November 10, 2016
The Scoop
Time Flies!
Here we are on the eve of yet another Healthcare Design Expo and Conference. I’m always amazed at how quickly the 52 weeks between these events fly by and even more so how the four days of the event just evaporate away.
For those of you attending Healthcare Design in Houston, here are my top five tips for not only surviving the craziness of an almost 5,000 person conference but for getting the most out of your time and investment.
- Don’t underestimate how hard a conference is on your feet. Bring two pairs of shoes and switch them out every other day. Unhappy feet make for a grumpy person so no matter how stylish, if they hurt, you will be sorry. You’ll be thanking me around hour 13 of the day.
- Plan out your meetings in advance. If there are people you want to spend time with, make a plan and put it on the calendar otherwise the conference might end and you won’t have connected with the key people you wanted to talk to.
- Don’t plan out every minute. Leave time for those happy surprises and coincidental meetings of friends both old and new.
- It may be 100 degrees outside, but it’s going to be cold inside. Pack accordingly.
- Try new things. It’s an isolated few days in a safe environment with incredible new opportunities. Sit at tables with people you have never met, go to at least one educational session that seems outside of what you perceive is your domain, show up at everything. You’ll catch up on sleep when you get home.
See you in Houston!

Debra Levin, EDAC
President and CEO
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How many times have you stared at a computer screen and been frustrated by the information you were or weren’t able to pull up? How many times have you tried to perform a function that just wasn’t there? You blamed the software, didn’t you? But maybe the problem wasn’t the software at all.
There are a lot of healthcare software companiesoffering a range of products designed to make operations run smoothly for both medical staff and administration. The problems you run into are, more often than not, the result of choosing the wrong software for what you want to accomplish. And it’s sometimes not just what you’re using, but how you’re using it. Even the right software can be implemented incorrectly.
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Nearly 1 in 3 eligible hospitals earned an “A” grade for patient safety, with some states making significant improvements, according to the latest assessment from a patient safety watchdog.
Of the more than 2,600 hospitals general, acute care hospitals assessed by the Leapfrog Group, 844 earned an “A,” while 658 received a “B.” When states were ranked by percentage of hospitals with “A” grades, Hawaii came in first with 2 out of 3, while North Dakota came in last with none of the six assessed hospitals making an “A.”
In last year’s assessment, Maine led for highest percentage of “A” grades, FierceHealthcare previously reported, but the new results bump it to third place.
California had the most “A" hospitals overall, with 81. Idaho, which was ranked 45th three years ago in terms of proportion of “A” grades, soared to the number two spot in 2016. North Carolina also improved considerably, improving from the 19th slot in spring 2013 to number five this year, according to Leapfrog. FierceHealthcare, more...
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The U.S. health care industry has been hit with 22 major computer breaches since mid-2015 that have resulted in the loss of millions of patient records, says SecurityScorecard, a New York City firm that offers cybersecurity ratings and monitoring.
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The Center for Health Design has launched a new topic toolbox: "Population Health". Each of the organizations's toolboxes contain a library of newly-created and center staff-curated content — research findings, expert insights, strategies, tools, and other useful resources. A portion of each topic toolbox is free to all, while the group's Affiliate+ members have access to the complete set of resources.
A major outcome of healthcare reform is a growing focus on the concept of population health, which refers to not only the overall health of a population, but also the distribution of health. This allows healthcare organizations to extend their reach beyond the walls of their facilities to care for groups of people in the places where they live and work. Healthcare Facilities Today, more. . .
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When thinking about how to reduce energy use in hospitals, one of the first questions to ask is: Where do hospitals use energy today? The follow-up question is: What are the greatest targets for energy efficiency and how can they be addressed in a way that maintains functionality and patient comfort in the healthcare environment?
One of the best resources for understanding how energy is used in hospitals comes from a study conducted by the University of Washington Integrated Design Lab in conjunction with Solarc A+E at the Legacy Salmon Creek Hospital in Vancouver, Wash., published in 2012. facilitiesnet, more ...
The Center’s work is made possible with the funding support of our Thought Leaders:
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