment for all health care professionals.
New Tool Shows Promise in Helping Surgical Teams Predict Home Discharge for Their Patients
Frequently predicted surgical outcomes primarily focus on adverse outcomes such as complications and death, but most patients also want to know about good outcomes, including whether they will return home after a surgical procedure, or, conversely, if they will need to prepare for a lengthy rehabilitation process at a care facility. Now, research published in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows that a new type of surgical risk calculator can accurately predict postoperative home discharge.
Special Advertising Section: Hand Hygiene—Always a Gentleman
If we have known that hand hygiene was necessary for patient safety and wellbeing since the 1860s, why has it taken so long to instill the habit of washing before and after treating a patient? Perhaps, as Adam McMullin, vice president and general manager, Hill-Rom IT Solutions, says, “Hand hygiene has been an established practice that unfortunately just didn’t catch on for the first 50 years because a gentleman’s hands were always clean.” And, of course, all doctors are gentlemen. Or were, for the most part, in the 1800s, at least.