A new system provides approximately 200 patients at the 750-bed Spectrum Health/Butterworth campus in Grand Rapids, MI, the technology to surf the Internet, communicate electronically with healthcare teams, watch patient videos and enjoy movies and games powered by Xbox 360 software. Other features will eventually be added, including interpreters to communicate with foreign-language patients; video-conferencing and messages chaplains can leave for patients they have missed on their rounds. The "Care Console" is a partnership between Cerner Corp. and Microsoft.
Champions in Healthcare, a new consulting firm founded by clinicians, hopes to overcome one of the greatest barriers to widespread use of health-IT by concentrating on how physicians and nurses think and work. The group had a "soft launch" in early January but is aiming to make a bigger splash at the annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society conference in late February.
The California Regional Health Information Organization has announced that Cisco Systems, Inc. has agreed in principle to participate with its technology partners, in building the the largest statewide health information exchange service in the United States. Cisco will participate in strategy development, infrastructure design and deployment, and implementation services for the not-for-profit CalRHIO Health Information Exchange Utility Service.
Spectrum Health has announced a strategic relationship with Cerner and Microsoft Corp. in developing a consumer-centric technology that empowers patients to take an active role in their care. The Care Console system keeps patients informed about their condition, medical care and provider team during their hospital stay. Spectrum Health is piloting implementation of the Care Console system in one of its units at its 750-bed Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, MI.
EDS has been awarded a $209.9 million, six-and-a-half-year contract to upgrade and continue to maintain Indiana's Medicaid Management Information System. EDS will continue as fiscal agent to the state and its 27,000 healthcare providers, who care for more than 800,000 recipients. Through the contract, EDS will provide a Web-based tool that will enable healthcare providers to electronically enroll in Medicaid programs.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has proposed restrictions for the coverage of cardiac CT angiography. Under the restrictions, Medicare beneficiaries can only receive reimbursements with two clinical indications of coronary artery disease under the coverage with evidence development process.