Sara Koliner, Policy Analysis Project Assistant, Project HealthDesign National Program Office Last week, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) approved 51 awards as part of its second cycle of funding in support of the development of a National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, part of the “Accelerating Patient-Centered and Methodological Research” Priority for Research. Studies in Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) rely on dense and nuanced information in order to accurately assess the quality of one treatment over another. The studies approved by…
Healthcare IT
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Most Topular Stories
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Maintaining the Patient Perspective in Patient-Centered Outcomes
Project HealthDesign Blog17 May 2013 | 8:47 am -
The Importance of Software Development in Medical Device Industry Growth
Bob on Medical Device Software18 May 2013 | 2:08 pmThe bottom line of the article Software Development Must Be Overhauled to Drive Growth in the Medical Device Industry is summed up by this: The power and reach of converging IT trends means that business leaders need to understand the implications of a software-driven, connected-everything world. The context of this statement is broad (“Technology Vision”), but it is still a driving force for the Medical Device industry. Certainly connected-everything, i.e. interoperability, has been an elusive goal (I’m being kind) for medical devices and data systems. The Accenture… -
Enterprise-Wide Medical Deivice Integration and CIS Workflow
Medical Connectivity13 May 2013 | 8:26 pmLast month I spoke at the first CIS Qatar International Conference in Doha Qatar. My topic was the Importance of Enterprise Wide Medical Device Integration in CIS workflow. You can download a copy of my presentation here. This was the first such conference in Qatar with over 1,500 people attending. The ballroom only had capacity for 1,200 so they had remote screens and audio for the 300 overflow attendees. Several hospitals in Qatar are in the process of implementing Cerner’s EMR, so there is a lot of keen interest in all things EMR. The conference program was focused on implementation… -
Expert Healthcare Hackers
Fred Trotter11 May 2013 | 1:30 pm(This is a preview of a talk that I am going to give next week at Healthcare::Refactored, with Karen Herzog) There are two definitions of the word “Hacker”. One is an original and authentic term that the geekdom uses with respect. This … Continued -
URAC standards put to the test - Healthcare IT News
healthcare IT news - Google News17 May 2013 | 8:29 amURAC standards put to the testHealthcare IT NewsSeveral organized physician groups are beta testing URAC's new clinical integration accreditation program standards. The independent standards organization created the new program to serve as a road map for health providers to achieve clinical
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healthcare IT news - Google News
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URAC standards put to the test - Healthcare IT News
17 May 2013 | 8:29 amURAC standards put to the testHealthcare IT NewsSeveral organized physician groups are beta testing URAC's new clinical integration accreditation program standards. The independent standards organization created the new program to serve as a road map for health providers to achieve clinical -
Bed management IT new 'hot market' - Healthcare IT News
17 May 2013 | 8:11 amBed management IT new 'hot market'Healthcare IT NewsBed management software applications have witnessed record growth rates over the past five years and are considered the new hot market for vendors and providers to watch, according to the findings of a new HIMSS Analytics/directory/analytics" and more » -
Solving the Claim Overpayment Conundrum - Healthcare IT News (blog)
17 May 2013 | 5:16 amSolving the Claim Overpayment ConundrumHealthcare IT News (blog)Claims overpayments are more than a nuisance; they are an epidemic. Between $68 and $226 billion is lost annually to Fraud, Waste and Abuse (FWA), according to the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA). As much as 10 percent of -
IDC launches ACO roadmap - Healthcare IT News
16 May 2013 | 8:35 amIDC launches ACO roadmapHealthcare IT NewsWith recognition that "the path through accountable care is unknown," IDC Health Insights has launched a new Accountable Care Maturity Model, designed to help healthcare organizations gauge their own status and make strategic decisions for funding -
Senate confirms Tavenner as CMS chief - Healthcare IT News
16 May 2013 | 7:09 amLive Insurance NewsSenate confirms Tavenner as CMS chiefHealthcare IT NewsMarilyn Tavenner's confirmation as official administrator of CMS immediately drew positive reactions from nearly every corner of the industry and government, as several healthcare stakeholders reacted to the 91-7 landslide Senate vote that took place Tavenner confirmed as head of CMSFierceHealthcareDC Week: Tavenner OK'd by SenateMedPage TodayPatience will define Tavenner's tenure, health IT leaders sayFierceHealthITModernHealthcare.com -Live Insurance Newsall 59 news articles »
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FierceHealthIT News
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CPOE glitch causes patients to receive wrong meds, nurses say
17 May 2013 | 10:01 amA glitch causing medication orders to be passed on to the wrong patients is just one of several problems with a new computerized physician order entry system being implemented at Marin General Hospital, according to nurses at the Greenbrae, Calif., facility.read more -
Patience will define Tavenner's tenure, health IT leaders say
17 May 2013 | 9:29 amThe ability to listen first and take action second has been key to Marilyn Tavenner's success in leading the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services since 2010, according to several FierceHealthIT Editorial Advisory Board members. However, they say, how well she continues to practice such patience in the face of politics will be what ultimately defines her tenure at CMS.read more -
Implanted cardiac devices could be subject to tampering
17 May 2013 | 9:25 amSensors made to pick up a heart's rhythm in implanted cardiac defibrillators and pacemakers could be subject to tampering, according to research from the University of Michigan.read more -
Maturity model offers guidance for ACOs
17 May 2013 | 6:57 amElectronic health record technology alone will not be sufficient to implement accountable care, according to a new report.read more -
Algorithm helps to predict stroke risks
16 May 2013 | 10:25 amA new predictive tool in the form of a risk algorithm--dubbed QStroke--can help to identify and treat patients at risk of having a stroke, according to research recently published in BMJ.read more
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The Healthcare IT Guy
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Guest Article: How to improve health IT products sales into physician practices and hospitals through better funnel management
6 May 2013 | 8:48 amA frequent question I am asked by startups and their software focused leadership teams is, “how do we generate sales and what is the appropriate process to follow in creating our sales expectations.” My friend Steve Carbonara has been selling software to healthcare enterprises for years so I asked him to write a companion to his piece on selling to hospitals. Steve is currently the Chief Sales Officer at Cohealo, Inc., a VC backed healthcare services firm that optimizes purchasing and consumption of medical devices and equipment. After 8 years in corporate sales with Misys Healthcare… -
HIMSS13 debrief podcast with Gregg Masters, John Lynn, and Dr. Pat Salber
5 May 2013 | 8:54 amFollowing HiMSS13 in New Orleans I sat down last month in a BlogTalkRadio broadcast with Dr. Pat Salber (@DocWeighsIn @HealthTechHatch), Gregg Masters (@2healthguru @ACOwatch) and John Lynn (@techguy) with a ‘debrief’ of our key HIMSS13 take-aways as well as our latest venture, Influential Networks. I covered the following topics in the podcast: The HIMSS 13 cheerleading and “echo chamber” Are we moving faster with MU than the industry can really accomodate? How MU is creating false demand and a false market and when we might be able to move back to real innovation… -
Reducing Shadow IT in healthcare by embracing “good enough for HIPAA” business-friendly SaaS tools
5 May 2013 | 7:29 amI’ve said repeatedly that any cloud / SaaS vendor that wants to be taken seriously in healthcare must be willing to sign a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (BAA) and I was happy to hear that Box.com is now willing to do so. I’m quite pleased that we’re finally seeing some serious healthcare SaaS offerings from horizontal (non-healthcare-specific) vendors. Only when we move beyond healthcare-specific offerings will we be able to unshackle ourselves from the decades old legacy health IT vendors and that’s great news. While Box.com is only one vendor I think they will… -
What’s Next for Healthcare Information Technology Innovation
4 May 2013 | 5:26 pmLast week the Greater Chicago Chapter of HIMSS invited me to participate in their healthcare technology webinar series. I covered the topic “What’s Next for Healthcare Information Technology Innovation?” and the screencast with audio has been posted here. I covered numerous topics that are helpful for entrepreneurs and engineers that want to create innovative healthcare technology. -
Guest Article: Crawl, walk, and then run towards analytics and big data in healthcare
13 Apr 2013 | 5:44 pmI posted an article recently concerning the need to be more practical in the use of data vs. the need to go after the latest buzzwords, i.e. Big Data. Dan Reber posted a great comment on the article that I found enlightening so I reached out to him to expand on his thinking. Dan is in charge of product strategy at Origin Healthcare Solutions for their Business and Clinical Intelligence application (Precision.BI). Given that Dan’s been doing data warehousing and BI in some of the largest university-based medical groups in the country as well as having trained many users on the design of…
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HIStalk
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Monday Morning Update 5/20/13
18 May 2013 | 5:37 amFrom The PACS Designer: “Re: Microsoft’s updated BAA. Microsoft has released an update for its Business Associate Agreement to encompass more secure communications tools for HIPAA compliance. The changes provide for healthcare organizations to leverage cloud solutions to improve clinician productivity, care team communication, and care transition coordination while maintaining compliance with the recently updated Omnibus HIPAA Final Rules.” From Laboratorian: “Re: University of Michigan. Goes live June 1 with a massive IT rollout. This includes a new Epic (Denali) implementation… -
Readers Write: 256 Shades of Grey(scale): The Dirty Little Secrets of Radiology and PACS
17 May 2013 | 4:47 pm256 Shades of Grey(scale): The Dirty Little Secrets of Radiology and PACS By Brad Levin There is widespread agreement that radiology has been the epitome of success spreading PACS far and wide over the last two decades. Thousands of organizations transformed from the dark ages of film to digital operations. Early activity started in the mid-1990s and peaked in the mid-2000s. Once the 2000s were in full swing, many groups moved to PACS for the first time, but it was relatively common for PACS early adopters to have implemented their second or in rare cases, their third PACS by then. Along came… -
Readers Write: Trade Shows: How to Make Sure You’re Heard When Everyone’s Screaming
17 May 2013 | 4:37 pmTrade Shows: How to Make Sure You’re Heard When Everyone’s Screaming By Cindy Thomas Wright More than 1,000 companies exhibited at this year’s HIMSS. Did you go? If you did, can you name 10 companies and describe their trade show exhibits? If you’re like most attendees, you can’t. Because with 30,000-plus people there and row after row of exhibits, you were probably on trade show overload. Now let’s put you on the other side of the exhibit table. Your business is there, in a giant room filled with the hottest prospects in the world. How are you going to get their attention when… -
Time Capsule: If EMR Vendors Designed Cars, the Steering Wheel Could Be Anywhere: Why a Universal Physician Interface Makes Sense (and will never happen)
17 May 2013 | 4:32 pmI wrote weekly editorials for a boutique industry newsletter for several years, anxious for both audience and income. I learned a lot about coming up with ideas for the weekly grind, trying to be simultaneously opinionated and entertaining in a few hundred words, and not sleeping much because I was working all the time. They’re fun to read as a look back at what was important then (and often still important now). I wrote this piece in November 2008. If EMR Vendors Designed Cars, the Steering Wheel Could Be Anywhere: Why a Universal Physician Interface Makes Sense (and will never happen) By… -
Morning Headlines 5/17/13
16 May 2013 | 8:33 pmHHS Secretary Sebelius announces Senate confirmation of Marilyn Tavenner The US Senate today confirmed Marilyn Tavenner as the new CMS administrator, making her the first to be confirmed to the position in over nine years. Hospital can’t afford EMR contract, Assembly rejects funding request City assemblymen from Juneau, AK rejects an $8.5 million budget request to pay for an already-signed Cerner contract for Bartlett Regional Hospital, saying that they were never consulted on the contract prior to its signing and that the $1.15 million in annual maintenance fees is more than they are…
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Meaningful HIT News
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Guest podcast: Suzanne Leveille from OpenNotes
16 May 2013 | 10:07 pmI now present the latest health IT-related podcast from Sivad Business Solutions, an interview with Suzanne Leveille, research director of OpenNotes, a project to give patients online access to the entirety of their own medical records, including the visit notes from clinicians. Leveille describes a trial at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Geisinger Health System in Pennsylvania and Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. She reported that not one of the 105 participating physicians asked for the access to be shut off after a year. In some cases, patients even discovered errors and… -
Health Wonk Review: money talks, but IT helps
10 May 2013 | 11:43 amThe latest edition of Health Wonk Review is hot off the digital presses, with Joe Paduda taking hosting duties on his Managed Care Matters blog. And managed care does matter in this trip around the health blogosphere, with most of the attention on healthcare costs and insurance coverage. On the quality front, which is my primary interest these days, there is some interesting discussion about whether the new Medicare hospital readmissions policy truly will produce better care or will prod some into providing the minimum level of service to readmitted patients. (Frankly, hospitals have been… -
So many types of telehealth
8 May 2013 | 12:35 amHere’s a short video (720p HD) I put together from the just-concluded American Telemedicine Association’s annual conference in Austin, Texas. No wonder it’s so hard to get a real sense of the size of the telehealth and telemedicine market when there are so many components and so many different definitions. This is a row of banners outside the meeting rooms highlighting the various types, not to mention some of the ATA’s constituencies and important topics at the conference. I did the voice-over at 1:30 in the morning. Related posts: Breaking down ignorance about… -
Breaking down ignorance about telehealth
5 May 2013 | 11:27 amAUSTIN, Texas — I’m at my very first American Telemedicine Association annual conference, which starts later this afternoon. This morning, I gave a short presentation to the ATA’s Industry Council, made up of technology vendors, about trends in the telehealth industry. My slides are here: ATA 2013 presentation. I want to draw your attention in particular to slide 9, which is a letter to the editor of the Kearney (Neb.) Hub newspaper. Honestly, it’s one of the most ignorant, poorly argued pieces of garbage I’ve seen in a long time, and I can’t believe the editor… -
Health eVillages and mobile health in the developing world
30 Apr 2013 | 7:56 amI’m in New York today for a Health eVillages board meeting. It’s a program that provides mobile health tools to help extend the reach and knowledge of health workers in remote and underserved parts of the world — including in rural Southern Louisiana. The meeting opened with this powerful video that explains the power of this program. I can’t say anything more about Health eVillages now, but there is some big news coming this summer. Related posts: Learn about Health eVillages at HIMSS12 Health eVillages is Monday’s AOL ’cause of the day’ Announcing…
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Medical Connectivity
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Enterprise-Wide Medical Deivice Integration and CIS Workflow
13 May 2013 | 8:26 pmLast month I spoke at the first CIS Qatar International Conference in Doha Qatar. My topic was the Importance of Enterprise Wide Medical Device Integration in CIS workflow. You can download a copy of my presentation here. This was the first such conference in Qatar with over 1,500 people attending. The ballroom only had capacity for 1,200 so they had remote screens and audio for the 300 overflow attendees. Several hospitals in Qatar are in the process of implementing Cerner’s EMR, so there is a lot of keen interest in all things EMR. The conference program was focused on implementation… -
Alarm Fatigue Plagues Hospitals. Again. Still.
