Health Management Technology articles from January 2005

Health Management Technology archives from January 2005

NoP4NoP.(From the Editor)
January 1, 2005... With increasing national attention being paid to pay-for-performance (P4P) programs, an item crossed the transom last October that didn't gain as much attention as some of us P4P advocates thought it should. HealthPartners, a large...

IT key in AAFP model physician office.(HMT Exclusive)(American Academy of Family Physicians)
January 1, 2005... Information technology will play a critical role in a pilot project that will show how a new model of healthcare can improve quality, decrease costs and increase physician efficiency and income. The American Academy of Family Physicians...

Leapfrog survey: only 21 percent pass quality muster.(Patient Safety)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The Leapfrog Group's recent quality and safety survey of more than 1,000 hospitals shows that only 21 percent fully meet the standard for the Leapfrog Quality Index. The survey collects data on a hospital's progress in four categories:...

The best backup = no downtime.
January 1, 2005... El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, CA, is truly the "Hospital of Silicon Valley," where patients see and experience firsthand electronic medical records, wireless handheld devices and a hospital with 99 percent physician participation in...

FDA approves two RFID devices to improve patient safety.(RFID Technology)(Food and Drug Administration )(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The Food and Drug Administration last fall approved two RFID devices for use in healthcare: The SurgiChip and the VeriChip, both by Fla.-based companies. The SurgiChip, an external radio frequency identification tag, affixes like a bandage to...

Feds hold back millions on billion dollar concept.(IT Financing)(finance for Health maintenance organizations)
January 1, 2005... The year 2004 closed with a brouhaha brewing about the $46-million shortfall in funding Dr. Brailer's organization. Despite the Bush administration's promise of a high-tech future for healthcare, it failed to give but $4 million support to...

Minnesota alliance leverages healthcare IT for savings.(Health Plans)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Updated technology is a key to controlling healthcare costs, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty says. He's leading an alliance of state, business and labor groups, representing about 60 percent of the healthcare purchasers in the state, that will...

Wireless by design: three separate and dramatically different organizations made the decision to shed hard wires--and, in some cases, paper. All are at various stages in their wireless evolution, and all have been challenged to get their arms around a range of devices, individual work styles, implementations and platforms.(Wireless)(Duke University Health System)(Lexington Clinic)(San Diego County Public Health Services)
January 1, 2005... While many healthcare organizations are still debating the pros and cons of Web-based networks or whether they should convert their paper charts to electronic medical records, other organizations have already upgraded to wireless networks or...

Wireless hotlist.(Directory)
January 1, 2005... Devices, Hardware, Platform Highwall Technologies 1605 Main St., Ste. 1100 Sarasota, FL 34236 941-362-3502 Founded: 2002 Product: Highwall Enterprise 3.0 Hardware and software components to deliver WLAN monitoring...

Data at work: Maricopa County uses dedicated, online employer services from CIGNA HealthCare to streamline management of 16 health plans for employees.(Health Plans & Technology)
January 1, 2005... Picture this: You're the benefits manager of an organization that offers 16 health plans to more than 15,000 employees. That's one health plan for nearly every 1,000 employees. It's your job to steer the benefits ship--to ensure appropriate...

Mastering the supply chain: challenged with saving $30 million in 18 months, Illinois' largest IDN combine integrated business applications with organizationwide best practices.(Materials management: case history)
January 1, 2005... The demand for healthcare services has risen dramatically in recent years, and U.S. healthcare providers have responded by growing their businesses and making changes to address the national nursing shortage and stringent regulatory...

Shoring up for efficiency: a large Midwest IDN replaces its staff scheduling software to accommodate organizational growth and deliver proven financial gains.(Scheduling: case history)
January 1, 2005... With 60 percent of the average hospital's budget earmarked for labor costs, it isn't hard to understand the savings potential for organizations that automate employee-related information such as scheduling. Automating this labor-intensive,...

