Becker's Spine Review

37 HEALTHCARE NEWS 10 things to know about Project Nightingale By Mackenzie Garrity S t. Louis-based Ascension and Google have made headlines over the past few weeks over "Project Nightingale," an initiative designed to gather patient data to create healthcare solutions. Ten things you need to know about the proj- ect: 1. e code name is nothing secretive. Proj- ect Nightingale is a shorthand way to refer to the initiative and reflects the work of Florence Nightingale, a figure in nursing who pro- pelled care in the 19th and 20th century. 2. Employees at Ascension have raised con- cerns about the ways Google is collecting patient data. Google has been able to gather lab results, diagnoses and hospitalizations re- cords. In some instances, Google has access to patients' complete health history. 3. Patients and physicians across 21 states have not been informed about the data sharing. Google is looking to gather data on around 50 million patients. 4. Ascension partnered with Google to move its clinical data onto the tech giant's cloud platform. e data is stored on an Ascen- sion-owned virtual private space. Google is not permitted to use the data for marketing or research purposes. 5. Google hopes to design soware that lever- ages artificial intelligence technology and machine learning to make suggestions in pa- tients' treatment plans. Additionally, Google aims to create a search tool that would aggre- gate patient data into a central location. 6. Ascension hopes to create tools for phy- sicians to access patient information more quickly. " In order to empower our caregivers to provide safer, more effective and efficient care 24/7, we are testing point-of-care tools for our clinicians to quickly have access to more complete and specifically tailored pa- tient data," Mr. Conrado said. "In the delivery of these capabilities, our patients' records — your records — will continue to be securely protected in this enhanced ecosystem just as they are today and will be used only as nec- essary by a limited number of experts in the development of these tools so that we can pro- vide better healthcare to those we serve." 7. Project Nightingale is HIPAA-complaint, ac- cording to Ascension Executive Vice President of Strategy and Innovation Eduardo Conrado. 8. e head of Google Health, David Feinberg, MD, has also responded to the criticism of the project. As a physician, he says he understands that health information should be private. 9. "As we noted in an earlier post, our work adheres to strict regulations on handling pa- tient data, and our Business Associate Agree- ment with Ascension ensures their patient data cannot be used for any other purpose than for providing our services — this means it's never used for advertising," Dr. Feinberg said. "We've also published a white paper around how customer data is encrypted and isolated in the cloud." 10. e Office of Civil Rights of HHS is asking for more information about Project Nightin- gale. Investigators are seeking to learn more about how patient information is being col- lected to ensure HIPAA protections have been implemented. n 'Simply put, we failed': Seattle Children's CEO discloses 6 patient deaths linked to mold By Gabrielle Mason S eattle Children's Hospital will keep 10 operating rooms closed through January due to the presence of Aspergillus mold, according to ABC affili- ate KOMO News. The hospital plans to install custom in-room high efficiency particulate air filtra- tion in the 10 operating rooms and two equipment storage rooms, KOMO News reports. The installations were initially slated for completion in July, but are now planned to be finished in January. Seattle Children's currently has three functioning operating rooms, but many surgical cases are being postponed or diverted, hospital officials said. The hospital apologized for the impact the OR closures will have on patients and their families, but said it is the safest option, according to KOMO News. The most recent mold issues have sickened one patient, and a second potential case is under investigation. Since 2001, 14 patients have gotten sick from the mold, and six have died, Jeff Sperring, MD, CEO of Seattle Children's Hospital, said in a Nov. 18 news conference cited by The Seattle Times. It is now suspected that an air-handling system serving the operating rooms is to blame for some of the earlier infections, according to Dr. Sperring. Dr. Sperring said, "Simply put, we failed. As CEO I hold myself and Children's to a higher standard." n Nike designs new shoe for medical professionals By Gabrielle Mason N ike has designed an athletic shoe for nurses, physicians and home health providers — the Air Zoom Pulse — according to a Nov. 8 news release. The company tested models and received feedback from healthcare workers at Portland, Ore.-based OHSU Doernbecher Children's Hospital. The end product is "almost a traditional clog, made athletic," according to the news release. The Air Zoom Pulse was designed to easily slip on and off. It's laceless to simplify cleaning, while cushioning and traction systems work to secure footing in all hospital conditions, wet or dry. n

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