8 May 2013 | 10:21 amOn April 8, 2013, the Joint Commission published a Sentinel Event Alert on medical device alarm safety in hospitals. Once again, alarm hazards tops the ECRI Institute’s 2013 Top 10 Health Technology Hazards. Alarm fatigue is unfortunately a topic that is evergreen because it has plagued hospitals for many years and shows little sign of abating. A search of the literature will show the most common consequence of alarm fatigue is a failure to rescue adverse event (in which the vast majority 80% of patients die). A secondary consequence is on patient satisfaction; constant alarms audible… -
Valuing Private Certification
9 Apr 2013 | 8:57 amThere are currently several private entities that seek to certify medical apps, connectivity solutions, EHR record exchange, and other products, services and people in our sphere of interest. Given the ongoing proliferation of private certifications, there is a growing need to evaluate them, judge their relative costs and benefits, and determine which – if any – are worth adopting as either the one certified or as the consumer of certified products or services. These private activities are usually distinct from governmental requirements (e.g. FDA or FTC compliance, or state… -
How Big a Loophole is “Wellness”?
18 Mar 2013 | 8:40 amThe medical app and regulatory pot is being stirred as products continue to appear, including those with questionable FDA credentials, or lack of credentials. As discussed in our earlier posts on apps regulation (here and here), an app is a medical device if its meets the congressionally mandated and FDA enforced definition of a medical device as something whose intended use “is for the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or is intended to affect the structure or any function of the body of man”. As stated… -
EHR MU – Interoperability, but of what?
27 Dec 2012 | 9:51 amIn preparing for my presentation on Stage 2 Meaningful Use (MU) requirements for the November, 2012 Fourth Annual Medical Connectivity Conference I had the opportunity to delve further into the question of what had to be connected to what, and interoperable with what, in order for providers seeking EHR incentive payments to satisfy their MU obligations. (I ended up making this presentation by phone from New York to Boston because of the lack of transportation out of New York post hurricane Sandy.) Stage 2 of the federally defined Meaningful Use (MU) is now upon us (details here), and a…
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HealthBlog
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Your Turn! Enter the $10K Windows 8 & HealthVault Challenge.
15 May 2013 | 9:12 amI don’t often turn over space on HealthBlog to other authors. An exception was during my sabbatical when Gareth Hall kindly filled in for me. Another exception is when one of my colleagues has something really cool or important to share. Then, I feel...(read more) -
NHS clinicians save up to 45 minutes a day through simplified access to patient data
14 May 2013 | 11:49 amEven in some of the most digitally advanced hospitals and clinics I visit, I frequently hear clinicians grousing about access to patient care data and systems. It’s not unusual for todays’ healthcare settings to have multiple repositories of patient data...(read more) -
HIPAA not an excuse for lack of innovation in hospitals and clinics
13 May 2013 | 6:52 amAs a 20-year practicing physician and a former hospital CIO/CMIO, I am well aware that healthcare is an extremely complex, highly regulated industry. I often tell young entrepreneurs that healthcare isn’t for the faint of heart. Getting traction in anything...(read more) -
Electronic Health Records – Still not good enough Part 2
8 May 2013 | 11:36 amAs a physician and one of the more visible members of our health industry team at Microsoft, I frequently find myself as the first point of contact for people who want to work with our company. In some cases this is other clinicians or developers...(read more) -
Electronic Health (Medical) Records – Still not good enough
7 May 2013 | 2:22 pmCatching up following my two-month sabbatical, I came across an article today that really intrigues me. The article, The Great EHR Switch , appears in an April edition of HealthcareITNews. Despite the billions of dollars being handed out to physicians...(read more)
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Lab Soft News
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Epic Founder Faulkner Gives Hospital Executives Exactly What They Want
17 May 2013 | 11:02 amJudith Faulkner, founder and CEO of Epic, is warming up to the media according to an interview in Forbes by Zina Moukheiber (see: An Interview With The Most Powerful Woman In Health Care). Here's the reason that she offers in the interview: I’m recognizing that when we were small, we could stay under the radar, but now it’s harder. I get so many requests for interviews. If I talk to everyone, we can’t do our job with our customers and work on our software. It would be hard to stay focused. Here's one of the many reactions to the piece by David Shaywitz, also of Forbes… -
Should Hospitals Develop Lab Formularies Like Those in the Pharmacy?
16 May 2013 | 5:14 pmI recently learned about the concept of a lab formulary, an analogue of the pharmacy formulary. The latter is a list of the stock drugs carried by the pharmacy in a hospital. Prescriptions for hospital patients can only be written by physicicans for the drugs listed in the formulary. The comparable notion on the lab side is that only tests contained in the lab formulary can be ordered by physicians. Here is an article that describes the concept in greater detail (see: Constructing A Lab Formulary). Below is an excerpt from it: Given healthcare's increasing emphasis on cost control and… -
The Institutionalization of Healthcare; Consequences of Big Medicine?
15 May 2013 | 4:13 pmI posted a note five days ago about how the cost of healthcare seems to be gradually declining (see: Decrease in Healthcare Costs May Persist as Economy Revives). A reader, Ajit Alles, responded with a comment that decreasing expenditures of health my result in a lower quality of care, which I responded to in another note (see: The Correlation between the Cost of Care and the Health of a Population). He has responded to this second note with the following comment: As follow-up, I agree that we spend way too much on end of life care, but that won't be reduced without a cultural shift. -
Is Any Hospital Using the "Hybrid" Digital Pathology Business and Workflow Model?
14 May 2013 | 7:26 amIn a previous note, I discussed the hybrid teleradiology business model (see: Hybrid Model of On-Site and Remote Radiology for Enhanced Patient Workflow). In a nutshell, it works in the following way: A radiology department at a 370-bed acute-care hospital in Carmichael, California, utilizes both its on-site radiologists and remote radiology ("nighthawk") consultants to improve the quality of care and workflow. Cases are turfed to the outside consultants when the local radiology expertise is unavailable (e.g., neuroradiology), when the local number of radiologists is… -
The Correlation between the Cost of Care and the Health of a Population
13 May 2013 | 4:43 pmIn a recent note, I reported that the cost of healthcare in the U.S. was beginning to decline, perhaps due, in part, to reasons other than the drop in the economy (see: Decrease in Healthcare Costs May Persist as Economy Revives). A reader of Lab Soft News submitted the following comment in response to the post: Costs are down, but has health taken a beating? If people are seeing less of their physicians are they then showing up sicker? Does this give us a healthier population? I have come to believe that spending more on healthcare does not necessarily result in greater health for a…
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EMR and HIPAA
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Integrating Telemedicine And EMRs
17 May 2013 | 11:52 amHave you considered what an EMR would look and feel like if it integrated telemedicine? Rashid Bashshur, director of telemedicine at the University of Michigan Health System, has given the idea a lot of thought. In an interview with InformationWeek Healthcare, Bashshur tells IW’s Ken Terry that it’s critical to integrate HIEs, ACOs, Meaningful Use and electronic health records. Makes sense in theory. How would it work? To begin with, Bashshur said, healthcare providers who have virtual encounters with patients via a telehealth set-up should create an electronic health record… -
Counter Intuitive Findings from Patient Portal Use
16 May 2013 | 9:38 amThe patient portal is becoming a really hot topic in healthcare. I think we can attribute much of the discussion to the EMR meaningful use requirements to engage with patients in a patient portal. I recently started a thread on LinkedIn based on a post by Jennifer Dennard called Opening up the Pandora’s Box of Patient Portals. The conversation in the thread was great, but David Voran, MD provided some incredibly valuable insight that I wanted to share with all of my readers. The following are Dr. Voran’s comments based on his experience using a patient portal. Long have exploited… -
What’s Ahead After TEDMED 2013
15 May 2013 | 6:00 amLast week, a number of TEDMED attendees and myself participated in a Google+ Hangout sponsored by Xerox to take a look back at our unique experiences at TEDMED 2013. The discussion included the following people: Markus Fromherz, chief innovation officer of Xerox Healthcare Benjamin Miller, assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine Nick Dawson, chief experience officer at Frontier Health Consulting John Lynn, editor and founder of the Healthcare Scene blog network We made it a really focused 15 minute discussion of the key takeaways from TEDMED. Some of the… -
EMR Workforce Shortage
14 May 2013 | 9:21 amOne of the longest running conversations we’ve had on this site is the shortage of qualified EMR workers. It’s a discussion that quite frankly is difficult on many levels. On the one hand you have the hospitals and clinics who are suffering because they can’t find the right people to work on their EMR. On the other hand, you have the unemployed but experienced IT worker that’s trying to crack into the healthcare IT and EMR world. This later group breaks my heart about once a week. There stories and efforts trying to find a job in healthcare IT are hard for me to take. -
5 Tips for Improving Provider Productivity with an EMR
13 May 2013 | 12:17 pmThe most recent EMR adoption numbers I’ve seen are putting EMR adoption at about 60% of doctors. When I think about the other 40% of doctors that have yet to adopt an EMR, my guess is that the biggest reason they haven’t adopted an EMR is based on their fear that an EMR will negatively impact their practice and their productivity. They fear that a change to EMR is going to be negative rather than a positive that it could be. A whitepaper called Getting Lean with Your Practice: Five Tips for Improving Provider Productivity with an EHR does a good job looking at the issues of…
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Medgadget
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HeartMate II Pocket Controller for Thoratec LVAD Gets U.S. Clearance
17 May 2013 | 12:42 pmThoratec received FDA clearance to offer its Pocket Controller for patients using the company’s HeartMate II LVAD (left ventricular assist device). The controller has been made lighter and smaller than previous generation models, and has an internal battery that can energize the pump at full power for 15 minutes when disconnected from the main source.The device sounds alarms and provides on-screen instructions for what to do, but otherwise stays quietly hidden in a pant pocket.Read More -
Preventice BodyGuardian Continuous Patient Monitor Being Made Available in U.S.
