Health Data Management articles from August 2004

Health Data Management archives from August 2004

Doctor, Doctor, Gimme the News ... Preferably by e-mail.
August 2, 2004... For a few years in the late '90s, I was in the care of perhaps the best personal physician I've ever had. He had great bedside manner and genuine concern for my well-being. He carefully explained matters both in professional and layman's terms....

Consumer-Driven I.T.: Innovative Strategy or Passing Fad?(Information Technology)
August 2, 2004... Every industry has trendy periods when certain technologies and business strategies are particularly hot, such as the dot-com craze of the late 1990s. Inevitably, nearly every vendor serving the industry jumps on the craze and labels its...

Early Tales from the RFID Front.(radio frequency identification technology)
August 2, 2004... Employees at Bon Secours Richmond (Va.) Health System logged a persistent complaint during job satisfaction surveys: they didn't feel they had the tools they needed to do their jobs. It wasn't that Bon Secours didn't have the tools-it just...

Health Care I.T. Stocks Hit a Wall in Second Quarter.
August 2, 2004... Health care information technology stocks seemed to have hit a wall in the second quarter of 2004, but the collision was not that painful. The price of a marketbasket of 23 health care I.T. stocks tracked by New York-based Bear Stearns and...

Alberta Goes for the Electronic Records Gold.
August 2, 2004... In Alberta, Canada, health care takes up 40% of the provincial budget. Consequently, the province needs to know where the money is going and where it's needed while keeping costs under control, says Roger Palmer, deputy minister for health. ...

Feds Plan New HIPAA Rules for Fall.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services expects in November to publish proposed rules for a national health payer identifier and a standardized claims attachment transaction format. Further, the centers expects in February 2005 to...

Thompson: No National Mandates for I.T.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... The federal government will not consider mandating providers implement technology necessary to create a national health information infrastructure, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said. Asked if he envisioned the Bush...

Feds Delay Paying Non-HIPAA Claims.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... On July 6, Medicare began treating non-HIPAA compliant electronic claims as paper claims in the payment process. That means Medicare will pay such claims no sooner than 27 days from receipt-13 days longer than compliant electronic claims....

House Caucus Focuses on Health I.T.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... U.S. Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) and Jim Greenwood (R-Pa.) have formed a congressional caucus to give special focus to health care information technology issues. The legislators, co-chairs of the caucus, hope to gain membership throughout...

Kerry: First Responders Need Network.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) on June 24 outlined his vision for increasing government support of science and technological research. Among his proposals, Kerry wants to build a broadband, wireless network for first...

Brailer: Move or Be Moved.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... President Bush is urging the health care industry to get moving on implementing health care information technology, particularly electronic health records. The overriding goal behind the administration's recent flurry of activity is to increase...

AMA to Senate: Pass Safety Bill.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Fifteen months after the U.S. House passed patient safety legislation, it is time for the Senate to do the same, according to the American Medical Association. The Chicago-based AMA is running a print advertisement in Roll Call, CongressDaily...

Feds to Build I.T. Resource Center.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has issued a request for proposals for a contractor to build and operate its Health Information Technology Resource Center. The resource center will support up to 100 demonstration projects under...

Bush Records Goal a Tough Target.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... President Bush will only reach 50% to 75% of his goal to have electronic medical records for nearly all Americans in 10 years, even though most physicians today understand they must adopt the technology, says Vinson Hudson, president of Jewson...

Site Lists Quality Reward Programs.(Leapfrog Group)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... The Leapfrog Group, a consortium of 150 Fortune 500 companies, has launched a Web site listing incentive and reward programs aimed at improving the quality of care. Called the Leapfrog Incentive and Reward Compendium, the site documents and...

QuadraMed Buys Scheduling Vendor.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... QuadraMed Corp., vendor of the Affinity hospital information system product line, has acquired Tempus Software, which sells enterprisewide scheduling software for provider organizations. Under the acquisition terms, Reston, Va.-based QuadraMed...

Coding Vendor Buys Consulting Firm.(enVision Group Inc)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... HSS Inc., a vendor of coding and revenue cycle management software for provider and payer organizations, has acquired The enVision Group Inc., a revenue cycle management consulting firm that targets providers. Terms of the acquisition were not...

HIMSS to Buy Dorenfest Database.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, Chicago, will acquire the Dorenfest IHDS+ Database and related assets from Sheldon I. Dorenfest & Associates Ltd., also in Chicago. The database targets information technology vendors...

HCA Chief to Congress: Help Us.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... If the nation's employers and health payers are to move toward "pay for performance" incentives to increase the quality and efficiency of care, they will need standard processes and data criteria that are seen as fair, according to Jack...

