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Which Tasks Are Physician s Interested in Performing Using Mobile Health Technology?

  • Posted in: Industry News
  • on September 23, 2010
  • » Comments Off on Which Tasks Are Physician s Interested in Performing Using Mobile Health Technology?

Eighty-six percent of physicians said they are interested in accessing electronic health records wirelessly, while 83% of doctors said they are interested in using mobile technology to prescribe medication, according to a new PricewaterhouseCoopers survey.

The survey also found that 74% of physicians are interested in using mobile technology to monitor patients in the hospital and that 57% said they are interested in using wireless technology to monitor patients outside the hospital.

In addition, 63% of physicians said they are interested in wirelessly initiating and tracking referrals, and 60% of doctors are interested in using mobile technology to communicate with patients, according to the survey.

Results are based on an online survey conducted in the summer of 2010 of 2,000 consumers and 1,000 physicians.

Source: PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute, “Healthcare Unwired”

Google Health Revamp Includes New Features To Improve Usability

  • Posted in: Industry News
  • on September 23, 2010
  • » Comments Off on Google Health Revamp Includes New Features To Improve Usability

On Wednesday, Google unveiled a redesign of its personal health record service Google Health, which includes more user-friendly features that provide new data management controls for users and a greater focus on wellness and fitness, PC Magazine reports (Albanesius, PC Magazine, 9/15).

History

Google launched its PHR service about two and a half years ago to provide consumers with a platform to aggregate and organize their personal health information, including:

  • Medical records;
  • Prescriptions; and
  • Immunization and health condition data.

Aaron Brown — a senior product manager at Google — said that over the past several months, Google began looking at ways to improve the service to provide more than just PHR management capabilities.

Changes

Brown said the company conducted “a complete overhaul of the user interface” to make Google Health more intuitive to use (Miliard, Healthcare IT News, 9/15).

The new features include:

  • A revamped dashboard that merges health and wellness information to one location;
  • Capability to maintain notes and a journal about a specific health condition or medication;
  • The ability to remove or restrict access to old or outdated information (PC Magazine, 9/15); and
  • Tools to enter data from mobile devices into the dashboard (Healthcare IT News, 9/15).

In a Google Blog post, Brown explained that the redesign offers better organization of medical information and more user-friendly access to daily check-ins (PC Magazine, 9/15).

Source: iHealthBeat

Report: Success of Medical Home Model Hinges on Health IT

  • Posted in: Industry News
  • on September 23, 2010
  • » Comments Off on Report: Success of Medical Home Model Hinges on Health IT

Last week, the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions released a new report, titled “Medical Home 2.0: The Present, The Future,” that highlights how health IT is a key front-end investment for organizations participating in the patient-centered medical home initiative under the federal health reform law, Healthcare IT News reports.

The report includes a review of several PCMH pilots and offers insight on the future of the medical home model. It also discusses the expansion of medical home pilots under the health reform law as a strategy to lower costs and improve quality of care through the adoption of health IT, care teams and evidence-based medical guidelines.

The report found that:

  • Although organizations initially would have to make significant investments to participate in PCMHs because of fixed technology costs, patient outcomes eventually would improve, which could help offset implementation costs;
  • There are challenges in convincing physicians to adopt health IT, particularly in medical home models that require a willingness to use health IT in diagnostics, treatment planning and routine patient interaction;
  • Some organizations might require assistance with IT purchase and implementation; and
  • An impending shortage of primary care physicians would increase the need and dependence on telemedicine and other electronic doctor visits to bolster the practice of primary care medicine (Merrill, Healthcare IT News, 9/16).

Source: iHealthBeat

Social Networks Could Track Epidemics, Offer Other Health Benefits

  • Posted in: Industry News
  • on September 23, 2010
  • » Comments Off on Social Networks Could Track Epidemics, Offer Other Health Benefits

Social networks, including online communities, could provide both the tools to track seasonal illnesses before they peak and the support needed to improve health, according to new studies, the New York Times reports.

