Concordant has been chosen by Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Physicians Organization/Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to help build an EMR infrastructure for its independent physicians. Concordant is developing the scaleable IT infrastructure to securely connect this diverse healthcare community, starting with up to 300 BIDPO/BIDMC practices in 173 locations.
A tabletop device proved flawless in identifying the proper formulations of seven intravenous drugs, and helped avert five potentially serious medication errors during a test conducted at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital in the University of Michigan Health System. The device uses enhanced photoemission spectroscopy to determine if certain drug compounds are correct.
Electronic medical records are a big part of many proposed plans to cut costs and streamline delivery of healthcare. But while acceptance of EMRs is growing, Americans and their physicians still have some reservations, according to recent polls.
New Jersey's legislature recently passed a bill aimed to encourage the adoption of electronic medical records in the state. The bill creates a commission that could figure out statewide standards, and the assemblyman who sponsored the bill is a practicing internist.
Florida-based Lee Memorial Health System began putting its doctors online in August 2007, and soon introduced Cape Coral Hospital's emergency room to the technology. Since then, Lee Memorial Hospital and HealthPark Medical Center emergency rooms also have begun tracking patients electronically. The system so far has spent $6 million on hardware, software and implementation.
From 2003 through 2006, more than one million patients suffering from clogged arteries and veins received stents in their torsos and legs that had undergone scant testing for such uses, according to a device safety specialist at Harvard Medical School. Reports to the Food and Drug Administration of problems with the devices suggest that their off-label use in arteries is injuring hundreds and perhaps thousands of patients, the specialist says.