Big data is good for medical science, but potentially risky for the patient. By amassing and analyzing massive quantities of digital information from multiple sources, including an emerging class of wearable devices and smartphone apps, medical professionals will be well equipped to solve major health problems and warn people of emerging threats like the Ebola virus. That's the goal, anyway. But big data's role in healthcare may be hindered by government privacy regulations such the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules, which regulate the security and disclosure of personal health information by health insurers, medical care providers, and other entities.
The state and UPMC say one of Highmark's new Medicare Advantage products runs afoul of the recent consent decree signed by the two Pittsburgh health giants, and both are contemplating legal action in order to have the plan nullified by state courts. The plan in question is a narrow-network "Community Blue" insurance plan, with monthly premiums starting at $0. UPMC's hospitals are not part of the plan's physicians network, nor are those of Excela Health in Westmoreland County, Butler Health System or Washington Health System.
A major change in the works will shape the way medical students prepare for residencies. The Association for American Medical Colleges in June announced the creation of a new set of guidelines, known as the Core Entrustable Professional Activities for Entering Residency. Medical schools can use them to help students transition to a residency program. In residency, new doctors receive additional training for what usually lasts three or more years.
In hospitals, bacteria and viruses that sometimes cause the sick to get sicker affect thousands of people every year. One in 20 patients contracts a health care-associated infection during a hospital stay, according to health.gov. In 2011, the most recent year available on the website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated roughly 722,000 infections occurred in acute care hospitals — from all types of bacteria – and caused or contributed to 75,000 deaths each year. Both MU Health Care and Boone Hospital Center are using new cleaning technology for disinfecting hospital rooms — "germ zapping" robots.
Hospitals compete for patients, and Emergency Departments play a big role in business. So what happens to business when a hospital takes on a patient with Ebola? On Thursday afternoon, there was no wait time at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital's emergency room in Dallas. Usually, it takes about 45 minute to see a doctor. But less than a week after a patient confirmed to have Ebola came through the ER, it's not the most popular place. "If I lived in Dallas and became ill, I would head straight for the Texas Health ER knowing that the waiting lines are so short," Dr. Albert Wu says.
Many of the nation's hospitals are not adequately prepared for an outbreak of the Ebola virus, according to a spokesman for the nation's largest nurses union. "What we are saying is we need to not spread panic or fear in the United States, we need to spread preparedness," Charlies Idelson, communications director for National Nurses United, told News 3 by phone today. About 1,000 union members held a "die-in" late last month on the Las Vegas Strip where hundreds of nurses fell to the pavement to signify the death of a person because of the Ebola virus.