Saturday, June 12, 2010

Health Informatics News

Health Informatics News

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.

Patrick-Murray Administration Awards $20M to Mass. Hospitals

Posted: 11 Jun 2010 07:53 AM PDT

The Patrick-Murray Administration of Massachusetts has announced it has awarded $20 million in infrastructure and capacity-building funding to 39 hospitals and community health centers across the state to enhance their ability to serve populations in need more effectively and efficiently. The funding is to be used in one of five priority areas, including: The redirection of non-emergency hospital Emergency Department visits to community health centers. Conducting readiness assessments for a global payment system. Document implementation of health information technology (HIT) and support targeted investments. Developing procedures for referring MassHealth patients discharged from an inpatient psychiatric unit to a community mental health center, outpatient behavioral health department or group practice that fosters immediate access to care. Developing protocols for receiving psychiatric medication histories of MassHealth members from pharmacy databases in order to promote quality care. "The hospitals and community health centers receiving funding today are key partners in our ongoing efforts to ensure that the people of the Commonwealth have access to quality, affordable health care," said Governor Deval L. Patrick. "This funding gives needed financial support to providers who will be making significant strides to improve services for patients and control rising health care costs by making investments in health information technology and promoting a global payment system."

Deloitte Survey Finds Most Americans Satisfied with Coverage

Posted: 11 Jun 2010 07:09 AM PDT

A new survey by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions , a division of  Deloitte LLP (New York), finds that the majority of consumers are satisfied with their current health care coverage, and many have concerns about potential changes from the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). Top concerns include health insurance coverage, access to quality health care and potential cost increases. The majority of consumers also said they are at least somewhat knowledgeable about PPACA. Overall, 36 percent of all adults surveyed think they will be “better off” as a result of reform, with 43 percent believing that they will be “worse off.” 67 percent of all adults believe that “in the long-term, the reform bill will increase access to health insurance for most of the uninsured;” though 76 percent think “the cost of the reform bill will be higher than expected.” Eighty-two percent of all adults surveyed consider themselves to be “well” or “adequately” insured, with 96 percent of that statistic “very satisfied” or “somewhat satisfied” with their insurance company’s performance in serving their needs. In terms of accessing quality healthcare, 56 percent of all adults surveyed that that “some hospitals and medical practices will close,” and 55 percent think they will have to wait longer to see their doctor. Adults surveyed also anticipate increases in taxes, hospital and physician prices, and health insurance costs.

Premier Recognizes Nation's Top Hospitals

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 09:18 AM PDT

The  Premier healthcare alliance has recognized 21 of the nation’s top hospitals and three healthcare systems for their commitment to outstanding patient care and operational efficiency with the 2010 Premier Award for Quality (AFQ). The honors were announced at Premier’s annual Breakthroughs Conference and Exhibition in Washington. 3,788 hospitals and 346 healthcare systems nationwide were eligible to receive the AFQ. The award measures top performers at the overall hospital level, with consideration of performance-based criteria including clinical quality outcomes, resource utilization, and clinical process indicators. All acute care inpatient facilities in the United States that submitted data to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the CMS Hospital Compare project were considered for the award. 2010 Award for Quality winners are: Albert Einstein Healthcare Network of Philadelphia Albert Einstein Medical Center of Philadelphia Beebe Medical Center of Lewes, Del. Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center of Portsmouth, Va. Griffin Hospital of Derby, Conn. Inova Fair Oaks Hospitals of Fairfax, Va. Legacy Meridian Park Hospital of Tualatin, Ore. Maury Regional Medical Center of Columbia, Tenn. Memorial Healthcare System of Hollywood, Fla. Memorial Hospital Central of Colorado Springs, Colo. Memorial Hospital Miramar of Miramar, Fla. Memorial Hospital Pembroke of Pembroke Pines, Fla. Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital of Darby, Pa. Mercy General Hospital of Sacramento, Calif. MetroHealth Medical Center of Cleveland Palomar Medical Center of Escondido, Calif. Palomar Pomerado Health of San Diego Paoli Hospital, Main Line Health System of Paoli, Pa. Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center of Torrance, Calif. Saint Vincent Health Center of Erie, Pa. Saints Medical Center of Lowell, Mass. Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital of Brockton, Mass. SSM St. Mary's Health Center of St. Louis St. Joseph's Medical Center of Stockton, Calif. Headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., Premier is a performance improvement alliance of more than 2,300 U.S. hospitals and over 67,000 healthcare sites. Owned by not-for-profit hospitals, Premier works with CMS and the United Kingdom’s National Health North West in efforts to improve hospital performance.

