| Survey: Privacy compliance has declined Posted: 14 May 2006 01:56 AM PDT Three years after federal rules governing the privacy of patients' medical records went into effect, compliance seems to have declined for 6 percent, according to an annual survey conducted by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Read more about this at here.  |
| E-book: Making E-Health Work Posted: 14 May 2006 01:53 AM PDT E-Health has become an integral part of present-day healthcare delivery. With healthcare consumers, increasingly the focus of most health systems, the widespread implementation of health information and communications technologies offers cost-effective opportunities to meet their increasingly sophisticated healthcare needs.Bankix Systems Ltd has released its latest e-book. It is a 200-page in-depth analysis of the issues involved in "Making E-Health Work," the e-book's title. Read more about this e-book at here.  |
| Consumer tools: UCompareHealthCare Offers Free Reports on Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Physicians Posted: 11 Mar 2006 01:01 AM PST "UCompareHealthCare has just unveiled its Web site, ucomparehealthcare.com, which features free reports on the nation's nursing homes, hospitals and physicians to help consumers make informed healthcare decisions. I checked the web site and found it very informative for health consumers to help them make informed decision about their choices of doctors, hospitals and others." Read more about this at UCompareHealthCare  |
| Articles: Direct to Consumer: Women are a powerful, but untapped, audience Posted: 03 Feb 2006 12:04 AM PST "Women influence many family decisions—from choosing what's for dinner to selecting the medications their children take. In fact, nearly two-thirds of women are responsible for family healthcare decisions, according to a 2004 national survey conducted by Plan for Your Health. Many women also assume the care-giving role outside their nuclear families. Today's middle-aged woman may also look after her parents and in-laws too, often determining how long they can live on their own and how to best care for them. In addition, she often influences the important health decisions of grandchildren, co-workers, and friends." Read more at PharmExec.  |
| Consumer tools: Really Personal PHRs Posted: 27 Jan 2006 01:05 AM PST "If we're committed to fostering the adoption of personal health records, we should take a page out of the consumer marketing textbooks — not the primers of health IT marketers. This was my conclusion after attending a recent meeting in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Markle Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Agency for Healthcare Quality Research and Quality. " Read more about this at iHealthBeat .  |
| Consumer trends: Manhattan Predicts Online Health Trends Posted: 27 Jan 2006 12:06 AM PST "US healthcare specialist Manhattan Research has published a summary of the major trends for health and pharmaceutical marketers to consider in 2006. The trends chart the increased use of the web and other new technologies as a health information and communication tool for both patients and physicians." Read more at Daily Research News Online.  |
| News: Wall Street Journal Looks at Tools That Identify Low-Cost Care Options Posted: 26 Jan 2006 01:07 AM PST "The Wall Street Journal on Thursday looked at efforts by insurers to provide patients with tools - including a cell phone Web browsing service - to help them find low-cost treatment options. Lumenos, a unit of WellPoint, in February will launch the cell phone service, which lets patients type drug names into their cell phones' Web browsers and get lists of lower-cost alternatives. The program is designed so that patients can ask their physicians about cost-effective alternatives while they still are at their appointments." Read more at iHealthBeat.  |
| Consumer tools: Consumer Health Complete Now Available from EBSCO Publishing Posted: 25 Jan 2006 12:09 AM PST "In continuing with the company's goal of providing the most comprehensive collection of online health and wellness resources, EBSCO Publishing has announced the release of Consumer Health Complete (CHC). This full text database is designed to support consumer and patients' information needs as well as foster an overall understanding of health-related topics." Read more at Managing Information News.  |
