Alarm Fatigue in Hospital Settings

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) announces the June 18 issue of the Health Care Innovations Exchange (http://www.innovations.ahrq.gov).

• The featured Innovations describe two programs that sought to minimize alarm fatigue in hospital settings by implementing changes to alarm systems that reduced audible alarms and rescue events.
• The featured QualityTools include a Web site offering guidance and tools to help health care facilities improve their alarm safety; and a clinical toolkit that provides evidence-based strategies, resources, best practices, and change-implementation tools to reduce the impact of environmental alarms.
• To access more innovation profiles and tools related to hospital alarms and response to codes, go to http://www.innovations.ahrq.gov/innovations_qualitytools.aspx?categoryID=54553%2c63451&taxonomyID=54619%2c52900.

Two-thirds of docs use mHealth; 60% want mobile EHR access

More than 40% will consider using secure texting in the next twelve months, while a similar number will use drug, device, or diagnosis information.  Nearly half of physicians already use mobile apps to research medication interactions, while more than a quarter use clinical decision support features.  ePrescribing, composing clinical notes, and access labs and test results were also common activities conducted through mobile apps.

Patients will become an increasingly important part of the mHealth landscape, as well, with providers moving into Stage 2 of Meaningful Use.  Thirty-five percent of provider respondents will use mobile devices to access patient portals used for scheduling and communications, while one in five will embrace patient use of mHealth for remote monitoring and 15% will explore telehealth visits using tablets and smartphones for support.  Read more

EHR-Related Safety Issues Linger Long After Implementation

A new Veterans Health Administration study finds that patient safety issues stemming from the use of electronic health record systems -- including computer glitches, false alarms and system failures -- linger long after an organization has implemented the system. Modern Healthcare et al.
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FDA Unveils Draft Social Media Guidance for Drug, Device Makers

The FDA released long-awaited draft guidance on the use of social media by drugmakers and medical device manufacturers. The draft guidance would require such firms to disclose the benefits and potential risks of their products when posting on social media and details how they should address and correct misinformation posted by third parties. New York Times et al.More

VA reduced bed days by 59%, hospital admissions by 35% in 2013

The bright spots at US Veterans Affairs are about telehealth and telemedicine. http://telecareaware.com/va-reduced-bed-days-by-59-hospital-admissions-by-35-in-2013/

AMA Adopts Health IT-Related Policies at Annual Meeting, including Telehealth use

The American Medical Association this week approved several health-IT related policies, including a list of guiding principles that aim to define physicians' use of telehealth. The group also adopted policies to encourage all pharmacies to accept electronic prescriptions and to work with the federal government to address "data lock-in." Computerworld et al. 
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Storm Prep Critical for Medically Needy

Each Florida county has a registration form, available online or by calling the county health department or sheriff. More information and applications for special needs medical shelters are available online:
·         Charlotte County (call for information about registration)
·         Citrus County
·         Hernando County
·         Hillsborough County
·         Manatee County
·         Pasco County
·         Pinellas County
·         Sarasota County (call for information about registration)
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Caregiver Resources

		Family Caregivers: Make Time to Share, Unwind & Learn about Senior Care | Senior Care Corner Family caregivers face a variety of challenges and hurdles with each new day they provide care to their senior loved ones. Fortunately family members are not on their own. There are a number of places they can turn for the answers to questions Read More.

Infographic: Top Nursing Information Sources by Mobile Device

Infographic illustrates the top nursing information sources by frequency of mobile device usage on smartphones/tablets.
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Mobile Health Is Enhancing Clinical Decisions At the Point of Care

Smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices are becoming ubiquitous in doctors’ offices and hospitals as a means to standardize care protocols, improve the flow of information, and ease the implementation of electronic health records (EHRs).[i]  In fact, mobile devices are becoming as essential as the exam table, according to a 2013 survey conducted on behalf of Wolters Kluwer Health by Paris-based market and technology firm Ipsos.[ii] Nearly 80 percent of the 300 practicing primary care, family and internal medicine physicians surveyed said they were using a smartphone in their day-to-day practice. Another 61% were using tablets.
A 2013 infographic on mhealth[iii] compiled by Strategy& (formerly Booz & Company) supports these findings, reporting that 85 percent of doctors use smartphones and medical apps. In addition, 86 percent of all clinicians – doctors, nurses and nurse practitioners – now use smartphones in their practice areas every day, up from 78 percent in 2012.  More

