OpenNotes Program Expands Access to Personal Health Information
I know I’m spoiled about access to personal health information. I get most of my medical care through Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston, which offers PatientSite, a patient portal where I’ve been able to see my laboratory and imaging results, correspond with my doctor by email, manage my medications, request appointments, and so on for many years. (Developers and physicians Danny Sands and John Halamka describe the PatientSite project in a book chapter available online from the Commonwealth Fund.)
LiveData OR-Dashboard, KARL STORZ OR1 Deployed In New Operating Rooms at Miami VA Healthcare System
LiveData, Inc. has announced that the company’s OR-Dashboard has been installed into a new integrated OR system at the Department of Veterans Affairs Healthcare Facility in Miami, providing the cornerstone for advances in both workflow efficiency and patient safety. KARL STORZ Endoscopy-America, Inc., led the technology installation, which includes the KARL STORZ OR1® integration platform, and LiveData OR-Dashboard with Active Time Out.
Achieving the Potential of Healthcare Performance Measures
This report provides an overview of performance measurement in U.S. health care, and includes policy recommendations aimed at improving the performance measurement enterprise.
Specifically, they recommend how to develop better measures; when and how to use measures; and how to ensure the validity and comparability of publicly-reported performance measure data.
Quality Improvement Educational Initiative Proves to be a Model Program for Surgical Residents
Researchers at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, have developed a novel graduate medical education initiative that enables surgical residents to hone their skills in quality improvement (QI). Surgical trainees who completed the year-long educational program found the QI training to be beneficial, and more importantly, believe it put them in a position to lead QI initiatives in the future. The report appears in the June issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
The Beryl Institute and Inspiration NW Introduce Patient Experience Care Cards
The Beryl Institute announced a partnership with Inspiration NW, founder of Patient Experience Care Cards, to expand usage and awareness of the tool in the healthcare industry. Care Cards impact the patient experience by helping staff foster more meaningful conversations with patients.
Disposable Blood Pressure Cuffs Introduced from SunTech Medical
SunTech Medical displayed its complete line of blood pressure cuffs at the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology exhibition.
Alere Analytics Launches Hospital Clinical Surveillance Solution for Infection Control and Medication Management
Alere Analytics, an Alere subsidiary specializing in analytics and clinical decision support (CDS) technology, has launched its Clinical Surveillance product for hospitals, which is an automated technology solution designed to manage antimicrobial stewardship, infection control and medication management.
CareFusion Introduces Ergonomic Surgical Clippers
CareFusion Corp., a leading, global medical technology company, has introduced the next generation of the company’s industry-leading line of surgical clippers. The new clippers, developed in conjunction with clinicians who use these types of devices every day, dramatically improve ergonomic feel and performance, encourage proper hand position and application, and can be used in wet or dry conditions.
Ochsner Baton Rouge Boosts Patient Safety with Expanded Use of Capnography
Ochsner Medical Center –Baton Rouge recently expanded its use of capnography to monitor patients using pain medication through patient controlled analgesia (PCA) to strengthen patient safety measures. Capnography evaluates how effectively patients are breathing by measuring exhaled carbon dioxide, alerting medical caregivers when life-threatening respiratory depression occurs.
The Transformation of Healthcare
Our approach to health is undergoing a transformation, with profound implications for the role of the patient, the practice and business of medicine, and for many of the efforts we’ve come to think of as patient safety projects. The impulses feeding this transformation come largely from the public—consumers, politicians, government agencies, nonprofit organizations—not so much from providers and traditional medical institutions. This transformation is consistent with a broad-based consumerism movement, driven in part by access to information and technology.