Ongoing advancements in artificial intelligence tools and speech recognition software could lead to new innovations in the health care field and other industries, but some experts have concerns about technology, the New York Times reports.
About 150,000 U.S. physicians currently use speech recognition software to record and transcribe information about patient visits and treatments, more than three times as many as three years ago.
Although the technology often transcribes medical terminology accurately, physicians note that it sometimes has difficulty with other words and grammar. Speech recognition programs also struggle with understanding the context of language and social situations.
Such shortfalls have led some experts to express concern about the extent to which artificial intelligence technology should be trusted in the medical field. For example, speech software that functions as a simulated medical assistant could evaluate a patient incorrectly or send an ill patient home from the hospital too soon.
However, many experts believe that further development of the technology could help it become a larger contributor to the health care industry. Some believe it eventually could assist surgeons.
Andries van Dam, a computer science professor at Brown University, said, “It’s not human intelligence, but it’s getting to be very good machine intelligence,” adding that “you need human checks and balances, but having artificial intelligence is way better than not having it” (Lohr/Markoff, New York Times, 6/24).
Source: iHealthBeat
More smartphone application developers are looking to release a variety of health care-related applications and accessories aimed at monitoring health, preventing disease and promoting healthy lifestyles, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.
In the past, these types of technologies would have been too costly to develop because they would have required hardware and support networks. However, the growing prevalence of new smartphone devices — such as Apple’s iPhone and the BlackBerry — has made it easier for developers to embark on such projects.
Some hardware and software developers say the iPhone is particularly well-suited to new health-related applications because it is a low-cost platform that has broad appeal and a significant amount of power.
Some of the health care-related applications being developed for the iPhone and other smartphone devices include:
The Mayo Clinic and mobile application developer DoApp have partnered to launch a new mobile and Internet services provider called mRemedy. Later this summer, mRemedy plans to involve a small group of hospitals in a beta test for a new application that would allow patients to:
Source: iHealthBeat
Last week, members of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Health received updates on the Army’s use of wireless technology and mobile phone-based applications to care for wounded soldiers, InformationWeek reports.
Col. Ronald Poropatich — deputy director of the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center at the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command in Maryland — told the panel that the Army has deployed mobile technology to send health tips, appointment reminders and general announcements to the cell phones of more than 300 wounded soldiers.
mCare Messaging System
Poropatich highlighted the benefits of a new cellular messaging application, called mCare. He said that since June 1, the application has been used to deliver 18,500 messages.
Poropatich said the mCare system is HIPAA compliant, uses bi-directional messaging and transmits information from a central website that uses a secure virtual private network.
The application allows health care providers to enter and control message content, and review acknowledgements and delivery confirmations (Lewis, InformationWeek, 6/30).
Poropatich said that the initial implementation of mCare has been limited to patients who receive outpatient care at five sites in Alabama, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts and Virginia. Four additional sites are under consideration (Dolan, Mobihealthnews, 6/30).
Other Mobile Applications
The Army also has launched pilot projects for two other mobile message applications, according to Poropatich.
One application provides no-cost health information services to new mothers from early pregnancy through their children’s first year. The other mobile application involves a reminder system on glycemic control for patients with diabetes (InformationWeek, 6/30).
Source: iHealthBeat
After creating a manageable list of potential EMR companies, you will need to find a way to compare the feature sets offered in each tool. A simple method of comparison is to create an Excel file with a list of features down the left side and a list of EMR companies across the top. An Internet search will also find Excel files such as this already built, which can be used as a good starting point. Once you have the file, fill in the details of each software company as you participate in an online or live demo of the EMR software product.
The biggest challenge that a doctor faces in selecting an EMR is asking the right questions of the software vendor during a demo. Avoid asking yes and no questions that can easily be misinterpreted. Asking how an EMR vendor accomplishes a task provides better information and helps avoid what I call “sales miscommunications.” For example, pretty much every EMR vendor can respond yes to the question, Do you support voice recognition software? A set of very different and more detailed responses will entail if you ask the question: How do you support voice recognition software? This type of open-ended question requires vendors to describe their system and gives you a better understanding of how they have implemented a certain process or procedure.
Another valuable method for evaluating EMR software is to visit the office of a doctor who has fully implemented that EMR. Make sure that the site you visit belongs to someone fully immersed in the EMR software. It is one thing to have played with the software and another to be using that software as an integral part of the practice. Seeing the software in action and talking with users who use it daily often opens up new perspectives about the usability of an EMR.