How Novant Health brought nursing back to patient rooms

Novant Health implemented several changes over the past four years that have drastically increased the time nurses spend in patient rooms to 72 percent, according to Becker's Hospital Review.  After initially implementing the reforms in 51 nursing units, Novant has expanded them to all 15 of its hospitals, with nurses now spending 72 percent of their shifts in patient rooms. Since then, patient falls, infection rates and nurse turnover are down, with patient satisfaction on the rise.  Read More

Kaiser Permanente app passes 1M downloads

Two days after Apple announced a major health tracking partnership with the Mayo Clinic, another big name healthcare provider — Kaiser Permanente has announced that its flagship app, also called Kaiser Permanente, has now surpassed 1 million downloads.
In February, Kaiser Permanente announced that three new Kaiser Permanente hospitals would be opening soon in California and that the company will roll out Journey Home Board, a tablet application that serves as an outpatient education and engagement app. The Journey Home Board is the latest technology to come out of Kaiser’s Imagine Care Anywhere program, an innovation center based out of Kaiser’s Garfield Innovation Center in San Leandro, California.

Keep reading>>

New Videos Highlight Ways that Health IT Improves Care and Satisfaction

New videos on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s HealthIT YouTube channel highlight successful health information technology (IT) projects that enhanced care coordination, exchange of health information, and improved medication management. These videos provide insights for health services researchers, health care providers, and patient advocates on how AHRQ research supports the use of health IT to improve quality, safety, efficiency and effectiveness of care.  

What Celebration Health can teach leaders about design and community health

Hospitals will thrive in the future by following similar design strategies that make them the central hubs of their communities, according to Business Insider.
Already, hospitals are "transitioning from a place for sickness to a place where you can learn about health," Charles Griffin, president of the American Institute of Architects' Academy of Architecture for Health...
Griffin pointed to Florida Hospital Celebration Health as a good example of what a future hospital may look like. The resort-style hospital features other health-related amenities, including a pool and nutrition classes. Celebration Health took conscious inspiration from nearby Walt Disney World, which has also made numerous innovations hospitals can learn from, such as personalized profiles, collaboration with guests and the ability to plan online in advance. Read More

Empowering Kids with Cancer Through Games-Hope Labs

Fighting cancer is tough, especially for kids. Hope Lab created the
Re-Mission 2 games to empower young patients and help
them fight their disease.

And it’s working. 
Combining rigorous research with innovative solutions to improve human health and well-being.
We hope these stories will inspire you to share our free games Click Here
with someone you know. 

Go Mobile. It’s Easy.

Like all six Re-Mission 2 games online, the mobile app is also free. Now kids can take the fight against cancer on the go. The app is easy to install on smartphones and tablets:

• Go to Google Play (Android) or the App Store (iOS)

 Read More

American Telemedicine Association releases new guidance

American Telemedicine Association releases new guidance bartonassociates.com

The folks over at the American Telemedicine Association had a very busy May. Not only did they unveil a new logo, but they have also published two new guidance documents.

New this month is The Core Operational Guidelines for Telehealth Services Involving Provider-Patient Interactions, which covers the fundamental requirements for providing healthcare services telemedicine technology between patients, practitioners, and other healthcare providers.
The ATA also released The Guidelines for TeleICU Operations, which offers guidance for practitioners who provide assessment, medical intervention, continuous monitoring and/or consultation to the critical care population using telecommunication technologies.
- See more at: http://www.bartonassociates.com/2014/06/04/american-telemedicine-association-releases-new-guidance/#sthash.9ibzrbe5.dpuf

The folks over at the American Telemedicine Association had a very busy May. Not only did they unveil a new logo, but they have also published two new guidance documents.
The ATA is a non-profit organization made up of individuals, healthcare institutions, companies, and other organizations that are interested in promoting the deployment of telemedicine throughout the world. In addition to providing networking opportunities for its members, the ATA also publishes educational materials and operational guidelines that healthcare organizations and healthcare practitioners can use to effectively implement telelmedicine services.
New this month is The Core Operational Guidelines for Telehealth Services Involving Provider-Patient Interactions, which covers the fundamental requirements for providing healthcare services telemedicine technology between patients, practitioners, and other healthcare providers.
The ATA also released The Guidelines for TeleICU Operations, which offers guidance for practitioners who provide assessment, medical intervention, continuous monitoring and/or consultation to the critical care population using telecommunication technologies.
Telemedicine is still quite new, and the standards and requirements are constantly changing. The ATA is a great source for the latest telemedicine news and thought leadership. It is a valuable resource for any healthcare organizations and healthcare practitioners that are either using telemedicine or interested in starting to offer telemedicine services.
     

