Abstract
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), The Joint Commission, the National Quality Forum, and the World Health Organization are among the world bodies that are developing patient-safety standards. Successfully complying with new protocols tends to increase the workload of caregivers, distract from patient care, and demand greater administrative outlay from hospitals. Various initiatives to improve the quality of patient care are coupled with pressure to reduce healthcare costs. LiveData Inc. has been addressing these challenges since entering the healthcare sector in 2004, at a time when the issue of patient safety was coming to the forefront. This article provides background on the evolution of patient safety issues, and describes how applying technology to improve operational workflow and patient safety in the perioperative suite improves the quality of care and reduces cost.