Over the past
five years, patient safety has become a visible national
priority, whether ensuring prescriptions are written and
dispensed correctly, monitoring a patient's clinical status, or
diagnosing patient's diseases in rural areas of the country.
This program, now airing on select PBS stations nationwide,
addresses the benefits that can be realized by reducing medical
errors, improving quality of care and making patients informed
consumers.
In the Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, "To Err is Human,"
researchers concluded that thousands of patient deaths are
preventable. The report estimates the total expenses associated
with preventable errors is between $17 billion and $29 billion
per year in hospitals across the country. The World Health
Organization estimates that 1 in 10 patients receiving hospital
care will experience some form of unintended harm.
Evidence-based technological innovations made possible with EHRs
hold the promise of reducing the incidence of medical errors and
unintended harm to patients while still reducing the costs. EHRs
hold the key to transforming the U.S. Health care system into a
patient-centered care environment that is safe, effective,
efficient, and transparent.
This episode of Healthy Body, Healthy Mind highlights the work
of health informatics pioneers including:
- Don E. Detmer, MD, MA,
President and CEO, American Medical Informatics
Association;
- David W. Bates, MD, MSC,
Chairman-Elect, American Medical Informatics
Association, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical
School,
Partners HealthCare Systems;
- Kevin B. Johnson MD, MS,
AMIA Board Director, Associate Professor &
Vice Chair of Biomedical Informatics, Associate Professor of
Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Department
of
Biomedical Informatics;
- Paul Donovan, DO, FACEP,
Northern Berkshire Sports Medicine, Inc.,
Northern Berkshire Ambulatory Care Center;
- Micky Tripathi, President
and CEO, Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative;
- David Delano, Director of
Information Technology, Northern Berkshire
Health System;
- Tom Fritz, CEO, Inland
Northwest Health Services;
- Cherie Galusha, Nursing
Informatics Manager, Sacred Heart Medical
Center; and
- Jeffrey B. Clode, MD,
Physicians Clinic of Spokane Washington;
- Additional experts are
featured as well as the consumer perspective,
captured in dialogue and scenes that demonstrate the
patient/provider
connection and use of EHRs.
"Despite President Bush's call
for adoption of electronic health records by the year 2014, the
U.S. seriously lags behind the world in investment and
commitment," said Don E. Detmer, AMIA President and CEO. He
adds, "According to a recent Commonwealth Fund's study, the USA
invests 43ΒΆ per capita versus over $190 per capita in England
and Wales. This episode of Healthy Body, Healthy Mind provides
solid examples of how health care quality and safety is improved
with proper health information technology."
"The conversion to electronic health records should make care
safer and less expensive in a variety of ways, but one of the
most important of these is computerization of prescribing, which
should substantially improve medication safety, commented AMIA
Chairman-elect, David W. Bates." "Overall, the conversion to
electronic health records will be one of the most important
changes in medicine in the 21st century."
"The opportunity to affect change in today's health care system
is being accelerated in the use of advanced technologies" said
David Isom, Senior Director of Healthcare Informatics at Pfizer.
"Patient safety is among our highest priorities, and, at Pfizer,
we believe in partnering with organizations like AMIA who are
taking a leadership role in shaping the future of health care
information."
The award winning Healthy Body, Healthy Mind series explores
today's latest medical progress in health and wellness issues.
Developed through the real life experiences of physicians and
their patients, this series combines scientific and clinical
data with poignant storytelling, to deliver the best information
to viewers. The EHR and Patient Safety episode (#804) examines
the connection between the appropriate use of technology in the
delivery of high- quality, accurate and timely health care.
Viewers should check their local PBS television listing for the
airing schedule or go to: http://www.healthybodyhealthymind.com
To view a streaming video of the episode, visit http://www.itvisus.com/programs/hbhm/episode_804patientsafety.asp.
For a DVD copy of the program and to receive a patient safety
brochure, contact the AMIA office at: 301-657-1291 or . mail@amia.org
For more information about Electronic Health Records, visit
http://www.got-ehr.org or visit the AMIA Web site at: http://www.amia.org.
About AMIA
The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) is a
professional organization of leaders shaping the future of
biomedical and health informatics in the United States and over
50 nations. AMIA is dedicated to the development and application
of informatics in support of patient care, public health,
teaching, research, administration, and related policy. Complete
information about AMIA is available at: http://www.amia.org.
About Pfizer
Pfizer is committed to helping people improve their health
by discovering and developing medicines, as well as informing
consumers and health care providers about our medicines and the
medical conditions they treat. Through multiple initiatives,
Pfizer aims to enhance access to treatments and educate, empower
and motivate consumers to take the necessary steps to lead
longer, healthier, happier lives.
About Information Television Network
Founded in 1992, Information Television Network (ITV) is a
privately-held full service television and entertainment
production company specializing in producing original health and
wellness content. ITV's distribution in the United States
includes: Discovery Communications, PBS, ION Media Networks and
The Patient Channel. ITV has produced more than 400 half hour
programs distributed in over 50 countries, and is consistently
been recognized for excellence with prestigious industry awards
including Emmy, FREDDIE'S, Telly's and Gracies. For more
information visit http://www.itvisus.com. |
