Good News about Healthcare Reform
The Good News About Healthcare Reform: Smarter Use of Imaging Technology Helps Reduce Hospital Errors, Healthcare Costs
Paul Sierzenski, MD
Medical errors continue to be a major problem in the US healthcare system, with hospital acquired infections (HAC) becoming an area of greater focus and where significant financial penalties are being incurred. Medicare has added one especially dangerous--or even potentially fatal--adverse event, iatrogenic pneumothorax during central line placement, to its HAC list. Along with putting patients in peril, the mistake can also increase hospital costs by up…
Reduce Iatrogenic pneumothorax
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Memorial Hermann Healthcare System attained zero iatrogenic pneumothorax complications in multiple hospitals for a full year.The Healthcare System accomplished this incredible feat in several of its prestigious hospitals, including Memorial Hermann Southeast, Memorial Hermann Sugar Land, Children’s Memorial Hermann, Memorial Hermann Katy, Memorial Hermann Northeast, Memorial Hermann Northwest, as well as eight community hospital emergency…
$330 Million Risk: What Boards Should Know
2014-10-14T07:00:00Rodney Hochman, MD, Group President and CEO of Providence Health & ServicesIn his article that advises American Hospital Association member trustees, Rodney Hockman, MD warns that hundreds of hospitals are likely to be penalized by Medicare for patient injuries under the Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program starting in October 2014. He points out that each penalized hospital stands to lose nearly $434,000 in Medicare reimbursements on average, with large hospital systems and those with a high volume of Medicare payments potentially facing much greater…
Smarter Use of Imaging Technology: Reduce Errors Costs
The Good News About Healthcare Reform: Smarter Use of Imaging Technology Helps Reduce Hospital Errors, Healthcare Costs
Paul Sierzenski, MD
Medical errors continue to be a major problem in the US healthcare system, with hospital acquired infections (HAC) becoming an area of greater focus and where significant financial penalties are being incurred. Medicare has added one especially dangerous--or even potentially fatal--adverse event, iatrogenic pneumothorax during central line placement, to its HAC list. Along with putting patients in peril, the mistake can also increase hospital costs by up…
$330 Million Risk: What Boards Should Know
2014-10-14T07:00:00Rodney Hochman, MD, Group President and CEO of Providence Health & ServicesIn his article that advises American Hospital Association member trustees, Rodney Hockman, MD warns that hundreds of hospitals are likely to be penalized by Medicare for patient injuries under the Hospital-Acquired Condition (HAC) Reduction Program starting in October 2014. He points out that each penalized hospital stands to lose nearly $434,000 in Medicare reimbursements on average, with large hospital systems and those with a high volume of Medicare payments potentially facing much greater…
Smarter Use of Imaging Technology: Reduce Errors Costs
The Good News About Healthcare Reform: Smarter Use of Imaging Technology Helps Reduce Hospital Errors, Healthcare Costs
Paul Sierzenski, MD
Medical errors continue to be a major problem in the US healthcare system, with hospital acquired infections (HAC) becoming an area of greater focus and where significant financial penalties are being incurred. Medicare has added one especially dangerous--or even potentially fatal--adverse event, iatrogenic pneumothorax during central line placement, to its HAC list. Along with putting patients in peril, the mistake can also increase hospital costs by up…
Final 2016 Medicare Inpatient Rule Contains Provisions to Promote Patient Safety
2015-09-28T07:00:00Final 2016 Medicare Inpatient Rule Contains Provisions to Promote Patient SafetyJill Rathbun
Jill Rathbun of Galileo Consulting, in her continuing contribution to Dot.Med, explains key points for the FY 2016 CMS Inpatient Prospective Payment Final Rule. Ultrasound plays a role in the Hospital Acquired Condition Program and may contribute to lowering complications.Read article
Ultrasound-Guided Procedures: Financial and Safety Benefits
ICU ManagementDiku Mandavia, MD, FACEP, FRCPC, Chief Medical Officer at Sonosite, and clinical associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Southern CaliforniaDr. Mandavia discusses how ultrasound guidance adds value to both patient safety and removing costs from healthcare delivery.Read article
An Active September in the Nation's Capital
DOT.MedJill RathbunContinuing in a series of Federal policy updates, Jill Rathbun of Galileo Consulting provides the latest news on imaging policy and payments.
Read article
AIUM Recognizes ACEP's Emergency Ultrasound Guidelines
While not all portable ultrasound examinations are of an emergency nature, its predominant use originated within the “we-need-it-STAT” category. Hence, the significant role of emergency medicine in contributing to point-of-care ultrasound best practices and insight into the valuable role ultrasonography can play at the bedside.