| Kona Surgery Picks EHR Software Posted: 26 Feb 2010 06:51 AM PST Kona Surgery Center has selected iProVation MD software from Minneapolis-based Wolters Kluwer Health for procedure documentation and coding, and its ProVation EHR electronic health record and patient charting solution. ProVation EHR is an electronic health record designed for ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). It offers electronic documentation and document imaging for all elements of the patient encounter, from past records to procedure documentation to follow-up care, says the company. Kona Surgery Center, a partnership between Hawaii Pacific Health and several West Hawaii physicians, started taking patients in late January, after receiving its state license Jan. 21. Kona ASC is a state-of-the-art, 3-suite multi-specialty surgery center focused on gastroenterology, podiatry, general surgery, plastic surgery, orthopedics, dental surgery and ophthalmology.  |
| Petty Appointed CIO at Wellmont Posted: 25 Feb 2010 07:03 AM PST Wellmont Health System , an eight-hospital system based in Kingsport, Tenn., has named Kent Petty, a military commander with extensive technology experience, as its vice president and CIO, it says. Petty has been with the organization on a contract basis since August 2009, assisting with CPOE and EMR implementation projects. According to Wellmont, he plans to begin the conversion to CPOE at Hawkins County Memorial Hospital in October 2010 and have all other facilities on line by September 2011. He will also be focused on the regional exchange of medical information among healthcare providers, it says. Previously, Petty worked for nine years as vice president of information technology for Marriott International, where he was accountable for the application services development and support strategy for all Marriott International business units. A commander in the Navy Reserves, Petty is a graduate of George Mason University, and holds a master’s degree in strategic intelligence from the Joint Military Intelligence College.  |
| NJ/NY Veterans Network Goes Paperless Posted: 25 Feb 2010 06:49 AM PST The New York/New Jersey Veterans Healthcare Network (VISN 3) has selected San Diego-based CliniComp’s Essentris ED and Essentris Critical Care solutions to improve quality, safety and outcomes at its emergency departments, intensive care and post anesthesia care units, the company says. VISN 3, one of Washington-based U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ’ 21 Veterans Integrated Service Networks, will deploy the solutions at several of its facilities, including the James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Northport VA Medical Center, and East Orange Campus of the VA New Jersey Healthcare System, says CliniComp. The company claims the suite will replace paper flowsheets in the medical and surgical ICUs, and will interoperate with VistA Computerized Patient Record System and Bar Code Medication Administration. CliniComp’s solutions will assist VA clinicians in extracting real-time data and waveforms from physiologic monitors, infusion pumps, ventilators and other bedside devices, and will help create a more complete picture of the patient’s condition, it touts.  |
| WellStar Health Taps Connectivity Solution Posted: 25 Feb 2010 05:58 AM PST WellStar Health System , an integrated network located in Marietta, Ga., is deploying CareAlign Solution from Nashville-based Informatics Corporation of America (ICA), the company says. According to ICA, the implementation will enable WellStar to connect internal and external healthcare data sources, aggregate data, and convert it into usable information across the continuum of care, while providing actionable information to the physician base through an intuitive portal. The organization will also utilize the solution’s analytics capabilities to provide better care and improve overall health, it touts. WellStar Health System includes five hospitals, five urgent care centers, and has more than 400 employed providers.  |
| White House Calls for Health IT Task Force Posted: 24 Feb 2010 08:53 AM PST The White House is calling for the creation of a government-wide task force to strengthen coordination of health IT efforts among federal agencies charged with carrying out the administration’s plans for an electronic healthcare system. The plan, detailed in a memo from Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Peter Orzsag and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, will provide a way for agencies with heavy healthcare responsibilities to participate in planning health IT projects as part of the ARRA-HITECH legislation. David Blumenthal. M.D., the national health IT coordinator, will chair the task force, according to the proposal. The vice chairs would be OMB’s health program associate director, Keith Fontenot, and White House CIO Vivek Kundra and CTO Aneesh Chopra. In addition, the memo is asking five individuals — Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Veterans Affairs Secretary Gen. Erik Shinseki, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Social Security Commissioner Michael Astrue and Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry — to choose a senior leader from their agencies to represent them on the task force and to send HHS their choices within five days.  |
