Why Aren All Hospitals Using Electronic Surveillance to Catch Bad Germs?
For decades electronic surveillance has been used to track and capture all types of nefarious characters. From terrorists to mobsters to Wall Street fund managers, electronic surveillance has proven to be a favorite tool among the various government agencies charged with keeping us safe. What does that have to do with healthcare? Plenty, say those who have begun using the technology to track hospital acquired infections. To date only about one-third of U.S. hospitals use an electronic infection control tool, says Scott Pope, PharmD, national director of SafetySurveillor, one such tool, at Premier Inc., in Charlotte, NC. But, that number will grow as more states implement infection reporting mandates and the Department of Health and Human Services’ five-year plan to reduce healthcare-associated infections gets under way, Pope says. “It’s very exciting that HHS is going to take on this initiative and technology will certainly play a large role. This is all leading to a point where hospit
Related Questions
- Are Medicaid EPs and eligible hospitals subject to payment adjustments or penalties if they do not adopt electronic health record (EHR) technology or fail to demonstrate meaningful use?
- How will eligible professionals (EPs) and eligible hospitals apply for incentives under the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program?
- How is myNYP.org different from electronic medical records that many hospitals already use?
