January 16, 2013 Mark Hagland
blog
Visiting senior executives at the UPMC health system in Pittsburgh last week, some of the thoughts I’ve been having lately around what creates and advances a culture of innovation were validated and confirmed for me.
January 16, 2013 Mark Hagland
article
Kenneth Bertka, M.D. has been helping to lead his colleagues at Mercy Health Partners, and its parent health system, Catholic Health Partners, forward on data-driven population health management. A key lesson learned? Take everything one step at a time.
January 14, 2013 Gabriel Perna
blog
Can entrepreneurs, healthcare providers, payers, app developers, and other stakeholders figure out a way to turn people’s obsession with simplistic smartphone games like Angry Birds into the next health enterprise? If they can, I think you’ll be seeing it in a lot more places.
January 9, 2013 John DeGaspari
news
On average, Americans die sooner and experience higher rates of disease and injury than people in other high-income countries, says a new report from the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. The report finds that this health disadvantage exists at all ages from birth to age 75 and that even advantaged Americans—those who have health insurance, college educations, higher incomes, and healthy behaviors—appear to be sicker than their peers in other rich nations.
January 9, 2013 John DeGaspari
blog
At a time of rancorous political divisions, it’s worth noting that most Americans are deeply concerned about the quality of healthcare—in particular, medical research. In a poll by Research!America, 72 percent of respondents say the new Congress and the President should take immediate action to expand medical research within the first hundred days of the 113th Congress. Their views are relevant as Congress considers funding cuts that could affect medical research, but it also suggests that healthcare issues in general are topmost on many people’s minds.
January 7, 2013 John DeGaspari
news
The relationship between a physician practice's adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and quality improvements in patient care remains unclear. However, a new study published in the January issue of Health Affairs by Weill Cornell Medical College and the Primary Care Information Project (PCIP) of the New York City Health Department shows evidence that EHR implementation can improve patient care in small physician practices in New York City when combined with sustained high-intensity technical assistance.
January 7, 2013 John DeGaspari
news
Research from the Children's Outcomes Research Program at Children's Hospital Colorado shows that timely reminders by state or local health departments are more effective at increasing immunization rates among preschool children than those from primary care practices.
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.
December 28, 2012 John DeGaspari
news
The rate of people who seek preventive cancer screenings has fallen over the last ten years in the United States with wide variations between white-collar and blue-collar workers, according to a University of Miami Miller School of Medicine study.
December 21, 2012 John DeGaspari
news
The boards of Baylor Health System and Scott & White Healthcare have approved the signing of an agreement of intent to combine their health systems, creating a $7.7 billion organization. The new system, to be called Baylor Scott & White Health, will include 42 hospitals, 350 patient care sites, and 4,000 active physicians, making it the largest not-for-profit health system in Texas. The anticipated agreement is expected to be completed in 2013.
