There’s a crispness in the air that marks fall’s arrival. But autumn’s appearance isn’t the only thing on calendars across the U.S. this week: September 23-27 marks National Health IT Week. The 2019 theme focuses on supporting healthy communities, and what better way to support communities than to learn more about the people in them?
Decision-makers who analyze healthcare data have a habit of focusing on numbers, pouring over pages of claims and diagnostic codes. Yet disease diagnoses are often
Read More
3 Ways AI and Machine Learning Are Reshaping Medical Records
Since at least 2012, the world of medical records in both the public and private sectors remains dominated by a push toward interoperable data, and more broadly useful health data. Like everything else in American healthcare, the effort has been only moderately successful despite a price tag in the billions. In a modern digital world, where technologies in so many industries are bringing better insights and next generation efficiency – driven by cloud computing, big data, AI and machine learning
Read More
Ensuring A Healthy Approach to Big Data In The Life Sciences Industry
The old adage “knowledge is power” may seem cliched, but it definitely still rings true in the life sciences industry. In fact, maybe more so than in any other industry, healthcare insights are being driven by a vast array of critically important data from scientific research, clinical trials, and patient profiling. Teams are continually asked to identify, prioritize and develop promising therapies which are not only safe but innovative, effective and based on the latest research.
To achieve
Read More
Why Medicare Advantage Will Lead the Way on Healthcare Consumerism
For years, the healthcare industry has been abuzz with the concept of “consumerism” and the potential implications to insurance companies, providers and patients. Stakeholders from across the industry have opined on what it means create a healthcare system more focused on consumers, often with little impact to actual consumer experience or outcomes.
One spot of genuinely consumer-centric innovation and execution is in the Medicare Advantage (MA) space, where select health plans can offer
Read More
4 Steps Healthcare Organizations Need to Take to Automate Their Data
According to IDC, all the data that’s being created and captured in healthcare is projected to grow by 36 percent (CAGR)—more than any other industry.
While managing growing volumes of data is a common challenge for many organizations across all sectors, healthcare is uniquely set apart by the sheer number of new data sources that’s being made available—with new sources being added all the time. This is driven in large part by advancements in telemedicine, personalized or precision medicine, as
Read More
Why the Healthcare CIO Holds the Greatest Potential for Change
Consumers expect every brand interaction they have, whether at the doctor’s office or with their health insurer, to mirror the ones they have with companies like Amazon and Google: personalized, connected, and convenient. The healthcare industry, however, isn’t nearly ready to deliver on these connected experiences — not while data remains siloed across departments and organizations.
The need for interoperability — getting discrete systems and software applications to connect, exchange, and
Read More
4 Areas Where Big Data is Transforming Healthcare Right Now
Leveraging technology in the right ways can make or break the future of healthcare. One of the ways that healthcare will become more efficient, more affordable, and save more lives is through the use of big data.
What is Big Data?
Big data refers to a large amount of information being digitized, consolidated, standardized, analyzed and modeled. In healthcare, big data uses specific statistics from a population or an individual to research new advancements, reduce costs, and even cure or prevent
Read More
Why Healthcare Is Finally Moving To The Cloud
When I started in this industry, the idea that we would put patient information in the cloud was an absurdity. How on earth could anyone justify putting the most sensitive information in our personal lives somewhere other than a locked cupboard, in the safety of a hospital? We would never dream of letting paper patient charts leave the hospital or clinic, so why would we let them leave simply because they are electronic?
Historically, security was tied to proximity and direct control, nowhere
Read More
Helping VA to Combat Infectious Disease Across the Full Continuum of Care
VA hospitals and clinicians face challenges not present in commercial hospitals, which is that they provide Veterans with 100 percent of care services throughout their lifetimes. With a focus on the full continuum of care, this includes specialty care at VA clinics for chronic conditions, acute hospital admissions and/or ER visits, all prescriptions filled at VA pharmacies, and end-of-life care in a VA community living centers/nursing homes. In VISN4, there are nine VA Medical Centers serving
Read More
5 Steps to Achieving a Mature Enterprise-Class Quality Program
The game is changing faster than ever as more payer contracts and regulatory programs adopt risk-based models. To be successful, payer and provider organizations know they must increase quality scores and revenue while reducing avoidable medical costs. Yet, the providers who are critical to that success are burned out. According to a recent survey, nearly one-third of providers say their biggest frustration is constant “busy work,” such as electronic health record (EHR) data entry and prior
Read More
