February 27, 2013 John DeGaspari
A team of physicians at the University of Michigan Health System recently compared two major healthcare reform efforts to provide broad access to healthcare—the Affordable Care Act of 2010 and a 1986 law known as EMTALA, which mandated universal access to emergency care. While neither law quite gets there, the physicians say, healthcare reform can still bring the nation closer to comprehensive, coordinated care for all.
February 25, 2013 John DeGaspari
What criteria should a relatively small physician practice use in making a decision to move its computer operations to the cloud? I recently had a conversation with Michael Wolff, M.D., who heads up Southwest Spine and Sports, a Scottsdale, Ariz.-based practice with six physicians in three locations.
February 22, 2013 John DeGaspari
While researching an article on cloud computing recently, I had an opportunity to interview hospital CIOs on their opinions of the cloud. While the CIOs I spoke with acknowledged potential benefits of the cloud to reduce costs and foster more collaboration among users, they are taking a decidedly cautious approach when it comes to implementing it in their organizations.
January 9, 2013 John DeGaspari
At a time of rancorous political divisions, it’s worth noting that most Americans are deeply concerned about the quality of healthcare—in particular, medical research. In a poll by Research!America, 72 percent of respondents say the new Congress and the President should take immediate action to expand medical research within the first hundred days of the 113th Congress. Their views are relevant as Congress considers funding cuts that could affect medical research, but it also suggests that healthcare issues in general are topmost on many people’s minds.
January 3, 2013 John DeGaspari
A large number of physicians are coming under scrutiny on physician-review websites. One problem, though, is that many of those sites rely on few patient reviews. In fact, according to a study of 500 urologists by Loyola University Medical Center, ratings are based on scores of only 2.4 patients on average.
December 19, 2012 John DeGaspari
A report released by the Commonwealth Fund last week that tracks state trends in employer health insurance coverage hit home just how fast insurance premiums are rising. The report, “Premiums and Deductions, 2003-2011: Eroding Protection and Rising Costs Underscore the Need for Action,” finds that health insurance costs rose far faster than incomes in all states. Average family premiums jumped 62 percent from 2003 to 2011, while median family incomes rose just 11 percent, as workers paid more out-of-pocket and deductibles have more than doubled.
December 11, 2012 John DeGaspari
With the rise in popularity of tablet computers in the workplace, it’s interesting to see what’s behind its uptake, as well as the challenges the BYOD trend brings to healthcare CIOs.
October 17, 2012 John DeGaspari
I recently had an opportunity to speak with Danny Creedon, managing director of Kroll Advisory Solutions in New York, who offered actionable advice on what healthcare providers can do reduce their risk of breaches, which result in monetary penalties as well as damage to the reputation of an organization. At a time when doctors’ offices and hospitals are digitizing their patient information, the risks to digital information are exploding, Creedon notes. “That by itself creates a risk focused industry.” He has put together seven tips to help healthcare organizations get the most out of a HIPAA risk analysis.
September 7, 2012 John DeGaspari
How is the meaningful use Stage 2 final rule being received now that providers are taking a closer look at the mandates? In many ways the perception of the challenges has a lot to do with the provider’s resources and the progress it has already made.
August 28, 2012 John DeGaspari
As Hurricane Isaac gets ready to bear down on the Gulf Coast, I’m reminded of Hurricane Katrina a scant seven years ago, and how important it is for hospitals to keep their disaster plans current. The good news is that advances in technology do help hospitals be prepared when it comes to protecting their electronic records. But implementing new technology puts demands on the hospital system as well, because it can affect how an organization reacts to a disaster.
