Researchers
in a New England Journal of Medicine report found that Black patients had
nearly three times the frequency of occult hypoxemia as did white ones.
Researchers
led by Dr. Michael W. Sjoding at the University of Michigan Medical School
compared measurements of arterial oxygen saturation with pulse oximetry.
They
found that in two large cohorts Black patients had nearly three times the
frequency of occult hypoxemia – meaning there was a disconnect between their
arterial oxygen saturation and their pulse oximetry – compared to white
patients.
"Given
the widespread use of pulse oximetry for medical decision making, these
findings have some major implications, especially during the current COVID-19
pandemic," wrote the researchers.
-----
https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2020/12/18/a-health-it-perspective-on-the-covid-19-vaccine-rollout/
A Health IT Perspective on the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout
December 18, 2020
John Lynn
As
the various COVID-19 vaccines roll out across the nation and the world, we
thought it was time to talk with some experts to understand what this rollout
is going to mean for healthcare IT. Luckily, we were able to get together
the following panel of experts to share what they see in the future for health
IT when it comes to the COVID-19 vaccine:
This interview includes a wide ranging discussion starting with the question of
whether the COVID-19 vaccine roll out was going to be a mess (technically,
interoperability, patient identification, etc). Their answers might
surprise you. We also talk about how most healthcare organizations are
going to track and report COVID-19 vaccinations and what technology they’ll
need to do this effectively. Plus, we talk about the role of HIEs and
Immunization Registries and where those might run into challenges.
I
also ask the panel of experts to suggest some solutions to the challenges we
face along with the impact of the COVID-19 vaccine on healthcare
interoperability. Will we see interoperability where we haven’t seen it
before? Will the vaccine push interoperability forward. Finally, I
ask them what this all is going to look like 6 months from now.
-----
https://www.medpagetoday.com/hospitalbasedmedicine/generalhospitalpractice/90238
Here's Where AI Has Taken Over the Clinic
—
Automation is now used in everyday healthcare tasks, but it's not as Sci-Fi as
one might imagine
by Jen A.
Miller, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today December 15, 2020
"Automation"
and "artificial intelligence" are becoming part of the fabric of
medical care, but can put clinicians on alert, as many new technologies do --
even more so because most examples come from science fiction.
"'Terminator,'
'Ex Machina,' '2001: A Space Odyssey' are all sexy and they sell because
they're playing off our worst existential fears," said Nathan Tenhundfeld,
PhD, principal investigator at the Advanced Teaming, Technology, Automation, & Computing Human
Factors Lab and assistant professor of psychology at the University of
Alabama in Huntsville.
But
automation is already part of our lives, in ways that seem normal now. "We
automated phone operations and automated elevator operations and yet nobody
really has apprehension of making a phone call or hopping on an elevator
now," he said. "Once we normalize what these technologies can do and
what they will be used for, I think people will be a lot quicker to buy into
it."
Don't
expect the T-800 to be walking hallways of a hospital anytime soon,
telling patients that he'll be back. Instead, automation and AI are being used
to do far more ordinary, even boring healthcare tasks, in places many may never
realize or see.
-----
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/12/16/twitter-will-label-remove-misinformation-about-covid-19-vaccines.html
Twitter will label and remove misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines
Published
Wed, Dec 16 20203:06 PM EST Updated Wed, Dec 16 20203:08 PM EST
Salvador Rodriguez @sal19
Key Points
- Twitter on Wednesday announced
that it will moderate and in some cases remove content that spreads
harmful misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccines.
- The company announced that
starting next week it may remove tweets that advance harmful false or
misleading narratives about the vaccines, which began to be administered
in the U.S. this week.
- The company also said that in 2021
it may place labels or warnings on tweets that push unsubstantiated
rumors, disputed claims and out-of-context information about vaccines.
Twitter on Wednesday announced that, starting next week, it will moderate and in
some cases remove harmful misinformation about Covid-19
vaccines, which began to be administered in the U.S. this week.
Specifically,
Twitter said it will take action on false claims that suggest immunizations and
vaccines are used to control populations, false claims that have been widely
debunked about the adverse impacts of the vaccines, and false claims that
Covid-19 is not real and therefore vaccinations are unnecessary. The company
added that it will take action on statements about the vaccines that invoke
deliberate conspiracy.
