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Are These the Right Programs to Support HITECH? Carrie Vaughan, Technology Editor While the healthcare industry anxiously waits for the definition of meaningful use—which will be defined by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in the next few weeks—I wonder whether the grant programs and initiatives that the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has developed during these past few months to help support the adoption of electronic health records and the exchange of health information will be successful. [Read More]

December 8, 2009

Editor's Picks
10 Most Hazardous Technologies in Healthcare This a great summary by my colleague Cheryl Clark of a study on the 10 most dangerous technological hazards in healthcare by the ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit company that evaluates medical devices and processes. Some of the problems that hospitals may want to focus on to keep people safe from technology-related risks include cross-contamination from flexible endoscopes, alarms for patient monitoring equipment, ventilators, and dialysis units that malfunction, surgical fires, and CT radiation doses. [Read More] AT&T sets its sights on the telehealth industry AT&T scientists have spent the past year working on prototypes of products aimed at linking patients and physicians across the country via video and medical-information technology. For example, bedroom slippers that have technology built into the insole that can read how well a person is walking. If an elderly patient's gait is impaired, the device, which sends data over AT&T's network, can alert a physician via e-mail or text message and possibly prevent a fall and costly trip to the emergency department. This type of remote medical care has a lot of growth potential, but the main roadblock is still reimbursement. [Read More] Feds Offering $235 Million to Model Health IT Communities The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that $235 million in funds are being made available to help the industry get a better handle on how health information technology will improve the quality care that people receive. The grants will support 15 "beacon communities," which are hospital systems, provider groups, and state and local governments that are already using cutting-edge technology, according to this article by my colleague Janice Simmons. [Read More]

Tech Headlines
Judge Gives Preliminary OK to $350 Million UnitedHealth Settlement Les Masterson, for HealthLeaders Media - December 4, 2009 Sarasota (FL) Memorial Hospital uses new iPhone technology to help patients and nurses Healthcare IT News - December 8, 2009 House panel split on mammogram guidelines Wall Street Journal - December 3, 2009 Flurry of HIPAA Activity Expected Over Next Three Months Dom Nicastro, for HealthLeaders Media - December 2, 2009

Webcasts
January 22, 2010: Joint Replacement Service Lines: Alignment and Business Strategies for a Changing Environment December 17, 2009: Women's Health: Building a More Profitable Service Line With Existing Assets December 3, 2009: Marketing Cardiology: Service Line Strategies for Marketers
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From HealthLeaders Magazine

Carving Out a New CEO Model
Responding to heightened scrutiny and reimbursement cuts, healthcare CEOs are becoming increasingly interactive with a growing list of constituents. [Read More]

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Service Line Management

Don't Count on Colonoscopies
New procedural developments and a shifting market are changing how physicians and hospitals work together to deliver digestive health services. [Read More]

IT Forum

Try Simulation Training to Improve Teamwork, Collaboration, and Patient Safety: Contributor Mary Holtschneider, RN, BSN, BC, MPA, NREMT-P, director of nursing practice and education for the North Carolina Nurses Association in Raleigh, discusses how various forms of simulation can be used to teach clinical and teamwork. [Read More]

Audio Feature

Pros and Cons of a Thin Client Solution: Matt Winn, IT director at Pacific Hospital of Long Beach in California, discusses the benefits and challenges of delivering a full range of applications via a thin client solution rather than maintaining traditional desktops. [Listen Now]