September 14, 2013 Mark Hagland
article
The issue of unnecessary elective early-term deliveries of babies is receiving increasing attention in patient care organizations nationwide. One patient care organization in which active work to make such changes has been taking place is the four-hospital, Springfield-based Baystate Health. There, the medical director of obstetrics, the chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology, and the organization’s clinical research director, are engaged in groundbreaking work in this very important area.
September 2, 2013 David Raths
blog
We are regularly reminded that Stage 3 of meaningful use will shift the focus from EHR deployment and data exchange to the health outcomes improvement the technology is designed to enable. But of course some organizations are already past the implementation phase and are working on realizing those outcome improvements. That Stage 3 future is already here; it’s just not evenly distributed.
August 20, 2013 Gabriel Perna
news
Richard Kronick, Ph.D., has been named by the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) as the new Director for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), replacing Carolyn Clancy, HHS has confirmed to Healthcare Informatics.
August 19, 2013 Mark Hagland
blog
It was fascinating to read a recent account in the July/August issue of “Patient Safety & Quality Healthcare” about a Six Sigma project around improving perioperative outcomes and processes. Not only was the case study a worthwhile read in itself, it clearly had implications for healthcare IT leaders.
August 19, 2013 John DeGaspari
news
Physicians across all organization types can expect to see median salary increases of 2.4 percent for 2014, on par with salary increases last year, according to results from Hay Group’s 2013 Physician Compensation Survey released today. Physicians in group-based practices can expect to see larger pay increases (3.7 percent) than those in hospital-based settings (2.2 percent).
August 14, 2013 Gabriel Perna
article
At Cullman Regional Medical Center (CRMC), a 145-bed facility in Cullman County, Ala., leaders have implemented an iPhone app that helps providers with medication reconciliation, readmission rates, and nursing accuracy and efficiency. President and CEO Jim Weidner explains why this technology was a worthy investment.
August 14, 2013 Gabriel Perna
news
According to a new research, recording the sexual orientation and gender identity of individuals in an electronic health record (EHR) would help identify the health disparities of LGBT individuals, ultimately leading to improved quality of their care.
August 5, 2013 Mark Hagland
blog
A sometimes-heated discussion taking place in New York City around introducing a physician pay-for-performance program into that city’s immense public hospital system speaks to the broader debate around how best to transform U.S. healthcare
July 25, 2013 Mark Hagland
blog
In late July, healthcare leaders brought forward concerns around the rigorous requirements of Stage 2 of meaningful use to federal officials at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and the Department of Health and Human Services. How might federal officials respond—and what kinds of concerns must they balance?
July 17, 2013 Mark Hagland
blog
The July 16 announcement by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that nine of the 32 patient care organizations participating in the Pioneer ACO Shared Savings Program were leaving the Pioneer program, with two of them leaving the Medicare Shared Savings Program altogether, was cause for reflective pause. But is the glass half-empty or half-full in this case?
July 10, 2013 Mark Hagland
news
On July 9, leaders at the Charlotte-based Premier healthcare alliance submitted comments via letter to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, with regard to members of the U.S. House of Representatives now considering how to solve what is commonly known as the "SGR problem."
June 10, 2013 Gabriel Perna
news
The Mayo Clinic has announced it will be making its patient education resources available to small medical practices within the country through a formal agreement with drchono, a Mountain View, Calif.-based electronic health record (EHR) company.
