By Cherie Woodhams, R.Ph., IT lead analyst, Bronson Healthcare Group, Kalamazoo The Leapfrog Group is a national nonprofit organization trying to improve the quality and safety of healthcare in the United States. The group collects and reports hospital performance through a survey hospitals complete. The survey asks questions related to computerized physician order entry systems (CPOE), surge...

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By Zack LaDuke, Pharm.D., PGY1 pharmacy resident, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital, Ann Arbor   First introduced in 1980, thromboelastography (TEG®) is a diagnostic process that analyzes components of a patient's blood and allows clinicians to get a clearer picture of a patient's intrinsic hemostatic activity. Over the years, the technology has evolved into a point-of-care machine that can be ...

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by Karl Renius, Pharm.D., BCPS, staff pharmacist, Crittenton Hospital, MSHP IT Task Force member Approval of direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) has shaken up anticoagulation treatment, which has been up until recently predominantly low-molecular weight heparins (LMWH) and vitamin-k antagonist (VKA) therapy. The American College of Chest Physicians has issued a 2016 guideline on the treatment of v...

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by Bruce Chaffee, Pharm.D., FASHP, MSHP IT Committee The advent of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, a component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, spurred the rapid proliferation of electronic health record (EHR) adoption in hospitals. Once EHRs are implemented, hospitals have been incentivized to meet the requirements of a three...

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently launched the agency’s first mobile application aimed at expediting updates to the public about drug shortages. The free app identifies current drug shortages, informs the public of resolved shortages and announces drug discontinuations. App users can search or browse by a drug’s generic name or active ingredient, and browse by thera...

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