Fax machines have been a common fixture in medical practices across the country since they reached peak popularity in the late 1980s; the convenience, reliability, and security of faxing meant it was, and still is, the communication medium of choice for the majority of healthcare organizations. But, technology has come a very long way in past 30 or so years, and expectations have changed - what was deemed to be convenient, reliable, or secure two or three decades ago, might not be anymore. So,
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How to Successfully Manage the Staffing Costs of Migrating to a New EHR
Few decisions are as important or as daunting as the one that leads to the implementation of a new EHR. When replacing best-of-breed clinical applications with an integrated EHR, a successful transition involves managing, not just technology but, equally as important, employees across multiple teams. The best and brightest in your organization are asked to focus on this initiative, but this new assignment leaves a gap in the maintenance and management of a healthcare organization’s legacy
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Why The Retailization of Healthcare Begins with Women
The face of consumerism is rapidly changing in the age of technology. Convenience, personalization, and long-term benefits are of paramount concern to developers as consumers increasingly prioritize experience over possessions. The five-star rating format and other consumer-friendly features of sites like Amazon, Yelp, and TripAdvisor have been shaping consumer behavior and expectations for more than a decade. Direct-to-consumer brands like BirchBox, ThirdLove, and StitchFix are revolutionizing
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Bullshit Metrics: Is Patient Engagement Real?
Whether it’s stock trading with a few clicks on a smartphone, streaming new music before the vinyl hit the shelves, or receiving a wardrobe from a personal stylist without ever stepping into a store, technology’s potential to revolutionize the consumer experience is ubiquitous across industries. The healthcare sphere is no exception to this, and in recent years a rash of digital health tools and connected devices have flooded the marketplace, promising cheaper care and better outcomes, all while
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Data Collection Challenges in Healthcare and How to Overcome Them
While each industry has its own regulatory and governance challenges when it comes to data collection, storage, and management, the struggles of the healthcare industry are unique. Often times, the data collected in healthcare is complex and is governed by extremely stringent regulations.Most healthcare providers collect data using a variety of forms such as patient intake forms, consent forms, treatment evaluation and health assessment forms among others. Once this data is collected, it
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The Future Role of Robots and Humans in Caretaking
Visit the research facilities of the Georgia Institute of Technology. You may meet Darwin, a pint-sized robot that helps patients meet physical therapy goals. From enhancing a surgeon’s precision to disposing of medical waste to monitoring health metrics, artificial intelligence (AI) is making a big impact on the sector. Even the pint-sized robots are doing big things in healthcare. It will be fascinating to see where it all goes. As populations age, one area robots could help tremendously is
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3 Ways Automation & Integration Is Disrupting the HIT Status Quo
In the history of healthcare information technology (HIT), there is clear evidence that technology systems have been designed to provide individual solutions, instead of considering a provider’s workflow holistically. In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, practice management (PM) systems offered medical practices the opportunity to automate their day-to-day operations. Then the electronic health record (EHR) became mainstream in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, to electronically store patient
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8 Tips for Urgent Care Clinics to Optimize Revenue & Remain Profitable
As the 2017-18 flu season winds down, it’s become clear that it was one for the record books. With the onset coming early and strong, emergency departments, primary care physicians, and urgent care clinics all over the country were overrun with patients waiting in line to see a doctor.While this had a negative impact on a large portion of the U.S. population, anyone involved in the on-demand healthcare space knows that the flu season and resulting increase in patient volume tends to feed the
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The Patient Experience and…Revenue Cycle Operations? The Two Are More Interlinked than You Might Think.
Think back to the last time you read a negative review about a restaurant. After reading the review, you probably dismissed the restaurant and considered other places to eat.Now, imagine you’re a patient considering options for an outpatient procedure and you came upon negative reviews about a provider. Chances are, you probably skipped that provider and opted for a consult with someone else. As providers, how can we fix this? Now, more than ever, patient satisfaction matters, especially given
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The Telehealth Movement – Access, Value, Convenience
Healthcare, like all other industries, is experiencing a phase of rapid transformation due to the increased use of technology.“We’re entering a second wave of health innovation, where new business models, exciting technologies, and exciting leaders will emerge,” said Unity Stoakes, Co-Founder & President, StartUp Health in the company’s 2017 Year End Report. Telehealth, or the provision of healthcare via telecommunication networks, is not new – but it’s now becoming a hot suite of
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