-----
https://ehrintelligence.com/news/pulse-platform-to-integrate-surescripts-patient-medication-data
PULSE Platform to Integrate Surescripts Patient Medication Data
Emergency
personnel will now have access to Surescripts patient medication data to
utilize during natural disasters and healthcare emergencies.
By Christopher Jason
December 16,
2020 - The Patient Unified Lookup System for Emergencies (PULSE) platform
will integrate
with Surescripts’ patient medication history data for emergency personnel use
during natural disasters and emergency situations.
PULSE enables
emergency responders to search for health information, such as medications,
diagnoses, allergies, and lab results on disaster victims. The platform limits
access to only authorized personnel and a “view only” format for medical
information.
The
cloud-based solution aggregates data from health information exchanges (HIEs)
in specific geographic regions and makes the data mobile-optimized. PULSE makes
it easier for first responders and volunteers to access health data that is
often difficult to reach during emergencies such as wildfires, hurricanes,
terrorist attacks, or tornadoes.
The
PULSE platform, developed by Audacious Inquiry, leverages
the eHealth Exchange to allow providers to access patient data at makeshift
field clinics, shelters, and other care sites.
-----
https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/analyzing-the-challenges-and-benefits-of-an-inpatient-telehealth-platform
Analyzing the Challenges and Benefits of an Inpatient Telehealth Platform
When COVID-19
hit, Yale New Haven Health launched an aggressive program to use more than
1,800 telehealth and mHealth devices to improve workflows and patient care.
Here's what the health system learned.
By Eric Wicklund
December 16,
2020 - A robust in-patient telehealth platform can save a health system
millions of dollars, reduce workload stresses for care providers and, most
importantly, improve care outcomes.
That’s the
take-away from officials at the Yale New Haven Health System, which deployed
more than 1,800 connected health devices across the seven-hospital system and
studied the effects between March and August.
From handheld
and bedside mHealth devices and enables providers to talk to each other and to
patients, to telehealth carts that facilitated improved care management and
coordination, the project not only helped the system take on the stresses of
the coronavirus pandemic but gave officials a blueprint for future care
strategies.
-----
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/epic-mychart-redesign-more-personalized-experience-patients
Epic on MyChart redesign: 'A more personalized experience for patients'
Developers
from Epic say they tried to keep the recent redesign accessible and easy to
use, with patient information "always front and center" to reduce the
need to navigate to different portals.
By Kat Jercich
December 17,
2020 01:56 PM
In
mid-2018, ideas for redesigning Epic Systems' MyChart patient portal started to
gain momentum at the electronic health record giant.
One
prevailing philosophy, said the team, was not overwhelming patients with
information right off the bat. "No matter how much power we put into
it," said Trevor Berceau, product development lead at Epic, "it needs
to be easy" for patients to use.
The
redesign began rolling out earlier this year, with the first customer taking it
live in August. "Since then, we've seen the floodgates open," said
Sean Bina, vice president of access and patient experience at the company.
Although
Epic began developing the original iteration of MyChart in the early 2000s,
more and more data has become available to patients over the
years. "It became a little harder for patients to navigate and know
what the most important things were to deal with at any moment," said
Bina.
-----
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/us-clinicians-spend-50-more-time-ehr-those-other-countries
U.S. clinicians spend 50% more time in EHR than those in other countries
A pair of
studies aims to examine just how much time American clinicians spend in the
electronic health record – and how it impacts their relationship with patients.
By Kat Jercich
December 17,
2020 12:40 PM
A
pair of studies recently published in the Journal of the American Medical
Association and Medical Care aims to use
electronic health record data to analyze how clinicians spend their time.
The
JAMA study, which compared metadata of clinicians
in the United States with those in Canada, Northern Europe, Western Europe, the
Middle East and Oceania, found that U.S. clinicians spent an average
of 90 minutes a day actively using the EHR – compared with non-U.S. clinicians,
who spent about an hour a day in their EHRs.
Meanwhile,
the Medical Care study analyzed primary care exam
lengths using EHR time stamps, finding that the average exam time lasted 1.2
minutes longer than scheduled.