From the outside in: Boston Medical Center CIO Meg Aranow discusses the enterprise art of cultivating new IT initiatives.(The Corner Office)(Chief Information Officer )(Column)
January 1, 2005... e commonly herald the implementation of new info tech systems at healthcare organizations, and trade publications routinely run articles about such deployments. But behind the scenes, what does it take for those systems to first get on the...

Stop, look, listen--and click: allowing employees to use the Internet for personal interest is a risk, but DeKalb Medical Center keeps itself safe and secure with the help of software.(Security)
January 1, 2005... How far can strategic planning extend? How far can competitive advantage stretch? The correct answer is: pretty far. Healthcare organizations (HCOs) that have embraced information technology generally have done so across the board, with...

The one-stop shop for healthcare IT: the industry's largest trade show has something to offer for every attendee.(HIMSS 2005 Exhibitor Showcase)
January 1, 2005... For many exhibitors, attendees and media representatives, the annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Conference and Exhibition is a feeding frenzy of meetings and demonstrations squeezed into several intense days of...

Worth the wait: the choice of an EMR is one of the biggest a physician practice will make. C. Kerry Stratford, M.D., of St. George, Utah, performed the weighty due diligence necessary to make the right decision.(EMRs/EHRs)(electronic medical record)
January 1, 2005... When it comes to big-ticket items, selection can be arduous. For physician practices, selection of an electronic medical record (EMR) is one of the biggest decisions a practice can make, and it can't be made by the practice administrator. An...

If you build it (right), they will come: the physician-friendly CPOE: not everything works as planned right out of the box. A Mississippi hospital customizes its electronic order entry system for maximum use by physicians.(computerized physician order entry)
January 1, 2005... "If you build it, they will come," the famous line from the popular movie "Field of Dreams," has been the guiding principle behind efforts to implement computerized physician order entry (CPOE) at Forrest General Hospital (FGH), a 537-bed...

From electronic document management to EHR: Colorado healthcare system eliminates multiple manual processes and brings clinicians closer to instant data access with the right technology.(Document Management)(electronic health record)
January 1, 2005... When Banner Health's Colorado Region began drawing up plans for a new outpatient diagnostic center in 2001, the facilities ties staff kept asking me how much square footage to set aside for medical records processing in the new facility. My...

Slashing administrative waste: Pennsylvania medical group uses Web technology to reduce the expense of interacting with health plans.(Physician practice management: case history)
January 1, 2005... With today's rising healthcare costs, specialists are under the gun to save money wherever possible, while still providing top-notch care. Providers stagger under the weight of administrative loads generated by even small practices, while the...

Cerner Corp.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Cerner Corp. has signed an agreement to acquire VitalWorks Medical Division, a division of VitalWorks Inc., which provides private physician office information technology. VitalWorks' Medical Division, with primary offices in Birmingham, Ala.,...

Siemens Medical Solutions.(NewsMakers)(Holy Redeemer Health System)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Holy Redeemer Health System, located in Meadowbrook, Pa., and Siemens Medical Solutions have signed a multifaceted strategic alliance that makes Siemens the principal technology and service provider for Holy Redeemer for the next 10 years. Holy...

athenahealth Inc.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Horizon Medical Group, a provider of more than 40 MRI clinics in Texas, Georgia, Oklahoma, Florida and Ohio, has selected athenahealth, Waltham, Mass., for its revenue cycle management services, including electronic billing via the Internet,...

Pfizer Health Solutions Inc.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... California-based Molina Healthcare Inc., with health plans in California, Washington, Michigan, Utah and New Mexico, has expanded its disease management program in partnership with Pfizer Health Solutions (PHS). Molina care managers will use...

McKesson Health Solutions.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... In New Hampshire, the state Department of Health and Human Services will use McKesson Health Solutions disease management services for its Medicaid clients with asthma, diabetes, heart failure, coronary artery disease, COPD (chronic obstructive...

