NEW WEB-BASED FORM ALLOWS ORGANIZATIONS TO DISCUSS HEALTH IMPACT ASSESSMENTS, FOLLOW THE PROGRESS OF OTHERS NATIONWIDE
The Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Pew Charitable Trusts, recently launched a new Web feature to document the rapidly expanding health impact assessment (HIA) work around the country. HIA is a flexible, data-driven tool that identifies the health benefits and consequences of new policies and develops practical strategies to minimize any adverse effects, ensuring the best possible health outcomes.
HIAs aim to stem the rising tide of chronic disease and create safe, thriving communities by ensuring that health needs are regularly factored into policy and program decisions in sectors that do not traditionally focus on health outcomes.
Bringing together relevant public input, available data, and a range of qualitative and quantitative methods to anticipate the potential health consequences of a proposed policy, program, or project, HIAs use a structured yet flexible process for developing practical recommendations that decision makers can use to advance well-informed public policies, programs, and projects that avoid unintended health consequences and unexpected costs.
Health Impact Assessments
* acknowledge the trade-offs and potential costs and benefits of various choices and outline opportunities to maximize health gains, minimize adverse effects, and improve health for everyone in the affected community;
* view health from a broad perspective, taking into account a wide range of environmental factors, such as housing conditions, roadway safety, and social and economic variables;
* consider whether there are subgroups within an affected population that may be more vulnerable to a given impact;
* promote civic engagement by engaging community members and other stakeholder groups who will be affected by a decision; and
* present an impartial, science-based appraisal of the risks, benefits, trade-offs, and alternatives involved in the decision.
HIAs can vary in complexity and depth of analysis. Not every proposal requires a full HIA, and the level of analysis should be tailored to the decision process at hand. A "rapid" HIA can be accomplished within a few weeks, whereas a more thorough HIA that includes the collection of significant new data might take several months. The timing of the HIA also affects its value-if the assessment is done earlier in the process, it may be easier for a planner or decision maker to integrate the information.
The field of HIA has developed largely outside the United States through efforts by the World Health Organization and the European Union and Canada, among others. HIA in the United States, while at an early stage, has already proven a valuable approach to promote decisions attuned to health.
As part of the project's ongoing efforts to build and promote the use of HIAs, the new online form is designed to help track the many HIAs being conducted nationwide, connect practitioners, and allow others to benefit from lessons learned.
The Health Impact Project plans to integrate submissions into a searchable directory, which will be available online later in 2010. By submitting information and sharing successes and challenges, users will help the Health Impact Project advance smarter policies for healthier communities.
To learn more about the project and submit information about an organization's HIA, visit http://www.healthimpactproject.org.
NEW SENTRI7 FEATURES RELEASED TO ENHANCE INFECTION PREVENTION CAPABILITIES AND ACCELERATE WORKFLOW
Pharmacy OneSource, Inc, softwareas-a-service provider to more than 1300 hospitals in the United States, announced today that several new improvements have been added to Sentri7, a Web-based, enterprisewide electronic surveillance application that helps hospital staff identify at-risk patients.
Infection prevention teams now have access to the positive culture line list, a highly tailored dashboard specific to the workflow of infection control activities. This list view displays all positive cultures within a specified time range, including culture type, location history, admit/spec/resulted dates, and positive culture findings. Single-click documentation of hospital-acquired infection discovery is included.
Sentri7 can also pull data from radiology and surgery feeds to make further assessments for patient safety. For example, surveillance of chest x-ray impressions can expedite positive determination of pneumonia by infection prevention specialists and pharmacists. Realtime surveillance allows identification of cultures more quickly than was previously possible-up to 3 days earlier than conventional methods.
Laboratory values are now consolidated into a single view from the dashboard, trending in chronological order, regardless of which panel the laboratory value is derived from.
To expedite intervention decision making and follow-up, the last 7 days of documented events are now displayed on the Sentri7 dashboard. A single click on an event opens that documented intervention, affording the full review of documented interventions and follow-up from the Sentri7 dashboard.
Sentri7 by Pharmacy OneSource combines medication, laboratory, patient, radiology, and surgery data to facilitate earlier, better, and more consistent interventions. Accelerating workflows can lead to shorter lengths of stay, lower costs, improved patient safety, and reduced antibiotic resistance. More information about Sentri7 can be found at http://www.sentri7.com.
