Health Management Technology articles from October 2004

Health Management Technology archives from October 2004

Do we need David Brailer?(From the Editor)(Editorial)
October 1, 2004... Now that I have your attention.... At the outset, let me state clearly that HMT likes Dr. David Brailer. He has authored for this magazine and is a luminary in healthcare IT. He is the right guy for a tough job. At the same time, David...

The best backup no = downtime.(Advertisement)(Advertisement)
October 1, 2004... 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...

GAO: unclear laws stymie healthcare IT adoption.(National IT Adoption)(General Accounting Office)
October 1, 2004... Ambiguous state and federal laws can hamstring efforts to increase IT adoption among the nation's providers, especially physicians. That's despite major federal initiatives that sanction the use of electronic medical records and other...

HSAs get thumbs up from consumers.(Health Plans and IT)(Health Insurance Plans )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Research released by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) indicated that health savings accounts (HSAs) are garnering positive reaction from consumers. AHIP's research, conducted in July, shows that 42 percent of consumers surveyed say they...

Web tool helps docs understand disability claims.(Health Plans and IT)(Integrated Benefits Institute )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... CIGNA has introduced an online Physicians' Disability Toolkit designed to help providers understand how the disability claims process works and the role of medical information in making disability claim decisions. The Web site provides the...

'Genesis' dawns for midwest IDN.(Patient Safety)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... A St. Louis-based healthcare network has devoted significant financial and employee resources to an innovative IT project. The Sisters of Mercy Health System (Mercy) has earmarked $226 million for its Genesis Project, a four-year information...

Program seeks fellowship partnerships.(Patient Safety)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Applications for the Patient Safety Leadership Fellowship for 2005-2006 are now being sought and accepted. The program is a yearlong one in which participants design and implement models for healthcare delivery that advance patient safety...

IT spending up, but with caution.(IT Spending)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Look for CIOs and IT departments in multiple verticals to spend more on upgrading their infrastructures and replacing aging hardware, according to recent research by Forrester Research. The company predicts that one in four U.S. business PCs...

Ohio hospitals launch physician pilot project.(computerized physician order entry)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Two Cincinnati hospitals will begin a pilot CPOE project next year, with a focus on reducing medication errors and adverse drug events. Physicians at Christ and University Hospitals--part of the Health Alliance chain serving the greater...

Georgia gets on board with an EMR network.(Georgia Healthcare Systems Inc)(Electronic Medical Record)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Georgia Healthcare Systems Inc. (GHS) will implement an EMR from Companion Technologies, headquartered in Columbia, S.C., at 14 of its statewide health centers. GHS provides healthcare services to a medically underserved population through its...

Trade groups join forces for EHR certification.(Electronic Health Records)(National Alliance for Health Information Technology )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Three industry groups are joining forces and funds to establish certification guidelines for ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) systems. The American Health Information Management Association, the Healthcare Information and Management...

Caring and sharing: as the community care model of treating patients takes hold, physicians gain big from using a PM/EMR systems network and from sharing patient information electronically.(Physician Practice Management)(electronic medical record)(Blue Ox Medical Network)
October 1, 2004... Everyone heralds the implementation of IT in physician practices as a positive. It saves time, money and, in some cases, the patient's well-being. But for most physicians, the introduction of automation also carries a risk. When practices...

Business not as usual: Washington state community provider stretches an automated order entry system--and expands its functionality to include automation for referral management.(Physician Practice Management)(Moses Lake Community Health Center)(electronic medical record)
October 1, 2004... When they hear the phrase CPOE, most people think big--big cost, big end-user, big implementation. But it's not necessarily so. Moses Lake Community Health Center (MLCHC) in Moses Lake, Wash., is proof. MLCHC is a community healthcare...

Medication transformation: pharmacists on the floor: a midwest healthcare system takes bar code technology to new heights, as part of an enterprise initiative to optimize patient safety.(Bar Coding)
October 1, 2004... Healthcare organizations now view information technology as a means, not an end, and as a portion of the change process, but not the sole solution. The smartest organizations augment the IT in the enterprise solutions with revamped business...

The value of speed-to-value: how well health plans in flux can optimize operational efficiency often hinges on the IS and change strategies they employ.(Health Plans & Technology)
October 1, 2004... Nothing characterizes the information age like change. While the software industry has changed from an emphasis on proprietary products to an emphasis on integrated products, both the Internet and user sophistication have matured sufficiently...

Data center upgrade essential to enhanced patient care: as digital applications expand to physicians, nurses and patients, healthcare providers require greater data availability and security to reduce error rates, risks and costs.(Disaster Planning)
October 1, 2004... Healthcare IT has been evolving rapidly in recent years from its use only in administrative applications to playing a central role in re-engineering the way patient care is delivered. This sea change has created a strategic challenge for CIOs...