In mid-November, the contributions of emergency physicians to the proper use of “focused emergency ultrasound examinations” (a.k.a. point-of-care ultrasound) was acknowledged by the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM). According to their November 17,…
A Big Thank-You From Tenwek, Kenya
This story reminds us yet again how lives can be saved when dedicated teamwork combines with progressive medical technology.
An international team of Sonosite employees raced against the clock to deliver a replacement ultrasound machine to Tenwek, Kenya, for a medical emergency at rural Tenwek Hospital, a two-hour drive from Nairobi. A cardiac team had been in place for ultrasound-guided heart-valve surgeries when their machine (made by another company) failed. Another surgeon, who had been using Sonosite machines to screen children in the developing world for rheumatic heart disease,…
ASA “Practise Guidelines for Central Venous Access” Published
It may be an exaggeration to suggest that every other month a new guideline or requirement is released by a professional medical body recommending or directing that ultrasound—especially bedside (a.k.a., point-of-care) ultrasound—be incorporated into clinical best practises, but often it feels like it.Case in point: In my last CMO Corner, I commented on the AIUM recognising the American College of Emergency Physician’s Policy Statement “Emergency Ultrasound Guidelines,” which acknowledged point-of-care ultrasound as part of emergency care’s best practises.Not long ago, new ACGME Programme…
Studies Indicate CT Scan Overuse, Radiation Overexposure
Recently the medical literature has documented the growing use of CT scans. It is certainly no secret that, when circumstances warrant, Sonosite advocates for the consideration of ultrasound first over other imaging modalities. A CT scan is a powerful and valuable test when used appropriately and—as with all medical procedures—when its therapeutic value is carefully weighed against its potential harm. Yet, while acknowledging CT’s value, I can’t ignore mounting evidence indicating CT scans are being ordered more often than are necessary or safe.
According to a June 13, 2012, JAMA report “…
Morocco Trial Shows Remote Ultrasound Can Expand Access and Improve Maternal Care.
In the remote reaches of rural areas and developing countries there is continuous demand to accessible solutions that provide reliable, faster, and affordable clinical care. Every day, around the world, approximately 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Of those deaths, 40 percent are due to injuries or conditions related to placenta complications. The only way to detect abnormal placenta challenges is through an ultrasound exam.
In the rural areas of Morocco, previously pregnant women had to wait up to two weeks to obtain the…
Ultrasound Can Diagnose and Prevent Pneumothorax
by Dr. Diku MandaviaIt's ironic that one of the most efficient ways to detect pneumothorax in patients is also one of the most effective ways to prevent two of its more common clinical causes.While scenarios that might trigger the suspicion of pneumothorax are too numerous to list, screening for it has included the standard trinity of chest-imaging procedures: x-rays, tomography, and ultrasound.Ultrasound not only helps to diagnose pneumothorax, but it can play a significant role in helping to prevent it. A leading procedural cause for it in hospital settings is a failed central line…
Memorial Hermann
A Success StorySee why Memorial Hermann's physicians prefer driving with total vision, then find out how we can help
Trice Imaging, Inc. and FUJIFILM Sonosite Announce iViz Portable Ultrasound Device Integration at Health 2.0
Trice Imaging, a leading provider in the medical image management industry, announced today at Health 2.0 the integration of Tricefy into FUJIFILM Sonosite’s latest portable ultrasound device. The iViz, which was recently CE marked for sale in Europe and currently pending FDA 510(k) clearance, is the latest point-of-care visualisation solution by FUJIFILM Sonosite and includes Trice sharing, collabouration and routing software embedded in the device. Trice Imaging Inc. and FUJIFILM Sonosite will together demonstrate the technology during a session, covering care delivery platforms…
From Sceptic to Believer
Growing AwarenessWhen Dr. Bryan Matusic first started practicing, the block and neurostimulator alone were considered best practise and block success rates of 85% were the accepted norm. "I was using just my own senses and the stimulator," he says. "Even if I had a 10%-15% failure rate, I was still doing better than most."However, when he became a regional anaesthesiologist in 2010 and began performing orthopaedic nerve blocks exclusively at the Advanced Surgical Hospital, he recognised that even a 10% failure rate would be unacceptable. "We can't afford as many block failures here because we…
Dr. Jeff Gonzales' Story
Catching a bus shouldn't be life-threatening. But for one 23-year-old woman, running for the bus could have cost her everything.After rushing to hop on board, she fell unconscious, leaving her arm outstretched beyond the door. Not knowing this, the driver closed the door and drove to the next stop, about two-tenths of a mile away.The passenger was shocked awake by her AICD, which she wore because of a history of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. As she regained consciousness, she realised her forearm was still outside of the bus.In the emergency department, the doctors quickly…