December 26, 2012 Mark Hagland
blog
A recent industry survey highlighted the possibilities and pitfalls in creating ACOs, and the potentially scope-limiting factor of any collaborative's information technology resources in moving forward on accountable care delivery and financing
December 21, 2012 Joe Marion
blog
I have been watching with interest the outcome of a recent announcement that the Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE USA) (http://iheusa.org/) has contracted with ICSA Labs, a for-profit division of Verizon (https://www.icsalabs.com/) for certification of IHE profiles. On the surface, this sounds like a good thing, but dig deeper and it raises a number of interesting questions with respect to intent and motive.
December 19, 2012 Gabriel Perna
news
According to the Frisco,Texas-based Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST), its latest updates to the HITRUST Common Security Framework (CSF), will allow healthcare organization to more easily perform and manage CSF assessments, through a newly-created web-based tool and other upgrades. HITRUST, a collaboration of various healthcare, security, and risk management leaders, has created the CSF for healthcare organizations to “manage their information protection programs.”
December 18, 2012 by Jennifer Prestigiacomo
article
When the University of Missouri Health System sought to optimize its bedside documentation workflows, it chose to enhance its current medication administration devices to allow mobile point-of-care documentation, an innovation that has led to a dramatic advance in speed to documentation of patient data, ultimately improving patient care.
December 18, 2012 Mark Hagland
article
Earlier this month, Jane Metzger, principal researcher in the Waltham, Mass.-based Global Institute for Emerging Healthcare Practices within the Falls Church, Va.-based CSC, authored a new white paper, "Preparing for Accountable Care: Coordinated Care." With the healthcare delivery system facing unprecedented foundational challenges moving into the new environment of accountable, coordinated care, Metzger spoke recently with Mark Hagland about the reality of what providers face going forward.
December 17, 2012 Rajiv Leventhal
news
The Washington, D.C.-based National Quality Forum (NQF) has named Christine K. Cassel, M.D., as president and CEO. Cassel will begin her position at NQF effective mid-summer 2013.
December 12, 2012 David Raths
article
Kicking off the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT’s (ONC) third annual meeting in Washington, D.C., on Dec. 12, Farzad Mostashari, M.D., told attendees that despite all the progress they have made to transform the healthcare system, the journey is really just beginning.
December 12, 2012 Gabriel Perna
news
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recently launched an education initiative and set of online tools that aim to provide healthcare organizations various tips on how to protect patients’ protected health information (PHI) when using mobile devices such as laptops, tablets, and smartphones. The initiative, Mobile Devices: Know the RISKS. Take the STEPS. PROTECT and SECURE Health Information, offers videos, easy-to-download fact sheets, and posters to promote best ways to safeguard patient health information.
December 12, 2012 Mark Hagland
blog
As the healthcare industry moves forward to meet the demands of purchasers and payers for higher-quality, more effective, more cost-effective patient care with fewer errors and better care coordination, it is sobering to read the results of recent studies that show that improving clinical performance does not necessarily lead to the prevention of avoidable readmissions.
December 11, 2012 John DeGaspari
blog
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.
December 11, 2012 Mark Hagland
article
As Rebecca Grant, director of imaging services at the 625-bed Huntington Hospital, and her colleagues moved through the process of selecting a new PACS vendor, interoperability was the most important factor in their decision-making. Grant explains the various elements in a complex informatics imaging environment, and the factors that influenced her and her colleagues' important decision in this critical area.
December 10, 2012 Gabriel Perna
news
The Biparistan Policy Center, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit policy watchdog organization, released a report this week that urges various healthcare industry stakeholders to make increased patient engagement a priority. The report’s authors, from BPC’s Health IT Initiative, found that electronic tools such as secure messaging between patients and clinicians, in-home monitoring for patients, and patient portals are critical in improving the cost and quality of care.
