After a period of stagnation in electronic health record adoption in 2013, hospitals in the first and second quarters of 2014 have taken steps to advance health IT efforts, according to the latest HIMSS Analytics data, EHR Intelligence reports. HIMSS Analytics is the research arm of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. HIMSS Analytics uses an eight-stage EMR Adoption Model to track the progress of hospitals and health systems in implementing EHRs. Although the top tier of the model is the seventh stage, hospitals generally can qualify for Stage 1 meaningful use incentives at the fourth stage of EMRAM.
Few rural doctors pay home visits anymore, as the practice has become a liability. And when physicians aren't seeing patients at the clinic, they're bogged down in paperwork. Iowa ranks 44th in the nation in direct-patient-care physicians per capita. According to County Health Rankings & Roadmaps data, for every primary care provider in the state there are 1,381 individuals. The state is dead last in the number of obstetricians, gynecologists and emergency medicine physicians compared with the other states and the District of Columbia. Brian Monsma, Mercy Medical Center-Sioux City's vice president of network development, said hospital research shows patients living in rural Siouxland drive 10 miles on average to get to a clinic.
Certain patients may have to wait a little longer before getting a flu shot. The manufacturer hasn't given a reason for a shipping delay, but hospital administrators say they will be monitoring supplies very closely until more doses arrive. The flu vaccine will combat more strains of the virus and healthcare providers are ready to make sure everyone that wants a flu shot gets one. "We start to vaccinate from October through April," said Christine Zwickel, the director of pharmacy at Easton Hospital. This year providers like Easton Hospital have hit a little snag in those plans.
Person for person, health care in the U.S. costs about twice as much as it does in the rest of the developed world. In fact, if our $3 trillion health care sector were its own country, it would be the world's fifth-largest economy. If you have health insurance, you may think it doesn't matter because someone else is paying the bill. You'd be wrong. This country's exorbitant medical costs mean that we all pay too much for health insurance. Overpriced care also translates into fewer raises for American workers. And to top it off, we're not even getting the best care for our money.
The Obama administration announced Thursday that it will spend more than $200 million over the next year to fight chronic diseases that make up the vast majority of the country's spending on medical care. Federal dollars will be awarded to nearly 200 health departments and community health organizations to prevent and control the rates of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Each state will receive at least a half-million dollars, and 11 states will receive at least $5 million. The awards will be focused on high-risk populations, such as individuals who smoke, eat poorly and do not exercise regularly.
Kevin Wiehrs is a nurse at a busy doctor's office in Savannah, Ga. But instead of giving patients shots or taking blood pressure readings, his job is mostly talking with patients like Susan Johnson. Johnson, 63, a retired restaurant cook who receives Medicare and Medicaid, has diabetes, and she already met with her doctor. Afterwards, Wiehrs spends another half hour with her, talking through her medication, exercise and diet. Wierhs, 51, was a hospice nurse for 15 years and a social worker before that. Now, he is one of five new care coordinators at Memorial Health, a medical system based in Savannah. He was hired to pay special attention to patients with poorly controlled chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease.