Health Management Technology articles from September 2006

Health Management Technology archives from September 2006

Opaque answers.(From the Editor)(Editorial)
September 1, 2006... Last year, my doctor ordered two blood tests, simple ones but tests that would have to be repeated several months apart. For the first set, I hand-carried his written orders downstairs to the medical lab associated with the practice, where a...

IOM says ADEs are common and preventable.(Patient Safety)(Institute of Medicine)(adverse drug events)
September 1, 2006... According to the recently released 2006 Institute of Medicine (IOM) Report, "Preventing Medication Errors," adverse drug events (ADEs) harm 1.5 million people each year. Hospitals alone average one medication error per patient per day, and a...

Feds to set new standards.(Healthcare IT Standards)
September 1, 2006... New government requirements may be just days or even hours away. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Mike Leavitt told the National Governors Association at its early August meeting that the current administration will soon...

More physicians use EMRs.(EMR/EHR Utilization)(Electronic Medical Record )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The numbers are up, but it's still a "no cigar" situation for robust utilization of EMRs by physicians. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed in July the latest stats from a survey conducted by its National Center for...

Medical record products receive certification.(clinician if a prescribed drug cannot be checked for formulary adherence)
September 1, 2006... Physician practices considering the purchase of an electronic health record (EHR)--and perhaps holding off in the interest of standards compliance--have a lot of important news crossing their radar screens lately. In mid-July, HHS Secretary...

Study calls for overhaul of healthcare system.(Healthcare Utilization)(Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Treatment costs for the elderly and chronically ill, especially those at the end of life, could be greatly reduced by adopting a model that focuses more on palliative care in non-hospital settings, according to a recently released study from...

Physicians open retail walk-in clinic.(open clinics in retail stores)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Although many physicians and their professional organizations have issued cautions in recent months about the use of retail-based walk-in clinics, one group of physicians has jumped on board. Pro-Health Physicians, a large practice group of...

California politicos support healthcare.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... As the race for Governor in California gets underway, healthcare is at the forefront of election-year politicking. In a recent healthcare summit on affordability, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger expressed his desire to reform...

Claiming victory: speed and accuracy are the two linchpins for healthcare organizations involved in any aspect of claims and coding.(Claims & Coding)(Cover story)
September 1, 2006... No one can argue the importance of coding and claims processing in today's bottom line-driven healthcare business. With a record number of disease, diagnosis and procedure codes, and the growing dominance of payers in the healthcare equation,...

Using an evidence-based process for integrating new healthcare technologies.(Evidence-based Medicine)
September 1, 2006... Healthcare costs have reached crisis proportions and are coming under increasing scrutiny from providers, insurers, employers, government and consumers. Efforts to contain these costs, or at least slow their growth, have been unsuccessful, and...

IT can play a critical role in the development of rapid response teams.(Clinical Information Systems)
September 1, 2006... Rapid response teams (RRTs), guided by advanced electronic health record (EHR) capabilities with alerting tools, could be as big a breakthrough in saving lives as the creation of intensive care units (ICU) was in the 1950s. RRTs, which major...

Speaking of efficiency: West Coast imaging center achieves enviable efficiency metrics with a planned IT implementation.(Speech Recognition: Case History)
September 1, 2006... For some people, information technology is almost enough--a "solution," as vendors label it, to a specific problem that stems from manual processes, paper or both. For these folks, replacing a manual task with an automated task, or a paper file...

Preparing for interoperability: EHRs and the law.(Electronic Health Records)
September 1, 2006... Two major obstacles in the development and dissemination of electronic health record (EHR) networks are the federal anti-kickback statute and the so-called "Stark" law, named after U.S. Representative Fortney Stark (D-Cal), prohibiting...

3D stereoscopic LCD.(Hardware: Monitors and Displays)
September 1, 2006... Planar's 23-inch widescreen SD2320W is an advanced 3D stereoscopic LCD specifically designed for applications, such as mammography, where a high degree of depth perception and stereo contrast can be especially useful. Two 2B-inch LCD monitors...

