Health Data Management articles from February 2005

Health Data Management archives from February 2005

Satisfying Your Appetite for News.(Editorial)
February 1, 2005... I've always been hungry for the latest news. I vividly remember watching the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite nightly when I was in grammar school. I read the Chicago Sun-Times virtually every day in high school. Eventually, I majored in...

What the ACS/Superior Deal Means.(Superior Consultant Holdings Corp. and)
February 1, 2005... Superior Consultant Holdings Corp. has struggled financially in recent years. A reorganization that included a strong focus on offering outsourced information technology services to provider organizations started to bloom in 2004 as the company...

Kaiser Learning as Records Initiative Rolls On.(Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Inc. deploys electronic medical records system)
February 1, 2005... Two years ago, Kaiser Permanente embarked on an ambitious plan to implement enterprisewide clinical and administrative applications from Epic Systems Corp., Madison, Wis. Under the $1.8 billion project, Kaiser was to roll out an electronic...

Internet2: Coming Soon to a Hospital Near You?
February 1, 2005... In 1996, Internet2 broke ground with great fanfare. The network's mission was to help develop and deploy advanced networking applications and technology that would juice up the capabilities of the often slow commercial Internet. While the...

PDAs Survive Flurry of Punches.(personal digital assistants)
February 1, 2005... PDAs have taken quite a few blows over the past year. Despite their increased use in electronic prescribing and other clinical applications, the hand-held computers recently have come under fire-in health care and other industries-for their...

Health Care I.T. Stocks Surge, but the Future is Uncertain.
February 1, 2005... Health care information technology stocks, as usual, ended the past year on a high note. But it remains to be seen if the sector can separate itself from the pack this year. The price of a marketbasket of 23 health care I.T. stocks tracked...

Study Seeks to Document I.T. Benefits.(Children's Healthcare of Atlanta at Scottish Rite)
February 1, 2005... Children's Healthcare of Atlanta in 2004 started implementing a suite of electronic medical records and medication administration management software. The delivery system expects the implementation in its two hospitals, ending in early...

Senators Ask Bush to Fund I.T.(government finance to health care information technology)
February 1, 2005... Leaders of the major Senate committees with oversight over health care issues are urging the Bush administration to adequately fund health care information technology initiatives and offer guidance on what the White House needs from Congress....

Newsline Digest.(George W. Bush nominates Michael Leavitt as new secretary)(Misys Healthcare Systems appointed Betty Feth as president)(Siebel Systems Inc. acquires edocs Inc.)
February 1, 2005... Massachusetts Plans Statewide Network Thirty-four organizations in Massachusetts, including many of the state's major delivery systems and insurers, have pledged to build a statewide health information network. The Massachusetts eHealth...

Mobile Health News.(Food and Drug Administration publishes new rules)(Bridge Medical Inc. and Sensitron Inc. to jointly develop software)(PracticeXpert Inc. to acquire PracticeOne)
February 1, 2005... FDA Classifies Implantable Chip The Food and Drug Administration has published a final rule classifying the VeriChip implantable radio frequency identification system as a Class II medical device with special controls. The special controls...

Stock Chart.(health care software companies)(Illustration)
February 1, 2005... (part 1 of 2) Price Price as One On a % of 52 month Health care software companies 1/6/2005 Wk High Change Allscripts Healthcare Solutions MDRX $10.00 87.90% 0.40% Amicas AMCS $4.38 84.90%...

The Politics of Electronic Medical Records.
February 1, 2005... Four years ago, Associated Cardiovascular Consultants in Cherry Hill, N.J., implemented electronic medical records software. Since then, the six-office, 31-physician practice has spent $30,000 a year replacing hardware that no longer does the...

Will Vendors Cooperate on Interoperability?(hospital information systems)
February 1, 2005... A major barrier to the vision of an electronic medical record for all U.S. citizens is the lack of interoperability among information systems. However, during this month's 2005 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Annual...

Finding a Common Ground on Pricing.(medical records system's cost analysis)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... How much should an affordable, standards-based, interoperable electronic medical records system cost? That's an issue that soon could have battle lines being drawn as the nation figures out how to automate small physician practices. David...

What Ever Happened to Intranets?: It turns out the networks are proving invaluable to organizations promoting self-service.
February 1, 2005... Back around the turn of the century, "intranet" was one of the common information technology words buzzing around health care organizations. The private, Web-based networks were starting to serve as electronic bulletin boards for many provider...

Intranet goal: One source for clinical data.(Saint Francis Health System enables physicians to access clinical data via intranet)
February 1, 2005... Saint Francis Health System in Tulsa, Okla., had a straightforward goal in 2000: enable clinicians at three hospitals and 35 physician offices to access clinical data on its intranet. Since then, much of the Saint Francis Web development team's...

Integration and Access Keys to Intranet Growth.(health care information management)
February 1, 2005... Information system integration and infrastructure upkeep are among the top issues health care organizations face in taking advantage of intranet technology. Organizations will continue to expand their intranet use as they overcome some of the...

