Health Management Technology articles from March 2004

Health Management Technology archives from March 2004

The risks of readership.(From The Editor)(Editorial)
March 1, 2004... We are on the brink of a project we have discussed for three of the nearly four years I have been in this job--but haven't initiated. It's an editors-sponsored reader survey--and before you say, "Oh, one of those" and turn the page, reflect a...

Clinton proposal spotlights healthcare information technology.(Healthcare Reform and IT)
March 1, 2004... Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., recently introduced a proposal that, among other patient safety initiatives, would boost the role of healthcare information technology in quality of care. Clinton said high administrative costs and paperwork...

Transaction and code sets compliance remains shaky.(HIPAA Update)
March 1, 2004... Despite advances in testing and compliance efforts, the healthcare industry remains "far from prepared" to conduct most HIPAA standard transactions, according to the 2004 winter edition of the Quarterly U.S. Healthcare Industry HIPAA Compliance...

NPI becomes standard ID for providers.(HIPAA Update)(National Provider Identifier)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published the final rule making the National Provider Identifier (NPI) the standard unique health identifier for healthcare providers. The rule is effective May 23, 2007, for all covered...

IT initiative focuses on e-Prescribing and electronic claims submission.(Health Plans)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Insurance giant WellPoint turned an eye toward medical error reduction with a $40 million IT initiative among its 19,000 affiliated physicians in California, Georgia, Missouri and Wisconsin. The health plan partnered with Microsoft, Dell and...

Florida IDN builds digital heart hospital.(Hospital-Based IT)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... University Community Health (UCH), a four-hospital health system serving three counties in the Tampa, Fla., region, recently broke ground in building a new $40 million, 120,000 square-foot, all-digital heart hospital. UCH has partnered with GE...

ACP seeks federal funding for EMRs.(Physician Practices)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... An American College of Physicians (ACP) report pushes the federal government to include improved use of information technology in sweeping healthcare reform. The ACP calls on Congress and President Bush to provide resources and support needed...

AHIMA releases EHR standards.(American Health Information Management Association; electronic health record )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) recently released its electronic health record (EHR) standards to the general healthcare industry. Initially released as a member benefit last fall, the standards offer guidance for...

HHS budget includes health IT funding.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... President Bush has committed more than $152 million for health IT initiatives, as part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) fiscal year 2005 budget. The funding includes $50 million for state and regional grants for...

Payers and doctors collaborate.(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Piedmont Clinic, a network of more than 400 physicians affiliated with Atlanta-based Piedmont Medical Center, has teamed with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia (BCBSGA) to evaluate an ambulatory electronic medical record (EMR) system for...

Vendor markets on airline.(PracticeXpert Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Los Angeles-based PracticeXpert Inc. has initiated a media campaign that includes a scheduled video featuring its revenue management system on United Airlines flights across the U.S. and overseas destinations. The in flight program is part of a...

Small but mighty: a rural Pennsylvania hospital becomes the epitome of efficiency with IT.(Healthcare Information Systems)
March 1, 2004... "Our goal is to eliminate as much paper and as many manual systems as we can and to make our IT systems flow," says Margaret Twidale of Kane Community Hospital (KCH). Licensed for 38 beds and located in rural northwest Pennsylvania, Kane...

Expanding the reach of speech recognition: extending speech technology benefits to transcription workflow can boost productivity.(medical practice)
March 1, 2004... Speech recognition has been a positive force in improving the efficiency of clinical documentation in limited practice areas like radiology. Giga Information Group projects the speech recognition software market is expected to grow from $100...

Telehealth in the Tundra: remote northwest Alaskan villages encounter faster access to more sophisticated medical care.(Telehealth/telemedicine: case history)
March 1, 2004... Telehealth promises to transform the way healthcare is practiced and delivered. Nowhere is this more apparent than in northwest Alaska, where telehealth has bridged the gap between providers in remote villages and specialists who can provide...

Inside text mining: text mining provides a powerful diagnosis of hospital quality rankings.(Data Warehousing/Mining)
March 1, 2004... Physicians don't always have an opportunity to fully document every patient risk factor when updating medical charts. Even when they do, errors can be made when these risk factors are later entered into hospital databases by administrative...

Proof of profitability: university medical center increases laboratory revenue and improves operational processes with outreach services.(Laboratory information systems: case history)(Jersey Shore University Medical Center )
March 1, 2004... Maintaining profitability in the face of competition is not easy. For healthcare in general--and hospital-based labs in particular--it's even harder thanks to prospective payment, DRGs and managed care. To stay afloat, laboratories are...

A healthy connection for members: Pennsylvania health plan extends its online communication technology beyond provider transactions to include the communications that covered members want most.(Managed Care)
March 1, 2004... Health plan member portals are more commonplace than ever as the Web continues to play a larger role in the administration of healthcare. Although popular in concept, member portals are just beginning to satisfy members' requests for automated...

Waste not, save a lot: a software/hardware solution helps a California hospital replace NCR admission forms.(Printers, copiers & scanners: case history)(George L. Mee Memorial Hospital )
March 1, 2004... Most patients hate the hassles associated with checking into a hospital. The overabundance of paperwork not only affects patients, but also tests the fortitude of administrative staff. At one California hospital, administrators saw this...

