Health Management Technology articles from July 2004

Health Management Technology archives from July 2004

Show me the money?(From The Editor)(electronic health records)
July 1, 2004... Call it what you like: the electronic health record (EHR), electronic medical record or computerized patient record. Regardless of your preference, this particular technology has probably gone from gee-whiz status to no-brainer status faster...

Healthcare IT budgets earn modest boost.(IT Spending)
July 1, 2004... Two-thirds of healthcare providers say they will increase IT spending by 10 percent within the next two years, according to industry analysts. Yet that figure represents a marginal increase in healthcare IT budgets, which typically account for...

RFID-based wireless ID system unveiled.(RFID Technology)(eShepherd bracelets)(Exavera Technologies)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Portsmouth, N.H.-based wireless startup Exavera Technologies has rolled out its first product: a software and hard ware platform using both Wi-Fi and RFID technologies. eShepherd combines a high-speed Wi-Fi network with the Vera T Series,...

CHT initiative pushes for stronger systems.(IT Advocacy)(The Center for Health Transformation)(Health Information Technology Initiative)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A watchdog group has launched what it calls a major 21st century IT initiative to spur a more technology-savvy healthcare system. The Center for Health Transformation (CHT) recently introduced the Interoperable Health Information Technology...

Panel issues e-prescribing guidelines for providers.(e-Prescribing)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A RAND-sponsored expert panel has developed a set of guidelines to help healthcare providers select an electronic prescribing system and develop e-prescribing policy. Specifically, the panel recommended that e-prescribing systems should...

The best backup = no downtime.(El Camino Hospital)
July 1, 2004... El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, CA, is truly the "Hospital of Silicon Valley," where patients experience firsthand electronic medical records, wireless handheld devices and a hospital with 99 percent physician participation in CPOE. ...

CAQH credentialing database gains endorsements.(Provider Credentialing)(Universal Credentialing DataSource,)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... UnitedHealthcare, a nationwide, major health network, recently joined the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare's (CAQH) Universal Credentialing DataSource, an online service to help physicians and other providers submit required...

Groups seek standard, widespread use of UPNs.(Supply Chain)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Providers, suppliers and group purchasing organizations participating in Global Healthcare Exchange (GHX) have launched a collaborative initiative to expand the use of universal product numbers (UPNs) in the healthcare supply chain. The...

Home care nurses go digital.(The Boston Public Health Commission)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Home care nurses go digital. The Boston Public Health Commission will equip select home care nurses with Logitech io Digital Pens to record and upload patient information. Nurses in the Healthy Baby/ Healthy Child program will use the pens to...

Societies offer dual membership.(Society for Health Systems)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Societies offer dual membership. The Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and the Society for Health Systems (SHS) said they would offer a dual membership option. Effective May 1, 2005, healthcare professionals who want to...

Medicare prescription benefits site launched.(WebMD Health)(Medicare Rx Benefits Resource Center)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Medicare prescription benefits site launched. WebMD Health recently launched a Medicare Rx Benefits Resource Center that offers information on the new prescription drug benefits and a portal to the Medicare Web site to verify eligibility for...

Online provider directory launched.(myDNA Media Inc)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Online provider directory launched. myDNA Media Inc. has published a beta version of its Internet Yellow Pages directory containing more than 1.8 million healthcare providers and businesses. Users can search by ZIP code, address, telephone...

"Wouldn't it be neat to keep all this information on a PDA?" The inevitable is about to happen. As physicians and nurses become more enthusiastic users of wireless technology, healthcare organizations find it is more important than ever to match their wireless strategies and purchases to clinicians' individual work styles.(Wireless)
July 1, 2004... With the acceptance of electronic medical records (EMRs), healthcare providers are discovering they can access huge amounts of patient data at the point of care, as well as from the office or from home. To better accommodate computers on carts...

A better bedside manner: hospital caregivers treat patients and complete clinical documentation with ease, thanks to point-of-care and mobile workstations.(POC/Mobile Workstations)
July 1, 2004... "If you can't bring Mohammed to the mountain, bring the mountain to Mohammed," according to the popular saying. That's what many healthcare organizations, in their never-ending quest to streamline performance, provide better patient care and...

ISABEL at the helm: a Web-based diagnosis system speeds clinical decisions for pediatric physicians.(Clinical Information Systems)
July 1, 2004... Although it has been more than 40 years since computers were introduced into healthcare delivery, the goal of providing practicing physicians with reliable, accessible diagnostic decision support systems remains elusive. While the use of...

Calling for automation: computerized call center helps school of medicine and a teaching affiliate hospital improve switchboard, information directory and after-hours answering services.(Call centers: case history)
July 1, 2004... As electronic as patient documentation, billing systems and enterprise operations can get, it's unlikely hospitals and healthcare providers will lose their affinity for telephones anytime in the near future. The Brody School of Medicine at...

