Researchers have developed a new algorithm that uses patient data to make predictions about an individual’s future health conditions, according to a paper published in the Annals of Applied Statistics, Popular Science reports.
How It Works
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Columbia University researchers took data from a multiyear clinical drug trial involving tens of thousands of patients age 40 and older. Patient information includes gender, ethnicity, medical histories and prescriptions (Boyle, Popular Science, 6/5).
They then used the Hierarchical Association Rule Model to predict future medical conditions based on combined data on various conditions from the larger patient pool.
Tyler McCormick — assistant professor of statistics and sociology at the University of Washington — said the statistical model “provides physicians with insights on what might be coming next for a patient, based on experiences of other patients.” For example, patients who already have dyspepsia and epigastric pain could be more likely to develop heartburn, according to McCormick.
Access to Tool
McCormick said he intends to make the tool available to both doctors and patients. He said, “We hope that this model will provide a more patient-centered approach to medical care and to improve patient experiences” (Hall, FierceHealthIT, 6/6).
Source: iHealthBeat
Online postings for health care informatics jobs are growing at a faster rate than postings for several other types of jobs, according to a new report by labor market analytics firm Burning Glass, CMIO reports (Byers, CMIO, 6/6).
The report — titled, “A Growing Jobs Sector: Health Informatics” — was prepared for Credentials that Work, an initiative that helps universities align their program offerings with high-demand jobs.
Report Findings
The report found that between 2007 and 2011, job postings for health care informatics positions increased by 36%. During the same timeframe, postings for all health care jobs increased by 9% and postings for all jobs increased by 6%.
Informatics positions currently represent the eighth-largest category of health care jobs, the report found (Hall, FierceHealthIT, 6/4). It also noted that jobs related to clinical documentation and analysis represent the fastest growing segment of health care informatics positions.
Possible Reasons for Job Growth
According to the report, changes in health care policies and payment methods have fueled a need for more health care informatics workers.
The report noted that health care informatics jobs are becoming “increasingly integrated into the management of clinical care,” adding that “these positions have become more skilled, with entry-level jobs upgraded, lower-skilled positions shrinking and greater clinical knowledge required for higher-level jobs” (CMIO, 6/6).
Source: iHealthBeat
Putting a patient’s photo in his or her electronic health record could help reduce certain EHR-related medical errors, according to a study published in the journal Pediatrics, Reuters reports.
Background on Study
In 2009, a quality-improvement program at Children’s Hospital Colorado found that orders placed in the wrong patient’s chart were the second most common reason that patients received treatments not intended for them.
To reduce such errors, the hospital modified its EHR system to generate an order verification screen each time a test or treatment was ordered. The verification screen displayed a photo of the patient taken at the time the patient was admitted.
Study Findings
The study found that the number of incidents in which a patient received care intended for another patient fell from 12 cases in 2010 to three cases after the hospital implemented the verification screens in 2011. In all three of those cases, a photo was not included in the patient’s EHR.
The number of “near-miss” incidents — in which a treatment or test was ordered for the wrong patient but another staff member caught the error — fell from 33 cases in 2010 to 10 cases in 2011. In just one of the 10 cases, a photo was included in the patient’s EHR.
Daniel Hyman — lead author of the study and chief quality officer at Children’s Hospital Colorado — said, “I do think it’s the photos that made the difference.” He said other hospitals could add photos to their EHR systems, noting that the “technology needed is relatively inexpensive” (Norton, Reuters, 6/4).
Source: iHealthBeat
Fewer eligible health care professionals registered for the meaningful use program in April than in March, according to new data from CMS, Modern Healthcare reports.
Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health record systems can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments.
Data on Eligible Professionals
The new data showed that the total number of eligible professionals who submitted registrations for the Medicaid and Medicare incentive programs in April was 12,228, down by 12% from March.
