Cleanable Medical Keyboard Helps Prevent Hospital-Acquired Infections
As the outbreak of swine flu made headline news
this year, so did concerns about infection control. Preventing the
spread of this illness and others among hospital staff and patients is
critical, and the world is now paying close attention.
Coastal Breaks Down the Hindrances to Handwashing
Amidst the swine flu outbreak and the occurrence
of 1.7 million infections among patients every year, Coastal
HealthTrain adds one more hand hygiene program, Hand Hygiene: The Best
Medicine, to an already comprehensive collection on the subject.
MEDRAD Introduces Manage.Report — Advances Evidence-Based Decision Making
MEDRAD, Inc. has launched Manage.Report, an
informatics application that enables healthcare professionals to
immediately access clinical and administrative information associated
with radiology patients’ contrast injections from nearly anywhere.
TCS Healthcare Technologies to Offer Interactive Text Messaging as Part of Its Care Management Software Platform
TCS Healthcare Technologies (TCS)
announced today that they have added an interactive text messaging
application and interface to its care management software platform,
supported by Life: WIRE™ Corp, a mobile communications and health
information solution provider.
Safeguards Fail to Protect VA Patients from Surgeon’s Errors
In a page-one story on Sun., June 21, The New York Times
reported that significant errors persisted for more than six years at a
brachytherapy program at the Veterans’ Medical Center in Philadelphia
despite investigation. The Times reports that Dr. Gary D. Kao
implanted radioactive seeds incorrectly on repeated occasions as he
treated patients with prostate cancer.
Decision Support: Sure-Footed Steps toward Clinical Process Improvement
The information technology (IT) plan in most hospitals is beginning to look like the wish list of your average American teenager — software, PDAs, wireless infrastructure. Healthcare is amidst a revolutionary game of catch-up when it comes to applying information technology to the business of patient care.
Language Services: Patient Care in Any Language and How to Budget for It
The demand for telephone interpreting (TI) services — and on-demand interpretation (ODI) in general — begins the moment a person enters a new language setting and cannot adequately communicate without outside support. Whether it is a patient trying to schedule an appointment with a doctor or an automobile accident victim dialing 9-1-1, interpreting services are critical to society, business, and government. As new arrivals pour into the United States, the influx of new languages fuels the demand for interpreting services.
Engaging Physicians in Change: A Dashboard for Medical Staff Goals
The medical staff organization traditionally focuses on credentialing and peer review, primarily addressing physicians’ individual skills, qualifications, and practice patterns. Promoting quality and safety in healthcare today requires a break from this narrow focus into a more global view of processes and systems that are the significant determinants of outcomes. With this transformation, the physicians’ role in patient care is in transition.
Human Factors: Home Medical Equipment Rentals and Instructions for Use
Home use of medical equipment continues to grow, including both equipment expressly designed for the lay user and equipment adopted for home use but where the layman may not be the original intended user. Some of this equipment is rented to the home user directly and some through the insurer. Because of the increase in home use, there has been increasing attention to the design of this equipment with respect to its usability by non-professional users.
AHRQ: Re-engineered Hospital Discharge Process Lowers Re-admissions, Reduces Costs
As the number of days that patients spend in the hospital continues to drop, the need for thoroughly planned and clearly explained post-hospital care has risen dramatically.
In 2006, the average hospital stay for patients of all ages was 4.8 days, compared with 7.5 days in 1980, according to government statistics (National Center for Health Statistics, 2007). The drop in hospital days has been even more dramatic for patients 65 years and older….