Here are a few I came across last week.
Note: Each link is followed by a title and few paragraphs. For the full article click on the link above title of the article. Note also that full access to some links may require site registration or subscription payment.
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Hancock calls for NHS clinicians to be able to email patients directly
Matt Hancock is calling for clinicians to be able to directly email information to patients in a bid to increase data security and reduce delays and wastage.
Hanna Crouch 15 February 2019
Speaking at NHS England’s ‘Empowering people in the digital world’ conference on 13 February, the secretary of state for health and social care argued emails are as secure and cheaper than communicating through paper and fax machines.
“There is no reason why a doctor cannot email a patient confidentially, for example with their test results or prescription, rather than make them wait days for a letter or ask them to come into the surgery. The rest of the world runs on email – and the NHS should too.”
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Clinicians need better opioid data within their workflows, says EHRA
The HIMSS Electronic Health Record Association's Opioid Crisis Task Force has created what it calls "ideal minimum data set" to get physicians the right information to enable safer EPCS.
By Mike Miliard
February 22, 2019 12:35 PM
The HIMSS Electronic Health Record Association says it's working toward policies and procedures that will allow physicians better visibility for opioid data in the EHR.
"We were surprised to find that there was no comprehensive source for the state-specific policies and standards surrounding prescription drug monitoring programs and electronic prescribing of controlled substances," write David Bucciferro and Katelyn Fontaine of the task force in a blog post this week. "So, we set out to create our own."
WHY IT MATTERS
The EHR Association looked at state-by-state data to gain insights on an array of key factors: how long it took providers to report controlled substance prescriptions to prescription drug monitoring programs, what data is collected, who is able to access PDMP information, whether and when such data can be shared across states and how retention of that prescribing data might be limited within an EHR.
The EHR Association looked at state-by-state data to gain insights on an array of key factors: how long it took providers to report controlled substance prescriptions to prescription drug monitoring programs, what data is collected, who is able to access PDMP information, whether and when such data can be shared across states and how retention of that prescribing data might be limited within an EHR.
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Google, CVS, Walgreens, DEA team up to fight opioid crisis
By FOXBusiness
Google announced Thursday that its joining forces with CVS, Walgreens and federal and state governments, including the DEA and HHS in an effort combat the opioid crisis "head-on."
The new initiative is set to displace local drug disposal locations on Google Maps year-round.
The hope is that users can easily type in queries like "drug drop off near me" or "medication disposal near me" and Google Maps will automatically display where permanent disposal locations are nearby so people can quickly and safely discard of unneeded medication.
IBM Watson Health Teams Up with Hospitals for AI, EHR Research
IBM Watson Health is investing in new partnership that will focus on the intersection between artificial intelligence, EHR data, and the user experience.
February 20, 2019 - IBM Watson Health has announced a ten-year, $50 million investment in artificial intelligence (AI) research partnerships with Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC).
The two collaborations will explore how to use artificial intelligence to improve EHR usability, support precision medicine, bolster patient safety, and foster health equity across communities.
“Building on the MIT-IBM Watson Lab announced last year, this collaboration will include contributions from IBM Watson Health's longstanding commitment to scientific research and our belief that working together with the world's leading institutions is the fastest path to develop, advance, and understand practical solutions that solve some of the world's biggest health challenges,” said Kyu Rhee, MD, MPP, vice president and chief health officer at IBM Watson Health.
Published February 22 2019, 7:11am EST
While artificial intelligence promises to create actionable insights for clinicians to make better care decisions for patients, the regulations and standards for evaluating AI-based algorithms are lacking.
That’s the contention of Ravi Parikh, MD, a fellow in hematology and oncology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, and two colleagues.
Writing in the February 22 issue of the journal Science, they make the case that evaluations of AI-based algorithms are not held to traditional clinical trial standards—and, as a result, there has been little prospective evidence that predictive analytics improve patient care.
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A look into Sweden’s patient-centric care model
Patrik Sundström, program manager of e-Health SALAR, discusses how Sweden is using technology to move healthcare from the hospital to the patient, in line with the ambitious Vision for eHealth 2025 national strategy.
By HIMSS TV
February 21, 2019 11:44 AM
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AI platform can identify, predict cancer development
It's being touted as the first use of network analysis as a method to examine the relationships between common symptoms suffered by a large group of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.
By Nathan Eddy
February 21, 2019 10:39 AM
A team of scientists from the University of Surrey and the University of California have used artificial intelligence networks to help identify and analyze the symptoms of cancer patients.
A new study, published by Nature Scientific Reports, describes how researchers used network analysis to examine the structure and relationships between 38 common symptoms reported by over 1300 cancer patients receiving chemotherapy.
WHY IT MATTERS
This represents the first use of network analysis as a method of examining the relationships between common symptoms suffered by a large group of cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, researchers say. The NA allowed the team to identify nausea as central, impacting symptoms across all three different key networks.
