Health Management Technology articles from December 2004

Health Management Technology archives from December 2004

Holiday seasoning.(From the Editor)(Editorial)
December 1, 2004... If doctors and hospitals treated patients the way PR agencies treat editors, there would be a lot more dead people. Here's an abbreviated physician/ hospital scenario. I go to my doctor with knee pain. He says, "You need to see an...

IPA wins EMR-patient safety grant.(Patient Safety)(independent practice association)(electronic medical records)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) awarded a New York independent practice association (IPA) a $1.5 million patient safety grant to assist them in deploying a Web-based portal incorporating an electronic medical records (EMR)...

Unhappy anniversary: poor progress on patient safety.(Patient Safety)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Patient safety initiatives are underway at scores of healthcare facilities, but pressure is building again because of lack of sufficient progress in the five years since the 1999 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report first identified the magnitude...

Percent dropping, but e-mails still show PHI content.(Security & privacy: HMT exclusive)(protected health information)
December 1, 2004... Two percent of the e-mail messages sent by employees in payer and provider organizations contain protected health information (PHI), as defined by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), according to a new analysis...

Correction.(Industry Watch)(Correction Notice)
December 1, 2004... In the September 2005 issue of Health Management Technology, in a case history emanating from Exempla Healthcare, the Synapse version 3.0 PACS product was incorrectly identified as a Fujitsu product. Synapse 3.0 is a product of FUJIFILM Medical...

Vendors using standards in software design; buyers lag behind.(HER Initiative Update)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Ninety-seven percent of healthcare IT vendors are familiar with and 61 percent use the HL7 EHR draft standard to guide the design of their electronic health record (EHR) software products, according to a survey released in November. Despite...

HIPAA call-in roundtable set for Dec. 15.(Briefly)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), when reaffirming the HIPAA Security rules compliance date of April 20, 2005, also announced its 18th HIPAA Implementation Roundtable conference call will focus on the HIPAA National Provider...

Blue Cross pushes for Mass EMR.(Briefly)(electronic medical record)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Massachusetts plans to "donate" $50 million to catalyze the development of a statewide electronic medical record system, according to a report in the Boston Globe. The health plan expects the seed money will be...

$ecurity Support Services spending to skyrocket.(Briefly)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Spending for security software support services in the U.S. will climb from $551 million in 2003 to $808 million in 2008, according to a new study from IDC. Unlike other parts of the infrastructure, such as servers and storage, most IT...

Drug database upgrades for patient safety.(Briefly)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Wolters Kluwer Health, a drug database provider, has become the first company to comply with JCAHO standards for the National Patient Safety Goal 2b. This goal directs the removal of medical abbreviations deemed as dangerous from drug databases...

The keys to identity: as healthcare organizations strive for greater security, some are using a very personal approach in the form of biometrics.(Security/Authentication)(Cover Story)
December 1, 2004... The need to be HIPAA-compliant and address patient privacy concerns is driving many healthcare organizations to adopt greater security standards. Passwords and personal identification numbers (PINs) are ubiquitous, as are swipeable ID cards and...

The heart of efficiency: for the Nebraska Heart Institute Heart Hospital, an all-digital infrastructure drives positive clinical, financial and patient satisfaction outcomes, allowing staff to focus on patient care, not paperwork.(Clinical Information Systems)
December 1, 2004... Moments after a cardiovascular surgeon at the Nebraska Heart Institute Heart Hospital (NHH) completes a quadruple bypass, he is bedside with the patient's family--in the only room the patient will be assigned to--navigating a digital X-ray...

Running in place? With IT budgets still lagging and both patient safety and legislative mandates knocking at their doors, healthcare CIOs remain challenged to deliver solutions that fill the many bills of internal audiences.(CIO Survey)
December 1, 2004... Each year for the past six, Health Management Technology has surveyed the top IT guns at hospitals, clinics and health plans throughout the U.S. Each year, we pick the brains of technology leaders to learn what's shaping their daily activities...