Tracking the Flu With EHRs

To follow the spread of the H1N1 virus at Harvard University, researchers monitored groups of friends and individuals chosen randomly.

The scientists tracked the health of the 744 participating undergraduates using information from their electronic health records. Tracking EHRs allowed the researchers to determine which students visited the campus’s health care service with flu-like symptoms.

The group of friends contracted the flu about two weeks before the group of randomly selected participants.

According to the study authors, monitoring disease trends on social networks can identify the leading edge of a disease outbreak before it surfaces among the general population.

The researchers said that this method could be used to detect trends in the spread of the flu better than current flu-tracking methods used by CDC (Singer, New York Times, 9/18).

Nicholas Christakis, lead author of the study, said, “By simply asking members of the random group to name friends, and then tracking and comparing both groups, we can predict epidemics before they strike the population at large” (Versel, Fierce Health IT, 9/20).

The study was published in the journal PLoS One.

Online Health Community

In related news, Damon Centola — a researcher at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology — conducted his own experiment on social networks and health.

He established an online forum where participants in one group were matched with fellow members called “health buddies,” while individuals in a separate group did not have any structured interaction.

The health buddies group received e-mails about the activities of their fellow community members. This group was better at encouraging its members to participate in health forums online than the group with the random social network.

Centola said the study shows that facilitating connections among individuals could provide enough social reinforcement to encourage healthy behaviors.

Centola published his findings in this month’s edition of the journal Science (New York Times, 9/18).

Source: iHealthBeat

E-Prescribing Increasing Among US Health Care Workers

  • Posted in: Industry News
  • on September 23, 2010
  • » Comments Off on E-Prescribing Increasing Among US Health Care Workers

The number of office-based U.S. health care professionals who use electronic prescribing systems has increased significantly in recent years, according to data released Tuesday by electronic prescribing network operator Surescripts, Reuters reports.  

Charting E-Prescription Adoption

According to Surescripts, about 200,000 office-based prescribers — or about one-third of office-based health care workers — currently use e-prescribing systems. The latest figure is up from 156,000 e-prescribers at the end of 2009 and 74,000 at the end of 2008.

Surescripts noted that 47 states more than doubled their use of e-prescribing last year.

Massachusetts has the highest rate of e-prescription use, at 57%.

Federal Incentives Providing Impetus

The recent increase in e-prescribing could stem from federal incentives designed to reward health care providers who demonstrate “meaningful use” of electronic health records, Reuters reports. 

The incentives, which were included in the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, are expected to encourage even more health care providers to switch to e-prescribing systems over the coming years (Steenhuysen, Reuters, 9/21).

Source: iHealthBeat

HHS to offer almost $20 million in EHR tech help

  • Posted in: Industry News
  • on September 13, 2010
  • » Comments Off on HHS to offer almost $20 million in EHR tech help

HHS has announced nearly $20 million in technical support assistance to help critical-access and rural hospital facilities make the switch from paper-based medical records to certified electronic health-record systems.

The new funding is provided under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act, part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. It will help approximately 1,655 critical-access and rural hospitals qualify for EHR incentive payments from Medicare and Medicaid, according to a news release from HHS.

“The benefits of health information technology can be especially important for patients and clinicians in small and rural healthcare facilities, yet these facilities face high hurdles as they look toward joining in the transition to electronic information,” HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a written statement. “The funding we are announcing today is a new category of support, aimed specifically at assisting critical-access and rural hospitals with their particular needs and challenges.”

The funds will be distributed through regional extension centers, a program of HHS’ Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. The qualifying rural and critical-access hospitals are located in the areas covered by these extension centers, which offer technical assistance, guidance and information on best practices to support provider efforts to become “meaningful users” of certified EHRs under the Medicare and Medicaid incentive programs.

