Manufacturers have built tablet PCs specifically designed for use within clinics and hospitals. Review these success factors for Tablet PC implementations within the health care industry. |
An ePedigree program assists in safeguarding against counterfeit drug activities while ensuring the protection of business interests. Consider the implementation of an ePedigree program while keeping a sharp eye on the legislative environment to prepare for future compliance. |
Small healthcare firms will use this snapshot of a small healthcare insurance provider to start discussions about e-mail infrastructure and staffing. A companion note discusses application and operating system choices from a small healthcare firm perspective. |
Small healthcare firms should use this snapshot of a small healthcare insurance provider to open discussions about server and operating system choices. A companion note will offer a snapshot of a small healthcare firm's staffing choices and e-mail architecture. |
A growing number of health care providers are deploying tablet PCs to ensure clinicians have access to current patient information during house calls. Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of tablet use to determine if it can benefit the organization. |
Personal Health Records (PHRs) will grow in popularity as patients become more proactive in managing their own online healthcare experience. Take a proactive stance on PHR technology and launch both internal and external awareness programs as soon as possible. |
The business benefits of SharePoint are greatly reduced if end users refuse to accept it. Analyze the challenges encountered by one healthcare organization to avoid falling in the same trap. |
Telemedicine has the potential to fill expertise gaps and create potential sources of new revenue. Present telemedicine as an option to your healthcare organization's management team to reap the benefits already enjoyed by so many other healthcare providers. |
Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) adoption in healthcare is a matter of slow pace, rather than lack of interest. Learn from the experiences of other healthcare enterprises before embarking on an SOA initiative. |
Given the high dollar investment of electronic medical records (EMR), healthcare organizations must choose the right solution in order to achieve desired benefits. Select a specialty EMR if a generic EMR does not meet the needs of individual medical practices. |
Patient visibility systems (PVS) consolidate many aspects of hospital workflow processes in order to give a single view of patient status. However, the radio frequency identification (RFID) aspect of PVS solutions may prove to be too much, too soon for the majority of hospitals. |
Implementation and utilization of Point-of-Care (POC) technologies simultaneously improves patient care and can save clinicians valuable time. Hospitals, nursing homes, and other facilities that fail to deploy POC technologies are in danger of falling behind the curve for patient care and risk losing competitive advantage. |
Hospitals should focus on commercial Radiology Information Systems (RIS), given their affordability and maturity, rather than develop one from scratch. This tool will help IT managers create an RIS vendor selection strategy that will enable them to get past the vendor hype and choose the best solution for their enterprise. |
Hospitals should focus on commercial Radiology Information Systems (RIS), given their affordability and maturity, rather than develop one from scratch. Use Info-Tech's evaluation criteria to select the right RIS. |
The implementation of Business Intelligence (BI) is becoming mandatory for healthcare payers to remain competitive. A critical success factor for BI is to make sure the data is clean. |
The cost of RIS has dropped, making it a viable alternative for healthcare organizations with more than 100 beds. Consider investing in an RIS to streamline the operation of the radiology department. |
Advances in information technology have significantly contributed to the large decline in mortality rates resulting from poor anesthesia administration. Today, one in every 250,000 anesthetics administered results in death. This figure can be further lowered through the implementation of an AIS solution. |
Healthcare organizations that implement digitally-advanced health platforms stand a much greater chance of achieving cost savings and competitive advantage. Although the concept of an all-digital hospital holds significant promise, it also introduces a significant number of IT projects that could take years to deploy from the ground up. |
The success of important initiatives, like the Electronic Medical Record (EMR), relies on systems that can easily exchange data with internal and external sources. The way to achieve that is through industry data connectivity standards, such as HL7, SNOMED, and LOINC. IT managers of healthcare organizations that haven't implemented EMR must ensure that these standards are properly implemented in any system they build or buy. |
Many hospitals and health practices are failing to capitalize on the growing number of customers seeking health information on the Web. Enhance brand awareness, customer confidence, and revenues by improving the hospital's online presence. |
A Laboratory Information System (LIS) provides fast and reliable delivery of lab test results, saves money, and helps labs to comply with industry regulatory requirements. Use Info-Tech's evaluation criteria to select the right LIS. |
A Laboratory Information System (LIS) provides fast and reliable delivery of lab test results, saves money, and helps labs comply with industry regulatory requirements. Info-Tech recommends LIS both for labs that haven't automated their operation, and for those that have an in-house solution that isn't meeting the current needs of modern labs. |
