The Birmingham Business Journal
reports how fast MedMined Inc grew since its creation in 2000. The company provides data mining software that lets hospitals tap their existing applications and identify breakdowns in clinical processes that lead to hospital-acquired infections. These
nosocomial infections are estimated to compound on 5% of acute care hospitalizations, leading to maybe 2 million cases per year and tens of thousands of deaths, at a cost of several billions of dollars per year.
By pointing where improvements can be made, MedMined helps hospital save time and money, and reduce morbidity and mortality. The product is currently in use by more than 160 hospitals in 26 states, tracking an estimated 2.5 million hospital admissions each year, up from 102 hospitals in 22 states in 2004. MedMined now employs 75 people, up from 40 last year, while its revenue grew by 179 percent. The company has earned a number of awards these last years, and some of its customers claim savings of over a million dollars per year per hospital.
more...
March 31, 2006
Related topics:
IT & software, Cost savings
The healthcare world, like other industries, sees an increased number of demonstrated benefits out of implementing RFID (radio frequency identification). However, unlike most other sectors of the economy, healthcare faces unique challenges because it handles people, not goods. While manufacturing or retailing mostly use passive technology, the more expensive active RFID devices can prove useful to keep track of expensive mobile devices, patients or staff. As they are not self-powered, passive IDs need to be scanned with external devices, and typically end up being used on product pallets following initiatives from companies
such as Wal-Mart. Active devices on the other hand broadcast their location but cost-per-tag is significantly higher, which brings cost/benefit questions. Hospitals need to look at the cost structure of the processes they are aiming to improve, as well as ponder potential impact on outcome.
For instance George Morley, director of biomedical engineering at healthcare system
PinnacleHealth, Harrisburg, PA, is raving about the return on investment earned by the Radianse active system rolled out at Harrisburg Hospital. Such deployments with more expensive costs in absolute numbers can pay back faster when they are able to improve core metrics such as ARPP (average revenue per patient) or length of stay, or address mundane but lasting problems such as wheelchairs that are never where they're supposed to be, thus forcing personnel to waste time chasing them down. Meanwhile, passive RFID is not always competitive with older-tech barcodes to track cheap consumables.
See
Healthcare Informatics for more.
more...
March 28, 2006
Related topics:
Wireless, IT & software
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