MultiModality display.(Hardware: Monitors and Displays)
September 1, 2006... Barco's MDSC-1119 surgical display is a 19-inch 1.3 megapixel color LCD designed specifically to integrate into a digital OR environment. It features the company's response time improvement system and motion adaptive deinterlacing that,...

Wireless portable display.(Hardware: Monitors and Displays)
September 1, 2006... The airsync V210 from ViewSonic is a 10-inch wireless thin client display, with integrated 802.11 b/g connectivity. Clinicians can roam anywhere within the network and ac cess patient files wherever there exists a hotspot. The 3-pound,...

MultiSync grayscale display.(Hardware: Monitors and Displays)
September 1, 2006... NEC's MD21GS-3MP-BK MultiSync display is part of a family of medical grade LCDs that feature X-Light technology, which ensures consistent brightness and whitepoint levels during the effective life of the monitor. The whitepoints are set to...

Widescreen flat panel.(Hardware: Monitors and Displays)
September 1, 2006... Westinghouse's new HD-Grade LCM-22x2 is a 22-inch multifunction monitor that accepts input from a variety of sources, including computers, satellite and HDTV. The flat-panel display is optimized for either a wide super XGA or 1680 x 1050...

Networked patient monitor.(Hardware: Monitors and Displays)
September 1, 2006... The IntelliVue MP90 is a part of a family of networked patient monitors from Philips that feature the company's portal technology, which displays real-time patient physiology data side-by-side with clinical review applications, digital...

Information at the surgeon's fingertips: for one health system, a PACS implementation is but a single step in a journey toward improved efficiency and patient care.(Hardware: Monitors and Displays: Case History)
September 1, 2006... Doctors and nurses are demanding customers--and for good reason, as lives are at stake on a daily basis. As a result, healthcare IT implementations often face more than purely technical challenges. Even if a solution is technically perfect,...

In recovery: supply chain optimization brings benefits to all stakeholders.(Supply Chain: Case History)(Company overview)
September 1, 2006... Necessity is the mother of innovation. But at Premier Inc., the nation's largest alliance owned by more than 200 leading hospitals and healthcare systems, it is also a powerful driver of cost savings and member benefits for its 1,500-plus...

MEDHOST.(Catholic Health System )(Kenmore Mercy Hospital)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Catholic Health System will install the MEDHOST emergency department information system in its Kenmore Mercy Hospital, Kenmore, N.Y. This installation follows installations of the system in the healthcare organization's St. Joseph's and Sisters...

Emageon Inc.(MidMichigan Health agreement with Emageon )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... MidMichigan Health, a regional system in Central Michigan, has signed a five-year agreement with Emageon for its Enterprise Visual Medical System for the enterprise. The Emageon system will integrate with the MidMichigan's HIS and will include...

The Thomson Corp.(NewsMakers)
September 1, 2006... The Thomson Corp., Stamford, Conn., purchased MercuryMD Inc., a supplier of mobile and clinical solutions. MercuryMD will become part of Micromedex, a Thomson business unit.

MedSynergies.(NewsMakers)
September 1, 2006... MD on Call, a physician-owned hospitalist group, has signed a multiyear agreement with MedSynergies Inc., Dallas, for comprehensive, outsourced revenue cycle management services.

Emergis Inc.(Emergis Inc. acquired DINMAR)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Emergis Inc., a Canadian IT company focused on healthcare and financial services, has acquired DINMAR, based in Ottawa, and will now own the latter's electronic health record product Oacis.

NEC Solutions.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... NEC Solutions (America) Inc. is deploying its TouchPass Secure Single Sign-On system to Universal Health Services Inc. (UHS) and 25,000 users. UHS operates acute care and behavioral health hospitals, radiation centers and ambulatory surgery...

Data Distributing LLC.(NewsMakers)
September 1, 2006... Stanford Hospital and Clinics deployed two more DICOM Media Stations by Data Distributing LLC, headquartered in Laguna Hills, Calif. Stanford Hospital and Clinics, part of the Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, Calif., purchased...

Galvanon.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Seven healthcare organizations including Virginia Urology, Asheville Cardiology Associates, Associated Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Health Central, Intermountain Orthopaedics, Satellite Med and Owensboro Dermatology Associates have selected...

