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Here are the IT related health issues I was able to find.
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Patient Information Databases:
Issues:
a. ?The ability to access and view patient records remotely, is a
concern and priority for many physicians. For example, a caregiver
needs to view patient information and is required to can do so in a
secure manner, but they may not be able to print any information from
their home computer because of security precautions.?
?The challenges of maintaining patient privacy and delivering secure
clinical information? by Kristin V. Johnson
http://www.wistechnology.com/article.php?id=953
b. ?Health organizations aren't meeting the security demands of HIPAA,
partly because they push too much of the responsibility on their IT
departments, experts on the law said during this week's HealthSec
conference in Boston.?
?HIPAA security compliance not just an IT problem? By Bill Brenner
http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid14_gci1010564,00.html
c. Using Wireless technology
?In this emergency setting, wireless technology effectively supported
mobile computing and was well received by the physician group. The
system permitted emergency physicians to rapidly access information at
the bedside and use DSTs (decision support tools) more frequently.
Patients generally accepted the physicians' use of information
technology to assist in decision making. The major limitations were
the size and inconvenience of maneuvering an MC (mobile computer)
around for an entire shift. Ongoing research into best-fit technology
is required to strike the optimal balance between size, portability,
and functionality.?
?Supporting Clinical Practice at the Bedside Using Wireless Technology?
Michael J. Bullard, MD, David P. Meurer, RN, BScN, Ian Colman, MSc,
Brian R. Holroyd, MD and Brian H. Rowe, MD, MSc
http://www.aemj.org/cgi/content/full/11/11/1186
d. ?There is a well-established body of literature that shows
computerized alerts and reminders can help avoid medical errors and
improve the response to changing patient conditions, yet busy
clinicians do not have the time to enter the data that are used for
the clinical rules. This operational challenge can be circumvented by
using data imported from other systems to populate the alert rule
sets, improving patient safeguards during the times that they are
needed most.?
?Where's the Beef? The Promise and the Reality of Clinical Documentation?
Steven J. Davidson, MD, MBA, Frank L. Zwemer, Jr., MD, MBA, Larry A.
Nathanson, MD, Kenneth N. Sable, MD and Abu N.G.A. Khan, MD, MS
http://www.aemj.org/cgi/content/full/11/11/1127#SEC2
e. Less Visits Mean Less Money for Doctors
?Electronic medical record systems were installed, so both the
doctor?s office and the hospital could immediately see each patient?s
chart. Nurses were hired to monitor the care of all the patients and
teach them about their medications and other treatments.?
?Docs get paid if they see patients in offices and if they visit
patients who have been admitted to the hospital. They don?t get paid ?
or get paid a lot less ? for e-mailing patients messages on how to
stay home and be healthy, or for supervising the excellent care
provided by the special nurses.?
?When selfish doctors rip up their own prescription? by Howard Brody
http://www.lansingcitypulse.com/041103/features/health.asp
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Bar-Coding:
Overview: ?Bar coding that enables auto identification of drugs,
medical devices, supplies, patients, and staff can reduce medical
errors and improve productivity. In November 2003, HIMSS? Board of
Directors approved a name change for the Bar Coding Task Force, now
known as the ?Auto-ID and Bar Coding Task Force.?? Auto Identification
or Auto-ID describes technologies that help machines identify objects,
such as bar codes, smart cards, voice recognition, biometric
technologies, radio frequency identification (RFID), and others.?
?Auto-ID and Bar Coding?
http://www.himss.org/content/files/infosheets/Auto-ID_and_Bar_Coding.pdf
Issue:
?Hospitals and pharmaceutical companies had a chicken-and-egg problem,
explained Nancy Foster, senior associate director for policy at the
American Hospital Association (AHA). Hospitals didn't want to buy into
bar-coding until they could buy bar-coded unit-dose medications.
Drugmakers didn't want to pay for bar codes until hospitals could use
them. As a result, Foster said, fewer than 7% of U.S. hospitals use
bedside bar-code scanning. Every hospital that does must also
repackage and bar-code most of its meds.?
