Acting under a federal mandate, drugmakers will soon supply bar code information on labels to enable hospitals to double-check that patients are given the proper medication.
Using portable bar code readers, hospital caregivers can verify that the right dose of a medication is given to the right patient at the appropriate time, said Timothy Zoph, chief information officer at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
“Standardized bar coding is a very important step,” said Zoph, whose hospital is regularly recognized as among the nation’s most wired. “These standards have a high impact on safety.”
Although some hospitals have invested millions in information technology, the benefits they derive are limited because the health-care industry generally lags in creating a standard for collecting, storing and transmitting data digitally, said Zoph.
A government-led initiative seeks to develop health-care IT standards over the next several years.
“Other industries have been through this effort, but health care is still at the front end,” said Zoph.
It is sorely needed, according to a report from the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science. Each year more than 100,000 Americans die in hospitals, nursing homes and clinics due to mistakes, earlier studies have concluded.
“When it comes to safety, the health-care industry needs to borrow from the airline industry,” said Dr. Paul Tang, chairman of the committee that wrote the institute’s report. Airline pilots have access to a broad array of data, and when accidents or near-accidents occur, information on them is widely disseminated so that industry practices can change to reduce the chance of a future mishap.
“In health care, no such universal information system exists,” Tang said.
Once health care embraces IT standards, “we can incorporate new knowledge, best practices and learn from each other,” said Zoph. “Patients will have a more predictable health experience.”
Bells ringing louder: For about five years Bell companies have been losing market share in providing local phone service, but that may be ending.
A study by TNS Telecoms, a market research firm, finds that in the first quarter of this year three of the Bells–SBC Communications, Qwest and BellSouth–experienced slight gains in household market share and a fourth Bell, Verizon, held steady.
All this happened before a policy shift from the Bush administration that moves the government away from enforcing low wholesale rates that enable MCI, AT&T and others to compete with the Bells.
“The trend is still very slight,” noted Charles White, TNS Telecoms vice president, “but it did happen before other developments that are likely a blow to local competition.”
White said that while competition to the Bells from AT&T, MCI and other phone companies may have peaked, competition from cable TV operators like Comcast may be heating up.
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TNS, which analyzes phone and cable TV bills from 32,000 households, also noted that if current trends continue, people will soon be spending as much, on average, for wireless phone service as they spend for traditional wired phones.
The survey found that the average household now pays $48.35 a month for wired phone service and $46.94 for wireless. The wireless charge is up 2 percent over the previous quarter, while wired service was unchanged.
The survey also found the average household spent $43.91 for cable/satellite TV service and $21.05 for an Internet connection.