The development and use of AI is growing rapidly is the medical field, specifically in diagnostics and treatment management.
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Top News - Allscripts
Allscripts announces Q4 results: revenue up 17 percent, adjusted EPS $0.20 vs. $0.18, falling short of Wall Street expectations for both.
Shares dropped 8 percent in after-hours trading following the announcement.
MDRX shares are down 12 percent in the past year vs. the Nasdaq’s 3 percent gain.
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HIT Think How HIMSS19 shows that effective IT must focus on patients
Published February 21 2019, 5:41pm EST
People as individuals and human beings are regaining an appropriate central focus in healthcare. The shift in thinking of putting relationships front and center was especially evident during the annual mass gathering of the healthcare information technology sector at the HIMSS Annual Conference.
Without a so-called blockbuster announcement, this arguably most important element of healthcare was able to permeate all levels of discussion.
The focus on individuals was evident in a variety of venues—from the government dropping a long-anticipated regulation just as HIMSS19 started, to the way in which companies framed their offerings, to the gathering of different communities. Being able to consider how best to enhance the relationship between clinicians, patients and other stakeholders was a refreshing change from chasing the latest shiny object, which was often the feeling in the past.
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HIT Think How providers can best accommodate patient-reported data
Published February 20 2019, 6:07pm EST
The healthcare industry is moving toward consumer-centered, patient-driven care. The consumer and patient perspective is becoming central to how healthcare is delivered, reimbursed and evaluated by regulators and other stakeholders.
Previously, individual patients reported on their health to their individual clinicians, with little opportunity for the quantitative and qualitative data to be aggregated and mobilized at a population level. Alternatively, patients had to participate in clinical registries or studies to provide their data to the health system for research purposes only.
In recent years, however, many new patient- and consumer-directed tools and platforms have become available. The new tools and platforms—like the Apple Health Kit, Apple Watch and FitBit—have enabled patients to report on their health outcomes to their healthcare providers and insurers, and to gather their health data for their own personal use.
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ONC proposed rule to accommodate newer versions of FHIR standard
Published February 20 2019, 7:18am EST
Keeping up with the latest version of HL7’s Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources standard is a challenge that the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT says it is up to meeting.
In its proposed rule released last week, the agency—for the first time—has said that it intends to make FHIR a requirement for developers participating in the ONC Health IT Certification Program.
Specifically, ONC’s proposal seeks to make FHIR Release 2 a requirement. However, last month HL7 published FHIR Release 4—the normative version of the interoperability standard.
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How patients really want to communicate with doctors
The answer lies in existing tools that are already widely used and known for simplicity, according to new research.
By Nathan Eddy
February 20, 2019 01:32 PM
Whether you’re working to improve patient experience, engagement or activation, the range of technologies for communicating with patients is expanding, which can make it harder to pick the most effective one.
So, here’s a tip. Physicians and the IT shops that support them might consider messaging alternatives to meet consumer preferences for communicating via text messaging.
WHY IT MATTERS
The vast majority (91 percent) of 200 U.S. respondents would like the ability to communicate with their loved one's care team via text messaging, according to a DrFirst survey.
Just 10 percent of patients surveyed said they prefer to receive physician communications through patient portals, but nearly twice that many (19.6 percent) said they favor receiving information through secure text messages if in-person visits or phone calls are not possible.
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HIMSS19: Top takeaways from the health IT show
Info-blocking ruled the day, while APIs, FHIR, artificial intelligence and virtual reality were also prominent themes at this year’s Global Conference.
By Tom Sullivan
February 20, 2019 09:37 AM
I went to HIMSS19 last week, like a whole lot of other people. As Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication, we actually start covering the conference well in advance and this time around that meant a first article way back in August, believe it or not, about the new HIMSS Circles communities.
Fast forward to late Friday before the Global Conference and word got out that the Office of Management and Budget finished work on the eagerly-anticipated information blocking rule — thereby signaling the possibility that it would bring the new rule to Orlando.
And while the rule dominated the discourse from the opening panel to Friday morning keynotes, plenty more happened at the show.
Innovation and emerging technologies were all over the show floor, in fact, including artificial intelligence, blockchain, IoT and virtual reality wares.
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Health Spending Growth to Average 5.5% Annually Through 2027
An aging demographic, a strong economy driving a tight job market, and increases in the costs of medical goods and services are key reasons for spending growth.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
· Healthcare's share of the GDP will rise from 17.9% in 2017 to 19.4% by 2027, reaching nearly $6 trillion.
· Government is projected to pay for 47% of national healthcare spending.
· Hospital spending growth will average 5.6% through 2027, while physician and clinical services spending growth will average 5.4% per year over the same span.
· National health expenditure growth is expected to average 5.5% annually through 2027, reaching nearly $6 trillion and consuming nearly 20% of the economy by then, according to federal actuaries.