17 May 2013 | 8:47 amPreventice out of Minneapolis, Minnesota, having received FDA approval last year for remote monitoring of individuals with non-lethal cardiac arrhythmias, is launching its BodyGuardian Remote Patient Monitoring System. The core technology behind the BodyGuardian was developed at the Mayo Clinic and involves processing of live data such as ECG, heart rate, heart rate variability, respiration rate, and the person’s activity level gathered from a sensor attached to the patient’s chest.Cardiologists and other clinicians can keep a close eye on their patients throughout the day while… -
St. Jude’s ILUMIEN OPTIS PCI Optimization System with FFR, OCT Cleared in EU
17 May 2013 | 8:37 amSt. Jude Medical‘s new ILUMIEN OPTIS PCI Optimization System, a tool for assessing the state of coronary arteries before stent placement, has received European approval to begin distribution on the continent.The ILUMIEN platform combines Fractional Flow Reserve (FFR) for measuring intra-arterial pressure with intravascular Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) for a visual look inside arteries. The new OPTIS PCI system features a new, faster laser that delivers twice the resolution of previous models and additional guidance algorithms that aid with stent placement.Read More -
Telcare BGM Cellular-Based Glucometer Coming to Europe
17 May 2013 | 8:33 amTelcare (Bethesda, MD) has announced winning European clearance to begin marketing its smartphone-like blood glucose meter, a device already approved for sale in the U.S. The glucometer has built-in cellular functionality, allowing it to send data to a central server automatically from just about anywhere.Clinicians can view individual patient readings and track progress overtime. Moreover, they can send messages directly to the individual patient glucometers recommending changes in diet, exercise, or anything else that is appropriate. A year ago, Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal,… -
NinePoint’s NvisionVLE Tissue Imaging System Now Available in U.S.
16 May 2013 | 8:44 amHaving received FDA appropriate clearances, NinePoint Medical is now making available in the U.S. its NvisionVLE esophageal tissue imaging system. The device provides a cross-sectional view of the tissue microstructure thanks to something called OFDI (optical frequency-domain imaging), a type of Fourier-domain optical coherence tomography (OCT).The system is primarily intended to be used in imaging upper GI for diagnosis of Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal dysplasia.Read More
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Dalai's PACS Blog
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Naughty Curiosity!!!
25 Apr 2013 | 5:18 pmIt seems that Curiosity, the Mars rover, thought no one was looking, so.... -
Adding A Trackpad, or (Jail)Breaking iBad
21 Apr 2013 | 8:55 pmAs a reward for surviving his operation in 2010, we gave Dalai, Jr. one of the original iPads. He never really took to it, preferring his laptop instead. Even so, in those heady, early days of the iPad, I was quite certain it would become THE radiology accessory, as seen in this cartoon which I made even before the iPad was released, and then this one after it was out. Later, I wrote an early review of the radiology viewing software then available. Some of my comments in that piece were rather prescient, especially those concerning the eventual increase in… -
The Final Four And Other Unfairness
14 Apr 2013 | 8:27 pmWhile I'm not that much of a sports fan, Mrs. Dalai and I bid successfully on tickets for the Final Four offered by one of our favorite charities, Camperships For Nebagamon, and so we got to tick one more item off of our bucket list. (Still to come, not necessarily in order: Superbowl, college and professional baseball World Series, visits to Giza and the pyramids, Angor Wat, the Terra Cotta Soldiers in China, African Safari, Paris, Scotland, Ireland. And while I've been to Israel, Hawaii, and Australia, Mrs. Dalai hasn't, so our shared list includes these spots as well.)Courtesy… -
Did You Ever Wonder...
14 Apr 2013 | 12:27 pmMark down Thursday, May 23, on your calendars...that's the date of the next AuntMinnie.com Virtual Conference, and your favorite Doctor Dalai of PACS will have a supporting roll:"Did You Ever Wonder...Some Musings On What Radiologists REALLY Want Out Of PACS"Dr. Sam Friedman, the self-proclaimed "Dalai Lama of PACS" shares his (occasionally tongue-in-cheek) views on PACS and how it works (or doesn't) in the hands of the average radiologist. Developed by visionaries and co-opted by Information Technology, PACS had great potential to revolutionize the daily grind of the radiologist, but can… -
Merge Re-Refinances
2 Apr 2013 | 6:23 pmWhile it's not yet up on Merge's website, the company has sent out a press release to those of us on their email list announcing a new "Tender Offer" and "Consent Solicitation". Here it is:Merge Healthcare Announces Tender Offer and Consent Solicitation for 11.75% Senior Secured Notes Due 2015CHICAGO, April 2, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Merge Healthcare Incorporated (Nasdaq:MRGE), a leading provider of clinical systems and innovations that seek to transform healthcare, today announced that it has commenced a cash tender offer (the "Tender Offer") for any and all of its $252,000,000…
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Future of Health IT: Trends and Scenarios
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Robots in healthcare: scary, promising, or both?
15 May 2013 | 9:56 amRobot Aids in Therapy for Autistic Children Wall Street Journal (05/01/13) Shirley S. Wang University of Notre Dame researchers will present study findings at the annual conference of the International Society for Autism Research showing promise in the use of robots for teaching social skills to autistic children. The study, involving 19 autistic children, is believed to be the largest trial to date using robots in this way. The children interacted with a two-foot-tall robot therapist that was programmed to ask novel questions and engage children in conversation. The study participants showed… -
In the fight against superbugs, biosensors may have an answer - FierceHealthIT
9 May 2013 | 12:15 pmNew biosensors have the potential to detect antiobiotic resistance in bacteria, according to new research from the Journal of Visualized Experiments (JoVE). "Antibiotic resistant bacteria is a serious problem," Vitaly Vodyanoy, M.D. said in an announcement. "It is very important [when treating a patient] to distinguish between normal and resistant bacteria; if you have a case of resistance you have to take special measures to cure it." Vodyanoy used bacteriophages, simple viruses that can target and kill bacteria, mixed with specific antibiodies, which can be used to produce a color change… -
Rogue Wave: The Synergistic Convergence of Multiple Disruptive Information Technologies
9 May 2013 | 6:30 amReading a page on the McKinsey site called Clouds, big data, and smart assets: Ten tech-enabled business trends to watch, I came across something that resonated with an obsession of mine over the past three decades of my involvement in high tech: the synergistic convergence of multiple disruptive information technologies. I firmly believe that this is the driving force behind the massive and increasingly rapid changes in modern society and culture. Starting around the turn of the century, I wrote a series of scenario planning papers called Rogue Wave in which I first published my thoughts on… -
The big-data revolution in US health care: Accelerating value and innovation | McKinsey & Company
7 May 2013 | 1:55 pmWhile health-care costs may be paramount in big data’s rise, clinical trends also play a role. Physicians have traditionally used their judgment when making treatment decisions, but in the last few years there has been a move toward evidence-based medicine, which involves systematically reviewing clinical data and making treatment decisions based on the best available information. Aggregating individual data sets into big-data algorithms often provides the most robust evidence, since nuances in subpopulations (such as the presence of patients with gluten allergies) may be so rare that they… -
A "Learning Healthcare System": A good use of Big Data
7 May 2013 | 7:01 amAn item in FierceHealthIT pointed me to an intriguing paper from the Institute of Medicine, Making the Case for Continuous Learning from Routinely Collected Data: The availability and reliability of large volumes of relevant longitudinal digital data from a variety of clinical and nonclinical sources are core features of a system that learns from each care experience, a learning health system. Common clinical repositories include data from electronic health record (EHR) systems used to manage patient care and claims data necessary for billing purposes. In some cases, data sources can be…
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Australian Health Information Technology
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Weekly Overseas Health IT Links - 18th May, 2013.
17 May 2013 | 11:00 pmHere are a few I have come across last week. Note: Each link is followed by a title and few paragraphs. For the full article click on the link above title of the article. Note also that full access to some links may require site registration or subscription payment. ----- http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/global-healthcare-it-market-estimated-reach-567b-2017/2013-05-10 Global healthcare IT market estimated to reach $56.7B by 2017 May 10, 2013 | By Ashley Gold The global healthcare IT market is estimated to reach $56.7 billion by 2017--up from $40.4 billion in 2012--due to the demand for… -
We Are Seeing More Brownian Motion In The Telehealth Space As The Election Nears.
16 May 2013 | 11:00 pmThere was another press release from another part of the Government that was relevant this week. Joint media release Mark Butler MP Minister for Mental Health and Ageing Senator the Hon Stephen Conroy Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy Leader of the Government in the Senate Minister Assisting the Prime Minister on Digital Productivity NBN to pilot new models of health care for 2500 patients The Gillard Government is providing $20.3 million to nine cutting edge telehealth projects that will use the National Broadband Network to pilot new methods of health care… -
Article Draft - It Seems This E-Health Business I Much Harder Than We All Thought. We May Need A Fundamentally Different Approach.
15 May 2013 | 11:30 pmI was lucky to be asked to spend a couple of hours with a team of academics from Australia and the U.K. to explore some of the issues around the implementation of centralised National E-Health Systems around the world - with a special focus on the U.K., Canada, New Zealand, the U.S. and Australia a little while ago. I found it very interesting that as the conversation progressed that despite the difference in starting perspectives that the conclusions reached and the perceptions of what was needed seemed to be remarkably aligned and similar. It was pretty clear from our conversation,… -
DoHA Budget 2013-14 and E-Health - What Do We See? Looks Like A Major Slowing In Investment After 14 Months From Now.
14 May 2013 | 11:00 pmThe relevant part of the Budget is DoHA - Outcome 10. The link is here: http://www.health.gov.au/internet/budget/publishing.nsf/Content/2013-2014_Health_PBS Right at the top we read. Outcome 10 HEALTH SYSTEM CAPACITY AND QUALITY Outcome Strategy The Australian Government, through Outcome 10, aims to improve the long-term capacity of Australia’s health care system with a particular emphasis on quality and safety. To achieve this, the Department funds systemic improvement activities focused on management, performance, information, infrastructure and research. The implementation of the… -
AusHealthIT Poll Number 167 – Results – 15th May, 2013.