Eclipsys Corp.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Eclipsys Corp. plans to acquire eSys Medical Systems Inc., a radiology information system (RIS) company. A key driver for the acquisition was eSys Medical's RadioLogic product, a full-featured RIS designed to facilitate administration, workflow...

Appointments made easy: enterprise scheduling system allows New Jersey community hospital to decrease waiting times, reduce gaps between procedures and capture more registration information upfront.(Scheduling: what works)
January 1, 2005... Enterprise scheduling systems are designed to enhance revenue cycle management through more efficient and reliable billing, while also eliminating the organizational confusion of inadequate scheduling processes, which place great burdens on...

[A.sup.4] Health Systems.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Mississippi Baptist Medical Center, a Christian-based, nonprofit, comprehensive facility, has chosen [A.sup.4] Health Systems' HealthMatics ED, an emergency department information system, to automate its expanding emergency department. With...

Customer Potential Management (CPM) Marketing Group.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Illinois-based Advocate Health Care designed patient retention programs for its health centers and medical group with the help of Customer Potential Management (CPM) Marketing Group. Using Lifetime Connections (LTC), a customizable, automated...

Vericept Corp.(NewsMakers)(Gwinnett Hospital System)
January 1, 2005... Gwinnett Hospital System, a 479-bed not-for-profit healthcare network in Lawrenceville, Ga., selected Vericept Corp. to protect the health information of its 386,327 patients, in compliance with HIPAA. The risk management system, expected to be...

Medstat.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) has selected Medstat, a unit of The Thomson Corp., as the sole decision-support resource within its vendor affinity program, AHIP Solutions. Medstat, known for providing research services, benchmark...

RelayHealth Corp.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... UCLA Medical Group will offer its patients online healthcare--including webVisit consultations--via RelayHealth's secure service. The new suite of online healthcare communication services, which enables patients and their doctors to resolve...

Ultimus.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Cary, N.C.-based Ultimus and its Ultimus BPM Suite was the choice for ProHealth Care, an integrated healthcare delivery system in Wisconsin. The healthcare system includes multiple hospitals and primary care clinics and has more than 700...

Awarix.(NewsMakers)(St. Vincent's Hospital, Birmingham, Ala., has chosen a capacity management solution from Awarix)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... In Birmingham, Ala., St. Vincent's Hospital has chosen a capacity management solution from Awarix, also headquartered in Birmingham. The contract value exceeds $3 million over the next five years, but St. Vincent's anticipates a return on...

Control over claims: California healthcare organization uses IT to cut its claims preprocessing and turnaround times from 40 days to five business days and simultaneously achieves system ROI in nine months.(Claims/coding: what works)
January 1, 2005... Sometimes outsourcing saves the day, but not always. Other times, an organization is better served by drilling down to find a technology solution that is almost custom-fitted to its particular needs. Southern California Physicians Managed Care...

AmerisourceBergen Corp.(NewsMakers)(Fort Madison Community Hospital)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Fort Madison Community Hospital, a 50-bed hospital, has installed AmerisourceBergen Technology Group's BridgeMedPoint bar code point-of-care system to help hospital staff improve medication, transfusions, specimen collection safety and...

Digitech.(NewsMakers)(Digitech Computer Inc. signs with Our Lady of Mercy Healthcare System)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... In New York, Our Lady of Mercy Healthcare System has signed with Digitech Computer Inc., Briarcliff Manor, N.Y., for comprehensive billing and collections services for all ambulance transports operated by Our Lady of Mercy Hospital. The...

Misys Healthcare Systems.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Raleigh, N.C.-based Misys Healthcare Systems recently announced 17 physician practices that have selected the Misys EMR, part of the Misys Optimum family of products. Among the 17 are: Elmira, N.Y.-based Arnot Ogden Medical Center; Tidewater...

Eastman Kodak Company, Health Imaging Group.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Kodak Company's Health Imaging Group for the DIN-PACS II contract under which the DoD, Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, federal civilian agencies and the Department of Veterans Affairs purchase advanced medical imaging and information...

