The efforts to develop new technologies in order to eliminate sources for medical errors more often include the approach of so-called “Smart Solutions.” Last week, a Smart Patient Room moved from the lab to the real world: GE started the pilot at the Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown, N.Y. 
The smart patient room is designed to track staff adherence to protocol, such as washing hands, consistent clinical rounds, and monitoring to ensure that a patient doesn’t fall. Optical sensors, RFID tags, facial recognition, computer vision algorithms, cameras and speakers provide real-time monitoring of clinicians’ work to generate insights and help manage their workflow.
The goal: Determine what process and behavioral changes can create a safer patient environment.
“According to the Institute of Medicine, medical error is the eighth leading cause of death in the USA, accounting for an estimated 44,000 to 100,000 preventable deaths per year.”
We’ll keep you posted about the first results of the pilot and the lessons learned for the future. But one thing is already clear today: Another smart way to enhance patient safety, avoid medical errors and improve your hospital’s workflow is to use 2-D coded wristbands and mobile bar code labeling at the bedside.
Read the whole articles: http://www.smartplanet.com/business/blog/smart-takes/ge-healthcare-smart-patient-room-pilot-begins-promises-real-time-monitoring/10754/ or http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Health-Care-IT/GE-Tests-Smart-Patient-Room-to-Monitor-Patient-Safety-Cut-Medical-Errors-866750/
Learn more about bar coding at the point of care: Zebra/Healthcare
