Healthcare | InformationWeek Blog

Feds Still Seeking 'Meaningful' Feedback

mmcgee@techweb.com — Mar 8, 2010 12:15 PM

Want to weigh in the federal government's proposed meaningful use criteria before it's written in stone? Act soon. There's only about a week left to submit your comments to the feds.

Wireless Analyst Weighs In On Life After Stroke

awolfe@techweb.com — Mar 4, 2010 01:30 PM

My post on Intel executive vice president Sean Maloney's stroke prompted an e-mail from wireless and telecom industry analyst Jeff Kagan, who's himself a stroke survivor. I wanted to bring you the exchange, because I expect it'll open your eyes, the way it opened mine, to the unpredictability of the illness and the recovery period.

HIMSS: Meaningful Use Goes Over The Top

rpreston@techweb.com — Mar 2, 2010 10:44 AM

Remember the regulatory rash that broke out several years ago, when every software vendor had just the balm for your HIPAA, Sarbanes-Oxley, PCI, and other compliance problems? At this week's Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference in Atlanta, the new compliance is "meaningful use" of electronic medical records, with vendors appealing to healthcare providers and other customers anxious to get their hands on the $793 gazillion (or thereabouts) in promised government subsidies.

Tips For Getting Money To Fund Health IT Projects

mmcgee@techweb.com — Mar 1, 2010 06:02 PM

The government's HITECH stimulus programs promise to reward healthcare providers billions of dollars for the meaningful use of health IT. But those financial incentives don't begin kicking in till 2011. In the meantime, there are ways to get outside funding to help with your initial technology investment.

Feds Tackling Health IT Privacy, Security Issues

mmcgee@techweb.com — Feb 22, 2010 02:41 PM

While the federal government is enticing healthcare providers with billions of dollars in stimulus funding to digitize patient health data, the feds also appear serious about the data privacy and security concerns these efforts raise.

Cloud-Based EMR Vendor Expects Flood Of New Hires

mmcgee@techweb.com — Feb 16, 2010 04:03 PM

Looking to get into health IT, but don't have a background in healthcare? Practice Fusion might be the place for you.

Some Hot Health IT Stocks Are Cooling

mmcgee@techweb.com — Feb 9, 2010 01:30 PM

Street.com just released a list of "best and worst" healthcare IT stocks. You'd think with all the stimulus money being waved at healthcare providers to install e-health record systems over the next few years, all health IT stocks would be winners.

Apple Isn't Only Vendor With New Tablet

mmcgee@techweb.com — Feb 1, 2010 01:53 PM

While the world awaited Apple's debut of iPad last week, another tablet vendor--that especially focuses on healthcare-- was busy behind the scenes readying its own new product announcement.

Healthcare Providers Want "Red Flag" Exception

george@georgehulme.com — Jan 31, 2010 10:08 PM

Dentists, physicians, and veterinarians are asking the Federal Trade Commission to exclude healthcare professionals from regulations designed to mitigate the risks of identity theft. I say: Step up and protect your customers from identity theft.

HP Moves Into Doctor Practices With McKesson Deal

mmcgee@techweb.com — Jan 27, 2010 01:00 PM

As tens of thousands of small doctor office in the U.S. evaluate how they'll cash in on the federal government's $20 billion health IT stimulus programs, Hewlett Packard is the latest computer vendor looking for a piece of the action. And it's signed up with McKesson to help.

EMR Vendor Busy Hiring, Not Worrying

mmcgee@techweb.com — Jan 26, 2010 12:14 PM

Last year eClinicalWorks began offering its e-health record system bundled with Dell computers to small doctor offices via Sam's Clubs. Wal-Mart recently said it was closing 10 Sam's Clubs in the U.S. as the company's discount warehouse outlets struggle in some markets. (Wal-Mart is also cutting 10,000 jobs at Sam's Clubs, mostly related to product demos. Think free frozen pizza samples.) But eClinicalWorks isn't troubled by Sam's Club's problems.

Commission Tweaking Certification Programs To Meet New Regs

mmcgee@techweb.com — Jan 20, 2010 05:31 PM

The Certification Commission for Health IT said it will be updating its e-health record certification programs to conform to the near-final meaningful use criteria released by the U.S. Dept. Health and Human Services in late December.

