Consumer Health

Connecting patients and providers is the holy grail of clinical I.T. This section looks at enabling technologies, such as patient portals and personal health records that are designed for direct use by patients. In addition, patient-centric technologies, such as disease management applications, are covered.

Quick Turnaround on Breach Notification

Joseph Goedert | May 17

The Dent Neurologic Institute in Amherst, N.Y., experienced a breach of protected health information on May 13 and issued a public notice on May 14.

Data Security

Group Practices

Stimulus

Policy & Regulation

California Developing Guidance for Patient Consent of HIE

Joseph Goedert | May 17

The California Health and Human Services Agency has released a guidance tool on requirements for obtaining patient authorization and consent for providers to electronically exchange information for treatment purposes.

Data Security

EHR

Health Info Exchange

Hospitals

Group Practices

Payers

Policy & Regulation

Hacker Gets Patient Credit Cards from North Carolina Providers

Joseph Goedert | May 16

A hacker accessed personal and credit card information for patients of at least two health care organizations in North Carolina, coming in through the facilities’ Web sites built by the same vendor, E-dreamz Inc. in Charlotte.

Data Security

Group Practices

Policy & Regulation

Stimulus

OCR Seminars to Walk through Omnibus HIPAA Rule

Joseph Goedert | May 16

The HHS Office for Civil Rights has scheduled four Web seminars to explain the omnibus final HIPAA rule to modify the privacy, security, breach notification and enforcement rules.

Data Security

Health Info Exchange

EHR

Group Practices

Hospitals

Payers

Stimulus

Policy & Regulation

CMS Has $1 Billion in Grants to Encourage Innovation

Joseph Goedert | May 15

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is making about $1 billion in grants available in a second round of funding under the Affordable Care Act to support innovative ways to improve health care outcomes.

Group Practices

Hospitals

Chronic Care

Disease Management

Policy & Regulation

Revenue Cycle & Payments

PHI Breach #3 for Indiana University

Joseph Goedert | May 15

Indiana University Health Arnett Hospital is notifying about 10,300 patients after an employee’s password-protected but unencrypted laptop was stolen from a car on April 9. It is the third major breach for a university facility since August 2011.

Data Security

Hospitals

Policy & Regulation

Stimulus

AMA Report: EHRs in Exam Rooms Need Not be Disruptive

Joseph Goedert | May 15

Use of computers in an examination room clearly affects a clinical encounter, but it does not inevitably disrupt or undermine patient-physician communication, according to a new report from the American Medical Association.

EHR

Group Practices

Breach Pattern: Thieves Seek X-rays for their Silver Content

Joseph Goedert | May 14

An orthopedic clinic in North Carolina recently reported a major data breach when X-ray films were stolen for their silver content, and El Centro Regional Medical Center in California has just reported a similar breach.

Medical Imaging

Hospitals

Data Security

Policy & Regulation

Stimulus

Study Examines if Health Spending Drop is Permanent

Joseph Goedert | May 14

Annual increases in the nation’s health care spending have significantly fallen in recent years, but that trend is longer than commonly believed, and it isn’t yet clear if the trend is permanent, according to a new study published in Health Affairs.

Group Practices

Hospitals

Payers

Policy & Regulation

200 Million Rows of Data and Counting

Gary Baldwin | May 13

At the University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics, the former cost-modeling effort was a bit of a crapshoot when it came to accuracy.

Decision Support

Revenue Cycle Management

Revenue Cycle & Payments

Breach at The MED in Memphis Hits 1,200

Joseph Goedert | May 13

Regional Medical Center at Memphis, known as The MED, is notifying nearly 1,200 patients of a breach of protected health information that includes Social Security numbers, reports WREG, the local CBS affiliate.

Data Security

Group Practices

Hospitals

Policy & Regulation

Stimulus

NCQA Certifies First Wave of Medical Home ‘Content Experts’

Joseph Goedert | May 13

Health care accreditation firm NCQA announced in January 2013 a new program to credential patient-centered medical home content experts. Now, it has posted contact information for more than 100 credentialed experts in 29 states on a new Web site.

Group Practices

Payers

Hospitals

Disease Management

Chronic Care

Policy & Regulation

Revenue Cycle & Payments

Clarity or Confusion?

Gary Baldwin | May 13

After reading about the recent release of hospital charge data by CMS, I immediately thought of the “average Joe” trying to understand it.

Comments (1)

Making the Medical Home More Homey

Gary Baldwin | May 10

Adelante Healthcare is a federally qualified health center in Mesa, Arizona that was formed in the late 1970s to serve migrant workers. Back then, clinicians worked out of ramshackle trailers. Today it’s a different story.

EHR

Group Practices

Payers

Community Health Centers to Aid in HIX Enrollment

Joseph Goedert | May 10

The HHS Health Resources and Services Administration is offering $150 million in grants to community health centers across the nation to provide in-person enrollment assistance to patients who are uninsured.

Group Practices

Hospitals

Payers

Policy & Regulation

Health Info Exchange