"?Bar-coding is a supply chain issue,? explained Tracey Casteuble,
HDMA director of research and information. "You want to get bar codes
at the unit level. That is where the real patient safety lies. And you
want to start with the drugs that give you the greatest initial impact
on patient safety."
?Drug wholesalers issue bar-code priority drug list?
http://www.drugtopics.com/drugtopics/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=107898
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E-Prescribing:
?ePrescribing is the ability of a physician to submit a "clean"
prescription directly to a pharmacy from the point of care?
?The Pharma Marketing Glossary?
http://www.pharma-mkting.com/glossary/eprescribing.htm
Issue:
?The fly in the e-prescribing ointment is that while employers and
society may reap rewards, physicians don't have much incentive to give
up their pens and paper Rx pads, the authors concluded. Given the
hefty costs associated with implementing e-prescribing, some carrots
are going to have to be dangled in front of prescribers to make the
switch??
?Incentives will drive e-prescribing, report finds? by Carol Ulkens
http://www.drugtopics.com/drugtopics/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=107896
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Operation Broadcasts:
?Such conferences are made possible with interventional cardiology
technology that allows doctors to treat heart problems in a very
visual way.?
?Doctors look at screens displaying images made from X-rays or
ultrasounds as they guide tools through catheters inserted in blood
vessels to repair cardiac damage.?
?Many cardiac catheterization labs now come equipped with cameras and
fiber optics intended to send images over long distances for teaching
and diagnostics.?
Issue:
?It costs hundreds of thousands of dollars to pay for the TV crews and
equipment needed to put on three days of educational cardiology,
Hijazi said.?
?The physicians organize the conferences themselves without government
financial aid, he said.?
?Televising heart operations drawing audience of docs? By Jon Van
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/11/03/build/health/75-tv-operations.inc
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Computer Related Health Problems:
a. Computer Vision Syndrome
?CVS is caused by our eyes and brain reacting differently to
characters on the screen than they do to printed characters. Our eyes
have little problem focusing on most printed material, which is
characterized by dense black characters with well-defined edges.
Healthy eyes can easily maintain focus on the printed page. Characters
on a computer screen, however, don't have this contrast or
well-defined edges. These characters (pixels) are brightest at the
center and diminish in intensity toward their edges. This makes it
very difficult for our eyes to maintain focus and remain fixed onto
these images.?
?More than 143 million Americans work on a computer each day, with 88%
of them suffering from computer eyestrain??
?Frequently Asked Questions on Computer Vision Syndrome and Computer Glasses?
By Larry K. Wan, O.D.
http://www.allaboutvision.com/cvs/faqs.htm
b. Posture Problems
?Doctors around the country say they are seeing an increasing number
of posture-related health problems, mostly stemming from the fact that
more people are spending hours at a time hunched over computer
keyboards.?
?Yes, posture matters? By Tara Parker-Pope
http://www.azstarnet.com/dailystar/relatedarticles/16161.php
?Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when the median nerve, which runs from
the forearm into the hand, becomes pressed or squeezed at the wrist.
The median nerve controls sensations to the palm side of the thumb and
fingers (although not the little finger), as well as impulses to some
small muscles in the hand that allow the fingers and thumb to move.
The carpal tunnel - a narrow, rigid passageway of ligament and bones
at the base of the hand ¾ houses the median nerve and tendons.
Sometimes, thickening from irritated tendons or other swelling narrows
the tunnel and causes the median nerve to be compressed.?
?Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Fact Sheet?
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/health_and_medical/pubs/carpal_tunnel.htm
c. Workstation Design
?People who work with computers have reported a variety of problems
that can be related to work habits, work station design or job design,
according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and
Health Administration. These complaints include fatigue, eyestrain and
irritation, blurred vision, headaches and pains in the neck, back, arm
and muscles.?
?Check Out Your Workstation? By Lisa Ellis
http://www.intelihealth.com/IH/ihtIH/WSIHW000/20813/30919/338772.html?d=dmtContent
Search terms used:
IT Systems Health Healthcare Related Issues
Access security privacy patient information CDS e-prescription
Drug bar-coding
I hope these links would help you in your research. Before rating this
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Easterangel-ga
Google Answers Researcher |
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