Using Clinical Decision Support to Maintain Medication and Problem Lists: A Pilot Study to Yield Higher Patient Safety

To Investigate Whether Clinical Decision Support that Automates the Matching of Ordered Drugs to Problems (Clinical Diagnoses) on the Problem List Can Enhance the Maintenance of Both Medication and Problem Lists in the Electronic Medical Record, We Designed a Clinical Decision Support System to Match Ordered Drugs on the Medication List and Ongoing Problems on the Problem List. We Evaluated the Capability and Performance of This Clinical Decision Support System in Medication-Problem Matching using Physician Expert Chart Audits to Match Ordered Drugs to Ongoing Clinical Problems. a Clinical Decision Support System Was Shown to Be Useful in Improving Medication-Problem Matches in 140 Randomly Selected Audited Patient Encounters in Three Inpatient Units. Enhanced Maintenance of Both the Medication and Problem Lists Can Permit the Exploitation of Advanced Decision Support Strategies that Yield Higher Patient Safety. © 2008 IEEE

The Display of Photographic-Quality Images on the Web: A Comparison of Two Technologies

Downloading Medical Images on the Web Creates Certain Compromises. the Tradeoff is between Higher Resolution and Faster Download Times. as Resolution Increases, Download Times Increase. High-resolution (Photographic Quality) Electronic Images Can Potentially Play a Key Role in Medical Education and Patient Care. on the Internet, Images Are Typically Formatted as Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) or the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) Flies. However, These Formats Are Associated with Considerable Data Loss in Both Color Depth and Image Resolution. Furthermore, These Images Are Available in a Single Resolution and Have No Capability of Allowing the User to Adjust Resolution as Needed. Images in the Photo Compact Disc (PCD) Format Have Higher Resolutions Than GIF or JPEG, But Suffer the Disadvantage of Large File Sizes Leading to Long Download Times on the Web. Furthermore, Native Web Browsers Are Not Currently Able to Read PCD Flies. the FlashPix Format (FPX) Offers Distinct Advantages over the PCD, GIF, and JPEG Formats for Display of High-Resolution Images on the Web. a Java Applet Can Be Easily Downloaded for Viewing FPX Images. FPX Images Are Higher Resolution Than JPEG and GIF Images. FPX Images Offer Rich Resolutions Comparable to PCD Images with Shorter Download Times. © 1999 IEEE

Uniform Beam Distributions at the Target of the NSRL Beam Transfer Line

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Adapting User Interface to Expedite Physician Order Entry: A Frontline to Ensure Patient Safety

Preventable Medical Errors Are a Major Problem in Healthcare. Maintenance of Accurate Problem Lists and Drug Lists in the Electronic Medical Record is Critical to the Practice of Medicine and Patient Safety. We Built a Simulator of a Clinical Decision Support System that Automates the Process of Maintaining an Electronic Problem List by Processing Drug Order Requests from a Simulated Computerized Physician Order Entry System. Preliminary Results Revealed that the Productivity of the System Increased When the User Interface Was Improved. This Study Highlights the Importance of an Enhanced User Interface as a Frontline in Expediting Physician Data Entry, Streamlining Better System Workflow, and Maintaining an Electronic Problem List Effectively to Reduce Preventable Medical Errors and Promote Patient Safety. ©2006 IEEE

Applying Wavelet-Transform on Internet-Based Radiologic Brain Images

Wavelet-Transform Compression Creates High-Quality Images of Small File Size by Tuning its Compression Ratio between 10:1 and 80:1. We Applied the Wavelet-Based Compression Technique to Radiologic Brain Images on the Internet for Image Display Purposes. Wavelet Transform Compression Reduces File Size Up to 50%. Wavelet Transform Compression Offers the Advantage of Retaining Complete Color Information in Digital Images and Faster Internet Transmission Than Traditional Joint Photography Experts Group (JPEG) Files of Equivalent File Size. the Application of Wavelet-Based Compression Technique Decreases Storage Requirements for Images on Internet Servers

Making the Neurology Clerkship More Effective: Can E-Textbook Facilitate Learning?

Objective: in 1998, the 4-Week Neurology Elective Clerkship Was Converted into a 2-Week Required Neurology Rotation at the University of Illinois at Chicago. We Hypothesized that the Interactive E-Textbook, a Computer-Assisted Learning Tool, Could Successfully Replace a Paper-Based Syllabus and a Traditional Neurology Textbook during a 2-Week Rotation, While Incorporating Department Teaching Conferences to Replace the Medical Student Lecture Series. Methods: We Created an E-Textbook and Made It Available Simultaneously in a CD-ROM Format and on a Password-Protected Website. the Online Quiz and Course Assessment Were Administered by the Blackboard Web Server. Results: after Implementation of the E-Textbook over 6 Years, the Feedback Shows High Student Satisfaction, and Student Evaluations of the Neurology Clerkship Have Risen. Creation of an E-Textbook for the Neurology Clerkship Made Our Faculty More Productive While Increasing Student Satisfaction and Facilitating Learning Efficacy. Discussion: The Results Show that the E-Textbook is an Appropriate Alternative to Facilitate Learning of Basic and Clinical Neurology during a 2-Week Rotation. the Students Demonstrated Successful Learning in a Computerized Environment. © 2005 W. S. Maney & Son Ltd