The following is a continuation from the the Improving Patient Safety through Medical Device Interoperability and High Confidence Software joint workshop last week in Boston. I’ve got a bunch more notes that I’ll be tweaking and posting this week. This next bit is from a panel discussion that described the need for high confidence systems […]
After the break, Julian Goldman provided a brief update on the MD PnP program.
First, Goldman presented ways integrated systems can support safety, using examples from non-healthcare applications. The classic example from Goldman’s stump speech is the automotive brake/automatic transmission interlock, an almost universal interoperable safety feature.
Safety Inter-locks
From aviation, the airplane landing gear smart alarm […]
Respironics was showing Respi-Link, remote monitoring capabilities through an RS232 serial port. The biomed must take the device down to their shop and connect it to a computer that runs a special Respironics client. Through this connection, users can download firmware updates and do run some diagnostics. Respironics is using Axeda for this feature, and […]
The day kicked off with a two part session on “Applying Real-Time Integration in the OR.” The presenters started with “blood and guts” anesthesiologist, Warren Sandberg. He noted that the surgery department has limited - and frequently constrained - resources. He described the value of extending data beyond the location
What Sandberg’s describing is more than […]
Siemens Communications and Ekahau announce a strategic relationship, “By adding Ekahau's RTLS and site survey solutions to its HiPath
Wireless portfolio, Siemens enables companies to benefit not only from
user mobility but also from the cost-effective integration of asset and
people tracking in their business processes.” Siemens HiPath Wireless is their rebranded Chantry Networks acquisition.
The Ekahau Positioning […]
ClearCount Medical Solutions announced that they received FDA approval its RFID-based SmartSponge System for use (press release - pdf).
This is the world’s first RFID system that detects and counts surgical sponges and towels during surgical procedures.” Mr. Palmer continued, “With an estimated 3,000 – 5,000 incidents a year, retained surgical sponges are a considerable problem. […]
Things are changing in the WiFi market. At HIMSS 2007 I noted the booth traffic Aruba Networks and Meru garnered. There was also new comer Extricom who showed a wireless LAN that has a “one-channel” deployment, like Meru.
Since the show, I've heard rumblings of vendor trials at hospitals where the sales eventually went to […]
I’ve been surprised that the vendor trade press hasn’t had more on the recent move by CMS to stop reimbursing hospitals for 13 specific hospital-acquired conditions, aka, adverse events. This will have a profound impact on hospital buying decisions in the coming years. Of course the changes will be slow - this is health care, […]
Overall patient safety in hospitals is not improving. The latest HealthGrades report on patient safety in U.S. hospitals showed the PSI (AHRQ’s patient safety index) rate increased 8% between 2003 and 2005 (more here). The lack of significant progress with patient safety has caused some to ask why payors reimburse hospitals for the additional care […]
Health Affairs reports on nursing issues - the House of Representatives is looking to enact the Safe Nursing and Patient Care Act of 2007 (H.R. 2122) to limit the amount of mandatory overtime a nurse may be required to work.
According to CQ HealthBeat, Stark said, “We limit the time that truck drivers and pilots can […]
