To support the sudden increase in test results and medical records being transmitted during the pandemic, hospitals, laboratories, and pharmacies implemented additional devices and remote connections into their networks. After the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) lifted penalties around telehealth to expand care options amid the crisis, new platforms were adopted that were not previously allowed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). This exercise of discretion
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Health IT & Digital Health-Opinion | Op-Eds | Guest Columns | Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
Electronic Signatures Speed Care, Keep Providers in Compliance
While certain healthcare regulations—especially those around telehealth visits—have been relaxed during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, the core compliance and regulatory environment remain intact, including rules around signatures. Many hospitals and health systems have set up temporary care facilities or COVID-19 testing sites, while all types of healthcare providers have been forced to reconfigure waiting rooms, registration areas, and treatment rooms. The adjustments can throw
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Why Labor Management Systems Are a Resource Healthcare Can Rely On
In 2021, the role of advanced technology solutions across the healthcare sector can – and should -- be expanded. They already have been applied in such areas as billing, administrative work, in prescription management and some staff position scheduling. But with the ongoing advances in digital capability and automated intelligence, now is the time to consider a more holistic approach for how to integrate digital systems and solutions. The rate of employment in healthcare has been on a
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Escalating Cyberattacks on Healthcare Organizations Highlight Need for Security Interventions
Healthcare organizations have faced continual stress from heavy COVID-19 caseloads in 2020. Cyberattacks on their information networks also loomed as a serious threat, and the pressure to protect data is expected to grow this year, as more criminals target healthcare providers. Protecting patient data from unauthorized access has long been a regulatory prerequisite for healthcare organizations. But increasingly, cybercriminals see profit potential in attacking and crippling their networks,
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The Future of Remote Care Automation Begins with Cardiac Rehabilitation
2020 was undeniably the year that saw telehealth and remote care services come to the forefront of medical care. Many have hypothesized that, in the post-COVID world, remote care programs will be ubiquitous throughout hospitals and health systems. However, such a future is far from certain, as too many organizations currently lack the budget, IT infrastructure, and time necessary to implement new innovative remote care programs. There is a considerable disparity between the hype surrounding
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Can AI Pave the Path to Reducing Physician Burnout?
The timing couldn’t be more critical for us to start making serious headway to reduce the growing problem of burnout among America’s physicians. In 2018, physician burnout was already at an alarming 42%, but that number is growing as COVID-19 cases surge around the country. While we are at a hopeful place in the virus’ trajectory with millions of vaccinations administered, the reality – even once we get through the pandemic – is quite grim for physicians and their
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Health Plans Must Go Beyond the ONC Mandate and Prioritize Member Experience
We are all frustrated when there’s a glitch with our online banking, or if bandwidth problems interfere with streaming the movie we want to watch. Imagine how individuals will react when the results of a cancer screening don’t find their way into Apple Health or Google Health, where such information is supposed to be easy to find. Or worse, if an individual is given the wrong information about a cancer diagnosis. An individual’s first call about missing health data or claims is going to
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Why Cancer Registries are Part of America’s Fight for Racial Equality
According to a 2019 study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, one in 1,000 Black males can expect to die at the hands of the police. Black males were also 2.5 times more likely to die during an encounter with police than white males. For some, those figures are staggering. For many others, they are reminders of the racial disparities that have existed for far too long in this country. So, in 2020, when recent events have brought racial injustice back into the national
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3 Ways Hospitals Can Improve Employee Communication—Now and Beyond the Pandemic
This year and the coronavirus pandemic brought new challenges to hospitals and healthcare facilities across the globe. And while the first phase of vaccine distribution has put a light at the end of the tunnel, many regions are still handling surging cases as a result of the holiday season. As we navigate combatting the latest surge and distributing the first rounds of the vaccine, hospital and healthcare system leaders should use lessons learned from this year to ensure the doctors,
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Telehealth Helped Me Beat COVID-19, But It’s Just A Start
I was the voice of social distancing, a proponent of mask-wearing from the very start. Still, after months of keeping distance from loved ones, the idea of a quick, safe, outdoor family gathering on a beautiful fall day, even if we weren’t going to be wearing masks, was too good to pass up. A week later, I was sequestered in my bed, with a 103-degree-fever that didn’t break for 12 days, unrelenting migraines and aches, and what felt like an impossibly heavy weight on my chest, making
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