Operations
Improvement – Continuing to change the way the MGH cares This issue of Hotline is dedicated to the
Operations Improvement (OI) Program at the MGH. The stories in this issue illustrate the
accomplishments of MGH employees and staff who are developing and implementing OI projects
to streamline processes, reduce costs and, most importantly, improve the quality of
patient care at the MGH.
Helping
patients with failing hearts Walter Netto's face lights up when Dottie Noyes walks
into his hospital room on Ellison 10. Noyes is not a family member, but she has been
helping Netto through a tough time. Noyes is a clinical nurse specialist, who administers
the heart failure pathway for patients like Netto who have severe heart problems.
Digital imaging
brings home care patients closer to the MGH As part of the MGH Vascular Home Care Program, Evelyn Ho,
RN, makes home visits to patients after they have been discharged from the MGH. During
each visit, Ho takes a digital photograph of her patients' vascular wounds –
wounds from surgical incisions, graft failures or nonhealing ulcers.
Helping children and
families manage asthma Whether seen in Emergency or admitted to the Pediatric
ICU or an inpatient floor, more children come to MGH with acute asthma than with any other
chronic illness.
New systems
streamline Radiology operations In September of 1996, MGH Radiology started using
a new voice recognition computer system called MedSpeak, which held the promise of
shortening the time required to produce printed reports of radiological exams.
PCOI web site
puts information at the fingertips The MGH Primary Care Operations Improvement (PCOI)
web site brings a wealth of information to physicians' fingertips, helping to save time in
clinical practice and improve patient care.
Making a
pitch for youth programs and the United Way Bob Lobel, sportscaster for WBZ-TV, recently
auctioned off great gift items, such as a baseball autographed by Mo Vaughn of the Boston
Red Sox, during the Taste of the Town Auction to benefit the MGH·Charlestown Youth Care
Community Services (formerly known as Camp Bunker Hill).
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