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 Rajiv Leventhal
news
North Carolina has invested $4 million over two years in a telepsychiatry program that will link hospital emergency departments (EDs) to mental health professionals who can initiate treatment for ED patients in mental health or substance abuse crisis.
August 19, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
A health risk score calculated automatically using routine data from hospital electronic health records (EHR) systems can identify patients at high risk of unplanned hospital readmission, according to recent research published in Medical Care.
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 13, 2013 David Raths
blog
To improve communication and begin providing an integrated view of all their operating room data, hospitals are turning to surgical information system vendors with new display solutions. For instance, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) in Philadelphia has installed LiveData’s OR-Dashboard in all seven of its cardiovascular operating rooms.
August 13, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
The Arlington, Va.-based Surescripts, the nation's largest e-prescription network, has expanded to connect an additional 19 state health information exchanges (HIEs) and health information service providers (HISPs), enabling clinical data to be shared electronically and facilitating improved care coordination among providers with access to Surescripts’ secure and integrated network services.
August 12, 2013 Mark Hagland
article
A newly published survey of 1,200 physicians nationwide by athenahealth is revealing a mixed bag of opinions among doctors regarding how well electronic health records (EHRs) are working for them, with a range of views about the efficacy, cost-benefit analysis, and usability, of EHRs. Meanwhile, attitudes towards government involvement in healthcare have become more positive in the past year. But there remains concern over the transition to the ICD-10 coding system.
August 12, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
The quality of care for pediatric patients in rural emergency rooms—where pediatricians and pediatric specialists are scarce—improved significantly when delivered via telemedicine consultations, according to a study by researchers at the 129-bed UC Davis Children’s Hospital.
August 12, 2013 Rajiv Leventhal
news
A partnership between the University of Utah Hospital’s Department of Telemedicine and TruClinic—a virtual clinic connecting doctors with patients online—will enable patients and practitioners to have video-based online visits and consultations with just a computing device, internet connection, and webcam.
August 12, 2013 Gabriel Perna
news
Medtronic, a Minneapolis medical device company, has acquired Cardiocom, a privately held developer of integrated telehealth and chronic disease management patient services, for $200 million, the company announced this week.
August 9, 2013 David Raths
blog
Even smaller hospitals are starting to use electronic surveillance to access critical data in their EHRs and know whether or not best-practice care procedures are being delivered while patients are still in the hospital.
August 7, 2013 Gabriel Perna
news
Only an approximate one-quarter of patients are accessing their medical record via web or mobile interface, despite the fact most are interested in doing so, according to a new survey from Deerfield, Ill.-based research and consulting firm Aeffect.