Mike Miliard
It's no longer enough for an infant's pajamas to simply keep the little bundle of joy warm and dry at night. Nowadays, PJs should be able to constantly monitor the baby's vital signs and emotional state, and then relay that information wirelessly to the doting parent's iPad or smartphone.
One of the most intriguing areas at HIMSS12 this past month was the Intelligent Hospital Pavilion. Presented in partnership with the RFID in Healthcare Consortium, HIMSS' walk-though mock-up offered an up-close look at the myriad ways radio-frequency identification (RFID), real-time location system (RTLS), sensor and wireless technologies – developed by companies such as AeroScout, AwarePoint, Intelligent InSites and RFID Global Solutions – can optimize inventory management, improve patient safety, streamline clinical workflow and more.
It's often said that the emergency department is the "front door" of the hospital. And recent years have seen more people than ever making their way through that entry.
On February 24, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) published its proposed rule for the certification of electronic health records.
Earlier this year, a Washington think tank whose healthcare wing is led by two former Senate Majority Leaders, put its weight behind more widespread use of IT in healthcare organizations nationwide.
Measures and incentives should be embedded in public reporting programs in every layer of the healthcare system, NQF's CEO said.
Some sobering news came from across the pond this past year. On September 22, England's Department of Health announced it would finally scrap the country's decade-long, problem-plagued health information technology initiative, the National Programme for IT (NPfIT).
It's a fact: Remote care monitoring and telehealth "will become much more commonplace going forward," says Barry Burk, vice president, healthcare industry at IBM Canada.
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) launched a project not too long ago in which it deployed EMRs to about 300 physician practices throughout eastern Massachusetts, hosting them via a private, cloud-based SaaS model.
A new case study has shown how Mercy healthcare system has reaped the benefits of integrating GS1 Standards, including bar codes, across the medical device supply chain.