ECRI Institute
ECRI Institute Announces Winner of Third Annual Health Devices Achievement Award
September 09, 2008
by Barbara Kram, Editor
PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA-ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit that researches the best approaches to improving patient care, has granted Children's Hospital of Omaha in Omaha, Nebraska the third annual Health Devices Achievement Award for excellence in health technology management. The Health Devices Achievement Award recognizes an outstanding initiative undertaken by an ECRI Institute member healthcare facility that improves patient safety, reduces costs, or otherwise facilitates better strategic management of health technology.
The application submitted by Children's Hospital of Omaha, Nebraska, is a superb example of how steadfast commitment to improving operational performance can lead to enhanced procedures and patient care. The application, "See-through" Process: Improving Effectiveness, Efficiency and Patient Safety Related to Chest and Abdominal x-rays in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, describes a priority improvement focus for the hospital that aimed to reduce unnecessary x-ray exposures and decrease errors in x-ray order entry. By implementing evidence-based indicators within their x-ray order process, Children's Hospital reduced the number of x-rays for pediatric patients, decreased order changes, and reduced radiology technician time spent on follow-up and modification-thereby streamlining and re-prioritizing the x-ray order process to enhance patient care.
This teaching institution's residents have also greatly benefitted from the initiative by receiving concrete direction when ordering radiology tests.
In judging this submission, ECRI Institute staff and members of the Health Devices Group's external advisory board were particularly impressed by the joint impact on patient safety and the efficiency of operations for the hospital's pediatric intensive care patients.
"One of the goals for this award is to give us a way to honor our member hospitals' commitment to technology management by achieving high standards of safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness in healthcare," says James P. Keller, Jr., vice president, health technology evaluation and safety, ECRI Institute. "This project helped to significantly decrease unnecessary x-rays in a patient population where it is so important to minimize radiation dose while allowing clinical staff to spend more time on the high-quality care patients need. Children's Hospital of Omaha should be commended for its fine work on this project."
"We are absolutely thrilled to have been selected for this award," said Mel Hall, performance improvement and patient safety manager, Children's Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska. "The acknowledgment helps to underscore our continuous effort to improve patient care through our quality and safety initiatives. I am delighted that this project has improved internal processes and most importantly, the level of care we provide to our patients."
The winner will be featured in ECRI Institute's Health Devices journal and on the ECRI Institute Web site. A formal presentation will also be made by ECRI Institute staff at Children's Hospital later this year.
This year's finalists are Beaumont Commercialization of Center Royal Oak, Michigan; Hamilton Health Sciences of Ontario, Canada; Memorial Sloane-Kettering Cancer Center of New York, New York; The Methodist Hospital System of Houston, Texas; and Virtua Health of Gibbsboro, New Jersey. To learn more about this year's finalists, visit www.ecri.org/Health_Devices_Finalists08.
ECRI Institute, a nonprofit organization, dedicates itself to bringing the discipline of applied scientific research to healthcare to uncover the best approaches to improving patient care. As a pioneer in this science for 40 years, ECRI Institute marries experience and independence with the objectivity of evidence-based research. ECRI Institute is designated a Collaborating Center of the World Health Organization and an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. For more information, please visit www.ecri.org.
About Children's Hospital of Omaha, Nebraska
Proudly serving children since 1948, Children's Hospital is the only full-service, pediatric health care center in Nebraska. Located in Omaha, it provides expertise in more than 30 pediatric specialty services to children and families across a five-state region and beyond. The 151-bed, non-profit hospital houses the only dedicated pediatric emergency department in the region and offers 24-hour, in-house services by pediatric critical care specialists. Children's Hospital has achieved the Magnet designation for nursing excellence and is an InfoWorld 100 award winner for innovation in information technology. A pediatric affiliation established between Children's Hospital and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) College of Medicine supports enhancements in pediatric education, research and clinical care. Children's Hospital is also the primary teaching site for the family practice and joint pediatric residency programs at Creighton University and UNMC. For more information on Children's Hospital, visit www.ChildrensOmaha.org.
The application submitted by Children's Hospital of Omaha, Nebraska, is a superb example of how steadfast commitment to improving operational performance can lead to enhanced procedures and patient care. The application, "See-through" Process: Improving Effectiveness, Efficiency and Patient Safety Related to Chest and Abdominal x-rays in a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, describes a priority improvement focus for the hospital that aimed to reduce unnecessary x-ray exposures and decrease errors in x-ray order entry. By implementing evidence-based indicators within their x-ray order process, Children's Hospital reduced the number of x-rays for pediatric patients, decreased order changes, and reduced radiology technician time spent on follow-up and modification-thereby streamlining and re-prioritizing the x-ray order process to enhance patient care.
This teaching institution's residents have also greatly benefitted from the initiative by receiving concrete direction when ordering radiology tests.
In judging this submission, ECRI Institute staff and members of the Health Devices Group's external advisory board were particularly impressed by the joint impact on patient safety and the efficiency of operations for the hospital's pediatric intensive care patients.
"One of the goals for this award is to give us a way to honor our member hospitals' commitment to technology management by achieving high standards of safety, quality, and cost-effectiveness in healthcare," says James P. Keller, Jr., vice president, health technology evaluation and safety, ECRI Institute. "This project helped to significantly decrease unnecessary x-rays in a patient population where it is so important to minimize radiation dose while allowing clinical staff to spend more time on the high-quality care patients need. Children's Hospital of Omaha should be commended for its fine work on this project."
"We are absolutely thrilled to have been selected for this award," said Mel Hall, performance improvement and patient safety manager, Children's Hospital, Omaha, Nebraska. "The acknowledgment helps to underscore our continuous effort to improve patient care through our quality and safety initiatives. I am delighted that this project has improved internal processes and most importantly, the level of care we provide to our patients."
The winner will be featured in ECRI Institute's Health Devices journal and on the ECRI Institute Web site. A formal presentation will also be made by ECRI Institute staff at Children's Hospital later this year.
This year's finalists are Beaumont Commercialization of Center Royal Oak, Michigan; Hamilton Health Sciences of Ontario, Canada; Memorial Sloane-Kettering Cancer Center of New York, New York; The Methodist Hospital System of Houston, Texas; and Virtua Health of Gibbsboro, New Jersey. To learn more about this year's finalists, visit www.ecri.org/Health_Devices_Finalists08.
ECRI Institute, a nonprofit organization, dedicates itself to bringing the discipline of applied scientific research to healthcare to uncover the best approaches to improving patient care. As a pioneer in this science for 40 years, ECRI Institute marries experience and independence with the objectivity of evidence-based research. ECRI Institute is designated a Collaborating Center of the World Health Organization and an Evidence-based Practice Center by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. For more information, please visit www.ecri.org.
About Children's Hospital of Omaha, Nebraska
Proudly serving children since 1948, Children's Hospital is the only full-service, pediatric health care center in Nebraska. Located in Omaha, it provides expertise in more than 30 pediatric specialty services to children and families across a five-state region and beyond. The 151-bed, non-profit hospital houses the only dedicated pediatric emergency department in the region and offers 24-hour, in-house services by pediatric critical care specialists. Children's Hospital has achieved the Magnet designation for nursing excellence and is an InfoWorld 100 award winner for innovation in information technology. A pediatric affiliation established between Children's Hospital and the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) College of Medicine supports enhancements in pediatric education, research and clinical care. Children's Hospital is also the primary teaching site for the family practice and joint pediatric residency programs at Creighton University and UNMC. For more information on Children's Hospital, visit www.ChildrensOmaha.org.