Healthcare IT News - October 2008 - (Page 24)

24 Healthcare IT News ■ October 2008 hoSpItalS & IdNs www.HealthcareITNews.com N.C. health system puts technology to work on hiring By BerNIe MoNegaIN, Editor RALEIGH, NC HaI Continued from page 21 – WakeMed Health & Hospitals, an 870-bed system with 7,500 employees in healthcare facilities in and around Raleigh, N.C., aims to improve its recruitment and hiring processes with information technology. WakeMed will deploy recruitment management technology developed by Peopleclick, head- quartered in Raleigh. WakeMed will automate its hiring practices with Peopleclick RMS, which makes it possible to report key recruiting metrics and move candidates through the workflow more efficiently. “Peopleclick gives us great flexibility, paperless functions and the opportunity to configure features that complement my needs as a recruiter,” said Anna BairdHensley, director of employment for WakeMed. Baird-Hensley said the technology provides unique recruiting functions including options for multiple workflows, contemporary services and automation. “An extra bonus for me was realizing so many of our staffing supplier vendors already use Peopleclick, so we’ll be able to automate these relationships quickly,” she said. Peopleclick Senior Vice President of Product Management and Marketing Ginny Gomez said the growing demand for qualified healthcare professionals is driving the market. More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: HIrING 1008 l In a recent report, 64% of nurses surveyed felt that their hospital’s technical infrastructure was not suitable to support point-of-care solutions, citing unreliable wireless as a chief concern.* Eliminating wireless hotspots and no coverage areas is just one of the many benefits of our innovative Converged Wireless Hospital solution. To discover how we deliver an unmatched level of wireless assurance across the complete wireless spectrum, visit www.innerwireless.com or call 214-242-7777 . *Healthcare without Bounds – Point of Care Computing for Nurses – November 2007; Spyglass Consulting Group to standardize measures across HHS,” said Don Wright, MD, principal deputy assistant secretary for health at HHS. When asked how HAI data are shared between infection specialists and executives, 57.6 percent of respondents cited regular agenda discussions at board meetings, but only 15.3 percent responded that senior leadership provides feedback and recommendations. “The accurate identification and coding of HAIs is going to be challenging without collaboration across multiple areas of the hospital,” said Daniel Varga, MD, chief medical officer at SSM Health Care. “Executive leadership needs to work with doctors, nurses and infection prevention and control staff to ensure that these teams drive system design and culture change.” In order to optimize organization readiness for this change, survey respondents cited accurate and/or appropriate physician documentation of patient records (51.6 percent) and accurate coding, including accurate use of new present on admission (POA) codes (20.2 percent), as the activities needing the most attention. This month, changes to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Inpatient Prospective Payment System will take effect, potentially reducing reimbursement for certain hospital-acquired conditions, including HAIs. “The effect of HAIs annually on U.S. hospitals is staggering,” said Kathy Warye, CEO of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. “Two million patients infected; 90,000 deaths, more than one death every six minutes; excess costs of nearly $6 billion. Healthcare leaders must make infection prevention a priority and allocate resources to efforts that target institution-wide prevention, education, measurement and process improvements.” The project will be using data performance improvement and infection surveillance technology along with data reporting work, according to Warye. “The technologies exist and are available for purchase, so why squander the useful time of a staff member?” she asked. The task force will identify short and long-term goals for the redesign. Executives would like to release an initial draft of a completed action plan by the end of the current administration, and are looking for as much public comment as possible. ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: HaI 1008 l e l Connect: INNerwIreLeSS 1008 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=10065 http://www.innerwireless.com http://www.innerwireless.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=10061 http://www.healthcareitnews.com/eConnect.cms?id=10086

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Healthcare IT News - October 2008 Contents Seattle's Slate Board 2.0 MGMA Newsmaker IT Battles Infection Beyond Adoption Excellence in Maine Carrot and Stick HP Layoffs Mobile Workstations Automating Offices

Healthcare IT News - October 2008

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