The team at Stanley Healthcare had a great and productive time attending HIMSS in New Orleans! Thanks again to everyone who visited our booth and to everyone who engaged with us via social media.
There were a number of major themes running through the show this year – interoperability, mobile health, etc. – but the one that stood out for me was Business Intelligence. Healthcare organizations are faced with immense amounts of data – Todd Frantz of Florida Hospital Celebration Health mentioned in his presentation at the Intelligent Hospital Pavilion that the typical infusion pump now reports out several times the amount of data than it did just a few years ago. This is a challenge but also an opportunity. Hospitals, healthcare organizations and vendors are all starting to show the power hidden in the data, once it is unlocked and made actionable.
In fact, Florida Hospital itself is on the forefront in this area. Todd, along with colleague Ashley Simmons, discussed the impact of RTLS solutions in their session, showing where hospital staff were hitting roadblocks, causing inefficiency gaps in patient care. Todd and Ashley shared Celebration Health’s heat by duration map, which literally mapped the day in the life of a nurse, showing where she spent most of her time, and how far she had to travel – immediately highlighting possible improvements.
Angela Baltz of Oregon Health & Science University also spoke on how the data generated from RTLS tracking of the location and status of CareFusion pumps is driving improvements throughout the hospital. Not only has it given users more targeted searching options (ie: searching for a clean pump to use), but it has brought the hospital to the point where it is considering shifting from an on-demand model for supply pumps to a par level model – now that is significant cultural change!
A glimpse of the big data future was also available at multiple education sessions around the conference; for example NYU Langone’s presentation on its major project to centralize data warehousing, create visual data dashboards on key metrics, and ultimately to move to predictive analytics.
Stanley Healthcare is also making strides to support the rise of big data and business intelligence in the healthcare industry. Recently, we announced our integration with Tableau’s leading business intelligence software to help hospitals and healthcare organizations achieve more visibility and insight into their operations. Through integration with Tableau Business Intelligence and Stanley Healthcare’s MobileView software, departments across healthcare organizations will be able to easily gain access to important intelligence hidden within mass amounts of data, and then use this to make quicker and better informed decisions.
It will be very interesting to see where the healthcare industry has moved with big data a year from now at HIMSS 2014. Looking forward to it already!
For future updates, be sure to follow us on Twitter at @StanleyHealth and ‘like’ us on Facebook!
Hospitals throughout the country are constantly searching for solutions that seamlessly integrate patient care, security and efficiency into one standardized model. Having the same solution across all facilities supports uniform policies and procedures, resulting in a simplified training process for nursing and supporting staff. The goal of any patient care solution is to promote awareness and ensure patient safety – Stanley Healthcare’s Hugs Infant Protection Solution delivers on both fronts.
Memorial Hermann Health System, the largest not-for-profit health system in Southeast Texas, has just announced its plans to roll out the Hugs system to 9 of their acute care hospitals in their network. The decision came after a successful deployment at Memorial Hermann Memorial City Medical Center encompassing both newborn and pediatric patient security. Four key factors also contributed to Memorial Hermann Health System’s decision:
- Hugs’ track record of reliability;
- Stanley Healthcare’s proven responsiveness to client needs;
- Corporate reputation and stability of Stanley Black and Decker;
- And the best in class support available from authorized partner, Tech Systems, Inc.
As Joe Bellino, System Executive for Security & Law Enforcement for Memorial Hermann Health System, shares, “ Our nursing staff identified the Hugs systems as the preferred solution for infant security from a nursing perspective, based on performance, ease of use and peer recommendation…A thorough review of solutions available confirmed that the Hugs system is the best choice for our infant security.”
The Hugs System – The Best of Infant Security
Memorial Hermann Health System has already initiated projects to install the Hugs solution in several hospitals in the Houston area, and upon completion of the system roll-out, Stanley Healthcare’s solution will be responsible for the care of 20,000 newborns each year. Hugs is already used in over 1,200 hospitals worldwide, protecting newborn infants from abduction and mother/infant mismatches. Providing healthcare organizations with an innovative solution that can be deployed throughout an entire network creates a more nimble and responsive team. The decision to standardize on Hugs is a testament to Memorial Hermann’s commitment to infant care and to the future of the hospital safety, security and operational efficiency.
If you’re at HIMSS this week, make sure to stop by booth #8441 to learn more about Stanley Healthcare and the Hugs solution. We’ll be offering Starbucks gift cards every day to the first 20 attendees who engage with us via social media. All you need to do is follow us on Twitter or Facebook and come by our booth for a demo – mention that you found us through social media, and you are eligible. Supplies are limited, so get there early!
