healthcare Commentary
Mobile Medical Apps Gold Rush Needs Scrutiny
The problem with this kind of booming market? It attracts not only the best and brightest but also IT developers looking for quick profits with...
Stage 2 EHRs Require Meaningful Patient Engagement
Many of the government’s proposed Stage 2 Meaningful Use criteria for e- health records won't be easy to meet. Here's how providers are meeting...
Compromise On Health Data Access May Be Ugly
Some hospitals and doctors oppose giving patients electronic data as quickly as required by proposed Meaningful Use Stage 2 regulations. Consumer...
How To Ease EHR Frustration
EHRs can slow physicians' practices to a crawl, but evidence suggests they ultimately pay off.
CRM Platform Can Churn Out Customized Health Apps
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health uses Microsoft's customer relationship management platform to rapidly develop niche health-related...
Hana and Exalytics: SAP's Hype Versus Oracle's FUD
Getting to the facts in the war of words surrounding SAP's Hana and Oracle's Exalytics platforms.
So What Was Wrong With ICD-9?
As your IT team makes the transition to the ICD-10 medical coding system, doctors will insist that the older system worked just fine. Here's your...
How Mobile, Cloud, Are Transforming Healthcare
Spurred by a combination of government incentives and aging technology, healthcare is entering an IT renaissance with mobile and cloud...
3 IT Tools Helping Patients Find Clinical Trials
We hear so much about the transformative power of medical informatics, and no doubt some of it is more hype than reality. These three examples are...
As More Docs Use Digital Records, So Will Consumers
HITECH Act is prompting widespread adoption of e-health records, but there's more to "Meaningful Use" than what's in the government's programs.
Mobile Health Presents Life-Changing Opportunities
From medication reminders to wearable body sensors, mobile health solutions will become a vital part of our lives and many organizations' services.
Clinicians Need Unconventional IT Tools For Toughest Cases
Providing quality care for difficult-to-treat patients requires some truly disruptive approaches.
Despite Flaws, Personal Health Records Are Smart Medicine
Many consumers have concerns about data breaches; others complain about "Big Brother" watching. Here's my take on why the benefits of PHRs...
Don't Hit Snooze Button On ICD-10
Given a one-year extension for ICD-10 compliance, healthcare groups must make the most of the preparation time.
Is Your Clinical Decision Support Built On Quicksand?
If a CDS system isn't based on rock-solid data, don't expect to see better patient outcomes or long-term cost savings.
Telemedicine Dilemma: Savings Or Healing Hands More Important?
Telemedicine has two sides, cutting costs and giving some patients access to previously unreachable expertise, but depriving others of the...
IT Decisions Hang On Supreme Court Healthcare Ruling
Supreme Court's ruling on the constitutionality of healthcare reform legislation could influence the direction of health IT.
Interoperability Nirvana Nowhere In Sight
Despite attempts to find a common standard for healthcare data communications, it still feels like the Tower of Babel.
Can Personalized Medicine Improve Drug Safety?
Personalized medicine programs can find better treatments based on patients' genetics. Why can't the same tools be used to predict--and...
Smarter Voice Capabilities Will Transform Medical Documentation
Natural language processing combined with voice recognition produces clinical language understanding, which has the potential to profoundly change...
Healthcare CIOs Need To Understand Physicians' Pain
Clinicians are frustrated by immature clinical information systems and questionable pay-for-performance rules. Understanding their angst can bring...
When EHR Critics Jump To Bad Conclusions
If you think the recent Health Affairs report proves e-access to patient records increases healthcare costs, you need to take a closer look at the...
IT-Enhanced Medical Homes Aren't A Quick Fix
Patient-centric medical homes are touted to fix the healthcare cost crisis, but the deep pockets and extensive IT resources they require aren't...
How To Achieve Better Patient Engagement
Meaningful Use Stage 2 proposals raise the bar for online patient engagement, highlighting how important it is for healthcare providers to...
Why BYOD Doesn't Always Work In Healthcare
Security and screen layout problems make it difficult to let clinicians bring their own tablets and smartphones to work.
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