RFID in healthcare: a Six Sigma DMAIC and simulation case study.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a business model to generate quantitative evidence of the benefits of implementing radio frequency identification (RFID) technology, limiting the scope to outpatient surgical processes in hospitals.

Design/methodology/approach: The study primarily uses the define-measure-analyze-improve-control (DMAIC) approach, and draws on various analytical tools such as work flow diagrams, value stream mapping, and discrete event simulation to examine the effect of implementing RFID technology on improving effectiveness (quality and timeliness) and efficiency (cost reduction) of outpatient surgical processes.

Findings: The analysis showed significant estimated annual cost and time savings in carrying out patients' surgical procedures with RFID technology implementation for the outpatient surgery processes in a hospital.

A modified Delphi methodology to conduct a failure modes effects analysis: a patient-centric effort in a clinical medical laboratory.

In this article, we describe the use of an information-gathering tool, the Delphi technique, to overcome issues encountered when conducting a failure modes effects analysis as part of a define, measure, analyze, implement, control study to improve the processes of a clinical medical laboratory. The study was conducted with the goals of reducing medical errors in the total testing process (TTP) in order to improve patient safety, patient satisfaction, and improve the overall quality of the health care services provided by the subject hospital while meeting its Joint Commission (JC) accreditation requirements. The study found that the Delphi technique was very useful in overcoming 4 barriers encountered in conducting a failure modes effects analysis in a hospital's clinical medical laboratory and in achieving those goals.

Impact of a transfer center on interhospital referrals and transfers to a tertiary care center.

Background: The partnership of faculty physicians and senior clinical hospital administrators in the decision to accept interhospital transfers has not been fully studied. Transfers to academic medical centers on the basis of economics have been of particular concern.

Objectives: To evaluate the impact of joint decision making on transfer acceptance, and to evaluate the basis for decisions to transfer patients to an academic medical center.

The Holocaust as a context for telling life stories.

Using a narrative approach, this study explores the role of the Holocaust in the life stories of Survivors, contrasted with two comparison groups (one Jewish and one non-Jewish) whose direct experiences did not include surviving the Holocaust. Using the technique of the life line and measures such as number and type of life events identified, as well as the events marking the beginning and ending of the life story, several differences were found between the three groups. Survivors identified an average of 10 life events, fewer than the non-Jewish comparison group (18) but more than the Jewish comparison group (7).