'Wired' Hospitals Post Lower Death, Complication Rates

It makes intuitive sense that reducing the number of errors could generally reduce medical complications, deaths, costs and malpractice. While there is no quick fix to our healthcare quality problem, the use of electronic medical records could play a role by encouraging more consistency of care.

The idea that healthcare has grown too complicated, becoming “too much airplane for one man to fly,” is often used to justify surgeons’ and OR checklists. It’s not that our doctors, surgeons, nurses and hospitals aren’t good – it’s simply that there are too many details and scientific improvements to keep track of. As doctors start to conduct more care through computers, and as patients use the Internet to tend to their own health, evidence-based tools may help inform better care.

More possibilities? www.healthcaretownhall.com

Jeremy Engdahl-Johnson of WA 7:18PM January 28, 2009