Just an occasional post when I come upon a few interesting reports that are worth a download or browse. This week we have a few.
First we have:
IT crucial to improving primary-care practice: NEHI
By Jean DerGurahian / HITS staff writer
Posted: May 26, 2009 - 5:59 am EDT
Health information technology is a component of improving primary-care practice and increasing physician satisfaction with their work, according to a new report by the New England Healthcare Institute.
Technology implementation in health service delivery can boost flexibility in scheduling and improve patient access. In addition applications such as electronic health records, clinical decision-support systems and computerized physician order entry can help free doctors to spend more time with patients during visits and provide faster access to information, researchers said in the report, Remaking Primary Care: From Crisis to Opportunity.
More here (including links to many other articles, multimedia etc):
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20090526/REG/305269963
The report is downloadable directly from here:
Seems to be sensible stuff. Ms Roxon’s advisers should be seeing how the place of IT is emphasised in this report. All the models she and the NHHRC seem keen on need better IT than presently in place – by a big margin.
Second we have:
OECD Expert Meeting on eHealth Indicators
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Both the European Union and the World Health Organisation (WHO) have recognised ICT-facilitated solutions as key enablers for modern, patient-centered and efficient healthcare services. To support health policies, it has become mandatory to monitor and benchmark Health ICT (eHealth) adoption and use. This is also a priority topic for EU/USA cooperation in the field of eHealth. The OECD plans to coordinate global activities, including involvement of WHO, to develop appropriate approaches and measuring tools.
....
"empirica is proud to have its long standing expertise in eHealth as well as indicator development, monitoring and benchmarking recognised at the level of the OECD and will continue to monitor and assess the eHealth landscape in Europe," concluded Werner B. Korte.
For further information, please visit:
- European Union (ICTs for Health Policy), http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/health/policy/index_en.htm
- European Union (i2010 Benchmarking Framework), http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/eeurope/i2010/benchmarking/index_en.htm
- World Health Organisation (WHO), http://www.euro.who.int/telemed/20060512_1
- OECD, http://www.oecd.org/home/0,2987,en_2649_201185_1_1_1_1_1,00.html
- eHealth Indicators Study, http://www.ehealth-indicators.eu
- eHealth Benchmarking Study, http://www.ehealth-benchmarking.eu
More here:
http://www.ehealthnews.eu/content/view/1617/27/
A useful collection of reports – well worth checking out.
Third we have:
Prescription Errors and Outcomes Related to Inconsistent Information Transmitted Through Computerized Order Entry
A Prospective Study
Hardeep Singh, MD, MPH; Shrinidi Mani, BA; Donna Espadas, BS; Nancy Petersen, PhD; Veronica Franklin, RPh; Laura A. Petersen, MD, MPH
Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(10):982-989.
Background Although several types of computerized provider order entry (CPOE)-related errors may occur, errors related to inconsistent information within the same prescription (ie, mismatch between the structured template and the associated free-text field) have not been described, to our knowledge. We determined the nature and frequency of such errors and identified their potential predictive variables.
Methods In this prospective study, we enrolled pharmacists to report prescriptions containing inconsistent communication over a 4-month period at a tertiary care facility. We also electronically retrieved all prescriptions written during the study period containing any comments in the free-text field and then randomly selected 500 for manual review to determine inconsistencies between free-text and structured fields. Of these, prescriptions without inconsistencies were categorized as controls. Data on potentially predictive variables from reported and unreported errors and controls were collected. For all inconsistencies, we determined their nature (eg, drug dosage or administration schedule) and potential harm and used multivariate logistic regression models to identify factors associated with errors and harm.
Results Of 55 992 new prescriptions, 532 (0.95%) were reported to contain inconsistent communication, a rate comparable to that obtained from the unreported group. Drug dosage was the most common inconsistent element among both groups. Certain medications were more likely associated with errors, as was the inpatient setting (odds ratio, 3.30; 95% confidence interval, 2.18-5.00) and surgical subspecialty (odds ratio, 2.45; 95% confidence interval, 1.57-3.82). About 20% of errors could have resulted in moderate to severe harm, for which significant independent predictors were found.
Conclusions Despite standardization of data entry, inconsistent communication in CPOE poses a significant risk to safety. Improving the usability of the CPOE interface and integrating it with workflow may reduce this risk.