Pharmacy OneSource is a software-as-a-service provider. More than 1300 healthcare organizations worldwide use its HIPAA compliant Web-based services, including Accupedia, Amplifi, Med- Board, Quantifi, ScheduleRx, Sentri7, Simplifi 797, and VeriForm.
For more information about the company, visit http://www.pharmacyonesource.com.
DELTA HEALTH TECHNOLOGIES LAUNCHES RHAPSODYCARE TO ADDRESS DOCUMENTATION NEEDS OF INPATIENT HOSPICE FACILITIES
Delta Health Technologies, LLC, has announced the launch of Rhapsody-Care, a software solution designed to streamline the unique documentation requirements of inpatient hospice care. RhapsodyCare has been developed to blend into the environment and work flow of a hospice house and to allow clinicians to focus on patient comfort while ensuring consistent documentation.
RhapsodyCare documents all daily shift-based interaction among clinicians, patients, family members, and other caregivers. By using the base version of RhapsodyCare, users may
* manage referrals for inpatient hospice care, whether it is for routine, general inpatient, or respite care;
* add new patients, view patients in the system, and identify available beds;
* perform preadmission evaluations to determine whether the patient meets the criteria for a general inpatient level of care;
* document an initial assessment upon patient arrival and establish a plan of care; and
* document ongoing services in the inpatient setting.
The user-friendly interface features photos of patients and their clinicians, providing a human element and more personal alternative to traditional care documentation. All data can be easily retrieved, viewed, and updated, and online help is available in the form of frequently asked questions.
RhapsodyCare utilizes Microsoft's Silverlight 3 technology and is compatible with multiple Web browser products used on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X operating systems. Subscriptions for the basic version are available at http://www.RhapsodyCare.com, and additional premium add-ons will be available beginning in June 2010.
Delta developed the software because it views inpatient hospice care as one of the most personal and underserved sectors of the healthcare industry. RhapsodyCare allows smoother and more efficient management of the interdisciplinary teams required by hospice care and is designed to bring a human touch to the process.
Delta Health Technologies, LLC, focuses exclusively on providing technology solutions for homecare, hospice, and private duty healthcare entities. To learn more about RhapsodyCare, visit http://www.RhapsodyCare.com. More information on the company can be obtained by visiting http://www.DeltaHealthTech.com.
DOYLESTOWN HOSPITAL ENHANCES PATIENT EXPERIENCE BY ADDING SKYLIGHT ACCESS INTERACTIVE PATIENT CARE SYSTEM
Skylight Healthcare Systems, a provider of interactive patient systems, announced the launch of Skylight ACCESS at Doylestown Hospital, a 207-bed facility in Doylestown, PA. The Skylight ACCESS Interactive Patient System transforms the patient room TV into an interactive educational and entertainment system that patients can use right from the hospital bed.
Doylestown Hospital implemented Skylight ACCESS to support ongoing endeavors to transform the patient experience and improve patient satisfaction. The Skylight ACCESS system can provide patients with personalized health education to increase understanding of their illness or medical procedure and make hospital stays more enjoyable, which reduces patient stress and can help speed healing. The system also gives patients the ability to order meals via an onscreen menu, as well as request housekeeping services. Patients can also watch movies on-demand, local TV stations, listen to music, use relaxation videos, play video games, and even gain access to the Internet and e-mail.
Doylestown Hospital is a comprehensive healthcare facility serving patients and families in the northern suburban communities of Philadelphia, including Bucks and Montgomery Counties in Pennsylvania and Hunterdon and Mercer Counties in New Jersey. Founded in 1923 by the Village Improvement Association, Doylestown Hospital is among 23 winners of 5000 hospitals nationwide to have received Health-Grades Patient Safety Excellence Award and Outstanding Patient Experience Award for 2 consecutive years (2009 and 2010). The Heart Institute of Doylestown Hospital is also recognized by Health-Grades and the Society for Thoracic Surgery as being in the top 10% of cardiac programs in the United States. Doylestown Hospital is designated as a Blue Distinction Center for Cardiac Care and Knee and Hip Replacement by Independence Blue Cross based on experience, quality standards, positive results, and evidence-based care criteria.
Skylight Healthcare Systems (San Diego, CA) is a provider of interactive patient care technology. The Skylight ACCESS Interactive Patient System aims to improve patient communication as the cornerstone of a safe, comfortable, and clinically optimal hospital experience and can provide a smoother and faster recovery and discharge plan. For more information about Skylight Healthcare Systems, please visit http://www.skylight.com.