Issues of Transformation: Maimonides Medical Center
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet with Dr. Steven Davidson who heads the Emergency Medicine Dept at Maimonides Med. Ctr., to talk about the use of cellular services for clinical support.
MMC along with the Queens Health Network had been given the 2002 HIMSS Davies award with this description from the HIMSS Web site:
Maimonides Medical Center was recognized for implementation of the Maimonides Access Clinical System (MACS), a project that began in 1996. A CPR system designed to improve quality of care, increase patient satisfaction, reduce costs, and position the hospital for future growth, MACS has transformed the delivery of healthcare at the hospital and serves as a model for other large hospitals nationwide. Today, 100% of Maimonides' attending physicians and residents, as well as voluntary and community physicians use MACS for entering orders and reviewing results.
Successful implementations of any technology comes down to issues of transformation. This involves ensuring that the house staff finds this new technology engaging enough to change their work habits. Dr. Davidson told me about the various devices he had evaluated, and what seemed to work best in his department. When I hear that the majority of his clinicians are asking for better cellular services within the hospital, I realize that half the battle is won in making such a system successful.
10:13:27 AM
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