It happens every year around this time – the season for end-of-year tax deductions. The Section 179 tax rule gives businesses an opportunity to write off as much as $500,000 in new and used equipment costs. Equipment or software purchased and put into service by December 31st is deducted from your business’s gross income –
Sitting in a healthcare waiting room usually rates quite low on the good-times scale, and quite high on the stress scale. With today’s trend toward “patient as consumer,” designers are looking at ways to make waiting rooms more user-friendly. A recent study at a major healthcare facility defined the shortcomings in waiting room designs, including:
A century ago, “the customer is always right” became the motto for success in the high competitive retail market. In today’s similarly competitive healthcare environment, providers are adopting that same customer-centric approach, according to Rob Chartier in Health Facilities Management. Many hospitals and clinics are redesigning themselves to create a total customer experience, in the
Massachusetts-based MD10 has been testing RFID temporary “tattoos” that detect various illness and monitor health conditions, sending data to healthcare professionals via a tiny built-in antenna. As reported in 21st Century Wire, first responders can scan an injured person’s RFID tattoo for allergies or medical conditions before administering medications. Doctors can be alerted to a
With its care- and cost-management potential, RFID is a powerful tool for hospitals. But without the advice of experts, hospital managers can end up using RFID tags to scrape egg off their faces. Insufficient wifi capacity, overly-complex user interface, disruption of patient care routines…the pitfalls are many. Interviewed in MedCityNews.com, Yedidia Blonder outlines the seven
“Never event” is the term for a surgical error that should never, ever occur, such as operating on the wrong body part or leaving surgical instruments inside a patient. Hospitals have worked steadily to reduce such devastating mistakes, but surgeons, the rock stars of medicine, have been notoriously resistant to changing their practices. Now a
If you’ve ever been hospitalized, perhaps you noticed how a cheerful paint color or a bouquet of flowers brightened up the room’s sterile design. Now researchers studying psychoneuroimmunology – the connection between mental and physical health – are finding that pleasant surroundings are an essential part of the health care and healing process. Architects and
As the end of the year approaches, the IRS has a little holiday gift for businesses looking for last-minute ways to boost their tax deductions. It’s the Section 179 tax rule, which permits the deduction of the full purchase price of business equipment, up to $25,000. As explained by the tax watchers at Section179.org, this
As health care continues moving out of critical-care facilities and into consumer-friendly settings, designers are picking up a few design secrets from the retail industry. Writing in Health Facilities Management, Sarah Bader presents six retail design techniques that can influence the behavior of consumers, encouraging them to make use of health care services offered in
When you are making a major business purchase, you might feel like a tourist at a foreign bazaar – too many offers of something you’re not sure you want. What’s a buyer to do? According to these 12 tips from Renewable Energy Vermont, information is the key to being a better buyer. Have a clearly