New JCAHO Requirements Target Radiological, Other Communication Failures, Errors that Threaten Patient Safety
Technology Will Ease Compliance with Tougher Standard
DALLAS, JAN. 14, 2004 – The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has issued a new requirement for hospitals aimed at eliminating the communication errors, delays, and failures that plague health care delivery environments, but advances in communications technology will likely ease the path to compliance for hospital radiology departments.
According to JCAHO, beginning in January 2004, the existing "read-back" recommendation also will apply to all "critical test results" reported verbally or by telephone, not just medication orders. JCAHO says the term "critical test results" refers to all diagnostic tests including imaging studies, electrocardiograms, laboratory tests and studies.
"The new JCAHO requirement acknowledges one of the weak links in modern medicine," said Dr. R. James Brenner, a nationally respected radiologist who has helped sound the alarm about failures in radiological communications. "Despite all the advances in our diagnostic tools, communication errors, failures, and breakdowns often threaten patient safety. Getting the diagnosis right is only half the battle."
Fortunately for hospitals, Dr. Brenner added, communications technology has advanced to the point where fail-safe medical communications is possible. A number of hospitals around the country have integrated a new communications technology into their procedures to achieve exactly what the JCAHO standard calls for.
Called VoiceLink™, from Vocada, Inc., a Dallas-based company, the innovative and unique technology enables radiology departments – and potentially other specialists – to communicate critical patient findings to referring physicians through a verifiable and intelligent communications system.
VoiceLink is not software, hardware or a new device. It is a voice-driven system hosted by SBC at its data centers in Dallas and Los Angeles. It is as simple to use as a telephone, but it is much, much more, according to company president Peter White.
"VoiceLink makes sure critical findings get there – in the doctor's words," White said. "VoiceLink does all that JCAHO demands and more, with less time and effort than conventional methods."
With VoiceLink, a radiologist calls an access number, states the unexpected or urgent patient finding, and sends it to the referring physician. The system alerts the referring physician by pager, fax, e-mail, or mobile phone that the radiologist has issued a critical patient finding and continues to alert the referring physician until the message is retrieved. In addition, VoiceLink provides a web-based message tracking system, giving organizations a valuable window into their critical communications workflow.
The system documents when the referring physician was alerted and when he or she retrieved the radiologist's finding. All the information remains archived for 10 years, or as long as necessary and is searchable. Months or years after the original voice message was sent, it can be retrieved and heard again.
"The use of technology such as this can go a long way toward resolving the threats to patient safety that have occurred in the past and that still pose serious dilemmas for all of us in health care," said Dr. Brenner, clinical professor of Radiology, Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and Director of Breast Imaging, Tower Imaging/Eisenberg Keefer Breast Center, John Wayne Cancer Institute, St. John's Hospital, Santa Monica, CA.
About Vocada, Inc.
Vocada, Inc. provides a fail-safe medical communications system that eliminates the costly communication errors, failures, and delays that plague hospitals and large clinics. VoiceLink™, from Vocada, enables medical specialists to communicate critical patient information to referring physicians through a verifiable and intelligent communications system. The VoiceLink system is hosted by SBC at its data centers in Dallas and Los Angeles. Vocada, founded in 2000 and based in Dallas, TX, is a privately held company.
MEDIA CONTACT: GREG GRAZE, 214-665-9440 or e-mail greg@grazepr.com