Winter 2006
Raising Efficiency. Raising Capacity. Raising the Bar.
StatCom Interactive Website Demonstrates Optimized Patient Flow
When visitors go to the StatCom homepage at www.statcom.com, they are prompted to “click on the ambulance” to enter the interactive experience. In each area the animated sequence describes a patient’s journey as he progresses from the emergency department to his room, to the cath lab, and on to discharge. The animation sequences are based on actual hospital operations and procedures with information and hot spots that describe how StatCom improves communications and handoffs during the patient journey. “The benefit of this approach is that hospital staff can get a quick glimpse of how StatCom would work in their environment, and they can explore how it improves patient handoffs and communication between areas,” said Ben Sawyer, executive VP, market and client development for StatCom.
www.statcom.com
Battle of the Tracking Techs
Which is better for asset tracking, Wi-Fi or RFID? According to a new study from ABI Research, this seems to be the million dollar question. This study also points out that currently less than 5% of the North American health care facilities have asset-management systems – lots of room for growth for both technologies.
Health Data Management, November 2006
Running a Healthcare Operation Is All About Workflow
E-week.com had an interesting interview with John Halamka, the chief information officer of Harvard Medical School. In it he says, "Running a health care operation is all about workflow. We need to understand the daily dynamics of inputs, outputs, processes and events in real time. Rather than use traditional business intelligence tools which provide month or quarterly trending, we've implemented real time dashboards that show all patient flow in the emergency department, including all actionable events.”
E-week.com, November 2006
Driving Without a Dashboard
The term “dashboard” is being used more and more in healthcare IT these days. What exactly are dashboards and how can they help with patient flow? Similar to the dashboard on your car, patient flow dashboards are a set of gauges (i.e. charts and tables) that are carefully designed by patient flow experts to present critical information about patient flow at a glance. Given the complexity and fast pace of the hospital environment, having information about bed availability, ED wait times, turnover times, and other patient flow variables in an easy to read and interpret format is absolutely critical. Running a hospital without this information is like driving a car without a speedometer, gas gauge, or check engine light.
To find out more about dashboards contact StatCom at (800) 930-0870 or info@statcom.com
In Metro, EKG Beats Patient to Hospital
Ambulances in Nashville, Tenn., can now transmit EKG results to hospital emergency departments via wireless technology, speeding treatment of heart attack patients by up to 30 minutes and hopefully saving lives. The technology helps emergency room doctors determine whether a heart attack is taking place before a patient even gets to the hospital. Armed with that information, doctors can begin assembling personnel and preparing to inject dye into the patient's arteries to determine where clogs are located and begin procedures to undo the blockages.
Tennessean.com, November 2006
Together with a Texas-based company called Motion Computing, Intel has developed a new technology that enables clinicians to record vital signs, medication, and progress notes on an electronic slate at the bedside. In developing this new technology, which Intel likens to clipboards, the company closely studied nurse and physician work flows at El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, California. One feature that resulted from this careful study is the addition of an exterior casing. This casing allows the slates to be wiped clean with disinfectants which is critical for a piece of equipment that will be used in a variety of patient rooms.
Healthcare IT News, September 2006
Nurses Play Strong Role in MSHA Health-IT Project
Nurses are assuming greater roles in defining and implementing electronic medical record (EMR) systems, such as an ongoing project at Mountain States Health Alliance (MSHA), an integrated healthcare delivery system. In the MSHA health system, all 5,000-plus employees, whether clinical, administrative, or housekeeping are considered "caregivers," and personnel from multiple disciplines were involved in the selection and implementation of an improved information technology (IT) system.
Digital Healthcare & Productivity.com, December 2006
Use of Mobile and Wireless Technology Jumps in Hospitals
Even though adoption of electronic health records (EHR) and other clinical IT remains fairly anemic, at least one aspect of health-IT has taken giant steps forward in the last few years: the use of mobile and wireless technology where choices are proliferating. "This really is the third generation of wireless in healthcare," says Neil Martin, M.D., chief of neurosurgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. Doctors and other healthcare professionals have progressed from pagers to basic cell phones and now to data-enabled "smartphones."
Digital Healthcare & Productivity.com, December 2006
Consumers Don't Believe EHRs Will Improve Care
There is no public mandate for electronic health records systems in the United States because most consumers aren't convinced that the technology will improve healthcare, claims a new report by PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute. The results reveal a significant gap between consumer attitudes and the perspectives of health industry insiders.
Healthcare IT News, December 2006
Visit StatCom at IHI Booth #611 December 10-13 in Orlando
Join us on December 10-13 in Orlando for IHI's National Forum on Quality Improvement in Health Care – the premier meeting place for people committed to the mission of improving health care. This annual event draws approximately 5,500 health care leaders from around the world in person and an additional 6,000 via satellite.