Shared goals demand shared data: bringing together payer and provider information can help both sides reach cost and quality goals.(Data Warehousing/Mining)
December 1, 2004... Discussions about the U.S. healthcare system tend to be complex and polarized. One side says providers are consumed with providing quality care, but have no regard for costs. Another side says insurers and HMOs care only about wringing costs...

Paradigm shift in the lab: the solution-centric LIS: clinical labs driven to grow their business through outreach are faced with multiple challenges.(Laboratory Information Systems)
December 1, 2004... Since the advent of the computer revolution, clinical laboratories have been early adopters of information technology. Computers, hardware and software have been integral to conducting and managing the testing process, as well as reporting and...

Wireless technology empowers physicians: Ohio hospital system improves patient care by allowing physicians secure access to critical data from any location.(Wireless)(Akron General Health System)
December 1, 2004... Akron General Health System Akron, in Ohio, is transforming the way physicians make rounds--literally lightening their loads with wireless PCs and portal technology. The implementation has reduced the paperwork that physicians must carry with...

Flexibility all: Spokane-based Health Care Associates expands its offerings using a unique model of consumer- and provider-centric plans.(Health Plans & Technology)
December 1, 2004... The rules governing managed care are rapidly changing. Cracks have appeared in the strict guidelines that once locked employees into plans where a gate-keeping primary care physician had sole control over referrals to specialists. Today...

CRM grows up: CRM can transform the role and financial impact of healthcare organizations' marketing initiatives.(Customer Relationship Management)
December 1, 2004... When customer relationship management CRM) came on the health scene approximately six years ago, some viewed it with skepticism and primarily saw it as a way to refine rather than reinvent marketing. More progressive marketers adopted the CRM...

Home care management system.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Based on Microsoft .NET technology, AC-CURA.NET is a home care management system with an integrated suite of product, support, education and purchasing alternatives. It can manage the financial and clinical aspects of both single or multiple...

Improved claims processing.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... MediClaim 9.0 is the latest version of the high-volume, high-accuracy medical claims processing content capture software. Replacing manual data entry of standardized healthcare information forms such as HCFA-1500 and UB-92 with paper-to-digital...

Time-saving document management.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Rapid Document Design allows organizations to leverage their investment in existing forms and documents by converting them directly into granular, editable documents for use in Optio DesignStudio. It can utilize both electronic documents...

Denial management tool.(New Products & Services)
December 1, 2004... ClickOn Revenue Recovery Manager is an intranet, Web-based application that manages claims denials by reporting and analyzing denials, identifying patterns, evaluating the financial impact and facilitating a workflow to manage and appeal...

All-in-one 'touchcomputer'.(New Products & Services)
December 1, 2004... Usable as a desktop or wall-mountable system, the 1525L combines a 15-inch, color, TFT active matrix LCD touchmonitor with a computer that operates silently and without a fan. The device includes a choice of IntelliTouch Surface Wave or...

Disparate input-based EMR.(New Products & Services)(Electron Paramagnetic Resonance)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Digital Patient Folder (DPF), a key component of the XML-based Vianeta Harmony e-health information management platform, gives a complete electronic patient record by gathering its information from a variety of platforms and sources, including...

Coding, charting software for office.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Designed for family practice, OB/GYN, orthopedics and urgent care physicians, CodoniXnotes for the Office replaces traditional dictation or handwritten notes with an EMR that meets HIPAA regulations. It captures all relevant patient history,...

HIPAA compliance aid.(New Products & Services)
December 1, 2004... The HIPAA Regulatory Compliance Management Module, an integrated add-on application for Consul InSight Security Manager version 5.0, helps organizations deal with the HIPAA's Security Rule's audit and risk assessment requirements by continually...

Cost accounting system.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Enterprise Cost Manager (ECM) is a Web-based cost accounting tool that uses an organization's data to determine the cost involved with providing patient care. Data are extracted from source systems, including general ledger, payroll, materials...

Payer performance analysis.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Payment Cycle Report (PCR), an enhancement to the athenaCollector revenue cycle management service, provides medical groups with detailed monthly report information regarding payment cycle times specific to the practice's payers. It embeds...

