The confidential health records of approximately 20,000 patients treated at two Orange County hospitals were potentially available to find through online search engines, a St. Joseph Health System official said Wednesday. The information belonged to patients of St. Jude Medical Center in Fullerton and Mission Hospital locations in the cities of Laguna Beach and Mission Viejo. The medical information of 31,800 patients across six separate hospitals in California was was also available online.
Venture-backed health information technology firm NaviNet has agreed to be acquired by a consortium that includes fellow HIT firm Lumeris Corp., and three Blue Cross Blue Shield health insurance plans. The deal is a example of what could be a coming wave of alliances between health plans and health information technology firms, as insurers increasingly seek to use health data to support better-quality and lower-cost care. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
UnitedHealth Group's Optum business is launching a service that allows doctors to share information about patients over the Internet, as health care companies continue their push to improve care with better coordination. Optum's cloud provides a platform that health care providers can use for software that helps them track patients.
For Jeff Chimenti, a rock keyboardist who plays with offshoots of the Grateful Dead never planned to invent a device to help people suffering from sleep apnea, but stranger things have happened in the world of rock 'n roll. When Chimenti's mother faced a medical setback a few years ago, he did not stand by idly like a blissed-out Deadhead in the front row of a concert.
The Leapfrog Group has named the nation's top hospitals for 2011, and the list shines a spotlight on how health IT can help improve patient care—even preventing medical errors that can lead to adverse drug reactions and deaths. Leapfrog bases its annual ranking on a survey of hospitals' processes, quality of care, and patient safety. Its evaluation includes "stringent IT requirements," said Leah Binder, Leapfrog CEO.
Several large U.S. health insurance companies, including Aetna, WellPoint and UnitedHealth Group, currently offer mobile apps that help members find network providers and perform other simple functions. On the surface, these apps strengthen connections with members and providers. However, the mobile health revolution holds deeper implications for the insurance industry, which plans to enhance future mobile offerings to more directly impact patient health, according to the American Medical Association.