At Fake Hospital, Kaiser Runs a Testing Ground for New Technology

摘要

At the 37 hospitals operated by Kaiser Permanente, the giant health nonprofit with over 160,000 employees, nurses don a fluorescent sash when preparing medications. It means: "Don't bug me." Kaiser came up with the sash a few years ago, when it was looking for a way to cut medication errors. At least a million drug mix-ups occur in the U.S. each year, and many are due to overly busy, distracted nurses. So Kaiser brought a group of nurses to its Garfield Innovation Center, in San Leandro, California, to brainstorm. One participant attempted to fix a paper sign to her head, another to duct-tape a flashing iPhone onto her clothing.