Category: Healthcare Industry News

  • 10 Myths About HIPAA's Required Security Risk Analysis

    Date: October 21st, 2013Source: Health Data ManagementTopics: Data Security, HIPAA
    With revamped HIPAA privacy and security rules now in effect that include higher emphasis on conducting a security risk analysis, the federal HealthIT.gov Web site dispels 10 pieces of misinformation about what the rules really require.
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  • Report Says HIE Plays a Cricital Role in PCMH, Population Health

    Date: October 14th, 2013Source: Patient Centered Primary Care CollaborativeTopics: HIE, Population Health, Medical Home Model
    In response to increasing collaborations among traditional medical providers and community organizations, the Patient Centered Primary Care Collaborative (PCPCC) released a new report to support primary care clinicians in their efforts to adopt a population health approach that leverages health IT solutions. The report titled, “Managing Populations, Maximizing Technology: Population Health Management in the Medical Neighborhood,” was released today at the PCPCC’s Annual Fall Conference (October 14–15) in Bethesda, MD. The report names the 'top 10' technologies that support patient centered medical homes and population health.
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  • New Study Shows HIE Cost Savings for ER Visits

    Date: October 14th, 2013Source: Healthcare IT NewsTopics: HIE, Emergency Services, Patient Care
    Beyond improving the quality of emergency care, giving physicians access to data from a health information exchange (HIE) saved nearly $2,000 per patient during a study unveiled Monday by the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). The study was based on a sample of 532 patients who visited one of 11 emergency departments in South Carolina. The total savings for patients in the sample was $1,035,654, according to ACEP.
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  • Study: Parents Using PHRs More Likely To Attend All Well-Child Visits

    Date: October 11th, 2013Source: iHealthBeatTopics: Patient Engagement, Patient Care
    Parents who used an integrated personal health record were more likely to take their young children to the recommended number of well-child care visits, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in the journal Pediatrics, News-Medical reports.The federal 2010 Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set recommends that children ages 0 to 15 months attend at least six well-child care visits, which include physical examinations.
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  • The Big Data, No Data Paradox

    Date: October 11th, 2013Source: Health Data ManagementTopics: Health IT, Data Security
    The current premise is that the more data an organization can access and analyze, the greater the insights that can be acted upon--so focus on data, data and more data. However, this approach loses sight of “NO” Data, though, which if detected can often represent even more value. But there’s a paradox: “NO” Data can become more visible in a world of Big Data, while blindly focusing on Big Data can diminish the visibility and potential value of “NO” Data.
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  • Electronic Records Tied to Fewer Hospitalizations For Patients With Diabetes

    Date: September 11th, 2013Source: Reuters Health NewsTopics: EHRs, Hospital Readmissions, Emergency Services
    Switching from paper to electronic medical records at health clinics led to "modest reductions" in the number of people with diabetes that went to the emergency room or were hospitalized, in a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Researchers looking at before-and-after rates found both ER visits and hospital admissions dropped by between five and six percent once the computerized records were put in place, but that there was no change in the frequency of office visits.
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  • Making a Medical Neighborhood Happen - Video

    Date: August 22nd, 2013Source: Colorado RCCO Leadership GroupTopics: Accountable Care
    Colorado health care leaders are driving transformation, and in this short video, they share their vision- and how they have turned that vision into action. All were participants in the 2013 Making a Medical Neighborhood Happen, an invitation-only roundtable summit in Denver hosted by the Colorado RCCO Leadership Group.
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  • Will Health Information Exchange Become Medicare Payment Criterion?