Permabit.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Good Samaritan Community Healthcare, a private medical center located in Seattle, has selected Permabit's Permeon software to archive and retrieve digitized radiology images. Good Samaritan chose Permabit's software for a 5 TB installation,...

GE Healthcare.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Skaggs Community Health Center, a 132-bed community-owned and supported healthcare facility based in Branson, Mo., signed a seven-year product agreement with GE Healthcare. Twelve products to be installed over a two-year time frame include:...

NovaRad.(NewsMakers)(Ferry County Memorial Hospital)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Ferry County Memorial Hospital, a 25-bed hospital in Republic, Wash., has signed a three-year contract with Utah-based NovaRad for NovaPACS. The installation of NovaPACS will render the hospital 100 percent filmless, enabling its radiologists...

Confidential computer display.(New Products & Services)
January 1, 2005... The 3M Privacy Monitor allows data commonly identified as restricted, private or protected to be better controlled with regard to display security. The microlouver technology of its Vikuiti Light Control Film restricts the 17-inch, active...

Integrated EMR and lab systems.(New Products & Services)
January 1, 2005... Users of AcerMed's electronic medical records suite can provide patients with lab results anytime and automatically receive verification reports as a result of the bidirectional integration between the EMR suite and JulySoft's LabRetriever....

SATA-based NAS filer.(New Products & Services)
January 1, 2005... Suitable for telecommunications, imaging, remittance posting, unified messaging, Internet filtering and blade server storage, the NetFORCE 700L is a serial ATA-based NAS filer that lets workgroups, departments and small organizations...

Internet-enabled HIM suite.(New Products & Services)
January 1, 2005... The eWebHealth Suite of applications for electronic health information management provides secure, on-demand access to medical records via the Internet. Its components include: eWebView, which offers long-term chart viewing and storage for...

A/R management software.(New Products & Services)
January 1, 2005... ManageMed version 2.0 is a comprehensive accounts receivable management application designed to improve existing practice management systems to compress the overall time frame required to collect the entire balance due from the patient, as well...

Enterprise BPM Suite.(New Products & Services)
January 1, 2005... SmartBPM Suite utilizes a set of features that lets organizations model, simulate, execute, monitor and analyze the results of their critical business practices and processes. Features include: linking multiple tasks within electronic covers,...

Web-based call center software.(New Products & Services)
January 1, 2005... Designed to maintain central control of a virtual call center, eTelescript provides the flexibility to maximize the potential of home agents, remote call centers and global calling campaigns by featuring a browser-based, interactive agent...

Entry-level server for SMBs.(New Products & Services)
January 1, 2005... The ProLiant ML150 G2 is an entry-level, dual-processor server designed for workgroups and small- to medium-sized businesses. Its highly expandable chassis provides plenty of room for growth, and it provides limited network downtime via...

Integrated WLAN security system.(New Products & Services)
January 1, 2005... Managed Security is integrated WLAN management software that enables organizations to plan, deploy, secure, monitor and maintain the entire wireless system, from networks to POC devices, while preserving and safeguarding existing infrastructure...

PC-compatible videoconferencing.(New Products & Services)
January 1, 2005... Using the Video Telephony Solution: Desktop Edition, office- and home-based employees, as well as remote and mobile personnel, can logon to the business network via a PC or laptop and make video calls that can be transferred, muted or placed on...

EPA chief becomes head of HHS.(Federal Healthcare Leadership)(Environmental Protection Agency )(Health and Human Services)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Environmental Protection Agency chief Michael Leavitt will replace Tommy Thompson as secretary of Health and Human Services. Leavitt, 53, Utah's governor for 11 years before joining the Bush administration in late 2003, will lead one of the...

CPOE: not the first step toward patient safety.(Thought Leaders)(computerized physician order entry)
January 1, 2005... "To Err is Human," the landmark Institute of Medicine (IOM) report from 1999, successfully highlighted the enormous problem of patient safety. Unfortunately, since its publication, not much has been accomplished. A recent analysis of...