News

Maryland hospitals to share patient data

Submitted Fri, 02/17/2012 - 08:44

Maryland’s 46 acute-care hospitals will soon be able to share basic patient information among themselves and with credentialed doctors, a key step that health officials and clinicians say will improve patient care and cut costs.

The development, to be announced at a news conference Friday at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, is being led by the Maryland’s health information exchange, a statewide system that is working to promote the secure electronic sharing of health information among approved doctors’ offices, hospitals and other health organizations.

More people use mobile devices to look for health information

Submitted Tue, 02/07/2012 - 14:34

The increased popularity of smartphones has led more patients to proactively manage their care while on the go.

The number of consumers using mobile devices to access health information has more than doubled in the past year, and the health care industry is taking note.

While general health and wellness questions have been the biggest drivers to the Web, many hope that as more types of information and tools become available, mobile devices will be the key to patient engagement.

Questions to Ask Your Vendor for the Version 5010 Upgrade

Submitted Tue, 01/31/2012 - 11:41

The compliance deadline to upgrade to Version 5010 from Version 4010/4010A was January 1, 2012. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced an enforcement discretion period for 90 days until March 31, 2012, during which it would not initiate enforcement action with respect to any HIPAA-covered entity that is non-compliant with the ASC X12 Version 5010 (Version 5010), NCPDP Telecom D.0 (NCPDP D.0) and NCPDP Medicaid Subrogation 3.0 (NCPDP 3.0) standards. However, you should continue to upgrade your systems as promptly as possible in order to meet this deadline.

AMA offers online CME to help with health IT

Submitted Mon, 01/30/2012 - 09:35

The Web-based tutorials will educate physicians about analyzing workflow in their offices before they buy any systems.

The American Medical Association has released three online tutorials aimed at helping physicians implement health information technology into their practices.

The tutorials include videos, downloadable tools and best practices for health IT in a physician practice. They are being offered when many doctors are looking at technology for the first time because of federal incentive programs aimed at increasing physician adoption and use of health IT tools.

Each seven- to 10-minute tutorial is focused on understanding workflow and what changes to expect with new technologies.

Patients as partners in health IT

Submitted Mon, 01/30/2012 - 09:33

By enlisting tools that patients can use, a medical practice can become more efficient -- and increase patient satisfaction

Like many practices, Women's Wellness Place is continually upgrading its technology to better serve and empower providers and patients.

The practice has used an electronic medical record system for eight years and recently implemented e-prescribing; a website with comprehensive patient information; and a portal where patients can update their medical history and contact information and request prescription refills.

ONC project targets mobile device security

Submitted Thu, 01/26/2012 - 16:39

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology announced it is working with HHS' Office for Civil Rights on a project to raise awareness among clinicians about securing health information on mobile devices, including laptops, tablets and smartphones.

The privacy and security mobile device project builds on the existing security-rule provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act from 2006 and will identify privacy and security good practices, according to an e-mailed message from the ONC. The ONC plans to hold a public roundtable about the project this spring.

Mostashari: Health IT to come of age in 2012

Submitted Thu, 01/26/2012 - 16:35

Dr. Farzad Mostashari, head of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, predicts at least 100,000 providers will receive federal electronic health-record incentive payments by year's end.

Mostashari offered his prediction in a post on the ONC's Health IT Buzz blog. He isn't taking a giant leap of faith, given the explosive growth in the number of providers who have registered and been paid over the past three months under the two incentive programs authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Should Physicians Use Email to Communicate With Patients?

Submitted Mon, 01/23/2012 - 13:28

Email has been so commonplace for so long that some people consider it nearly obsolete. But in the health-care profession, its use for communications between doctors and their patients is still controversial.

Opponents worry that doctors can't read patients by reading their emails. Important signals can be missed, they say, when doctors can't see their patients' facial expressions, hear the tone of their voices or take note of their body language, and care can suffer as a result.

They're also concerned about the security of email communications, as well as doctors' potential liability for the content and results of email exchanges.

Health Care Is Next Frontier for Big Data

Submitted Thu, 01/19/2012 - 10:41

Big Data - the ability to collect, process and interpret massive amounts of information - is one of today's most important technological drivers. While companies see it as a way of detecting weak market signals, one of the biggest potential areas of application for society is healthcare.

Historically, healthcare has been delivered by one doctor looking at one patient with only the information the doctor has at that time. But how much better if the doctor had access to information about thousands, or even tens of thousands, of people?

Acquiring medical data has, historically, been problematic. It is wrapped in layers of regulations and stringent safeguards and is expensive to collect.

Small and Midsize Practices Planning Tablet Computer Buying Spree

Submitted Mon, 01/16/2012 - 08:30

At least one survey indicates that physicians' personal embrace of tablet computers is translating into a professional embrace - one that could put small offices at the forefront in the latest wave of health information technology.

A survey by the market research firm NPD Group found that 76% of small to medium-sized physician and dental practices said they plan to buy tablets in the next 12 months and spend an average of $6,800. The findings were part of a survey of 500 businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees across all industry sectors.

Some experts predict that tablets will become a central component of physician practices' technology infrastructure and will be used by everyone in the office.

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