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Lisa Gallagher, HIMSS senior director of privacy and security, isn't particularly optimistic about providers' ability to prove patient data is safe. Asked to assign a letter grade to the security situation in U.S. hospitals, she says, "probably a C."
It's no longer enough for an infant's pajamas to simply keep the little bundle of joy warm and dry at night. Nowadays, PJs should be able to constantly monitor the baby's vital signs and emotional state, and then relay that information wirelessly to the doting parent's iPad or smartphone.
When it comes to ICD-10 preparedness, payers are well ahead of providers in the quest to be ready for the new coding format by the Oct. 1, 2013 deadline. That news probably doesn’t come as a shock to anyone involved in the process, but it shows that the claim-filing infrastructure should be ready on the receiving end, coding experts say.
For the IT team at EKCITA HIE, it was an exhilarating end to an impromptu challenge – the challenge posed by the country’s top champion for interoperable healthcare, no less.
One of the most intriguing areas at HIMSS12 this past month was the Intelligent Hospital Pavilion. Presented in partnership with the RFID in Healthcare Consortium, HIMSS' walk-though mock-up offered an up-close look at the myriad ways radio-frequency identification (RFID), real-time location system (RTLS), sensor and wireless technologies – developed by companies such as AeroScout, AwarePoint, Intelligent InSites and RFID Global Solutions – can optimize inventory management, improve patient safety, streamline clinical workflow and more.
Moving toward a true open source approach with Connect, the Federal Health Architecture plans to hold an industry day to understand existing options. FHA director Lauren Thompson says the group is also working on a governance structure for its federal partners.
Data collected from sneaker chips will help elementary school kids get fit and stay fit. It’s the most recent project from Partners HealthCare’s Center for Connected Health. Called Step It Up, the program is going into six Boston public schools.
When Acting CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner said Feb. 14 that CMS would take another look at the timeline for converting from the ICD-9 billing code set to ICD-10, she unleashed a barrage of response – for and against – across the healthcare industry. The next day Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said HHS, indeed, intended to push back the deadline.
It's often said that the emergency department is the "front door" of the hospital. And recent years have seen more people than ever making their way through that entry.
A new study by the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions indicates physicians are not using IT broadly to engage patients. No more than 20 percent of doctors are providing online scheduling or test results for their patients and just 6 percent are using social media to communicate with them, the study reveals.