    Date: August 8th, 2013Source: InformationWeek HealthcareTopics: HIE, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Healthcare Policy
    The use of interoperable electronic health record (EHR) systems to share information could eventually become part of reimbursement criteria in the Medicare and Medicaid programs, according to a new position paper from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
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  • ONC Sets the Stage for Higher Focus on HIE

    Date: August 7th, 2013Source: Health Data ManagementTopics: HIE, Meaningful Use, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
    After considering more than 200 comments to a March 2013 request for information on ways to accelerate health information exchange, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have identified a set of principles to guide new strategies.
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  • What LTC Nurses Want From EHRs

    Date: August 5th, 2013Source: Long-Term LivingTopics: EHRs, Long-Term Care
    What features do electronic heath record (EHR) systems need to offer to long-term care? Just ask the nurses. The long-term/post-acute care Chief Information Officer (CIO) Consortium and the Nurse Executive Council got together to decide just that, and they discovered that most EHR systems aren’t really built to handle long-term and post-acute care (LTPAC) settings. In fact, it's not even close
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  • EHR Use Leads to Higher Loyalty, Satisfaction Among Patients

    Date: August 5th, 2013Source: EHR IntelligenceTopics: EHRs, Patient Engagement
    Close to half of all patients are basing the choice of a healthcare provider on digital access to their electronic health information, according to a survey conducted by Aeffect and 88 Brand Partners. This access includes viewing test results, ordering prescription refills, and making appointments online. The findings are in line with similar studies conducted by other research groups.
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  • Embracing 'Quality' Medicine: Guidance for Independent Physicians Coping With Industry Change

    Date: July 30th, 2013Source: Physicians PracticeTopics: Physician Workflow, Healthcare Policy
    There are three things in life that are certain: death, taxes, and change — especially in the healthcare world. Whether or not the Affordable Care Act fully sees the light of day, there are many aspects of healthcare reform that will continue to affect our world. Reimbursement models will change, with fewer fee-for-service plans and more "bundled" payment options. Payment will be based more on delivering optimal patient outcomes and utilizing evidence-based treatment protocols.
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  • Congressional EHR Interest Brings Both Opportunity and Risk

    Date: July 25th, 2013Source: FierceEMRTopics: EHRs
    More than 30 bills aimed directly at EHR use have been introduced since the new session began in January. In addition, while not a proposed bill, you've got lawmakers asking the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services Office of Inspector General to extend the legal protections allowing EHR donation programs, which otherwise would sunset at the end of this year.
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  • Using EHR, HIE to Share Vaccine Data Improves Public Health

    Date: July 22nd, 2013Source: EHR IntelligenceTopics: EHRs, Public Health Reporting
    EHRs are an effective tool in the fight against infectious diseases, according to a new study by researchers at the Columbia University School of Nursing. Automated immunization reporting using EHR data helped speed the collection of vaccine data and allowed public health agencies to assemble a clearer picture of at-risk populations. EHR reporting also reduced the amount of paperwork involved in immunization tracking and freed clinical staff to pursue other tasks.
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  • In A Digital World, Health Care Stuck on Paper

    Date: July 15th, 2013Source: Colorado Public RadioTopics: EHRs, Health IT
    Despite incredible advances in medical technology, health care still remains behind the times when it comes to information technology. In the last couple of decades, information technology, or IT, has transformed other kinds of businesses—like banking, retail and manufacturing—which are radically more efficient now and it’s because they can quickly gather information, analyze it and act on it to be more competitive and to improve customer service. But, for the most part, that hasn’t happened in health care. And with health care being pretty close to 20% of the U.S. economy, the fact that they’re so far behind is a pretty big deal. In this story a Colorado doctor shares her thoughts on moving from paper to digital records.
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  • Doctors Heed Prescription For Computerized Records

    Date: July 15th, 2013Source: NPR, All Things Considered Topics: EHRs, Health IT, Patient Engagement
    Uncle Sam wants your doctor go to digital. And the federal government is backing that up with money for practices that start using computerized systems for record keeping. Nearly half of all physicians in America still rely on paper records for most patient care. Time is running out for those who do to take advantage of federal funds to make the switch. So practices like are scrambling to get with the program.
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  • Electronic Medical Records May Boost Patient Safety

