Friday, October 22, 2010

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia creates free clinical info

A physician or nurse making rounds can locate and page through a 200-page reference book that lists the possible adverse events that may occur to patients in a clinical trial, or can instead keep all the same information in their pocket, in a 4-ounce iPhone. For many in health care, that's an easy choice.

The classifications of adverse events originated in the National Cancer Institute as a way to help standardize record-keeping of side effects occurring in patients enrolled in clinical trials. Printed out, the Institute's Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) is a 200-page handbook in its most recent edition, version 4.0.

The Center for Biomedical Informatics (CBMi) at The Children Hospital of Philadelphia converted all the reference information into a software application, or "app" that anyone with an iPhone® or iPod touch® can download for free from the App Stores on the internet. People with iPhones can already find apps for locating restaurants, planning travel routes or translating phrases into foreign languages. Now health care providers are using apps in the interests of patient care.

From an alphabetized list of symptoms, tap in "ear pain" or "tremor," and the touch screen will display a definition, and then list grades of the problem—mild, moderate or severe. Using these categories, a care provider or clinical trial researcher can log data into the trial's records, so it can be shared with other hospitals and physicians having patients participating in the same trial. A user can bookmark adverse events and categories that require more frequent access.

Monitoring the safety of treatments used in clinical trials is crucial to providing the best results for current and future patients. "Researchers can use this app to quickly access information at the point of care, and improve the efficiency of our research," said Peter C. Adamson, M.D., director of the Office of Clinical Translational Research at Children's Hospital, and chair-elect of the Children's Oncology Group.

Although the classifications used in CTCAE originated in oncology research, they have broader application in clinical trials for other conditions, said Peter White, Ph.D., director of CBMi at Children Hospital, and a leader of the team that created the app. "When researchers write the protocol for a clinical trial, they know that one element of patient protection is standardized record-keeping, so they may incorporate the CTCAE rubric in their protocol."

White added that in addition to researchers, other caregivers such as attending physicians and medical students have been using the CTCAE app as an information resource, independent of clinical trials. "This app is one example of mobile health development, in which we are assisting healthcare staff in accessing the next generation of information technologies," he added. "Besides the immediate benefits for efficiency, we feel that using this type of technology has significant potential for standardizing care delivery, reducing error, an improving both quality of care and patient safety."

Thursday, September 30, 2010

commitment," said John Maris, MD

On September 15, Hope on Wheels visited the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia to award them a Hope Grant. The grant will support innovative pediatric brain tumor research using PET-CT to detect how a tumor will respond to treatment.

"It is an amazing thing Hyundai is doing. It is great to have a company who will invest in something as important as this. I have a strong sense that Hyundai is in this for the long haul and we need that type of commitment," said John Maris, MD.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

This hospital was among 62 facilities ranked in one or more of the 10 pediatric specialties in the 2010-11 version of Best Children's Hospitals

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is a 431-bed children's general facility. The latest data show it has 25,699 admissions and performs 6,944 inpatient and 15,912 outpatient surgeries. Its emergency room has 82,085 visits. Located in Philadelphia, PA, it is accredited by the Joint Commission. It is also a teaching hospital

Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Number One in the NationToday, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is one of the leading pediatric hospitals and research facilities in the world. Our 150 years of innovation and service to our patients, their families and our community reflect an ongoing commitment to exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare providers and pioneering significant research initiatives.....

CHOP Specialties Earn Top Rankings by U.S.News & World Report
The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has been ranked first in Cancer, Diabetes and Endocrine Disorders, Neonatal Care, Respiratory Disorders and Urology in U.S. News Media Group’s edition of America’s Best Children’s Hospitals, published online at www.usnews.com/childrenshospitals and featured in the August 2009 issue of U.S.News & World Report.

CHOP Named Number One Pediatric Hospital in the U.S. by Parents Magazine
In February 2009, Parents Magazine ranked The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia the best pediatric hospital in the United States. In addition to the overall ranking, Parents magazine also ranked Children's Hospital's emergency medicine, neonatology and pulmonology divisions number one in the nation and the Cardiac Center, Cancer Center and orthopaedics division ranked second.

A Magnet Institution
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Department of Nursing, was re-designated as a Magnet institution in November, 2008. It was initially awarded Magnet status in February 2004.

Magnet Recognition Status
Magnet status is awarded by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Only about 5% of hospitals in the United States have achieved Magnet status.

CHOP is one of 12 Pennsylvania hospitals and health systems with the designation and continues to be the only freestanding children's hospital within the Commonwealth with this designation. Only 2 to 3 percent of hospitals nationwide have achieved this coveted status.

Hospitals attain Magnet status by going through a rigorous voluntary application process that proves its competence in the Forces of Magnetism. The Forces of Magnetism are the categories that are deemed essential to excellent patient care. These standards include quality of leadership, quality improvement, interdisciplinary relationships, and quality of care.

Why is Magnet status important to The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia? How does it help our patients and their families? There are several reasons:

The patients are number one, and the care reflects that.
Hospitals with Magnet status have lower mortality and morbidity rates, better patient outcomes, and a shorter length of stay.
Evidence based practice produces better patient care models. These patient care models help CHOP foster a superior patient care environment.
Magnet status attracts higher quality professionals, ensuring the CHOP staff are among the best.
“Forces of Magnetism”
To achieve Magnet status, CHOP had to prove its competence in the following categories (forces).

Force 1: Quality of Nursing Leadership
Force 2: Organizational Structure
Force 3: Management Style
Force 4: Personnel Policies and Programs
Force 5: Professional Models of Care
Force 6: Quality of Care
Force 7: Quality Improvement
Force 8: Consultation and Resources
Force 9: Autonomy
Force 10: Community and the Healthcare Organization
Force 11: Nurses as Teachers
Force 12: Image of Nursing
Force 13: Interdisciplinary Relationships
Force 14: Professional Development

Joint Commission Recognizes The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia
The Joint Commission is widely known for its leadership role in evaluating and accrediting thousands of healthcare organizations in the United States.

Hospitals, healthcare networks, managed care organizations, organizations providing ambulatory, home, long-term and behavioral care and those providing laboratory services are some examples of the types of organizations that seek Joint Commission accreditation. Joint Commission standards represent a national consensus on quality patient care amidst changing healthcare practices and new delivery methods.

Participation in the accreditation process is entirely voluntary, and those organizations who do participate choose to be measured against national standards for excellence in providing quality patient care within organized healthcare delivery settings.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia achieved a three-year Accreditation by Joint Commission on Heath Care Organizations for 2004 through 2007. This accreditation means that we demonstrated compliance with applicable Joint Commission standards in all performance areas.

The reputable and rigorous external evaluation provided by Joint Commission validates the hard, everyday work of our physicians and staff, and confirms that the future of pediatric medicine is in good hands at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

If you have concerns about patient care or safety at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia you are encouraged to call us and share your concerns using the following contact information:

Office of Chief Operating Officer
267-426-6900

If your concerns cannot be resolved at this level, you are encouraged to contact the Joint Commission using the following contact information:

Division of Accreditation Operations
Office of Quality Monitoring
Joint Commission
One Renaissance Blvd.
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181