Text to Speech Audio Upgrade Improves Communication
TextSpeak has released the TTS-EM-HD2, a small yet all-inclusive voice synthesis paging and announcement product. Targeted to deploy with unified hospital communications, the stand-alone package requires only a single digital input signal to produce spoken audio.
AHRQ Patient Safety Project Reduces Bloodstream Infections by 40%
A unique nationwide patient safety project funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) reduced the rate of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) in intensive care units by 40 percent, according to the agency’s preliminary findings of the largest national effort to combat CLABSIs to date.
Costs of Care Essay Contest
An organization called Costs of Care is holding its third annual essay contest to draw attention to the financial impact of medical decision-making on individual patients.
Call for Nominations: 2012 MITSS HOPE Award
The MITSS HOPE Award recognizes people – patients, families, healthcare providers, hospitals (or teams or departments therein), academic institutions, community health centers, grass roots organizations, EAP Programs, etc. – who exemplify the mission of MITSS: Supporting Healing and Restoring Hope to patients, families, and clinicians impacted by adverse medical events, medical errors, or unexpected outcomes.
Surgeons Devise Patient Safety Plan to Decrease Complications
Postoperative complications are the most significant independent risk factor leading to 30-day hospital readmissions among general surgery patients, according to a new exploratory study published in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
HHS to Promote Use of EHRs and Health Information Exchange
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.