Monochrome laser printer.(Printers, Copiers & Scanners)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Designed for business applications and demanding networks, the T9220i monochrome laser printer is compatible with a range of Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh environments, offering USB, parallel, serial and Ethernet connections for easy...

Color production scanner.(Printers, Copiers & Scanners)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... With a daily duty cycle of 60,000 documents and scanning up to 125 pages per minute in color, bitonal and grayscale modes, the Copiscan 8000 Spectrum is designed especially for the imaging and paper handling requirements of the healthcare...

Digital imaging system.(Printers, Copiers & Scanners)(Aficio 2022 multifunctional document management system )(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The Aficio 2022 multifunctional document management system is designed to simplify document creation and production while enhancing distribution of hard copy and electronic files. Features include: a print speed of 22 pages per minute; 600 dpi...

Video image printer.(Printers, Copiers & Scanners)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The UP-D70XRV6 digital color and film printer package produces color, black and white, or film-like transparency prints with high quality and resolution from almost any analog, video-based medical imaging system. Using dye transfer sublimation...

Fast, detailed thermal printer.(Printers, Copiers & Scanners)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The high-speed, high-resolution P-93W is a monochrome thermal printer designed for a range of medical applications. It incorporates a 325 dpi thermal head, a resolution of 1,280 by 500 pixels and a 256-level grayscale for sharp reproduction of...

Multifunctional workgroup copier.(Printers, Copiers & Scanners)(AR-M277, a monochrome)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The AR-M277 is a monochrome, multifunctional peripheral that provides enhanced network scanning, network printing and leading security features for low and mid volume workgroups. It features a standard 100-sheet, reversing automatic document...

Enhancing process efficiency through remote access: wireless implementation and remote access enable medical oncology practice to improve patient and clinician confidence while achieving ROI.(Remote access: case history; IMPAC Medical Systems Inc.)
March 1, 2004... In a medical oncology practice, quick access to updated patient data is crucial for providing accurate diagnoses and treatment plans. While a traditional electronic medical record (EMR) facilitates the delivery of quality care, it is remote...

An enterprise answer: an integrated delivery network's perioperative information system paid for itself by maximizing OR use, cutting costs, reducing waste and increasing billings.(Surgical information systems: case history)
March 1, 2004... The operating room (OR) is one of the most complex and busiest care environments in the hospital--and one of the costliest to run. This department combines expensive supplies, equipment and specialized staffing, which can account for more than...

Claims management upgrade.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Enhancements to PLEXIS Claims Manager are intended to make the claims processing software more effective in offering payers, benefit administrators and health plans the functionality to process accurate and automatic claims adjudication,...

Versatile telemedicine device.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Genesis is an in-home telemonitoring unit that offers many of the advanced features of the Sentry series of telehealth monitors, but at a reduced cost. It is designed to be disease-specific with peripheral attachments such as a scale, blood...

Improved Data Management.(New Products & Services; health care industry)
March 1, 2004... The 3M Health Data Management System, a comprehensive suite of software applications that provides an integrated solution for inpatient and outpatient revenue management, compliance, case management, utilization management and quality...

Disaster recovery solution.(New Products & Services)(HealthMatics Assure Electronic Medical Record system)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... HealthMatics Assure is a data protection and disaster recovery solution for physician practices utilizing the HealthMatics EMR Electronic Medical Record system. Transmitted over a secure network using 128-bit encryption, data is stored on...

Small-practice management software.(New Products & Services; Aimed )(Acrendo Software)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Designed for small to midsize medical offices, version 4.5 of Aimed (formerly MedTrax) practice management software adds optional billing and EMR modules to the scheduling, patient demographics and external communication functionality found in...

Automated communication system.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... PhoneMaster for Windows and Web version 4.6 allows users to record messages, make calls, send e-real messages, create voice mail boxes and build information lines--without using a dedicated computer. The peripheral system's call database...

PC blade computing device.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The I/Port is a desktop device that connects to PC blades over IP to support any existing Ethernet network and cabling infrastructure such as routers, switches, hubs and media converters, regardless of the distance between users' desktops and...

IT asset management.(New Products & Services)(NetSupport DNA (Dynamic Network Administration))(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... NetSupport DNA (Dynamic Network Administration) software provides small to midsize organizations with a PC management solution that enables them to establish IT asset management programs within a reasonable time frame and budget. Its features...

Enhanced desktop RIS/PACS.(New Products & Services)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... The new version of Centricity RIS/PACS provides clinicians with reliable access to patients' images, including PET/ CT and digital mammography images, and their medical and demographic records--all within a single desktop application. It offers...

Automated medication storage.(New Products & Services)(Pyxis Carousel System)(Brief Article)
March 1, 2004... Pyxis Carousel System automates the distribution of medications and supplies for hospital pharmacies by providing an ergonomically efficient, vertical storage and retrieval system intended to help maximize workplace productivity and reduce...

Healthcare information systems hotlist.(Directory)
March 1, 2004... Information in the HotList is based on survey responses collected from companies with products in the category covered. The HotList is not intended to reflect the quality of products or services, nor is it intended to be an inclusive list of...

Eradicate enrollment?(Thought Leaders; healthcare Electronic Data Interchange)
March 1, 2004... Anyone employed in any aspect of healthcare delivery is in the midst of what has been dubbed "administrative simplification" and everything it entails for day-to-day operations. Unfortunately, a critical element is still missing. Today,...