pilot project

Cigna rolls out Second Life community

Anne Zieger — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 00:10:29 -0400

In an interesting case of an insurance company doing something (moderately) cutting-edge, Cigna has launched a pilot project that includes a virtual healthcare community based on virtual world Second Life. Previous companies with an interest promoting healthcare interests on SL include IBM, which debuted its own healthcare island promoting its HIE architecture at this year's HIMSS conference. As FierceHealthIT users are likely to know, SL is a 3-D virtual world where users interact in a realistic landscape using avatars to represent them. Cigna's SL community, which is being promoted in both the U.K. and the U.S., will offer virtual health seminars, educational games focused on preventative care and programs designed to improve and sustain health behaviors. Cigna hasn't yet decided whether the SL content will be provided to employers as a standard part of health plans, or as a free option for plan members.

To learn more about Cigna's offering:
- read this Healthcare IT News article

ALSO NOTED: Medicare launches SC-based PHR pilot; Mayo Clinic deploys wireless network; and much more...

Mon, 12 May 2008 06:59:50 -0400

> Medicare announced that it was launching a South Carolina-based pilot project encouraging Medicare beneficiaries to use a PHR. Article

> The Mayo Clinic has deployed a Cisco-based wireless network across all of its facilities, which it says is intended to improve care and boost efficiency. Article

> Connecticut's state medical society has begun offering a hosted on-demand practice management service to its members. Article

> A group of 11 Oklahoma hospitals have set plans for their emergency rooms to share patient data. Article

And Finally... Some people just won't let a debt go... even a 32-year-old debt. Article

ALSO NOTED: NPI transition could prove quite costly; NH gov wants HIT upgrade plans; and much more...

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 06:59:50 -0400

> Experts say the coming requirement that providers use National Provider Identifier numbers when billing the government payers could prove very expensive, as the process is still riddled with potential for errors. Article

> New Hampshire's governor has issued an executive order asking a state health group to develop a plan to upgrade the state's health IT infrastructure. Article

> The people behind a $50 million pilot project that brought three Massachusetts communities online with EMRs are hoping the state will keep funding the program. Article

> Computer Sciences Corp. has formed a new unit dedicated to healthcare. Article

And Finally... Here's one take on the top 100 open source software tools for medical professionals. Interesting stuff. Blog

ALSO NOTED: Community, public clinics urged to collaborate on EMRs;MA EMR/HIE pilot extended; and much more...

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 06:59:50 -0400

> A new report from the California HealthCare foundation suggests that community and public health clinics should work together to implement EMRs. Article (Colorado has already done something similar. Article)

> An EMR and HIE pilot project taking place in three Massachusetts towns has been extended six months using a funding surplus. Article

> The CCHIT will begin a two-week application period today to seek additional volunteers for its work group. Article

> An Arizona hospital has begun posting ED wait times for its three hospitals on its website. FierceHealthcare

And Finally... If you're going to go anyway, you might as well not take too much with you. Article

ALSO NOTED: Rush develops cart-based EMR access; Mass. hospitals use bar-code bracelets; and much more...

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 06:59:50 -0400

> Chicago-based Rush University Medical Center is working with CDW Corp. to build out 370 mobile carts with the capacity to run applications, including EMRs, CPOE and other clinical apps from Epic Systems. Article

> Perhaps it's not a bleeding-edge solution, but it's still an important step. Several Massachusetts hospitals have begun using bar-coded wristbands for patients, intended largely to verify that the right patient is getting the right medication. Article

> A presidential commission has strongly recommended that veterans all get electronic medical records. Article

> A Czech hospital has begun working with IBM on a pilot project designed to track chemotherapy drugs using RFID tags. Article

> Hoping to reassure waiting families, an Indiana hospital has installed an airport-style electronic status board tracking the progress of patients' operations. Article

And Finally... On the Internet, no one knows you're a sadist. Study

Study: MD emails could drain physician income

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 20:01:36 -0400

So, it's no surprise, but hey, numbers are worth something. New research from the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research has concluded that when physicians and patients engage in email correspondence, patients are 7 percent to 10 percent less likely to see physicians for office visits. These patients also cut back on office phone calls by 14 percent. Kaiser didn't seem to draw any conclusions on whether the reduction in phone calls balanced out the loss of office visit income for physicians.

Researchers are drawing these numbers from the experience of Kaiser Northwest, which began using email several years ago as part of a pilot project. Through the pilot, 113,000 Kaiser members in Oregon and Washington state got access to email and Internet services as part of their health plan.

To find out more about the study:
- read this iHealthBeat article

ALSO: To get a sense of how such communications work, check out Pres e-Care, the interactive service run by Albuquerque's Presbyterian Healthcare Service (on RelayHealth technology). Release

Related Articles:
Doctors slowly adopt patient/MD email. Report
It's high time for doctors to get email friendly. Editorial

MA eHealth group standardizes on MS technology

Sun, 05 Nov 2006 19:01:34 -0500

Guess nobody ever got fired for buying Microsoft, either. The Massachusetts eHealth Coalition, a high-profile regional health information sharing effort, has announced with some fanfare that it will use Microsoft products for its pilot project, which will connect 220 medical locations and 160 medical groups to a common EMR system. The groups will be participating in a 36-month project studying the effectiveness of community-based EMRs, funded with $50 million in seed money from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. MAeHC's prototype architecture will use a variety of MS technologies, including Windows desktop software, Windows Server systems and software and Office. Connecting these locations to the new MAeHC infrastructure should take until the end of 2007.

For more information on the group's plans:
- see the MAeHC release

EHR bill would mandate federal usage

Sun, 10 Sep 2006 20:01:38 -0400

Last week, legislation introduced on Capitol Hill to promote the usage of EHRs showed some political muscle and could end up as part of a pilot project included in the healthcare IT bill now under debate, according to industry experts. While its chances of passing this year are considered slim, it could pop up again in 2007. Senators Tom Carper (D-DE) and George Voinovich (R-OH) introduced the legislation that would require insurance carriers that work with the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program to make an EHR available for all enrollees.

This is worth watching in part because what government does can sway the private market big time. If the bill goes anywhere, it would mean enrollees could log on to the Internet to access their EHRs and track medications and immunization records, among other things.

For more on EHRs:
- check out this article from HealthcareIT News