No one should be surprised there’s another COVID variant on the loose, and yet seemingly, everyone is. The variant, named Omicron (the fifteenth letter in the Greek alphabet), was first reported to the World Health Organisation (WHO) by South Africa on November 24th. Unlike its name would suggest, Omicron is the seventh COVID-19 variant of concern—but a pandemic-fatigued global public could be forgiven for thinking it’s the twentieth. Governments across the developed world have pushed
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Health IT & Digital Health-Opinion | Op-Eds | Guest Columns | Analysis, Insights - HIT Consultant
Understanding an Individual’s Uniquely Personal Health Beliefs & Behaviors to Drive Better Outcomes
When it comes to health and wellness, everyone has an approach as unique as they are. What’s more, is that an individual’s approach to their health can – and most likely will – evolve over the course of their lifetime. A decade ago, people weren’t dabbling in CBD to ease their stress, having Zoom calls with their doctors or riding a cycle with thousands of other people from the comfort of their living room. People’s health behaviors, including diet, exercise, and wellness visits, continue to
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The Value of an Enterprise Active Data Archive Begins with Patient Safety
Patient safety is only possible with accurate and comprehensive medical records, and this includes those records available in the active archive. Despite the urgency, one of the biggest challenges in healthcare today is maintaining Longitudinal Records – one record per patient over time, across HIS systems, and among various facilities and treatments. That challenge is made even harder when old records are scattered and inaccessible. Remember Paper Files? Twenty years ago, seeing the
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Why Digital Pathology Platform Adoption Will Fail Without Interoperability
The global pandemic has cast a spotlight on the impact of digital transformation in healthcare. From ensuring access to care with telemedicine to accelerating vaccine development, technology has rapidly unlocked new sources of value for patients, providers, and researchers alike. While much of this has played out before our very eyes, other advancements have been less visible but equally as significant. Consider the rise of digital pathology. Pathology sits at the core of disease diagnosis;
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Unique Factors to Consider When Selecting Enterprise Data Platforms for Virtual Healthcare Apps
Developing virtual healthcare solutions is a daunting task. As a healthcare technology solution provider targeting the remote care market, you’re required to have both the clinical and the technological expertise needed to design, build and integrate a complete solution that can address the challenges with virtual patient care and monitoring. Today’s digital healthcare solution for remote care is powered by software and data. Or more specifically, the reliable acquisition and management
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Telehealth vs. Remote Patient Monitoring: Which Is Better for Your Patients?
Are Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) and telehealth the same thing? If virtual visits replace in-person visits, will that negatively impact my practice? Will I lose reimbursement and the in-person connection with patients? These are questions and concerns that we frequently hear as practices consider if a Remote Patient Monitoring program is right for their patients. What is Telehealth? Let’s start with definitions. RPM and telehealth are not the same thing. Telehealth is a very broad,
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How 3D Printing is Revolutionizing Orthotics for Patients and Providers
For the 77% of Americans who suffer from foot pain,1 seeking relief has included a litany of options: medications, exercises, insoles and even surgery to name a few. But relief is often hit-or-miss, and insoles that are customized traditionally include a very time-consuming process for patients. They often require lengthy office visits, multiple fit adjustments and even then, not always offering the right fit. Fortunately, advancements in technology are changing the game. Software,
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5 Patient Matching Best Practices for Providers to Consider
What is Electronic Patient Matching Anyway? According to HealthIT.gov, patient matching is defined as “the identification and linking of one patient's data within and across health systems to obtain a comprehensive view of that patient's health care record." At a minimum, one can accomplish patient matching by automatically linking multiple demographic data fields such as name, birth date, phone number, and address. Therefore, patient matching is a critical component to interoperability
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Nurse Shortage is a Chronic Problem Being Treated With Acute Solutions
While COVID-19 has exacerbated the shortage of nurses in the US, the shortage precedes the pandemic by decades. Nurses across healthcare specialties have been in consistently high demand for many decades, and the current shortage, as the Baby Boomer generation continues to age (effectively converting them from nurses to patients themselves), has continued from around 2012. Some reports estimate that to fully cover our shortage by 2030, 1.2 million RNs will be needed. Yet, entry-level nursing
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Rethink Scheduling: Prepare for Positive Impact
As with so many other aspects of life, the COVID-19 pandemic has shaken up what healthcare organizations thought they knew about provider scheduling. No longer can they take for granted that existing scheduling workflows will work equally well in all scenarios. If nothing else, the pandemic has taught health systems to expect the unexpected. It’s not quite enough just to satisfy today’s needs. It’s imperative health systems also anticipate worst-case scenarios ranging from pandemics and
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