Is rapid healthcare IT advancement revolutionizing healthcare, or are the changes rolling out too quickly to ensure quality control? Stories from the Health TechZone discussed both sides of the issue this week.
Recovering from chemical dependency is both physically and emotionally taxing. To increase support for patients in its Nevada branch, the American Addiction Center has partnered with Xirrus to deliver mobile access to every corner of its Desert Hope facility. Patients will benefit from wireless nurse call buttons and from being able to use their smartphones to stay in touch with supportive friends and family.
Medical personnel at Desert Hope will transition the facility's paper records into electronic format. They will then have the capability to access these records along with real-time patient schedules and therapy reports by using iPads. For Desert Hope and other older medical facilities, wireless solutions deliver cost-effective connectivity because they're cheaper than retrofitting old buildings with wired infrastructure.
In Canada, a potentially lucrative partnership between QHR Technologies and MediResource could change the way that Canadian physicians manage patients with chronic diseases. The MediResource platform currently handles 70 million customers annually from pharmaceutical, corporate and mobile access points. By partnering with QHR, MediResource will expand its platform to Canadian physicians.
In addition, MediResource will integrate with QHR's AccuroEMR platform, which will allow the company to produce integrated behavioral research and healthcare content at a low price. For example, a patient with diabetes could view his or her own health information while taking advantage of MediResource's Digital Health Coach. The result would be better disease management thanks to patient engagement.
Not every healthcare IT advance is embraced by the medical system. Dr. Scot Silverstein, an adjunct professor of healthcare informatics at Drexel University, has become a vocal critic of electronic medical records (EMR). Silverstein's latest target is a computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system at Marin General Hospital in Marin County, Calif. The CPOE has reportedly generated multiple errors in the distribution of patient medication. For instance, the system has sent the wrong medications to the wrong patients, prompting nurses to complain to the Marin Healthcare District board.
Marin General's CEO pushed the implementation ahead, which, according to Dr. Silverstein, is a symptom of a healthcare system too eager for rapid healthcare IT implementation. And to Silverstein, this fight is personal. Because of an EMR error, his mother died after receiving the wrong heart medication. The experience prompted Silverstein to urge hospitals to slow down EMR adoption. He also argues that the FDA should regulate EMRs and healthcare IT just as they regulate medical hardware and pharmaceuticals.
With that story, we wrap up our review of this week's Health TechZone news. Enjoy the first weekend of June, and stay tuned to HealthTechZone's Health TechZone for the latest healthcare technology news.
