Technology

While health technology tools get better and better, they provide benefits for patients, but should not be there to replace clinicians, explained Helen Figge, MBA, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, senior vice president of global strategies and development at LumiraDx.

Health information technologies can be implemented without impact on patient satisfaction. The lacking synergistic relationship should be concerning to stakeholders for optimizing costs and quality.

The authors illustrate a methodology for delineating variations in medical costs for patients with similar clinical conditions and needs using electronic health record data.

Hospitals participating in accountable care organizations (ACOs) have greater adoption of health information technology, particularly patient-facing technology and health information exchange, than non-ACO hospitals.

Aligning health information technology with population health requires organizations to think differently about data needs, exchange partners, and how to leverage both for evidence-based action.

The 6th annual Health Information Technology (IT) issue occurs at a time of significant change in US health IT—related policies. These articles will offer guidance to those working to overcome their own health IT challenges and support practitioners’, policy makers’ and researchers’ efforts to leverage health IT in support of a better health system.

There are long-standing problems associated with the administration of healthcare, such as racial and ethnic health disparities, and the geographic variation in the quality and quantity of care provided, that are important for the healthcare industry to address

It is unclear which barriers cause the greatest threats to the successful implementation of an electronic health record (EHR). This paper prioritizes the potential threats to EHR adoption using a novel analytic strategy: item response theory.

Wen Dombrowski, MD, MBA, Resonate Health LLC, said that it’s important to develop health information technologies because the lack thereof not only impacts the individual living with the condition, but the entire environment and community he or she may live in.

This week, the top managed care stories included the FDA's approval of rival combination therapies for type 2 diabetes, the American Medical Association issued mHealth guidelines, and a study found the dementia rate declining.

Health information technology not only gives providers easier access to a patient’s medical history and prior test results in a timely manner, but it allows patients to become more actively engaged in their care, explained Wen Dombrowski, MD, MBA.

Is there anything like an ideal patient portal that can cater to a broad range of patients? According to Rebekkah Schear, MIA, what patient portals lack is a holistic approach toward the patient.

How can we create more standardized health information platforms that can easily exchange patient information?

Cancer is a complex disease to treat an patients can be overwhelmed by the number of care providers that they have to consult with. In this scenario, care navigators can provide significant support to patients and their family members.

A CMS investigation found that almost 46% of the doctor listings in Medicare Advantage (MA) directories contained incorrect information. Officials worry that these inaccuracies could make it more difficult for seniors to access the healthcare they need.

About half of Americans have low health literacy and struggle to find and use health information, which is associated with negative outcomes, including overall poorer health.

Though symptom checking apps and websites have been touted by some as the future of clinical diagnostics, a recent study has found that they are far less accurate than actual physicians at identifying the correct diagnosis when given a clinical vignette.

Highlights of our peer-reviewed research in the healthcare and mainstream press.

The first winner of the Seema S. Sonnad Emerging Leader in Managed Care Research award in 2015 writes about winning the award and 3 dimensions of the experience that were particularly meaningful.

A new trend in healthcare allows individuals to continuously measure various data points-from steps to sleep patterns-and have access to that information at their fingertips.

Digital health programs like telehealth have already made progress in fields like mental health by expanding access and lowering costs, but there are opportunities to achieve much more in the future, according to Susan Dentzer, president and CEO of The Network for Excellence in Health Innovation.

What we're reading, September 29, 2016: as part of the bill to prevent a government shutdown, the Senate has finally approved Zika virus funding; electronic health record breaches skyrocketed from 2014 to 2015; and California passes "right to try" law for terminally ill patients.

Research has shown that care provided through teledermatology is comparable to that delivered in face-to-face appointments, and future dermatologists are being taught to deliver care this way to improve patient access to expert dermatological care, said Nellie Konnikov, MD, professor and chief of dermatology at the Boston Department of Veterans Affairs.

Mix-ups in patient identification are a fairly frequent occurrence that can cause real harm to patients. These events are highly preventable with strategies.