Another suggestion is to ask an EMR vendor to do what could be called an EMR configuration demo. Most EMR demos are done on carefully refined systems designed and configured to illustrate the best features of an EMR. The important question is how much work was required to set up the demo system. A configuration demo helps you better understand the work required to configure the selected EMR into a usable state. Questions about configuring the EMR are also very good to ask during the site visit mentioned above.
One final suggestion is to involve all your users in the decision-making process. An EMR affects the front office, medical records, and the nursing staff’s jobs in significant ways, too. By inviting them to be involved in the selection process, you will face less resistance to change when the time arrives to actually convert from paper charts to EMRs.
With current EMR market penetration so small, thousands of clinics and doctors will be going through the EMR selection process. By focusing on a small set of successful EMR companies and asking good questions, selecting an EMR can be an exciting process.
Source: Medscape
If you’re considering purchasing an electronic medical record (EMR) system, you’re not alone. Plenty of organizations have made the leap before you; so why not learn from their failures and successes?
The biggest mistake you could make is not listening to the advice of others and learning from it, experts tell AMNews.
Before implementing any major technology, talk to your peers and heed their advice. Not sure who to turn to? Experts recommend vendor references, medical conferences, health care associations, and practices that emulate where you want to be in 5-10 years.
Asking your references all the right questions will get the answers you seek. Recommended questions include:
According to experts, the most common mistakes your references will warn you about include:
Heed the advice of others. Ask the right questions. Do not repeat others’ mistakes. These are the keys to successful EMR implementation.
Source: AAPC
1. Have you defined your needs?
2. Does the EMR system function appropriately for your practice?
3. How will the new software and technology interface with key systems you use regularly?
Some doctors question quality of $179 package
For anyone who has ever seen a medical bill, an offer touting seven diagnostic tests for $179 seems too good to be true.
But it’s real. And popular.
You simply have to go to a supermarket parking lot and step into an RV where technicians use an ultrasound and electrocardiogram to check your heart, arteries and blood circulation to gauge your risk for heart disease and stroke.
All in about 30 minutes.
Phil and Sallie Breakey saw an ad in The Dispatch and had the tests done a couple of weeks ago at a Kroger parking lot in Reynoldsburg.
“We’re getting old and thought, ‘What the heck?'” said Mr. Breakey, 67. “It’s reasonably priced, so we may as well check it out.”
The screenings are done by HealthFair, a Florida-based company that operates 18 mobile units in 35 states and tests more than 100,000 people a year.
The company was in central Ohio earlier this month and will return in July.
The typical patient is female and older than 50. The company doesn’t deal with insurance companies, so patients pay the bill.
The company keeps costs down by screening high volumes of patients – 35 per day, per unit – unlike a doctor’s office that might use its ultrasound machine two to three times a day. Plus, costs stay low by not dealing with insurance companies or having buildings to maintain, said Marissa Wallner, a HealthFair spokeswoman.
The images are read by doctors who are board-certified in the states where they work, she said.
Patients receive a report with the results in two to three weeks. They also can have copies sent to as many as two doctors. If they want to see the actual images, they can pay $25 for CDs.
“We encourage people to take these results back to their physicians,” said Ray Ekbatani, the company’s marketing director.
If a technician notices anything that would require immediate action – say, a clogged artery – an ambulance is called to the mobile unit, Wallner said.
Some doctors find the traveling testing units a sham.
“It’s another perfect example of someone trying to make money by offering the unsuspecting public” something that they claim will offer peace of mind, said Dr. Peter Lafferty, a Columbus radiologist.
Lafferty said patients often bring him screening reports “done at a mall” and want him to figure it out. That means more tests and more money.
“It’s kind of fringe medicine; it’s garbage,” he said.
HealthFair is one of several traveling screening companies. There also are brick-and-mortar companies, such as Life Line Screening, which is based in Independence, Ohio, near Cleveland.
Dr. David Neiger, a Northwest Columbus family doctor, said many of his patients use Life Line Screening.
“Frankly, for a lot of my older patients, it’s not a bad deal,” he said. “Since Medicare will not pay for a (diagnostic) screening test, this is a good option for them.”