14 May 2013 | 9:19 pmThe question was: What Do You Predict Will Be The Fate of E-Health Funding In The Upcoming Budget on Tuesday? Big Increase 0% (0) Small Increase 10% (5) No Change 10% (5) Minor Decrease 24% (12) Major Decrease 43% (22) I Have No Idea 14% (7) Total votes: 51 Looks like a 67% see a decrease of some size and the rest stable or slightly up. Again, many thanks to those that voted! David. This is the initial part of the post - read more by clicking on the title of the article. David.
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GNUmed for the masses
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Medical Scores available in GNUmed
11 May 2013 | 12:05 amGNUmed has a lot of scores readily available for use in the medical record. -
Grünes Rezept via GNUmed
10 May 2013 | 11:18 pmMit GNUmed kann man ab sofort ein grünes Rezept bedrucken. -
GNUmed - searching in lists
14 Apr 2013 | 1:13 amWill be in GNUmed 1.4. -
GNUmed 1.3.1 for Virtual machines, Live-DVD and cloud
1 Apr 2013 | 9:28 amGet it from https://sourceforge.net/projects/gnumedlive/files/ -
GNUmed - Überblick per Video
23 Mar 2013 | 11:51 pm
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Bob on Medical Device Software
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The Importance of Software Development in Medical Device Industry Growth
18 May 2013 | 2:08 pmThe bottom line of the article Software Development Must Be Overhauled to Drive Growth in the Medical Device Industry is summed up by this: The power and reach of converging IT trends means that business leaders need to understand the implications of a software-driven, connected-everything world. The context of this statement is broad (“Technology Vision”), but it is still a driving force for the Medical Device industry. Certainly connected-everything, i.e. interoperability, has been an elusive goal (I’m being kind) for medical devices and data systems. The Accenture… -
Robot Doctors
24 Feb 2013 | 10:27 pmThe Atlantic article The Robot Will See You Now is a good read. There’s a lot of discussion about how the AI technology developed for IBM Watson could benefit the health care system. Also, advanced computing combined with the use of smart phones for physiological data collection and transmission has real potential: As sensors shrink and improve, they will increasingly allow health to be tracked constantly and discreetly—helping people to get over illnesses faster and more reliably—and in the best of cases, to avoid getting sick in the first place. The preventative component of… -
Brain Health Device
13 Jan 2013 | 10:01 pmThe latest incarnation of EEG-based devices comes from Muse – The Brainwave Sensing Headband. Just like other BCI claims, How Mind-Controlled Games Work – And Why It’s Way, Way Bigger Than That is a new approach to consumer brain monitoring applications. From the Muse site (my highlighting): Our early apps will be focused on building the core of your mind to improve intellectual skills such as memory and concentration, or emotional skills like maintaining composure in high stress situations. Other Muse apps would be just plain fun stuff so you could paint or compose music… -
Medical Device Innovation Consortium
5 Dec 2012 | 9:21 pmThe FDA has announced the Medical Device Innovation Consortium (MDIC) which aims to help medical device companies get their products to market faster. See FDA, Private Groups Team Up to Speed Device Approval. The term Regulatory Science is used 12 times on the single page MDIC Web site so it must be important. The FDA has been using regulator science in other health related areas since early 2010: see Advancing Regulatory Science. This consortium is part of a much broader strategy (see the strategic plan) to improve both innovation and safety in FDA-regulated products. The MDIC… -
Hacking Your Brain
19 Aug 2012 | 9:19 pmBCI research is important work (see here). The availability of reasonably priced hardware and general purpose APIs has made it easy to investigate many aspects of how EEG processing of can be used to control the external environment. The extrapolation of this work into the concept of mind reading software appears to be inevitable, but even after all these years, is still annoying. The latest incarnation of this is based on reputable work at Universities of Oxford and Geneva, and the University of California, Berkeley: Hackers backdoor the human brain, successfully extract sensitive…
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Medicine and Technology
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The Physician's Evolving Role in Healthcare: Lead or Be Led
12 May 2013 | 11:00 amThis is a guest post by Wen Dombrowski, MD During medical school and residency I realized that individual physicians can choose to Lead or Be Led. Each of us can try to design and manage the systems of care we would like to see (whether care models or technology that enables them), or physicians can be victims of what others decide we should do (such as administrators, sales reps, or well-intended developers without user experience insight). I recall over a decade ago there were critics who lamented the rise of HMOs and Pay For Performance would end the Practice Of Medicine as we know it. -
Hospitals Slow to Go Paperless Despite Benefits
8 May 2013 | 5:00 pmGuest Post: Hospitals Slow to Go Paperless Despite Benefits If you are walking into an ER, you better have a reliable memory of your last doctor's visit, the medications you have taken, and any x-rays you've had in the last year. Unless you are walking into one of the very few hospitals in the United States that has gone paperless, your wait could be very long. This is because hospitals are still using an outdated method of managing information: paper. Healthcare is far behind other industries when it comes to information technology and document management. Hospitals and patients… -
RP-VITA telemedicine robot may be coming to your hospital
6 May 2013 | 5:00 pmThe next time you go to the hospital, you may run into a telemedicine robot like the RP-VITA. At ATA 2013, InTouch Health & iRobot announced the first hospitals and medical centers that will be using the RP-VITA telemedicine robot. Here's a snippet from their press release: Austin, TX (May 6, 2013) -- Top academic medical centers and leading healthcare systems across North America are now introducing their patients to RP-VITATM, the first FDA-cleared telemedicine robot that combines state-of-the-art telecommunications and AutoDrive technology. InTouch Health, the leader… -
Big Data & Healthcare Analytics Forum
5 May 2013 | 5:00 pmDon't miss the Big Data & Healthcare Analytics Forum June 4-5, 2013 Washington DC Healthcare IT News and HIMSS Media, the industry’s leading sources for news and leadership in healthcare information technology, have joined forces to present the Big Data & Healthcare Analytics Forum. This two-day event in the nation’s capital will gather leading providers, industry experts, solutions suppliers and key government officials. As reimbursement shrinks and risk sharing grows, analyzing data to improve decision-making may well determine the winners and losers in this new healthcare… -
Pediatrics 2040: Trends And Innovations for the Next 25 Years
3 May 2013 | 3:00 pmDon't miss this exciting event this fall: Pediatrics 2040: Trends And Innovations for the Next 25 Years October 3 - 5, 2013 Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa Anaheim, CA The current myriad of challenges such as cost containment, care fragmentation, healthcare reform, access to subspecialists, escalating costs and knowledge escalation face today’s pediatricians and pediatric subspecialists as well as hospital administrative leadership. The emerging medical and technological advances as well as trends in the care of children in the coming era is covered in a comprehensive three-day…
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Legacy Data Access
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Vendors Burning Bridges and the Golden Rule
18 May 2013 | 3:02 amIf you are reading my blog, you know what my company does. Being the guys that are handling the “go dead” of an application, we are dealing with what is, agreeably, the most difficult and disappointing time for the vendor being retired. I get it. The customers have passed you over. Putting you out to pasture. Picked someone younger, fresher, nicer, better suited to their business. Your revenues are impacted. Your market position is threatened. It makes a statement about where you are in your product lifecycle. What I DON’T get is the attitude that comes along with it. Most HIT… -
Some things you may not know about me
10 May 2013 | 6:35 pm1. I am loyal to a fault. You want me on your side. Even if you are wrong. 2. Don’t Wrong Me. That loyalty thing being said, don’t do me wrong. You don’t want to deal with that. 3. I take it to heart. All of it. I have a tremendous sense of right and wrong, and if I have Wronged You, I am devastated. I will do anything to make it up to you. If I am Right, you better be ready to convince me why you might be too. 4. That being said, don’t take advantage. See #2. 5. You can trust me. But be able to handle the truth, because I am going to give it to you. 6. I love my… -
Comfort Zones and a shout out to the GSU EDB Class of 2014
27 Apr 2013 | 1:47 pmI have been thinking lately about comfort zones. I went camping with my daughter’s Venture Crew a few weeks ago – hiking (which I do often) and putting up a tent and eating freeze-dried camping food (which I have NEVER done). Everyone that knows me was extremely shocked that I was going camping. This was definitely outside my comfort zone – I am more of a Ritz Carlton/Oxford Castle kind of girl. We all know that going outside your comfort zone has benefits that outweigh the fear-factor. The opportunities for personal growth when you push yourself to have new experiences spill… -
Strategy Is…..
8 Apr 2013 | 6:16 pmKnowing where you are headed. Not confusing the HOW with the WHAT. Clearly stating your goals and how to measure their accomplishment. A plan that can be changed as you execute. Something your customers and your employees can get behind. Obviously missing when it isn’t there. Trusting your gut and experience and knowing that it feels right. Facing what has to be said even if you know it is not politically correct. Keeping the main thing the main thing. Rising above the pettiness and going for the greater good. Not something invented by management but something conceptualized and then lived… -
A Close-out Post for HIMSS 2013 – A Very Special Thanks
7 Mar 2013 | 6:31 pmHIMSS 2013 was a success as always. A shout out to Secure Information Systems and our other partners for a great show and some great networking. We accomplished what we set out to do – used the conference to pre-schedule and meet with potential customers, networked with old friends and vendors, made new friends, and educated some new potential customers about our product offering. New Orleans is a great city and had lots of options for playing as hard as we were working, but rest assured we were all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed each morning for our day on the show floor. We are…
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EMR and EHR
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Healthcare Innovation – #HITsm Chat Highlights
18 May 2013 | 9:19 amBefore we get to the regular #HITsm recap, John got together with a couple of other members of the #HITsm community and did a Google Plus hangout during this week’s chat. It’s a little random, but there were some good discussions about the #HITsm chat topics. We’d love to hear feedback about what we did. We’re considering doing something similar in the future, but with a little more focused discussion. Topic One: What does #healthcare innovation mean to you? How do you define it? T1: Innovation in health means patient at the center, literate in healthy actions and… -
What flows through you into the world?