Offshore Outsourcing Poses Risks: Health care I.T. experts navigate the global issue of 'offshoring'.
February 1, 2005... When Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania implemented new claims processing technology in 2003, management faced a significant programming task. Staffing up was too expensive, so top executives decided to outsource some of the work. About...

Who Is Actually Doing the Work?(outsourcing contract management)
February 1, 2005... When a California hospital fell victim to an offshore medical transcriptionist's ransom demands, it discovered that work it thought was being done on U.S. soil was subcontracted overseas. As a result of experiences like these, provider and...

For One Vendor, Offshoring Is Key.(health care outsourcing analysis)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... When it comes to using offshore labor to meet provider organizations' needs, outsourcing vendors have different philosophies. To some vendors, the choice is market-driven: offering offshore labor means their customers have more choices and...

Getting a Formal Grip on Offshoring.(health care services outsourcing)
February 1, 2005... The flow of health care services to offshore outsourcing companies is sparking legislative and industry action to protect patient information. Offshoring has raised a hue and cry from opponents, who criticize jobs being lost to other...

'Care Record' Seeks Continuity, Consensus: The time is now, many industry observers agree, for this key clinical information standard.(Continuity of Care Record technology to track down patient information)
February 1, 2005... Recently, a patient arrived in the Amesbury, Mass., office of obstetrician-gynecologist Joseph M. Heyman, M.D., saying only that her primary care physician had noticed something on an ultrasound and Heyman should take a look. Heyman, however,...

Big 10 Sponsors.(Continuity of Care Record)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Ten organizations are behind the Continuity of Care Record effort. In the order in which they became sponsors, they are: ASTM International, West Conshohocken, Pa. Massachusetts Medical Society, Waltham, Mass. Healthcare...

HIPAA Security: The Home Stretch: Some organizations tackling compliance with the new rule are tying up loose ends.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's data security rule)
February 1, 2005... With less than three months before the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's data security rule compliance date, Baystate Health System can see the finish line. The three-hospital, 30-practice delivery system in Springfield,...

Experts: Don't Panic, But Get Moving.
February 1, 2005... Organizations that have not yet seriously tackled the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act's security rule still have time to comply before the April 20, 2005, deadline. But the challenges, like the rule itself, are scalable....

Hand-Helds Tossed Aside, for Now: A mental health group goes back to PCs, though mobile hardware likely will return.(Nova Behavioral Health Inc.)
February 1, 2005... Mobile technology seemed to be a dream come true for caregivers at Nova Behavioral Health Inc., Canton, Ohio. Five years ago, state regulators had mandated the use of a 64-question survey to assess whether treatments were helping patients...

Payer Gets Vocal About Plan Changes: A managed care organization uses voice technology and services to notify members of formulary adjustments.(Before Group Health Inc.)
February 1, 2005... Before Group Health Inc. makes modifications to its managed care coverage, the New York-based payer organization usually "snail mails" all its members a letter explaining the changes. It also sends a follow-up letter to members who will be...

Portal Enhances Physician Outlook: A hospital's Web portal offers physicians access to schedules, patient census data and other information.(Ball Memorial Hospital)
February 1, 2005... Web sites are a-changin' at Ball Memorial Hospital. About 18 months ago, the Muncie, Ind.-based provider organization wanted to enhance its external Web site by adding functions such as customer bill pay, scheduling and other features. Ball...

Wireless Network Safe and Secure: A Georgia hospital uses software to help thwart unauthorized access and satisfy HIPAA rules.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
February 1, 2005... When it comes to security, many experts agree that wireless networks are more vulnerable to breaches than their wired counterparts. "Wireless networks are insecure by nature and always at risk for attack," says Miriam Paramore, a consultant...

Taking the Pain Out of Documentation: Clinical documentation software saves an ambulatory surgery center nearly $4,000 per month.(Golden Ridge Surgery Center uses software from ProVation Medical Inc.)
February 1, 2005... Simple math would have been enough to justify Golden Ridge Surgery Center's investment in clinical documentation and coding software. The Golden, Colo.-based 25-physician orthopedic surgery and pain management facility will pay $4,200 per...

Web Portal Speeds Discharge Process: A Florida hospital uses a Web portal to automate patient data exchange with extended care facilities.
February 1, 2005... University Community Hospital case managers in Florida pride themselves in placing their patients in the proper setting when they need extended care. Even if that means they end up in Pennsylvania. Thanks to a Web-based communication tool,...

Contracts Update.(health care information technology industry)
February 1, 2005... 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:...

Advertiser Index.
February 1, 2005... (part 1 of 2) Advertiser 3M Health Information Systems AccessPt Acusis Afga Allscripts Avega Baxter Billian BRIT Systems Carstens CDW CompuCaddy Cisco Claredi Cybernet...

Do You Agree Or Disagree?(radio frequency identification technology forecast)
February 1, 2005... "During the next decade, radio frequency identification (RFID) technology will surpass bar code technology as the choice for tracking assets and patients in health care. Do you agree or disagree?" AGREE Robert Tuch Senior Analyst...