May

Discharging Inpatients Before Noon Can Improve Flow of Patients in ED: ACEP

Coordinating the discharge of hospital patients before 12:00 noon can significantly improve the flow of patients in emergency departments (EDs) by making more inpatient beds available to emergency patients, according to a report released by the American College of Emergency Physicians. The report recommends other high-impact, low-cost solutions to address the problem of holding or "boarding" patients who have been admitted to the hospital in the ED, a primary cause of overcrowding.

HFMA News

"Just In Time Patients?"

They're going to discover the same supply-chain advantages Toyota did when it created just-in-time manufacturing. We're going to have the same thing -- just-in-time patients. Hospitals are not going to spend any more money or any more time in the movement of that patient through the system than is necessary. They're going to get the patient in, get them on that global platform, and get them back. Now, how do they do that in a fast, efficient way where quality is kept, efficiency is gained, and prices don't go up? It's classic manufacturing and logistics.

Mark Graban, lean.blog

Mapping the Market for Medical Travel

The idea of traveling around the world for medical treatment has captured much attention and imagination. As the debate on health care reform heats up in the United States, few weeks go by without a story about an under- or uninsured patient going to India or Thailand for heart surgery or hip replacement. Although medical travelers have many motives, lower-cost procedures and discretionary cosmetic operations represent only small segments. Most of these people seek the world's most advanced technology, better quality, or quicker access to medical care.

The McKinsey Quarterly

Mayo Aims to Improve Collaboration, Care with Wireless Network

Mayo Clinic has deployed a wireless network to improve clinician productivity and patient care throughout its facilities, which includes a 244-bed hospital in Phoenix. "Mayo is constantly striving to improve upon its reputation as a pioneer in medical care, research and education," said Randy Regimbal, Mayo Clinic's director of network services. "Our Cisco Unified Wireless Network has become an essential foundation for meeting these strategic objectives and has empowered our physicians, nurses and administrative staff to dramatically improve the quality of patient care."

Molly Merrill, Healthcare IT News

Pennsylvania Insurers to Pay Doctors to Better Track Patients

A group of health insurers will start paying more than 150 family physicians and other caregivers to better track their patients' care and conditions using computer software and to be more accessible to patients via e-mail and phone calls.

Josh Goldstein, philly.com

Florida HIE Takes New Approach to Sustainability

The Greater Ocala Health Information Trust has partnered with two vendors-PatientKeeper and WorldDoc-in preparation for the Florida-based health information exchange's rollout this fall. The HIE, which is also known as Healthy Ocala and Greater Marion County, includes several local hospitals, the Marion County Medical Society, the local chamber of commerce, and community organizations. It has also chosen an EHR provider. Part of what's significant about the vendor selection, independent of their particular technology capabilities, is their willingness to work with Ocala on an innovative funding mechanism to help Ocala escape the problems that have plagued most other HIEs in the past.

Maureen McKinney, Digital Healthcare & Productivity

New Technology at Washington, PA, Facility Puts Staff in Touch Instantly

The Washington (PA) Hospital, a 265-bed community facility, has recently started using an innovative science fiction-like wireless voice communications system that allows doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals to instantly connect to one other with a simple tap of a button. More than 1,400 people (everyone from nurses, lab technicians and doctors to housekeeping and escort) have been trained to use the Vocera badge and its accompanying software, which includes a hands-free, clip-on device about the size and shape of a portable digital voice recorder. As a result, staff are spending more time with patients and less time returning pages or telephone calls, say hospital representatives.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

U.S. Health Chief Says Country on Track to Meet EHR Goal

HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt predicted that the U.S. would meet President Bush's goal to provide all residents with access to an electronic health record by 2014. Leavitt urged Congress to advance health IT efforts by supporting the standards-development process, encouraging EHR and electronic prescription adoption and resolving a dispute over the use of Medicare claims data.

Jeffrey Young, The Hill

Lessons Learned from Allina's EMR Implementation

Allina Hospital and Clinics went live in 2007 with Excellian, its landmark electronic medical record (EMR) system. Allina, the largest health system in Minnesota with 11 hospitals and 65 clinics, has achieved its vision of "one patient, one record" with the completion of the project, integrating Epic Systems products at the core with other biomedical, administrative, bed management, and picture archiving and communication systems.

Kayt Sukel, Inside Electronic Medical Records

New Report Puts at Least 40 HIT Vendors in Top 100 Tech Companies

A report released Tuesday by the Aberdeen Group puts more than 40 information technology vendors with healthcare products among the top 100 most influential technology companies over the past five years. The annual state-of-the-market report, spanning five years, 550,000 locations and more than 2.5 million interviews, identified the top technology vendors having the greatest impact. Mobility was identified in last year's Aberdeen report as the number one technology growth area, and it was well represented in the top 100 companies. This year, mobility took a back seat to business intelligence and analytics as having the greatest impact over the next three to five years.

Diana Manos, Healthcare IT News

Dekalb Debuts Cutting-Edge Surgery Center

"The features of our new surgery center were all carefully selected to further promote our commitment to quality and the patient experience," Jack Corey, chief executive officer, said in a statement. "We've also made safety improvements, like new patient monitors that allow (medical) staff to chart vital signs and other patient data from anywhere in the hospital." Among features meant to improve patient flow at the center is a personal-paging system for families and visitors that uses flashing discs like those found at restaurants. Rather than having to wait for a surgeon in the lounge, the system frees people to go to the cafeteria, the courtyard or elsewhere on hospital grounds.

Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

""Turnover is good" (and other surprises overheard in healthcare)

Healthcare leaders spend a lot of time predicting and planning for the future, but when it comes to hiring and retaining employees, I hear a lot more about future problems than I hear possible solutions. One healthcare futurist told me that hospitals must make themselves places that people are "dying to work at," but nobody is very good at defining what those hospitals will look like. Regardless of what the future holds for healthcare and hospitals, most experts agree that recruiting and retaining enough employees will take a lot of change-something that healthcare isn't always good at. So smart leaders are already changing the way they look at staffing.

Molly Rowe, HealthLeaders Media

Accountable for Quality

Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital Administrator Nina Beauchesne's annual performance review covers familiar management territory: growth, budget, staff turnover. But Beauchesne's evaluation also includes indicators on another topic: quality. From mortality to hospital-acquired infection rates, more than 35 percent of her annual raise last year was based on the safety of patients at the Hollywood, FL-based hospital.

Molly Rowe, for HealthLeaders Magazine

Hospitals Take Tentative Start EMR Steps, Struggle with Charging Overhead to Doctors

Hospitals across the country are evaluating if, when, and how they will subsidize electronic medical record technology purchases for community physicians in light of relaxed Stark anti-kickback regulations. While a few hospitals have begun rolling out programs, most are still developing strategies. "I see a lot of hospitals still trying to figure out what to do," says Mark R. Anderson, CEO of healthcare technology advisory firm AC Group, Inc. of Montgomery, Texas. "Hospitals need to learn about the different advantages and disadvantages of the project before offering a service.

Michelle R. Noteboom, Inside Electronic Medical Records

Shared Success

A growing number of large health systems and community hospitals are discovering that each of them has something the other one wants. But crafting a true partnership-often with a perceived competitor-is a complex task. Here's how some hospitals are doing it.

Carrie Vaughan, HealthLeaders Magazine