Though we in healthcare understand intellectually that medical facilities are not exempt from physical disaster, we generally practice our disaster drills with the implicit assumption that we will be assisting the public at the hospital — rather than the unthinkable, where the hospital could be directly hit by a tornado.

When disasters strike medical centers, hospital staff must deal quickly with different obstacles, which can involve power outages, a higher than average number of critically injured patients as well as a shortage of supplies. During this time clinicians are also asked to simultaneously become caretakers and first responders. Additionally, there is a need to balance the evacuation of patients while still giving aid to the severely wounded.

This was a challenge that the Moore Medical Center staff, which is part of the Norman Regional Health System located in south central Oklahoma met yesterday in the town of Moore, Oklahoma. All of the patients and hospital staff of this 46-bed acute care hospital survived the destructive twister. This is a shining example of the courage and ability of healthcare workers to continue to deliver quality care in times of crisis.

This catastrophe reminds us that in the rare times when disasters strike a hospital, it’s really the human element of patient care as opposed to the level of equipment or technology present at the facility that initially saves lives and cares for the injured.

All of us at MD Buyline want to extend our thoughts and prayers to the residents of Moore, Oklahoma and applaud the efforts of first responders. We also tip our hats to the staff at Moore Medical Center for their unwavering efforts in providing life-preserving care to their patients as they endured the May 21, 2013 disaster.

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J.P. Fingado, president and chief executive officer of API Healthcare, acknowledged TeleTracking as “the leader in patient flow automation” and characterized the TeleTracking suite as a “perfect complement to API Healthcare’s full suite of workforce solutions.” Fingado expressed the partnership’s goal to “help healthcare organizations better align patient flow with the strategic deployment of staff, resulting in great care consistency and reduced operational costs.”

Michael Gallup, president and chief operating officer at TeleTracking, voiced his enthusiasm about the strategic move: “Our companies have a shared view of the opportunity to improve care delivery. We look forward to partnering with API Healthcare to help hospitals and health systems everywhere realize the benefits that come from leveraging two powerful sets of data when making decisions that directly impact both efficiency and the quality of care patients receive.”

API Healthcare already recently introduced its version of Health Information Exchange (HIE) in a March 4 announcement of the Health Workforce Information Exchange (HwIE). In contrast with the HIE, which shares clinical data from an Electronic Health Record (EHR), API’s HwIE initiative focuses on sharing workforce data from an Electronic Employee Record (EER), with the objective of driving talent development and utilization enterprise-wide across the health system.

Historically, API Healthcare and Kronos have represented the largest share of the healthcare market in workforce management, with solutions that include time and attendance, human resource and payroll management, and staff scheduling and have had few true challengers in this market space, other than each other. Historical data from MD Buyline’s User Satisfaction Ratings indicate these two vendors have regularly alternated between first and second place, with small differentials in their scores.

Likewise, TeleTracking, an undisputed leader in the capacity management arena, routinely claims the number one spot in MD Buyline’s vendor rankings for this technology.

This union is one that makes a lot of sense and we certainly wish the partners well in their endeavor. After all, who’s not all for more efficient operations and improved patient care? But as high and lofty as the goals sound, hopes for additional revenue generation and market share are undoubtedly underlying factors associated with this venture. Not that we see any fault with that but on the heels of the announcement, it will be interesting to observe what degree of growth the partnership does, in fact, generate for either or both vendors.

And we will, of course, watch with even greater interest to see how the collaboration impacts operational and clinical improvements. It’s really a goal that all parties in the healthcare industry must take on, one way or another, to contribute our fair share towards the overall good!

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This has been a particular concern in the healthcare field since we began moving into the digital age. With the recent release of HIPAA’s omnibus rule in January the discussion just got a little more complicated. In a recent article by Health Management Technology, the authors noted that “Nowhere are the changes more impactful that the relationship between the covered entities (CEs) and business associates (BAs).” This newly revised ruling should basically hold all parties involved accountable to the same HIPAA policies. This means responsibility for security doesn’t stop at the first vendor level anymore. Previously, agreements between a healthcare facility and vendors were nothing short of common business practices for most healthcare institutions. Now, vendor’s that utilize subcontractors are required to have ”business associate agreements (BAAs) with their subcontractors”.

