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Editor's Picks
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Using HHS Health Data: Got an App for Quality Care?
A call from the Department of Health and Human Service and the Institute of Medicine for innovative ways to distribute local, regional, and national public health data has been answered in the form of the Community Health Data Initiative—which will use free Web applications, mobile phone applications, social media, video games, and other cutting edge technologies, as HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said, to "put our public health data to work." [Read More]
Joint Commission Pushes Back Telemedicine Requirements Until March 2011
The Joint Commission has announced its plan to implement CMS telemedicine standards for hospitals has been pushed back until March 2011, according to an official announcement from the accrediting body. Originally slated for implementation on July 15, 2010, The Joint Commission had intended to better align its requirements with CMS standards for telemedicine services, specifically for the credentialing and privileging of telehealth providers. CMS issued an extension to The Joint Commission on the grounds that CMS has proposed changes to telemedicine requirements. [Read More]
Virtual Colonoscopy Emerges As Turf Battle Between Radiologists, Gastroenterologists
Congress should pass proposed legislation requiring Medicare to pay for "virtual" CT colonography screening because it is just as accurate as colonoscopy, but has lower distension rates, extremely low chance of perforation, and is less expensive and faster, the American College of Radiology says. But the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has held back on issuing a national coverage decision for the procedure, suggesting that it needs more research and trials. Also, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force says there is insufficient evidence to determine whether its benefits outweigh potential harms, primarily because the technique is not as good as colonoscopy at detecting polyps or smaller lesions. [Read More]
Hospital Nearly Doubles Medication Scanning Rates
In its first Bar Code Point of Care (BCPOC) technology pilot programs, Baystate Medical Center, a 653-bed teaching hospital in Springfield, MA, reported a 50% bedside scanning rate for all medications and a medication error rate of 1.2 errors per 1,000 patient days. After implementing BCPOC organizationwide in September 2008, BMC improved its medication scanning rates to 87%-90%. The medication error rate also decreased to 0.3 errors per 1,000 patient days, a 75% reduction. "What is so impactful about the whole process is that all departments—with the exception of some emergency departments—are fully bar coded," says Gary Kerr, director of pharmacy services at BMC. "The central pharmacy has been re-engineered to support the outputs necessary to drive and sustain medication bar codes." [Read More]
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Sponsored Headlines
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Mayo Clinic radiology process transformation: Mayo Clinic transforms the way it processes and interprets medical imaging results to enable more accurate detection.
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Smarter healthcare virtual scenarios: Access the smarter healthcare virtual scenario to see first-hand how process improvement can lead to new, enhanced levels of healthcare delivery.
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Providing better healthcare through smarter collaboration: Read this brief to see how smarter collaboration can streamline processes, improve communication and deliver outstanding customer service.
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Drive better business outcomes through Web portals: Your Web presence may be the only way customers and partners get work done. You need to make those interactions count.
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IBM Study: Leveraging the Value of Portal Solutions: The IDC recently did a study comparing the total cost of ownership of in-house portal development with that of portals developed with IBM® WebSphere® Portal.
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Tech Headlines
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Heart Device Maker, Hospitals in Three States Will Pay $3.8M to Settle Whistleblower Kickback Allegations
John Commins, for HealthLeaders Media - June 7, 2010
Doctors and hospitals say goals on computerized records are unrealistic
New York Times - June 8, 2010
Doctor-patient relationship is moving online
Los Angeles Times - June 7, 2009
Three Philadelphia-area awards for electronic patient records
Philadelphia Inquirer - June 4, 2010
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Webcasts
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June 23: Cardiovascular Service Lines Strategies
July 15: A Better Way Than Pay For Call Coverage
July 22: Marketing to Physicians: Increase Sales Success Through Measurement and Tracking
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Stay Connected to HealthLeaders Media IT
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IT Forum
Getting Ahead of the Revenue Cycle Curve with Technology: The nation's recent economic downturn has spread the pain of increased healthcare costs from patient to provider, as outstanding provider debt has been on the increase. It's understandable that some in the healthcare industry may be saying, "If we can't get all our existing patients to pay on a timely basis now, how will we get even larger numbers to do so?" While many healthcare providers struggle with this question, others are getting ahead of the curve by using technology. [Read More] |
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Audio Features
Tech to Boost Satisfaction and Patient Flow: Are long wait times in the ER hurting the patient experience at your organization? Denice Soyring Higman, RN, president and founder of Soyring Consulting in St. Petersburg, FL, discusses how hospitals can dramatically boost patient satisfaction scores with simple patient flow changes and by using clinical data to improve efficiency and productivity in the ER. [Listen Now] |
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