More here (Subscription Required for Full Text):
http://archinte.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/abstract/169/10/982
This seems to be an important study. Clearly designers of CPOE systems need to take careful note of the findings.
Fourth we have:
IBM InfoSphere Streams
IBM InfoSphere Streams enables continuous and extremely fast analysis of massive volumes of information-in-motion to help improve business insights and decision making.
Much more information here:
http://www-01.ibm.com/software/data/infosphere/streams/
This technology has substantial applications in the health sector. See here for details:
IBM Unveils New Analytics Software
May 26, 2009
Definitely one to keep an eye on.
Fifth we have:
Mobile Devices Are the Newest Frontier as Health Plans Try to Engage Members in Their Own Health
Reprinted from INSIDE CONSUMER-DIRECTED CARE, a biweekly newsletter with timely news and insightful analysis of benefit design, contracts, market strategies and financial results.
By Michael E. Carbine, Managing Editor, (mcarbine@aispub.com)
As health plans search for ways to reach and motivate members to become more engaged in their health, they say that one lesson stands out loud and clear: In today's world, people won't come to you on your terms. Health plans that reach out to their members on their terms using tools that reach them wherever they happen to be with tailored, focused messages stand the best chance of success. And one effective way to do this is with cell phones and other mobile devices.
"Everyone is talking mobile because of its potential reach," Robert Schwarzberg, M.D., president and CEO of Sensei Inc., tells ICDC. "The multiple technologies and two-way communication capabilities of today's mobile devices create a powerful opportunity," he says. "We're engaging in activities that affect our health in positive or negative ways throughout the day and wherever we happen to be, and we tend to have our mobile devices with us throughout the day and wherever we happen to be."
Vastly more here:
http://www.aishealth.com/Bnow/hbd052509.html
Lots of useful information on an emerging area.
Sixth we have:
Better patient-alert system for medical errors needed: Study
By Teresa Smith, Canwest News Service
Procedures for alerting patients who may have been affected by an error at a health-care facility need to be changed, according to a study by researchers at Cancer Care Ontario and the University of Toronto.
Canadian guidelines cover only errors that concern individual patients, but researchers have now come up with some steps to follow when multiple patients are involved.
"We want to answer these questions quickly," said study co-author Roger Chafe — a researcher in cancer services and policy research at Cancer Care Ontario.
"What's the scale of the error? How many patients might have been affected? Then, identify the patients and be well-organized to respond for any questions they may have."
The goal of the study was to provide health professionals a tool — a set of guidelines — that they can follow to streamline the disclosure process.
The authors said an electronic health record would be helpful in determining which and how many patients have been affected by an error. In this way, a simple search would reveal quickly which patients are involved, whereas, with paper records, someone has to physically examine each record to identify who may have been affected.
More here:
Details of the work here:
http://www.cancercare.on.ca/research/researchprograms/patternscare/cspru/
Seventh we have:
Report: I.T. Vital to Care Management
HDM Breaking News, May 28, 2009
A new research report on care management for the chronically ill asserts that information technology is essential to controlling costs for these patients and improving their treatment.
“Effective care management strategies require a strong foundation in data warehousing, business intelligence and clinical analytics,” according to the report from Health Industry Insights. The Framingham, Mass.-based research and consulting firm is a unit of IDC. “Population management and consumerism strategies require the ability to define specific microsegments of members.”
More here:
If the blog does not give you what you need – you can pay!
“To order the report, “Technology Selection: The Evolving Care Management Model to Address the Healthcare Crisis,” visit healthindustry-insights.com. The report costs $4,500.”
Last we have:
26 May 2009
eHealth Worldwide
Germany: Mobile card reader receives German certification (22 May 2009 - HealthCareITNews)
The eHealth500 mobile terminal can be used by doctors and other care providers to read and store data on Germany's electronic health cards (eGK) as well as the traditional health insurance card (KVK). Remote data storage and access is available when providers are away from their medical practice. Once back at a medical office, the stored data can be transfered via USB interface to a permanent archive. "Our mobile terminal extends support for the country's new eHealth cards to all patients, not just those who are in a doctor's office or hospital,"
Whole new issue here:
http://www.who.int/goe/ehir/2009/26_may_2009/en/index.html
Enjoy!
David.
"ffective care management strategies require a strong foundation in data warehousing" this was the best quote
ReplyDelete