|
|
Editor's Picks
|
Wi-Fi pacemakers could soon become standard
The first wireless pacemaker was implemented in the U.S. this past month. The device communicates with a home monitoring device that relays the information gathered to the physician's office. The device can alert physicians if it detects any irregular heartbeats, which may help prevent life-threatening problems. When the patient does come in to see the physician, the device enables the doctor to spend more time focusing on the patient's needs rather than gathering diagnostic information. [Read More]
What will U.S. healthcare look like in 2015?
Researchers at CSC, a global consulting firm, attempt to answer that question in this report, which focuses on five areas—cost, coverage, capacity, expectations, and health information technology. For instance, the report says that while the HITECH Act provides some incentives to promote the adoption of EHRs, it will not be sufficient to overcome all of the obstacles of implementation. Healthcare organizations that choose not to take advantage of the HITECH Act, however, risk not being able to respond to the next era of accountable care and finance reform, the report concludes. [Read More]
Ten steps to better healthcare
Atul Gawande, Donald Berwick, Elliott Fisher, and Mark McClellan pulled lessons from 10 regions—out of 74—that boast per capita Medicare costs that are low or markedly declining in rank and where federal quality measures are above average for this New York Times commentary. One of the lessons learned came from physicians and hospital leaders in Cedar Rapids, IA, where they adopted electronic systems to improve communication among physicians after they determined that 52,000 CAT scans were ordered for a community of 300,000 people in just one year. Cedar Rapid's rate of CAT scans was actually better than the national average, which is about 62 million CAT scans for 300 million people annually. [Read More]
Finances, EHRs Top Challenges for Practices
Selecting and adopting electronic medical records ranked as the third biggest challenge for group practices, according to a new study by the Medical Group Management Association. The top two challenges were operating costs rising faster than revenues and maintaining physician compensation levels with declining reimbursement rates. [Read More]
|
|
Tech Headlines
|
NAHIT to close doors
Health Data Management - August 18, 2009
HHS takes on health records
Washington Post - August 17, 2009
OCR Names HIPAA Privacy and Security Delegates
Dom Nicastro, for HealthLeaders Media - August 14, 2009
Knowing Your HIM Department Could Help with EHR Implementation
Lisa Eramo, for HealthLeaders Media - August 13, 2009
|
|
Webcasts
|
August 20, 2009: Service Lines Strategies Workshop 2009: Gastroenterology
On Demand: Advanced Service Line Marketing: New Orthopedics Growth Strategies
On Demand: Service Line Strategies Workshop 2009: Spine Care
|
|
| From HealthLeaders Magazine |
Hang On
Get ready for the failure of the HIT stimulus dream, episode of care contracting, the end of easy credit, and a public plan. [Read More]
|
|
|
| Service Line Management |
Making Wellness WorkWellness and weight loss programs aren't major revenue generators, but healthcare reformers know they cannot effectively control costs without focusing more on prevention. [Read More]
|
|
|
IT Forum
Web-Based Analytics Improving Medical Practice Strategic Planning: Stone Medical Clinic had much to be proud of—a long history of excellent patient care, well trained physicians, and a growing roster of new patients. What it lacked, however, was profitability comparable to similar-sized practices. What it needed was the ability to review many disparate pieces of patient information related to the business side of the practice, from verifying coverage to collecting co-payments. [Read More] |
|
|
 |
Audio Feature
Certification Program Targets Healthcare CIOs: Tim Stettheimer, PhD, the senior vice president & regional chief information officer for St. Vincent's Health System in Birmingham AL, discusses the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives' new certification program for Healthcare CIOs. The program acknowledges the changing role of healthcare CIOs by focusing not only on the technological components of the job, but also on the new strategic and leadership responsibilities that CIOs must have today. [Listen Now]
|
|
|
|
|
|
