A nonprofit foundation affiliated with San Francisco General Hospital has won a $2.26 million grantto upgrade the public hospital's IT system and install software to help slash medication errors. The grant will fund two major projects at San Francisco General:
the expansion of the hospital's computer capabilities through the purchase of a mobile data center to boost server capacity and allow it to implement various IT projects to improve patient care
the implementation of electronic Medication Administration Records software, which officials say will improve communication between nurses and the hospital's pharmacy, eliminate medication transcription errors and reduce the number of early, late and missed doses of medication
A Netherlands-based digital security firm has begun to roll out Algeria's first e-health project. A pilot project comprised 700,000 smartcards in five regions of the north African country. The system will result in the issuing and management of seven million smartcards used by healthcare beneficiaries and providers. The aim is for hospitals and other healthcare institutions to securely manage patient records securely and to verify patient benefits.
Japanese researchers have demonstrated part of an envisaged molecular level system that might one day enable cell phones to keep watch on their owners' health. NTT DoCoMo hopes some future cell phones will contain devices capable of analyzing molecules from the user's body to provide a warning about a possible virus, high levels of stress or other factors that might affect health.
Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons has ended efforts to oust three doctors from the state's Board of Medical Examiners because of their ties to the owner of a Las Vegas clinic where flawed procedures set off a regional health scare. Gibbons now plans to appoint three temporary board members able to step in as the panel deals with matters involving the clinic linked to a hepatitis C outbreak.
Pacific Hospital of Long Beach, CA, has emerged as the leading candidate to take on the challenge of reopening Martin Luther King-Harbor hospital in Los Angeles. Pacific Hospital, which offers only basic emergency services and relatively few specialized programs, is in negotiations with the county to provide in- patient services for residents of South Los Angeles and surrounding communities.
Beginning in summer 2008, Medicare beneficiaries in the Dallas-Fort Worth area will see prices slashed by an average of 25 percent on oxygen equipment, power wheelchairs, walkers and many other medical devices and supplies. Medicare officials estimate that seniors and others with disabilities will save hundreds of dollars a year because of a competitive bidding program the federal agency is launching.