News 3/18/09

HERtalk by Inga

Kaiser Permanente plans to cut 860 workers at its data and IT centers as part of a $500 million outsourcing deal with IBM. Included in the seven-year deal, IBM will take over most of KP’s data operations, affecting about 700 employees.  Most of the affected staff is based in California, though KP also announces layoffs for 160 more employees across the country. KP CIO Phil Fasano says that about 40% of the displaced employees will find jobs within IBM. KP says that the average laid off employee will receive eight months worth of pay and benefits. Our condolences. fds

On HIStalkPractice, we just posted the first in a series of five questions posed to 12 vendor executives.  The topic centers on the HITECH stimulus package and its impact to electronic health record.  This first question:  What changes will your company or area make, both for the short and long term, in preparation for HITECH legislation?

As I was working on our Second Annual HIMSS Information Guide, I noticed that Vitalize Consulting Solutions is teaming up with the Greater Chicago Food Depository to raise food and funds for the Chicago needy. The Vitalize folks tell me they are taking monetary donations at the booth, as well as promoting a virtual food drive. They’ve also sent packages of soup mix to attendees around the country.  If you were a lucky soup mix recipient and bring it by Vitalize’s book (#3055), Vitalize will donate both the soup and one dollar. LOVE it.  Much better than all those trinkets that won’t fit into your suitcase. 

Johns Hopkins chooses the LiveData OR-Dashboard solution.

IBM announces a research project with Brigham and Women’s Hospital (MA) to create an online radiology theatre to allow teams of medical experts to simultaneously make rounds on a patient via a Web browser. Using live streaming audio/video, medical experts will be able to discuss and review patient data and post analysis.

The US DOD Military Health Systems commits to a $2.4 million deployment of VisualDX, a database created by Logical Images that includes 900 visually identifiable diseases and clinical information.

Virtua Health (NJ) selects Microsoft Amalga for its four-hospital system.

Blessing Hospital (IL) contracts with Eclipsys to deploy Sunrise Enterprise revenue cycle solutions and integrate them with Blessing’s existing Sunrise clinical solutions.

St. Joseph Medical Center (MD) brings in an outside “restructuring team” to manage the hospital, after the CEO, COO, and VP of operations take administrative leave. The executives took leave two weeks ago amid a federal investigation involving the hospital’s relationship with a physician group.

Heatlhcare management firm Beacon Partners hires former Poudre Valley Health System CIO Russell Branzell as a vice president.

A Deloitte Services survey finds that 56% of us want access to a online PRH connected to our doctor’s office and 55% want to communicate with our doctor via email. In addition, 68% of consumers are interested in home monitoring devices and 38% are very concerned about privacy and security.

HIE technology provider Accenx is now offering fully managed, remote hosting of Initiate Patient for its healthcare clients. OhioHealth is the first customer to use the combined solution.

Just exactly does this happen? A Shreveport, LA grocer finds stacks of medical records and MRIs in the dumpster at his store. The charts are as recent as 2006 and belong to a local doctor.

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