February 16, 2013 David Raths
While mobile health has seen an explosion of innovation in the last few years, with apps that are growing increasingly sophisticated, it is still difficult to find a successful business model in the space, according to a panel of experts speaking at the 19th Annual Wharton Health Care Business Conference in Philadelphia.
February 15, 2013 Gabriel Perna
In an NCQA webinar, managing partner and CEO of Crystal Run Healthcare, Hal Teitelbaum, M.D., talked about the mentality his organization has in being an ACO. It’s clear being an ACO, and getting accreditation from the NCQA, is not something that can be done with negligence.
February 12, 2013 Joe Marion
A lot is being written on Interoperability lately. Achieving it depends not only on vendor cooperation but also on facility insistence.
February 12, 2013 Gwen Darling
Networking skill is not a natural ability that some people are “just born with.” All those outgoing, clever, popular people who make it all look so effortless? Don’t be fooled - it’s not effortless, not by a long shot, but they have mastered the art and now actually have fun doing it. That’s right – fun. And you can, too! Here’s how:
February 12, 2013 Mark Hagland
Dr. Jim Levin was both a clinical informatics pioneer and a true mensch. Well do I remember the first time I met him, four years ago, when in the spring of 2009, as I was meeting with executives and leaders from across the UPMC health system in Pittsburgh, to find out what UPMC leaders were doing to leverage information technology for systemic performance improvement.
February 11, 2013 Joe Bormel
Recently, I participated in medical grand rounds at several hospitals. The primary topics of all these grand rounds were focused on delivering better care. One of these sessions was presented on the topic of coaching, something I have blogged about in the past to help advance the acceptance and use of HIT. Case in point, a physician I spoke with contended that the net of HIT applications was negative for both patient and provider satisfaction. I contend this is why some non-IT related behaviors, like coaching, are now receiving new and overdue attention. But are we doing enough?
February 7, 2013 Gabriel Perna
When it comes to patients’ skills and knowledge on their care, more equals less, according to the recently published findings of one research team. The study found the most tuned in patients cost 8-to-21 percent less than the costs of patients with the lowest level of activation. It’s just one more piece of evidence that supports this growing movement.
February 6, 2013 Mark Hagland
When Carolyn Clancy, M.D., announced on Jan. 31 that she was leaving the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), which she had headed for almost exactly 10 years (she became that agency’s director on Feb. 5, 2003, after previously working at the agency as director of its Center for Outcomes and Effectiveness Research), it signaled the end of an era.
February 6, 2013 David Raths
With legislative activity burgeoning at the state level and a comprehensive bill introduced in the last session of Congress, telehealth advocates believe they have momentum to push for inclusion.
February 5, 2013 David Raths
Analysts, attorneys and regulators weigh in on the impact of changes regarding privacy, breach notification, and business associate agreements
February 5, 2013 Mark Hagland
I was fascinated last month by a New York Times article I read about an initiative tying physician pay in New York City’s public hospitals to the outcomes measures those hospitals will be paid against under healthcare reform.
February 4, 2013 David Raths
The growth in the rate of prescriptions written electronically is a huge success story. But at the Jan. 29 joint hearing of the federal HIT Policy Committee and HIT Standards Committee, attendees were reminded that sending structured lab data is a bigger challenge, in part due to the highly fragmented nature of the laboratory market.
February 4, 2013 Gwen Darling
Whether it's your first time to attend the HIMSS conference, your fifth (as in my case), or your umpteenth, if you are heading to HIMSS13 as an active job-seeker, there are a few items you should not leave home without. For the rest of us who are passive job-seekers (and that should include all the rest of us), this list may prove to be useful, as well.
February 3, 2013 Mark Hagland
CIOs, CMIOs and other healthcare leaders have a real opportunity to help shape community-wide healthcare delivery performance improvement initiatives: just ask Jane Brock, M.D., of the Colorado Foundation for Medical Care, that state's QIO.
January 30, 2013 Gabriel Perna
In the process of conducting research for my most recent feature, I came to realize one thing about how hospitals across this country are trying to improve the patient-centered culture. It’s not about high-definition TVs, better food, temperature-controlled rooms, and a quiet night’s rest. It’s about better communication.
January 26, 2013 David Raths
Developing workable, scalable and realistic financial sustainability models for HIEs remains a challenge that must be addressed
January 23, 2013 Gabriel Perna
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' (CMS) Federal Readmissions Reduction Program is once again receiving a critical eye. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health say the initiative would punish hospitals that serve the uninsured and poor patients.
January 23, 2013 David Raths
The free, peer-reviewed e-publication's inaugural issue includes a paper on the effort to create an EHR-linked multicenter registry
January 22, 2013 Mark Hagland
HIMSS Analytics' recent press release on the acceleration in the pace of EHR adoption is encouraging, but then again, the numbers could be read in different ways, depending on one's perspective
January 18, 2013
It's 2013. Healthcare information technology is far more prevalent and standardized then it has ever been in the past. Some concepts that have been evolving from other industries, as well as in healthcare IT, have important applications and implications. From cloud computing to active collaboration and mobile computing this post analyzes what we should consider and provides simple suggestions to get started.