Another article, from Health Management Technology and worthy of the 20% real estate within the current issue, identified the importance of not only securing your data, but also ensuring that your disaster recovery solution is effective if and when it is needed. With several different experts weighing, the topics discussed in the article included updated training, new and revised policies, data loss amounts, recovery options, cloud computing/backup solutions, automated solutions, backup power solutions, virtualization, and as always, planning for the unexpected.

These newly implemented changes to HIPAA policy have left many wondering if these modifications will ultimately put a facility more at risk or help alleviate some of that risk? Since contracted services are prevalent throughout a healthcare institution, allowing a connection to the corporate network for a contractor and/or a sub-contractor is risky indeed, but with all parties being held accountable now, the risk is shared. This may be viewed as a relief to a healthcare institution that may have in the past, been held fully accountable. However, if we frame the discussion in the context of the recent Wired Business article that discussed how iPad’s are increasingly being used as cash registers, questions over how many contractors and/or sub-contractors use their own devices for both personal and business needs takes on a problematic tone.

Since healthcare institutions more or less do not allow personal devices on the corporate network, and for good reasons, will these new policies force a healthcare institution to be more selective of the vendor they choose, even if the risk is shared between all parties now? If so, can we expect to see an increase in cost since healthcare institutions will be forced to go with more established vendors compared to those smaller vendors who are unable to afford the higher cost of data security?

Check your current vendor contracts for specific clauses that specify data security requirement. If yours don’t have them, now may be the best time for a review and a possible revision. Just because a healthcare institution has a BAA in place between all of the BAs and the CEs, does not necessarily mean that the overall risk has decreased; it could be an indication the overall risk associated with data security has risen.

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Whether you’re a staff nurse in the ER, an administrator or educator or you have an ADN /BSN degree, Masters or PhD we all share a common desire to help others and provide high quality care to the patients we serve. Some might think it’s a thankless job but we know it’s a rewarding one. We are caretakers, trudging on in the trenches with the knowledge that we make a difference.

This week also offers administrators a chance to be creative in finding ways of showing their appreciation for a job well done with things like ice cream socials or umbrellas/tote bags with the hospital’s logo on it. However, as a practicing nurse myself, I think we can and should use this time for something more. We should use this week as a starting point to begin planning our goals for the next year and determine how each of us as an individual can make a difference. Obviously, it is important to maintain our credentials through continuing education but what else can we do?

Maybe your goal is to join a professional organization, or simply attend a national conference. Whatever the case may be the operative word here is professional. We all scream about wanting to be a professional but often times find we don’t practice what we preach. Be a voice in your facility and let the passion and compassion be the foundation for your drive but take the opportunity to lead by example through good research. Nursing has often been described as an art and science combining our passion for caring with the evidence based research to practice nursing.

A recent article in Yahoo Finance highlights a feature length documentary, “NURSES: If Florence Could See us Now, that looks into the challenges faced by nurses. To see a trailer and learn more about the film visit http://www.nursesthemovie.com.

The public’s high regard for the profession, coupled with nurses’ education and skills, makes us well positioned to help transform the health care system into one that places more emphasis on prevention, wellness, and coordination of care. What are your plans for National Nurses Week?

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Today the three major vendors in the market of microbiology automation are bioMerieux, Siemens and BD. They all offer varying degrees and levels of automation. They have also pushed the idea of systems that accept specimens, plate specimens, incubate specimens, and even possibly allow for the remote reading of specimens through digital images. We are already seeing this kind of remote reading or interpretation of digital images move pathology forward, towards a ‘digital future’.

The race for microbiology automation seemed to start in 2008 with the launch of the PREVI ISOLA by bioMerieux and by 2011 bioMerieux claimed to have installed its 100th system worldwide. Designed for the front end processing, it is the critical link in the building of total microbiology automation. MD Buyline saw peak acquisitions of these systems in 2009-2011, but since then activity has plummeted dramatically. The next step in microbiology lab automation came in June 2011 when Copan Diagnostics announced a strategic global distribution partnership with Siemens. Their WASPLab touted a barcode driven and conveyor-connected specimen processing system utilizing robotic plate management and image recording to automate specimen work-up.

