Home » Headlines » Recent Articles:

Morning Headlines 6/13/16

June 12, 2016 Headlines Comments Off on Morning Headlines 6/13/16

Privacy Concerns Halt UCSD’s Posting Of Patients’ Physician Critiques

UC San Diego Medical Center suspends its plan to publish physician ratings on its website after realizing that it solicited reviews from patients without informing them that the responses would be used in a public forum.

SA Health is offering $90,000 for a spin doctor to sell its EPAS electronic patient record project

South Australia is looking for a spokesperson to reassure the public that its over budget, behind schedule 80-hospital Allscripts EHR implementation is still a worthwhile investment.

70% of Consumers Still Don’t Price Shop for Healthcare Services: HealthMine Wellness Survey

A survey of 750 consumers enrolled in wellness programs finds that 70 percent do not compare prices before seeking medical services or pharmaceutical drugs, while only 29 percent of health plans offer online tools that would help consumers price shop.

Man lives for over a year without a heart in his body

CNET profiles the SynCardia Freedom Portable Driver, a 13 pound machine that fits in a backpack and uses compressed air to keep blood pumping through the body. A Michigan man has been using one for more than a year while waiting on the transplant list for a new heart.

Morning Headlines 6/10/16

June 9, 2016 Headlines 12 Comments

Electronic Health Records Company Settles FTC Charges It Deceived Consumers About Privacy of Doctor Reviews

Practice Fusion settles FTC charges that it misled consumers by soliciting reviews for their doctors without disclosing that the information would be publicly posted on the Internet, leading to patients unknowingly publishing their own sensitive patient information.

The Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act of 2016

The House passes the Helping Hospitals Improve Patient Care Act, exempting ambulatory surgical centers from MU and MIPS penalties.

Southcoast Health’s implementation of new electronic health record boosts South Coast region’s economy with an estimated $3 million in local spending

Southcoast Health (MA) says that its $100 million Epic implementation resulted in $3 million going back to the local economy in the form of hotel room, auto rental, gas, and dining costs for the Epic staff and consultants that helped manage the implementation.

Shkreli taunts feds, pleads not guilty to new charge

Martin Shkreli pleads not guilty to an updated indictment that added a new conspiracy charge to the list of criminal allegations against him.

Morning Headlines 6/9/16

June 8, 2016 Headlines 1 Comment

Connecture buys exchange competitor ConnectedHealth

Connecture, a technology company that builds online health insurance marketplaces, acquires ConnectedHealth, a benefits technology platform that helps employers chose health plans. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Will genetic tests help prevent chronic diseases?

Cerner launches a one-year pilot study that will help determine whether patient’s genetic data can play a motivating role in promoting behavior change.

Three more Phoenix VA officials fired in aftermath of wait-time, retaliation probes

The VA has formally fired three more administrators within the Phoenix VA Health Care System. Lance Robinson, assistant director at the Carl Hayden VA Medical Center; Brad Curry, the chief of Health Administration Service; and Dr. Darren Deering the hospital’s chief of staff were all terminated for “negligent performance of duties and failure to provide effective oversight."

Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs Are Associated With Sustained Reductions In Opioid Prescribing By Physicians

A Health Affairs study correlates the use of prescription drug monitoring programs with a 30 percent reduction in the rate of prescribing Schedule II opioids, a change that continued in the second and third years following the launch of the program.

Morning Headlines 6/8/16

June 7, 2016 Headlines Comments Off on Morning Headlines 6/8/16

Cerner’s Burke: Patterson is ‘fully engaged’

Cerner President Zane Burke reports that CEO Neal Patterson remains fully engaged in day-to-day operations as he undergoes cancer treatments.

Theranos Says Only One Percent of Results Affected; Some Doubt Tests

Theranos says that less than one percent of its blood test results have been voided or corrected, a clarification on earlier reports that it would need to cancel or amend tens of thousands of results.

‘Silicon Valley arrogance’? Google misfires as it strives to turn Star Trek fiction into reality

Verily, Google’s life science business unit, comes under fire as a number of its high profile projects flounder, including a cancer-detecting wristband and glucose-sensing contact lenses.

Back to Meditech: Delta Regional Hospital to Deliver Quality Care at a Lower Cost with Meditech 6.1

325-bed Delta Regional Hospital (MS) will implement Meditech, replacing Cerner.

