Without a doubt, the death of American veterans as a result of the VA waitlist debacle is tragic and unacceptable. The Obama administration must move quickly and deliberately to fix the underlying problems and restore faith in the agency.
If these issues were common throughout the VA network of hospitals and clinics, it might make sense to consider dramatic, earth-shaking alternatives like moving veterans to private providers and shuttering the VA. But they are not common. Indeed, as
Read More
Health IT & Digital Health-Opinion | Op-Eds | Guest Columns | Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
Why Did the U.S. Rank Last in the World’s Best Healthcare System Report?
The Commonwealth Fund just published its fourth Mirror, Mirror on the Wall study comparing the U.S. health care system with other countries, and as in all previous studies, we ranked as the absolutely worst health care system in the developed world, bar none. Yikes. The Commonwealth Fund studied many health care domains, and we didn’t rank in first place for anything. The best we managed to do is place a lackluster third in the subcategory of Effective Care. The United Kingdom, on the other
Read More
An Insider’s Look to Clinical Engagement
As healthcare informatics continues to generate attention in the media one of the greatest challenges facing start-ups and large corporations alike is the ability to engage healthcare professionals.
An Insider’s Look to Clinical Engagement is a free white paper written by the UK based clinical team at corporate strategy consultancy AbedGraham supported by the industry insights of HIT Consultant. This concise paper highlights the increasing prevalence of healthcare professionals in
Read More
The Evolving Landscape of Medical Apps in Healthcare
Mitchell Posada, VP of Marketing at Pathfinder Software discusses the evolving landscape of medical apps in healthcare.
Handheld medical apps are changing the healthcare landscape. While medical devices with embedded software have been around for over two decades, the advent of smartphones with touch screens, smart Bluetooth technologies and internet connectivity has brought about a tsunami of apps designed for every purpose, from monitoring body temperature to measuring heart
Read More
Stupid Cancer CEO Says Digital Health Innovators Must Seek, Incorporate Patient Input to Succeed
Matthew Zachary, patient activist and founder and CEO of Stupid Cancer says digital health innovators must seek and incorporate patient input to succeed.
In May 2014, my firm, Enspektos, LLC held a unique 3-day all-Web conference, digihealth pulse Virtual 2014 (DHPV 2014). During the event, more than 25 innovators, entrepreneurs, patients and others came together to provide useful and actionable insights, data and advice to health executives who attended the conference. DHPV 2014 was
Read More
VistA and Epic: A Tale of Two Systems, Two Platforms, Two Approaches
VistA and Epic: A Tale of Two Systems, Two Platforms, Two Approaches
Over the last few weeks, access to VA health care for veterans has been all over the news. At the same time, the DoD is moving to procure a replacement EHR system. So it seems there is no time like the present to review a recent RAND case studies report entitled “Redirecting Innovation in U.S. Health Care: Options to Decrease Spending and Increase Value.”
The case studies include a chapter comparing America’s two
Read More
Mobile Health Is Enhancing Clinical Decisions At the Point of Care
Dr. Stephen Beck, CMIO at Catholic Health Partners discusses how his organization is enhancing clinical decisions at the point of care through mobile health to improve the quality and effectiveness of healthcare.
Smartphones, tablets and other mobile devices are becoming ubiquitous in doctors’ offices and hospitals as a means to standardize care protocols, improve the flow of information, and ease the implementation of electronic health records (EHRs).[i] In fact, mobile devices are
Read More
Is It Time We Stifle Innovation in Healthcare?
Should we stifle innovation in healthcare or should we attempt to disseminate between healthcare innovations that seems worthy? Margarit Gur-Arie explains.
Stifling innovation is a very bad thing. As a society it is incumbent upon us to let innovation breath free, prosper and multiply, because innovation is good for us. All innovation is good for us, even if it doesn’t look that way initially, because you never know when a seemingly useless innovation will spawn that one innovation that will
Read More
Electronic Medical Records–Past, Present and Future?
Dr. Donald Voltz, MD discusses how the electronic medical records of today is merely a duplication of the past and how future EMR systems must align medical professionals with data that needs to be collaborative.
The open question regarding Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) is what they now offer the medical community and what would medical professionals need and envision for the next generation.
The Henry Ford adage: “If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said
Read More
We Must All be Engaged in the Design, Delivery, and Re-imagination of Healthcare
On a recent flight, I had my headphones on and the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” began to play. It’s a song I have heard hundreds of times over the years, but I was struck by the difference listening to it with headphones made. With no distractions, I noticed the bass line, in time with the percussion, provides the perfect offset to Mick Jagger’s distinctively strained voice. It was a completely different experience than hearing the track play in the background of a movie or while at a
Read More