Health IT A Bright Spot For Jobs In 2010

mmcgee@techweb.com — Jan 19, 2010 01:26 PM

While the tech sector cut nearly 175,000 jobs in 2009, the worse is hopefully over, with healthcare IT being one of the most promising niches for new jobs 2010, says a new report.

Health Information Exchanges Hot On Vendors' To-Do Lists

mmcgee@techweb.com — Jan 12, 2010 05:57 PM

The U.S. health IT stimulus programs not only push for widespread e-health record adoption, they're promoting the use of health information exchanges, or HIEs. That's giving health IT product vendors a reason to evaluate their portfolios to see whether they've got offerings or relationships with partners that help them partake any upcoming HIE frenzy.

Helping Doctors Figure Out E-Health Stimulus Programs

mmcgee@techweb.com — Jan 11, 2010 04:07 PM

For all the talk in recent months about meaningful use and anticipation about the explosion expected to happen in new deployments of e-health records, apparently lots of busy doctor practices are still pretty clueless about much of this.

So What Are Microsoft's Tablets? Chopped Liver?

dberlind@techweb.com — Jan 6, 2010 01:51 PM

Yesterday, on the way home from my interview of Free Software Foundation founder and president Richard Stallman, I listened closely as Slate's Farhad Manjoo told NPR's Neal Conan the facts about Apple's forthcoming tablet PC: that there are no facts. Well, there's one. Apple's brand has gotten so powerful that everyone including the stock market is putting faith in pure vapor as though the tablet mode of Microsoft's Windows 7 doesn't matter. Nary a mention. What gives?

Q&A : Microsoft Executive On Fed's 'Meaningful Use' Proposals

mmcgee@techweb.com — Jan 5, 2010 03:58 PM

Now that the federal government' "meaningful use" criteria is near-final, healthcare organizations and their IT vendors and services firms are analyzing what the regulations will mean for them. An executive of Microsoft's healthcare software business weighs in on the upcoming requirements.

'Meaningful Use' Will Keep Healthcare Providers Busy In 2010

mmcgee@techweb.com — Jan 4, 2010 03:52 PM

Last week, one day shy of its Dec. 31 2009 deadline, the Dept. of Health and Human Services issued its long-awaited near-final rules defining the "meaningful use" requirements doctors and hospitals must meet to cash in on the government's $20 billion-plus health IT incentive programs starting 2011.

Pfizer Equips Sales Reps With Tablet PCs

mwagner@techweb.com — Dec 22, 2009 11:16 AM

Pfizer is giving sales reps tablet PCs to help improve their productivity and compliance with the law. The company believes the devices, typically costing about $1,500, will help reps provide more thorough and up-to-date information about drugs to doctors.

The devices also make it easier to ensure that sales reps are appropriately distributing drug samples to doctors, and correctly handling physician requests for medical information, according to the Wall Street Journal. The system requires the Pfizer sales rep to enter a doctor's name, and the tablet then displays a list of preapproved products that the sales rep can promote and give samples for, based on the physician's specialty and the approved uses of Pfizer's meds. The rep wouldn't be able to provide a sample to a doctor that's likely to prescribe the med for off-label use.

That's critical because Pfizer recently paid a record $2.3 billion to settle government charges that it illegally promoted its former pain drug Bextra for uses not approved by U.S. regulators and improperly marketed other products for "off-label" uses. Drug makers are generally barred from promoting off-label use of their drugs, though doctors have the discretion to prescribe them in this way. Improper distribution of samples and handling of doctors' medical inquiries were among the ways the government said Pfizer salespeople conducted off-label promotion.
Pfizer admitted to off-label promotion of Bextra and pledged to do better�and the tablet PCs will play a role. Pfizer in August entered into a "corporate integrity agreement" with the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. One of the pact's provisions is that Pfizer must use its tablet-PC system to essentially monitor its sales reps.

Blue Cross of Northeast Pennsylvania, the University of Louisville School of Medicine, and a range of large and small healthcare providers are using mobile apps to improve care and help patients manage their health. Find out how. Download the report here (registration required).

