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
Taking Technology to the Bedside
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.
http://www.ihi.org/