Most recently, in Februray of 2012, BD acquired the Kiestra Lab Automation BV, a company based in the Netherlands. Kiestra Lab Automation BV offers microbiology automaton at all levels including benchtop automation, work cell automation, and total lab automation. Since this acquisition, at MD Buyline we’ve seen a flurry of activity for the BD Kiestra InoquIA. In general, the price range for these different microbiology lab automation systems ranges from $100,000 – $700,000, depending heavily on the size and volume of the lab. However, as is typical for the laboratory, the real cost comes from the supplies and consumables used by the automation, along with ongoing service costs.

While no one can truly predict the future, I expect the demand for microbiology automation will continue to grow as the demand for qualified Medical Technologists rises. With microbiology companies poised to jump on the situation, we can expect some exciting things in the next couple of years.

The post Total Microbiology Automation – From Dream to Reality? appeared first on MD Buyline.

Prior to their acquisition, MD Buyline tracked Grass Technology models including Electroencephalograph (EEG), Long-Term Monitoring, and Sleep Assessment. Each of these was a category where Grass Technology directly competed with the Natus products. While it’s true that Natus already had the majority of the purchasing activity in the MD Buyline database in each of these markets (see below), this acquisition still eliminates a competitor/alternate purchasing option for hospital customers. Competition is good in every market and keeps prices competitive for the consumer.

 This latest acquisition only leaves Nihon Kohden and Cadwell with competing products for EEG, Nihon Kohden with their Neurofax EEG and Cadwell with their Easy EEG series. For Long-Term Monitoring the sole competitor is the Nihon Kohden EEG-1200A. For Sleep Assessment there are a couple additional choices with the Philips/Respironics Alice 6 product line and the CareFusion Somnostar Series. These are historically strong competitors in the sleep market. Another competitor we have started to see more quotations from in our Price Tracker database is Compumedics USA Ltd. We typically see their E-Series systems for EEG and the Grael HD-PSG sleep system.

Natus’ product offerings currently include computerized neurodiagnostic systems for audiology, neurology, polysomnography, and neonatology. They also offer newborn care products such as hearing screening systems, phototherapy devices for the treatment of jaundice, head-cooling products for the treatment of brain injury in newborns, incubators to control the newborn’s environment, and software systems for managing and tracking disorders and diseases for public health laboratories.

It will be interesting to see if Natus continues to expand and if so, who they will acquire next.

The post Natus Expands . . . Yet Again appeared first on MD Buyline.

Robots were the first systems to introduce 3DHD vision for laparoscopic procedures, however they are very costly and lack tactile feedback. Until recently, Viking Systems (acquired by Conmed last year) has been the only stand alone, FDA cleared and CE-marked cost effective alternative to robotics that offered a 3DHD vision system for use in minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery.

Now, after Olympus announced on April 9, 2013 that it had received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for its articulating 3D HD Laparoscopic Surgical Video, there is new option to consider for 3D visualization. The Olympus 3D platform consists of a 3D module that can be added to an existing EVIS EXERA III Universal Imaging system and to the world’s only articulating HD 3D Video laparoscope, the ENDOEYE FLEX 3D. Since the platform is a module that can be added to existing systems, this significantly reduces the necessary investment required for 3D visualization, especially when compared to a robot.

Dr. Marcos Michellotti, Assistant Professor of Surgery at Loma Linda University Health System in Loma Linda, California has said, “The Olympus HD 3D system is ideal for suturing, accurately identifying tissue planes and other precision surgical tasks that are required in my laparoscopic surgical cases.” He also went on to add, “In addition, the articulating design enables me to obtain the critical view of anatomical structures in HD 3D without losing the important visual horizon. This is not possible with traditional fixed angle laparoscopes.”

Olympus showcased the new system at the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) 2013 conference in Baltimore, MD last week. The new surgical system and 3DHD articulating laparoscope will be available late April 2013 and MD Buyline will offer more information once the system is available.

