The preparation of Hazardous Drugs involves toxic and potent agents, which may cause immediate and long-term negative health effects when exposed to workers and staffs in healthcare industries. Studies showed a correlation between workers directly or indirectly involved with these drugs and the increased risk of developing skin rashes, reproductive disorders, respiratory problems, as well as the risk of leukemia and other forms of cancer.

The day pharmaceutical companies and healthcare industries came to know about the adverse effects of occupational exposure to hazardous drugs, they have been working on the projects to design a cost effective and easy to use system, which will help healthcare staffs to safely handle hazardous substances. Their design prospects mainly included no drip-tip technology for the leak free transfer of these drugs and reduced surface contamination. They also intended to design a passive safety system, which automatically encloses upon disconnection and prevent free flow of drugs. An automatic safety lock to be incorporated to ensure safety against accidental discharges.

A closed system drug transfer device is one such protective device that mechanically transfers the environmental contaminants and sterile products into a closed system and prevents escape of aerosols, vapor concentrations and drugs from vials outside the system. It has benefit over the use of biological safety cabinet, as it is both airtight and leak proof. These devices when accessed in proper way will result in protection against exposure to hazardous agents.

Safe handling of these drugs involves protection of healthcare workers throughout the processes of drug preparation, administration and disposal. Personal protective equipments such as lab courts, gloves, masks, etc. does not ensure adequate protection against workers handling such medications. Therefore, healthcare organizations have issued safety guidelines to healthcare workers and recommend the practice of closed drug transfer devices in all such processes. Research has shown that while compounding hazardous drugs in conjunction with a closed-system drug transfer device, a significant reduction in drug contaminants in the nearby environment has resulted out.



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Healthcare is a sector of great importance, as those related with here are human beings, rather than machines. Here, lives are at stake, in the sense of reality than just business dealings, where it's the numbers or hefty sums that are pivotal in considerations. There are many factors in association with the healthcare sector. Nowadays, software also plays its part in facilitating actual progress and results in the healthcare sector.

ERP is one such software used in the healthcare sector. ERP stands for Enterprise Resource Planning. This software stores, organizes and retrieves information from a common database as and when required. In the past years, the systems to keep records and organize them to meet formalities were so informal and unsystematic that, lives were at times, on stake. But now, with ERP in scenario, all information on patient is stored in a common database, to which all hospitals have access and are connected from within. This helps, save lives of patients, without problems of the doctor not knowing the medical history of patients, incase of emergencies. This makes the healthcare sector function, with greater accuracy, precision and effectiveness. Here, life of the patient is given top and utmost priority as always.

This software also helps to bringing down the costs, which stood high, without ERP in existence. The involvement of paper works are kept to the minimal, which reduces errors, loses of information and other problems of storage. This software helps in the fast and timely retrieval of information to facilitate saving the patients when it really matters the most.

Advantages of ERP in Healthcare Sector

Accurate Data

The data provide through this software is accurate as the system used is fully automated. The data stored are very much in relation with the patients and their medical history, and so, chances of the data being faulty can't be encouraged by the healthcare sector.

Fast Retrieval

Information through this software can be retrieved at a very fast rate than, when this system was manual. This helps to save lives of patients at a higher rate than before when, stacks of paper works had to be referred to know about a patient who was admitted to the same hospital.

Disadvantages of ERP in Healthcare Sector

Chances of Crash

Since it is software, the chances of it crashing, can't be avoided or not taken into account. This is an area, which has to be given real and prompt thought into. Chances of such system crashes can't be taken lightly in the healthcare sector, as it is human lives, which are always at stake.

Vendor Selection

Software always are in danger of being tampered with and even duplicated for more benefits to the dealer or parties, whomsoever are related with it. But since here, it is the healthcare sector that is thought about; such mistakes in selecting an authentic and trustworthy vendor can't be set aside.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ryan_Mutt

All hospitals are definitely not created equal. Specialty and "boutique-type" hospitals are popping up in every good sized town and the ones that used to be of the "general" variety, have also restructured, added or deleted services and found their niche in the new world of hospital services. To make it even more confusing, many free-standing surgery centers, 24 hour emergency centers and other ancillary service centers are proliferating at a phenomenal rate. As a retired health care business development specialist, I can only imagine how hospital systems are scrambling to keep up and position themselves as the leaders with the newest and best equipment and services.
But, as a consumer, how do you know that the hospital you choose is really the right one for you?

