Health Data Management articles from June 2006

Health Data Management archives from June 2006

Consumer-Driven Health Plans Drive I.T. Investments.
June 1, 2006... For many years now, consumer-driven health plans (under many different labels) have been touted by some "experts" as vital to efforts to provide health insurance to the tens of millions of Americans who lack coverage. So far, these plans have...

Search starts for Brailer's successor.(David Brailer)
June 1, 2006... David Brailer, M.D., can leave his two-year stint as national coordinator for health information technology with a profound sense of accomplishment, says H. Stephen Lieber, president and CEO at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems...

Why PNC Bank bought a clearinghouse.(Healthcare Administration Technologies Inc.)(PNC Financial Services Group)
June 1, 2006... PNC Financial Services Group's recent acquisition of a claims clearinghouse is part of the Pittsburgh-based bank's effort to combine conventional banking services with health care transactions processing services. "Now we can build on what...

New network boosts hospital's cell service.(LCG Wireless)(Cedars-Sinai Medical Center )
June 1, 2006... Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles recently replaced a sunsetted cellular communications system with a new wireless system from LCG Wireless, San Jose, Calif. The new technology greatly increased reception throughout the...

Tool gives one-click reference access.(medical reference service)
June 1, 2006... At Partners HealthCare System in Boston, drug and clinical treatment guidelines are a click away when clinicians enter orders or diagnoses in the delivery system's information systems. In drop-down menus, many listed drugs, tests and...

Intermountain uses grant to design I.T. for the elderly.(Intermountain Healthcare Inc.)
June 1, 2006... An 84-year-old man was having trouble controlling his diabetes. His blood sugar always was either too high or too low, and he was suffering from memory loss and having problems with motor skills, recalls Cherie Brunker, M.D., a geriatric...

Newsline Digest.
June 1, 2006... FEDS SEEK INPUT ON NETWORK NEEDS The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology will host a forum in late June to address the functional requirements of a national health information network. The forum is...

Stock chart.(Statistical table)
June 1, 2006... Price Price as One Six One Mkt On a % of 52 month month Year YTD Cap. 5/3/06 Wk High Change Change Change Change ($mil) Health care software...

The CFO's Role in I.T. Negotiations.(chief financial officers)
June 1, 2006... When a health care organization makes an information technology purchase, the CIO or I.T. director, often assisted by an attorney or consultant, typically takes the lead during contract negotiations. But many chief financial officers, like...

Splitting contracts enables a network buy.(Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre )
June 1, 2006... Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto recently implemented a wireless network across its 10-facility, 1,300-bed campus. Despite the size of the project, it was done with virtually no involvement from CFO Michael Young. That's because...

The plan: drive consumers online: big I.T. changes are in store for payers and providers as consumer-driven health revs up.
June 1, 2006... Consumer-driven health care advocates envision a day when purchasing and paying for health care services is an experience comparable to shopping for a plane ticket on Expedia.com. The concept is based on the theory that offering patients...

Payers Getting into the Banking Business.
June 1, 2006... Consumer-driven health plans are fueled by health savings accounts, which can in certain circumstances be used as investment vehicles similar to 401(k) plans or IRAs. If consumer-driven health takes off, there will be a lot of cash floating...

Getting the word out, the old-fashioned way.(phone based customer service in health care insurance)
June 1, 2006... The Internet plays a starring role in consumer-driven health plans, but in some cases it still has to share the stage with the telephone. Indianapolis-based Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield uses the phone to reach out to consumers when they...

I.T. helps revenue cycle spin faster: new tools are enabling organizations to capture, collect and analyze payment information.(St. Joseph's Hospital Health Center, Syracuse)
June 1, 2006... Department of corrections. Dumping ground. These labels often are used to describe hospital billing departments. They were coined by hospital executives disgusted with the antiquated process of getting paid for services rendered. This...

Group Practice Sees Potential, Dollar Signs.(Doctors Care)
June 1, 2006... Doctors Care is a fast-growing ambulatory care organization that has 52 primary and urgent care centers in South Carolina and Tennessee. Keeping up with the billing process for some 550,000 annual patient visits was becoming impossible...

Survey: Clinical I.T., Yes; RHIOs, Maybe: CIOs are trying to connect I.T. dots, but are unsure of mission of health data exchanges.
June 1, 2006... CIOs expect to get more money for I.T. initiatives, and more of that money will go to clinical departments. But I.T. executives still are waiting for technology-particularly software designed for nurses-to improve. In addition, the jury seems...

I.T. Access a Balancing Act: Gaston Memorial uses load balancing technology to ensure network is up to speed.
June 1, 2006... Once every two weeks, during regular network maintenance, the I.T. staff at Gaston Memorial Hospital in Gastonia, N.C., access an encrypted, online password vault. They retrieve passwords for devices that direct network traffic among the...

I.T. Protects Users from Themselves: Michigan delivery system uses security analytics app to audit and investigate potential internal breaches.
June 1, 2006... While computer hackers and malignant viruses garner headlines and create numerous headaches for health care I.T. departments, experts say the biggest security threats reside within organizations. Examples include a disgruntled employee looking...

Web Lends a Hand With Nurse Training: L.A. hospital supports graduate program using online classes, tools and tracking.
June 1, 2006... After graduating from nursing school late last year, Amy Meyer, R.N., based her job search on very specific criteria. She wanted to work in a pediatric intensive care unit, remain in the Western part of the country, and be hired by a hospital...

Contracts update.
June 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:...

Readers' perspectives.(Letter to the editor)
June 1, 2006... "Early predictions of the potential of Tablet PCs to support patient care were overstated. Do you agree or disagree?" AGREE Dean Cheatham Senior Technology Analyst Children's Healthcare of Atlanta "Tablet PCs are great...