healthcare IT - News, Features, and Slideshows

News

• U.S. doctors don't believe patients need full access to health records

  A survey of physicians in eight countries found that U.S. doctors in particular do not believe patients should have full access to their electronic health records.

• Bill Clinton calls for healthcare price transparency, embracing IT to cut costs

  Former President Bill Clinton on Wednesday called for transparency in healthcare pricing and addressing chronic disease epidemics such as obesity in order to drive down the cost of care for all. He also called for embracing IT and letting go of outmoded administrative systems.

• Hospitals need to copy airline, bank, retail e-business models

  Warner Thomas, CEO of Louisiana's largest healthcare system, pointed to airlines, banks and online retailers as examples of how the healthcare industry should implement technology, cut costs and improve the customer experience.

• Health providers can't find, keep IT staff

  A survey of IT executives in U.S. hospitals revealed that many are concerned they will not be able to find the IT employees they need to implement technology required under the Affordable Care Act.

• AI found better at diagnosing, treating patients, than doctors

  New research by Indiana University shows using artificial intelligence to understand and predict the outcomes of medical treatment could reduce health care costs by more than 50% while also improving patient outcomes by nearly the same amount.

• Researchers use Twitter to track flu outbreak

  Researchers at Johns Hopkins University are using Twitter to track what has been a particularly severe flu season across the U.S.

• VA deploys millions of sensors to track, well, everything

  The US Department of Veterans Affairs has begun installing millions of sensors on just about anything that costs more than $US50.

• Feds plan to address e-health record complaints

  As a February deadline approaches for physicians to report on the status of their EHR rollouts, a number of complaints over ease of deployment and reimbursement payments have also come into the federal government, which an official said the agency plans to address.

• Healthcare groups question pace of eHealth records rollout

  The AMA and the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives this week voiced concerns over the pace set by the U.S. government for healthcare organizations to adopt EHRs.

• TI touts health monitors for the masses

  TI today demonstrated several prototypes of what it described as hospital-grade medical monitoring devices that can measure everything from your percentage of body fat and water to your blood oxygen saturation.

• FCC IT Healthcare Fund to Boost Broadband Connections

  The FCC's new $400 million Healthcare Connect Fund is designed to boost broadband connections in rural areas in order to support telemedicine to expand patient access to specialists and drive down costs.

• Is Smartphone Use Encouraging Mobile Health Adoption?

  A recent Pew Internet study suggests that rising smartphone adoption in the United States seems to be motivating people to use mobile health. Few question the potential for mHealth to change the healthcare industry, though technical and bureaucratic barriers--not to mention reluctant patients and physicians--stand in the way.

• MIT uses nanotech to make cancer easier to detect

  MIT researchers are using nanotechnology to help doctors detect cancer in their patients sooner, increasing their odds of beating the disease.

• One in 10 say health-related websites saved their lives

  A survey by health technology provider Philips shows that 11% of U.S. respondents think they might already be dead or severely incapacitated if not for Web-based health information.

• Kaiser plans to hire 500 for new IT center in Colorado

  Health care provider Kaiser Permanente has begun hiring about 500 IT professionals to staff its new information technology campus in Englewood, Colo.