Duplicate records reconciliation.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Accessible via any Web browser, N-Mend is an ASP application that automates the process of correcting errors in electronic health records via a secure, encrypted, password-protected connection. During the data analysis phase of an MPI cleanup,...

Comprehensive EHR suite.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Intergy EHR is a suite of applications that provides physicians with access to patient information, clinical systems, encounter documentation and outcomes reporting from a single view at the point of care. Its modular design enables physicians...

Amisys Synertech.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... During fourth quarter 2004, Amisys Synertech, Rockville, Md., completed beta testing for its AMISYS Advance Release 2 software for payers with Health Advantage, the largest and oldest HMO in Arkansas and an affiliate of Arkansas Blue Cross and...

Initiate Systems Inc.(News Makers)(Sparrow Health System, Michigan)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Michigan-based Sparrow Health System, a 687-bed teaching hospital that serves nearly 100,000 enrollees, has successfully deployed Initiate Identify Hub software and Initiate Data Quality Remediation Services to improve its electronic master...

Omnicell Inc.(News Makers)(St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center, Missoula, Montana)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... St. Patrick Hospital and Health Sciences Center in Missoula, Mont., has selected Omnicell's OptiFlex product for its operating rooms and catheterization lab for charge capture and inventory management capability. St. Patrick anticipates being...

Picis.(News Makers)(University of Virginia Health System installs Picis CareSuite Critical Care Manager)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The University of" Virginia Health System (UVAHS) in Charlottesville, Va., will install Picis CareSuite Critical Care Manager to automate data flow and workflow for its 106 critical care beds. UVAHS uses IDX as its hospital information system....

Exavera Technologies Inc.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Mt. Ascutney Hospital, a community hospital in Windsor, Vt., and part of the VHA alliance, is piloting Exavera's eShepherd, a product that combines a high-speed Wi-Fi network with its RFID patient bracelets, staff badges and asset tags. The...

Kodak.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai Medical Center has purchased Eastman Kodak's DIRECTVIEW PACS System 5 from Kodak's Health Imaging Group, which will eventually manage most of the organization's 380,00 annual imaging exams. Kodak's Professional...

Misys Healthcare Systems.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Arnot Health, comprised of Arnot Ogden Medical Center and Arnot Medical Services, in Elmira, N.Y., has selected the Misys EMR clinical software for ambulatory practices for its affiliated physician group. Options are in the contract to also...

MedAptus.(News Makers)(point of charge documentation in cancer centre)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston will install mobile charge capture and dictation software from MedAptus Inc., Boston. Charges in Hand, for point-of-care charge capture, and Notes in Hand, for POC documentation,...

Siemens Medical Solutions.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Siemens Medical Solutions has won the Frost & Sullivan Healthcare Information Technology Company of the Year award for 2004. Siemens was commended for its work in imaging and diagnostics, and for implementing clinical systems with high...

Benefitfocus.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas has selected Benefitfocus.com Inc. to help it offer Internet-based enrollment technology to a group of employers for their fall 2005 open enrollments.

IQMAX.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinics in Los Angeles and other Southern California communities has selected IQSpeak, a PDA-based mobile dictation solution, from IQMAX Inc., Charlotte, N.C., for their staff of 18 orthopedists. The medical practice is...

IntelliCare.(News Makers)(Children's Hospital of Wisconsin)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Children's Hospital of Wisconsin has elected to outsource its after-hours triage and physician support services to IntelliCare, based in South Portland, Maine. IntelliCare will provide services to nine affiliated practices and expects to handle...

The TriZetto Group.(News Makers)(Facets administrative software)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... The TriZetto Group Inc., based in Newport Beach, Calif., is letting health plans try out its Facets administrative software using their own claims data, existing systems and business processes before they buy. The opportunity comes from...

Emergisoft.(News Makers)(Garden City Hospital, Michigan)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Michigan's 323-bed Garden City Hospital has chosen Emergisoft to enhance the efficiency of its emergency department through the use of new patient tracking and medical documentation technologies that will create a completely electronic...

