February 15, 2013
According to a team of researcher from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and elsewhere, the Microsoft Kinect, which is used as a gesture-based game controller for the Xbox 360 system, has the potential to act as a telemedicine device and save the healthcare industry billions.
February 15, 2013
Froedtert Health, a three-hospital health system based in Milwaukee, announced a data breach, reporting that one of its employee’s computer account was hacked. The breach, according to a report from the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, may have affected more than 40,000 patients, although the health system says it found no evidence that any personal information or medical records were accessed.
February 14, 2013
According to a report from Carpinteria, Calif.-based Redspin Inc., a provider of IT security assessments, the number of large-scale health data breaches increased from 2011 to 2012, but the number of patients affected by such breaches decreased last year.
February 14, 2013
A Congressional Budget Office report finds that the growth in healthcare cost inflation in the Medicare and Medicaid programs has slowed in the short term, with healthcare reform-driven reimbursement changes a possible factor in the trend
February 13, 2013
During a visit with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to the Erie Health Center in Chicago on Feb.13, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced that Illinois has been conditionally approved to operate a State Partnership Marketplace (Exchange), which will be ready for open enrollment in October 2013. This partnership will allow Illinois to make key decisions and tailor the marketplace to local needs and market conditions.
February 13, 2013
The Reston, Va.-based Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI), a non-profit organization formed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), has announced that it will extend free membership for all federal and state government agencies and their corresponding departments.
February 13, 2013
Of the 258 accountable care organizations (ACOs) recognized by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), 60 of them, from more than 15 states, have joined together to form the National Association of ACOs (NAACOS), a non-profit organization that allows ACOs to work together to increase quality of care, lower costs and improve the health of their communities.
February 13, 2013
In his first State of the Union address of his second term, President Barack Obama on Feb. 12 directly addressed some of the challenges and opportunities facing the federal Medicare program in the coming years, citing value-based purchasing in particular as an important change to the U.S. healthcare system, as well as proposing changes in pharmaceutical policy and in Medicare rules for wealthy seniors.
February 12, 2013
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) has selected Russell P. Branzell as CEO, the organization announced this week. Branzell, currently the CEO of Colorado Health Medical Group, a division of University of Colorado Health, will begin his new role in April.
February 12, 2013
According to a new study from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), when it comes to health information exchanges (HIEs), significant focus is placed on governance, but little attention is placed on the staffing of Health Information Exchange Organizations or Networks (HIOs).
February 12, 2013
According to new UCLA research, Facebook and other social networking technologies could serve as effective tools for preventing HIV infection among at-risk groups.
February 12, 2013
The Washington D.C.-based eHealth Initiative (eHI) has unveiled a resource guide, aiming to help cancer patients, their families, caregivers, and support networks better understand what digitals tools and technologies are available to treat and cope with the disease. The Health IT Cancer Resources Guide lists 76 tools ranging from mobile applications to web sites to social networks that aim to improve cancer care.
February 11, 2013
In a blog post, the director of federal health architecture at the Office for the National Coordinator of Health IT (ONC), Lauren Thompson, announced the arrival of version 4.0 of the government's CONNECT software. CONNECT, which is an open source health information exchange (HIE) platform, has been a joint effort between ONC, the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, the Social Security Administration, and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
February 11, 2013
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) has submitted a letter to Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Acting Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Marilyn Tavenner to reiterate strong support for maintaining the October 1, 2014 revised date for nationwide adoption of ICD-10.
February 11, 2013
Vitera Healthcare Solutions, a Tampa, Fla.-based provider of ambulatory electronic health records (EHRs) and practice management solutions, has announced that Kermit Randa will join the company’s leadership team as executive vice president, sales and marketing.
