Health Management Technology articles from August 2008

Health Management Technology archives from August 2008

Lowered expectations.(From the Editor)(United States. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(usage of telemedicine)
August 1, 2008... It's been a long time since I expected anything other than glossed over, sound bite journalism from the mainstream media, so Good Morning America's sophomoric May 28 "report" titled "Does Telemedicine Work?" really shouldn't distress me, but...

CCHIT to certify PHRs.(Certification Commission for Health Information Technology)(personal health records)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) has begun development of its 2009 certification program by announcing the formation of a personal health records (PHR) advisory task force. This is in addition to its 10...

Medication reconciliation inaccuracies.(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Medication reconciliation takes center stage again as a new study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine shows mounting inaccuracies, particularly for trauma patients in rural populations. The study, titled, "Medication Reconciliation in...

$15.5 million rural broadband network grant.(Telehealth/Telemedicine)(United States. Federal Communications Commission finances University of New Mexico's Health Sciences Center to build telecommunications network to provide telemedicine services to rural areas)
August 1, 2008... The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has awarded a $15.5 million grant to the Center for Telehealth and Cybermedicine Research at the University of New Mexico's Health Sciences Center to design, build, operate and evaluate the Southwest...

Ohio hospitals expand telemedicine.(Telehealth/Telemedicine)(Ohio Supercomputer Center )(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... A central Ohio telemedicine project will expand its reach in serving the southeast part of the state as well as parts of Virginia. Last year, Ohio Telemedicine formed a partnership with the Division of Neonatology at Nationwide Children's...

RFID EMI poses medical equipment hazard.(Hospitals and IDNs)(radio frequency identification devices)(electromagnetic interference )
August 1, 2008... A recent study published in the June 24 edition of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows findings of possible patient risk due to interference between radio frequency identification devices (RFID) and some medical...

Final certification criteria published.(Government and Health IT)(Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) has published its approved final criteria for certification of inpatient and emergency department (ED) electronic health record (EHR) products, as well as an enterprise...

Subcommittee approves HIT legislation.(Government and Health IT)(United States. Congress. House. Subcommittee on Health)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The Subcommittee on Health recently approved H.R. 6357, the "Protecting Records, Optimizing Treatment, and Easing Communication through Healthcare Technology Act of 2008" or the PRO(TECH)T Act, which was forwarded to the full Committee by voice...

HHS considers including genetic data in EHRs.(Government and Health IT)(United States. Department of Health and Human Services)(electronic health records )(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The American Health Information Community (AHIC) is recommending that the federal government prepare for a future health IT landscape that includes storage of genetic data within electronic health records (EHRs) and personal health records...

Proposed controlled substance ePrescribing rule.(ePrescribing)(United States. Drug Enforcement Administration)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has proposed a rule that will allow for controlled substances to be ordered electronically, thereby permitting pharmacies to receive, dispense and archive these electronic prescriptions, according to...

John Halamka, M.D., MS.(Q&A: The Healthcare CIO)(CareGroup Healthcare System)(Interview)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] John Halamka, M.D., MS CIO, CareGroup Healthcare System John Halamka is responsible for all clinical, financial, administrative and academic information technology serving 3,000 doctors, 14,000 employees and 2...

Transforming healthcare: a top U.S. hospital implements CPOE and improves patient safety while dramatically reducing turn-around time.(Clinical Information Systems: CPOE)(computerized physician order entry )
August 1, 2008... Denver Health and Hospital Authority (Denver Health) ranks in the top 5 percent of U.S. Hospitals in terms of size and provides care for more than 160,000 individual patients--one out of every four people in Denver. The organization comprises a...

Protecting the pharmaceutical supply chain: ensuring an unbroken supply of pharmaceuticals can save lives during times of disaster.(Supply Chain/Materials Management)
August 1, 2008... Health information executives have a moral imperative to lead our nation in ensuring individuals have access to essential prescription drugs in the aftermath of catastrophes. The potential disaster-related death toll from predicted breaches in...

Web welcome mat: a pediatrics practice updates its Web site to maximize patient and provider communications.(Case History: Customer Relationship Management)(Chapel Hill Pediatrics and Adolescents's initiative as to upgrade their websites.)
August 1, 2008... In an increasingly competitive and consumer-driven healthcare environment, members of the executive team at Chapel Hill Pediatrics and Adolescents in North Carolina realized that they had a great resource at their fingertips--their Web site. At...

High availability server.(Special Section: Hardware: Servers and Network Technology)
August 1, 2008... Routers, switches, servers... the nuts and bolts of every data center--regardless of architecture complexity--it all begins here. This quarter's Hardware section features infrastructure several of the key players. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Comprehensive branch solution.(Special Section: Hardware: Servers and Network Technology)
August 1, 2008... The Citrix Branch Repeater is a comprehensive branch solution that can optimize application delivery from the Citrix Delivery Center and beyond, while simultaneously providing key native Windows branch infrastructure services. Paired with...

Modular, intelligent architecture router.(Special Section: Hardware: Servers and Network Technology)
August 1, 2008... The Cisco 12000 Series routers provide the IT/IS department the ability to rapidly deploy new services that can generate new revenue--and reduce capital and operating expenses. The flexibility to scale the 12000 Series from 2.5 Gbps to n x 10...