The
findings for both studies suggest inefficiencies, both in terms of scheduling
logistics and within the EHR itself.
-----
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/blog/what-healthcare-orgs-should-be-doing-response-solarwinds-breach
What healthcare orgs should be doing in response to the SolarWinds breach
The
widespread use of SolarWinds software means many organizations are now
scrambling to determine whether they too may have suffered a breach. Here are
some remediations and mitigations that can help get a handle on the issue.
By Christopher
Frenz
December 17,
2020 10:54 AM
The
recent SolarWinds breach presents a range of critical security issues for government agencies, healthcare organizations, government
agencies and major companies in other industry verticals.
SolarWinds
produces a variety of popular IT infrastructure monitoring solutions and the
breach it suffered resulted in compromised files being introduced into updates
of these monitoring solutions.
These
monitoring solutions were used by perhaps 18,000 companies, with one of the
most high-profile being FireEye – where use of the compromised SolarWinds
software lead to the exfiltration of FireEye’s red team tools.
Given
the popularity of the SolarWinds software, many organizations are now
scrambling to determine if they too may have suffered a breach or other
security issue, due to the use of compromised SolarWinds software.
-----
https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2020/12/17/vigilanz-offers-covid-19-vaccine-management-solution-free-to-customers/
Vigilanz Offers COVID-19 Vaccine Management Solution Free to Customers
December 17, 2020
Colin Hung
VigiLanz, a clinical surveillance company,
announced
the launch of a new mass vaccination support software. The company is
offering Vigilanz
Vaccinate free to its existing customers to help frontline
healthcare teams stay safe.
I
had the chance to sit down with Stacy Pur, Vice President of Product
Development at Vigilanz to find out more about their product and to talk
through some of the unique challenges of these early vaccines.
Why
Free?
“The
COVID-19 issue is personal—at VigiLanz, we have had employees and family
members contract COVID-19 and require medical intervention,” said David
Goldsteen, VigiLanz’s CEO. “We are so grateful for the amazing care healthcare
teams are delivering across the country, and we wanted to do something to help.
It was important to us to offer this tool [Vigilanz Vaccinate] to current
customers for free to help them and their frontline healthcare teams stay safe
during this extremely challenging global pandemic. It’s the right thing to do.”
This
latest product from Vigilanz follows a pattern they established earlier in the
pandemic when they made their COVID Quick Start solution free
to customers.
-----
https://patientengagementhit.com/news/ocr-pitches-hipaa-changes-for-patient-data-access-coordination
OCR Pitches HIPAA Changes for Patient Data Access, Coordination
The
proposals would ease certain HIPAA Privacy Rule regulations to make patient
data access and care coordination easier.
By Sara Heath
December 14,
2020 - The Department of Health & Human Services Office for Civil
Rights (OCR) has proposed
changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule intended to improve patient data access,
family caregiver engagement, and care coordination.
Per the HHS
and OCR Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the changes would help erase current
barriers to value-based care. Those current barriers impede care coordination,
patient-provider communication, and communication between two disparate
providers, HHS and OCR said.
“Our proposed
changes to the HIPAA Privacy Rule will break down barriers that have stood in
the way of commonsense care coordination and value-based arrangements for far
too long,” HHS Secretary Alex Azar said in a statement.
“As part of our broader efforts to reform regulations that impede care
coordination, these proposed reforms will reduce burdens on providers and
empower patients and their families to secure better health.”
Specifically,
the proposed changes would clarify patient data access rights, including the
right to inspect one’s own medical records in person.
-----
https://ovsecondopinion.substack.com/p/whats-next-for-pharmacy-in-2021
What's next for pharmacy in 2021?
Rx, Rx and more Rx
Christina
Farr
Dec 16 2020
I’ve
been thinking a lot of late about where pharmacy is headed.
A
lot has happened this year. Mail delivery to the home has
exploded over the course of the pandemic, and I suspect that trend will
continue. Amazon moved into the space with
the rollout of Amazon Pharmacy. Walmart scaled
up health clinics in Georgia that offer affordable pricing for a range of
clinical services, including pharmacy. GoodRx
went public. And venture investors backed digital pharmacy start-ups like Medly
Pharmacy and Alto Pharmacy to the tune of tens of millions of dollars.
