The official journal of the National Association for Healthcare Quality

Using Bar-Code Point-of-Care Technology for Patient Safety
Sherry Anderson, BSN RN; Wendy Wittwer, BSN RN
This article explains how bar code point-of-care medication administration systems successfully track, reduce, and prevent bedside medication errors.

Emerging Technology for At-Risk Chronically Ill Veterans
Mary Huddleston, MHSE RN CPHQ; Rita Kobb, MS MN ARNP BC
In the Tech Care Coordination Program older veterans with chronic diseases and high healthcare utilization were followed with an in-home technology device, the Health Buddy™, and risk management software.

Interview with a Quality Leader: Scott Wallace on the National Alliance for Health Information Technology
Deborah Mears, EdD RN MBA
Abstract: The National Alliance for Health Information Technology (NAHIT) appointed Scott Wallace as its first president and CEO in 2003. NAHIT is an organization of 90 leading healthcare associations, suppliers, vendors, hospitals, and healthcare systems committed to the development of voluntary standards for health information technology. Wallace previously was the principal owner of Great Lakes Capital, a financial, commercial, and business development consulting firm with a major focus in technology. Prior to starting Great Lakes, Wallace led several technology-based companies. He served as president and CEO of PowerClip Co., a wireless products company; president and CEO of Eichrom Industries, an advanced materials and specialty chemical company; and vice president and general counsel for GCI, a venture capital fund. Wallace earned a juris doctorate from the University of Chicago Law School, a master's degree in business administration from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and a bachelor's degree in economics from Duke University.

Interview with a Quality Leader: David Brailer on a Private-Public Health Information Technology Infrastructure 
Susan V. White, PhD RN CPHQ FNAHQ
Abstract: David Brailer, MD PhD, was appointed the first National Health Information Technology Coordinator by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson on May 6, 2004. As National Coordinator he is to execute President Bush's Executive Order of April 27, 2004, calling for widespread deployment of health information technology (HIT) within 10 years. Dr. Brailer is an authority on clinical data sharing, local health information exchanges, and the use of peer-to-peer technologies in healthcare. He is a leader in the strategy and financing of quality and efficiency in healthcare, with a particular emphasis on HIT and health systems management. Previously, Dr. Brailer was a Senior Fellow at the Health Technology Center in San Francisco, advising a variety of regional and national data-sharing projects and several major corporations about the role of IT in improving the quality of healthcare. Dr. Brailer recently completed 10 years as Chairman and CEO of CareScience, Inc., a provider of care management services and Internet-based solutions that help reduce medical errors and improve physician and hospital-based performance. Dr. Brailer holds doctoral degrees in both medicine and economics. While in medical school, he was a Charles A. Dana Scholar at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the first recipient of the National Library of Medicine Martin Epstein Award for his work in expert systems. Dr. Brailer was among the first medical students to serve on the Board of Trustees of the American Medical Association.

Reaching Out to Clinicians: Implementation of a Computerized Alert System
Dan Degnan, PharmD MS CPHQ; Dave Merryfield, RPh; Steve Hultgren, RPh
Abstract: Several published articles have identified that providing automated, computer-generated clinical alerts about potentially critical clinical situations should result in better quality of care. In 1999, the pharmacy department at a community hed and refined ospital network implementa commercially available, computerized clinical alert system. This case report discusses the implementation process, gives examples of how the system is used, and describes results following implementation. The use of the clinical alert system in this hospital network resulted in improved patient safety as well as in greater efficiency and decreased costs.

Simulation of Breast Cancer Screening: Quality Assessment of Two Protocols
Kimbroe J. Carter, MD; Frank Castro, MS; Edward Kessler, MD; Barbara A. Erickson, PhD RN
Abstract: Healthcare quality professionals must make breast cancer screening decisions without the help of clear answers in current medical knowledge. This study used computer simulation to evaluate two screening protocols. The American Cancer Society (ACS) protocol comprising self-breast examination, professional breast examination and annual mammography was evaluated versus annual mammography alone. The effective frequency of mammography and the cost in the ACS protocol doubles the cost of mammography alone. Breast self-examination and clinical breast examination contributes to increased cost without any added health effects. These study results could be applied by healthcare professionals to assist their decision making for breast cancer screening.

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