Morning Headlines 6/7/16

June 6, 2016 Headlines Comments Off on Morning Headlines 6/7/16

Dr Farzad Mostashari Explains the New ACO Benchmarking Rule

Former national coordinator Farzad Mostashari, MD comments on newly published ACO benchmarking rule.

Biden unveils launch of major, open-access database to advance cancer research

Vice President Biden announces formation of the Genomic Data Commons, an open-access cancer database that will help researchers collaborate and share information, as part of the administration’s Cancer Moonshot.

Forbes’ 2016 List Of America’s Richest Self-Made Women

Judy Faulkner comes in third on Forbes’ list of America’s richest self-made women, with a net worth of $2.4 billion.

Geisinger researchers profile overdose patients and predictors of death

Researchers at Geisinger Health System analyze EHR data of 2,000 patients admitted to the hospital for drug overdoses to create a risk algorithm capable of predicting which patients are most likely to die and experience other serious complications from their drug abuse.

Morning Headlines 6/6/16

June 5, 2016 Headlines Comments Off on Morning Headlines 6/6/16

McKesson Considers Separation of Information-Technology Unit

McKesson may sell its health IT business unit to focus efforts on its core drug distribution business. The business unit is valued at an estimated $5 billion. 

Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes Did Not Just Lose $4.5 Billion

Fortune’s Dan Primack argues that Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes never should have been listed as a billionaire by Forbes because her worth was based entirely on her ownership stake in a company whose value was set by “a small group of outside investors.”

Pioneering Data-Sharing Network Created to Accelerate Cancer Precision Medicine Development

Intermountain Healthcare, Stanford Cancer Institute, and Providence Health & Services launch a data-sharing network that will transmit genomic data from cancer research to help oncologists develop more effective treatment plans.

Potential Patient Information Breach at ProMedica Bixby and Herrick Hospitals

ProMedica Bixby and Herrick hospitals (MI) informs 3,500 patients that their records were breached after an internal investigation found that seven employees were accessing patient records without justification.

Morning Headlines 6/3/16

June 2, 2016 Headlines Comments Off on Morning Headlines 6/3/16

From $4.5 Billion To Nothing: Forbes Revises Estimated Net Worth Of Theranos Founder Elizabeth Holmes

Forbes lowers its estimate of Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ net worth to zero, down from $4.5 billion.

Redskins: Laptop containing player data was stolen

The Washington Redskins have confirmed that the medical records of thousands of NFL players have been compromised after a laptop belonging to one of the teams athletic trainers was stolen in April.

A Foundation for Discovering Clinical Health IT Applications

ONC awards Boston Children’s Hospital a total of $275,000 in grants to lead the development of an online app store for FHIR apps.

Equation Acquired by MedAssets-Precyse

Equation, a financial and clinical healthcare analytics vendor, is acquired by MedAssets-Precyse for an undisclosed sum.

Morning Headlines 6/1/16

May 31, 2016 Headlines Comments Off on Morning Headlines 6/1/16

Adoption of Electronic Health Record Systems among US Non-Federal Acute Care Hospitals: 2008-2015

ONC reports that 84 percent of US hospitals had adopted a basic EHR by 2015, up from just 9.4 percent in 2008, though pediatric and psychiatric specialty hospitals still trail with 55 percent and 15 percent adoption, respectively.

Pontiac General Hospital Selects OpenVista Healthcare IT Platform

Pontiac General Hospital (MI) will implement Medsphere’s OpenVista EHR, a commercialized version of the VA’s open source Vista EHR.

Local health departments brace for funding loss amid Zika standoff

In July, the CDC will cut $45 million in emergency public health funding from health districts in all 50 states after Congress fails to pass a bill to fund Zika-related work .

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center completes recruitment for pediatric migraine study using Curelator Headache

Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (OH) will use an app designed by digital health startup Curelator to research migraine triggers in adolescents.

Morning Headlines 5/31/16

May 30, 2016 Headlines Comments Off on Morning Headlines 5/31/16

Jawbone has stopped producing its fitness trackers and sold the remaining inventory to a third party

Jawbone stops manufacturing its line of UP fitness trackers but makes no announcement suggesting that it will exit the market entirely.

Doctors Test Tools to Predict Your Odds of a Disease

The Wall Street Journal profiles Norwell Health’s (NY) use of a clinical decision support tool that scrubs EHR data and predicts which condition the patient being treated most likely has before lab or imaging tests are ordered.

