Christina's Considerations

TeleICU Lowers Mortality Rates and Length of Stay

I love reporting good news! Today I share the results of a meta-analysis looking reported in the March 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. Researchers looked at the use of telemedicine and found reduced mortality rates (20%) and shortened... Read more →

Healthcare's Most Wanted Fraudsters

Some of our rising healthcare costs are due to fraud -- individuals who steal from federal healthcare programs. This contributes to the mess we are in today and I'd like to see it stopped. On top of this, while doing... Read more →

Preparing Hospitals for Disasters

One of my current roles is to prepare and facilitate emergency/disaster exercises with hospitals and partners. A great resource for anyone responsible for designing, developing, conducting, and evaluating a hospital exercise are the appendices developed by the California Hospital Association... Read more →

Learning from Children

As a parent (of three), I recognize that you can learn from children. But today, I'll write about how we can learn from pediatric hospitals. The current issue of Healthcare Executive has an article by a hospital leader on ways... Read more →

Addressing Care Delivery Challenges: Opportunities for Technology

On a recent flight, I read a wonderful article in HFMA's magazine on using technology to address care delivery challenges. The case study of using eICU to help keep a rural hospital's unit open fit in nicely with my comments... Read more →

Guidance for Healthcare Professionals Evaluating Travelers from Tsunami-Affected Areas

Travelers to tsunami-affected areas may return with a variety of physical concerns. Today, the CDC will host a conference call with a subject matter expert to discuss their interim guidance for clinicians evaluating travelers returning from Tsunami-Affected areas. They will... Read more →

Empowering Patients with Transactional Tools

NCR got its start in banking, but healthcare is benefiting from their success as hospitals respond to the needs of ePatients and empower them to do more for themselves. It is about satisfying customers with self-service and convenience and survey... Read more →

My AirDream

If I were single again... I'd have to consider having Matthew renovate an Airstream trailer for me. Or, I could set one up for me when the nest is empty and my hubby and I have more freedom to head... Read more →

Increasing Hospital Risks

There are a couple of increasing risks for hospital worthy of some attention. The first is drug shortages. I most often think of drug shortage risks in disaster response planning and events, but there have also been times during my... Read more →

Broadband Availability Map

The FCCs National Broadband Map is now available and allows for sorting and analyzing data by technology, provider, speed, and anchor institution. Example reports drawn from this data include Broadband Availability in Urban vs. Rural Areas and Areas with No... Read more →

HITECH: A Crazy Train

Iatric's HIMSS booth included the showing of their HITECH video of a hospital CIO's life to music of Ozzy Osbourn's Crazy Train. It is a great combination! Read more →

Localized Underpayment of Physicians by Medicare

It has been well known for years that Santa Barbara county physicians are underpaid by Medicare due to outdated reimbursement formulas, because we are classified as a rural area. The high cost of living and a large senior population makes... Read more →

Hand Hygiene Monitoring in Hospitals

At my last hospital, we struggled to find effective and efficient ways of monitoring and managing hand washing compliance, because it can significantly reduce Hospital-Acquired Infections(HAIs). But, the answer may now come from something I saw on the exhibit floor... Read more →

California's Model Statute and Plan for Telehealth

The Center for Connected Health Policy has released a model statute for California that recommends modernizing state telemedicine and workforce laws, to encourage more robust adoption of telehealth technologies. The full report, Advancing California’s Leadership in Telehealth Policy: A Telehealth... Read more →

Going Red for Heart Disease: Floyd Memorial Hospital

There is also a Floyd Memorial Hospital in Indiana and they use online video to engage audiences. They and Floyd Medical Center in Georgia look like great places to work. Read more →

Hospital Responds to Criticisms Playing out in Social Media

A hospital in Canada has chosen to respond to misinformation about a young patient in both traditional and social media. This is a great example of a hospital choosing when to respond, how and by whom. Say a prayer for... Read more →

Mobile and Social Technologies to Improve Health Outcomes

The Southern California Telemedicine Learning Center presented a great program titled "Using Mobile and Social Technologies to Improve Health Outcomes" Dr. Keven Patrick reviewed a few intervention studies involving texting and social networking to help patients and their physicians measure,... Read more →