Ohio State University Medical Center made it a bit easier to find hospital data that consumers would be interested in. The hospital put this information--most of which it already reports to the federal government--on its Web site. The hospital is the first in the Columbus area to post this information online. The other three hospital systems said that they plan to do so in the coming months. The goal, OSU officials say, is to give consumers more information so they can make better choices about where they get their healthcare.
Hospitals that participate in clinical trials appear to provide better care for patients with heart attacks or other acute heart events and have lower death rates than hospitals that do not participate in clinical trials, according to a new report.
Kimberly-Clark Health Care announced today a new educational campaign designed to educate healthcare workers and support their efforts to reduce the spread of Healthcare Associated Infections in U.S. hospitals. As part of the "Not on My Watch" campaign, Kimberly-Clark Health Care will launch a 30-city mobile tour, visiting 39 hospitals in eight months with its HAI Education Bus. The bus is a 45-foot-long, mobile classroom outfitted for interactive training, continuing education and continuing medical education courses on HAI management and prevention.
Victims treated by paramedics obtain life-saving treatment faster than hospital walk-ins, according to data from a professor at UCLA. Ambulances equipped with devices that allow paramedics to more quickly diagnose serious heart attacks has sharply reduced the time it takes for patients to receive life-saving treatment, officials said. When patients walk into emergency rooms on their own, long waits can delay diagnosis and treatment, according to health officials.
The California Board of Pharmacy has delayed the implementation of a law requiring electronic tracking of all prescription drugs to reduce the chance of counterfeits entering the supply chain. This is the second major delay for the law, which was passed in 2004. The law would make California the only state in the country to have approved such a stringent drug-tracking requirement.
In the latest sign that consumerism is becoming a major force in the healthcare industry, Indianapolis-based Angie's List unveiled a new service that allows its members to rate physicians, dentists, pharmacies and health insurers. Doctors and hospitals, though, are expressing some concerns. Angie's List--which has 600,000 members nationwide, including 43,300 in the Indianapolis area--built its business by providing a forum for its customers to rate painters, roofers and other service providers. Now, the company allows members to log on to www.angieslist.com to share their real-life experiences with local doctors, from the cleanliness of waiting rooms to the physician's bedside manner.