A New Way to Report College Sexual Assault

The New York Times profiles Callisto, a startup that hopes to improve sexual assault reporting on college campuses with a website that lets college students file sexual assault reports online.

Intel backs AI-powered analytics startup Lumiata in $10M funding round

AI startup Lumiata raises a $10 million Series B fund from Intel Capital. The company is building algorithms to quantify and manage risk within population health programs.

Morning Headlines 5/30/16

May 29, 2016 Headlines Comments Off on Morning Headlines 5/30/16

US IPO Week Ahead: Billionaire doctor back with another IPO

Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, will bring NantHealth public this week in a $91 million offering.

Court Rules Companies Cannot Impose Illegal Arbitration Clauses

A federal appeals court ruled against Epic on Thursday, deciding that companies cannot force their employees to sign arbitration agreements that prevent them from filing lawsuits against their employer.

Nanaimo doctors say electronic health record system unsafe, should be shut down

In Canada, providers at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital are unhappy with the recent $174 million Cerner go live, returning to paper charts in both the ICU and ER “out of concern for patient safety.”

Stung by Yelp Reviews, Health Providers Spill Patient Secrets

ProPublica reports that doctors, dentists, and other clinicians are responding to negative Yelp reviews left by unhappy patients inappropriately, sometimes posting confidential patient information within their responses.

Morning Headlines 5/27/16

May 26, 2016 Headlines Comments Off on Morning Headlines 5/27/16

Epic Systems Takes Out Troll Patent on Abstract Idea

Epic wins a patent infringement lawsuit filed by patent troll Preservation Wellness Technologies. Epic argued, and a judge agreed, that the patent in question vaguely described “unpatentable subject matter” related to managing and sharing medical records.

CMS’s Andrew Slavitt talks with MMS about MACRA

In an interview with Massachusetts Medical Society, CMS Acting Administrator Andrew Slavitt discusses MACRA and interoperability, saying, “If you are a customer of a piece of technology that doesn’t do what you want, it’s time to raise your voice. We’re doing everything we can to make sure that the technology vendors stop focusing on meeting the regulations, so they can start focusing on their customers and their users.”

Upgrading the Certified Health IT Product List: Understanding Corrective Action Information

ONC updates its Certified Health IT Product List to include information on vendors that have at any point fallen out of compliance with certification requirements.

The Fraudulent Claims Made By IBM About Watson and AI

Cognitive science expert Roger Schank, PhD calls out IBM for marketing Watson as a cognitive computer, calling the company and its advertisements fraudulent.

Morning Headlines 5/26/16

May 25, 2016 Headlines Comments Off on Morning Headlines 5/26/16

Congressional panel asks DOJ to investigate creation of Cover Oregon

The US House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has asked the Justice Department and the Oregon State Attorney’s office to launch criminal investigations into the mishandled launch of Oregon’s health insurance exchange, Cover Oregon.

Evaluating the impact of a computerized surveillance algorithm and decision support system on sepsis mortality

Huntsville Hospital (AL) reduces sepsis-related mortality by 53 percent after implementing an early warning sepsis surveillance system.

To Cut Wait Times, VA Tries MinuteClinics In Northern California

In an effort to reduce appointment wait times for veterans, the VA partners with CVS to offer urgent care services to veterans in San Francisco. The VA will integrate patient records with CVS MinuteClinic and all care provided will be free for veterans.

Flatiron Health and the FDA Embark on Cancer Research Collaboration

Oncology software vendor Flatiron Health will collaborate with the FDA to research the use of immunotherapies in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

Morning Headlines 5/25/16

May 24, 2016 Headlines Comments Off on Morning Headlines 5/25/16

Soon-Shiong: Why I’m investing $70.5M in Tribune

Healthcare billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong invests $70.5 million in Tribune Publishing, parent company of the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, making him the second-largest shareholder, holding 12.9 percent.

New Clarification – $6.50 Flat Rate Option is Not a Cap on Fees for Copies of PHI

HHS clarifies that providers may charge a flat fee of $6.50 for patient record requests, or continue calculating a request fee based on allowable labor costs for either a specific request or for an average request.

Apple CEO Tim Cook reveals the Apple Watch’s ‘holy grail’

Tim Cook reports that Apple is “really focused” on health and that Apple Watch is the company’s plan for entering the market.