For more on Stanley Healthcare, be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
It comes as no surprise that healthcare organizations today face a multitude of challenges associated with patient safety and security. Hospitals are complex organizations with many moving parts, and it can be a challenge to monitor all aspects efficiently. With this in mind, Stanley Healthcare is excited to announce the redefinition and unification of its EcoSystem to tackle the need for more comprehensive and cost-effective enterprise visibility solutions.
Bringing together leading healthcare brands such as AeroScout, Hugs, InnerSpace and WanderGuard, Stanley Healthcare’s new EcoSystem now offers solutions to address five critical and ongoing healthcare priorities:
- Clinical Operations & Workflow – operating room, emergency department and clinic patient flow and staff workflow.
- Environmental Monitoring – Wi-Fi-based temperature and humidity monitoring.
- Patient Safety – fall management, automated hand hygiene monitoring and wireless nurse call.
- Security & Protection – infant protection, pediatric security, adult patient security, wander management and staff security.
- Supply Chain & Asset Management – asset tracking and management, point of use and storage solutions.
Enhancing Patient Care Through Improved Operations
Smooth hospital operations are an essential prerequisite for high quality patient care, and Stanley Healthcare strives to help organizations achieve operational excellence through its solutions. With Stanley Healthcare’s portfolio, hospitals will be enabled to improve their safety, security and operational efficiency. Currently, 16 of the 17 top ranked U.S. hospitals rely on Stanley Healthcare’s solutions, and more than 17,000 healthcare organizations worldwide have entrusted their patient safety, security and operational efficiency needs to Stanley Healthcare. Our announcement around the EcoSystem is just the next step in Stanley Healthcare’s over-arching goal of partnering with healthcare organizations to find new ways to meet their most important challenges.
Attending HIMSS? Visit us at Booth #8441 to learn more about our products and solutions. We’ll also be featuring demos of our entire solution set. – Follow us on social media, and you could win a Starbucks gift card. We’ll be handing out cards every day to the first 20 attendees who engage with us via social media and come by our booth for a demo. Supplies are limited, so get there early!
For future updates, be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
HIMSS 2013, the biggest healthcare IT conference of the year, is just a few days away! If you’re planning on attending in person, or even virtually, this year’s conference has an outstanding lineup of events and networking opportunities.
From live demos, educational sessions, and social media meetups, Stanley Healthcare will be taking part in all of the action. You’ll be able to find us at booth 8441 and the Intelligent Hospital Pavilion all week – be sure to follow us on Twitter (@StanleyHealth) and Facebook for live coverage from the event!
What to Look Forward to at the Stanley Healthcare Booth
At the Stanley Healthcare Booth, we’ll be featuring live demos of our solutions, with integrations to many of our partners – CareFusion, Hospira, and Vocera among many more – to showcase how our solutions are driving higher productivity and improved patient care at hospitals and healthcare organizations throughout the country. You’ll also find our solutions embedded in many of our partners’ booths, including Cisco and GetWellNetwork.
We’ll be offering Starbucks gift cards every day to the first 20 attendees who engage with us via social media! All you need to do is follow us on Twitter or Facebook and come by our booth for a demo – mention that you found us through social media, and you are eligible. Supplies are limited, so get there early!
Live Tweet Schedule
Packed session schedule? If you’re worried about missing anything, we’ve got you covered. We’ll be live tweeting throughout HIMSS, providing attendees with updates from these key sessions:
- 3/4, 2:45 – 3:05pm – “The Value of Integrations for Advanced Asset Management” presented by Angela Baltz, Clinical Engineer at Oregon Health & Science University. Session IH4.
- 3/4, 4:15pm – 4:35pm – “Transforming Safety, Security, and Operational Efficiency Through a Unified Platform for Enterprise Visibility” presented by Gabi Daniely, VP of Solutions, Products & Marketing at Stanley Healthcare. Session IH7.
- 3/5, 10:30am – 11:00 am – “Democratizing Access to Complex Healthcare Data with Visual Analytics” sponsored by Tableau. Session KCS28.
- 3/5, 4:45pm – 5:05pm – “The Real-Time Visual Hospital: Dynamics of RTLS in Healthcare” presented by Todd Frantz, Associate Chief Technology Officer at Florida Hospital Celebration Health. Session IH21.
- 3/6, 9:45am – 10:45am – “The Evolution of the Data-Driven, Integrated Academic Medical Center” presented by Jon Weider and Jeff Shein of NYU Langone Medical Center. Session 149.
Other Events to Know About
Social media will be a key player at HIMSS this year. For anyone planning on using social platforms to connect, share photos, or find vendor booths, we’ve pulled together some suggested social media tweetups and meetups to check out!