    Date: July 15th, 2013Source: NPR, All Things ConsideredTopics: EHRs, Health IT, Patient Engagement
    Audie Cornish speaks with Dr. Farzad Mostashari, the national coordinator for health information technology who leads the federal government's efforts to have doctors and hospitals adopt electronic medical records. The goal is to make sure the medical practices are using those systems well, and that those IT systems talk to each other to make medicine more efficient.
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  • Health Information Exchanges Gain Doctor Interest

    Date: July 1st, 2013Source: American Medical News, a publication of the AMATopics: HIE, EHRs, Physician Workflow
    Now that physicians have become comfortable with having electronic health records in their practices, they are ready for more advanced uses of the technology, including participation in health information exchanges.
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  • ONC Focuses on Long-Term Care Providers to Reduce Readmissions

    Date: June 21st, 2013Source: EHR IntelligenceTopics: Hospital Readmissions, Long-Term Care
    The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) is stepping up its focus on long-term and post-acute care providers (LTPAC) in order to improve care coordination for patients and reduce costly hospital readmissions for Medicare beneficiaries. Although LTPAC facilities aren’t eligible for incentive payments under the HITECH Act, the ONC is stressing the use of health IT for such providers as a way to efficiently communicate with hospitals and primary care offices to achieve better overall outcomes for patients.
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  • 5 Reasons You Need HIE Now

    Date: June 11th, 2013Source: HealthLeadersTopics: HIE, Health IT, Accountable Care
    In the switch from fee-for-service healthcare to accountable care, the old ways of developing healthcare systems aren't working. The escalating cost of care is due in no small part to overspending on hospital capacity, equipment that isn't always needed, over-engineered technology, short-sighted planning and bad hunches. But there's one technology in particular I would bet on right now. That is the technology to accurately, securely, and easily transfer health data information from one system to another.
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  • ONC: Slow But Steady Interoperability Progress

    Date: June 11th, 2013Source: HIEWatchTopics: HIE, Meaningful Use, Health IT
    Achieving Farzad Mostashari's vision for a U.S. healthcare system where "every encounter and every patient has access to all the world's knowledge" will require a balancing of standards and innovation and a combination of IT and process change.
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  • Practices Embracing HIE, Replacing EHRs

    Date: June 6th, 2013Source: Healthcare IT NewsTopics: HIE, EHRs
    More than a third of physician practices plan to purchase, replace or upgrade ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) systems, according to HIMSS Analytics' newest Ambulatory Electronic Health Record & Practice Management Study. Meanwhile, nearly half of physician groups say they'll join an HIE.
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  • EHRs and HIE Critical in Oklahoma Tornado

    Date: May 28th, 2013Source: Healthcare IT NewsTopics: HIE, EHRs, Emergency Services
    Everyone expects a hospital to be ready to jump into action when disaster strikes. But what about when the disaster devastates the hospital itself? Turns out, it helps a lot to have an electronic medical record system in place. At least that was the case at Moore Medical Center in Oklahoma, a small hospital right in the path of the tornado that ripped through the suburbs of Oklahoma City on Monday. Three-hundred people — staff, patients and community members — hunkered down in the cafeteria, stairwells and chapel as 200-miles-per-hour winds demolished the building around them.
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  • In a Disaster, Could an Electronic Health Record Save Your Life?

    Date: May 28th, 2013Source: AARP blogTopics: EHRs, Emergency Services
    Everyone expects a hospital to be ready to jump into action when disaster strikes. But what about when the disaster devastates the hospital itself? Turns out, it helps a lot to have an electronic medical record system in place.
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  • The Impact of Outdated Communications Technologies in Health Care

    Date: May 23rd, 2013Source: MedPage Today / KevinMD.com Blog Topics: EHRs, Physician Workflow
    As a physician, I experience first-hand the impact that internal communication at a hospital—both good and bad—has on patient care. If I am able to quickly access clinical systems, analyze patient information and collaborate with colleagues, I can diagnose and interact with the patient much more efficiently and effectively. Conversely, breakdowns and inefficiencies in the communications process can inhibit the delivery of quality patient care by bogging down workflows, creating delays and disrupting the care team’s collective thought process.
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