Pharmacy
There is ample evidence that barcode technology for medication has had a significant impact on patient safety. But while most U.S. hospitals have adopted barcode medication administration, experts say there's big room for improvement.
A panel convened by the Network for Excellence in Health Innovation and Prescriptions for a Healthy America is urging health IT policymakers to sharpen their focus on medication adherence.
Greece is no stranger to fiscal turmoil. It has one of the highest unemployment rates in the Western world and has racked up more than €321 billion of public debt. But some say the country's two-and a-half-year-old e-prescribing system is on the right track, helping reduce pharmaceutical expenditures by 50 percent.
The electronic prescribing systems market is estimated to grow to $794 million, at a compound annual growth rate of 26 percent from 2012 to 2017, according to a new study by MarketsandMarkets, which analyzed the major market drivers, restraints and opportunities around the world.
After 15 years at the helm of Allscripts, the EHR vendor he helped steer through years of growth and change, Glen Tullman is poised to join the ranks of serial entrepreneurs. He and Allscripts colleague Lee Shapiro, who served as president, have set their sights on starting a new company -- or maybe multiple companies -- in the mobile healthcare arena.
Consumers aren't the only ones using mobile apps to improve their health. Their doctors are using them, too. A recent study conducted by Epocrates indicates physicians are accessing drug information at the point of care, often through a mobile medical app, to make sure the drugs they're prescribing aren't harming their patients. That, says the San Mateo, Calif.-based developer of online reference tools, amounts to more than 27 million potentially dangerous drug interactions avoided each year.
Minnesota achieved the highest rate of e-prescribing use in the nation during 2011 to capture the No. 1 ranking in Surescripts' 7th annual Safe-Rx Awards
With Minnesota's GOP caucus set for Feb. 7, we spoke to the North Star State's health IT honcho about public-private partnerships, electronic health records, health information exchange, telehealth and more. Often billed as the healthiest state in the U.S., Minnesota has long been a healthcare IT leader.
A think tank with a healthcare task force chaired by former Senators Tom Daschle, a Democrat, and Bill Frist, MD, a Republican, is advocating for improved and better-used health information technology. Among the group's recommendations is "robust" data exchange.
Former Microsoft Health Solutions Group executive Peter Neupert will join Health Evolution Partners, a venture capital firm launched by former National Coordinator for Health IT David Brailer, MD, as an operating partner.