PwC’s Health Research Institute (HRI) today recently released a new report, Healthcare delivery of the future: How digital technology can bridge the gap of time and distance between clinicians and consumers. The report reveals a shift in attitudes among clinicians, suggesting an increased openness toward using digital technology, and offers detailed recommendations for how healthcare companies, clinicians, and new entrants can harness developing technologies to benefit patients and the
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Beth Israel Hospital to Pay $100k for Patient Data Breach
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has agreed to pay a $100,000 fine for a patient data breach involving 4,000 patients and employees, Boston Globe reports. The fine stems from a stolen physician's laptop back in May 2012 that contained health information of 3,796 patients and Beth Israel employees, as well as personal information, such as Social Security numbers, of 194 other Massachusetts residents.
According to the Massachusetts attorney general’s office, the hospital’s
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Gartner: Sales of Health Wearables Expected to Decline in 2015
According to Gartner, sales of health wearables is expected to decline in 2015 driven by an overlap in functionality between health/fitness werables and smartwatches. Health/fitness wearables is forecast to reach 68.1 million units in 2015, down from 70 million units in 2014. In the Gartner report, Wearable Electronic Devices for Fitness, Worldwide, 2014 report analysts predict sales will rebound in 2016 because of versatile designs and models with cheaper displays.
Table 1 — Worldwide
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Cognizant Completes Acquisition of TriZetto
Cognizant, a global leader in information technology, consulting and business process services, today announced it has completed the acquisition of TriZetto Corporation for $2.7 billion in cash. The combination of the Cognizant and TriZetto platform and capabilities will enable healthcare organizations to focus on making their operations as efficient as possible, while at the same time investing to drive future growth in an increasingly competitive environment.
TriZetto develops, licenses
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Kaiser Permanente to Provide Primary Care to Target Clinics
Kaiser Permanente and Target are partnering to launch four Target Clinics in Southern California in November and December. Consumers will receive expanded health services in addition to its traditional primary health care services at Target Clinics including:
- pediatric and adolescent care
- well-woman care
- family planning
- management of chronic conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure
Through this partnership, Kaiser Permanente will provide care to Kaiser
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41% of Providers Are Not Reimbursed for Telehealth Services
41 percent of providers are not reimbursement for telehealth services and 21 percent received lower rates from managed care companies for telemedicine than for in-person care, according to a recent survey by Foley & Lardner.The survey asked senior executives of for-profit and non-profit health care providers about the future of telemedicine and how their organizations are navigating regulatory and reimbursement hurdles, as well as other barriers to widespread adoption of
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Specialty EMR Provider, Modernizing Medicine Raises $15M
Cloud based, specialty-specific EMR provider, Modernizing Medicine has announced that it has closed $15M of an expected $20M in venture capital funding led by Summit Partners and Pentland Group. Many of the company's investors are medical specialists who use EMA bringing its total funding to $44M. The EMR provider currently serving eight different medical specialties, more than 4,000 providers have adopted Modernizing Medicine’s EMA in their practices.
Developed by surgical physicians, EMA
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5 Facts About Digital Health in Canada
This week marks the first-ever Digital Health Week in Canada, taking place from November 10 to 14, 2014 led by a unique collaboration of 18 organizations to recognize how digital health is transforming care and helping to improve delivery of care across the country.
Canada's Digital Health Strategy
According to Infoway, Canada's digital health infrastructure has three fundamental components:
1. Point of Care Systems - Compatible systems that your health care providers use to send,
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19.7M “Clinically Inappropriate” Physician Referrals Occur Each Year
Research from Kyruus highlights how "clinically inappropriate physician referrals" can lead to poor patient care and costly inefficiencies.
Nearly 20 million times a year in the U.S., patients are sent to a doctor who is not the right match for their specific condition. This is one of many key stats in the new physician referrals survey conducted by Kyruus,that highlights the massive issues in the doctor-patient referral system.
Why does this matter? “Clinically inappropriate” referrals
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Rite Aid to Test HealthSpot Telemedicine Kiosks in Ohio Stores
Rite Aid Corporation announced on Friday it will pilot HealthSpot's enclosed telemedicine kiosks in select Ohio stores. The partnership marks the first major partnership with a nationwide pharmacy chain for the Dublin, OH based telehealth startup. The initial pilot markets for Rite Aid are Cleveland, Akron, Canton, Dayton and Springfield.
Rite Aid customers who use the telemedicine kiosk will be able to connect with a network of physicians including staff at the Cleveland Clinic and other
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