ANA Database Offers Quality Indicators.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... A database project begun over a decade ago by the American Nurses Association has finally reached a "critical mass" of information. Now, participating facilities have to start learning new ways to use that data, said Nancy Dunton, Ph.D., during...

Site Explains Long-Term Care Tech.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... The Department of Health and Human Services has launched a Web site offering information on technology that can improve the quality of life and care in long-term care residential facilities. The Technology for Long Term Care Web site includes...

Picis Sues Two Vendors.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Picis Inc., a Wakefield, Mass.-based vendor of software for operating rooms and critical care units, has filed a patent infringement lawsuit against competitor Surgical Information Systems, Alpharetta, Ga., and connectivity software vendor...

KLAS Releases Mid-Year Rankings.(KLAS Enterprises )(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Vendor research firm KLAS Enterprises has released its 2004 mid-year rankings of vendor performance, based on survey results from 4,500 hospitals and more than 1,200 clinics. The Draper, Utah-based firm releases such rankings twice each year....

RFID Start-Up Raises Funds.
August 2, 2004... Radianse Inc., a start-up vendor of radio frequency identification technology for health care organizations, has raised $9 million from new investors in a private round of financing. The Lawrence, Mass.-based company has developed an RFID-based...

'Talking Bottle' Eyes Fed Business.
August 2, 2004... Pittsburgh-based Wizzard Software Corp. has received a federal supply schedule contract for its "talking" prescription bottles. The contract, effective for five years, does not guarantee sales of the bottles to federal health care facilities,...

E-Rx Software Gets Benefits Information.(MobiHealth Inc)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Arlington, Va.-based MobiHealth Inc. will integrate pharmacy benefit information from Medco Health Solutions Inc., Franklin Lakes, N.J., into its hand-held prescription application. The electronic exchange will be facilitated using data routing...

Trials Data Getting Smart.(Worldwide Inc)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Morrisville, N.C.-based etrials Worldwide Inc. has released a new version of its electronic patient diary software that runs on smart phones. The wireless version of the vendor's QuickStudy Log is designed to enable drug manufacturing companies...

Study: Nurses Not Big on Tablet PCs.
August 2, 2004... More than 90% of nurses interviewed in a recent study say they are reluctant to use Tablet PCs for bedside care. The "Mobile Computing in Nursing" study was conducted between March and May 2004 by Spyglass Consulting Group, Menlo Park, Calif....

Loevner Appointed ePocrates CEO.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... San Mateo, Calif.-based ePocrates Inc. has appointed Kirk Loevner as CEO. Loevner previously was CEO at Pinnacor Inc., a financial services technology company now owned by CBS Marketwatch. He also served as CEO and founder of PublishOne Inc.,...

palmOne Chooses New President.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Milpitas, Calif.-based palmOne Inc. has promoted Ed Colligan to president of the company. Colligan had been serving as senior vice president and general manager of the vendor's wireless business unit since October when the former Palm Inc....

More Clinical Data for Smart Phones.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Overland Park, Kan.-based Sprint has formed an agreement with Boston-based PatientKeeper that enables caregivers to access PatientKeeper's mobile clinical applications via select Sprint smart phones. PatientKeeper offers various clinical...

ASP Records App Can Go Mobile.(EMR System Inc)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Tustin, Calif.-based EMR System Inc. has released an application service provider-based electronic medical records system that can be used on mobile hardware. The MyPocketEMR software offers automated scheduling, billing, insurance,...

Respiratory Data Sent over Wi-Fi.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Meadowlands Hospital Medical Center, Secaucus, N.J., and Sumner Regional Medical Center, Gallatin, Tenn., are transmitting patient respiratory data over their Wi-Fi networks. The organizations are using the OxiMax Pulse Oximetry System and the...

Skyscape Offers Chronic Disease App.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Hudson, Mass.-based Skyscape Inc. has released a hand-held version of a chronic disease journal published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The "Preventing Chronic Diseases" application will be available as a reference title...

Cisco Launches Metropolitan Wi-Fi Tech.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco Systems Inc. has released technology designed to enable the creation of outdoor, metropolitan, 802.11b-based wireless networks. The Cisco Metropolitan Mobile Network system features the vendor's 3200 series mobile...

Wi-Fi Apps Go on Location.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Saratoga, Calif.-based Ekahau Inc. has released software designed to help existing wireless applications track mobile hardware throughout a Wi-Fi network. The Ekahau Positioning Engine can pinpoint the location of mobile hardware embedded with...