- Social Media Center Tweetups:
- #SocialMedia and Influence – 3/4, 2:30-3:30
- #HITchicks Tweetup – 3/4, 4:00-5:00pm
- #HITsm TweetChat – 3/5, 11:00am-12:00pm
- #PatientEngagement Tweetup – 3/5, 3:30-4:30pm
- Social Media Meetups:
- 4th Annual New Media Meetup at HIMSS 2013, sponsored by docBeat – 3/5, 6:00-8:00pm
Make sure to follow the #HIMSS13 hashtag for key news and announcements made during the show, as well as @StanleyHealth for our live updates. We’ll also be posting videos from the show floor to our YouTube channel, featuring speakers from the Intelligent Hospital Pavilion and events at our booth.
With so much to look forward to, we can’t wait to see you at booths 8441! Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@StanleyHealth) for live updates from HIMSS, and we’ll see you next week!
Great news from Stanley Healthcare and Tableau Software – yesterday we announced the integration of Stanley Healthcare’s portfolio of solutions with Tableau’s leading business intelligence software! What does this mean for the healthcare industry? With our combined solution, hospitals and long-term care organizations may now achieve unprecedented visibility and insight into their operations – thereby improving safety, security and operational efficiency.
Here’s how it will work:
Tableau’s software will be integrated with Stanley Healthcare’s MobileView software, an application platform and graphical user interface for our healthcare solutions. Tableau analytics and data visualizations will first be available for Stanley Healthcare’s Asset Tracking & Management, Environmental Monitoring, Patient Safety, Security & Protection and Patient Flow solutions.
Stanley Healthcare and Tableau Software’s combined solution directly addresses the issue of big data in the healthcare industry. With this technology, departments across healthcare organizations will be able to easily gain access to important intelligence hidden within mass amounts of data, and then use this intelligence to quickly solve critical business problems.
Baruch Yoeli, Vice President of Engineering at Stanley Healthcare, states, “Combining the leading data visualization and analytics capabilities from Tableau with our widely used healthcare solutions unlocks vast new opportunities to extract additional value from location, status and condition data, and will help our customers make quicker and better informed decisions.”
Feedback from Customers:
Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is one of the hospitals with early access to the MobileView and Tableau integration. Of the new technology, Dennis Minsent, Director of Clinical Technology Services at Oregon Health & Science University, shares:
“We’re using Stanley Healthcare’s solutions to track the real-time location of nearly 4,000 infusion devices…The combination of MobileView and Tableau Software will empower us to delve deeper into our asset tracking data to discover trends and solve resourcing issues.”
Minsent also adds, “This will help further extend the benefits of real-time location tracking to more aspects of hospital operations.”
Interested in learning more? We’ll be providing a demo of the combined solution at this year’s HIMSS! Look for us at booth #8441 – mention that you found us on social media, and you could also win a Starbucks gift card!
For future updates, be sure to follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Hospitals and healthcare organizations often want to know more about the value of implementing Real-Time Locating Systems (RTLS). How will they measure the benefits and the return on investment?
If that’s you, take a few minutes to read this illuminating article in RFID Journal on the results that Shands at the University of Florida has achieved with the AeroScout Asset Tracking & Management solution. In its project with defibrillators and other equipment in the ED, the hospital realized an amazing 98% reduction in search times!
It’s not surprising that Shands then quickly moved to expand the range of equipment it tracks, and is now implementing RTLS temperature monitoring as well.
That is the real beauty of RTLS: once you’re launched with one solution, it’s very straightforward to expand to other key areas, and keep increasing the payback.
The AeroScout and SpaceTRAX Customer Summit is coming up, November 7 to 9, 2012 in San Francisco. Here are the top five reasons why you should attend as a user of our AeroScout or SpaceTRAX solutions:
- Be the first to know: Hear first-hand what’s new and what’s on the roadmap for AeroScout and SpaceTRAX solutions. Learn about the new possibilities in RTLS as well as supply chain and asset management.
- In-depth education: Summit, workshops and special interest groups will jam all sorts of in-depth knowledge into a few days for ultimate efficiency and cost effectiveness. With breakout sessions, live demos, customer presentations and roadmap discussions, you will leave the event with information and skills to take your AeroScout and SpaceTRAX deployments to the next level.
- Rub elbows with Stanley Healthcare Solutions management: Hear straight from Stanley Healthcare Solutions executives and product experts as they deliver visionary keynotes about what’s new and what’s coming up. Mingle with executives throughout the three days in various networking opportunities.
- Be social: Nothing beats face-to-face relationship building. Take advantage of all the social events on-site at the event and network with fellow AeroScout and SpaceTRAX customers.
- Experience one of the world’s great cities: San Francisco, here you come! The summit is being hosted in a beautiful hotel located in one of the most iconic areas of San Francisco – Fisherman’s Wharf.
Watch this short video from the 2011 summit to see all that awaits you!
I’m very pleased to have been asked to be the keynote speaker at the MUSE Executive Institute this week in Litchfield Park, Arizona. There are many excellent talks over two days, so if you are in the vicinity I encourage you to attend.
