Health Data Management articles from March 2003

Health Data Management archives from March 2003

Celebrating 10 Years of Excellence.(this publication celebrates 10 years in publication)
March 1, 2003... Way back in January 1993, I took on the challenge of launching a new magazine from scratch as its first editor. The task was exhilarating, but somewhat frightening. It offered an exciting opportunity to fashion a magazine to meet the needs of...

How I.T. Augments Geriatric Care.
March 1, 2003... Provider organizations are beginning to see information technology as a powerful tool in assisting in the care of the growing U.S. elderly population. For instance, the Washington-based National Association of Home Care and Hospice, at its...

Why are Drug Distributors Improving their Bedside Manner?
March 1, 2003... AmerisourceBergen Corp.'s recent acquisition of Bridge Medical Inc. gave the giant pharmaceutical supplier bar code-based bedside medication management technology. It also gave Valley Forge, Pa.-based AmerisourceBergen equal footing with its...

A Point Person for New Technologies.(Robert Row, director at Gwinnett Hospital system in Lawrenceville, Georgia)
March 1, 2003... Medical and information technology are always advancing and always changing the environment in which they operate. For example, ultrasound technology changed maternity care and advancements in the technology soon could change treatment of...

Kaiser Picks Epic for Electronic Records.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Kaiser Permanente will spend $1.8 billion over the next three years to implement electronic medical records software enterprisewide. The Oakland, Calif.-based payer and provider organization, serving 8.5 million members, has selected Epic...

Clinical Standards on HIPAA's Horizon.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... As health care provider and payer organizations race to comply with deadlines to implement HIPAA's privacy and transactions and code sets rules, work continues to expand the law's reach to clinical data. HIPAA authorized the National Committee...

Wilson Steps Down from Eclipsys.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Harvey Wilson is handing over the reins at Eclipsys Corp., a vendor of administrative and clinical software for hospitals that he founded in 1995. Last July, Wilson stepped down as president and CEO, turning those tasks over to Paul Ruflin, but...

McKesson Chooses New President.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... McKesson Corp., San Francisco, announced that Pamela Pure will become president of the vendor's McKesson Information Solutions division on April 1, 2004. Pure, currently COO, will succeed Graham King, who is retiring. Copyright 2003...

Script Vendors Align with RxHub.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Four vendors of electronic prescription software have aligned with RxHub LLC, which operates a network enabling the electronic transmission of pharmacy claims and related transactions to payers. Three major pharmacy benefit management...

Feds Want National Surveillance Network.(U.S. government wants national computer network for bio terrorism detection)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The federal government wants to develop a national computer network designed to enable the early detection of bioterrorism attacks, the New York Times reported on Jan. 27. Initially, the project-which will collect symptomatic health data from...

First Consulting Buys Paragon Solutions.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... First Consulting Group Inc., Long Beach, Calif., has entered a definitive agreement to acquire Atlanta-based Paragon Solutions Inc., a vendor of enterprise software applications, for $4.25 million. In 2002, Paragon's revenues were about $8.1...

HealthVision Buys e-Script Vendor.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... HealthVision Inc., Irving, Texas, has acquired the electronic prescription technology of MEDeMORPHUS Healthcare Solutions Inc., a subsidiary of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., Santa Ana, Calif. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed....

Fiserv Buy Expands Payer Services.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Fiserv Inc., Brookfield, Wis., is a vendor of licensed and outsourced software and information technology services in the financial services and insurance industries. One of its health care offerings is providing third-party administration...

ER Decision Support System Launched.(Patient Care Technology Systems' new product)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Patient Care Technology Systems, Aliso Viejo, Calif., has released a clinical decision support system for emergency departments. The software, called the Amelior ED patient care system, is designed to offer a database of clinical information on...

Daou Offers New Services.(Daou Systems Inc.'s new vendor program)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Daou Systems Inc., an Exton, Pa.-based information technology consulting firm, has launched a vendor partner program, pledging to significantly cut the cost and implementation time of I.T. products. Initial vendors in the venture, called the...