Oh,
and then there’s a new administration over in D.C., which
will have its own agenda around how to manage our ever-growing health care
spend.
To
figure out what’s next for pharmacy in 2021, I talked to some of the most
thoughtful folks I know in the space.
Here’s
what I learned:
-----
https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/cerner-inks-agreement-to-acquire-kantar-health-to-expand-clinical-research-platform
Cerner inks agreement to acquire Kantar Health to expand clinical research
platform
by Heather Landi
Dec 16, 2020
10:12am
Health
IT giant Cerner plans to acquire the health division of Kantar Group for $375
million to advance clinical research development.
Kantar
Health provides data, analytics, and research to the life sciences
industry.
With
this acquisition, Cerner plans to harness data to improve the safety,
efficiency and efficacy of clinical research across life sciences,
pharmaceuticals and health care at large, the company said in a press release.
The health IT company is looking to create a leading data insights and clinical
research platform.
The acquisition
is expected to allow Cerner’s Learning Health Network client
consortium to more directly engage with life sciences for funded research
studies.
“Cerner
launched the Learning Health Network with our provider clients to advance a
shared vision: treat global diseases more effectively through an acceleration
of clinical research,” said Donald Trigg, president at Cerner in a statement.
-----
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/top-10-privacy-and-security-stories-2020
Top 10 privacy and security stories of 2020
As COVID-19
wreaked havoc at health systems worldwide, hackers and bad actors were all too
happy to take advantage of the confusion and expanded attack surface – in a new
"cyberpandemic" that shows no sign of abating.
By Mike Miliard
December 16,
2020 11:55 AM
As
we write this on Wednesday, the massive SolarWinds cyberattack, purportedly
perpetrated by Russian intelligence and impacting some 18,000 government
agencies and private sector businesses, is just starting to come into focus. So
far, the healthcare dimensions of the hack include the apparent targeting of the National Institutes of Health.
It
appears to be the kind of state-sponsored effort that Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, spoke about during the HIMSS
Healthcare Security Forum just this past week – when he shared some of the
health-sector implications of the recent bipartisan Cyberspace Solarium Commission,
which seeks to shore up some of the shortcomings of America's cyber preparedness.
"Part
of the failure of our strategy thus far has been a lack of a real deterrent, a
lack of something that our adversaries feel is something they have to worry
about," said King. "Historically, there hasn't been much of a cost
paid by our adversaries."
-----
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/telehealth-poses-big-cybersecurity-dangers-harvard-researchers-warn
Telehealth poses big cybersecurity dangers, Harvard researchers warn
The
relaxation of regulations around telemedicine has undoubtedly made it easier
for patients to access virtual care – but has also presented new privacy risks.
By Kat Jercich
December 16,
2020 12:43 PM
A
Harvard Medical School team published a letter in the Journal of the American
Medical Informatics Association this week warning of the
"substantial" information security concerns around telehealth.
The
authors, led by organizational cybersecurity researcher Mohammad S. Jalali,
note that the uptick in telemedicine services has undoubtedly made healthcare
more accessible – but that the relaxation in regulations about virtual
care combined with a heightened threat landscape can spell
trouble.
"As
we continue this shift to telemedicine, new issues and risks unravel that need
to be addressed, particularly in regard to information security and privacy,
and ongoing work is needed to ensure that our technology infrastructure
provides an environment for safe and effective care delivery," they wrote.
-----
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/here-are-major-issues-facing-healthcare-2021-according-pwc
Here are the major issues facing healthcare in 2021, according to PwC
Will a health
system battered by the pandemic emerge stronger in the year ahead? The annual
report predicts challenges such as profitably merging virtual and in-person
care, and capitalizing on new consumer- and clinician-facing digital health
tools.
By Bill Siwicki
December 16,
2020 01:35 PM
The
healthcare industry has six big challenges ahead in 2021: rightsizing after the
telehealth explosion; adjusting to changing clinical trials; encouraging
digital relationships that ease physician burdens; forecasting for an uncertain
2021; reshaping health portfolios for growth; and building a resilient and
responsive supply chain for long-term health.
This
is according to a
new annual report from research and consulting giant PwC entitled “Top
health industry issues of 2021: Will a shocked system emerge stronger?”
