IT Partnerships in Patient Safety and Healthcare Staffing Where will hospitals and healthcare facilities find qualified nurse practitioners? A nurse practitioner enters the room. As the nurse practitioner greets the patient, he or she is immediately identified by 'smart room' technologies that confirm the nurse practitioner is an authorized caregiver. The nurse practitioner’s name appears on a flat screen for patients and family members to see and is prompted to wash his or her hands by a spotlight that points to the sink. Smart room technologies and electronic health and medical records systems are being deployed by hospitals nationwide to curb medical errors, reduce mortality rates and altogether enhance patient safety and outcomes. But what technologies are hospitals using to source and recruit savvy nurse practitioners? What healthcare management solutions to ensure a seamless transition in patient care when one nurse practitioner goes on leave and another takes over, or to eliminate countless phone hours finding last minute replacements for call outs and spikes in patient census? More importantly, "How does a hospital find nurse practitioners knowledgeable of EMRs and EHRs, smart room technologies and informatics?" Smart room technologies will only be as good as the "smart" nurses and doctors charged with entering and maintaining the [+]

Though ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) present patients with unbridled convenience and investors with margins superior to hospital settings, the rapid growth of ambulatory care centers has revealed some unsettling risks.  The Centers for Disease Control, along with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently evaluated the infection control practices of nearly 70 ASCs across Maryland, North Carolina and Oklahoma. Findings were shocking. More than 20 percent of ASCs surveyed had lapses in proper hand washing and the use of protective gloves. Fifty seven percent were cited for deficiencies in infection control and 30 percent reprimanded for deficiencies related to medication administration, including use of single-dose medications for multiple patients. Of the 68 ASCs surveyed, lapses included: Insufficient cleaning of high touch surfaces in patient care areas Inappropriate handling of equipment used for blood glucose monitoring Failure to adhere to recommended practices regarding reprocessing of surgical equipment Deficiencies related to injection practices Although most states require ASCs to meet various licensing requirements and conduct periodic inspections – not all do - or strictly enforce state requirements, resulting in lapses in quality patient care at under-inspected ASCs. And though nurse pay in Ambulatory Surgery Centers typically falls above the median, according to government statistics, ASCs pay often six to [+]

Talk of healthcare information technology, EMRs and EHRs is fast growing among hospital administrators nationwide.  Healthcare reform laws passed last March give hospitals until 2013 to put electronic medical and health records systems in place and to meet a slew of meaningful use guidelines set forth by reform’s Healthcare Information Technology Act (HITECH). How much can this potentially cost hospitals? By some estimates, as much as $120,000 per physician for a competent EHR in terms of equipment, software, services, training time and potential lost revenue. Coincidentally and to the detriment of hospitals, these expenditures come at a time when providers are reeling from one of the worst economic downturns in decades. And to make matters worse, investors are shifting their focus to outpatient centers, leaving hospital administrators no choice but to improve efficiencies and cut costs to meet HITECH mandates on time. Susan Higgins, Product Development Director for Candidate Direct, a leading provider of healthcare staffing solutions, said one way hospitals can save money is to streamline their permanent and contingent workforce staffing needs. From recruitment to payroll, Higgins said their company provides hospitals with customizable, automated staffing solutions to hire and retain candidates who possess [+]