Bush Wants HIPAA Enforcement Funds.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to receive $10 million in 2004)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services would receive $10 million in fiscal 2004 to begin activities related to enforcement of HIPAA's transactions and code sets, security and identifier rules, under President Bush's proposed budget for...

Stock Chart.(statistical list of health care software companies)
March 1, 2003... (part 1 of 3) Price Price as on a % of 52 Health care software companies 2/5/2003 Wk High ...

Health Care I.T. 1993-2003 And Beyond.(historical overview)
March 1, 2003... The story of information technology during the past decade is one of leaps and bounds. However, add the words "health care" before "information technology" and suddenly the story becomes one of fits and starts. Speed, though, is relative...

Electronic records: If not now, when?
March 1, 2003... Electronic data and digital images are increasingly common. Health care players are getting connected. Information systems are being integrated and becoming more sophisticated. So is the time finally right for that most elusive of...

The History of Networks in Health Care: Electronic data networking has evolved from humble beginnings in billing and supply ordering to a key role in business strategy.(overview of New York state hospitals' information management efforts)
March 1, 2003... A funny thing happened three years ago when North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System was designing its strategic business plan. Top management realized the organization's overall business plan and information technology strategic plan were...

HealthBridge Gets Charge Out of CHIN.(Community health information network)
March 1, 2003... CHIN. The seemingly innocuous acronym stands for community health information network. And Robert Steffel hates the word-if not the concept. Steffel is CEO of HealthBridge Inc., a Cincinnati-based organization that provides a regional...

Networking at the Brink.(IP telephony likely to gain favor)
March 1, 2003... Electronic data networking technology is hitting its stride today, thanks to the Internet and its related technologies, many vendor executives say. The technological future of networking is promising, potentially offering new ways of linking...

HIPAA's Long and Winding Road: History helps executives understand why their current work is important.(historical overview of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act)
March 1, 2003... In 1975, a group of health care providers and payers met to discuss creation of a standard hospital claim form. They named the group the National Uniform Billing Committee and worked until 1982 to reach consensus on what became known as the...

Vendors Find Opportunity in HIPAA.(Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... Providers and payers generally acknowledge the benefits of standardizing transactions and protecting the privacy and security of health data under provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Overall, however,...

Provider's Web Pages Get Personal: Cancer center's patient Web pages enable secure messaging and improve the treatment experience.(Univ. of Texas Anderson Cancer Center develops personalized web pages for patients)
March 1, 2003... Cancer. It's one of the most powerful words in the English language. So powerful that sometimes when people are told for the first time they have cancer, they don't hear anything that follows. That's one of the reasons caregivers at The...

The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston.(statistical list)
March 1, 2003... Ambulatory patients treated per day: 2,500 Beds: 400 Physicians and scientists conducting research: 900 Employees: 13,000 Annual revenue: $1.5 billion Copyright 2003 Thomson Media Inc. All Rights Reserved.

I.T. Helps Examine Payer's Expenses: An HMO uses predictive modeling software to analyze treatment costs.
March 1, 2003... Capital Health Plan is hoping information technology will ensure hindsight is 20/20 vision. Nearly two years ago, Tallahassee, Fla.-based Capital Health Plan-an affiliate of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida-integrated its member care and...

Take the Quick Poll...(Brief Article)
March 1, 2003... 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. www.healthdatamanagement.com Copyright 2003 Thomson...

Today's Lesson: Data Management: A medical school uses information management software via an ASP to keep tabs on residents.
March 1, 2003... A few years ago, managing medical residency data was a Herculean chore for the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine Consortium for Graduate Medical Education. The New York-based consortium is charged with coordinating medical education for...

Contracts Update.
March 1, 2003... 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 via electronic mail to:...

Do You Agree Or Disagree?(doctors opinions about the impact of the Internet upon heath care)
March 1, 2003... "The Internet has proven to be a useful tool to cut health care costs and boost revenue, but it will never live up to its hype as a 'paradigm-shifting' technology." AGREE. Barbara Boykin President, Oleen Healthcare Information...