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ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY

New ‘WEB’ Device Heals Brain Aneurysms

Experts at Baptist Health Neuro - herme Dabus, M.D., with Baptist Health Now, the WEB device offers many
science Center and Miami Cardiac & Neuroscience Center, this month per- advantages for the patient, including a
Vascular Institute are the first in South formed the first minimally invasive sur- shorter recovery time, less or no
Florida to repair brain aneurysms in a gery in South Florida using the WEB on dependence on blood-thinning drugs
minimally invasive manner using an all- a woman in her 70s who is recovering and potentially fewer complications
new technology. well. during a procedure that runs just an
WEB, short for Woven EndoBridge, is In the recent past, experts have avoid- hour or less, says Dr. Dabus. Procedures
a self-expanding mesh ball made of ed cutting the skull open in brain involving coiling and the flow diverter
nickel titanium that is implanted within aneurysm repairs with the help of can be more complicated, can take
aneurysms located in the arteries of the another device, the flow diverter. Before much longer and require the patient to
brain. the flow diverter was approved, more stay on antiplatelet therapy for the rest
For patients with potentially danger- commonly used balloons, stents and of their lives.
ous aneurysms, it is also a new life-sav- platinum coils induced clotting “The WEB basically redirects the
ing device approved just months ago by (embolization), and hopefully prevent- blood flow away from the aneurysm,” And it potentially also serves as a scaf-
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. ed blood from continuing to grow the says Dr. Dabus. “At the same time, it fold for tissue healing at the neck of the
Interventional neuroradiologist Guil - bulge- or balloon-like aneurysms. closes the aneurysm from the inside. aneurysm.”

Cover Story: OZ Digital Consulting: Enhancing

Patient Experience and Hospital Performance

Continued from page 1
“These are fundamentally different delivering the best patient experiences. cess has been approaching the work they
That shift also caused OZ to transform questions than we were historically For instance, their advanced analytics do with full integrity with clients and
its business model as well. As a 22-year asked,” says Izenwasser. "While IT is consultants have created systems to driving to an understanding of what they
old organization, OZ was previously a always still involved, it’s really the people reduce costs and improve hospital effi- are going to do.
traditional IT consulting/IT services on the business side of healthcare who ciency. They also enable secure and reli- “It’s not an over-promise or under-
organization implementing technology, are now asking us to help.” able cloud networks making telehealth deliver or under-promise or over-deliv-
technology applications, and develop- Amjad Shamim, CEO of OZ, adds that possible. By deploying sensors and other er,” explains Izenwasser. “It’s a true
ment services for clients. About 70 per- hospitals have also started to view their IoT devices, they can ensure your health- understanding between us and our
cent of its work was focused in health- patients as consumers. care facility gets the most out of your clients of what we are going to do and
care and they primarily dealt with CIOs “The internet and smartphones have equipment by flagging potential prob- then doing it.”
and their teams. conditioned people to expect immediate lems and recommending the best main- What makes a great patient experience
Over the past five years, however, attention to things and to get immediate tenance schedules. They also design data for OZ is where the processes, proce-
healthcare systems began to look at results,” Shamim says. “They want to management solutions that can process dures and administration of modern day
themselves more as a business. read doctor reviews online or to be able diverse sets of information on everything healthcare does not get in the way of get-
“The conversation we began to have to schedule their own appointments. from bed counts to nurse schedules to ting the patient back to the status quo of
with our clients was focused around They expect that immediacy as well as supply orders. In addition, out of their their lives.
‘their business,’ and ‘the way they go to want that convenience. Once they get 300-plus digital consultants who work “That is what patient experience is
market,’” says Izenwasser. “Previously, the care, they want it to be personalized with OZ, about 40 are focused on inte- about to us,” says Izenwasser. “People
people didn’t like to talk about those too—which is something that enhances gration work, and have performed thou- want to get back to what their life was
types of things when they talked about patient experience. And on top of all that sands of integrations in healthcare over before whatever incident made them
healthcare.” they want to know that their private data the past 22 years—and that pace is interact with a healthcare system. We
Instead of being asked whether they is safe. They want personalization but quickening. can help our clients do that by focusing
could implement a new system or write a also privacy.” “At every stage along the patient jour- on eliminating any of the friction and
new IT application, OZ was being asked OZ works with healthcare systems to ney, we want to create something that frustration of a patient’s interaction with
questions such as: “how do we change help them make patient care more per- truly integrates to the business of doing a healthcare system.”
fundamental aspects of our organization sonalized, simple and efficient. The com- healthcare while creating a great experi-
and the way we interact with our patients, pany helps hospitals squeeze optimal ence for that patient, physician or For more information visit
physicians, and employees?,” or “how do value out of their budgets to drive employee,” adds Izenwasser. www.followoz.com.
we create a better experience for everyone patient experiences, so they can continue One of the keys to the company’s suc-
that leads to better outcomes?”

South Florida Hospital News southfloridahospitalnews.com November 2019 9