Studies in health technology and informatics
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2013
Review Meta AnalysisA review of healthcare information system usability & safety.
Healthcare information systems have been designed to increase the efficiency and safety of healthcare processes. Systems such as electronic health records and pervasive computing devices have been shown to improve the safety of healthcare. However, increasing research has indicated that the design of such systems, in particular the user interface, may be related to increased incidence of other types of error. ⋯ New technology, such as CPOE, offers improvements over traditional paper tools and it is shown to have a positive effect on patient safety. New technology also creates the opportunity for new errors to occur and lead to the coining of the term "technology-induced error". The magnitude of the usability-testing needs is larger than it may seem.
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Apps running on mobile devices are continually gaining importance, for medical professionals as well as for patients. When used appropriately, they can support their users, have the potential to increase efficiency and to lower costs. However, the information available for "medical apps" that are currently being distributed in the official mobile app stores of different mobile platforms often rather raises than answers questions regarding important aspects such as functionality, limits, data integrity, security and privacy. In this paper, we analyze the current situation, including a basic overview over current reporting and regulatory mechanisms and propose the use of an app-synopsis as step in direction of transparency.
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Electronic health records (EHRs) are increasingly being used in health care systems, hospitals, and clinics throughout North America. Over the past several years emergency departments (ED) have increasingly become more computerized. ⋯ In this paper we outline the current state of the research in using mobile devices in the ED. Our findings suggest there is very little research evidence that supports the use of mobile devices in the ED and more research is needed to better understand and optimize their use.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2013
Disseminating context-specific access to online knowledge resources within electronic health record systems.
Clinicians' patient care information needs are frequent and largely unmet. Online knowledge resources are available that can help clinicians meet these information needs. Yet, significant barriers limit the use of these resources within the clinical workflow. ⋯ This paper describes OpenInfobutton (www.openinfobutton.org): a standards-based, open source Web service that was designed to disseminate infobutton capabilities in multiple EHR systems and healthcare organizations. OpenInfobutton has been successfully integrated with 38 knowledge resources at 5 large healthcare organizations in the United States. We describe the OpenInfobutton architecture, knowledge resource integration, and experiences at five large healthcare organizations.
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Stud Health Technol Inform · Jan 2013
Ensuring the security and availability of a hospital wireless LAN system.
Wireless technologies as part of the data communication infrastructure of modern hospitals are being rapidly introduced. Even though there are concerns about problems associated with wireless communication security, the demand is remarkably large. ⋯ The main focus of the availability discussion is on signal reach, electromagnetic noise elimination, and maintaining power supply to the network apparatus. It is our hope that this information will assist others in their efforts to ensure safe implementation of wireless LAN systems, especially in hospitals where they have the potential to greatly improve information sharing and patient safety.