The evolution of care management systems integration: functional integration and comprehensive patient information build on the cost savings and competitive advantages introduced by technical integration.(Network/Systems Integration)
October 1, 2004... Within the managed care organization (MCO), systems integration efforts have typically focused on technically integrating front-end and back-end systems. IT departments have spent a lot money building best-of-breed applications and then...

The case for standards: uniform physician credentialing process can save physician practices and hospitals time, money and frustration.(Credentialing)
October 1, 2004... Imagine: Your network or hospital contracts with a new physician. That physician visits a Web site, enters his or her data, and it is instantly transferred to your internal systems. Then overnight, the credentials are verified without human...

Grand central scheduling: case history: a hospital radiology department gains physician satisfaction and treatment efficiency with a centralized scheduling solution.(Scheduling)(Alamance Regional Medical Center)
October 1, 2004... Busy physicians appreciate efficiency, especially when it comes to booking an outpatient screen or test. Having to call multiple departments or wait on hold for confirmation can eat away valuable time physicians could otherwise use to treat...

Primed for efficiency: a variety of software and hardware suppliers make the trek to San Francisco to showcase their solutions at the Medical Group Management Association's annual conference.(MGMA Exhibitor Showcase)
October 1, 2004... The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) traditionally provides an exhibit hall at makes others pale in comparison. This year, Oct. 3-6 in beautiful San Francisco, MGMA offers three days of exhibit hall exploration, with the chance to...

Preparing for consumerism: the top 10: health plans and providers alike should prepare for consumer-driven health plans with this list of 10 strategic imperatives.(Health Plans & Technology)
October 1, 2004... Consumer-driven healthcare (CDH) is coming soon to an employer near you, and it will have a sizeable impact on your institution, your job and your technology infrastructure--or will it? This topic is high on the list of CEO, CFO and CIO...

Rx for growing pains: clean data, consolidation and an e-commerce solution streamline the purchasing process at a Chicago healthcare network.(Materials Management)
October 1, 2004... For many healthcare organizations, growth makes good financial sense, enabling them to lower costs through shared services and take advantage of better contract pricing afforded to high-volume customers. While Ed Friese looked forward to lower...

Now hear this: health plan's VoIP technology lets physician practices move to the front of the line for issues they can't resolve themselves using online self-service.(Physician Practice and VoIP)
October 1, 2004... There's not a person walking planet who enjoys getting stuck in a phone queue. For physician practices pressed to verify eligibility, respond to pended claims and resolve billing discrepancies, the experience is especially frustrating--and...

The enabling powers of SSO: a health plan's path to greater utilization of its Web site may rest with a familiar technology.(Health Plans and IT)(single sign-on)
October 1, 2004... The Internet has become a major healthcare resource for consumers. In fact, it is a primary source of health information for more than 80 million consumers, according to a December 2003 study by Manhattan Research. This number is expected to...

Physician practice management hotlist.(Illustration)
October 1, 2004... Physician Practice Management HotList Company Accra Med Accudata Systems Software Inc. RSLeads Number www.rsleads.com/ www.rsleads.com/...

Mobile EHR system for practices.(New Products & Services)
October 1, 2004... Built on Microsoft .NET Compact Framework, Clinician EHR 2004 is a mobile electronic health record system designed to streamline the workflow within a medical practice. Physicians can: capture and scrub charges; enter rounding patients on the...

Digital Mammography Archive.(New Products & Services)
October 1, 2004... The National Digital Mammography Archive (NDMA) allows participating hospitals and physicians to access the largest national database of digital mammography images, associated clinical and demographic data, and centralized CAD algorithms....

Integrated medical supply mgt.(New Products & Services)
October 1, 2004... The OptiFlex product line provides configurable modules to help optimize the healthcare facility's medical-surgical supply chain. The modules, which integrate seamlessly with other systems and utilize bar code technology, combine open and...

RIS remote monitoring.(New Products & Services)
October 1, 2004... The Guardian Program is a customer care program that proactively al ensures the continuous uptime of medical systems such as certain cardiac and angiography systems and all AXIOM Artis systems. It offers remote monitoring, a guaranteed time...

Nursing informatics suite.(New Products & Services)
October 1, 2004... Designed to link with a facility's EMR or clinical information system, IDQ-Informatics Suite for Nursing is medication-to-patient matching system that uses bar code technology to help nurses reduce incidents medical and medication errors. The...

Capital management software.(New Products & Services)
October 1, 2004... Mezzia version 4.0 is designed to help healthcare organizations consolidate, control and manage the capital spending process. The Web-based software gives finance managers more control over capital spending, enables more effective...

