BRENTWOOD, Tennessee—August 19, 2015—Boston Medical Center, based in Boston, Massachusetts, was today awarded a HealthTrust℠ Innovation Grant at the 2015 HealthTrust University Conference & Vendor Fair (HTU) held in Nashville, Tennessee. HealthTrustSM (https://healthtrustpg.com) established the annual grant last year to sponsor and reward new, scalable ideas for advancing healthcare by improving care delivery, health outcomes, cost savings and/or operational efficiency.
The $50,000 award provides a $25,000 grant and $25,000 in HealthTrust service line expertise to support the replication of best practices across the membership. Boston Medical Center was selected for its innovative idea to develop a platform that anesthesiologists and surgeons can use to determine when cardiac implanted electronic devices need reprogramming. The computerized algorithm will improve operating room efficiency by addressing a common bottleneck that occurs when treating patients with cardiac rhythm management devices.
“From a worthy pool of applicants for this year’s grant, Boston Medical Center’s submission was a standout with its plans to cultivate best practices for device management that improve operational efficiencies, reduce errors, improve patient outcomes, and increase patient and clinician satisfaction,” says Michael Schlosser, M.D., chief medical officer for HealthTrust. “We are proud to be a partner in the development of this novel application that could ultimately be embedded within electronic medical records to more broadly guide clinical decision-making at the point of care.”
Boston Medical Center plans to use the grant funds to offset development costs of the pilot. HealthTrust’s consulting resources will be used to deconstruct existing guidelines on perioperative device management, address the training needs of non-supplier staff, summarize data, establish and test metrics, and provide strategic, process and financial guidance.
Results of the Boston Medical Center initiative will be shared in HealthTrust’s member magazine, The Source. In addition, Boston Medical Center and HealthTrust will share a progress report at next year’s HTU conference in San Antonio, Texas. Project team members from Boston Medical Center include Kevin M. Monahan, M.D., FACC, director of the BMC Electrophysiology Laboratory and Arrhythmia Service, and Robert H. Helm, M.D., FHRS, director of the BMC Cardiac Device Clinic. Ravin Davidoff, M.D., senior vice president and chief medical officer as well as a board-certified cardiologist, will serve as executive sponsor of the effort.
About HealthTrust:
HealthTrust (Healthtrust Purchasing Group, L.P.) is committed to strengthening provider performance and clinical excellence through an aligned membership model and the delivery of total cost management solutions, including supply chain solutions and a contract and service portfolio unparalleled in quality, scope and value. HealthTrust (www.healthtrustpg.com) serves 1,350 acute care facilities and members in more than 15,000 other locations, including ambulatory surgery centers, physician practices, long-term care and alternate care sites. Headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, HealthTrust is closely integrated with the proven capabilities of Parallon Business Solutions, LLC (www.parallon.com), a leading provider of healthcare business and operational services, including revenue cycle management, workforce and technology solutions. On Twitter @healthtrustpg and @parallonconnect.
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Media Contact:
Deborah Borfitz, manager of Communications & Education
HealthTrust
o: 615.344.3331
e: deborah.borfitz@healthtrustpg.com
