Author: f1231wanton

Millions of Patients Given Wrong Medication/Dosage Could Prove Deadly

Posted on by f1231wanton

Do you ever wonder how nurses can keep each patient’s prescription straight?  How about the dosage?  Or when the patient needs his or her medication?  Allergies?  This system is dated, inefficient, and flat-out dangerous.  According to a government study in 2011, roughly 1.9 million patients in U.S. hospitals were given the wrong drug or dosage.  Luckily, PatientSafe Solutions, Inc. has stepped in to address this horrifying health hazard and have provided a great solution.

The San Diego company has made a splash, as it ranks 24th on the Wall Street Journal’s “Next Big Thing” list.  The device that they hope will eliminate prescription drug handling problems is a handheld scanner, which allows nurses and other authorized hospital staff to quickly learn “information such as their diagnoses, vital signs, allergies, scheduled medications and food intake” by simply scanning a barcode.  Furthermore, hospital workers can scan medicine vials to ensure that the patient actually needs that medication.  One might think this is far-fetched, and that a nurse or doctor would not mix up medicines between there patients, but it happens.  1.9 million times in 2011 to be exact.

As someone who has been admitted at the hospital on several occasions, this product is not only smart, but it ensures quality.  Instead of the nurse or doctor coming in and asking what medication I am on, they can just scan the barcode on my wristband, and all questions are answered.  However, I am able to respond and give staff the information they need, so it is no a big problem.  The problem lies with an older patient.  Maybe they do not remember what they are taking or what their allergies are.  That is why this technology is long overdue, and will definitely prove to be effective.  In fact, Joe Condurso, President and Chief of PatientSafe Solutions, notes obvious benefits that come along with this technology: “[PatientSafe] increases quality and reduces cost” for hospitals and patients.  Customer quality cannot be overstressed, especially at a hospital with a hundreds of lives on the line at all times.

Currently, 70 hospitals use the PatientSafes’ technology, and that will surely continue to grow.  Both the process and quality of prescription drug handling and distribution will be exponentially increased the moment a hospital implements this technology.  But it does beg the question, if a study showed that 1.9 million patients received the wrong drug or dosage in 2011, then why isn’t it mandatory to have a system like this in each hospital?  People’s lives are at stake because of the poor processes that are put in place at these facilities.  Where is the quality management?

What do you think are the pros and cons of using technology like PatientSafe Solutions?  Do you think it is cost-effective and quality assuring?

Article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443916104578022871900234326.html?mod=WSJ_SmallBusiness_LEFTTopStories

Globalization: A Good Thing for U.S. Economy?

Posted on by f1231wanton

As we learned in class, globalization seems to have its perks, and the primary reason for that is the “reduced costs.”  However, that is no longer true in China.  Higher wages for laborers and increased shipping costs have led to increased prices because they cannot afford to manufacture at such a low cost anymore.  U.S. companies have recognized this truth and are beginning to realize that outsourcing to China is not as lucrative as it once was, or seemed to be.

I have witnessed this first-hand working at Rahco Rubber, a rubber manufacturing plant in Des Plaines, IL started by my Grandpa and owned by my Dad and two uncles.  In the past 10-15 years, China slowly, but surely, began to take customers from Rahco and other U.S. manufactures because of the low cost product that China provided.  At the time, it seemed ignorant to turn away from that kind of deal because there was such a huge margin between what companies like Rahco would sell product for compared to companies in China.  Many U.S. manufacturers went out of business because they simply could not match those prices, thus thousands of companies outsourced to get a cheaper, yet lower-quality product.

This trend, however, is coming to a close.  Yesterday, President Obama addressed the state of the U.S. economy and manufacturing stating: “After years of undercutting the competition, now it’s getting more expensive to do business in places like China,”  He continued: “American workers are getting more and more efficient.  Companies located here are becoming more and more competitive.  So for a lot of businesses, it’s now starting to make sense to bring jobs back home.”  Although Obama made comments that small businesses, like Rahco Rubber, were built by the government and communities and not the owners is an absurd remark, he is right about the economy and that manufacturing in the U.S. is on the rise, and outsourcing to China may no longer be a feasible option.

With a steady increase of business, and customers returning from China after horrible experiences with quality, logistics, and communication, companies like Rahco Rubber are starting to see the backlash of working with China.  I am really surprised that it has taken people so long to see that China is not the answer to reducing costs in manufacturing.  If you have to sacrifice quality products, not to mention your reputation, in order to save a buck, then your head is not in the right place.  Companies go in business to provide a service.  Making a profit is a huge deal, but at what cost?  if anything, the threat of China has made companies like Rahco think about lean manufacturing, which is about cutting costs in-house and trying to be as efficient as possibly.

What do you guys think about this?  Why is globalization good or bad?

http://dawn.com/2012/09/23/made-in-america-more-attractive-to-manufacturers/