January 28, 2013 Gabriel Perna
article
From the minute any clinician steps into their professional environment, they know the importance of hand hygiene. Yet, for some reason, gaps in hygiene compliance remain a problem at many medical facilities across the country, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting that 90,000 die in the U.S. each year from hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). For this reason, Shannon Medical Center, a 400-bed hospital in San Angelo, Texas, implemented an automated radio-frequency identification (RFID)-based hand-hygiene monitoring system.
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 14, 2013 Mark Hagland
news
On Jan. 14, the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) submitted formal comments to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), in response to the release of the Health IT Policy Committee’s proposal for Stage 3 of meaningful use.
January 14, 2013 Mark Hagland
news
On Jan. 14, the Chicago-based American Medical Association (AMA) submitted formal comments to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), in response to the release of the Health IT Policy Committee’s proposal for Stage 3 of meaningful use under the HITECH Act.
January 13, 2013 Mark Hagland
article
As the vast UPMC health system in Pittsburgh moves forward on its big-data journey, senior vice president and CIO Dan Drawbaugh shares his perspectives on that journey exclusively with HCI’s Mark Hagland. Among the top learnings so far: the level of collaboration between and among senior clinician, administrative, and IT leaders required to achieve big-data breakthroughs will be exceptional.
January 10, 2013 Gabriel Perna
news
According to analysis from members of the Santa Monica, Calif.-based non-profit research organization, the RAND Corporation, the cost-savings coming from the installation of health IT systems such as EMRs has not been reached because of slow adoption, and a lack of inter-connectivity and ease-of-use.
January 9, 2013 Mark Hagland
article
Speranza Avram, the CEO of CalHIPSO, the largest of the 62 federally designated regional extension centers, has spent three years helping physicians in small groups to achieve meaningful use. Going forward, being able to continue to help providers beyond the end of this year will mean developing new models of sustainability.
January 7, 2013 Mark Hagland
blog
It's so easy to go straight to quotes from classic movies, isn't it? On the other hand, this one from Bette Davis just seems to fit perfectly, right now: "Fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a bumpy night!" But the uncertainly in Washington shouldn’t delay healthcare IT leaders' work building the new healthcare.
January 5, 2013 Mark Hagland
article
In the wake of the so-called “fiscal cliff deal” that averted the effects of federal budget sequestration for two months when it was passed by Congress on Jan. 1 and signed by President Obama on Jan. 2, Blair Childs, senior vice president for public affairs at the Charlotte-based Premier health alliance, spoke with HCI Editor-in-Chief Mark Hagland about the current policy and political situation on Capitol Hill. To paraphrase Bette Davis, healthcare providers need to expect a bumpy ride throughout 2013.
January 4, 2013 Gabriel Perna
blog
For those in the healthcare industry, there are countless things that could be filed under, “New Year’s resolution.” Perhaps more than anything else, providers should look at ways of preventing data breaches, which have become a growing issue.
January 3, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
The Medical Imaging & Technology Alliance (MITA) said that failure to delay the new medical device excise tax, along with Medicare cuts for imaging and radiation therapy services passed by Congress as part of the “fiscal cliff” package, will hinder patients’ access to early disease detection and therapy services and threaten American medical technology jobs.
January 2, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
Upon learning of the Jan. 1 news that Congress put into place a one-year “doc fix” to prevent a 26.9-percent immediate Medicare reimbursement cut to physicians, the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is calling on legislation to repeal the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula.
