News From Around the Web
> The U.K. health secretary has called for the National Health Service to put all patient medical records online by 2018--and use GPS to make patient referrals by email instead of through the mail, ZDNet reports. Article
> The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has partnered with HP Enterprise Services to procure and deploy a management system to automate operations and veteran healthcare services. The VA plans to enhance patient-centric healthcare while reducing program operational costs by standardizing clinical and business practices as well as monitoring IT services. Announcement
> Black Book Market Research's 2013 ranking of e-prescribing systems predicts substantial growth in 2013 as more physicians will jump on the e-prescribing bandwagon to earn incentive money and achieve Meaningful Use, InformationWeek reports. Story
> Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago has filed suit against a Chicago marketing firm it hired to build its website. The hospital is seeking to recover more than $800,000, saying it had to hire another firm to finish the job in time for last year's opening of its $915 million medical center, Crain's reports. Article
Healthcare Provider News
> Hospitals reopening in the wake of Superstorm Sandy and other natural disasters that cause flooding must be vigilant about preventing and controlling infections to ensure patient safety, according to a study from the Society of Healthcare Epidemiology of America. Article
> Checklists are for more than just busy days in an office or running errands--using them also helps doctors and nurses prevent emergencies in the operating room, a study published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine finds. The study aimed to find successful operating-room management tactics, with teams assigned to manage some scenarios with a set of crisis checklists, and other scenarios from memory alone. Article
And Finally... I'm not sure this is a tour I'd want to take. Article