Doctors, Untethered

摘要

At st. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., medical data are literally in the air. X rays, CAT scans and lab results can be plucked immediately off of the hospital's wireless network, saving doctors time. Now St. Vincent's Wi-Fi network is being turned to an even more important purpose: eliminating medical errors. "Our goal is zero preventable errors," says Timothy Stettheimer, the hospital's chief information officer. That's a lofty goal. One study showed one in five hospital medications is given in error. No wonder. There are thousands of commonly used drugs, more than any doctor can keep at the top of his head. The Physician's Desk Reference, a few decades ago a thin volume, resembles an unabridged dictionary. Broadly, medical mistakes, including those that occur during surgery and at other stages of patient care, may kill 98,000 people a year. Significantly reducing them could save more lives than curing diabetes.