Safe harbor: protecting ports with shipboard fuel cells

With five of the largest harbors in the United States, California is beginning to take steps to manage the large amounts of pollution generated by these bustling centers of transport and commerce. One option for reducing diesel emissions is the use of fuel cells, which run cleaner than diesel and other internal combustion engines. Other technologies being explored by harbor officials are diesel-electric hybrid and gas turbine locomotives for moving freight within port complexes.     

Safe harbor rules create infusion confusion. Physician ties may put business in a bind

Home infusion has been one of healthcare's healthiest businesses, but providers are concerned about the future in light of new "safe harbor" guidelines and recent crackdowns by the HHS inspector general's office. Despite that uncertainty, the industry continues to prosper: Revenues have risen at an estimated 25% annual rate, thanks to home infusion's ability to get patients out of hospitals quicker.     

Alternate care sites. The challenges for GPOs, suppliers and materiel management

As the United States healthcare delivery system evolves, the alternate care site market is creating challenges and opportunities for materiel managers, groups and alliances. To be effective, an alliance or GPO must provide value. Many network integrators are setting up wellness and "telephone triage" programs to keep people from entering the continuum of care at all. Alternate care sites will face the same cost constraints presently being felt in many hospitals. GPOs and alliances will therefore have to provide value to these sites in ease of use, meaningful benefits, easy administration, and working with the network and distributors. Materiel managers can play an important role by developing product standardization among sites, rationalizing distribution to sites by using one or perhaps two distributors to serve all of the alternate site providers in the network, using group contracts to lower acquisition prices and providing greater services.     

安全注射与中国安全注射联盟

安全注射是指对接受注射者无害、实施注射操作的医护人员不暴露不可避免的危险、注射的废弃物不对他人造成危害.     

Hospitals leave national GPOs to create their own competitive contracts

Hospitals cut better medical/surgical supply deals in smaller, innovative group purchasing networks. Meridian Health System in New Jersey posted an annual $1.5 million savings by renegotiating about a dozen of its supply contracts over the past year. By ditching memberships with the big GPOs and creating its own group purchasing cooperative, administrators there are cutting competitive deals. Find out how they're doing it.