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'Beacon' Communities Need Track Record For Feds' IT Funds

mwagner@techweb.com — Dec 17, 2009 01:44 PM

Communities will need a proven track record if they're looking to receive funding to become health IT "beacons" under a federal program to set up models of meaningful health information usage. Communities qualifying for inclusion in the program must demonstrate that they're already embracing e-health records an electronic health information sharing.

Race To The Finish Line For Meaningful Use

mmcgee@techweb.com — Dec 16, 2009 04:05 PM

Unless you're in an industry like retail, the weeks leading up to the holidays are a time when a lot of people use up vacation days and catch up on end-of-year chores. But I suspect that for many folks in healthcare, the holidays this year will be more hectic than usual.

Instruments That Help Clinicians Deliver Better Care

mmcgee@techweb.com — Dec 15, 2009 10:52 AM

In the medical world, every day brings new research findings that can potentially alter the prescribed "best practices" for treating patients with any given medical condition to facilitate the best outcomes. But keeping up with volumes of new medical studies is one of the biggest challenges for clinicians wanting to provide the best care possible for patients. That's where clinical decision support tools hold great promise.

Obama Allocating $600M To Health Centers

mwagner@techweb.com — Dec 10, 2009 12:31 PM

President Barack Obama allocated almost $600 million to build community health centers and implement electronic medical records, part of the $787 billion stimulus bill. The White House framed the funding as means of adding jobs to the economy, and overhaul the nation's health system.

Hospital Goes Mobile For Holiday Fundraising

mmcgee@techweb.com — Dec 7, 2009 02:58 PM

Non-profit organizations count on the giving, holiday spirit for end-of-year fundraising campaigns, but with the tight economy, generosity is being rationed by many people. Children's Hospital Boston is hoping a new text messaging campaign underway will drive smaller donations that will add up all year.

Texas Hospital District Fires 16 For HIPAA Violations

mwagner@techweb.com — Dec 2, 2009 12:43 PM

The Harris County Hospital District of Houston, Texas, fired 16 employees, accusing them of violating patient privacy laws by inappropriately accessing the records of a medical resident who'd been admitted to the hospital after she was shot in a grocery store parking lot.

Can You Support Remote Workers In Case Of Flu Outbreak?

mmcgee@techweb.com — Dec 2, 2009 09:56 AM

With the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention this week reporting widespread H1N1 flu outbreaks in 32 states, many companies are dealing with or anticipating the need for staff to work remotely in the months ahead. This can present a challenge for IT organizations that haven't in the past dealt with large numbers of remote workers.

IT Is 'Pillar' Of White House Healthcare Strategy

mwagner@techweb.com — Dec 1, 2009 12:50 PM

Healthcare IT adoption is one of four pillars on which the Obama administration is basing its healthcare strategy, and is key to containing costs, administration healthcare officials said. Healthcare IT should be combined with a budget-neutral healthcare reform bill, establishing a Medicare Commission to improve quality, and an excise tax on expensive private healthcare plans, all of which are included in the Senate healthcare reform bill.

Senate Healthcare Reform Bill's IT Provisions Make Sense

mmcgee@techweb.com — Nov 30, 2009 04:20 PM

As the Senate begins debating its healthcare reform bill, there's several health IT related provisions that aren't likely to stir a lot of emotion on the Senate floor, but deserve some attention.

Can IT Help New Cancer Screening Guidelines?

mmcgee@techweb.com — Nov 23, 2009 01:36 PM

New recommendations from a federal task force last week about breast cancer screenings have infuriated many cancer survivors as well as medical professional organizations, including the American Cancer Society. The guidelines were based on data analysis of the risks and benefits of mammograms for women under age 50.

Blumenthal: Patient Care, Not Tech, Will Drive Meaningful Use

mwagner@techweb.com — Nov 19, 2009 11:57 AM

National health IT coordinator Dr. David Blumenthal dropped a big hint about upcoming criteria for giving out e-health records grants. He advised healthcare IT managers to focus on "goals of care" rather than technology.