Quality and Safety
In what's being hailed as a "spectacular success story," the World Health Organization has declared Nigeria free of the Ebola virus transmission, with public health agencies and government officials citing a mobile health initiative as largely responsible for the triumph.
The Ebola cases in the United States, despite their limited numbers, have generated considerable discussion and anxiety. But the focus on EHRs in these discussions does not recognize more prominent health IT needs when it comes potential outbreaks, nor the ways we have yet to meet most of these needs with incentives and infrastructure.
Frustration with electronic health records has never been higher among RNs, with vast majorities complaining of poor workflows, bad communication and scant input on implementation decisions, a new survey shows.
The folks at Penn Medicine know a little something about putting data analytics to work. After identifying three years ago that their sepsis mortality rates were higher than expected, they set out to do something about it by harnessing predictive analytics. And the results? They're impressive.
Partners HealthCare CIO James Noga is just beginning to envision what the infrastructure for big data will look like for the Boston health system that includes Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital. There are many variables to consider.
In a congressional hearing Thursday, a Texas Health Resources executive joined other clinical stakeholders in the U.S. Ebola crisis to shed light on the myriad oversights that materialized when the Ebola virus arrived on American soil.
Stage 2 of meaningful use is supposed to be about interoperability of data, with electronic records flowing securely between sites as needed to help hospitals and doctors provide better care. But the number of attestations to Stage 2 has been anemic, and there is plenty of anecdotal evidence suggesting true interoperability is a long way off.
Premier healthcare alliance has offered to put its data analytics to use to help the White House fight antibiotic resistant bacteria, which Premier calls an international public health issue.
Arguing that the current up-in-the-air regulatory climate is hindering innovation in health information technology, an array of vendors and industry groups have called on Congress to clarify its plans for patient safety rules.
RTI International has landed a contract with the HHS Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to develop a roadmap for a national health IT safety center.