Union Hospital Joins Indiana HIE

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 08:09 AM PDT

The Indiana Network for Patient Care (INPC) has announced it is expanding to include Union Hospital in Terre Haute and Clinton, Indiana, which will join 60 hospitals serving more than 6 million patients in the  Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE) network. INPC leaders purport the IHIE to be the largest health information exchange in the nation. Launched in 1994 by the Indianapolis-based Regenstrief Institute , the INPC handles approximately 2.5 million secure transactions of clinical data daily. The INPC is the foundational technology for the services offered by the IHIE, aggregating information in real-time to 15,000 physicians throughout Indiana. The 380-bed Union Hospital is the largest nonprofit healthcare provider between St. Louis and Indianapolis, with 2,400 employees serving a broad range of patients from west central and east central Indiana.

Cardinal Health Announces Purchase of Healthcare Solutions Holding

Posted: 10 Jun 2010 07:22 AM PDT

Drug wholesaler  Cardinal Health (Dublin, Ohio) today announced a definitive agreement to purchase specialty pharmaceutical company, Healthcare Solutions Holding, LLC in an upfront $517 million all-cash transaction. The agreement includes the opportunity for earn-out payments of up to $150 million over the next three years. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory clearance, but is expected to close early in Cardinal Health’s 2011 fiscal year, which begins on July 1. Healthcare Solutions Holding is the parent company of a number of subsidiaries including P4 Pathways and P4 Healthcare, which provide tools, services and data to specialty care participants including physicians, pharmaceutical companies and payors. The acquisition will expand Cardinal Health's current capabilities and reach in specialty pharmaceuticals, a segment of the market which IMS Health forecasts will grow at twice the rate of traditional pharmaceuticals for the next five years and exceed $100 billion in sales by 2013. "This acquisition is an important building block in our strategy to create a differentiated set of services for oncology and specialty customers," said George Barrett, chairman and chief executive officer of Cardinal Health.

BlueCross BlueShield Bring Online Care to New York State

Posted: 09 Jun 2010 08:29 AM PDT

Bluecross Blueshield of Western New York  (BCBSWNY) and Blueshield of Northeastern New York (BSNENY) announced the initial launch of Online Care NY, an on-demand health care service in New York State available to eligible members and employers. The service will be available first to employees and its charter physician group on August 1, with the member launch in Western New York following September 1 and Northeastern New York by year-end 2010. The announcement was made at the American Health Insurance Plans’ industry conference. Powered by  American Well (Boston) technology, Online Care NY will enable eligible members to have immediate live encounters via Internet or telephone with credentialed physicians from the plans’ established provider networks. During live encounters, physicians can review patients’ clinical information, speak with and see patients, prescribe medication, and suggest follow up care. BCBSWNY and BSNENY are divisions of HealthNow New York Inc., heaquartered in Buffalo, N.Y. They are independent licensees of the BlueCross BlueShield Association.

Clara Maass Utilizes EDIMS at Red Bull Arena Medical Center

Posted: 08 Jun 2010 08:35 AM PDT

Clara Maass Medical Center  (CMMC) a 445-bed Belleville, N.J.-based hospital has announced it will utilize its emergency department electronic health record system (EHR), EDIMS , in providing emergency medical services at the new soccer stadium in Harrison, N.J., Red Bulls Arena. EDIMS will allow for a better and more seamless exchange of patient information from the arena’s medical center to the hospital, expediting the admissions process and care if/when patients are transferred to the hospital. CMMC will have an on-site, fully stocked first aid-room at the arena, manned by a physician and a physician’s assistant, as well as an ambulance and two emergency technicians. Medical staff for events can fully and securely access the EDIMS system through an on-site computer and a VPN connection. The on-site emergency first aid room has already proved useful. During the first stadium event, an elderly man experiencing shortness of breath was diagnosed with congestive heart failure and administered a complete set of medications to stabilize him. He was transferred to the Medical Center’s emergency room, where his records from the stadium were already in the system. He was admitted to the hospital and released after four days.
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