The projections, issued Wednesday by the independent Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and published in Health Affairs, anticipate that growth in national health spending will outpace projected growth in Gross Domestic Product by 0.8 percentage points over the coming decade.
Because of that, the actuaries project that healthcare's share of the GDP to rise from 17.9% in 2017 to 19.4% by 2027.
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China could use medical data to blackmail Americans, report says
· Friday, 15 Feb 2019 2:13 PM MYT
HONG KONG: Chinese investment in the U.S. biotechnology industry presents a risk to national security, potentially giving China’s government access to patient data that could be used to blackmail Americans, according to a report for a Congressional advisory commission.
Biotech companies in China have access to technology and data through investments in U.S. companies, partnerships with American universities and recruitment of U.S.-trained researchers, the report for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said.
Biotech companies in China have access to technology and data through investments in U.S. companies, partnerships with American universities and recruitment of U.S.-trained researchers, the report for the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said.
“Chinese biotechnology companies are acquiring technologies crucial to advancement in the field as well as amassing large collections of clinical and genetic data on U.S. residents,” the report published Feb. 14 said.
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Customized drug alerts protect patients from medication errors, study finds
Researchers from Memphis, Tenn.-based St. Jude Children's Research Hospital used a comprehensive method to reduce drug interaction alerts clinicians receive, improving EHRs to lower alert fatigue and boost patient safety, according to a study published in Pediatrics.
"In some instances, clinicians are getting a constant stream of alerts that aren't appropriate for their patient, leading them to disregard the alerts," said senior author James Hoffman, PharmD, St. Jude's chief patient safety officer. "This type of alert fatigue can lead to patient safety concerns."
For the study, the researchers collected input on the EHR's drug interaction alerts from three sources: a validated survey instrument, an advisory group of St. Jude clinicians and data within the EHR that captured which alerts clinicians most often ignored or overrode.
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GAO gives Congress go-ahead for a GDPR-like privacy legislation
Government officials, academia, and advocacy groups say it's time for the US to get its own GDPR-type law.
An independent report authored by a US government auditing agency has recommended that Congress develop internet data privacy legislation to enhance consumer protections, similar to the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The 56-page report was put together by the US Government Accountability Office (GAO), a bi-partisan government agency that provides auditing, evaluation, and investigative services for Congress. Its reports are used for hearings and drafting legislation.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which requested the GAO report two years ago, has scheduled a hearing for February 26, during which it plans to discuss GAO's findings and the possibility in drafting the US' first federal-level internet privacy law.
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ONC proposed rule aims to provide clarity on information blocking
Published February 19 2019, 6:47am EST
The healthcare industry is getting closer to a clearer definition of what the blocking of electronic health information is and what it is not, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Section 4004 of the 21st Century Cures Act authorizes HHS to identify reasonable and necessary activities that do not constitute information blocking.
Toward that end, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT last week made public its long-awaited proposed rule implementing the information blocking provisions of the Cures Act, while including seven exceptions to the definition of information blocking.
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Overcoming cultural fears still a key challenge with AI adoption
By Bob Violino
Published February 19 2019, 5:36pm EST
The adoption of artificial intelligence tools is rapidly growing in the workplace. But to take full advantage of AI’s opportunities, organizations must understand and overcome lingering doubts from patients and clinician users, among others.
That is one of the key findings in new research from professional services firm Genpact. For its study, Genpact commissioned Wakefield Research to survey 500 C-level and other senior executives in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Japan, in November and December. Wakefield also conducted an online survey of 4,000 consumers in the same countries.
One of the most important shifts during the past year is the nature of adoption, with organizations moving from using AI at the fringe of their operations in 2017 to starting to deploy it in their core processes.
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HIT Think How to create value in the lab with artificial intelligence
By Deepak Nath
Published February 19 2019, 5:34pm EST
A recent survey conducted by Siemens Healthineers queried hospital and laboratory senior executives as well as lab directors on the future of artificial intelligence in the in vitro diagnostic lab.
The result: 69 percent of respondents expect widespread adoption will occur within four years, and 88 percent identify AI as important for the lab. The survey was sponsored by Siemens Healthineers and conducted by ReRez Research of Dallas last May. It was completed by 200 health system and in vitro diagnostic laboratory senior leaders.
How can laboratories prepare for this significant technological shift? What challenges might labs face, and where will AI be most useful? Let’s review how lab leaders expect AI to change the clinical lab.
Added value of AI
AI is expected to have a broad impact across healthcare in general, as confirmed by 92 percent of respondents. Focusing specifically on the IVD lab, survey participants identified several key areas where they expect AI will be of most value.
AI is expected to have a broad impact across healthcare in general, as confirmed by 92 percent of respondents. Focusing specifically on the IVD lab, survey participants identified several key areas where they expect AI will be of most value.
