Small hospitals’ finances improved in 2005

From Modern Physician:
Median financial ratios for small, not-for-profit hospitals improved in the past year, buoyed by a favorable operating environment and higher reimbursements from insurers and the federal government, according to Standard & Poor’s. S&P said rating trends were “generally stable” in 2004 and 2005 for small hospitals — those with net patient revenue of [...]

More on the 2005 ECC Guidelines

The Winter issue of the American Heart Association publication Currents is available online and contains a comprehensive overview of the 2005 Guidelines.
“This special edition of Currents presents the new material most relevant to instructors, compares it with the former guidelines, and gives you the scientific reasoning behind the change in compact and reader-friendly form.
The issue [...]

Milestone for German Air Medical Team

From RotorHub.com (gave me an excuse to post a picture of a helicopter):
The DRF (Deutsche Rettungsflugwacht e.V./German Air Rescue) has been saving lives on its air rescue missions, both with helicopters and ambulance aircraft for over 30 years. On November 17th, the non-profit air rescue organization flew its 325,000th mission.
The emergency dispatching center in [...]

2005 ECC Guidelines Published Today

The 2005 Emergency Cardiovascular Care (ECC) Guidelines were published today and are accessible (as sections of Circulation) on the web.
The American Heart Association (AHA) has also posted three webcasts (BLS, PALS and ACLS) that provide a concise summary of the changes.
The Winter edition of Currents will be published tomorrow and will include a summary of [...]

Annals Launches New Web Site

From the American College of Emergency Physicians:
Annals of Emergency Medicine has launched a new Web site at www.annemergmed.com. The new design includes streamlined features, personalization options such as saved searches and e-mail alerts, and free PDA functionality.
Additionally, all articles that have been published dating back to the journal’s inception as the Journal of the American [...]

Chilling film aims lesson at ‘cool’ kids

From the Anchorage Daily News:
It may be the world’s first frostbite movie featuring snowboard dudes — plus a goofy flannel-clad narrator named “Dr. O” and an upbeat musical score.
But most Anchorage parents and teachers will shiver in recognition at the scenes involving “cool” teens.
One freezing adolescent boy hops foot to foot at [...]

Disrupted plans common theme for on-call docs

An article more or less sympathetic to pay for on call, from the Charlotte (WV) Gazette-Mail:
Most people leave work at work. On-call doctors cannot leave work at all.
For their private patients or the emergency room, many doctors usually have to be ready at a moment’s notice: That means little travel, no wine with dinner and [...]

Tele-Ambulance, Part 2

I blogged about this previously, but here’s a bit more detail (remote controlled cameras on the exterior!) from the Arizona Daily Star:
The days of doctors making house calls are long gone.
Virtual visits in ambulances, however, are the wave of the future, city officials said of a new system that could be operational in about [...]

New Rewarming Technology

From the San Jose / Silicon Valley Buiness Journal, based on a post at Medgadget:
The new chief executive and president of Fremont’s Dynatherm Medical Inc. is making the rounds on Sand Hill Road to pitch the idea of a high tech mitt that warms hypothermic patients through a combination of heat and air. He’s seeking [...]

Adding hospitality to the hospital stay

From the Kansas City Star:
When you go to the hospital, you probably don’t expect to enjoy the hospitality.
But AVP Inc., an Overland Park company, is working to change that notion by bringing upscale customer attention — valet parking, concierge service, room service and bell staff — to hospitals and other health-care facilities.
“The health-care institutions are [...]