I think from what I have observed I.T. is a love/hate relationship in the hospitals.  Even the most simplistic remote, poorly funded hospital needs to have an IT person to keep their basic stuff working.  IT then gets pulled in many directions; fixing broken stuff, updating software, 'oh-by-the-way', and then of course, trying to stay up on technology and ahead of the curve.  IT never seems to have enough time to finish everything.  Of course, IT is a loss center for the institution, and it seems that as soon as the budget gets tight, their staff is first to go.  I'm not sure what the solution is.

Have any problems been found using a wireless technology in a healthcare facility? Though the upfront cost may be a lot, it seems like it would decrease workload for installing (dropping) LAN lines and maintain the structural of the facility in doing so.

 The study packet talks about the need for offsite backup storage of data for electronic medical records.  What is the recommended frequency for scheduling backup of records and transmitting to offsite storage?    

TJC supports technology that enhances patient safety but recently released an alert to warn hospitals that  it is very important to do a risk analysis to determine how a new implementation to improve safety of the patient can result in a different kind of error resulting from the new technology ie.  a change in patient flow, HR issues, or simply an alteration in time management. 

Information Management has far surpassed the information on the related on-line tutorial.   Many hospitals currently have computerized charts.  We recently  implemented a bar-coding process to help with medication management.   Our biggest challenge was the computer illertacay on the part of our nurses.   We have a devoted nursing staff and many have been with us for years.  Once we all became computer savvy, it became second nature to all.   We are finding more med errors which is good, because of the sensitivity of the process, but errors are caught before they reach the patient.  The process has definitely improved patient safety.

In the Temple Health system, we use Tomson Reuters and Soulcient database to benchmark and compare ourselves to many different types of indicators including cost (labor and non-labor), productivity, efficiency, and utilization. Characteristic indicators are used by the database to group similar hospitals for more valid comparisons.  We strive to hit the 25th percentile in every category. This service also allows us to contact and collaborate with best performers - which I think is the most valuable component.  Despite all this data, I"m still uncertain as to how well we "use" this data to make actual system improvements. I would appreciate hearing from any other hospital administrators out there regarding how and what you use to benchmark and compare your operations and outcomes.

Thank you.