17 May 2013 | 1:59 pmOn this lovely Friday I thought I’d throw out something that I heard at TEDMED that was quite profound. One of the organizers asked the following question that had impacted his life: What flows through you into the world? It’s a powerful concept to consider what we’re doing of good in the world. In fact, he asked some follow up questions for those of us in healthcare. Are you in healthcare to do good? Or just to make money? Or just to provide for your family? Or just because you have no other choice? I remember when I first got my job in healthcare I was really empowered by… -
Apps Open Up a New World of Health Value
16 May 2013 | 1:27 pmParents, do you remember the days before smart devices? The days before you could hand your kid a tablet or phone in exchange for at least 20 minutes of uninterrupted quiet? I hope I’m not alone in the personal love/hate relationship I have with smart devices. One minute I find myself using them as a virtual babysitter just to get through a conference call at home. The next, I find myself wishing I could program them to shut off after 20 minutes so that my kids (and my husband) don’t wind up looking like the “humans” in Wall*e. (I’ve heard the Kindle Fire has this option. Anyone… -
Geisinger Opens Doctors’ Notes To Patients
15 May 2013 | 9:44 amGeisinger Health System is kicking off a new program under which more than 100,000 patients will have access to their doctors’ notes. Patients will access the notes through the secure MyGeisinger online patient portal, reports Healthcare Informatics. The initiative grows out of a pilot, funded by a $1.4 million grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The OpenNotes project, which lasted 12 months, brought together 105 primary care doctors with more than 19,000 of their patients, in an effort to see how both patients and physicians were affected by the sharing of doctors’… -
When Patients Know More Than Doctors
14 May 2013 | 4:34 pmWith a title like that, I know I’m bound to get a visceral response from some doctors, but hear me out. As someone told me today, the thing I love about John is that you know he’s going to tell you what he really thinks. He’s not going to hold back. Hopefully that’s true. Plus, I certainly welcome other people to provide opposing viewpoints so that we can all learn together. First I should make it clear that I’m a great patient. I have extreme respect for the doctors I work with and follow their care plans to a T. For example, as a child I took accutane. That…
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Medical Quack
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Medical Quack “GoFundMe” Outreach Personal Crowd Fundraising For Medical And Funeral Bills- Mother Passed Away From Cancer
1 May 2013 | 10:47 amNobody is immune from needing help and my cause is two fold here with both keeping the Medical Quack alive and well and to also look for a little help for some family medical bills. Mom had surgery and died about 4 weeks afterwards. I’m glad I was there during her surgery as I was not able to be there at the end. I miss her a lot. Hospice took good care of her through the end and if you ever need a great service as such in Phoenix, it’s called “Hospice of the Valley”, the best. For the next couple of weeks I may have some time to post a couple… -
Tenet Healthcare Loses $88 Million First Quarter 2013–Admissions Drop, Algorithmic Models Of Insurers Transferring Risk to Patients and Providers Not Working, Why? No Money
1 May 2013 | 9:44 amRevenues were up but profits were down. More people have high deductible insurance plans and thus this model is continuing to break as payers are transferring risk to patients and providers. The problem here is that transferring risk in software analytics may look good but we are back to how this doesn’t work in the real world as patients and payers don’t have the money, as we have already algorithmically risked down to the penny so where’s the next math model going to go search? What’s left? Again what looks good in the software world doesn’t play out the… -
How to Help a Family or Loved One In Need CauseWish CrowdFunding (Guest Post)
30 Apr 2013 | 8:34 pmThis is a guest post from the owner of CauseWish, a crowd funding website and if you look on my right hand side you can see mine cause I have set up with another site. Mine is for help with medical bills and funeral expenses as my mother just died of cancer. I helped spread the word of GoFundMe and here’s another site to consider for Crowdfunding, CauseWish. Medical Quack “GoFundMe” Outreach Personal Crowd Fundraising For Medical And Funeral Bills- Mother Passed Away From Cancer Sandip Sekhon is the owner of CauseWish and wrote to me asking for a post and of course if… -
Former Goldman Programmer Still on the Hook for Code Theft, Perhaps Is It Time to Talk About the Model He Was Writing Code For To Finally Figure Out If That Code Had “Real” Value?
30 Apr 2013 | 5:40 pmThere’s been a lot of talk and especially here at this blog about the “models” that are used for software. The Quants are at the top of the ladder here with having the talent to create the models and then the programmers follow up with creating the software and code that is used to execute the mathematical models. I have not seen or heard much about what model he was programming for or exactly what area of their IT infrastructure he was in. There’s a good video that explains this with actual quants who model discuss how this works and another player who is programmer… -
MMRGlobal and Chinese EMR to Integrate MyMedicalRecords PHR Using HL7 Technologies
30 Apr 2013 | 3:45 pmIt sounds very similar to what is occurring here in the US and as the press release below notes the original contract was just to sell the MyMedicalRecords PHR in China and now the integration of both will happen with Unis-Tonghe licensing the technology using HL7 standards. The EMR system will populate the PHR system to include doctor’s notes, which we don’t always get all the records here in the US in our PHR. That’s a discussion for another day and has been on this blog before too. The company is also releasing their first HL7 connection with EHR company 4Medica in…
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Fred Trotter
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Expert Healthcare Hackers
11 May 2013 | 1:30 pm(This is a preview of a talk that I am going to give next week at Healthcare::Refactored, with Karen Herzog) There are two definitions of the word “Hacker”. One is an original and authentic term that the geekdom uses with respect. This … Continued -
How to change the world over the weekend
21 Mar 2013 | 3:39 amI love hackathons. I love winning them. I love competing in them. I love winning them. I love judging them. I also love not losing them. This weekend, I am acting as a mentor to the first Health 2.0 hackathon … Continued -
Two important dates
14 Mar 2013 | 7:29 pmThere are two events coming up soon that you do not want to miss. The first is not this weekend but next: The Houston Health 2.0 codeathon is happening (March 23-24 at Platform in Rice Village) The second is Health::Refactored … Continued -
DocGraph has funded!
16 Nov 2012 | 12:39 amOur crowdfunding attempt to make doctor data freely available to everyone has succeed. 88 people contributed more than $23,000! We are temporarily reopening the effort, if you would still like to get the data at the bargain basement price. Thanks … Continued -
Walking Gallery seeks crowdfunding
13 Aug 2012 | 12:43 pmI just wanted my readers to know (I do have readers… don’t I ) that Regina Holiday is hosting a crowdfunding event on medstartr It is the cheapest way I know of to get a copy of an original from … Continued
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Most Popular Items from healthcareitnews.com
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Telemedicine shows ROI at ATA
7 May 2013 | 5:38 amIronically, Andrew Watson's first telemedicine procedure was with a rural patient who was a Mennonite. At first, the patient and physician looked at each other warily. "He didn't have a TV," said Watson, a colorectal surgeon and vice president at Pittsburgh-based UPMC, with a wry laugh. "And I'd never done this." read more -
AMA: EHRs create 'appalling Catch-22'
3 May 2013 | 11:58 amAs the healthcare industry moves to EHRs, the medical record has essentially been reduced to a tool for billing, compliance and litigation that also has a sustained negative impact on doctors' productivity, according to Steven J. Stack, MD, chair of the American Medical Association’s board of trustees. read more -
EHR part of MaineHealth's financial woes
2 May 2013 | 8:10 amIn a memo to its employees last week, Maine Medical Center, part of the MaineHealth system, said it has suffered an operating loss of $13.4 million in the first half of its fiscal year. The rollout of MaineHealth's estimated $160 million electronic health record system, which has resulted in charge capture issues that are being fixed, was among several reasons Maine Med's CEO cited for the shortfall. read more -
Burnout rampant in healthcare
30 Apr 2013 | 6:57 amHeavy patient loads, smaller staffs and higher stress levels may be causing burnout among healthcare workers, according to a new survey by recruiting firm CareerBuilder. Harris Interactive conducted the online survey for CareerBuilder between February 11 and March 6, 2013, among more than 500 U.S. healthcare workers and more than 240 U.S. healthcare employers. read more -
EHRs fail tests, certifications revoked
26 Apr 2013 | 7:16 amThis story has been updated. read more
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News from healthcareitnews.com
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LSU database gaffe leads to HIPAA breach
17 May 2013 | 8:08 amThis story has been updated. Siemens Healthcare and Louisiana State University at Shreveport are notifying 8,330 patients of a HIPAA breach following a database mishap that resulted in billing and treatment information being mailed to the wrong patients. read more -
Providers look to revenue cycle management to weather sequester and ICD-10
17 May 2013 | 8:06 amHealthcare organizations will need to be more effective, cost efficient and productive in the future to not only survive, but also to maintain positive cash flows, according to Brian Fugere, COO of RemitDATA. read more -
URAC standards put to the test
17 May 2013 | 8:01 amSeveral organized physician groups are beta testing URAC’s new clinical integration accreditation program standards. The independent standards organization created the new program to serve as a road map for health providers to achieve clinical integration and accountable care. By earning URAC accreditation, providers will demonstrate they are delivering improved patient care and reducing costs. read more -
Bed management IT new 'hot market'
17 May 2013 | 7:38 amBed management software applications have witnessed record growth rates over the past five years and are considered the new hot market for vendors and providers to watch, according to the findings of a new HIMSS Analytics/directory/analytics" target="_blank" class="directory-item-link">Analytics report. read more -
ONC launches apps challenge
17 May 2013 | 7:35 amThe Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is launching the Crowds Care for Cancer: Supporting Survivors Challenge in conjunction with the National Cancer Institute as part of the Investing in Innovation program, also known as i2. The challenge aims to spur the development of innovative information management tools and applications that help survivors manage their transition from specialty to primary care. read more
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News from healthcareitnews.com
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LSU database gaffe leads to HIPAA breach
17 May 2013 | 8:08 amThis story has been updated. Siemens Healthcare and Louisiana State University at Shreveport are notifying 8,330 patients of a HIPAA breach following a database mishap that resulted in billing and treatment information being mailed to the wrong patients. read more -
Providers look to revenue cycle management to weather sequester and ICD-10
17 May 2013 | 8:06 amHealthcare organizations will need to be more effective, cost efficient and productive in the future to not only survive, but also to maintain positive cash flows, according to Brian Fugere, COO of RemitDATA. read more -
URAC standards put to the test
17 May 2013 | 8:01 amSeveral organized physician groups are beta testing URAC’s new clinical integration accreditation program standards. The independent standards organization created the new program to serve as a road map for health providers to achieve clinical integration and accountable care. By earning URAC accreditation, providers will demonstrate they are delivering improved patient care and reducing costs. read more -
Bed management IT new 'hot market'
17 May 2013 | 7:38 amBed management software applications have witnessed record growth rates over the past five years and are considered the new hot market for vendors and providers to watch, according to the findings of a new HIMSS Analytics/directory/analytics" target="_blank" class="directory-item-link">Analytics report. read more -
ONC launches apps challenge
17 May 2013 | 7:35 amThe Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is launching the Crowds Care for Cancer: Supporting Survivors Challenge in conjunction with the National Cancer Institute as part of the Investing in Innovation program, also known as i2. The challenge aims to spur the development of innovative information management tools and applications that help survivors manage their transition from specialty to primary care. read more
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News from healthcareitnews.com
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LSU database gaffe leads to HIPAA breach
17 May 2013 | 8:08 amThis story has been updated. Siemens Healthcare and Louisiana State University at Shreveport are notifying 8,330 patients of a HIPAA breach following a database mishap that resulted in billing and treatment information being mailed to the wrong patients. read more -
Providers look to revenue cycle management to weather sequester and ICD-10
17 May 2013 | 8:06 amHealthcare organizations will need to be more effective, cost efficient and productive in the future to not only survive, but also to maintain positive cash flows, according to Brian Fugere, COO of RemitDATA. read more -
URAC standards put to the test
17 May 2013 | 8:01 amSeveral organized physician groups are beta testing URAC’s new clinical integration accreditation program standards. The independent standards organization created the new program to serve as a road map for health providers to achieve clinical integration and accountable care. By earning URAC accreditation, providers will demonstrate they are delivering improved patient care and reducing costs. read more -
Bed management IT new 'hot market'
17 May 2013 | 7:38 amBed management software applications have witnessed record growth rates over the past five years and are considered the new hot market for vendors and providers to watch, according to the findings of a new HIMSS Analytics/directory/analytics" target="_blank" class="directory-item-link">Analytics report. read more -
ONC launches apps challenge
17 May 2013 | 7:35 amThe Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is launching the Crowds Care for Cancer: Supporting Survivors Challenge in conjunction with the National Cancer Institute as part of the Investing in Innovation program, also known as i2. The challenge aims to spur the development of innovative information management tools and applications that help survivors manage their transition from specialty to primary care. read more
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News from healthcareitnews.com
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LSU database gaffe leads to HIPAA breach