Drug Trials Try Wireless.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Charlestown, Mass.-based PHT Corp. has worked with AT&T Wireless, Redmond, Wash., to enable drug manufacturing companies to use PHT's PDA-based clinical trial application over mobile phone networks. Drug trial participants use the software...

Symbol Buys Mobile Security Vendor.(Trio Security Inc)(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Holtsville, N.Y.-based Symbol Technologies Inc. has agreed to acquire Trio Security Inc., a Colorado Springs, Colo.-based vendor of security technology for mobile hardware. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Trio Security...

Sony Ends U.S. PDA Sales, Production.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Sony Corp. of America Inc. plans to discontinue sales of its Clie PDA models in the United States. The New York-based electronics vendor will continue to manufacture its existing models for a short time in the U.S., and is leaving it up to its...

AT&T Wireless to Run Palm OS Apps.(Brief Article)
August 2, 2004... Redmond, Wash.-based AT&T Wireless will work with Sunnyvale, Calif.-based PalmSource Inc. to enable the mobile operating system vendor's PDA and smart phone applications to run over AT&T's mobile data network. AT&T Wireless is one of several...

Stock Chart.(Illustration)
August 2, 2004... (part 1 of 2) Price Price as One on a % of 52 month Health care software companies 7/8/04 Wk High Change ...

Identifying Patient Safety Priorities.
August 2, 2004... To create a safer care environment, provider organizations are using various methods to find the weak spots in their care processes and use I.T. to protect their patients. Medical errors are the worst kept secret in health care. Shocking...

Patient Livingston, I presume?
August 2, 2004... Provider organizations have identified various priorities for patient safety initiatives, but many boil down to one goal-passing patient data from one clinician to the next. Similar problems have long been a fundamental weakness of many...

There's safety in being well informed.
August 2, 2004... It's hard to count the ways patient safety can be compromised and medical errors occur. But a frequent precursor to a medical error is a lack of knowing what is going to happen during a surgical procedure. This is a major safety concern for...

Does it seem like old times? It shouldn't.
August 2, 2004... Some doctors still are wondering what all this patient safety hullabaloo is about, says Manuel Lowenhaupt, M.D., vice president and head of clinical transformation practice at New York-based consulting firm Capgemini. "Hospitals and...

How to Select the Right Consulting Firm: CIOs say for the money consultants charge, the deliverable should be just as high.(Chief Information Officer)
August 2, 2004... Bill McClelland hired a consultant to complete a site survey of his 75-bed hospital for a wireless network and couldn't be happier with the results. "He did a wonderful job educating me in wireless technologies and issues," says the director of...

Sorting out consultant/vendor alliances.
August 2, 2004... Some consulting firms have alliances with health information technology vendors. In the minds of experienced CIOs, the propriety of those alliances depends on the circumstances. Some consultants, for instance, are not closely aligned with a...

A different type of advice.(Southwest Washington Medical Center)(The Copperwood Group)
August 2, 2004... When Southwest Washington Medical Center needed to develop a new strategic information technology plan, it hired an I.T. advisory firm to assess its I.T. department and outline options. Such a firm differs from a consulting company because...

Voice Biometrics: Just a Whisper: Voice recognition technology could enable less invasive user authentication, but it's still a few years away.
August 2, 2004... Staff at University of California Davis Medical Center might seem like they're talking to themselves as they move through the 579-bed academic hospital. But they are really talking to each other via a "badge" hanging around their neck. The...

On the Road with Mobile Tech: A nursing group saves time and money by better integrating software and mobile technology.
August 2, 2004... Caregivers at the Visiting Nurses Association, Western Pennsylvania are accustomed to using mobile technology. The Butler-based organization's nurses have been using notebook computers since the mid-90s to collect and transmit data while...

Virtual Technology Offers Real Savings: An Indiana hospital uses virtualization software and virtual machines to consolidate 50 servers down to four computers.
August 2, 2004... Technology has brought automation full circle. Since the days of the Industrial Revolution, machines have replaced human hands; since the 1960s, computers have supplanted human thought processes. Now, computers are rendering themselves obsolete...

Contracts Update.(Directory)
August 2, 2004... The Contracts Update section includes announcements of contracts that health care information technology companies have signed with customers in recent weeks. Contract news can be sent to Health Data Management by electronic mail to:...

Do You Agree or Disagree?
August 2, 2004... "Vendors now offer clinical information systems that work well and complement the workflow of physicians and nurses. Do you agree or disagree?" AGREE Mark Roman President, Healthcare Industry EDS Corp., Solon, Ohio "Some...