Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E Gardner.
Responses to Modern Healthcare's fourth annual survey of hospital executives on key information systems issues demonstrated some confusion about many of the new clinical information system products. In many cases, they aren't yet commercially viable. Hospitals can't justify the sometimes steep costs. And opinions are divided about what the systems should do and how they should do it.
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A big telephone bill--possibly in six figures--can be a painful way for a hospital to find out its phone system isn't secure. When unusually large long-distance bills start to show up, chances are a professional telephone hacker has broken in. According to experts, one in 15 businesses has been victimized by long-distance toll fraud, and loss estimates range from $900 million to $4 billion a year.
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Hospitals soon may learn the value of shared information technology. The idea of "community health information networks" is picking up steam as payers and policymakers look for ways to control costs and measure the quality of care. Backing from the federal government is likely to make the transition speedier and perhaps less painful than it was for other industries.
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Top honors for an overall program in the Modern Healthcare/MMI Cos. risk-management awards go to Redlands (Calif.) Community Hospital for a team-approach program that has reduced malpractice claims and employee injuries. For an individual project, the prize goes to McLaren Regional Medical Center, Flint, Mich., whose early-return-to-work program for injured employees has cut workers' comp costs and improved staff morale.
Computer vendors, operating in a sluggish market, are looking for business wherever they can find it, and small hospitals are virgin territory for many applications, including clinical and departmental systems. Sharply falling prices for minicomputers, microcomputers, printers and storage devices have cut the total cost of systems by at least 30% to 40%, putting them within the reach of smaller facilities.
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More hospitals are beginning to use principles and techniques borrowed from other industries to improve the quality of care. They're developing treatment guidelines, usually based on comparative data and the collected expertise of their caregivers, and they're "benchmarking," comparing their care patterns with those of hospitals that get better results and modifying practices accordingly.
Formerly tiny Keane Healthcare Services Division is elbowing its way into the top ranks of hospital information systems vendors through the acquisitions of two struggling companies. The moves will expand Keane's client base from 30 hospitals to more than 200 in less than a year, making it one of the 10 largest vendors of patient accounting software.