 

Related posts:

GA medical board plans to vote on telemedicine rule

Medicare proposes expanded coverage and payment for telemedicine

Telemedicine improves pediatric care in rural emergency departments

Telepsychiatry: Potential solution for mental health shortage

- See more at: http://www.bartonassociates.com/2014/06/04/american-telemedicine-association-releases-new-guidance/#sthash.9ibzrbe5.dpuf

 Read More

HRSA: Health Text Messaging, an Environmental Scan

The trends toward wide spread ownership of cell phones and widespread text message use across virtually all segments of the U.S. population support the spread of health text messaging programs.
HHS is an outreach partner for Text4baby, a free mobile health education service for pregnant women and mothers with an infant under one year of age. Additionally, HRSA oversees a national evaluation of the Text4baby program in collaboration with other Federal partners.

An initial component of the evaluation is the development of a report, Using Health Text Messages to Improve Consumer Health Knowledge, Behaviors, and Outcomes: An Environmental Scan (PDF - 843 KB).

Download the Report (PDF - 843KB)

Learn more about Text4Health, HHS mHealth and the Environmental Scan

ONC Unveils 10-Year Plan To Achieve Interoperable Health IT

Today, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT released an incremental 10-year plan to achieve an interoperable health system capable of sharing and aggregating patients' health data. By year 2024, the agency envisions a system where patients can use personal devices to access and share their own health data. FierceHealthIT, "Health IT Buzz." Read More

4 Things Your Patient Portal Should Include

4 Things Your Patient Portal Should Include Karen Gallagher Grant has a great blog post up on the MRA Health Information Services blog that talks about the ideal patient portal. She breaks it down into 4 things that a patient portal should provide: Information that is meaningful Easy access for patient review for data integrity Dashboard information about prescriptions that combine pharmacy information and clinical information Appointment scheduling And 5 things she’d ideally like to see in a patient portal: Details about my next appointment Wellness tips Access to home health through telemedicine solutions Customized decision support via nationwide clinical data repositories Patient exchange of information Read More

Study: mHealth can boost treatment outcomes, patient communication

W. Shawn Conway Principal-VP, Solving Business Pain™ in Health Tech

"As we move to an outcomes-based model of healthcare provision in the U.S., remote monitoring and telehealth are going to drive an extension of the point of care," Manhattan Director of Physician Research James Avallone said. "We're seeing physician attitudes really align with policy."

Study: mHealth can boost treatment outcomes, patient communication - FierceMobileHealthcare fiercemobilehealthcare.com

Two in five physicians believe using mobile technology for communicating with patients can boost treatment outcomes, and just as many have increased use for that reason in the past year, according to a new study from Manhattan Research.

Providers Unhappy with EHRs

Survey: Providers Investing Heavily in EHRs, But Dissatisfied With Purchase

Nearly half (49 percent) of hospital executives say their largest capital investment over the coming year will be in health IT. Despite this heavy investment, many...

beckershospitalreview.com

Technology, Sex and Health: 4 Ideas to Reach Young People

The Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project this year found that emerging nations are embracing the internet and mobile technology, and that this phenomenon is "significantly more common among young people." For example, the following percentages from Pew Research show people aged 18-29 who access the internet or own a smartphone: Brazil, 72; Turkey, 67; Mexico, 65; Philippines, 52; Nigeria, 45; and Ghana, 38. The numbers for use of social networking sites are almost as high.
While the means of communication will continue to change, the laws of communication are immutable. One such laws is that effective communication requires that you deliver your message to your target audience in a format that is relevant to them. For youth around the world, that increasingly means internet, mobile technology and social media.  Read More