Use of 3D Printing Technology in Fracture Management: A Review and Case Series.

Three-dimensional (3D) offers exciting opportunities in medicine, particularly in orthopaedics. The boundaries of 3D printing are continuously being re-established and have paved the way for further innovations, including 3D bioprinting, custom printing refined methods, 4D bioprinting, and 5D printing potential. The quality of these applications have been steadily improving, increasing their widespread use among clinicians.

Process Improvement and Information Technology: The Keys to Health Care Transformation.

Human beings are inherently resistant to change. In our technologically driven world, change happens fast, thereby regularly challenging us inherently change-averse humans to adjust. Only through rapid, effective, outcomes-driven change can we address the numerous challenges facing health care today.

Clinical ROI: not just costs versus benefits.

Although sophisticated economic modeling can be used to quantify intangible benefits, ROI calculations for clinical information systems are driven more by the values and strategic direction of an organization than by any other considerations. But investing in clinical information tools to ensure quality and patient safety is, in reality, required as a cost of doing business and functioning as a safe hospital.

ROI under scrutiny: the radical redefinition of a core concept.

This article offers a three-part analysis for identifying and assessing return on investment in healthcare information technology (IT) projects. Returns to IT can be financial, clinical, or structural. The goal is to identify key areas of measurable returns to both assess the value of a project before it is undertaken and to assess the actual value returned to the organization.

Clinical technology: are you getting your money's worth?

Providers investing in a clinical information technology (IT) system should consider their organization's specific needs and those of the surrounding community. Assessments of clinical IT value should take into account factors beyond cost savings. Providers should be aware of related tangible benefits, such as reductions in length of stay and enhanced administrative and clinical services.

Computerized physician order entry: a prescription for patient safety.

Clinician adoption of CPOE/CDS solutions is crucial to helping caregivers reduce medical errors and enhance patient safety. The LeapFrog Group CPOE/CDS report can be a helpful guide, but as clinicians concerned about the quality of health care and the well-being of our patients, we must play an active role in the successful adoption of these solutions by: 1. Making sure that your institution is committed to having the appropriate people involved in the entire process, including nurse leaders.

An overview of outcomes research and measurement.

Rapidly rising healthcare costs, questions about effective medical intervention, and the need for efficient delivery of healthcare services have compelled organizations to focus on outcomes research, measurement, and management. Proponents of outcomes measurement predict that it will produce significant benefits, including improved physician and patient information, increased understanding of the effectiveness of different treatment interventions, and established guidelines for medical management. Multiple professional organizations, academic centers, and independent research laboratories, as well as government agencies, are now involved in the research and development of outcomes measurement tools.

Enhancing quality and controlling costs: using Internet technology to apply workflow to health care.

The pressures associated with the competitive, quickly changing health care marketplace require the use of all available tools to deliver the highest quality care at the lowest cost. Workflow, as employed by other industries, delivers significant increases in both productivity and quality of services. Likewise, the application of automated workflow techniques to the health care industry offers measurable and immediate benefits.

The management of Crohn's colitis with colonogastric fistula. Report of a case.

Colonogastric fistula, more commonly called "gastrocolic," is a rare complication of Crohn's colitis. The 17th incidence of this fistula is reported. Fecal halitosis is a prominent symptom.

The effect of a school entry law on mumps activity in a school district.

Sixty-three cases of clinical mumps occurring in a New Jersey school district presented an opportunity to determine compliance with the state's 1978 mumps "new entrants" school immunization law, investigate the effect of the law on the pattern of the outbreak, estimate the efficacy of mumps vaccine, and quantitate the economic impact of the outbreak. Only students in kindergarten (K) through grade 5 would have been affected by the immunization law. Students in the sixth grade were nearly seven times more likely to develop mumps than students in grades K through 5.

The probability of dying of injuries by the year 2000.

Life tables in which the probability of dying of injuries in the United States from 1985 to 1999 are determined may be useful for clinicians in counseling persons concerning the risk of fatal injuries. Overall, more than 1% of persons aged 10 to 34 years in 1985 probably will die of injuries by the year 2000. For white males aged 5 to 29 years in 1985, white females aged 5 to 19 years in 1985, and black males aged 5 to 24 years in 1985, over half of all the estimated deaths during the next 15 years will be probably due to injuries.

Branch retinal artery occlusion in patients with Hodgkin's disease.

Ocular involvement in Hodgkin's disease is relatively unusual. This report describes two cases of branch retinal artery occlusion in young patients with Hodgkin's disease. Both patients were thought to be in remission when the occlusions occurred.