Mike Miliard
In March, not long after the first two Direct Project pilots got under way, Healthcare IT News took a closer look at the collaborative beginnings of the initiative – and explored the promise it held for the future of healthcare.
At RSNA 2011 on Monday, radiologists and imaging professionals from across the country and around the world prepped themselves to make the most of a fast-changing healthcare landscape -- one in which health IT will play an increasing and pivotal role.
Earlier this year, KLAS put out a report on the ambulatory RIS/PACS market that summed up the sector's mood thusly: "Waiting for the other shoe to drop." The first shoe, explains Ben Brown, GM for medical equipment & imaging informatics at KLAS and a coauthor of the study, dropped back when outpatient imaging reimbursements were cut, and providers had to scramble to reduce costs accordingly.
Recently, Healthcare IT News put a poll to our readers, asking whether they're likely to "consult medical device ratings sites in making purchasing decisions." More than two thirds (68 percent) of respondents said yes.
When you're one of the largest and most profitable companies in the world, you can afford to make big statements – pitting big money and big know-how against big problems.
At the launch this past month of the iPhone 4S, new Apple CEO Tim Cook noted that, "80 percent of the top hospitals in the U.S. are now testing or piloting the iPad." That's a good thing, because a fast-increasing number of medical schools are doing the same. The iPad, it seems, is becoming as ubiquitous as the stethoscope.
Interactions Corporation and Humana will expand their partnership, through which Humana deploys Interactions' voice portal technology, to streamline member enrollment for Medicare Part D benefits.
HP Enterprise Services announced the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) has signed a renewal service agreement to manage the state's Medicaid Management Information System. The $172 million, three-year extension will help the state transition to a managed care environment.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has awarded three-year grants totaling $4.5 million to support research in three centers that will focus on improving clinical preventive services and practices such as screening, counseling and use of preventive medications for patients.
IBM and the Georgia Institute of Technology have announced a new research initiative that will apply advanced systems modeling and large-scale data analytics capabilities to integrate traditionally disparate data that affects health.