CIO highlights health IT lessons learned from Boston bombings
Who would think that when your hospital's database administration team decides to volunteer as a group at a local event, such a gesture could put the facility at risk? That's just one of the lessons for Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center after the bombings at the Boston Marathon, CIO John Halamka (pictured), a FierceHealthIT Editorial Advisory Board member, said in a recent post to his Life as a Healthcare CIO blog.
Personalized medicine 'arms race' continues to escalate
Joining an ever-growing list of healthcare facilities looking to improve personalized medicine, Oregon Health & Science University this week announced a partnership with Intel Corp. aimed at speeding genomic analysis efforts. Through the collaboration, OHSU and Intel researchers and engineers will work to create "next-generation computing technologies" that streamline the process of sorting through large amounts of biomedical data.
Colorado Beacon project: Primary care improvements through sharing and coaching
The Colorado Beacon Consortium made gains in quality improvement as physician practices adopted electronic health records and joined a health information exchange known as Quality Health Network (QHN), according to a case study published by The Commonwealth Fund.
Draft bill aims to take electronic drug tracking nationwide
Efforts to track prescription drug distribution, thus far, have been left up to states, and have produced marginal results, at best. A draft bill unveiled this week by four U.S. senators, however, aims to change all of that.
HHS seeks to amend HIPAA to strengthen background checks
Though a Senate bill to expand background checks on firearms sales was defeated last week, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services is examining how HIPAA regulations may keep states from reporting dangerous mental patients to a database used in background checks.
Dashboard technology holds potential as patient clinical decision aid
An interactive decision dashboard format developed by researchers with the University of Rochester (N.Y.) School of Medicine & Dentistry can be adapted to create a clinically realistic prototype patient decision aid, according to an article published this week in BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making. Such findings, the researchers say, represent the potential of interactive decision dashboards for fostering informed decision making.
Translating clinical quality measures for queries proves complex
Massachusetts General Hospital computer scientists claim some success in translating between the Health Quality Measures Format (HQMF) and Informatics for Integrating Biology and the Bedside (i2b2) though the work has been time consuming and complex.
Indiana HIE spin-off aims to generate revenue for sustainability
The Indiana Health Information Exchange, looking to generate revenue for continued sustainability, is creating a for-profit subsidiary company that will take advantage of software licensed from the Regenstrief Institute for use outside of the Hoosier State.
CDC budget prioritizes improved tools for disease tracking
Though decreasing its overall budget request for 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is making a priority of upgrading its tools for tracking infectious disease outbreaks.
Privacy framework necessary as healthcare social networks grow in popularity
As an increasing number of patients and providers flock to health social networking sites to share information and connect with similar individuals, privacy remains a paramount concern. To that end, a comprehensive privacy framework is vital for such environments, according to research published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.
Videoconferencing makes caregivers a part of hospice planning
Videoconferencing can be valuable in allowing family and other caregivers to be part of interdisciplinary team meetings to plan hospice care, according to a study published at Telemedine and e-Health.
CHIME urges feds to apply existing policies to HIE acceleration
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives believes that the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services should extend processes developed under the eRx and Electronic Health Record Incentive Payment programs to accelerate and improve health information exchange and interoperability among providers.
Cornell professor: Individuals should mine their own data for health purposes
Individuals should mine their own data for health related purposes, according to Deborah Estrin, a computer science professor from Cornell University who spoke at this week's TEDMED conference in Washington, D.C.
VA tops federal agencies in proposed IT spending for 2014
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' $152.7 billion budget request for 2014 includes $3.683 billion for IT projects, the largest increase in IT spending among government agencies.
Computational model predicts cancer survival rates
A new computational model highly predictive of breast cancer survival has been developed by Columbia University engineering researchers.
Louisiana bill looks to ban abortion via telemedicine
A bill that looks to ban telemedicine abortions--in which a doctor coaches a patient through taking an abortion pill via a video connection--was backed by Louisiana's Senate Health and Welfare Committee and sent to the Senate floor for debate.
Healthcare execs reliant on IT now more than ever
Healthcare executives are becoming more and more reliant on healthcare technology, according to new research from The Economist and RICOH Europe.
Data from routine medical visits can improve care for all
Data about individual patients collected every day in doctor's offices and hospitals could be used to improve care among the population at large, according to a discussion paper released by the Institute of Medicine.
Tennessee telemedicine bill stalls in subcommittees
Legislation that pushes for increased coverage of telemedicine services has stalled in Tennessee subcommittees.
Cost reminders via CPOE lead to fewer test orders
Displaying the cost of a test via computerized provider order entry systems prompted a 9 percent reduction in the number of tests ordered, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
