February 3, 2013 Mark Hagland
blog
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.
February 3, 2013 Mark Hagland
article
Jane Brock, M.D., the chief medical officer of the Colorado Foundation for Medical Care, that state's Medicare quality improvement organization, discusses recent research-driven learnings around what makes for successful forays into improving care transitions-and the IT leveraging that will need to take place in communities nationwide.
January 30, 2013 Gabriel Perna
blog
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 30, 2013 Mark Hagland
article
Leaders at the American Health Quality Association recently showcased the release of an article published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that documented an impressive decline in avoidable hospitalizations and readmissions among Medicare patients in communities in which Quality Improvement Organizations (QIOs) have coordinated interventions that engaged whole communities in care improvement.
January 29, 2013 Mark Hagland
article
Earlier this month, the Health Research Institute at PriceWaterhouseCoopers consulting firm released a new report, “Top health industry issues of 2013: Picking up the pace on health reform.” PWC’s John Edwards, director of the consulting firm’s healthcare advisory division, shares his perspectives on the most pressing challenges facing healthcare IT leaders right now. Here’s a hint: think data and information systems, not IT per se.
January 23, 2013 Gabriel Perna
blog
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 22, 2013 Jeff Smith, Assistant Director of Advocacy at CHIME
article
The Federal Health IT Policy Committee has been working for months on developing measures and objectives for Stage 3 Meaningful Use and in November they shared those thoughts with the wider health IT community of stakeholders for input. Recently, CHIME submitted a response to the HIT Policy Committee, urging caution about the assumed pace and practicality of those Stage 3 measures.
January 22, 2013 Mark Hagland
blog
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 22, 2013 Mark Hagland
news
In a speech with a strong focus on unity among Americans and with a heavy emphasis on social progress, President Barack Obama briefly mentioned healthcare in his second inaugural address in Washington, D.C. on Jan. 21.
January 21, 2013 Mark Hagland
article
Earlier this month, the leaders of HIMSS Analytics issued a press release announcing significant gains in the percentages of U.S. hospitals reaching advanced stages in electronic health record adoption. What's behind the forward advance?
January 18, 2013 David Raths
blog
In its HIPAA final rue, HHS chose to drop the harm standard that a breach does not occur unless the disclosure poses "a significant risk of financial, reputational, or other harm to an individual." Instead, a breach notification is necessary in all situations except those in which the provider demonstrates that there is a low probability that the protected health information has been compromised.
January 17, 2013 Gabriel Perna
news
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released an update to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), aiming to better protect patient privacy and safeguard patients' health information in the digital age, according to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.