Editorial
Avoiding Errors
Helicia Herman Measures taken in the course of healthcare assistance can, in certain cases, cause harm to patients, even if originally the aim was to help. A European study revealed that nearly four European citizens out of five (78%) considered medical errors in their country as a serious problem. Reacting to errors on the basis of a reporting system or by an increase in information techn...
Investing in IT
Benefits of IT Investments in U.S. Hospitals
Authors Lorin M. Hitt, Alberto Vitale Term Associate Professor of Operations and Information Management, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Nick Beard, M.D., Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP Email: [email protected] Hospitals seeking rapid returns on their information technology (IT) investments need to bear in mind an ancient Chinese proverb: “With...
Clinical Knowledge Base Prevents Medical Errors
Author Nick van Terheyden, MD Chief Medical Officer, Philips Speech Recognition Systems Email: [email protected] Real-time availability of clinical information will improve patient safety Medical errors occur in any part of the treatment process and typically involve the wrong medication, improper treatment, or incorrect or delayed test results. Last year the European Commission,...
Hospital IT Award
Integrating the Electronic Health Card in a Computerised Hospital Information System
Authors Steffen Hayna1, Werner Krämer1, Paul Schmücker2 1 Diakonissen-Stiftungs Hospital Speyer 2 University of Applied Sciences Mannheim, Faculty of Informatics, Germany Email: [email protected] The wide-ranging implementation of the electronic patient card (EPC) is still a hotly debated issue. The introduction of the EPC brings significant technical and organisational...
High-Quality Data Integration in Medical Information Systems
Based on the Plug-in Architecture CARAMEL Authors Stefan Brüggemann1 , Martin Rohde2 OFFIS – Institute for Information Technology, Escherweg 2,26121 Oldenburg, Germany 1 [email protected] 2 [email protected] The development and operation of the Epidemiological Cancer Registry of Lower Saxony is being supported by the institute OFFIS with the project CARLOS (CAncer Registry LOwer Saxony...
IT-Supported Discharge Management
Authors Dr. Holger Pschichholz, IT Department,University Hospital Freiburg Agnesenstraße 6-879106 Freiburg, Germany Email: [email protected] Dr. Johanna Feuchtinger Quality and Development in Care, University Hospital Freiburg Breisacherstraße 6279106 Freiburg, Germany Email: [email protected] Process optimisation for the after-care...
eHealth Developments
The Trends in Healthcare IT Integration in Finland
Authors Teemu Paavola, CEO LifeIT Plc Koskenalantie 16, FI-60220 Seinäjoki, Finland Tel. +358 (0)6 429 8800 Fax +358 (0)6 429 8801 Email: [email protected] Kari Mäkelä Professor of Telemedicine,Tampere University of Technology Koskenalantie 16, FI-60220 Seinäjoki, Finland Tel. +358 (0)6 429 8800 Fax +358 (0)6 429 8801 Email: [email protected] Finland has set...
Health Cards in the Canton of Tessin
Authors Dr. Marzio Della Santa, MPH, Project Leader Dr. Giuliana Corà, Scientific Collaborator Dr. Ignazio Cassis, MPH, Cantonal Doctor Department of Health and Social Affairs, Republic and Canton of Tessin, Bellinzona (Switzerland) www.retesan.ch Email: [email protected] Health is one of the principal preoccupations of the Swiss population. Although the operation of the health syst...
Intersectoral Communication
In 2005, the association of healthcare IT manufacturers (VHitG) launched an initiative to permit the exchange of intersectoral information and structured documents in a medical context. The objective was to work on a selection of therapeutic procedures and to promote an exchange of data and process information leading to integrated care, as well their development between the ambulatory and residential sect...