Although the number eligible professionals who registered for the Medicare incentive program increased by 13% in April, that increase was offset by a 36% decline in eligible professionals who registered for the Medicaid incentive program, the CMS data showed.
According to CMS, the total number of eligible professionals registered for the meaningful use program now is at 234,570, 84% of whom are physicians. Other eligible professionals include dentists, optometrists and podiatrists.
Additional Data
The CMS data showed that 86 hospitals registered for the Medicare and Medicaid incentive programs in April, bringing the total number of registered hospitals to 3,569.
According to CMS, more than $5 billion in incentive payments has been paid out under the two EHR incentive programs, including:
Source: iHealthBeat
Last week, the European Medicines Agency announced the launch of a new website that contains reports on suspected side effects of medications, CMIO reports.
The information in the reports comes from EudraVigilance, a drug safety database that EMA maintains for European Union member states.
The website currently offers reports on about 650 drugs and active ingredients (Stuart, CMIO, 6/1). Each report details adverse reactions that patients, physicians and pharmaceutical companies have reported to regulatory authorities in the EU (AFP/Google News, 6/1).
Users can view the adverse reaction data by:
Officials emphasized that the data relate to suspected side effects. The EMA release stated, “Suspected side effects may not be related to or caused by the medicine, and as a result, the published information cannot be used to determine the likelihood of experiencing a side effect or as an indication that a medicine is harmful.”
The reports currently are available only in English, but EMA plans to release the data in the EU’s 22 other official languages in the coming weeks (AFP/Google News, 6/1). The agency also eventually plans to release reports on additional medicines (CMIO, 6/1).
Source: iHealthBeat
As more health care providers adopt electronic health records, the increase in health data breaches is raising concern among patient privacy advocates and public health officials, Kaiser Health News/Washington Post reports.
Recent Data Breaches
Recent data breaches have occurred at:
Addressing Privacy Concerns
HHS has the authority to issue subpoenas when enforcing HIPAA privacy and security rules, but between enactment of the law in 2003 and late 2011, it has used that power only twice, according to a report the agency provided to Congress. In addition, HHS assessed a monetary penalty only once during that time, the report noted.
Susan McAndrew — deputy director for health information policy at HHS’s Office of Civil Rights — said, “The industry is very interested and responsive to correct the mistakes that they make and improve their privacy policies, so it’s not necessary for us to resort to these types of penalties.”
However, at a November 2011 Senate hearing, HHS was criticized for its lack of enforcement on data breaches. During the following six months, the agency reached settlements on several HIPAA cases that included more than $1.5 million in penalties.
Deven McGraw — director of the Center for Democracy & Technology’s Health Privacy Project — said that prior to the 2011 Senate hearing, HHS had been losing credibility on HIPAA enforcement. McGraw said she is pleased with HHS’ quick response to criticisms.
However, McGraw noted that federal regulators only can mitigate the risks associated with EHRs. She said, “No matter how good you make the technology, we’ll never get the risk down to zero,” adding, “But we can do a lot better than we have been doing” (Schultz, Kaiser Health News/Washington Post, 6/2).
Source: iHealthBeat
Small physician practices should not let the meaningful use program dictate their long-term strategy for the adoption of electronic health record systems, according to a report by IDC Health Insights, Healthcare IT News reports.
Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR systems could qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments.
Report Details
In the report — titled, “IDC MarketScape: U.S. Ambulatory EMR/EHR for Small Practices 2012 Vendor Assessment” — IDC said it expects the meaningful use program to fuel an increase in EHR adoption over the next several years. The report also predicted that the U.S. health care industry will experience:
The report also includes an evaluation of 11 EHR products from nine vendors that are designed to help small physician practices qualify for meaningful use incentive payments.
Implications
Judy Hanover — IDC Health Insights research director — said EHRs offer “an unprecedented opportunity for providers in small practices to garner federal incentives for demonstrating meaningful use” (Miliard, Healthcare IT News, 5/30).
