BENEFITS OF CONNECTING RFID AND LEAN PRINCIPLES IN HEALTH CARE

The performance management process in health care is far behind compared to the manufacturing and service industries. Although nowadays the health care organizations are able to deal with a greater rank diseases, their cost, quality and delivery has essentially not improved significantly, and the difference with the other industries even seems to have increased. As opposed to this situation health care has a tremendous opportunity to deploy lean principles to reduce internal/external costs, improve patient safety, increase profits, reduce litigation and decrease the dependence on Government and Insurance. The application of these principles is being facilitated by the use of the new technologies. A new technology allowing personnel to constantly "see" what’s happening with regards to patients schedule, backlog, workflow, inventory levels, resource utilization, quality, etc., is Radio Frequency Identification (RFID). The aim of this paper is to analyse the benefits that can be derived from the joint use of lean principles and RFID technology in health care.

Staphylococcus aureus poststernotomy mediastinitis: Description of two distinct acquisition pathways with different potential preventive approaches

ObjectiveDetermining the acquisition routes of infection is crucial to designing specific preventive approaches against Staphylococcus aureus poststernotomy mediastinitis.MethodsFrom 2002 to 2004, a nasal sample was obtained from patients before cardiac surgery. We collected clinical and microbiologic data of all episodes of S aureus poststernotomy mediastinitis. A case–control study (3:1) was performed to confirm the role of previous preoperative nasal colonization by S aureus as a risk factor for S aureus poststernotomy mediastinitis. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis molecular analysis of nasal and surgical site S aureus isolates was performed to analyze their relatedness in each patient with poststernotomy mediastinitis and with other patients of the study cohort.ResultsS aureus nasal cultures were positive in 228 (15.9%) of 1432 patients: methicillin-susceptible S aureus in 222 (15.5%) and meticillin-resistant S aureus in 6 (0.4%). S aureus poststernotomy mediastinitis was diagnosed in 17 (1.2%) of 1432 patients: 9 (3.95%) of 228 in colonized patients versus 8 (0.66%) of 1204 in noncolonized patients (P < .0001). Seven of 9 patients (1.2%) with methicillin-susceptible S aureus had an identical isolate by pulsed field gel electrophoresis in preoperative nasal and surgical-site cultures, but no clonal relatedness was shown among the isolates from these 9 patients. None of the 8 patients with methicillin-resistant S aureus poststernotomy mediastinitis had an identical isolate by pulsed field gel electrophoresis in preoperative nasal and surgical-site cultures, and the same clone of methicillin-resistant S aureus was responsible for all these cases.ConclusionsNasal colonization often precedes methicillin-resistant S aureus poststernotomy mediastinitis, which suggests that decontamination is adequate for preventing methicillin-resistant S aureus poststernotomy mediastinitis, whereas hospital infection control measures seem to be the major factor for preventing methicillin-resistant S aureus poststernotomy mediastinitis

A comparison of the Euro-Mediterránean and the Australian press models

The aim of this article is to analyze the evolution, development and consolidation of the Australian pressmodel from its beginning to the present day and compare it to the Euro-Mediterranean model (Spain, France,Italy and Portugal). To do so, the consequences of these countries' participation in World Wars I and II, thelegislative, cultural and business changes produced and the internal events that meant consolidation of aspecific press system within the Anglo-Saxon model, are studied.Whereas in the Euro-Mediterranean countries between 1926 and 1976 the different dictatorships modified therole of the press and also what the state's relationship with it should be, Australia's perfectly consolidatedand stable democracy led to concerns with and the development of other forms of evolution between thepress and the State as well as between the press and the other economic and social actors

Impacto ambiental sobre patrimonio monumental en piedra

La rápida evolución industrial y los procesos de consumo en los últimos años, en los países desarrollados, están originando un acelerado proceso de deterioro del Patrimonio Monumental. Ello ha dado lugar a que estratos cada vez más amplios de la sociedad se sensibilicen ante el problema. Un monumento no debería ser considerado como algo aislado: a lo largo del tiempo se ha armonizado y equilibrado con su entorno. La polución temporal de ese entorno, desde los puntos de vista climático, físico-químico, político, social, etc., han provocado lentas modificaciones para restablecer el equilibrio, tanto en la propia edificación monumental, como en los materiales que lo componen. Estas modificaciones, han venido implicando, normalmente, un proceso de deterioro, eufemísticamente denominado "Mal de la Piedra"

Estudio petrológico previo a la restauración de la fachada de la antigua Universidad de Alcalá de Henares

Las operaciones de conservación y restauración de las edificaciones monumentales que constituyen el Patrimonio Artístico de los diferentes países, se encuentran abandonando el nivel artesanal que las caracterizaba en el pasado. Ello ha sido consecuencia por una parte, de la posibilidad de utilizar un número continuamente creciente de nuevos productos que la industria pone a disposición del conservador y por otra, de la necesidad de: Evitar tratamientos irreversibles e inadecuados, ó inútiles, en el mejor de los casos. Reducir en lo posible los costes de operación, aplicando un tratamiento racional y estudiado con los medíos de que hoy día se dispon

Study of monumental stone from Madrid district

It is described a study concerning the characteristics of the main types of monumental building stones used in the Madrid Community, made as a base for future interventions on this heritage

El volcanismo hercínico y tardihercínico de la zona de Puertollano (Ciudad Real)

Se describe el volcanismo hercínico y tardihercínico de la región alcudiense, en la zona de Puertollano, inscribiendo dicho acontecimiento en el contexto de los fenómenos que se asocian al desarrollo de la cadena herclniana europea, durante el Carbonífero Superior y el Permian

Optimizing Lighting in the Workplace and Occupational Risk Prevention through Mobile Applications

Nowadays, there are many problems arising from the exploitation of energy resources and the production and use of energy. This research aims to analyze in which way the development of a mobile application may help on registering the lighting levels from different kind of environments, allowing to manage and assess consumption, comply with current regulations. Furthermore, the application provides information about how to optimize the use of energy and prevent occupational risks resulting from mismanagement. To do this relevant information is stored for the evaluation of the measurements through a rule engine that behaves as an expert system capable of guiding in the decision-making process

El uso de las piedras de corte en los monumentos y en la construcción: 1. Areniscas y calizas

Se describen diversas variedades de areniscas y calizas no pulimentadas empleadas habitualmente en la construcción, indicando en que terrenos aparecen y como se deteriora