Quality and Safety
More than 5,000 IT staff from 194 nominated hospitals completed the 79-question online survey. To qualify to be considered a top hospital, at least half the employees in an IT department needed to complete the survey.
For at least the last decade, the health IT field has seen a scholarly back-and-forth on the effectiveness of electronic medical records. As soon as one study is published that finds technology has little impact on patient outcomes, another emerges that seems to show just the opposite. But, today, more accurate information is emerging.
After landing 11 new grants, clinicians at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center are gearing up for projects aimed at boosting care and engaging patients. The grants are aimed at making it possible for clinicians and other staff members to experiment with ways to boost care and also better involve patients.
Federal government agencies, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration, are being hindered in carrying out their missions due to growing complexity of their IT networks.
On the up side, more hospitals are adopting computerized physician order entry, which has proven to reduce medication error. On the down side, hospitals can't seem to get a handle on certain hospital-acquired infections.
When researchers at UPMC's Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh reviewed more than 1,000 pediatric consultations offered in Latin America via telemedicine, they found that physicians in those countries were highly satisfied with the service and believed telemedicine had improved patient outcomes.
Hospitals participating in Independence Blue Cross' accountable care contracts are reducing costs, improving care and earning incentives, according to the Philadelphia-based insurer.
Patient advocate and researcher Jessie Gruman died July 14 at the age of 60, after living with cancer for the better part of her life and turning her struggle into frameworks for progress. In 1992, Gruman helped launch and lead the Center for Advancing Health to help improve the healthcare system after two decades navigating modern medicine herself.
It's a chilling reality -- one often overlooked in annual mortality statistics: Preventable medical errors persist as the No. 3 killer in the U.S. -- third only to heart disease and cancer -- claiming the lives of some 400,000 people each year. At a Congressional hearing July 17, patient safety officials put their best ideas forward on how to solve the crisis, with IT often at the center of discussions.
Geisinger Health System announced a new initiative this week that will offer patients access to advanced cancer treatment protocols and clinical trials. By partnering with Hamburg, Germany-based Indivumed, the health system has set its sights on the "next generation" of oncology, according to President and CEO Glenn D. Steele, Jr., MD.