Founder and Former Practice Fusion CEO Unveils New Company – iBeat

Former fired Practice Fusion founder and CEO Ryan Howard launches a new company, iBeat, which will develop a wearable heart monitor.

Morning Headlines 5/24/16

May 23, 2016 Headlines Comments Off on Morning Headlines 5/24/16

Q&A: Meditech founder Pappalardo says invention was ‘my overall destiny’

Neil Pappalardo, Meditech founder and lead creator of the MUMPS programming language, discusses his early life, his recent health, and his plans for the future of the company in a Modern Healthcare interview.

Making the Comprehensive Shared Care Plan a Reality

Leaders from HHS co-author a New England Journal of Medicine article calling for the use of shared care plans to improve care coordination.

MGH to build Down syndrome portal

Massachusetts General Hospital will launch a “virtual clinic” to improve care for people with Down syndrome that do not have access to local specialists.

San Juan County warns of data breach

San Juan County (NM) warns patients being treated in its drug and alcohol treatment program that 12,000 records were compromised when hackers accessed a computer at the treatment center.

Morning Headlines 5/23/16

May 22, 2016 Headlines Comments Off on Morning Headlines 5/23/16

Hackers demand ransom payment from Kansas Heart Hospital for files

Kansas Heart Hospital (KS) pays hackers an undisclosed sum to restore access to its system after being hit with a ransomeware attack only to have hackers refuse to restore access and demand even more money.

Hospital Uses Fake Phishing Emails in Security Training; Will Move to Gamification

Administrators at  Lawrence General Hospital (MA) are testing network security by sending phony phishing scam emails to employees to see how often the embedded links are clicked.

athenahealth Appoints New CFO

Athenahealth promotes Karl Stubelis to CFO, replacing outgoing Kristi Matus, who has decided to leave the company effective May 31.

St. Luke’s Epic Electronic Medical Record Implementation is a Success

St. Lukes University Health Network (PA) goes live on Epic across its six hospitals without incident.

Morning Headlines 5/20/16

May 19, 2016 Headlines Comments Off on Morning Headlines 5/20/16

Theranos throws out all Edison blood test results from 2014 and 2015

Theranos issues tens of thousands of corrected lab test results from samples processed on its proprietary Edison analyzer between 2014 and 2015.

#FHIR and the Gartner Hype Cycle

Grahame Grieve, architect of HL7’s FHIR protocol, says that FHIR is being overhyped and denounces the idea that FHIR will solve interoperability.

ITelagen Acquires Planet Logic to Provide World-Class Cloud Hosting Solutions

ITelagen, an EHR hosting and support vendor, acquires competitor Planet Logic.

Sandwell & West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust appoint Cerner as preferred supplier for major Electronic Patient Record programme

In England, Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust chooses Cerner Millennium.

Morning Headlines 5/19/16

May 18, 2016 Headlines 2 Comments

Statement from the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives and the Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Security

In a letter to the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, CHIME addresses the threat cyberattacks pose to healthcare organizations, saying “. Even the largest healthcare delivery organizations, with the greatest investment in security programs, may still fall victim to bad actors as we have seen with some of the largest retail organizations, financial institutions and even the federal government suffering large-scale breaches.”

Rating hospitals by the stars: The feds’ latest plan to measure quality is the most controversial

The Washington Post outlines the industry concerns that led to CMS delaying the implementation of its new star rating system for hospitals.

Obamacare Rates Rise in New York, and So Does Political Risk

Insurers in New York are requesting premium increases averaging 17 percent in New York. Alan Murray, CEO of New York insurer CareConnect, says, “If these requests aren’t approved, you are going to see more carriers leaving the market.”

ER docs sue HHS over out-of-network payments

The American College of Emergency Physicians is suing HHS over a provision of ACA that allows insurers to underpay for out-of-network emergency medical services.

Text Ads


RECENT COMMENTS

  2. Is this not just "HIStalk giving their own money, but with extra steps"? I imagine that many sponsors, such as…

  3. Re: Cerner Millennium at VA This is shaping up to be a real popcorn-worthy situation! Possible outcomes: 1). Trump throws…

  5. Doctors and nurses are going to be at the forefront of resistance to the new regime's intent to cause maximum…

Founding Sponsors


 

Platinum Sponsors


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gold Sponsors


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RSS Webinars

  • An error has occurred, which probably means the feed is down. Try again later.

Sponsor Quick Links