Health Management Technology articles from November 2003

Health Management Technology archives from November 2003

The EMR and patient safety.(From The Editor)
November 1, 2003... Every consumer has healthcare war stories to share, and I'm no exception. But I am the rare and lucky one, because I have a national platform from which to share mine. I have always been partial to EMRs from the standpoint of convenience...

Review group rejects model EHR; second draft in works.(Electronic Health Records)
November 1, 2003... Look for a second draft of a national electronic health record (EHR) model to come under public view next month. The model EHR is part of ongoing efforts by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a national...

Medicare accepts noncompliant claims beyond TCS deadline.(HIPAA Update)
November 1, 2003... Providers unprepared to meet the HIPAA transaction and code sets deadline can breathe easier--for now. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said it is accepting noncompliant electronic transactions after the Oct. 16 deadline. The...

HIAA, AAHP announce merger.(Briefly)
November 1, 2003... HIAA, AAHP announce merger. Directors of the Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) and the American Association of Health Plans (AAHP) have voted to merge the two leading trade groups. Together, HIAA and AAHP members provide coverage...

Family physicians not ready for HIPAA.(Briefly)
November 1, 2003... Family physicians not ready for HIPAA. A new survey says a high percentage of physician offices aren't prepared for HIPAA, although they might believe otherwise. Some 36 percent of physicians surveyed mistakenly believe that because staff...

AMA keeps docs alert to ethics.(Briefly)
November 1, 2003... AMA keeps docs alert to ethics. The AMA says it will provide free "ethics alerts" to physicians via ePocrates' DocAlert messaging system for PDAs. The alerts are designed to offer physicians practical guidance in dealing with ethical challenges...

Field Test boosts push for updated medical codes.(ICD-10)
November 1, 2003... Implementing ICD-10-CM codes represents a significant improvement over current ICD-9-CM code sets, without excessive staff training costs or changes to documentation practices. So say the results of a field test conducted by AHIMA and the...

HIMSS absorbs MS-HUG.(Users Groups)
November 1, 2003... HIMSS and the Microsoft Healthcare Users Group (MS-HUG) have consolidated. Under the terms of the agreement, effective Oct. 1, MS-HUG becomes a membership community within the HIMSS Users Group Alliance Program. "MS-HUG and HIMSS share...

BCBSA launches new internet resource for caregivers, consumers.(Evidence-Based Medicine)
November 1, 2003... The Technology Evaluation Center (TEC) of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA) has launched a new Internet resource to provide physicians, consumers and healthcare organizations with scientific assessments of medical devices,...

Groups oppose data mining of health information by financial institutions.(Medical Privacy)
November 1, 2003... A number of healthcare advocacy, provider and consumer groups fear changes to new medical privacy rules could give a "green light" to banks and other financial institutions to access sensitive, personal medical information. "Financial...

AAFP establishes healthcare IT center.(Physician Practices)
November 1, 2003... The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has established a Center for Health Information Technology. The center, based in AAFP's Leawood, Kan., headquarters, will help to promote and facilitate adoption and optimal use of health...

PACS as an enterprise resource: digital imaging comes of age, as improved Web, storage, network and EMR technologies support its extended reach throughout the healthcare enterprise.(PACS/Radiology)
November 1, 2003... Snapping an X-ray film onto a wall-mounted light box might be the way they still do it on television, but many radiologists and referring physicians now view diagnostic images on computer monitors. The decision on the part of hospitals to...

Money matters: Washington state regional healthcare system uses contract revenue cycle management system to increase collections and improve workflow.(Contracts management: case history)
November 1, 2003... Like many healthcare systems, Providence Health System's Washington region, which consists of five acute care hospitals, two affiliated physician groups, and eight hospice and long-term care facilities, had trouble managing its contracts with...

Code red: ready to roll: new advances in enterprise software enable healthcare organizations to strengthen their emergency-response capabilities.(Disaster Planning)
November 1, 2003... Following the terrorist attacks in 2001, the nation entered a new state of awareness about the need to be prepared for large-scale emergencies. A fresh round of urgency swept through hospitals around the world with the outbreak of Severe Acute...

The strategic view of wireless infrastructure: now that wireless technology has come of age, so should the way healthcare organizations manage it.(Wireless)
November 1, 2003... Who would have predicted two years ago that a new wireless network in the healthcare environment would be considered legacy today? Indeed, one would be hard-pressed to cite any other technology that has evolved so rapidly. Technology...

Automated dosing: computerized physician order entry reduces risk of medication and dosing errors in neonatal ICU.(Clinical info systems: case history)
November 1, 2003... Computerized physician order entry (CPOE) can serve as the backbone of a hospital's patient safety initiatives especially when it comes to reducing medication errors and associated complications. Some studies have indicated that CPOE systems...

EMRs, quality of care and patient perception: Tallahassee specialty practice proves that the power of EMRs extends far beyond its own walls and its practitioners.(Profiles In I.T.)
November 1, 2003... Physician adoption is a phrase we don't hear much lately. In fact, some say it is no longer an issue. That may be true for healthcare networks or hospitals, where IT is installed enterprisewide, and physician buy-in is attained through...

Simplified service: Georgia healthcare network implements KVM solution for improved server management.(Tech Corner Servers: case history)
November 1, 2003... Founded in response to community need for quality healthcare, Gwinnett Health System (GHS) based in Lawrenceville Ga., began with a single clinic in 1943. The not-for-profit healthcare network now serves a community that has grown during the...

