News

Are health care organizations paying proper attention to the caliber of their transcribed documents?

Although medical record privacy is always a concern, some patients may be surprised by who isn’t looking at their files. Most consumers probably expect that their medical records are reviewed for accuracy, but that’s not always the case.

For the Record »

Improving HCAHPS performance is a never-ending struggle for hospitals, one that has taken on greater urgency as results are linked to CMS’s Hospital Value-Based Purchasing (VBP) program. The HCAHPS Survey is the basis of the “Patient Experience of Care Domain” under VPB, which makes up 30 percent of a facility’s total performance score.

A particularly thorny problem has been improving patient communications regarding medication, which is measured based on HCAHPS responses to three questions:

1. Before giving you any new medicine, how often did hospital staff tell you what the medicine was for?
2. Before giving you any new medicine, how often did hospital staff describe possible side effects in a way you could understand?
3. When I left the hospital, I clearly understood the purpose for taking each of my medication

HIStalk »

It’s hard to imagine a time when there wasn’t a pill—sometimes dozens of different ones—to treat so many health conditions. Today, 70% of Americans take at least one prescription drug and more than half take two, according to the Mayo Clinic.

While the healing powers of modern medicine are pretty awesome, you still need to be cautious when it comes to any drug. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reports that medication errors cause at least one death every day and injure 1.3 million people annually.

Health.com »

Oct. 7, 2014- Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information for healthcare professionals and students, announced today that ProVation^® Order Sets, powered by UpToDate^® Decision Support, was ranked by KLAS Research as having the best overall performance among order set solutions in its report, “CDS Order Sets and Care Plans 2014: Choosing the Best Option.” This marks the third time ProVation Order Sets has achieved top ranking in the annual report on the clinical decision support solutions market.

The convergence of advanced health information technologies, a greater focus on collaborative care and population health management, and a growing federal focus on initiatives driven by wide-spread information sharing has given rise to the health information exchange organization (HIO). While the benefits of HIOs are numerous and significant (e.g., point of care access to accurate patient information for improved care management and coordination; streamlined clinical workflows; enhanced organizational efficiencies), maintaining data integrity is a particularly thorny challenge.

Advance Healthcare Network »

CENTENNIAL, Colo. – Sept. 29, 2014 – Just Associates, Inc., a nationally recognized leader in patient matching and health information data integrity and management, announced today that Megan Munns, RHIA, has received AHIMA’s Rising Star Award, one of 10 Triumph Awards given annually by the association.

CENTENNIAL, Colo. – Sept. 26, 2014 – Just Associates, Inc. announced today that its CEO and president, Beth Just, will join a panel of esteemed colleagues during the 86^th Annual AHIMA Convention and Exhibit to address how the roles and functions of health information management (HIM) are expected to evolve over the next decade. It is one of three sessions in which experts with Just Associates, a nationally recognized leader in patient matching and health information data integrity and management, will share insights with attendees during the conference, taking place in San Diego Sept. 27-Oct. 2, 2014.

Sometimes referred to as blood poisoning, sepsis is the body’s often-deadly response to infection. As many as 1.6 million Americans are affected by sepsis, and more than 258,000 of them die from it, every year. Yet sepsis remains not only misunderstood by the public—a recent study by Harris Poll on behalf of the Sepsis Alliance in June 2014 found that only 44 percent of Americans had even heard of sepsis—it also remains challenging for physicians and other clinicians to work with. There are a variety of reasons that sepsis remains such a huge, unmanaged problem, in hospitals and emergency departments. But there are those who are working to change the situation. And there are things that IT professionals, especially clinical informaticists, can do, to turn things around.

Healthcare Informatics »

There’s no doubt that consumers of a certain age take comfort in going to the doctor, agreeing with their diagnosis, and following his or her treatment plan to the letter without doubts or hesitation. But this paternalistic approach to healthcare is starting to erode as younger generations of patients are beginning to handle the provision of care as they do any other major purchase.

Journal of AHIMA »

Minneapolis, Minn. – Aug. 27, 2014 – Healthsense, Inc., announced today the appointment of Peter H. Soderberg, Managing Partner of Worthy Venture Resources, LLC, as Chairman of its Board of Directors. Soderberg replaces Kenneth Burdick, President and COO of WellCare Health Plans (NYSE MKT: WCG), who served as Healthsense Board Chair since 2012.