Health Management Technology articles from May 2006

Health Management Technology archives from May 2006

Connecting the dots.(Health journals)
May 1, 2006... Escaping from chronic information overload is my constant challenge. Most often, hundreds of bits of information soar by before I can even nail a bit or two. But oh so rarely, the dots line up in perfect order, ready to be connected. For...

Bill would create e-records for fed workers.(Electronic records for federal workers)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... About 8 million federal employees and their dependents would have access to electronic medical records under legislation introduced in March in the House by U.S. Rep. Jon C. Porter (R-Nev.) The Federal Family Health Information Technology Act...

Centers for advanced healthcare break ground.(Digital Hospitals)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... The University of South Florida Health broke ground on the first of two state-of-the-art ambulatory care centers. The University of South Florida Physicians Group (USFPG) at USF Health selected more than $2 million worth of Allscripts...

IDN delays go-lives to focus on process.(Integrated Digital Network )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Novi, Mich.-based Trinity Health is postponing a continuation of an EHR installation in its network of hospitals so it can concentrate on and improve work processes at hospitals that are already live. For example, the August 2006 installation...

Surgeons advised to use IT wisely.(Information technology)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... They may not be the largest users of healthcare IT, but orthopedic surgeons may benefit from healthcare IT, too. Orthopedic surgeons and their patients, however, should be aware of the advantages and potential pitfalls of communicating with...

Program puts migrant workers' health info online.(Health Information Management)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... A free pilot program in California puts farmworkers' medical records online so they can access their health information wherever they travel--as long as there is a computer available. The MiVIA ("my way" in Spanish) program was created by...

Electronic claims could save millions.(Health Plans and Payers)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Half of hospital executives and four out of 10 insurance executives say their organizations could save at least $1 million and as much as $10 million a year if their billing and payment processes were more efficient. That is according to 150...

HSA growth accelerates.(Health savings accounts)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Lower-premium, high-deductible health insurance plans (HDHP) offered in conjunction with health savings accounts (HSAs) covered nearly 3.2 million people in a January 2006 census. That's more than triple the 1,031,000 America's Health Insurance...

Quality initiative includes EMR use.(Electronic Medical Records)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Highmark Blue Shield will increase payments to physicians in 21 Pennsylvania counties who meet clinical quality goals. The program, entitled QualityBLUE, rewards physicians who ensure that their Highmark members receive preventive care and...

University of Michigan Health System pilots online consultations.(Patients can use Webvisits)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Patients of UMHS Briarwood Family Medicine in Ann Arbor, Mich. can consult with their doctors online using webVisits from Emeryville, Calif.-based RelayHealth Corp. WebVisit is an interactive online patient interview that collects relevant...

Web site gives states snapshots of their quality performance.(Web based tool to measure health care quality)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality released a new interactive Web-based tool for states to measure healthcare quality. Included are: tables that rank the 50 states and the District of Columbia on 15 measures of healthcare quality;...

As easy as ... EMR: EMRs aren't routine technology yet, but ease of use and demonstrated gains in efficiency remain two of the top incentives for adopting them.(Electronic Medical Records)
May 1, 2006... Regardless of the success or failure of the federally-proposed national health information network (NHIN), one of its key building blocks--the electronic medical record (EMR)--continues to find favor among large and small healthcare...

EHRs and information availability: are you at risk? The EHR initiative is changing the face of disaster and the nature of prevention planning.(Electronic Health Records)
May 1, 2006... On April 27, 2004, the age of the electronic health records (EHR) in the United States took a major step forward. President Bush called for the creation, at the federal level, of a National Coordinator of Healthcare Information Technology...

The home healthcare pot of gold: an at-home healthcare organization finds reduced accounts receivables and increased clinical efficiency at the end of a complete system-change rainbow.(Home Health & Hospice Care)
May 1, 2006... Does anybody prefer the hospital to home when they are ill? Cold, impersonal and overcrowded, versus, familiar surroundings and loving care--not a tough choice. Just the thought of entering a hospital can impart stress, and stress impedes...

Building better benefits--the consumer-friendly way: CIGNA HealthCare lets consumers "have it their way" with Internet-based technology.(Health Plans and Technology)
May 1, 2006... CIGNA Custom Benefit Builder is coming soon to a large national employer near you--and shortly thereafter, to medium-size employers in select markets, too. The consumer-directed product encompasses a dual focus: 1) to let consumers customize...

Phoenix rising: technology is transforming hospital call centers into profit centers that improve customer relations and drive the bottom line.(Building Customer Interaction Centers)
May 1, 2006... Over the past decade, hospitals around the country have elevated the level of sophistication of their marketing call center operations. One-person offices of yesterday that relied on telephones and Rolodex cards for physician referrals have...

Improving customer service: taking a strategic approach to measuring contact center performance.(Customer management of contact centers)
May 1, 2006... For health management organizations, the business environment, programs and customer needs are constantly changing and the contact center must respond accordingly. While most contact centers have risen to the challenge of supporting volume of...

Make a difference: Louisiana-based solo practitioner uses information technology to make a difference in his medical practice.(Physician Practice Management)
May 1, 2006... Twenty years ago, Neil Notaroberto was an accomplished and well-paid computer programmer. He liked his work and he enjoyed information technology, but sitting in an office all day was, at best, not his proverbial cup of tea. Then, through...

High-throughput dry imager.(Laser imager to handle high contrast images)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... Kodak built their original DRYVIEW 8900 laser imager to handle high-volume applications while delivering consistent quality and resolution. The newest 8900 is six inches smaller in size, 25 percent faster to first print and can process up to...

Medication Knowledge Base.(Streamline physicians workflows )(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... OrderView Med Knowledge Base is the first in a new line of CPOE medication knowledge bases from First DataBank specially designed to streamline physicians' workflows and lower incidents of medication prescription errors. The medication content...

Telehealth option.(Designed to give home care services)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... [Power.sup.2] is a back-office and point-of-care solution from Thornberry Ltd. and FGA Solutions designed to give home care organizations the ability to manage their clinical and financial operations from a single database. It features a new...

Charting solution.
May 1, 2006... OrgPlus 6 is an organizational charting solution from Calif.-based HumanConcepts designed for executives and managers who need to visualize and analyze an organization's workforce. It can import employee or patient data from multiple sources of...

Integrated 3D solution.(Three Dimensional)(Brief article)
May 1, 2006... FUJIFILM Medical Systems has added Obliquus, a fully integrated 3D viewing component that adds diagnostic maximum intensity projection (MIP) and multiplanar reconstruction (MPR) to the company's Synapse PACS. The 3D solution supports Fuji's...

Checking patient understanding.
May 1, 2006... The Comprehension Check module for Dialog Medical's iMedConsent application enables caregivers to confirm a patient's understanding of proposed treatments and procedures. During the informed consent process, clinicians can use the module to...

Complex event processing.
May 1, 2006... Director 4.0, AptSoft's latest version of its flagship complex event processing solution, increases the product's capabilities and is designed to streamline the design, deployment and maintenance of critical business processes. The upgrade...

Transcription/speech recognition.
May 1, 2006... ChartScript ASP from SoftMed is a hosted speech recognition and computer-aided medical transcription solution, designed to enable healthcare facilities to offer electronic transcription without incurring the cost to install and maintain the...

Don't forget about connecting smaller healthcare providers.(Managed Health care maintenance)
May 1, 2006... What type of organization could design and implement a reliable, secure and interoperable nationwide healthcare information network (NHIN), which would allow critical medical data to be shared seamlessly and in a timely manner, while ensuring...