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Dystonia is a neurological movement disorder which causes involuntary muscle spasms and contractions. These contractions and spasms can cause painful twisting and repetitive movements and distort the body into irregular postures. Dystonia that is genetic or idiopathic in origin is classified as Primary Dystonia. Secondary Dystonia is classified as Dystonia caused by trauma, drug exposure, or another disease such as infection, stroke, metabolic condition, or tumor. The American Dystonia Society estimates 300,000 people in the U.S. have been diagnosed or are awaiting proper diagnosis of Dystonia.

Dystonia is typically treated with a combination of physical therapy, drug therapy, and surgery. Oral medications include anticholenergics, dopaminergics, baclofen, benzodiazepines, and tetrabenzenes. Injections of botulinum neurotoxin can also be used to reduce excessive muscle contractions in certain muscle groups. Surgical treatment for those who do not respond to oral medication or injections can include peripheral denervation, intrathecal baclofen delivery, brain lesioning, and deep brain stimulation.

DBS therapy for dystonia involves the delivery of mild electrical pulses to a specific target in the brain. The main focus for DBS treatment has been the Globus pallidus (GPi), which is a sub-cortical structure within the brain. DBS treatment in this area has shown to be effective in patients with generalized dystonia, segmental dystonia, cervical dystonia, and many others. There have also been favorable results with DBS treatment in the ventral intermedius nucleus of the thalamus.

Medtronic currently has a DBS system available for use in the U.S. The Activa® GPi System has a Humanitarian Device Exemption (HDE), gaining approval without a formal clinical trial due to the small number of people Dystonia affects, for treatment of primary Dystonia, and is currently enrolling patients with primary Dystonia in clinical trials.

The post St Jude Medical’s Deep Brain Stimulation Trifecta: New Treatment Options for Dystonia in EU appeared first on MD Buyline.

The epoc™ is a wireless point of care blood analysis system that uses FlexCard™ technology which is comprised of Biosensors-on-Flex™ circuit modules and/or Fluidics-on-Flex™ circuit modules in a housing the size of a credit card. Epocal Inc. received FDA 510(k) clearance in 2006 to market the epoc™ Enterprise Point of Care Blood Analysis System, its first product, in the U.S. It was launched in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2007. Prior to that in November of 2001, Imants Lauks, the founder and former executive vice-president of i-STAT Corp was quoted as saying “Our plan is to be a global player in biotechnology. I see no reason why Epocal couldn’t be a whole lot bigger (than I-Stat).”

The epoc™ is still in its infancy at only 5 years out. It currently only offers the BGEM™ Test Card which includes blood gas, electrolyte, and a metabolite panel. Since its launch in 2007, epoc™ has received clearance for glucose in 2009 and lactate in 2010. However, not much else had been added to their testing menu since 2010. Their website shows blood chemistries, hemostasis, hematology and an immunoassay panel currently in development but there are no indications as to when these tests will become available.

This is in contrast to Abbott i-STAT which has 18 test cards (or cartridges) spanning blood gas, chemistry, hematology, coagulation and cardiac markers. Not to mention it has notable name recognition amongst healthcare workers in a multitude of hospital departments. While it has come a long way from the EPOC™ of 2007 to the epoc™ of today, it still falls short of the “bigger” aspirations of the company’s original founder.

We have not seen much, if any, change in interest levels at MD Buyline from when the epoc™ was distributed by Epocal, Inc. to the current distributor Alere Inc. In fact, the numbers we see continue to be quite low, further cementing Abbott i-STAT as a market leader in bedside, point of care testing of blood gas and other urgent care type testing. Questions over who could provide a true, bedside, wireless, point of care system that would be capable of giving the i-STAT some competition and offer users another option remains unanswered. The lab team hear at MD Buyline had high hopes for the epoc™ and still believes it has potential to take on the i-STAT. Perhaps, the acquisition of the epoc™ by Alere may be what is needed to catapult its potential toward becoming the other option needed in the market today. Perhaps not! Perhaps, there are other vendors already cooking up something. Siemens anyone?

The post The Test of Time on the epoc! What happened? appeared first on MD Buyline.