There is an enormous amount of very clinical (and sometimes confusing) information about any hospital that is licensed to operate in the United States. You can find it all over the internet or just by calling the hospital association for your state and requesting information such as mortality and morbidity statistics (cheery reading) or how the hospital scored on its most recent Joint Commission survey. The Joint Commission is an independent group of experts in all areas of hospital operation, from safety, to bedside care, to the food served in hospitals. Most hospitals voluntarily submit to these often grueling (and surprisingly subjective, not to mention inconsistent) surveys because their ability to accept most of the larger insurance carriers requires a certain minimum score to participate.

But, most health care consumers want to take a "snapshot" of a hospital, make a quick decision....and hope for the best. The following hospital tips have been compiled by the people who know the hospitals best: hospital professionals, themselves. They are often indicators of how the hospital operates, overall, and can be a quick and easy way to determine what kind of care you are likely to get.

1. The hospital's appearance is an important and surprisingly often overlooked indicator of how the hospital functions. Look at the flooring. Are the carpets worn and dirty? Are the elevators polished and bright or do they look old, dingy and downright grimy? What do the public restrooms look (and smell) like? Are the hospital personnel well-dressed in proper uniforms? Is the signage appropriate and easy to read? Can you find your way around without assistance? Are the common areas bright and clean, with healthy plants and comfortable chairs? You can be pretty certain that if the hospital looks bad, the care probably will be, too. (The exception to this rule can be the downtown trauma hospitals in big cities. These often grungy places can be the best places to go if you have suffered some horrendous trauma, such as a gunshot, dismemberment, etc. In that case, you will hardly be noticing your surroundings. But, don't go there to have your baby and expect a lovely environment!).

2. Find out what the hospital is well-known for. This can be difficult as hospitals tend to advertise, just like any other business and they sometimes have quite inflated ideas of what they are (or should be). An example of this is the hospital that advertises itself as "for children" and directs a lot of their advertising budget towards convincing the public that it is. True Children's Hospitals are just that: for children ONLY. They don't treat adults. They are the only hospitals who can accurately claim that children are their specialty.

3. How hospitals staff their nursing units says a lot about the level of care you will receive should you wind up in one of them. However, this is not information that most hospitals will share with you. What you want to know is the nurse to patient ratio. A hospital that tends to staff down will have too many patients being cared for by exhausted and overworked individuals. Before you choose a hospital, take advantage of a visit to a friend or acquaintance who might be a patient there and use your powers of observation. Or, just hang out by the nurse's station for awhile. If it looks and sounds like chaos and there are a lot of call buttons going off and no one answering, this is a red flag.

4. All hospitals do not charge the same for same or similar services. Surprise! So, how can you comparison shop between hospitals? One way would be to contact the hospital association for your state and request that information. But, you can also call a few hospitals ahead of time to get an estimate on the cost of your surgery or procedure. You will need to give them all the information you can including what kind of insurance you have, the exact condition you have and what the surgery or procedure will be that you are contemplating. You might find that you could save several thousand dollars by choosing one hospital over another (assuming your physician/surgeon is licensed, and willing, to perform your surgery there).

5. Have lunch or a snack in the hospital's cafeteria. The same food is served to the patients, so pay attention. Is it fresh and acceptable? If not, you might want to cross this hospital off your list. (You would be surprised by the number of times people have been made sick by eating the food in some hospitals). You should also know that most hospitals, nowadays, farm out their food services to outside companies such as the ones who provide food services to large venues, like ballparks and convention centers.

This checklist can provide you with a very revealing snapshot of the hospital you are considering without wading through mountains of data. And when it comes down to it, the place you choose should be one that you feel safe and relatively comfortable in. If you do just a little bit of homework in advance of your choosing a hospital, you might find that it pays off in the end with a better hospital stay.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=CL_Davison

Ultrasound printers require special thermal ultrasound paper.

Ultrasound machines have computers and software to process video images and pass them to special printers, like the Mitsubishi P-93W ultrasound printer and the Sony UP-895MD ultrasound printer.