My session is entitled “Transforming Your Hospital – Discover Process Optimization” and will focus on what hospitals can learn from the experience of the manufacturing industry to help them overcome complex challenges ranging from effectively managing expensive IT projects to controlling supply spend.
The lean methodology has radically improved the efficiency and quality of manufacturing, and it has the potential to do the same for healthcare. It all comes down to understanding your processes – what steps contribute to high quality patient care, and how they can be done in the most effective and efficient way possible.
I hope to see you there, and to give you with some ideas on how to transform your hospital!
Current and prospective clients of Stanley Healthcare Solutions’ Hugs® infant protection system are often curious about how other hospitals prepare for Joint Commission audits. To prepare for these audits, your hospital needs to be able to fully articulate the layers of protection in your procedures. In my role as Clinical Services Manager for Patient Security at Stanley Healthcare Solutions, I welcome the opportunity to share resources and best practices. This post, the third in a three-part series, addresses Reports.
The Hugs infant protection system can generate a variety of reports about how the system is being used and how many security alarms a facility has. As part of an audit, the Joint Commission may ask to see evidence that reports have been run. Generally speaking, it’s advisable to run and log reports monthly. In addition, if you use them for root-cause analysis and correction, these reports can be very helpful in optimizing security and preparing for an audit.
In reviewing their reports, clients often ask, “How many alarms should we be having?” There is no single answer to that question because it depends on several factors. Each facility is unique, with its own physical configuration (the more doors and patients you have, the greater the number of chances for alarms) and with its own personnel (whose levels of training and competence can vary even within a hospital). Thus, we generally recommend that hospitals benchmark against themselves, and then work to reduce the frequency of alarms based on your specific needs and resources:
- Assess the different kinds of alarms occurring in your facility. Alarms typically fall into one of three categories—staff error, system alerts (the system itself warning you of an issue), and security alarms. Your goal should be to have nearly all alarms fall in the third category. Otherwise, personnel may develop “alarm fatigue” and begin to tune out the alerts.
- Figure out what’s causing your alarms. Is staff error or family error driving up the number of alarms? If so, further staff and/or patient education can help to reduce the incidence of alarms.
- Identify any trends in alarm activity. Has the number of alarms gone up or down? Can you correlate that change with any specific developments in your facility or shifts in birthing center policies or personnel?
- Make sure you’re performing proper testing and maintenance. Doing so will keep system alerts to a bare minimum.
For more information on using reports, request our webinar How to Run Reports on your Hugs and/or Pedz system. You may also wish to read previous posts on Competency Validation and Abduction Drills.
Current and prospective clients of Stanley Healthcare Solutions’ Hugs® infant protection system are often curious about how other hospitals prepare for Joint Commission audits. To prepare for these audits, your hospital needs to be able to fully articulate the layers of protection in your procedures. In my role as Clinical Services Manager for Patient Security at Stanley Healthcare Solutions, I welcome the opportunity to share resources and best practices. This post, the second in a three-part series, addresses Abduction Drills.
As I interact with hospitals about infant security, one of the most frequently asked questions is whether or not the Joint Commission requires abduction drills. The short answer is no—the Joint Commission neither requires nor recommends a certain frequency of abduction drills. However, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children recommends that every hospital conduct a drill at least once a year. At Stanley Healthcare Solutions, our experience is that most hospitals would consider an annual drill as the “bare minimum.” In fact, the community standard is to conduct abduction drills two to four times per year.
On one of its bulletin boards, the Joint Commission recently noted that these exercises need not always be full-blown drills; they can also be conducted via roundtable discussion. That may be acceptable for one exercise, but it isn’t sufficient as any hospital’s only drill since it clearly doesn’t actually test your preparedness.
As you plan your next drill, be sure to review the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s booklet entitled For Healthcare Professionals. Commonly considered the standard reference for infant security, it provides useful guidelines for maximizing the effectiveness of your drills, including:
- At least once a year, conduct an infant abduction drill that includes the entire facility—not just obstetrics.
- Before the drill, ensure that those who will observe and access the drill attend a training class that reviews physical security features in place, reviews the critical-incident response plan, and explains the planned scenario of abduction.
- Choose drill observers from all job levels.
- Use standardized drill reports.
- Inform law enforcement personnel that it is a drill only.
- Start a drill with an alarm sounding or with the exchange of a note within the birthing center explaining that a baby has been abducted.
- Observers should provide “real-time” instruction during the drill, if needed.
- At the end of the drill, forward the evaluation form to the Security Director and/or other designees.
- As part of the evaluation, review step by step to identify areas needing improvement.
- Prepare a final drill report that explains what worked and what didn’t work and delineates a plan of action for making improvements. Send that report to Administration and the obstetric unit within two weeks of drill completion.
Read the previous post on Competency Validation and watch for the upcoming post on Reports.