Source: HITS

HealthStream adds big names to board

  • Posted in: Industry News
  • on September 9, 2010
  • » Comments Off on HealthStream adds big names to board

HealthStream announced it has added physician C. Martin Harris, chief information officer and chairman of the information technology division of the Cleveland Clinic and current chairman of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, to its board of directors.

The Nashville-based company, which provides healthcare workforce training and development technology, also added former Federal Communications Commissioner Deborah Taylor Tate to the board.

Harris, 53, is also executive director of eClevelandClinic, an array of Internet-based clinical programs for physicians and patients. A spokeswoman for the system said Cleveland Clinic Florida, a 150-bed hospital in Weston, Fla., is the only part of the Cleveland Clinic that is a HealthStream client.

Tate was an FCC commissioner from 2006-2009 and previously was chairman of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority and executive director of the state’s Health Facilities Commission (the certificate-of-need body since renamed the Health Services and Development Agency).

HealthStream directors are paid an annual retainer of $2,000, plus $1,000 for each meeting and additional sums for heading committees and participating in committee hearings, according to the company’s most recent proxy statement. In 2010, the company expected to issue each director 15,000 stock options that vest annually in three increments.

Source: HITS

Mobile Robots Offer New Ways To Assess Patients From Remote Locations

  • Posted in: Industry News
  • on September 9, 2010
  • » Comments Off on Mobile Robots Offer New Ways To Assess Patients From Remote Locations

Hundreds of U.S. hospitals have deployed mobile robots to help health care providers conduct medical assessments and offer advice when they cannot be physically present with patients, the New York Times reports.

Although skeptics say the so-called telepresence robots do not offer a dramatic improvement over current videoconferencing technology, supporters say the mobile devices help remote physicians better exert control over a work space.

Some of the robots have artificial intelligence technology that allows them to perform certain actions on their own. Eventually, the robots could become more advanced and better able to augment human interaction, according to the Times.

Applications for Eldercare

Executives at robot manufacturer Vgo say their robots eventually could be used by family members to visit and assist elderly parents who would like to remain independent.

Workers at assisted-living centers also could use the robots to check on residents and ensure they are taking medications at the correct time of day.

In addition, elderly individuals could use the robots to virtually visit various locations and stay in better contact with family and friends (Markoff, New York Times, 9/5).

Source: iHealthBeat

Report Outlines Details in Using Mobile Devices To Access Health Data

  • Posted in: Industry News
  • on September 7, 2010
  • » Comments Off on Report Outlines Details in Using Mobile Devices To Access Health Data

An application that allows individuals with mobile communication devices to access their personal health records could alter the way health care providers, consumers and payers use health IT, according to an issue brief from the consulting firm Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, Cardiovascular Business reports.

The brief stated that using mobile devices to access PHRs — known as “mPHRs” — will give users the opportunity to receive reminders on:

  • Medication administration;
  • Medical bills; and
  • Other health-related tips (Cardiovascular Business, 8/30).

Research

According to data cited from other sources, the brief noted that:

  • Twice as many Generation X and Y consumers want access to PHRs than do baby boomers and elderly individuals;
  • 50% of consumers want a personal monitoring device to help them manage a condition or provide them with health tips; and
  • About 57% of consumers want access to an online PHR linked to their physician’s office (Monegain, Healthcare IT News, 8/27).

Barriers to Use

The brief found four major barriers to widespread use of mPHRs:

  • A lack of widely accepted technical standards among PHRs and electronic health records;
  • Low consumer demand for PHR data, stemming from low general use of PHRs;
  • Privacy concerns; and
  • Concerns involving liability and data integrity of PHRs.

Strategies To Increase Use

According to the brief, mPHRs could become a top self-care management platform if:

  • More health care providers adopt EHRs;
  • Regulators provide greater clarity for health IT standards;
  • Privacy protections and health care provider liability grow in effectiveness; and
  • Mobile communication devices grow in capacity and functionality while decreasing in cost (Cardiovascular Business, 8/30).

