In its first five years, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has already left an indelible mark on the $2.9 trillion health sector. By energizing five fundamental shifts, the law has accelerated the rise of a New Health Economy predicated on value, according to a new report from PwC’s Health Research Institute (HRI), “Five Trends to Watch as the Affordable Care Act Turns Five.”
According to the PwC report, although much groundwork was laid in advance of the law’s enactment, health
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Sen. Alexander: Gov’t Should Not Force Meaningful Use Adoption
On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said the government should enable and encourage physicians and hospitals to adopt EHRs, rather than try to force meaningful use adoption by taking away Medicare payments.
“Transitioning to electronic health records requires a real transformation in how physicians practice medicine. They must implement pricey systems, learn how to use them, ensure their staff is trained, and pay annual licensing fees and for hardware and associated services. The
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Health Data Analytics Provider Health Catalyst Raises $70M
Health Catalyst, a provider of healthcare data warehousing, analytics and outcomes improvement, announced it has raised $70 million in funding led by existing investor Norwest Venture Partners. The round also included contributions from other existing investors Sequoia Capital, Kaiser Permanente Ventures,Sorenson Capital, CHV Capital (an Indiana University Health Company) and Partners HealthCare. Also participating in the round were new strategic investors Sands Capital Ventures, Tenaya Capital,
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UCSF, John Muir Health Partner to Form ACO Network
UCSF Medical Center and John Muir Health has invested in a collaborative effort, called the Bay Area ACO Network, to form a regional health care network. The goal is to provide the right care at the right time and in the most appropriate setting, whether that is the primary care physician’s office, an outpatient center or a hospital. The two health systems also have formed a new development company that will enable them to collaborate on building new medical facilities, increase the number of
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BJC HealthCare Chooses Epic for Integrated EHR
BJC HealthCare and the Washington University Faculty Practice Plan has selected Epic as its strategic partner for a single, integrated EHR for BJC's hospitals and employed physicians. The decision was made after an extensive and thorough twelve-month process that included surveys, demonstrations and site visits. The new EHR system will incorporate clinical documentation from all areas of patient care into a single database for greater ease of use, better accuracy and timeliness, and the
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Apple Releases ResearchKit Guidelines for App Developers
Three days after the announcement of its open source medical research platform ResearchKit, Apple has now released guidelines for the application developers to protect users’ privacy, safety and rights. In Section 27 of the app store review guidelines, Apple states that "apps using the HealthKit framework or conducting human subject research for health purposes, such as through the use of ResearchKit, must comply with applicable law for each Territory in which the App is made available."
The
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Pitt, CMU, UPMC Form Alliance To Transform Big Data in Healthcare
Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC have joined forces to create the Pittsburgh Health Data Alliance, a powerful collaboration to transform big data in healthcare and wellness. This one-of-a-kind alliance is a wide-reaching commitment to advance technology and create new data-heavy health care innovations over the coming years, resulting in spin-off companies and furthering economic development in the region.
Today's health care system generates massive amounts
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Philips Launches Connected Cardiology Solution for Physicians
During the American College of Cardiology Conference, Philips has the launch of IntelliSpace Cardiovascular, a web-enabled image and information management system (CVIS) with a single integrated workspace that produces a holistic view of the patient’s care continuum across the entire cardiovascular service line. The new solution provides cardiologists with sophisticated tools for better diagnosis and planning of patient cardiovascular care.
Improving interoperability to enhance
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MedStar to Sponsor Entrepreneurially Focused Healthcare Fellowship
MedStar Health is sponsoring an entrepreneurially focused healthcare fellowship, Health For America, that will bring emerging leaders from diverse backgrounds to work among MedStar providers and partners to find innovative, sustainable solutions for more effectively managing chronic disease. Health for America, headquartered in Washington, D.C., has opened its highly competitive applications process to select four fellows for the 2015-16 program that begins in September. The fellowship seeks
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11k Sign Up for Apple’s ResearchKit In Less Than 24 Hours
In less than 24 hours after the launch of Apple's ResearchKit platform, Stanford University researchers announced that 11,000 people have already signed up for a cardiovascular study, Bloomberg reports. The new open source software framework is designed to help doctors and scientists recruit more participants in medical research studies needed to provide a more useful representation of the population using iPhone apps. With a user’s consent, ResearchKit can seamlessly tap into the pool of useful
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