Improving usability of EHR systems: AMIA Recommendations

In response to mounting evidence that use of electronic medical record systems may cause unintended consequences, and even patient harm, the AMIA Board of Directors convened a Task Force on Usability to examine evidence from the literature and make recommendations. A position paper was developed by the AMIA and published by the Journal of American Medical Information Association outlining 4 major recommendations.

Six Lessons Learned About Hospital Smartphone Integration

Amcom Software, a subsidiary of USA Mobility, Inc. has published a white paper that presents lessons learned from integrating smartphones with hospitals communication network. They have learned important lessons that can help other facilities make a smooth transition. At the end of the day, the goal is to get the right message to the right person, on the right device, at the right time.

A Preview of the Six Lessons

1. While the idea of completely replacing all pagers hospital-wide with smartphones gets people talking, it’s probably not a realistic goal

2. The many different communication devices in today’s hospitals need to be supported because they aren’t going away

3. Integration with the existing enterprise communications backbone is crucial for messaging accuracy and the effective use of smartphones (and other mobile devices)

4. Smartphones are enabling a paradigm shift in the way hospital staff communicate as well as how they work

5. Encryption is essential to protect patient privacy and meet industry compliance requirements

6. Opportunities for clinical collaboration are improved by integrating smartphones with nurse call and other point-of-care systems

Best Practices in Securing Hospitals IT systems from the inside

Paul Christman, Vice President, Public Sector Sales and Marketing at Dell, speaks about three key elements of internal controls that help ensure that Hospitals' IT systems are as strong inside a hospital's corridors as it on the outside.

Health IT predictions for 2013

Information Week has reached out to CIOs, health IT professionals, analysts, bloggers and other HIT heavyweights in a series of email interviews to get their health information technology predictions for 2013

ICD-10 Education & Training Best Practices

EHRintelligence has outlined the training strategy for the staff who will be directly involved in using the new ICD-10 codes.