Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

For years now, we have held on to the hope that health information technology (health IT) solutions would translate into better health outcomes. We have indeed seen signs that physicians and hospitals which deploy health IT solutions like electronic health records (EHRs) provide better care.

We have also hoped that the day of an interoperable platform would allow healthcare professionals and facilities to access individual patient’s health information. Some progress has been made in a couple of states in terms of creating a legitimate health information exchange (HIE). However, the process of building, implementing and sustaining an HIE needs accelerating in most states including Georgia.

But as data is gathered, stored and analyzed, we have new, emerging opportunities which have promise. The term “big data” has surfaced as a new buzzword in healthcare.

Data is growing and moving faster than healthcare organizations can consume it. Most medical data is unstructured but …

Continue reading Achieving Personalized Healthcare from Big Data Analytics »

The healthcare industry is dramatically changing. It’s happening because of technology, politics, economics, and empowered consumers. Today’s consumer is connected, juggling multiple devices, on the go, and want their voices heard. They crave information and connections—practically in real-time. This is every organization’s new business reality.

Experts and pundits have coined it the “Relationship Era.” As empowered consumers access social and digital platforms to voice opinions, the days of mass, one-way marketing are gone. It’s a two-way relationship now. The healthcare industry, ironically, hasn’t exactly been the best in developing “relationships” with patients, members or consumers. It’s been a bit of a machine pushing you through the process. Whether its doctors with increasingly limited face time or the cloud of uncertainty over insurance fees and processes, the healthcare industry hasn’t gotten high marks in personal relations. But that’s …

Continue reading Healthcare Business in the Relationship Era: 5 Ways to Succeed »

The HealthFlock team of experts has done an excellent job of outlining the factors that constrain, as well as offering solutions to help cure, our healthcare system. While the adaptation of technology in healthcare has been slowed due the fractured core of our healthcare ecosystem, inevitably, it will be technology that will drive forward the changes necessary for it to survive – and thrive. Building a more connected healthcare network will drive down costs and improve the overall delivery of care – from the hospital to the home to a free-standing pod.

Continue reading Connected Everywhere – from Hospital to Home to Pod »

At the recent HIMSS trade show, six large healthcare IT companies (McKesson, Cerner, athenahealth, Allscripts, Relay Health, Greenway Medical Technologies) announced the formation of a not-for-profit company called CommonWell Health Alliance. The purpose of this organization is to create frictionless movement of patient-centered data across all settings of care and among all health care IT systems[1].

This is a profound announcement from companies that did not embrace the frictionless movement of data across systems within an acute care setting let alone outside the four walls of a hospital. This is great news for all of those organizations that lacked the clout or financial assets to interface their best of breed systems with the large name brand solutions. Historically, the price and effort of sharing data with the larger acute care vendors was cost prohibitive. The price and effort became a barrier to entry keeping best-of-breed competition out of a healthcare provider’s …

Continue reading Is the Healthcare IT companies’ announcement of seamless interoperability marketing hype or a social awakening? »

Is this a good time for ICD-10? Providers are mandated to implement ICD-10 for outpatient diagnosis coding by October 1, 2014. This could not be at a worse time for healthcare organizations especially small practices. ICD-10 diagnosis codes are used by your provider to describe your illness and are submitted to insurance companies for payment. Providers currently use an older version called ICD-9. ICD-10 will increase the number of available diagnosis codes from 13,000 to 68,000. Medical Economic journal recently estimated the cost per practice to be $83,000-$2.7million according to the practice size.

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) recently indicated that providers should not have to bear the economic burden of upgrading to ICD-10. Upgrading requires practice management IT system changes that can be expensive for providers at a time when they are already spending big bucks to implement and upgrade their electronic health records. Meaningful Use Stage II is …

Continue reading A Good Time for ICD-10? »

One of the outcomes of December’s tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School is a renewed interest in addressing behavioral health problems.  While the state of Connecticut has yet to release information about the shooter’s mental state, it is clear that he suffered from a mental health breakdown.  Half to two-thirds of spree shooters, like Adam Lanza, were formally diagnosed, hospitalized, or had shown rage, aggression, paranoia and/or delusional thinking prior to their attack.