17 May 2013 | 8:08 amThis story has been updated. Siemens Healthcare and Louisiana State University at Shreveport are notifying 8,330 patients of a HIPAA breach following a database mishap that resulted in billing and treatment information being mailed to the wrong patients. read more -
Providers look to revenue cycle management to weather sequester and ICD-10
17 May 2013 | 8:06 amHealthcare organizations will need to be more effective, cost efficient and productive in the future to not only survive, but also to maintain positive cash flows, according to Brian Fugere, COO of RemitDATA. read more -
URAC standards put to the test
17 May 2013 | 8:01 amSeveral organized physician groups are beta testing URAC’s new clinical integration accreditation program standards. The independent standards organization created the new program to serve as a road map for health providers to achieve clinical integration and accountable care. By earning URAC accreditation, providers will demonstrate they are delivering improved patient care and reducing costs. read more -
Bed management IT new 'hot market'
17 May 2013 | 7:38 amBed management software applications have witnessed record growth rates over the past five years and are considered the new hot market for vendors and providers to watch, according to the findings of a new HIMSS Analytics/directory/analytics" target="_blank" class="directory-item-link">Analytics report. read more -
ONC launches apps challenge
17 May 2013 | 7:35 amThe Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is launching the Crowds Care for Cancer: Supporting Survivors Challenge in conjunction with the National Cancer Institute as part of the Investing in Innovation program, also known as i2. The challenge aims to spur the development of innovative information management tools and applications that help survivors manage their transition from specialty to primary care. read more
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News from healthcareitnews.com
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LSU database gaffe leads to HIPAA breach
17 May 2013 | 8:08 amThis story has been updated. Siemens Healthcare and Louisiana State University at Shreveport are notifying 8,330 patients of a HIPAA breach following a database mishap that resulted in billing and treatment information being mailed to the wrong patients. read more -
Providers look to revenue cycle management to weather sequester and ICD-10
17 May 2013 | 8:06 amHealthcare organizations will need to be more effective, cost efficient and productive in the future to not only survive, but also to maintain positive cash flows, according to Brian Fugere, COO of RemitDATA. read more -
URAC standards put to the test
17 May 2013 | 8:01 amSeveral organized physician groups are beta testing URAC’s new clinical integration accreditation program standards. The independent standards organization created the new program to serve as a road map for health providers to achieve clinical integration and accountable care. By earning URAC accreditation, providers will demonstrate they are delivering improved patient care and reducing costs. read more -
Bed management IT new 'hot market'
17 May 2013 | 7:38 amBed management software applications have witnessed record growth rates over the past five years and are considered the new hot market for vendors and providers to watch, according to the findings of a new HIMSS Analytics/directory/analytics" target="_blank" class="directory-item-link">Analytics report. read more -
ONC launches apps challenge
17 May 2013 | 7:35 amThe Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is launching the Crowds Care for Cancer: Supporting Survivors Challenge in conjunction with the National Cancer Institute as part of the Investing in Innovation program, also known as i2. The challenge aims to spur the development of innovative information management tools and applications that help survivors manage their transition from specialty to primary care. read more
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News from healthcareitnews.com
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LSU database gaffe leads to HIPAA breach
17 May 2013 | 8:08 amThis story has been updated. Siemens Healthcare and Louisiana State University at Shreveport are notifying 8,330 patients of a HIPAA breach following a database mishap that resulted in billing and treatment information being mailed to the wrong patients. read more -
Providers look to revenue cycle management to weather sequester and ICD-10
17 May 2013 | 8:06 amHealthcare organizations will need to be more effective, cost efficient and productive in the future to not only survive, but also to maintain positive cash flows, according to Brian Fugere, COO of RemitDATA. read more -
URAC standards put to the test
17 May 2013 | 8:01 amSeveral organized physician groups are beta testing URAC’s new clinical integration accreditation program standards. The independent standards organization created the new program to serve as a road map for health providers to achieve clinical integration and accountable care. By earning URAC accreditation, providers will demonstrate they are delivering improved patient care and reducing costs. read more -
Bed management IT new 'hot market'
17 May 2013 | 7:38 amBed management software applications have witnessed record growth rates over the past five years and are considered the new hot market for vendors and providers to watch, according to the findings of a new HIMSS Analytics/directory/analytics" target="_blank" class="directory-item-link">Analytics report. read more -
ONC launches apps challenge
17 May 2013 | 7:35 amThe Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology is launching the Crowds Care for Cancer: Supporting Survivors Challenge in conjunction with the National Cancer Institute as part of the Investing in Innovation program, also known as i2. The challenge aims to spur the development of innovative information management tools and applications that help survivors manage their transition from specialty to primary care. read more
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Latest healthcareitnews.com Events
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2013 Iowa eHealth Summit
2 May 2013 | 11:26 amPhysicians, nurses, other health care providers along with information technology experts will learn how they can access up-to-date patient health records. They also will hear how to qualify for incentives to participate in health information exchange at the 2013 Iowa e-Health Summit. The one-and-a-half-day summit will take place June 11 and June 12 at the Meadows Conference Center in Altoona. read more -
The 9th Annual Government Health IT Conference & Exhibition
1 May 2013 | 12:06 pmThis year's conference theme is The Intersection of Care Delivery: Empowering Patients and Providers to Achieve Better Healthcare. Learn how agencies and organizations are coping with budget constraints and how to apply their best practices to your organization. Featured tracks include: Delivering Better Care at a Lower Cost Explore new tools, resources and improved business processes that will help your organization meet federal and state regulatory requirements. read more -
HIMSS Virtual Conference: Enabling Innovation in Healthcare: The Opportunities and the Challenges
30 Apr 2013 | 1:42 pmTo realize the full potential of innovation, healthcare must creatively accelerate the speed, delivery and quality of its problem-solving efforts. To do so, health IT professionals and organization leadership must understand the opportunities and challenges inherent in a myriad of factors that act as both barriers and inspirations to innovators seeking improved care delivery. read more -
May 22 HIMSS Virtual Forum: mHealth's Impact: The Most Rapid Transformation in Healthcare Today
30 Apr 2013 | 1:39 pmMobile health is here and in demand from both physicians and consumers. Mobile technology is offering opportunities for access to healthcare information in real-time never realized before and mHealth’s annual growth is exponential. Challenges to keep up with the ever changing landscape of mobile technology is a daily battle, as policy and reimbursement are still being chartered. In this virtual briefing, mHIMSS offers practical strategies into technology and policy for mHealth adoption as early adopters share their experience and insights. read more -
ICD-10 Forum
11 Apr 2013 | 7:58 amThe industry’s leading source for news and leadership in healthcare information technology, HIMSS Media and Healthcare IT News, presents the most important ICD-10 event of the year - the ICD-10 forum. Connect with leading organizations – HIMSS, WEDI, CMS, NGS and members of the ICD-10 National Pilot Program – at this two-day event and gain valuable insights into the ICD-10 conversion process. read more
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Healthcare IT News Resources
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June 13th @ 12PM ET -- Building the Underlying Infrastructure of a State-of-the-Art Children’s Hospital
16 May 2013 | 8:00 amNo White Papers & Webinars Block Thu, 06/13/2013 (All day) Cloud Computing -
May 21st @ 11AM ET -- Microsoft’s Role in Health Analytics for an Epic Provider
15 May 2013 | 8:15 amNo White Papers & Webinars Block Tue, 05/21/2013 (All day) Business Intelligence -
June 4th @ 1PM ET -- Standalone Universal Viewing Platform: A practical and affordable approach to image enabling the EMR
15 May 2013 | 7:50 amNo White Papers & Webinars Block Tue, 06/04/2013 (All day) Mobile/Wireless -
June 12th @ 2PM ET -- Million Dollar HIPAA Penalties for Healthcare
14 May 2013 | 9:55 amNo White Papers & Webinars Block Wed, 06/12/2013 (All day) Policy and Legislation -
June 3rd @ 2PM ET -- Closed-Loop Clinical Documentation - An Alternative Approach to Achieving Meaningful Use of EHRs
13 May 2013 | 5:02 amNo White Papers & Webinars Block Mon, 06/03/2013 (All day) Electronic Health Records
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Latest Blog Entries for heathcareitnews.com
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Solving the Claim Overpayment Conundrum
17 May 2013 | 5:06 amClaims overpayments are more than a nuisance; they are an epidemic. Between $68 and $226 billion is lost annually to Fraud, Waste and Abuse (FWA), according to the National Health Care Anti-Fraud Association (NHCAA). read more -
FDA Patient Network: Pretty darn patient-centered
16 May 2013 | 5:05 amThe FDA launched an impressive patient network website this month, after nearly four years of research, focus groups, usability testing and more. The twin goals for this website are promoting the educational mission of the FDA, and promoting opportunities for patient advocacy within the FDA — and earlier in the policymaking process than has been the case historically. read more -
The Interoperability Paradigms of HL7 FHIR
15 May 2013 | 5:18 amI recently had the pleasure of attending a presentation by Grahame Grieve, the originator of FHIR, on the details behind this evolving health IT standard. I have written a couple of blogs previously to introduce FHIR, including 5 Things to Know About HL7 FHIR and Review of The HL7 FHIR Session at HIMSS13. read more -
Is Design Important In Healthcare?
13 May 2013 | 6:03 amI’ve been in the healthcare delivery business now for 30 years and I can confidently say we’ve paid almost no attention to design. Systems are built around physicians’ desires and workflows, and physicians tend to be quantitative, content-focused and able to handle multiple variables at once. Perhaps that is why we have not put a premium on design. As we get closer to a world where we are engaging patients in their own health outcomes, design will be much more critical. read more -
The HIT Tipping Point: Intended and Unintended Financial Consequences
10 May 2013 | 5:13 amA question: What is the opposite of health IT return on investment? The answer: Unintended financial consequences, or UFCs, for short. The scenario: A sophisticated medical center health system begins to roll out an expensive proprietary EHR and shortly thereafter sustains an operating loss, leaving no choice but to put the implementation on hold. The operating loss is attributed to “unintended financial consequences” directly related to buying a very expensive EHR system. read more
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FierceHealthFinance News
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GAO questions payment adjustments to IPPS hospitals
17 May 2013 | 8:15 amA new GAO report ound that Congress has modified how Medicare reimburses certain hospitals under the inpatient prospective payment system (IPPS), with 91 percent of hospitals receiving an adjustment or exemption to the IPPS flat fee per stay.read more -
A closer look at the Medicaid 'lifestyle'
14 May 2013 | 2:37 pmIn an era when politicians compete to repeat the same sound bites endlessly, I have to give Michigan House of Representatives Speaker Jase Bolger credit for adding a completely new concept to the...read more -
Rural hospitals vulnerable in states without Medicaid expansion
14 May 2013 | 2:17 pmRural hospitals in states likely to opt out of the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act could be hit the hardest by a continuing stream of uninsured patients coming through their doors, Marketplace has reported.read more -
Meritus Health on its commitment to charity care
14 May 2013 | 2:06 pmWith critics around the country increasingly questioning whether nonprofit hospitals are providing enough charity care to justify their tax-exempt status, the pressure is on for nonprofits to...read more -
Study: Medicare cuts don't promote hospital cost-shifting
14 May 2013 | 1:41 pmContrary to the long-held belief that cuts in Medicare spending leads to cost-shifting over to private payer patients, a new study suggests that such private sector spending actually decreases.read more
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Forum Discussions - Health Informatics Forum
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medical informatics vacancy in india_
17 May 2013 | 1:30 amHii all, This mail received from hr Birlamedisoft, Pune. Sharing to all in forum. Hospital Implementation part of medical informatics is still advancing in India. Those having good tech skills- hardware + database and hospital software knowledge can perfom well. All the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Dear Candidate,We are conducting walk inn interview on Saturday 18th May 2013 from 9 am to 4pm. If you are interested to appearthen you can come for f2f interview.Only experienced candidates 2+ years in their respective field are entertained.We have vacancies into multiple fields.* HIS Software… -
Doctor Machine
13 May 2013 | 6:52 amThere are many machines that are used for improving healthcare and rehabilitation . all of them have their specifications and they are known by those specifications . recently I've heard a new interesting concept that have a focus on machines which is enabled to magnify physicians capabilities although through an investigative study I didn't find any machine that can be really disruptive for replacing physicians . this is my question now : how much do the Doctor Machine concept have the chance to become a name for machines in healthcare ? do you know any machine that can Study patients sign… -
Healthcare Informatics Survey
7 May 2013 | 2:48 amDear All,We are conducting an exploratory research to gather insights on usage of Healthcare IT systems by doctor community. Request you to access the below link and answer the short survey. 1) Please copy this URL :-https://qtrial.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_bvjFDAnrZkawLel 2) Open Browser window 3) Paste URL on browser and press enter ********* Look forward for your response and thank you for your time. Sincere Regards, Ashish Arora -
Health Information Systems
13 Apr 2013 | 6:53 amI am writing a critique of a health information system for an academic essay. I am thinking about Cerner software. Any suggestions on where to get information on operational challenges on the deployment of Cerner in other countries? -
Is radiation from mobile phones and towers harm human health?
