Health Data Management articles from January 2006

Health Data Management archives from January 2006

2005 Was a Big Merger Year; This Year Will Be Bigger.
January 1, 2006... When it comes to mergers and acquisitions, 2005 was quite a year. Our news editor, Joe Goedert, tracked some 55 deals involving health care information technology companies last year, up from 43 deals in 2004. And the biggest headline grabber,...

HHS Wants Prototype Networks for Nation, Gulf Region.(Health and Human Services)
January 1, 2006... The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded four contracts to vendor consortiums to build prototypes for a national health information network architecture. Separately, the department also entered into contracts with two...

Aetna Gets Paper Claims as Clearinghouses Feud.(Emdeon Corp.)
January 1, 2006... Two major claims clearinghouses in November started sending tens of thousands of paper claims to Aetna Inc., one of the nation's largest health insurers. The clearinghouses-operated by MedAvant Healthcare Solutions of Atlanta and Raleigh,...

Senate Gets Serious, Passes Health Care I.T. Bill.(information technology)
January 1, 2006... The U.S. Senate has passed legislation to promote interoperable health care information technology and provide $280 million in financial assistance over two years to providers and regional health information organizations. The legislation,...

Software Aims to Keep Transcription Firms Honest.(Memorial Hermann Healthcare System)
January 1, 2006... Memorial Hermann Health-care System in Houston, like many provider organizations, has language in contracts with transcription vendors governing billing methods and timely delivery of transcribed documents. But the language can be vague and...

Take the Quick Poll...
January 1, 2006... Visit the Health Data Management Web site and express your opinion on one of health care I.T.'s hot topics. Your comments may appear in a future Readers' Perspectives department. (c) 2006 Health Data Management and SourceMedia, Inc. All...

Provider ID is the Next HIPAA Mountain.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)(identifier)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Hospitals and payers have faced many challenges implementing the transactions, privacy and security rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. Now comes the national provider identifier rule, with a May 23, 2007,...

Gene Advances Get I.T. Support.(information technology)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Advances in knowledge of genetics have resulted in drug treatment personalized for the genetic makeup of an individual patient. Among lung cancer patients, for instance, variants in a particular gene indicate which drugs will be most...

The Show Before the Show.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... In recent years, the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Annual Conference & Exhibition has had special day-long symposiums for physicians and nurses on the Sunday before the big show starts. The physician and nurse...

Getting Answers to Network Questions.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Confused about all the activity surrounding creation of a national health information network? Organizations trying to get a handle on how they fit into the initiative will have several chances to get answers during the Healthcare Information...

Part D Program Gives Impetus to E-prescribing.
January 1, 2006... The Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003 is expected to become a significant driver of electronic prescription adoption in the health care industry. At the Healthcare Information and Management Systems...

Big Crowd Expected in San Diego.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2006... Early indications from registrations by late November suggest attendance at this year's HIMSS show will approach last year's record level. The 2006 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Annual Conference & Exhibition is on...

Newsline Digest.(InnerWireless Inc developed asset tracking for health care organizations)(Thomson Corp acquired NexCura Inc., )(Luther Nussbaum resigned from First Consulting Group Inc.)
January 1, 2006... FEDS READY WITH SATISFACTION SURVEY The federal government is ready to conduct a national survey of patient perspectives of hospital care. In a notice published in the Federal Register, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services seeks...

Stock Chart.(Illustration)
January 1, 2006... (part 1 of 3) Price Price as on a % of 52 Health care software companies 11/4/2005 Wk High ...

Is There An Identity Crisis?(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)
January 1, 2006... For nearly a decade, health care organizations have faced the headaches involved in preparing to comply with federal standards for electronic transactions as well as data privacy and security. These standards were all required under the Health...

Patient identifier: How about an algorithm?(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)
January 1, 2006... Congress stepped in back in 2001 to prohibit the Department of Health and Human Services from developing a rule for a standard individual, or patient, identifier, as required under HIPAA. The issue proved to be a political hot potato because of...

Small Clinics are Big Believers in I.T.: Improved revenue, operating efficiency and lower costs sell group practices on I.T.
January 1, 2006... Nothing succeeds like success, the old saying goes, and nowhere is that more apparent than when small clinics find information technology tools that make a difference. Ob/Gyn Associates of Northwest Alabama PC has just such a story to...

I.T. Ends Justify Means for Clinic Managers.
January 1, 2006... A growing number of smaller clinics are finding ways to afford information technology because they are saving money, making money and increasing efficiency, all factors that contribute to improved patient care. How clinic managers measure...

Free I.T. Advice for Small Clinics.
January 1, 2006... Small clinics are expected to continue adding information technology in their quest for more efficient operations. As technology improves, costs go down and clinics' I.T. budgets increase. Adding I.T. resources requires more than deeper...

Healthcare I.T. Q&A's: Visionaries Share Their Information Technology Insights.
January 1, 2006... For the past 13 years, Health Data Management has led the way in providing healthcare information technology decision-makers with in-depth analysis on how to use I.T. to achieve core business objectives, including improving the quality of care...

Vendor Consolidation: The Wait is Over: Mergers and acquisitions picked up in 2005, and some experts predict more action this year.
January 1, 2006... The health care information technology industry in the past year saw its first significant merger and acquisition activity since a frenzy of consolidation ended in 2000. A year ago, an industry observer summed up 2004 as "a year of a lot...

2005 Vendor Consolidation Scorecard.(Illustration)
January 1, 2006... (part 1 of 4) Acquiring Company January 2005 1 Affiliated Computer Services Inc., Dallas 2 PracticeXpert Inc., Toluca Lake, Calif. 3 A4 Health Systems Inc., Cary, N.C. 4 Elekta AB,...

Speculation Ends as GE Buys Big.(General Electric)
January 1, 2006... For several years, health care information technology observers have waited on GE Healthcare to make a big move in the industry. The Waukesha, Wis.-based vendor of medical and imaging devices and ancillary departmental information systems...

I.T. Consolidation Keeps on Giving: Nine years later, Tennessee Blues planof is still reaping benefits a combined single database and core information system.(Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association Of Tennessee)
January 1, 2006... In the 1990s, many payer organizations had information systems that were akin to aging commercial shipping fleets: keeping them afloat sucked in precious resources but replacing them meant a huge cash outlay. Back then, BlueCross...

I.T. Makes Bid to Curb Nursing Costs: Web-based software is enabling providers to 'auction off' work shifts.
January 1, 2006... Rio Grande Regional Hospital, like many of its peers, has had problems filling nursing shifts with qualified staff. Again, like many other hospitals, it used contract nurses to fill the gaps in its nursing schedule. And, in another familiar...

Contracts Update.
January 1, 2006... 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.
January 1, 2006... Advertiser/Site Addresses Page # AHRMM www.ahrmm.org 47, 54 AIIM www.aiim.org/healthcare 25 Antek HealthWare www.DAQbilling.com 22 ARINC...

Integrating PACS and electronic records systems is worth the investment in time and resources. Do you agree or disagree?".
January 1, 2006... Agree - 90% Disagree - 10% Source: Health Data Management Web site, www.healthdatamanagement.com, November 2005 survey results. 269 responses AGREE Arielle Kolk Team Lead-Patient Access Services University...