Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Database
    • Database

    IBM, OhioHealth Use Big Data to Prevent Infections in Hospitals

    By
    Darryl K. Taft
    -
    January 14, 2014
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      IBM said it has teamed up with OhioHealth to tap big data to help prevent infections in hospitals.

      Big Blue announced it is part of a collaboration to aid in the prevention of infections using a first-of-a-kind network of wireless sensors and real-time big data analytics that measure hand-washing practices. OhioHealth will use the technology to provide hospital administrators with real-time data that can be used to reduce health-care associated infections (HAIs) like methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Clostridium difficile, which affect 1 in every 20 patients in U.S. health care facilities, the company said.

      A pilot project in Columbus, Ohio, has achieved more than 90 percent compliance with hand-washing standards–a 20 percent jump over its previous practices and well above the 50 percent national compliance level, IBM said.

      The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 2 million U.S. patients contract HAIs each year, and 90,000 die as a result. HAIs are also estimated to cost the U.S. health care system $4.5 billion in related medical expenses every year. Hand hygiene is cited as the most effective way to prevent the spread of HAIs, and hospitals are aggressively working to elevate hand washing compliance to 100 percent.

      The solution developed by IBM Research and OhioHealth combines two technologies to measure and analyze hand hygiene. First are the hand-washing sensors developed by IBM Research. These Low-power Mote Technologies (LMT) with built-in RFID capabilities measure and control physical systems, such as hand-washing stations. The LMT sensors are located at hand-washing stations in patient rooms and hallways, and are connected through a wireless mesh network. They capture time-stamped information on use of each hand washing station. They also detect when hospital staff enter or exist patient rooms and, thanks to their RFID technology, they are able to identify health care workers.

      For data analytics, IBM crated Measurement and Managements Technologies (MMT) to collect, manage and process real-time data. The hand-washing data is streamed via cloud technology to the MMT where it is analyzed and stored to be used for on-demand reports, presentations and compliance studies. The analytics use the raw data streamed by the motes to determine whether hand washing events took place. The on-demand data can be used to estimate compliance levels, trends and correlations for different departments, shifts and job roles.

      The IBM technology installed at one of OhioHealth’s Columbus hospitals provides the hospital staff with new information and observations that were not available before. Analyzing hand-washing data gives stakeholders insights into the compliance levels of different departments, shifts, job roles, as well as variations based on other social behavioral factors. The real-time information is used to alert hospital personnel when proper hygiene habits are not being followed so that corrective action can be taken to reduce germ exposure to patients.

      “OhioHealth is always looking for smarter ways to protect the health of our patients,” said Michael Krouse, senior vice president and CIO of OhioHealth, in a statement. “Superbugs like MRSA can live for hours on surfaces, and we want to do everything we can to protect our patients from these kinds of serious infections. Working with IBM, we will gain additional insights that will help us consistently achieve total compliance with hand-washing standards and fight back against these bugs.”

      “Hospitals everywhere are grappling with ways to prevent infections, and we believe OhioHealth’s forward-thinking approach will raise the bar for the entire industry,” said Dr. Sergio Bermudez, an IBM research scientist, in a statement. “Innovative organizations like OhioHealth are leveraging the power of technology to provide smarter care for their patients to improve quality while reducing cost.”

      The joint effort of OhioHealth, IBM Research and IBM Global Business Services represents a milestone in how health care facilities can more efficiently track their progress in hand hygiene promotion, plan for improvements and set new goals, IBM said.

      Darryl K. Taft
      Darryl K. Taft covers the development tools and developer-related issues beat from his office in Baltimore. He has more than 10 years of experience in the business and is always looking for the next scoop. Taft is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and was named 'one of the most active middleware reporters in the world' by The Middleware Co. He also has his own card in the 'Who's Who in Enterprise Java' deck.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×