21 Mar 2013 | 12:31 pmPlease share/ suggest links to research studies.
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hCentive Blog
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Healthcare Leaders: Getting Prepared for the Exchange Ecosystem (Part 2)
29 Apr 2013 | 3:02 amThis is the second part of a discussion about how healthcare leaders should perceive the emerging Exchange marketplace and get ready to ensure survival and profitability in this fast changing domain. To read the first part Click Here. Healthcare leaders shouldn’t think they need to drastically reform their business model to survive in the reformed [...] -
Healthcare Leaders: Getting Prepared for the Exchange Ecosystem (Part 1)
10 Apr 2013 | 12:52 amThis is the first part of a discussion about how healthcare leaders should perceive the emerging exchange marketplace and get ready to ensure survival and profitability in this fast-changing domain. Healthcare reforms can prove intimidating to people who get overwhelmed by its vastness. Yes, health reforms are complex, intertwined with a never-ending series of updates [...] -
Latest from ACA: Clarification on Minimum Essential Coverage & Shared Responsibility Exemptions
2 Apr 2013 | 3:43 amWith the goal of making the new healthcare system work for everyone, the PPACA as amended by the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act created a requirement called Share Responsibility. This is applicable to individuals, insurance companies, medical device companies, medical providers, pharmaceutical companies, employers and the government. On January 30, 2013, the HHS and [...] -
Delving Deeper into ACA: Summary of Benefits and Coverage
4 Mar 2013 | 2:28 amFor a health insurance shopper, reading through the literature of different health plans can be rather overwhelming. The information is usually provided in a complex format where narrowing down the most relevant details becomes difficult. Plan details usually include multi-tiered payment options, along with complex calculations about cost-sharing and coverage-limitation scenarios. The Affordable Care Act [...] -
Healthcare Analytics in the Reform Era: Part 2
1 Mar 2013 | 3:48 amThis is the second part in our discussion about the increasing role of Analytics in the Healthcare industry. Here, we explore how Analytics offer irrefutable benefits to the insurers and try to derive a conclusion. (Please Click Here to view the first part of this discussion). For Payers: Analytics Eases Adaptation to Healthcare Reforms Payers [...]
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FierceMobileHealthcare News
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Are iPads overhyped for doctors?
14 May 2013 | 1:10 amThe use of Apple iPads for certain tasks in an internal medicine residency program fell short of initial high expectations, although users reported overall satisfaction with the tools, according to study results published in an article in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.read more -
Sensor technology holds promise to keep former drug addicts clean
13 May 2013 | 9:53 amResearchers at Baylor College of Medicine are studying chest-strap monitoring technology that tracks heart rate and respiration for its potential to track symptoms in cocaine users. Dr. Jin Ho Yoon,...read more -
Army telemedicine programs going mobile
13 May 2013 | 8:49 amThe Army's wide use of telemedicine is evolving from fixed-based access sites to highly mobile programs using cell phones, according to a report in Telemedicine and e-Health. The Army has been...read more -
VA blazing its own trail when it comes to government mHealth
13 May 2013 | 6:44 amSay what you want about the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and its bloated bureaucracy. One fact that cannot be disputed is that the VA continues to be a national leader in health IT. Case in...read more -
Veterans Health Administration launches mobile healthcare initiatives
12 May 2013 | 12:28 pmTo better address the medical needs of today's veterans, the Veterans Health Administration has launched a number of mobile healthcare initiatives. Neil Evans, M.D., and Kathleen Frisbee, MPH, Ph.D.c, who co-direct the VHA's Connected Health Office, spoke with FierceMobileHealthcare about the agency's mHealth pilot programs.read more
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FierceEMR News
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Judy Faulkner: Criticism that Epic system stymies interoperability 'unfair'
17 May 2013 | 8:11 amResponding to criticisms that Epic's electronic health record systems are closed and, thus, difficult to integrate with third-party vendors, CEO Judy Faulkner, in a rare interview granted to Forbes, called such accusations "totally wrong."read more -
Consumer groups: Leverage Meaningful Use, don't reboot it
16 May 2013 | 3:44 pmA coalition of consumer organizations has taken issue with GOP senators call for the Meaningful Use program to be "rebooted," recommending instead that the program be strengthened and perhaps even accelerated.read more -
House committee provides funds to 'jumpstart' iEHR
16 May 2013 | 10:25 amThe House Appropriations Committee fully supports the development of a joint electronic health record system for the U.S. Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs, so long as that system is open architecture.read more -
CMS guidance encourages participation in EHR incentive, PQRS reporting programs
15 May 2013 | 12:24 pmThe Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued new guidance to help eligible professionals participate in both the Electronic Health Record Incentive Program and the Physician Quality Reporting System program. Eligible professionals who successfully participate in both programs can receive incentive payments in 2013 and avoid penalties in 2015.read more -
3 steps for improving EHR effectiveness
15 May 2013 | 7:55 amNational Coordinator for Health IT Farzad Mostashari recently advised providers to take better advantage of their electronic health record systems to improve processes and patient care.read more
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ICMCC » Articles
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Personal Health Record Use by Adolescents
16 May 2013 | 10:09 am“In response to many questions about PHR use by adolescents, I asked Fabienne Bourgeois, the expert at Children’s Hospital Boston, to write this guest blog post - As more and more practices and hospitals are making patient portals available to their patients, providers of adolescent patients are encountering a major hurdle: how to handle confidential adolescent [...] -
Don’t Forget: Electronic Health Records Are Benefiting Patients
16 May 2013 | 10:01 am“Since its passage three years ago, some in Congress have sought every opportunity to reduce funding related to the Affordable Care Act. It’s no surprise that the recent round of sequester cuts have targeted elements of health care technology infrastructure, including the health insurance marketplaces that are meant to be online later this year. Congress needs [...] -
Consumer Preferences Could Pressure Docs Toward EHR Adoption: Deloitte
16 May 2013 | 9:55 am“Along with federal mandates and pressure from insurers, consumers’ views that doctors are not modern could be the push they need to implement health IT. Government and consumer demand for more modern physician practices could help spur the adoption of health IT such as electronic health records, according to a new paper from the Deloitte Center [...] -
On EHR data integrity: A patient’s perspective
15 May 2013 | 10:18 am“Now that portions of patient EHRs and visit summaries are available via portals and meaningful use requirements, not only will the organizations’ internal users be complaining about system flaws, poor configurations or outstanding training issues — but so will the external users, the patients and recipients of the health information. It’s time our industry professionals address [...] -
Computer scientist publishes new algorithm cluster to data mine health records
15 May 2013 | 10:11 am“The time may be fast approaching for researchers to take better advantage of the vast amount of valuable patient information available from U.S. electronic health records. Lian Duan, an NJIT computer scientist with an expertise in data mining, has done just that with the recent publication of “Adverse Drug Effect Detection,” IEEE Journal of Biomedical [...]
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EHR Bloggers
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Preventive Screening for Women – Staying Healthy at all Ages
16 May 2013 | 1:58 pmThe 14th annual National Women’s Health Week kicked off on Mother’s Day, May 12, 2013, and is celebrated until May 18. This week is a great reminder for all women to think about their health care and the key preventive actions they can take to improve their physical and mental health. The national Office of Women’s Health (OWH), which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, outlined five steps that women should remember throughout the entire year... read more > -
California Health IT Day – Improving Health Care through Technology
15 May 2013 | 9:51 amToday, May 15th, is California Health IT Day. As a proud healthcare technology company in California, Practice Fusion is celebrating by participating in a full day of events in Sacramento, California, sponsored by the Northern California Chapter of HIMSS, a non-profit dedicated to promoting a better understanding of health care information and management systems. Health IT (HIT) has a special place in California because of the large number of leading healthcare organizations as well as being the technology hub of... read more > -
Practice Fusion Celebrates National Nurses Week!
9 May 2013 | 6:00 amAs an EMR platform used by over 15,000 nurses, Practice Fusion is excited to celebrate National Nurses Week by honoring the nursing community for their dedication and delivery of high quality healthcare. Although this week is a time to celebrate and thank nurses of all varieties, the American Nurses Association (ANA) has chosen to use National Nurses Week in 2013 to highlight the importance of Registered Nurses (RNs) for their contributions to the health care community. According to the latest... read more > -
TedMed 2013 Dispatch
22 Apr 2013 | 1:52 pmFor the past five years, a community of impassioned individuals from around the globe have gathered to drive forward the future of health and medicine at a conference called TEDMed. TEDMed is an off-shoot of the well-known TED brand, which was founded in 1984 by Richard Saul Wurman to promote the spread of ideas around the convergence of Technology, Entertainment, and Design. The first conference was held in Monterey, CA and featured a demonstration of the Apple Macintosh computer. It’s... read more > -
Practice Fusion Celebrates National Public Health Week!