What is Ultrasound Paper?

Ultrasound paper is thermal paper, and is coated with an "ink" compound that you can't see, and when heat is applied to it, an image will appear.

How Does Ultrasound Paper Work?

To get the ultrasound paper to display the image that you want, the printer instructs the tiny print head element to apply precise amounts of heat to cause a reaction that creates a dark image.

* What Type of Ultrasound Paper Can I Get? You can get thermal ultrasound paper in rolls.
* It also comes in sheets.
* You can print color images onto color ultrasound thermal papers.
* You can print black and white images.

There are many types of thermal papers that you can get for a variety of applications. Some papers are coated with a compound that will display an image on paper for a long time, and less expensive papers will maintain a visible image for a short time. The life of the image depends on two critical criteria.

1. Ensuring that the papers are matched to the ultrasound printer so that the image color will fully develop.
2. Selecting the appropriate grade to match the needs of the end user. For example, thermal products designed for ultrasound medical imaging have significantly improved image stability over thermal papers formulated for short duration such as gas station receipts.

Image life can be greatly improved, to seven years or longer, by selecting the appropriate grade for the application and storage precautions. Remember that ultrasound paper is thermal paper, as in "heat sensitive", and therefor should not be stored or carried near a heat source.

How is Ultrasound Thermal Paper Made?

Above it was stated that thermal paper is coated with chemical compound. It feels kind of slippery, and often has an odd chemical smell. That is due to the chemical coatings. The chemical coating is what reacts to heat. Chemicals on the ultrasound thermal papers can consist of dyes, antioxidants, inert pigments, and waxes, among other things.

According to patent holders Sharad Mathur, Ivan Petrovic, David Lewis, Xiaolin D. Yang, and Ernest M. Finchhermal thermal paper usually consists of at least three layers:

1. Substrate layer: This is simply the paper layer.
2. Base layer: This includes a binding element, which can consist of such things as starches, gelatin and certain alkali salts. Another component of this layer is what's called a porosity improver, which helps heat travel through the paper.
3. Active layer: This layer contains a colorless chemical formula that reacts to heat.

Smartsound Ultrasound rotates paper stock that is stored in a temperature controlled environment ensuring freshness.

Buy Ultrasound Paper Today, and it will Ship To You Today.

At the time of this writing, DrSmart.com sells

Sony UPP-110 paper including:

* UPP-110s
* UPP-110HA
* UPP-110HD
* UPP-110HG

Sony UPC paper including:

* UPC-55
* UPC-510
* UPC-21L

And Mitsubishi paper including:

* K65HM
* K91HG

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Chard

Digital medical imaging has changed the way medicine is practiced. Digital images can be sent and received over the Internet, decreasing transmission time to seconds rather than days. Archiving capabilities allow medical facilities both large and small to quickly and easily comply with HIPPA patient record storage rules. Digital images can be taken and then enhanced on a computerized clinical workstation. With all of these advantages, many medical offices are making the switch to digital imagery. If you are in the market for a new digital imaging system, you should consider the use of a new DR system and how it can improve the workflow in your medical office.

A DR, or Digital Radiography, system is one of the best choices for enhancing the speed of image capture. With fewer processing steps in the creation of digital medical images than that offered by CR, computed radiography, systems, the digital radiography system provides much faster digital image acquisition times. This fact alone will improve your office workflow, because you can capture your digital images more quickly and efficiently, allowing you to take many more images in the same amount of time used by a computed radiography system.

The quality of digital medical images produced is better with a DR system. DR imaging systems create higher resolution in digital medical images than do CR systems. This is a crucial factor when you are considering that your diagnoses are made based on the medical images you take, and thus the resolution quality is of primary concern for physicians. This factor will also add another benefit to your office's work flow, because less time will have to be spent at a clinical workstation enhancing images when they are automatically taken and produced with an improved resolution.

All forms of medical imaging exposes patients and personnel to a certain amount of radiation. In order to protect your patients and staff, you will want the least amount of exposure possible in order to acquire the digital medical images that you need. Comparing systems commonly found in the rad room, the DR units will use less radiation to capture the digital images than a computed radiography system.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Blocker