Source: iHealthBeat

Early Study Results Show Promise for Field of Mobile Health Care

  • Posted in: Industry News
  • on September 7, 2010
  • » Comments Off on Early Study Results Show Promise for Field of Mobile Health Care

Pictures taken with cell phones and other mobile devices by patients can help doctors diagnose wounds without seeing the patients in person, according to early findings of a six-month study on “mobile health” technology, the Washington Post reports.

Mobile health — known as mHealth — is an emerging telemedicine field that includes all aspects of care that can be facilitated through a mobile device or cell phone.

Study Details

For the study, Neal Sikka — an emergency department physician at George Washington University Hospital — and colleagues recruit patients who arrive at the hospital with:

  • Cuts;
  • Skin infections;
  • Rashes; and
  • Other flesh wounds.

The patients document their injuries with camera phones and send pictures through a secure e-mail account to a physician. Physicians then see the patient in person to confirm the diagnosis.

Sikka said that 90% of the diagnoses so far have been accurate.

The study will continue through October.

Evaluations

After their consultation, patients are asked to complete a questionnaire about their perceptions of mHealth.

According to Sikka, few patients are concerned about security or privacy, and many believe the technology could:

  • Save time;
  • Reduce costs; and
  • Improve patient-doctor communication.

Sikka added that mHealth could benefit patients who live in rural areas and those who do not want to spend time or money waiting for diagnosis of a superficial injury.

However, David Armstrong — professor of surgery and director of the Southern Arizona Limb Salvage Alliance at the University of Arizona College of Medicine — said some physicians who are not as familiar with mHealth technology could have concerns regarding:

  • Accuracy of diagnosis;
  • Legal issues;
  • Privacy;
  • Reimbursement; and
  • Workload (Tamura, Washington Post, 8/31).

Using Cell Phones To Assess Vision

In related news, researchers with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Media Lab are developing a vision test called the Near-Eye Tool for Refractive Assessment, the Boston Globe reports.

The test allows users to look through an eyepiece on a cell phone at a red and a green line. The user then presses buttons on the cell phone to make the lines overlap. The program interprets the user’s prescription.

The research team believes the cell phone technology eventually could be used in developing nations where access to vision care is scarce.

The New England College of Optometry will test the program this fall (Cooney, Boston Globe, 8/30).

Source: iHealthBeat

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News Archive

  • MGMA Supports ICD-10 Testing With Outside Organizations MGMA Supports ICD-10 Testing With Outside Organizations July 30, 2013
  • Report: Many EHR Users Set To Replace Systems Within the Next Year Report: Many EHR Users Set To Replace Systems Within the Next Year July 30, 2013
  • Providers, Vendors Urge Congress To Delay Meaningful Use Stage 2 Providers, Vendors Urge Congress To Delay Meaningful Use Stage 2 July 30, 2013
  • Many Doctors May Find Meeting ‘Meaningful Use’ Requirements a Challenge Many Doctors May Find Meeting ‘Meaningful Use’ Requirements a Challenge June 28, 2013
  • When it Comes to ICD-10 Physician Documentation: Collaborate and Educate When it Comes to ICD-10 Physician Documentation: Collaborate and Educate June 28, 2013
  • The Slow Crawl Toward Improved EHR Usability and Interoperability The Slow Crawl Toward Improved EHR Usability and Interoperability June 28, 2013
  • Efficient Patient Communication and Engagement Efficient Patient Communication and Engagement June 13, 2013
  • ONC Issues Guidance on Stage 2 Transition of Care Requirements ONC Issues Guidance on Stage 2 Transition of Care Requirements May 31, 2013
  • Drugmakers Leverage Doctor, Patient Data To Market Their Products Drugmakers Leverage Doctor, Patient Data To Market Their Products May 31, 2013
  • Consumer Organizations Defend Meaningful Use Program Consumer Organizations Defend Meaningful Use Program May 31, 2013

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