Enterprise Performance Systems Inc.(News Makers)(Union Hospital, Terre Haute, Indiana)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Enterprise Budget Manager, a financial decision support system from Enterprise Performance Systems Inc. (EPSi), was the choice of 343-bed Union Hospital, Terre Haute, Ind. The hospital selected this software because it wants to support a...

Aetna.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna has won the Disease Management Association of America's Health Plan Disease Management Leadership Award for its efforts to address racial and ethnic disparities in healthcare. Aetna launched a multifaceted program in...

Per-Se Technoloqies.(News Makers)(Holy Family Medical Center, Des Plaines, Illinois)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... A team of emergency medicine experts from Alpharetta, Ga-based Per-Se Technologies will manage documentation, coding and collections for the emergency medical department of Holy Family Medical Center, a 184-bed hospital in Des Plaines, Ill....

Landacorp.(News Makers)(WellChoice Inc.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... WellChoice Inc., the parent company of Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield, is awaiting customized versions of medical management software maxMC and e-maxMC from Louisville, Ky.-based Landacorp, an SHPS company, to use in its case management and care...

Eclipsys Corp.(News Makers)(Catholic Medical Center, Manchester, New Hampshire)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Eclipsys Corp., based in Boca Raton, Fla., announced that Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, N.H., has selected its Sunrise Clinical Manager XA with Medication Management and Nursing Care software to enhance its patient safety initiatives....

Coventry Health Care.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Bethesda, Md.-based Coventry Health Care, a managed care company, recently completed its acquisition of OmniCare Health Plan with 63,000 Medicaid members and annual revenues of $150 million. Shortly thereafter, Coventry Health Care announced...

ZixCorp.(News Makers)(University Hospitals Health System, Cleveland, Ohio)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Cleveland's University Hospitals Health System, a healthcare delivery system with eight wholly owned hospitals and four partner hospitals, has signed a five-year contract with ZixCorp as its e-mail security provider. ZixVPM (Virtual Private...

Tumbleweed Communications.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Arkansas Children's Hospital has chosen Redwood City, Calif-based Tumbleweed Communications' Email Firewall for its network resources, critical information protection and potential cost savings from spam elimination and eradication of e-mail...

Vistaar Technoloqies Inc.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Mountainside Hospital in Montclair, N.J., has completed a rollout of ACOMS (Acute Care Operations Management System) from Vistaar Technologies Inc.-Healthcare Solutions division, Parsippany, N.J. The demand/capacity management software was...

diCarta Inc.(News Makers)(UC Davis Health System)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... California-based UC Davis Health System, including UC Davis Medical Center, UC Davis School of Medicine and a 550-member physician group, has selected diCarta Contracts from diCarta Inc. as its contract management solution. More than 100...

MEDai Inc.(News Makers)(BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee (BCBSTN) has selected Risk Navigator Clinical from Orlando, Fla.-based MEDai Inc. for use in identifying members for possible inclusion in their disease management programs. BCBSTN is the largest nonprofit...

StayWell.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Covenant Health System in West Texas and eastern New Mexico has subscribed to Krames On-Demand, a print-on-demand healthcare resource from StayWell. The service allows physicians and nurses to instantly choose and personalize healthcare...

MDaniwhere and MobiHealth.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... MDanywhere Technologies Inc. and MobiHealth Inc. have merged. The combined entity will continue to be known as MDanywhere Technologies, and MobiHealth will be operated as a division of MDanywhere. The merger combines practice management and...

ProVation Medical Inc.(News Makers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2004... Minnesota-based Fairview Health Services, already a ProVation customer, has expanded its use of the company's products to included ProVation MD software for gastroenterology documentation and coding at Fairview Ridges Hospital and Fairview...

Pay for performance.(Industry Watch)(Integrated Healthcare Association )
December 1, 2004... One of the nation's most comprehensive pay for performance plans, operated by California's Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA), a group of California health plans, physician groups and healthcare systems, wrapped up a first year by ringing...

Finding common ground.(Thought Leaders)
December 1, 2004... The invitation was both unexpected and unusual. Would I come to the Capitol and have dinner with half a dozen health leaders in the Senate majority leader's office? The attendee list was even more interesting, including Senators Bill Frist and...