RedScrubs
The Resource for Medical Professionals

(Report via Officialwire)A new disinfectant is effective against bacteria, viruses, fungi and prions, and could help reduce deadly infections in hospitals, German researchers say.

Researchers at the Robert Koch Institute in Berlin developed a rapid-acting, practical formula for disinfecting surgical instruments, which works against a wide range of pathogens, including those that tolerate ordinary disinfectants.

(Report via Reuters)The number of children aged 2 to 5 who have been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and prescribed powerful antipsychotic drugs has doubled over the past decade, according to research released on Friday.

The research suggests that while it is still rare to prescribe powerful psychiatric drugs to 2-year-olds, the practice is becoming more frequent.

(Report via Fierce Healthcare)Care transition projects have been on the rise since CMS highlighted the them last year in its Care Transition Project, in which 14 communities nationwide worked to eliminate unnecessary hospital readmissions, according to an article in this month’s Hospital & Health Networks Magazine. Where CMS focuses, insurers usually follow, and this seems to be becoming a trend with care transition and readmissions.

(Report via Newswise) A fleet of robots is now rolling through the supply chain tunnels underneath Rush University Medical Center transporting linens, supplies and trash. Rush has acquired 14 automated guided vehicles (AGVs), mobile robots that can move supply carts around campus. Once programmed and activated, the AGVs travel on their own without human assistance along designated paths guided by lasers.

(Report via Fierce Healthcare) There are interesting iPhone apps that are fun to play around with, and then there are iPhone apps that serve a clear clinical purpose. Vigilance is the latter.

With Veterans Affairs hospitals giving botched radiation treatments to nearly 100 vets and exposing 10,000 to HIV and hepatitis viruses, veterans advocates and lawmakers say the VA health system is in dire need of proper oversight and funding.

Drug-eluting stents were safe and superior to bare metal stents in preventing death and heart attacks among 262,700 “real-world” patients enrolled in a nationwide registry of cardiovascular disease, according to researchers from Duke University Medical Center. The findings were presented at the i2Summit at the American College of Cardiology’s 58th Annual Scientific Session.

Epidemiologists and computer scientists at the University of Iowa have collaborated to create a new low-cost, green technology for automatically tracking the use of hand hygiene dispensers before healthcare workers enter and after they exit patient rooms.