Electronic medical records: A necessity, or costly nightmare? Providers weigh in

You don't have an electronic medical record (EMR) system implemented yet, and now there's talk of patients bringing you their personal electronic health records. Should you scramble to implement an EMR system, or continue to wait it out?

Steps to implementing an electronic record

So if you've decided to implement an electronic medical record (EMR), what is your first step? Do your homework, said Kenny Bozorgi, MD, CASC, chief operating officer, Magna Health Systems, Chicago. He also is a candidate for a master's degree in medical information from Northwestern University in Evanston, IL.

3 lessons learned about adopting EMRs

When you adopt electronic medical records (EMRs), the biggest barrier will be resistance to change, said Melodee Moncrief, BSN, RN, CASC, administrator at Big Creek Surgery Center in Middleburg Heights, OH. Moncrief spoke on EMRs at this year's meeting of the Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Association.

Monitor hand hygiene to reach 90% compliance

As concern grows over antibiotic-resistant organisms, health care workers never have been under greater scrutiny for their compliance with hand hygiene.

Ways to measure hand hygiene compliance

The Institute of Healthcare Improvement's (IHI) free How-to Guide: Improving Hand Hygiene, includes monitoring checklists. To monitor hand hygiene compliance, IHI suggests the following measures.

Last hand hygiene step: Who complies with all?

According to How-to Guide: Improving Hand Hygiene, the Institute of Healthcare Improvement (IHI) says you should measure the percentage of patient encounters in which there is compliance by health care workers with all components of appropriate hand hygiene and glove practices.

Same-Day Surgery Manager: Inpatient vs. outpatient: tough questions addressed

I have received so many phone calls and e-mails about the September column on the separation of inpatient and outpatient ORs that I thought a follow-up to some of your questions was necessary. Overall, the response was very favorable and positive.

Minimally invasive gets even less traumatic

Just when one thought that minimally invasive surgery couldn't get any less intrusive, new technologies are discovered that are one step less invasive than the most recent advance.

Pioneers share experience with single-port access

One thing the robot has not yet performed, but articulated handheld laparoscopic instruments have, is single port access (SPA) surgery in which three or four trocars are placed within a single opening in the abdomen, usually the umbilicus.

Could a camera holder replace an assistant?

Another advance in general laparoscopic surgery that was launched at the recent annual meeting of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons and received an innovation award was the Free Hand robotic camera holder from Prosurgics of Cupertino, CA.

Endoscopy center improves reporting of test results

The Endoscopy Center of Colorado Springs (CO) has won a national award for its improved system of reporting and explaining pathology results to patients. One year after implementing the new reporting system, 100% of patients surveyed received their pathology reports, were informed of the results, and knew their recommended follow-up dates.

November 1, 2008