2006 October - HospitalBuyer

Hospitals Look at Aviation for Safety Insights

The aviation world overhauled its work procedures three decades ago following a collision between two Boeing 747s killing 583 people in 1977 in Tenerife. The accident was caused by several mis-communications between flight crews and air traffic control. In its wake and under NASA's lead, communication protocols and team communication were reworked into what has been first dubbed Cockpit Resource Management and is now known as Crew Resource Management (CRM). CRM recognizes the importance of human factors in complex, stressful, tiring and risky environments. The New York Times reports today how the Institute of Medicine and other healthcare institutions have recommended, starting five years ago, that healthcare personnel follow similar training as well as take inspiration from how aviation handles error reporting. Pre-operative briefings, post-op debriefings, checklists and procedures can contribute to better team performance by being both more flexible to use input from all team members (not just the boss) and more rigorous by making sure things like drug incompatibilities are avoided. Additional reading: Crew Resource Management and its Applications in Medicine. more...

October 31, 2006 Related topics: Quality, Safety, Errors

Denver’s Pediatric Hospital Spends $25M on Tech

Last week The Children's Hospital (TCH) in Denver, Colorado previewed its new facility scheduled to open a year from now. The new 270-bed hospital will reside on 48 acres, occupy 1.44 million square feet, feature all private patient rooms with sleeping space for two adults, and offer more amenities for families such as lounges, additional sleep rooms, a library and business center, and a teen center with a range of entertainment and learning activities. The new building is designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership (ZGF), a firm which already designed several pediatric hospitals in California, Texas and other states. The Denver Post reposts that $25 million out of the $600 million spent on the project are dedicated to information technologies including: more...

October 20, 2006 Related topics: Facilities, Contract Awards, IT & software

Hospital Buyer

News for healthcare procurement decision makers

Hospitals Look at Aviation for Safety Insights

Denver’s Pediatric Hospital Spends $25M on Tech

Roche Recalls CoaguChek PT Test Strips

St. Jude Doing OK Despite ICD Issues

Slight Decrease Seen in Drug-Eluting Stent Usage

Drug-Coated Stents Not Always Best Option

RFID’s Adoption in Supply Chains Proves Slow, But Hospitals Make It Work

As Doctors Say Free Stuff from Pharma Might be Influential, Some Schools Step In