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HIMSS Stage 7 makes for happier physicians, says KLAS
Hospitals that reach the pinnacle of the HIMSS Analytics' EMR Adoption Model have more satisfied docs, more widespread personalization of EHRs and better teamwork between clinicians, according to a new survey with HIMSS Analytics.
By Mike Miliard
February 18, 2019 12:03 AM
Achieving Stage 7 on the HIMSS Analytics EMR Adoption Model is a tall order. It demands that hospitals have totally transcended the paper chart, are using data warehousing and advanced analytics, are able to share clinical information readily with an array of outside entities and are in strict compliance with a range of other exacting requirements for enterprise-wide IT deployment.
WHY IT MATTERS
It's worth the effort, as a new report from KLAS, done in cooperation with HIMSS Analytics, shows. Not just for the clinical and operational gains that can be accomplished with that level of technology maturity, but for generally higher levels of physician satisfaction.
It's worth the effort, as a new report from KLAS, done in cooperation with HIMSS Analytics, shows. Not just for the clinical and operational gains that can be accomplished with that level of technology maturity, but for generally higher levels of physician satisfaction.
At a time where EHR-exacerbated physician burnout is being discussed more than ever, those are interesting findings – suggesting that it's the way technology is deployed, rather than the mere fact of it, that might have the most beneficial impact on doctor productivity and patient care.
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https://www.healthdatamanagement.com/news/machine-learning-can-locate-wrist-fractures-in-radiographs
Machine learning can locate wrist fractures in radiographs
Published February 18 2019, 7:42am EST
AI algorithms can quickly detect and localize wrist fractures in X-ray images, which can augment the work of harried emergency physicians and radiologists.
Missing a fracture on an emergency department radiograph is one of the most common causes of diagnostic errors and subsequent litigation. Such errors are due to clinical inexperience, distraction, fatigue, poor viewing conditions and time pressures.
The study authors, from the National University of Singapore, hypothesized that automated analysis using artificial intelligence (AI) would be “invaluable” in reducing these misreadings and that an object detection convolutional neural network (CNN) would work better than other CNNs.
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Mayo Clinic Expands First-Aid Voice Feature To Google Assistant
- by Chuck Martin , February 14, 2019
The Mayo Clinic has added its first-aid voice application to Google Assistant and voice-powered web chat.
The Mayo Clinic earlier added the Mayo First Aid skill to Amazon's Alexa. To access the information on Google Assistant, a consumer would say “Hey Google, talk to Mayo First Aid.”
The first aid feature, created with Mayo Clinic and Orbita, a provider of a HIPPA-compliant platform for voice, provides answers questions such as how to treat a sunburn, animal bite or a black eye.
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What Innovation Will Have the Greatest Impact on Health Systems? Spoiler Alert: Most Say AI
HIMSS participants share insights about what technological developments will change healthcare.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
· AI will have widespread impact, particularly by influencing clinical decision-making.
· Telehealth and devices that facilitate the transition to home-based care will change the dynamics of healthcare delivery.
· Platforms to manage data and the ability to exchange and interpret data are foundational to innovation.
Last week the world of healthcare information technology gathered in Orlando, Florida, for the HIMSS 2019 annual conference. There were 42,595 people, 1,300 exhibitors, and more than 300 educational sessions.
For a few days, the Orange County Convention Center became the epicenter of healthcare technology brain power, with many on a quest for the best ideas that will help transform healthcare.
As HealthLeaders' innovations editor, I was interested in what innovation participants thought will have the greatest impact on health systems, I asked that question to nearly everyone I encountered during interviews, at exhibit booths, and while networking. The responses were diverse, but the most common answer involved some form of artificial intelligence (AI).
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Aging Americans are a big market for tech investors, who also want to monitor their parents
- Devices like the Apple Watch and Nest are increasingly be used in health.
- As more aging Americans choose to live independently, their kids want to monitor them with technology.
- There's still no single platform to bring it all together.
17 February, 2019
Greg Yap is a venture capitalist looking for the next big thing in digital health. At age 45, he's also the father of young kids and the son of an aging mother, who lives nearby in an independent living facility.
On days he can't visit his mom and doesn't hear from her, he still wants to know how she's doing. So he's combining his personal concerns as a son with his job as an investor and experimenting with new technologies that can give him some peace of mind without invading his mother's privacy.
Beyond mainstream devices like Amazon's Echo, which can set medication reminders, Apple's smartwatch with fall detection and the Nest thermostat's motion sensors, Yap has been trying new products specifically designed to monitor aging parents. One example is Silver Mother, which incorporates sensors on pill boxes, front doors and mattresses for remote monitoring of health, safety and sleep.
"I've been trying a few sensors out to approximate this monitoring function," Yap said. "The technology is not yet idiot-proof though."
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Enjoy!
David.
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