5 Apr 2013 | 6:00 amThe American Public Health Association (APHA) is hosting its week-long celebration of public health during the National Public Health Week from April 1-7, 2013. This year’s celebration theme is: Public Health is ROI – Save Lives, Save Money, and Practice Fusion couldn’t be happier to join in on a theme much similar to our company mission. The APHA emphasizes saving lives and curbing health care spending by highlighting the importance of prevention and the value of a well-supported public health... read more >
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Project HealthDesign Blog
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Maintaining the Patient Perspective in Patient-Centered Outcomes
17 May 2013 | 8:47 amSara Koliner, Policy Analysis Project Assistant, Project HealthDesign National Program Office Last week, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) approved 51 awards as part of its second cycle of funding in support of the development of a National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network, part of the “Accelerating Patient-Centered and Methodological Research” Priority for Research. Studies in Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER) rely on dense and nuanced information in order to accurately assess the quality of one treatment over another. The studies approved by… -
Changing Health Paradigms: A personal perspective
9 May 2013 | 8:27 amLinda Brei, Project HealthDesign Communications Consultant In the late 1970s I had my first experience working for a health care related grant with the Community Care Organization (CCO) project, funded by the Kellogg Foundation. Wisconsin was one of five states selected to demonstrate how Title 19 dollars could be used to pay for in-home care vs. nursing homes for rehabilitation services. Eventually the results of these demonstrations found their way into public policy decisions and helped to change contemporary thinking about the value of delivering health care to patients in their… -
Expanding the definition of "patient engagement"
19 Apr 2013 | 12:36 pmWendy Swanberg, Communications Project Assistant, National Program Office This past February, the leading health policy journal Health Affairs devoted an entire issue to the theme of “patient engagement” – the concept that patients can have direct involvement in their own health care. Policymakers are starting to see patient engagement as something new and powerful, with one healthIT consultant calling it the “blockbuster drug of the century.” There’s a growing contingent of patient advocates, led by people like Dave deBronkart/ePatient Dave, who are vigorously calling for… -
ONC Seeking Public Input on Consumer eHealth Strategy
9 Apr 2013 | 12:54 pmRobert D. Belfort, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, Project HealthDesign Regulatory and Assurance Advisory Group The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (“ONC”) is currently seeking public input to update the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan (the “Strategic Plan”). The Strategic Plan outlines goals and strategies for the nationwide shift to electronic health records (“EHRs”) and electronic health information exchange, and for creation and spread of new health information technologies. ONC has partnered with researchers… -
If Specificity Is the Solution, ODLs Are Key
28 Mar 2013 | 8:04 amSara Koliner, Policy Analysis Project Assistant, Project HealthDesign National Program Office Mobile apps have proven to be valuable tools for collecting ODLS in this last round of Project HealthDesign. While the benefits are clear, however, creators of mobile apps must contend with a complicated interplay of safety, cost, usability, and accessibility in order to produce high quality software. Weakening these foundations can lead to misuse by consumers, or rejection by practitioners. On the other hand, overabundance of requirements can stall progress and hinder the utility of these…
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Computerworld Blogs - Healthcare IT Spotlight
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Right digital strategy can lower costs, increase customer satisfaction for health plans
16 May 2013 | 11:01 amThere are two key factors for success in a consumer-driven market: holding down costs and retaining members. And a cohesive multichannel digital media strategy that includes social media tools - used effectively in retail and other industries but less so in healthcare – can help with both. -
Shaping information potential in healthcare: Data catalyzes change
14 May 2013 | 1:26 pmEHRs are generating a wealth of information and simply having data in an EHR does not solve the data fragmentation problem. Merging the data together is just the first step, data quality is the next. It ensures medical professionals have the right data to make the right decisions. -
The power of information in the new consumer health insurance market
1 May 2013 | 3:00 amReducing individual risk in the new health insurance market will require an effective partnership among consumers, providers and health insurers. And a free flow of information, more than just claims data, will be at the heart of that partnership. -
Fulfilling the promises of health information technology
24 Apr 2013 | 3:00 amI am better connected with friends all over the world through social networking apps than to my primary care physician a few miles down the road. Wikipedia allows for better, more instantaneous collaboration and sharing of information across the globe than the tools physicians are generally using to document healthcare encounters today. We need to change that. -
Fracking healthcare big data: Drilling for value or just hot gas?
10 Apr 2013 | 3:00 amFlames? Coming out of the water faucets? Fire coming out of any plumbing egress cannot be a good thing. I don’t know if you’ve seen the videos of this, but fracking, a convergence of deregulation and new technology, opens unprofitable mining areas and has the nasty polluting side effect of forcing flammable gas into water faucets.
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WebMD Health Services Blog
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Why Your Employees Are Afraid of Your High-Deductible Health Plan (HDHP)—And What You Can Do About It
14 May 2013 | 4:27 pmFor starters, I think most people will agree that using the words “high” or “big” are not the best marketing terms to encourage consumers to jump on the high-deductible health plan (HPDP) bandwagon. High-deductible health insurance plans can save organizations … Continue reading → -
WebMD Awarded Blue Cross and Blue Shield Federal Employee Program (FEP) Contract for Wellness Services
8 May 2013 | 8:03 amWebMD Health Services has been awarded a contract to provide wellness services for the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Federal Employee Program (FEP). The program will begin on January 1, 2014, and support over 5 million FEP members. “We … Continue reading → -
A Critical 9 Months: WebMD Pregnancy Health Coach Shares Insights
7 May 2013 | 3:29 pmPregnancy coaching is one of the most fun and rewarding topics to coach our participants on during our monthly sessions. Whether it’s a first child or a sixth child, every pregnancy is unique. Our role as coaches is to provide … Continue reading → -
Accountable Care: Hospital Wellness Starts from Within
30 Apr 2013 | 2:03 pmFor hospitals and health systems, accountable care means big changes. Hospitals are being mandated to make dramatic changes in their delivery models and cost structures to manage expenditures more efficiently without compromising patient safety and quality of medical services. Individuals … Continue reading → -
Congratulations to WebMD Client L.L.Bean for Ranking Highest in Overall Satisfaction.
26 Apr 2013 | 9:03 amAt WebMD Health Services, we work with so many outstanding organizations. It’s always exciting to see them in the news. L.L.Bean, one of our long-time clients, was recently ranked highest in overall satisfaction with online retailers by the J.D. Power … Continue reading →
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WildEar Hearing Boosters
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Keith Mark & Shawn Michaels on WildEar
22 Apr 2013 | 9:48 amMark: You know what I really like about this WildEars, Shawn is like when we’re rifle hunt and sometimes it just doesn’t happen quick so you know when we’re working on way up to the game, we can talk and talk and talk and map out strategy but when you get to the moment of truth, complete hearing protection. Michaels: You know that’s what these WildEar. I mean, obviously, you can keep it the whole time and they are not just good for rifle hunts, I went for bow hunts all the time. There’s a lot of times I can hear the deer before I see him. -
In Ear Amplifiers for Sportsmen
22 Apr 2013 | 9:48 amIf you’re interested in watching a pretty entertaining infomercial, do a quick Google search for Sonic Ears. The infomercial that turns up is one where a middle aged man is sitting at a table laughing at a conversation happening across the room. While the infomercial may be a little hokey, the device they are trying to sell is an interesting one. The device is an external amplifier and is used to amplify surrounding sounds. While the Sonic Ear device uses an external amplifier, in ear amplifiers are regularly used in a variety of capacities. The medical sector is one of the major… -
Deciding on the Right Kind of Hearing Protection
22 Apr 2013 | 9:47 amHearing protection for an outdoorsman is one of the many tools that will keep you fit and health throughout your hunting career. After wandering through my local sporting goods store, I noticed that outdoorsmen have many choices for hearing protection. But, with so many choices, what factors should you think of when selecting safe hearing protection? First and foremost, your hearing protection should do just that, protect your hearing. To make sure that protection is up to par, you want to take a look at the noise reduction rating of the outfit. Depending on what style of hearing… -
Protection Keeps Hunting A Safe Activity
22 Apr 2013 | 9:47 amA recent study conducted by the National Shooting Sports Foundation analyzed data regarding sports participation and injuries. The data from the study concluded that of the 29 activities analyzed, hunting with a firearm ranked the third safest activity a person could participate in. This is ahead of the traditional American past times like baseball, football, and fishing. Out of 100 people to participate in a hunting activity, less than ten percent of them incur some type of injury. While the data gives hunting a safe activity rating, there are things you can do to help promote safe… -
Sound Protection and Your Ears
22 Apr 2013 | 9:47 amOuch! That’s loud! These three words usually pop out of someone’s mouth after hearing a noise that is too noisy. You may be wishing you had some type of sound protection to guard against the sound of a firearm offloading a round, or even the sound of a flock of overzealous pheasants. But what happens in your ear that makes you feel the pain in your ear? Your ear is made up of three main parts: inner; middle; and outer ear. The inner ear is where most of the magic happens. Vibrations are interpreted by nerves that are then sent to the brain as a noise. Therefore, you can…
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MHS Dialogue
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AHIP’s Institute 2013: Clearing the way
17 May 2013 | 11:46 amClearing the way for healthcare reform and other pressing marketing demands isn’t easy. Healthcare organizations need to not only see the path forward but also begin the journey, confident that the foundation they’re building for today’s success will continue to serve them well in an indistinct future. Join McKesson and RelayHealth at AHIP’s Institute 2013 [...] -
Improved systems will help make EHR benefits real
10 May 2013 | 12:40 pm“As you start to get value and start to try to implement patient-centered medical homes and ACOs, the value is not going to be vertical. The value is going to be in the connection of the verticals,” said Emad Rizk, MD, during a keynote panel at this year’s World Health Care Congress. A recent article in Search [...] -
The value of actionable content in a clinical setting: Access to better information facilitates enhanced cancer care
8 May 2013 | 1:39 pmIn the May issue of American Health & Drug Benefits, A. Jacqueline Mitus, MD, and Laura Coughlin, RN, explain how actionable content can help healthcare organizations improve care. “Actionable content” is information that can automatically prompt the best decisions about care at the point in time when clinical decisions need to be made, can help. Their article [...] -
Dr. Doug Moeller on how to optimize molecular diagnostics
22 Apr 2013 | 1:02 pmWHCC’s Mabel Jong sat down with McKesson Health Solutions medical director Dr. Doug Moeller to discuss the company’s recent partnership with the American Medical Association to bring greater transparency and clarity to molecular diagnostic testing. In this video, he describes what the partnership means to the industry. He also shares three important phases of understanding: [...] -
Advice for payers in dynamic times: “Stay flexible”
17 Apr 2013 | 3:21 pmJames Evans, vice president of Financial and Network Management at McKesson Health Solutions, discusses key investments for payers that want to be prepared for the shift to more accountable care. Because they face a range of market innovations, such as health insurance exchanges, that will continue to be refined over time, payers are pursuing provider [...]
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insidePatientFinance
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Hospital Merger Mess Gets Messier with Temporary Restraining Order
17 May 2013 | 8:56 amAnother battle has been decided in the ongoing war between the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a hospital operator in Southwest Georgia. A judge Wednesday granted the FTC’s request for a temporary restraining order to halt the integration of Palmyra Medical Center in Albany, Ga. with hospital Phoebe Putney, which acquired Palmyra in 2010 for $195 million. The FTC sued for the restraining order after Phoebe once again began integration after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against it. Advertisement The Director of theFTC’s Bureau of Competition, Richard A. Feinstein, said in a statement,… -
iPF on Forbes: Will One Statistic Sink American Healthcare?
17 May 2013 | 8:21 amOver at Forbes.com, I write about the danger to the health of America contained in one little statistic buried within a 72-page report, ”Health Care Costs—From Birth to Death” published by the Health Care Cost Institute. And while the article on Forbes focuses on one statistic, there is plenty of information in the report that should make it required reading among healthcare providers. The report is jammed with information that will be useful as well to patients, insurers, and federal and state governments. Advertisement The report contains one other statistic that should… -
Healthcare Digest 5/16: Republicans Use IRS, Healthcare for Irony Lesson
16 May 2013 | 7:38 amSo, that whole thing with the IRS targeting conservative groups that have “destroy the IRS!” as one of their mission statements? Turns out, it may have implications for healthcare reform. And not just because almost EVERYTHING today seems to have implications for healthcare reform. Republicans are using this tempest in a teapot to suggest that healthcare reform is absolutely the WRONG thing to do right now because… Well, that’s the thing. It’s not at all clear what this has to do with healthcare reform. “Half of the billion dollars allocated to cover… -
Congress Agrees: Change How Healthcare Providers Get Paid
16 May 2013 | 7:35 amIt may be too early to hold hands and sing “Kumbaya,” but leadership in the House of Representatives and Senate for once agree on something: We must change the way Medicare pays health providers. In two committee hearings, in the House last week and the Senate on Tuesday, the consensus appears to be that the time has come to do away with fee-for-service and the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR). At yesterday’s hearing of the Senate Finance Committee, Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) said the time had come for both payment models to go. “We must permanently repeal this broken… -
Community Health Centers to Get $150 Million to Help Insure the Uninsured
16 May 2013 | 5:59 amThe federal government is offering $150 million in grants to community health centers to help the uninsured find health insurance. Community health centers, which consist of some 9,000 locations that serve 21 million patients across the country, can apply for a grant to add staff, train existing staff, and conduct outreach and education, all with the purpose of making the uninsured aware of the new insurance options that soon will be available as a result of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Advertisement “Health centers will help consumers understand their coverage…