Imprivata.(NewsMakers)
September 1, 2006... Samaritan Healthcare of Moses Lake, Wash., will use OneSign Enterprise Single Sign-On from Imprivata to provide employees with secure enterprise single sign-on access to applications.

InnerWireless Inc.(Medical-grade Wireless Utility)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Edward Hospital and Health Services will install the Medical-grade Wireless Utility from InnerWireless into four of its Illinois facilities, to support wireless use of multiple applications and devices such as pagers, wireless patient monitors,...

Qualifacts Systems Inc.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... After 12 months of analysis and demonstrations, Lakeview Center of Pensacola, Fla., a behavioral health provider, chose Qualifacts Systems Inc. and its CareLogic product to provide a comprehensive, integrated and Web-based info management...

Kodak.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Park Ridge Hospital in Rochester, N.Y. has contracted with Eastman Kodak Company (Kodak's Health Group) to provide a state-of-the-art imaging operation, in place of its old film-based radiology department. Park Ridge will purchase the KODAK...

EDS.(Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... EDS has been awarded a contract from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide Web hosting services to support all of CMS's outward facing Web sites. If all options are exercised, the contract would be valued at $41...

The TriZetto Group.(centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services)(Personal CareAdvance)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... CMS will use Personal CareAdvance, care management and personal health management software from The TriZetto Group Inc., Newport Beach, Calif, as part of a six-month feasibility study on how to transform Medicare claims data into personal...

3PAR.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The Cambridge Health Alliance has selected 3PAR (3PARdata Inc.), Fremont, Calif., to streamline and reduce the cost of its data storage environment and will use 3PAR Utility Storage with 3PAR Thin Provisioning, Dynamic Optimization and Remote...

WebVMC.(Palm Valley Health Care)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... In South Texas, home health agency Palm Valley Health Care is partnering with WebVMC for 24/7 monitoring of home care patients at no extra cost to the patients or their families. The WebVMC system monitors vitals and identifies immediately any...

Allscripts.(emergency department automation)(Fisher-Titus Medical Center and Magruder Hospital)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The Fisher-Titus Medical Center and Magruder Hospital, located in Northern Ohio, will implement the HealthMatics ED (emergency department automation) from Allscripts Healthcare Solutions to automate more than 41,000 annual ED visits at the two...

CliniComp Intl.(Mattel Children's Hospital )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA in Los Angeles deployed San Diego-based CliniComp Intl.'s Essentris clinical information system. The system now supports 113 beds at Mattel, including the neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric unit and...

3M Health Information Systems.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The California Bioterrorism Laboratory Integration Project (CALIP), an initiative of the UC Davis Health System and the California Department of Health Services, selected Salt Lake City-based 3M Health Information Systems to standardize and...

McKesson Corp.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The Rural and Community Health Institute at the Texas A & M University signed a multiyear license for San Francisco-based McKesson Corp.'s InterQual decision support criteria. Under the agreement, care managers obtain electronic,...

Lancope Inc.(NewsMakers)
September 1, 2006... Aurora Health Care selected Alpharetta, Ga.-based Lancope Inc.'s StealthWatch system to ensure internal network security across its widely distributed network. Aurora Health Care includes 25,000 employees, 13 hospitals, more than 90 clinics and...

Per-Se Technologies.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Emergency Service Physicians, a large emergency physician group in Colorado, has signed a three-year agreement with Per-Se Technologies, outsourcing its accounts receivable management for the group's operations at two Exempla Healthcare...

Flo Healthcare.(mobile workstations )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center has purchased more than 700 mobile workstations from Flo Healthcare, Norcross, Ga., and has deployed the Flo 1750 with a Wyse thin client throughout many of its 13 campuses.

Royal Philips Electronics.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The University of Alabama at Birmingham plans to open its new UAB Heart and Vascular Center using technology from Philips to include catheterization labs, vascular and interventional radiology labs and an interventional neuroradiology lab.

Mediware Information Systems Inc.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Thomas Jefferson University Hospital selected Lenexa, Kan.-based Mediware Information Systems Inc.'s HCLL Transfusion and Donor solutions for its blood bank. Thomas Jefferson University Hospital has 925 licensed acute care beds with major...