Non-stop architecture.(Special Section: Hardware: Servers and Network Technology)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Utilizing Intel processors and a performance-oriented architecture that runs relational database and transaction processing software, the HP Integrity NonStop NBS0000c BladeSystem utilizes a number of...

Manageable blade server.(Special Section: Hardware: Servers and Network Technology)
August 1, 2008... The Dell PowerEdge M600 is a two-socket blade server that offers up to two Dual-Core or Quad-Core Intel Xeon 5000 Sequence processors, an Intel 5000P chipset, and memory support of up to 8 x FB-DIMMs (667MHz). Supported operating systems...

Optimized OSM.(Special Section: Hardware: Servers and Network Technology)
August 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The 3Com Switch 5500G Open Services Module (OSM) provides up to 56 gigabit layer 2/3/4 switched ports per switch and up to 448 gigabit ports per stack. The OSM is equipped with four dual-purpose ports on each switch...

Chassis-based switch.(Special Section: Hardware: Servers and Network Technology)
August 1, 2008... The Force10 Networks C-Series Switches deliver reliability, network control and scalability for high performance Ethernet environments and high-density gigabit Ethernet (GbE) aggregation for distribution into a multiple Gbps or 10 GbE backbone....

Real-time HAI tracking service.(Products and Services)
August 1, 2008... Cardinal Health developed the MedMined Data Mining Surveillance Service to automatically identify patterns indicative of specific and correctable quality breakdowns, such as hospital-acquired infections. The new MRSA Scorecard provides a...

Customized message feature.(Products and Services)
August 1, 2008... The American TeleCare Provider/Patient Home Telehealth System from American TeleCare Inc. (ATI) now offers providers that use ATI's LifeView Provider Station the ability to post customized messages and reminders that patients see on the screens...

Care Management Software update.(Products and Services)
August 1, 2008... McKesson has updated its CareEnhance Clinical Management Software suite (CCMS) with version 4.0 that expands remote care coordination capabilities for care managers and health plan nurses working in the field on tablet PCs or laptops. The new...

CDHP support.(Products and Services)
August 1, 2008... HealthRules Payor 3.0 is an updated version of the popular claims processing software by HealthEdge. The update includes a fully-integrated solution for managing and processing consumer-directed health plans (CDHP). It provides payers the...

Color multifunction printer.(Products and Services)
August 1, 2008... The Xerox Phaser 8560MFP offers several innovative features for increasing the efficiency of document production processes as well as improving document quality. A unique solid ink color technology produces brilliant color output with no...

Supply chain tool update.(Products and Services)
August 1, 2008... The new version of SupplyFocus by Premier Inc. provides comprehensive reports focusing on more than 40 indicators for measuring cost and operational performance against peer groups. Multiple peer groups can now be used on the same report,...

MPV.(NewsMakers)(State of Franklin Healthcare Associates, Novant Medical Group and Greenville Hospital Corp. contracted with Medical Present Value Inc. )(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Three multispecialty groups contracted with Medical Present Value Inc. (MPV) to improve their payer contract oversight. The 1,200-provider Novant Medical Group, headquartered in Charlotte, N.C.; the 325-provider Greenville Hospital System,...

Trinity Health.(NewsMakers)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... A $315 million process improvement initiative underway among 12 Trinity Health hospital systems is shortening medication turnaround time, reducing lengths of stay, and improving quality of care. The initiative, known as Genesis, includes...

Phytel.(NewsMakers)(Holy Family Memorial using Proactive Patient Outreach product from Phytel Co.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Wisconsin-based Holy Family Memorial selected the Proactive Patient Outreach product from automated patient-follow-up process solutions provider Phytel. The product integrates with the healthcare network's existing technology, including...

e-Health Global Technologies.(NewsMakers)(HKS Medical Information Systems Inc. partnered with eHealth Global Technologies )(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... HKS Medical Information Systems Inc. and eHealth Global Technologies are partnering to offer a fully integrated solution to streamline medical record management for organ transplant units. The Organ Transplant Tracking Record and eHealthConnect...

Design Clinicals.(NewsMakers)(Myrtue Medical Center contracted with Design Clinicals )(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Myrtue Medical Center is implementing the MedsTracker software from Design Clinicals to improve medication management for patients and to exceed The Joint Commission's national Patient safety goals for medication reconciliation. Myrtue Medical...

D2 Sales.(NewsMakers)(UW Health)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... UW Health is deploying the My Patient Passport Express kiosks from D2 Sales as part of a pilot program that began last year. The first kiosks are operating at the UW Health West Clinic and offer its patients a quick and private way to check in...

Life:WIRE.(NewsMakers)(CPM Health Centres Inc. and WIRE Corp. )(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... CPM Health Centres Inc. is using mobile communications and wireless health information solutions from Toronto-based Life:WIRE Corp. for improving clinical outcomes, care management and pharmaceutical adherence. Care managers at CPM use the...

ScImage.(NewsMakers)(Broadlane Inc.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2008... Supply chain services company Broadlane awarded ScImage a 3-year contract for its muhi-department picture archiving and communications system for radiology, cardiology and other image-producing healthcare system departments. The agreement...

If you build it, don't expect them to come: there's a problem with imposing top-down HIEs on localized healthcare communities. They may not work.(Thought Leaders)(health information exchanges )
August 1, 2008... One interesting problem with health information exchanges (HIE), as we know them today, starts with the implied promise in the name itself. There is little to no focus on actual information exchange; rather, most HIEs are about consolidating...