IT is coming to a physician near you: proactivity on the part of health plans may be the biggest boon to physician adoption of IT.(Managed Care)
July 1, 2004... One of the most pressing concerns in the healthcare industry today is the administrative burden that is placed on physicians. Administrative burdens not only increase costs, but also diminish physician efficiency and impact the quality of...

Intervenability: another measure of health risk: by coupling predictive modeling with evidence-based medicine, health plans can identify patients who will benefit the most from care management intervention. (Decision Support).
July 1, 2004... "Gap analysis" has become quite a buzzword in the business world. The idea is that a product, service or organization can move from its current state to a more desirable one through an analytical and systematic approach to change. The same...

Greater than the sum of the parts: eighteen New York physician practices gain centralized patient information database with ASP-hosted system.(Physician Practice Management: Case History)
July 1, 2004... When a group of primary care and specialty practices in New York state were cut loose from a collaborative, hospital-based billing system, they found themselves casting about for an efficient solution. They needed not only a new billing system,...

Consumer-choice health plan model.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The new version of the Vivius health insurance model integrates with existing health plan options from insurance carriers and self-ensured employers, allowing employees to choose from predetermined physician networks, as well as individual...

Identity, access management.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Vergence Omni Edition is a modularized product suite that lets healthcare organizations automatically create and manage user accounts, sign on with a single password to any application, employ strong authentication devices as an alternative to...

Performance Management software.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Delivering 125 performance indicators for tracking performance within healthcare organizations, the Healthcare Scorecard provides executives and department managers with immediate visibility into financial, clinical, operational and qualitative...

Multisite practice scheduling.(New Products & Services)(AppointmentsCS)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... AppointmentsCS links all of a practice's sites to a centralized, Web-based scheduling system, allowing staff members to schedule a patient at any location with a single mouse-click. The user-friendly interface makes it easy to specify when each...

High-density data center.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Easily scalable to meet changing data needs and future expansion, InfraStruXure High Density is a self-contained, integrated architecture designed to quickly and cost-effectively handle the real-world challenges of high power densities in...

Group Enrollment Manager.(New Products & Services)(Group Enrollment Manager )(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Group Enrollment Manager enables health plans to better manage the capture of group information and census data, present plan and quote information to users, streamline the approval process and ultimately reduce lead-to-enrollment time. It...

Network management appliance.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... A high-performance computer built on a hardened Linux operating system, the OBServer (Optimum Business server)transmits data to and from an off-site network operation center via an encrypted VPN. The single platform replaces multiple systems to...

POC system for clinicians, patients.(New Products & Services)(TigrVue)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Utilizing a touchscreen LCD monitor and an attached, full function keyboard, TigrVue enables secure access to existing hospital applications for clinicians as well as information, education and entertainment services such as TV channels and...

Adjustable flat panel arm.(New Products & Services)(Neo-Flex Arm)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... The Neo-Flex Arm is an adjustable arm that provides 8 inches of vertical movement so users can position their flat panel monitors exactly where they want them. It offers a monitor tilt of 180 degrees horizontally and vertically, a monitor...

Online clinician portal.(New Products & Services)(FirstGateways)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... FirstGateways is an Internet-based clinician portal that aggregates real-time clinical data from existing applications, information systems and other data sources. After clinicians logon to the portal using any Web-enabled device, they are...

Drug databases.(Marketplace)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Medi-Span, part of Wolters Kluwer Health, is the leading provider of drug information for thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide. With more than 30 years experience, Medi-Span continues to offer a variety of authoritative drug...

Marketing solution.(Marketplace)(StayWell Solutions Online)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Turn your Web site into a customized tool offering unparalleled health information that builds market share and supports your brand, Beach out to your community by offering award-winning content from the nation's leading health communication...

Tracking solutions for hospitals.(Marketplace)(TeleTracking Technologies)(Brief Article)
July 1, 2004... Maximize your hospital's capacity by improving the entire bed turnover, patient placement and transport process. Since 1991, TeleTracking Technologies' Capacity Management Solutions have helped more than 600 hospitals improve patient flow with...

Wireless hotlist.(computer services to health care industry)(Directory)
July 1, 2004... NETWORKS, HARDWARE, INFRASTRUCTURE Company Akamai Ascom Wireless Technologies Solutions Inc. ...

Targeting the highest-risk population to complement disease management.(Thought Leaders)
July 1, 2004... Some 20 years ago, health insurers began to commit real resources to organizing and analyzing membership and claims data. Data analysis revealed the essential shape of the population-cost curve that health professionals today take for granted:...