Digitech Computer Inc.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Provena Covenant Medical Center and Provena St. Mary's Hospital, part of the Illinois-based Provena Health Network, selected Digitech Computer Inc.'s Ambulance Commander to improve business office operations and to gain efficiencies in...

Misys Healthcare Systems.(Hattiesburg Clinic )(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Hattiesburg Clinic in Mississippi selected Raleigh, N.C.-based Misys Healthcare Systems' Radiology and PACS Integration Module to increase operational efficiencies and improve patient care in its diagnostic imaging department. The clinic is a...

ASI.(Amisys Synertech Inc)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Independent Care Health Plan, a Wisconsin-based Medicaid HMO, has signed a five-year agreement with ASI (Amisys Synertech Inc.) for comprehensive business process outsourcing services to include front-end imaging and EDI, database management,...

QuadraMed Corp.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services chose QuadraMed to provide data intermediary services. QuadraMed will assist the state agency as its transitions from a PC-based system to a Web system and will manage collection of...

MediRegs Inc.(Health First)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Health First, an IDN located in Brevard County, Fla., is implementing MediRegs Inc.'s integrated regulation and reimbursement research portal as an enterprisewide solution for the provider's three nonprofit hospitals. The solutions include...

Dynamic Healthcare Systems.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Arcadian Health Plan Inc., a provider of Medicare Advantage health plans, selected two major components of Irvine, Calif.-based Dynamic Healthcare Systems' Voyager Medicare Suite. RAPS Management and HCC Analytics will help Arcadian maximize...

Dialog Medical.(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center has selected iMedConsent from Dialog Medical to automate its informed consent process. The application automates completion of patient documentation including HIPAA disclosures, advanced...

NCQA standards for specialists around the corner.(National Committee for Quality Assurance)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... To date, most work around clinical quality standards has focused on primary care physicians, including HEDIS (Health Plan Employer Data and Information Set) measures. But recently, the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) announced...

JAMA covers NHIN security.(Journal of the American Medical Association)(national health information network)(Brief article)
September 1, 2006... Patient privacy and confidentiality will be at serious risk, according to the authors of "Compelled Disclosure of Health Information: Protecting Against the Greatest Potential Threat to Privacy," published in the June issue of the Journal of...

High-speed scanner.(New Products & Services)
September 1, 2006... The Fujitsu fi-5530C duplex color scanner is, according to the company, the fastest landscape departmental scanner on the market. It comes bundled with Adobe Acrobat 7.0 software and features speeds up to 47 ppm (simplex) and 94 ipm (duplex) at...

Rapid HIE deployment.(New Products & Services)
September 1, 2006... Ensemble HIE (Health Information Exchange) is InterSystem's newest version of Ensemble, the company's universal integration platform. It is intended to reduce the time required to build clinical information exchange networks, and features six...

Patient flow.(New Products & Services)
September 1, 2006... Version 6.1 of NaviCare's Patient Flow System includes Business Area Monitoring (BAM), which enables real-time monitoring of patient flow and capacity usage. The new functionality features a dashboard that displays key operational metrics and...

Internet EMR interface.(New Products & Services)
September 1, 2006... Psyche System's new EMR Internet interface employs Web services technology to effect smooth sharing of laboratory orders and test results between the company's LabWeb LIS or WindoPath anatomic pathology information system and any third party or...

Mobile connectivity.(New Products & Services)
September 1, 2006... Toshiba's Portege M400 Series Tablet PCs feature a high level of network connectivity and are built to protect and secure the system from shock and unauthorized access. The company's trademarked EasyGuard technology includes shock absorbers for...

Expanded service and support.(New Products & Services)
September 1, 2006... Stinger Medical, maker of mobile technologies for healthcare, now offers Expanded Service Solutions that support a project's total lifecycle, from inception to installation to maintenance. They include both factory and onsite integration of...

HL7 CDA: the missing link in healthcare IT.(Health Level Seven's clinical document architecture)(information technology)
September 1, 2006... Historically, electronic medical record (EMR) systems and healthcare information management (HIM) systems have been poorly integrated. Each has evolved independently of the other to serve different purposes. The more complex the accreditation,...