Eric Yablonka, Chief Information Officer of University of Chicago Hospitals & UC Pritzker School of Medicine, recently commented, “Connected medical devices are not just ‘nice to have stuff’ anymore; [they’re] proving themselves to be truly life saving stuff now.” And who better to discuss the future of mobile technologies for health research and healthcare delivery… Read more »
Posts Tagged: patient care
How Medical Staffing Can Improve Patient Safety and Reduce Medical Errors
Even with legions of clinicians and healthcare executives working to improve patient safety, medical errors still cost tens of thousands of lives each year. What more can hospitals do to reduce the number of medication errors, hospital infections and even wrong-site surgeries? Many institutions are making progress in guarding against medical errors by recruiting medical… Read more »
Can Mobile Technology Replace Primary Care Physicians?
With growing concerns about a healthcare workforce shortage and rising costs, hospitals and health systems are exploring ways to provide services and keep expenses down. “There is currently, and will remain until about the year 2030, a shortage of health care workers to meet the demand for care. This warrants a change in the delivery… Read more »
Why Are Local Hospitals Becoming For-Profit – And What Are The Consequences?
Most U.S. hospitals have been run as non-profit organizations for the last 30 years, but there is a new and growing trend toward hospitals becoming for-profit entities. Is this a positive move, or a bad idea? Voices on both sides of the debate have been loud and clear. Those who support the for-profit delivery model… Read more »
New Bill Introduced to Improve Patient Care & Curtail Nurse Shortage
This June, Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) introduced legislation that would establish a federal minimum of nurse-to-patient ratios at all hospitals and offer whistleblower protection, giving nurses the right to seek enforcement of staffing standards. Aimed at decreasing mortality rates and preventing medical errors, the legislation would require that hospitals and direct care nurses work together… Read more »
ACOs – How They Will Work
In our last post, we discussed the basics of ACOs: what they are and why they have become such a hot topic in the healthcare industry. Before ACOs officially launch in January 2012, there are many details still to be worked out, both within the industry and by potential patients. How would ACOs be paid?… Read more »
An Introduction to ACOs
Those involved in the healthcare industry will be hearing a lot about accountable care organizations (ACOs) in the coming months. As presented on seven pages of The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) signed into law last March, the stated purpose of ACOs is to offer doctors and hospitals financial incentives to provide good… Read more »
Perspectives on Improving Patient Care in the Office
As part of our commitment to the healthcare industry and its players, we like to share the latest news and developments. In March 2011, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) held its 12th Annual International Summit on Improving Patient Care in the Office Practice and the Community. The purpose of the event was to help… Read more »
What Factors Should You Measure When Evaluating Patient Flow?
When patients visit emergency rooms or outpatient clinics in need of medical attention, effective patient flow facilitates the timely care of patients and avoids a bottleneck that can disrupt more than one department of the hospital. Patient flow encompasses the systematic process of attending to patients, from the time they walk into a medical facility… Read more »
Improving ER Patient Flow
Patients aren’t the only ones who worry that their hospital’s emergency room (ER) is too busy to deliver reliable, prompt care. A majority of hospital leaders worry about the same thing. In a recent survey conducted by the American College of Emergency Physicians, most administrators named overcrowding in the ER as one of their top… Read more »