A recent report examining how hospital IT departments can address patient safety and quality of care issues has been published by First Consulting Group, a professional services firm focused on healthcare and technology located in Alpharetta, Ga.
According to the report, entitled "The Next Generation Safety Net: What's Next After Advanced Clinical Systems," the most important areas for hospitals to look at are:
· Advanced CPOE. While CPOE in its current form has been proven to reduce the length of patient stays and help prevent care errors, there is more that CPOE can do for physicians, nurses and patients that is yet untapped.
· Medication reconciliation. In a review of reported medical errors, 66 percent occur during the transfer of a patient to a new level of care (i.e., from intensive care to oncology).
· Data surveillance. Currently, hospitals use clinical data systems for analysis of care "after the fact."