Selecting a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) is a critical purchasing decision for a healthcare organization. Create a PACS Request for Proposal (RFP) to guide the acquisition process and ensure that the solution meets clearly defined needs. |
CIOs are reluctant to join a Regional Health Information Organization (RHIO), citing that sharing patient data with local hospitals could compromise privacy. New standards are taking shape to ensure secure data exchange between hospitals in a RHIO. Investigate how these standards can ease a hospital's transition into a fully-functioning RHIO. |
In traditional operating rooms, physicians and their staff often have to roll carts with heavy equipment and plug in devices while performing surgery. This is distracting, affects productivity and, more importantly, creates patient safety risks. Surgical suites eliminate these problems and enhance patient care while reducing operational costs. |
Many healthcare enterprises believe that a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) can be implemented before a Radiology Information System (RIS). While true a decade ago, this type of thinking can place a PACS deployment at risk. Hospitals seeking to deploy PACS without a functioning RIS in place should rethink implementation sequencing. |
Hospitals and physicians are losing large amounts of money by failing to capture inpatient visit charges in an accurate and efficient manner. Implement a mobile charge capture system to eliminate this problem. |
Every prescription error adds $3,000 to a patient's hospital stay due to administrative overhead. Should the patient suffer ill effects, that number can grow significantly. Evaluate Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) systems to reduce medical errors, improve operational efficiency, and reduce costs. |
Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs) promise savings for the government and hospitals, while improving patient care. However, many technological and political barriers remain that could stall progress. Fortunately, a new framework provides guidelines and technical advice for developing and standardizing RHIOs. |
Buying a Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) is a key acquisition for any hospital whose goal is to become an all-digital enterprise. Early in the process, the decision must be made whether or not to outsource PACS operation. Carefully weigh criteria for hosted PACS to avoid costly mistakes. |
There are more than 770,000 preventable medication errors per year in the U.S alone. Hospitals can reduce this figure by up to 86% with the implementation of technologies that prevent Adverse Drug Events at the point of medication administration. Implement Bar-coded Point-of-Care systems to reduce medication errors while enhancing hospital's productivity. |
Medical kiosks save money, reduce wait times, and significantly enhance the patient experience. Info-Tech has identified seven ways to use medical kiosks in healthcare and the recommended steps for a successful implementation. |
To comply with HIPAA, healthcare providers are implementing Electronic Medical Records (EMR) and document imaging. Early adopters of EMR are distributing the scanning of documents throughout the organization. Implement distributed scanning as close to the place of document origin as possible to reduce costs and improve document availability. |
A December 2005 report from a children's hospital in Pittsburgh demonstrated a sharp rise in child mortality rates after the implementation of a commercially sold Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE) system. Despite these tragic findings, hospitals should not view this study as a sign to abandon CPOE implementation. |
Selecting a Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) is a critical purchasing decision for a healthcare organization. Form a PACS acquisition team to guide the RFP process and ensure that the solution meets defined needs. |
Market trends are driving the need for pharmaceutical organizations to more effectively analyze their information by using Business Intelligence (BI) technologies. IT leaders in the pharmaceutical industry must understand that implementing BI is a matter of survival for their organizations. |
IT professionals within the healthcare sector are continually plagued with requests for information regarding the organization's performance, quality, and costs. Capturing and presenting this data has proven problematic in the past. Hospital IT departments faced with this dilemma should explore Business Intelligence (BI) software. |
Interface engines are a primary technology for linking together disparate hospital IT systems to form an integrated Electronic Medical Record (EMR) or Electronic Health Record (EHR) platform. Carefully select the right interface engine to ensure that healthcare systems properly share patient data. |
In addition to delivering cost savings and process improvements, document imaging is a critical first step in deploying EHR across healthcare organizations. It’s often left up to IT to not only select and implement a document imaging solution, but also to establish a clear ROI and implementation strategy with future Picture Archiving and Communications Systems (PACS), Medication Order Entry (MOE) systems, and patient data integration with other hospitals.
Use this template to map out a high-level view of your document imaging strategy. |
Cisco has released new technology that proves there are far more uses for RFID than simply tracking pallets along the supply chain. Find out how RFID can bring real asset tracking benefits to healthcare organizations. |
Telemedicine is significantly improving the access of patients in small and remote hospitals to cost-effective healthcare while maintaining diagnostic accuracy. For these hospitals, telemedicine offers a tremendous opportunity to deliver superior, cost-effective healthcare by linking up with tier-1 hospitals and research centers. |