However, she added, “If providers allow the constraints of meaningful use to dictate their technology choices and limit the goals for implementation, they may only see the short-term incentives and not the long-term strategic advantage that EHR [systems] can bring to their practices and may fail to compete under health care reform” (Goedert, Health Data Management, 5/30).
Source: iHealthBeat
On Thursday, the U.S. Olympic Committee announced that it will use an electronic health record system to manage care for athletes, staff and volunteers, eWeek reports.
The announcement marks the first time that USOC has used an EHR system to manage care.
Bill Moreau, USOC managing director of sports medicine, said, “We previously had to ship, sort and store palettes of paper records for each [Olympic] Games — those days are gone” (Horowitz, eWeek, 5/24).
About the EHR System
USOC will deploy GE’s EHR system and its medical record image viewing software (Walsh, CMIO, 5/24).
The system will contain medical data on 700 athletes competing in the Summer 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games, as well as almost 3,000 USOC staff members and volunteers (Miliard, Healthcare IT News, 5/24).
Physicians will be able to access the health records via tablet computers. USOC said the health IT tools will allow physicians to quickly access information about allergies and medications while treating athletes’ injuries (eWeek, 5/24).
Next Steps
USOC said it plans to continue its partnership with GE for several future Olympic Games, including the 2014 winter games in Russia and the 2016 summer games in Brazil.
Jan De Witte — CEO of GE’s health IT and performance solutions divisions — said the EHR system “is a platform that will stay with the USOC for the years to come” (Healthcare IT News, 5/24).
Source: iHealthBeat
Sixty-five percent of consumers who seek health information online say they trust the data that they find, according to a survey by Wolters Kluwer Health, Healthcare Informatics reports (Healthcare Informatics, 5/22).
Survey Details
IPSOS, an advertising research company, conducted the survey of more than 1,000 U.S. consumers ages 18 and older.
The survey focused on consumer perceptions and practices related to using the Internet to answer medical queries (Roney, Becker’s Hospital Review, 5/17).
Survey Findings
According to the survey, 67% of respondents said that health care websites have made them better-informed patients.
The survey also found that:
Source: iHealthBeat
Physicians are seeing advantages in using software-as-a-service electronic health record systems — or SaaS EHR systems — according to a new report by research firm KLAS, InformationWeek reports.
KLAS defines SaaS EHR systems as online EHR tools that have a single cloud-based storage database and the ability to simultaneously apply software updates to all patients’ EHRs (Terry, InformationWeek, 5/17).
About the Report
For the report, KLAS interviewed nearly 300 health care providers who currently use SaaS EHR systems from various vendors. The surveyed health care providers noted that the vendors differed in their:
Report Findings
The report stated, “The four [SaaS EHR] vendors that are consistently delivering intuitive, fast-moving services that offer high-ranking support and high value per dollar spent are athenahealth, CureMD, MIE and Practice Fusion” (Byers, CMIO, 5/15).
KLAS suggested that SaaS EHR systems are becoming more appealing to health care providers because:
The report stated, “The SaaS [EHR] deployment model is becoming more popular for providers who want minimal up-front cost and the burden of maintenance lifted from them” (CMIO, 5/15).
Source: iHealthBeat
MGMA Supports ICD-10 Testing With Outside Organizations
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Report: Many EHR Users Set To Replace Systems Within the Next Year
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Providers, Vendors Urge Congress To Delay Meaningful Use Stage 2
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Many Doctors May Find Meeting ‘Meaningful Use’ Requirements a Challenge
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When it Comes to ICD-10 Physician Documentation: Collaborate and Educate
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The Slow Crawl Toward Improved EHR Usability and Interoperability
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Efficient Patient Communication and Engagement
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ONC Issues Guidance on Stage 2 Transition of Care Requirements
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Drugmakers Leverage Doctor, Patient Data To Market Their Products
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Consumer Organizations Defend Meaningful Use Program
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