If there’s a problem, he’ll repeat the test, which is covered by Medicare.
As far as the traveling screening companies, Neiger said he’d want to make sure their equipment works properly and that the physicians reading the results are qualified.
These screening companies and retail health clinics are new to medicine, but they can do their part to make sure the health information they collect makes it back to the patient’s family doctor, said Jeff Biehl, executive director of Access HealthColumbus.
“Those are things that have value, but how do we find ways to connect that information, obviously with patient consent, so it can be used by other providers in the health-care system?” he said.
Source: THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
On Tuesday, FDA announced that it will release risk summaries about medicines approved after September 2007 and post them quarterly to a publicly accessible website, Reuters reports.
The agency said it already has posted summaries for 26 drugs and vaccines that treat allergies, HIV and high blood pressure, among other conditions.
Background
As part of its efforts to comply with the 2007 FDA Amendments Act, the agency plans to disseminate information about a drug or biologic 18 months after the product’s approval or after 10,000 patients have used it, whichever comes later. The information will be based on post-approval health reports from companies, consumers and physicians (Richwine, Reuters, 6/15).
An FDA official said the agency also will conduct a broad review of adverse-event reports, medical studies, and research and utilization databases to identify possible safety issues (Rubin, USA Today, 6/15).
Website Details
FDA will use the public website to post summaries of its findings and describe actions the agency is taking to address the safety concerns (Rhea, Modern Healthcare, 6/15).
Officials said the website aims to help physicians and patients track drug safety risks and make informed decisions about various treatment options (Peterson, Bloomberg/BusinessWeek, 6/15).
Source: iHealthBeat
During last week’s annual meeting in Chicago, the American Medical Association’s House of Delegates passed several health IT-related recommendations, Modern Healthcare reports.
Personal Health Records
The medical association determined that it was too early to urge Congress to approve legislation regulating personal health records. However, AMA approved a policy that allows physicians to review only information they consider relevant in a patient’s PHR, instead of requiring them to review a patient’s entire health history.
AMA also adopted a policy recommending that all entries in patients’ PHRs include a time stamp and sourcing information.
Online Physician Profiles
Meanwhile, the House of Delegates condensed a package of resolutions aimed at regulating online physician profiles and referred the issue back to the board of trustees.
The package includes a directive that AMA “seek legislation that changes existing Internet laws to better protect physicians from cyberlibel, cyberslander, cyberbullying and the dissemination of Internet misinformation.”
State-Run Rx Monitoring Programs
The delegates also passed a resolution directing AMA to address restrictions that prohibit Department of Veterans Affairs doctors and pharmacists from participating in state-run prescription drug monitoring programs. The proposal was brought forth by the Kentucky delegation (Robeznieks, Modern Healthcare, 6/18).
Source: iHealthBeat
Patients increasingly are communicating with their physicians online, but questions remain over reimbursements and security protections for Web-based consultations, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Meredith Ressi, vice president of research at Manhattan Research, said that about 42% of U.S. physicians report having discussed clinical symptoms online with patients. She added that more than 9 million patients report having e-mail communication with their physicians.
About 80 million more patients are interested in having electronic visits with their physicians, according to a 2009 Manhattan Research study of 8,600 U.S. adults.
Benefits
Health care experts say online visits benefit patients because they often are less expensive and more convenient than office visits.
Virtual visits also benefit physicians by allowing them to respond quickly to minor patient concerns while keeping office appointments available for patients who need in-person treatment.
Reimbursement Concerns
As of 2009, fewer than 5% of physicians who communicated online with their patients reported receiving compensation.
However, many large insurers have started paying physicians an average of about $30 per online visit, compared with $75 to $100 for office-based consultations. In addition, twelve states have instituted laws requiring health plans to pay for online visits and other telemedicine services.
Physicians typically do not receive payments for using e-mail to conduct “convenience services,” such as scheduling appointments or relaying test results.
Security Concerns
To receive reimbursement from insurers, physicians are required to conduct online visits via secure Web portals that include high levels of encryption to comply with HIPAA privacy and security rules.
However, most online communication between doctors and patients occurs casually, without secure Web portals, the Times reports.
Lisa Gallagher — senior director of privacy and security for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society — recommended that patients only communicate with their health care provider over secure websites that require a username and password (Zamosky, Los Angeles Times, 6/7).
Source: iHealthBeat
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