The blockchain is getting a lot of attention these days. Much of the attention is misguided—pitching blockchain as if it will magically solve all security and privacy issues—and makes it challenging to understand what blockchain is and the value it can provide. When you cut through the blockchain technology marketing hype, however, blockchain does offer a variety of potential benefits when it comes to maintaining the integrity of data and transactions. And one arena in which blockchain could
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Why Are Hospitals Still Using CDs to Exchange Medical Images with Patients?
For nearly two decades, CDs have been the primary medium for medical image exchanges between providers and patients. In the mid-1990’s, CDs provided a solution to the point-of-care and transportation issues of bulky, static film and reports. Recent years have brought a widespread adoption of electronic methods for storing and sharing information in the healthcare sector---namely EMR and now interoperability. Despite the rapid (and necessary) adoption of HIT, CDs remain the primary means of
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Why Healthcare Marketers Should Care about the Patient Financial Experience
What comes to mind when you think of health system marketing? For most people, it’s dynamic content on the organization’s latest clinical advancements, philanthropic efforts, wellness management and relationship-building efforts within the community it serves. It’s also understanding patients and their motivations, using consumer research and analysis, focus groups, surveys, and other tools. You probably don’t think about the healthcare billing experience.It’s understandable. Frank discussions
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Integrate or Die: Healthcare IT’s Costly Interoperability Problem
At times, it seems that healthcare is stuck in a time warp. At many hospitals, you’ll see doctors still using faxes while administrators input data into giant, blocky computers running on Windows XP.This is puzzling. After all, technology is quite advanced: we can store documents on the cloud, link together networks of smart devices, or even use algorithms to gather and analyze massive reams of data. So why do healthcare facilities look like they’re trapped in the 1990s?The answer lies in
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How Cloud Connectivity is Driving Medical Device Innovation in 2018 & Beyond
The healthcare industry is facing numerous global challenges in 2018, with ballooning costs, changing payment models and new legislation that routinely changes the relationship between patients, regulators, health care providers and health insurance carriers. With an aging global population and worldwide healthcare spending expected to grow from $7.1 trillion to $8.7 trillion by 2020, new technologies, products, and services in the healthcare space must demonstrate cost-effectiveness while
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MGT Act Gives Pause to Reconsider the Mainframe for Government-Run Healthcare Organizations
IT consultants working with government-run healthcare organizations are getting many questions right now about the newly passed MGT Act, which carves out funds for government agencies to modernize their technologies. These agencies have just started applying for this funding, and as they ponder where to begin, many are looking squarely at the figurehead of so-called legacy technologies, the mainframe. Mainframe systems have been used by government agencies for years to support large databases
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4 Reasons Why Secure Messaging Apps Are The Best Option for Boosting Patient Engagement & Health Outcomes
Patient engagement is now a critical component of healthcare, as organizations utilize both traditional and modern communications methods to differentiate their businesses, deliver superior patient care and reduce costs.Today, 74 percent of healthcare executives would like to automate patient engagement, according to a recent study by Conversa Health and World Business Research. Unfortunately, many of these same executives don’t know how or where to begin to do so. From automating
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Virtual Reality: 4 Ways Mixed Reality Helps Pediatric Patients
Hospitals can be depressing, scary or boring, making people feel isolated and out of the loop. But this experience is several times more challenging for children, especially those in need of prolonged treatment. There can be unpleasant tests and procedures, strict visiting rules, and not so many available activities to entertain or distract young patients.Thankfully, technology is ready to alleviate hospital stay for the youngest patients, as mixed reality gradually integrates with pediatric
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Can Bots Take the Patient Experience to the Next Level?
In today’s mobile-first environment, it’s somewhat surprising that nearly 30 percent of healthcare providers still use phone calls — and only phone calls — to ensure patients make it into their scheduled appointments. While fewer Americans tend to answer their phone calls, they do use their phones for text messaging. In healthcare, the benefits of text message appointment reminders are increasingly recognized and on the rise, but this is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to providing a
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Hospital Culture: 4 Best Practices for Evidence-based Medicine Adoption
Does your organization follow evidence-based care guidelines? Do you currently utilize evidence-based content in your EHR? Do your clinicians embrace practices based on the best and most current clinical evidence?If your hospital has not yet fully adopted evidence-based medicine, yet wants to move in that direction, an important first step is to assess your organization’s readiness, starting with an examination of the hospital’s culture. As I travel across the country in my job, I often
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