Yet, horrific acts like that at Sandy Hook don’t mean that people with mental health problems are more likely to be violent.  In fact, experts argue that people with mental illnesses are much more likely to be victims of crime than perpetrators.

Few people realize how commonplace mental health problems are in the United States.  It is estimated that approximately one in four adults and one in five children will be challenged with an identifiable behavioral health disorder every year. …

Continue reading A Case for Improving Mental Health Services in Georgia »

By Bart Foster, CEO & Founder of SoloHealth

@Bart_Foster

Money is a powerful motivator. Look no further than the sports world for validation. The PGA’s FedEx Cup encourages golfers to earn “points” towards participation in playoffs that offer a big season-ending payoff. Tennis has a similar format with the U.S. Open Series where performance in a series of events equates to a huge prize purse. Both instances use hefty prize money to help ensure the top performers participate and at high levels. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have applied this sports theory to its rankings system of Medicare Advantage (MA) and Prescription Drug Plans (PDP) plans. And there’s billions of dollars up-for-grabs for healthcare plans.

CMS Ups the Ante on Star Ratings
Since 2007 the CMS has posted rankings of MA and PDP plans to give consumers an informational tool when comparing and selecting plans. It was designed to help identify poor-performing plans and provide …

Continue reading Billions at Stake in CMS’s Pay-for-Performance Rankings »

Believe it or not, the HIPAA Omnibus has not had a major overhaul since the late 1990’s. The original Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act was released in 1996. An updated expansion of the Act is set for official release later this week (the contents of the expansion were unveiled last week). The Act, which covers the transferability and security of private health information, for all intents and purposes, was written for the “paper” era, prior to the transformation of today’s digital and mobile age. As such, there were many outdated rules by which the privacy of patient information was not accounted for – such as the dissemination of data via the information “super highway” and mobile communication devices. However, the recent omnibus rule does not adequately address the complexity of today’s digital ecosystem, but it attempts to piece together parts that make the whole run more proficiently.

Continue reading Protected Patient Information in the Digital Era »

Healthcare payment reform is a work in process. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Innovation Center is rolling out various test projects to identify how to bend the curve of healthcare costs while improving quality outcomes. These projects are gravitating towards a common underlying reimbursement theme, a fixed payment for services covering the episode of care (ambulatory, acute, and post-acute services) with a linkage to quality outcomes. Present healthcare IT solutions do not meet the anticipated needs of the market for this new form of reimbursement. There are two key requirements a healthcare provider’s IT solution needs to provide:

• Episode of care (ambulatory, acute and post-acute services) integrated platform supporting the data acquisition, measuring and monitoring of total services delivered
• Financial accounting system to forecast, measure and manage the distribution of a fixed payment to various providers participating in the episode of …

Continue reading Healthcare Payment Reform Redefines Healthcare IT Solution Requirements »

With the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the delivery of healthcare will transform in the near time horizon. These changes are driven by necessity. There are three key dynamics changing what healthcare will look like in the near future:

1. Growing patient demand – increasing number of baby boomers going on to Medicare and the uninsured receiving medical coverage
2. Declining number of physicians
3. Reduction of reimbursement to healthcare providers

How the market responds to these dynamics is evolving though it will require a convergence of technology with a broader range of healthcare services.

Technology

Technology provides the infrastructure to support scaling of solutions. It will also be an enabler of delivering quality healthcare in a cost effective manner. Here are some examples of how technology is used today and we can anticipate expansion:

• Telemedicine – Neurologist are on-call using a computer with a camera and live video feed …

Continue reading Healthcare Delivery and Care Coordination Changes on the Horizon »