Clinical

Editors Picks

PODCAST: Beyond the Data Warehouse

Jennifer Prestigiacomo
In this podcast, live from the HCI Executive Summit, Dr. Bobbie Byrne, vice president of IT of Edward Hospital discusses how her organization is approaching data warehousing and the integration of clinical systems necessary for this initative. This podcast was recorded after Dr. Byrne's panel, "Beyond the Data Warehouse: Strategizing the Use and Analysis of Clinical Data for Meaningful Use," a the Healthcare Informatics Executive Summit being held May 6 through the 8 at the World Center Marriott in Orlando. Bryne was joined on the panel by colleagues Rick Schooler, vice president and CIO at Orlando Health; Dr. George Reynolds, CMIO and CIO of Children’s Hospital and Medical Center; and Patricia Skarulis, vice president, Information Systems and CIO, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Top Stories

Report: EMR Tool Decreases CT Scans

May 14, 2012    
news
According to a study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, an EMR tool that tallies patients' previous radiation exposure from CT scans can help reduce potentially unnecessary use of the tests among emergency room patients with abdominal pain. When the tool is in use, researchers say patients are 10 percent less likely to undergo a CT scan, without increasing the number of patients who are admitted to the hospital.

KLAS: SaaS EMRs Growing in Use

May 14, 2012    
news
According to a new report from Orem, Utah-based KLAS, more providers are using Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions for their EMRs, thanks to growing confidence in cloud storage, as well as increasingly limited hardware expenses. The report, “SaaS EMR 2012: Is It For You?" says SaaS EMR vendors, such as AdvancedMD, athenahealth, Bizmatics, and CureMD, are growing in prominence.

What's Happening at Allscripts?

May 10, 2012     Gabriel Perna
article
HCI Assistant Editor Gabriel Perna spoke with vice president of research at the Orem, Utah-based research and consulting firm, KLAS, Coray Tate, in an exclusive interview to put the recent Allscripts situation in context. Tate talked about what he thinks of the company’s current operating environment and how customers may react to the latest news.

Can Training Increase Physicians’ Empathy with Patients?

May 8, 2012     John DeGaspari
blog
A group of researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston maintain that resident physician’s participation in a brief training program that is designed to increase empathy with their patients has resulted in significant improvements in how patients perceive their interactions with residents.

Second Hospital in Europe Reaches Stage 7 EHR Adoption

May 7, 2012    
news
According to HIMSS Analytics Europe, the Marina Salud Hospital de Dénia in Spain has achieved Stage 7 of the Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (EMRAM), making it the first to do so in Spain and the second in Europe. The EMRAM aims to evaluate the digitization level of a hospital, with hospitals ranked from Stage 0-7, the latter being awarded for achieving a paperless medical record environment.

Featured Links

New eBook on Patient Safety & Bar Code Technology

Healthcare Informatics Executive Summit: May 6th-8th, Orlando

Check out the 2011 Healthcare Informatics 100 list

PODCAST: Beyond the Data Warehouse

May 7, 2012     Jennifer Prestigiacomo
article
In this podcast, live from the HCI Executive Summit, Dr. Bobbie Byrne, vice president of IT of Edward Hospital discusses how her organization is approaching data warehousing and the integration of clinical systems necessary for this initative. This podcast was recorded after Dr. Byrne's panel, "Beyond the Data Warehouse: Strategizing the Use and Analysis of Clinical Data for Meaningful Use," a the Healthcare Informatics Executive Summit being held May 6 through the 8 at the World Center Marriott in Orlando. Bryne was joined on the panel by colleagues Rick Schooler, vice president and CIO at Orlando Health; Dr. George Reynolds, CMIO and CIO of Children’s Hospital and Medical Center; and Patricia Skarulis, vice president, Information Systems and CIO, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

AMA: e-Prescribing Deadline Nears

May 4, 2012    
news
The American Medical Association (AMA) has sent out a note reminding its physicians that June 30, 2012 is the deadline to report on at least 10 electronic scripts to avoid the 2013 Medicare e-prescribing program penalty. Physicians who aren’t able to get 10 electronic scripts should apply for a hardship exemption, which AMA says will have to be applicable to their particular case before the June 30, 2012 deadline.

Idaho Health System Saves $1.7 M in Transport Costs

May 3, 2012     Jennifer Prestigiacomo
article
The Boise, Idaho-based Saint Alphonsus Health System has developed multiple applications for telemedicine among its four-hospital, 714-bed integrated healthcare system that have, as of January this year, saved the system $1.7 million in medical transport (life flight or ambulance) costs and has allowed more patients to be treated in their local communities.

Patient Simulation: An ACO’s Best Friend? (Part 1)

May 3, 2012     Gabriel Perna
article
In a two-part interview series, James McGee M.D., talks about how virtual patient simulation, a web-enabled software solution that allows for diagnostic simulated training, can be used for ACOs and PCMHs. In the first part of the interview, McGee talked about how patient simulations fit an ACO, the clinical decision elements in a virtual atmosphere, and he goes in-depth about the Veteran Health Administration's patient simulation system in particular.

Report from CHOP’s 5th Annual Healthcare Informatics Symposium

May 2, 2012     David Raths
article
More than 300 clinicians and researchers gathered April 27 for the 5th Annual Healthcare Informatics Symposium presented by the Center for Biomedical Informatics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Presentation topics ranged from IBM’s Watson supercomputer to clinical decision support to patient and family engagement innovations.

HIMSS’ EMRAM Model Coming to the UK

May 2, 2012    
news
BCS, The British-based Chartered Institute for IT, is teaming up with the Chicago-based Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) to introduce HIMSS Analytics’ Electronic Medical Records Adoption Model (EMRAM), which rates hospitals on their EMR adoption, to the UK.

Report: CPOE Misses Can Be Fatal

May 1, 2012    
news
A new report from The Leapfrog Group, a non-profit healthcare improvement organization, says advancements in health information technologies, such as computerized medication prescribing systems, have the potential to inadvertently result in harm to patients. Leah Binder, CEO of The Leapfrog Group said, this remains a major challenge for hospitals and technology companies.
more