healthcare IT - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• Google to tackle aging, illness with new company

  Google is putting its considerable muscle behind healthcare with a particular focus on aging and the diseases that accompany it.

• Sept. 23 deadline looms for business compliance with HITECH Act on patient privacy

  Organizations handling protected health information have until Sept. 23 to comply with new security and privacy requirements that were included as part of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009.

• Can Healthcare Big Data Reality Live Up to Its Promise?

  If any industry's ready to reap the benefits of analyzing reams of data from disparate sources, it's healthcare. But just because there's a will doesn't necessarily mean there's an easy way.

• Healthcare Industry Sees Big Data As More Than a Bandage

  The promise of big data in healthcare--increased efficiencies, better outcomes, more personalized care--is undeniable. How the industry reaches the promise land will happen in many stages, but hospitals and insurers aren't wasting any time getting started.

• Samsung shows off foldable phone that changes colour

  At MobileBeat 2013, Samsung unveiled a prototype for a new smartphone with healthcare monitoring that features two fold-out panels that can change colors based on the mode the phone is in.

• D.C. awards Obamacare IT work to offshore outsourcer

  Infosys recently announced that it won a $49.5 million contract to develop a health benefit exchange for the District of Columbia. It is one of the larger government contracts won by an offshore outsourcing firm, but it's unclear whether any of the work will be done overseas.

• 11 Ways to Make Healthcare IT Easier

  The phrase 'don't boil the ocean' is often used to describe efforts to introduce IT to healthcare organizations. These 11 tips will help healthcare CIOs make incremental changes that improve business practices without panicking end users.

• Big Data Surge From Federal Agencies Will Drive Health IT

  Department of Health and Human Services unleashes new structured data sets as it encourages the developer community to build new health IT applications to improve patient care.

• Hospitals use cameras, sensor tags to track hand washing

  With nightmarish superbugs threatening the lives of patients and healthcare workers, hospitals are using video cameras and wearable sensors to track who is and who isn't washing their hands before they touch a patient.

• HIPAA rules, outdated tech cost U.S. hospitals $8.3B a year

  HIPAA, along with outmoded communications technology, reduces the time available for patient care, according to a new survey of healthcare professionals

• Hospital opts for Wi-Fi over GPS in smartphone navigation app

  Miami Children's Hospital recently launched a free iPhone app that uses Wi-Fi triangulation to help patients and their families find their way around the medical center.

• Miami hospital turns to Wi-Fi triangulation for smartphone mapping app

  Miami Children's Hospital recently launched a free iPhone app that uses Wi-Fi triangulation to help patients and their families navigate through the center.

• WebMD, Qualcomm build consumer cloud for mobile health data

  WebMD and Qualcomm Life are collaborating on a cloud offering that will allow consumers with mobile health monitoring devices to sync their data to the cloud, where it can be shared with healthcare providers.

• House to meet on regulating mobile health apps

  A House committee this week is meeting to determine whether regulations, including a possible tax on mobile health apps may stifle innovation in healthcare.

• Lack of healthcare IT workers slows tech progress

  The lack of IT workers has forced healthcare to recruit IT help from other industries, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, which says systems and data integration skills are the most sought-after.