Prescription Choices in EHRs Impact Care Costs
PHILADELPHIA — Researchers have found that programming electronic health records to make generic drugs a default choice when writing prescriptions may help to curb health care costs.
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Moffit Cancer Center Awarded for Pest Control Measures
TAMPA, Fla. — Orkin, the IPM Institute and the Association for the Healthcare Environment (AHE) has honored Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa with the 2014 IPM Partner Award in the health care category.
The IPM Partner Awards, now in its 11th year, honor facilities for their dedication to Integrated Pest Management (IPM) partnerships with Orkin, a subsidiary of Rollins Inc. based in Atlanta.
Natural Birthing Center Opens at Beaumont Hospital
ROYAL OAK, Mich. — The Karmanos Center for Natural Birth opened on Nov. 3 at Beaumont Hospital.
The hospital calls it a safe and natural birthing alternative for expectant moms in metro Detroit. It combines the comforts of a high-end home with the safety net of a high-tech hospital. The birthing center was built as part of the Danialle & Peter Karmanos Jr. Birth Center at Beaumont through a $6 million gift from Danialle and Peter Karmanos Jr. Karmanos has four sons who were born naturally, including two who were born at Beaumont, Royal Oak.
Longer Patient Stays Can Reduce Costs, Study Finds
NEW YORK — New evidence shows that keeping patients in the hospital one day longer can significantly cut readmissions, save patient lives and reduce costs.
Research from a September 2014 Columbia Business School study titled, “Should Hospitals Keep Their Patients Longer? The Role of Inpatient and Outpatient Care in Reducing Readmissions,” compared the impact of a longer length of stay in the hospital to the effects of outpatient care for Medicare patients.
Health Care Employee Confidence Declines
ATLANTA — Health care worker confidence decreased to the lowest level in more than a year, according to an online study of more than 160 employees.
The Randstad Healthcare Employee Confidence Index, released by Atlanta-based health care staffing firm Randstad Healthcare, showed worker confidence fell to 54.3 in the third quarter of 2014 from 59.8 in the previous quarter. Randstad noted, however that the index remains above the positive confidence threshold of 50.0.
New Data Sheds Light on Hospital Safety
WASHINGTON — New research shows that despite improvements in many aspects of patient safety, hospitals have not been able to improve things such as surgical site infections.
Hospitals Wasting Millions in Unused Surgical Supplies
BALTIMORE — Major hospitals across the U.S. are collectively throwing away at least $15 million a year in unused operating room surgical supplies, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore.
Doctors said in a research report published Oct. 16 in the World Journal of Surgery that these supplies could be salvaged and used to ease shortages, improve surgical care and boost public health in developing countries.
HealthSouth Wins Approval for New Hospital
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — HealthSouth, based in Birmingham, has won approval from the Tennessee officials to build a 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Franklin, Tenn.
Northwestern Medicine Opens Outpatient Pavilion
CHICAGO — Northwestern Medicine’s presence in Chicago has gotten a lot larger with a 1 million-square-foot outpatient pavilion that offers retail and dining options in addition to health services.
Robins & Morton Achieves Multiple LEED-HC Certifications
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — After earning a second LEED for Healthcare (LEED-HC) Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), Birmingham-based Robins & Morton reported that it’s the only general contractor in the country to receive multiple LEED-HC certifications.