Wireless LAN management.(New Products & Services)
October 1, 2004... Enhancements have been made to PanOS, a software platform previously known as the Proximity Platform that bridges the gap between wireless networks and key business applications. These include improved scalability that now supports thousands of...

Surgical education for patients.(New Products & Services)
October 1, 2004... Expectation Management and Medical Information (Emmi) is a risk management tool that provides patients with a series of interactive, Internet-based patient education programs to provide an electronic informed consent tool that not only...

Enterprise smart card.(New Products & Services)
October 1, 2004... Based on Java Card technology, the jForte smart card is designed for enterprises that require a high-assurance foundation for identity and access management, privacy, and secure communications needs and applications. Its "system on a chip"...

Outcomes measurement tutorial.(New Products & Services)
October 1, 2004... Accredited by Tufts University School of Medicine for physicians, pharmacists, nurses and physician assistants, "Understanding Health Outcomes," an educational series on health outcomes measurement, is available in CD-ROM format. By including...

Multifunction document mgt. device.(New Products & Services)
October 1, 2004... The FO-DC550 Super G3 is an out-of-the-box multifunction document communication system that offers copy, print, fax and color scan capabilities for small office environments. It also allows organizations to add workgroup functionality that...

Remote scanning management.(New Products & Services)
October 1, 2004... With RemoteScan for Terminal Services and Citrix, office staff can control the scanners that are directly attached to their workstations or thin-client devices while they are running remote, hosted applications. Documents and images can be...

Eastman Kodak Co.(NewsMakers)(Central Suffolk Hospital of Riverhead,)(KODAK DIRECTVIEW PACS)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Central Suffolk Hospital of Riverhead, N.Y., has purchased an image capture and information management systems from Eastman Kodak Co.'s Health Imaging Group. The 214-bed hospital will use KODAK DIRECTVIEW PACS System 5 for the storage and...

Kryptiq Corp.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Four medical providers are among the latest to purchase Kryptiq Corp.'s CareCatalyst to deliver secure online services to more than 100,000 primary care patients. CareCatalyst is an integrated Web portal that allows patients to access medical...

Siemens Medical Solutions.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Williamsport, Pa.-based Susquehanna Health Systems (SHS) has become the first Siemens Medical Solutions customer to go live on both Soarian Clinicals and Financials, with fully functioning workflow interoperability between the two systems. SHS'...

Concuity.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... North Memorial Health Care of Robbinsdale, Minn., has selected Concuity's ClearContracts Revenue Recovery Services to improve underpayment and denial collections.

Misys.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... General internal medicine physicians at University Health Network's (UHN) Toronto General Hospital are now placing 95 percent of medication orders online--an essential last step toward the full activation of computerized physician order entry...

[A.sup.4] Health Systems.(NewsMakers)(Wilson Family Medicine )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Wilson Family Medicine has selected [A.sup.4] Health Systems' HealthMatics Office suite, which includes HealthMatic EMR Electronic Medical Record and HealthMatics Ntierprise Practice Management System. Wilson Family Medicine is a two-physician...

Emergisoft.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Los Angeles-based California Hospital Medical Center has selected Emergisoft's emergency department information system (EDIS), EmergisoftED, to automate more than 50,000 patient visits each year to its emergency department. The hospital, which...

Lawson.(NewsMakers)(Children's Medical Center Dallas )(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Children's Medical Center has signed an agreement with Lawson. The nonprofit healthcare organization licensed Lawson's Financials, Healthcare Supply Chain Management and Reporting Suites as well as Lawson e-Recruiting to complement its existing...

Foresight Corp.(NewsMakers)(Blue Cross Blue Shield)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama will incorporate technology from Foresight Corp. into its transaction processing system to help reduce cost and provide consistency of claims rejection policies across all lines of the health plan's business....

PeopleSoft.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... Saint Barnabas Health Care System, New Jersey's largest healthcare delivery system, has selected PeopleSoft Enterprise Financial Management and PeopleSoft Supplier Relationship Management for Healthcare. The new solutions will help the...

eWebHealth.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... The Mayo Foundation has signed an agreement with eWebHealth, allowing all Mayo facilities to use eWebHealth's Web-based, health information management solutions.

VistionShare Inc.(NewsMakers)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2004... System Designs Inc., author of HIPAA claims formatting software PC-ACE Pro32, has formed a strategic alliance with VisionShare Inc., a provider of Internet-enabled health claims EDI technology. VisionShare's Security Exchange Software enables...

It's more than a matter of trust.(Thought Leaders)(health care )(Column)
October 1, 2004... "Mr. Seliger, do you have any allergies?" It was 9:32 a.m., and it was the eighth time since checking in for his surgery earlier that morning that my father was asked this question. The anesthesia was starting to take effect, and the look...