Fast data management.(Servers)
November 1, 2003... A scalable server with up to 16 1.224 GHz Alpha EV68 processors, the AlphaServer GS160 system provides ultrahigh availability and innovative architecture for managing massive data in record time. Its modular structure allows organizations to...

Branch survivability platform.(Servers)
November 1, 2003... Based on a single software platform supporting a networked architecture, the natively IP OmniPCX Enterprise is designed to support all business communication requirements, from the largest campuses to smaller sites and branch locations. Key...

Entry-level server.(Servers)
November 1, 2003... Available with up to 3 TB of capacity and enhanced features for the entry-level enterprise market, the Snap Server 14000 enables IT managers to lower storage acquisition and management cost by consolidating file servers into a centralized...

High performance, availability.(Servers)
November 1, 2003... The PowerEdge 2650 is designed to deliver a combination of performance, availability and configuration flexibility that makes it suitable for a variety of departmental and Internet infrastructure server workloads. It has a rack-dense 2U form...

Enterprise reliability.(Servers)
November 1, 2003... Enabling enterprises with multiple heterogeneous hosts to scale up to 55.9 TB of physical disk capacity while maintaining high performance, the TotalStorage Enterprise Storage Server (ESS) Model 800 offers advanced functions that can provide...

News makers.
November 1, 2003... PLEXIS Healthcare Systems Insurers Administrative Corp. (IAC) has purchased core processing software from Ashland, Ore.-based PLEXIS Healthcare Systems. Claims Manager will help IAC automate claims adjudication, referral authorizations and...

ROI in the ED: installation of EDIS helps Georgia hospital handle population boom.(Emergency dept. info systems: case history)
November 1, 2003... The city of Conyers, Ga., bustles with rapid growth. Housing subdivisions, heavy construction equipment lining the roads and a massive shopping mall point toward a significant population boom in this city located 25 miles southeast of Atlanta....

Tip of the iceberg: Chicago health system uses database and analytics software to save its call center and increase its business via targeted campaigns.(What works: patient relationship mgmt.)
November 1, 2003... Healthcare organizations typically consider three methodologies to improve their bottom line: 1) Reduce expenses or increase output in areas that function well but could improve (or both); 2) Reduce or eliminate services or units that are...

PACS/Radiology/Imaging hotlist.
November 1, 2003... PACS/RADIOLOGY/IMAGING HOTLIST Company Algotec Inc. A-Life Medical Inc. RSLeads Number www.rsleads.com/ www.rsleads.com/ 311ht-227 311ht-228 ...

Fast, multislice CT scanner.(New Products & Services)
November 1, 2003... Designed to deliver a full array of cardiac imaging capabilities, the Aquilion 16 CFX CT scanner features high speed scanning to capture more precise anatomical features of the heart. The helical CT system's Selectable Slice-thickness Multi-row...

Financial management software.(New Products & Services)
November 1, 2003... BizCast version 5.3 introduces features designed for group healthcare care insurers to ensure HIPAA compliance, enhance member management, increase adoption of online customer care solutions and improve the return on investment for financial...

Remote presence robot.(New Products & Services)
November 1, 2003... Using a broadband wireless Internet connection, the Companion mobile robot system enables healthcare professionals working from a console to assess patients who are miles away, looking at conditions varying from accident rehabilitation to wound...

Browser-based HIS.(New Products & Services)
November 1, 2003... Keane InSight is an AS/400-based healthcare information system developed to provide immediate access to patient information using secure, browser-based technology and a wireless, ultrathin-client environment. Acting as the gateway to an...

Computed radiography system.(New Products & Services)
November 1, 2003... The 2000RT CR Plus system for oncology offers the performance of the 2000RT CR system combined with a high-resolution monitor and flexible image archiving. The 20.1-inch ultrahigh-definition flat panel monitor displays 1,024 by 1,255 and 12-bit...

CT simulation workstation.(New Products & Services)
November 1, 2003... AcQ[Sim.sup.3] combines the CT simulation features of the AcQSim workstation with the Pinnacle radiation therapy planning system to create a sing shared platform designed to offer users an efficient integrated workflow solution. It enables...

High-end NAS filer.(New Products & Services)
November 1, 2003... The NetFORCE 4000 high-end NAS filer is especially developed for the high-bandwidth network environments of digital archiving providers in the medical imaging community, enabling quick, reliable access to the dense medical data of applications...

Cost management solution.(New Products & Services)
November 1, 2003... QuadraMed CPA provides detailed cost and profitability analysis, resource utilization and financial benchmarking that enable healthcare facility managers to make sound assessments of treatment patterns, clinical pathways and cost control...

Simplified contract management.(New Products & Services)
November 1, 2003... Contract Manager is a decision support software application designed to simplify reimbursement calculation by integrating clinical, financial and administrative data into a single database. It applies the terms and conditions of managed care...

Web-accessible PACS.(New Products & Services)
November 1, 2003... Developed for facilities with multiple locations, NovaPACS Enterprise Archive automatically synchronizes real-time storage of both the on-site archive and the off-site central Web archive, enabling secure image retrieval from any Web enabled...

Expanded wireless coverage.(New Products & Services)
November 1, 2003... InterReach Unison is designed to address the wireless needs of large installations and dense, high-traffic environments by operating as a seamless extension of the public wireless network infrastructure. It aims to expand the reach of cell...

Lack of built-in security shouldn't inhibit PDA use.(Thought Leaders)
November 1, 2003... This summer, information security gurus from a variety of industry sector gathered to discuss how to solve the growing number of IT security concerns; securing mobile device was high on the list. Unfortunately, some experts believe that the...