For
this report, PwC’s Health Research Institute surveyed 2,511 American consumers,
128 health plan executives, 153 healthcare provider organization executives,
and 124 pharmaceutical and life sciences executives in August and September
2020. HRI also interviewed numerous thought leaders from throughout the
industry and frontline clinicians to understand their on-the-ground experiences
during a historic year.
“While
in 2020 many healthcare organizations saw their financial plans obliterated,
patient behaviors radically shift and virtual care explode, in 2021 they will
work to put the system back together,” said PwC researchers. “Not to how it
always was – but in a way that reimagines healthcare delivery, reconnects
broken pathways and makes a giant leap toward a consumer-centric healthcare
system.”
-----
https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/finance/us-healthcare-spending-grew-46-2019-hit-38t
U.S. Healthcare Spending Grew 4.6% in 2019, Hit $3.8T
By John Commins |
December 16, 2020
The rate
of growth in 2019 was down slightly from the 4.7% rate in 2018 and consistent
with the average annual spending growth rate of 4.5% since 2016.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
·
Hospital spending grew 6.2% and reached $1.2
trillion in 2019, representing 31% of overall healthcare spending, compared
with 4.2% in 2018.
·
Hospital prices increased 2% in 2019 compared
with 2.4% in 2018, while nonprice factors such as the use and intensity of goods
and services grew 4.2%, compared with 1.8% in 2018.
·
Physician and clinical services grew 4.6% and
reached $772.1 billion, or 20% of total healthcare expenditures in 2019.
Spending grew 4.6%, up from 4% in 2018.
·
Private health insurance grew 3.7%, totalling
$1.2 trillion, and accounted for 31% of total national health spending.
·
Private health insurance spending increased 3.7%
in 2019, which was slower than the 5.6% growth rate seen in 2018.
·
The slower growth in 2019 was driven in large
part by the suspension of the ACA's individual mandate.
·
Medicare spending grew 6.7% and reached $799.4
billion in 2019, representing 21% of total national healthcare expenditures.
·
Medicare Advantage spending accounted for 39%
spending in 2019 and increased 14.5%, up from 12.6% growth in 2018.
·
Per capita enrollee spending in Medicare
Advantage grew 6.3%% in 2019, almost three times the 2.4% per capita growth
rate of Medicare FFS.
·
Healthcare spending in the United States grew
4.6% in 2019, hitting $3.8 trillion, or $11,582 per person, federal actuaries
announced on Wednesday.
·
The rate of growth in 2019 was down slightly
from the 4.7% rate in 2018 but consistent with the average annual spending
growth rate of 4.5% since 2016, according to a new analysis from the
Office of the Actuary at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
-----
https://patientengagementhit.com/news/us-income-based-health-disparities-outpace-other-wealthy-nations
US Income-Based Health Disparities Outpace Other Wealthy Nations
Although
other wealthy nations also have income-based health disparities, their
universal health coverage may make them less stark than in the US.
By Sara Heath
December 14,
2020 - The United States has the worst income-related health disparities
than any other similarly wealthy nation, according to a new report
from the Commonwealth Fund published in Health Affairs.
Although
every developed nation has some income-related health disparities, those seen
in the US are significantly more prominent than in any other nation included in
the study.
The report,
which looked at healthcare experiences for low- and high-income adults the US,
Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, revealed stark income-based health
disparities in the US. Specifically, the US sees stark income-based health
disparities related to health status, healthcare affordability, and access to
primary care.
“What’s
clear from this study is that we cannot continue on the path of deepening
inequality,” David Blumenthal, MD, president of the Commonwealth Fund, said in
a statement.
“As we progress through the darkest days of COVID-19 in the U.S., people need
access to affordable health care now more than ever. The new administration and
Congress have an opportunity to apply the stark lessons learned from COVID-19
and over the last decade so that our health system works for everyone — no
matter who they are or where they get care.”
-----
https://ehrintelligence.com/news/tips-to-integrate-social-determinants-of-health-data-into-the-ehr
Tips to Integrate Social Determinants of Health Data into the EHR
Integrating
social determinants of health (SDOH) data into the EHR can help providers and
researchers gain insight on COVID-19.
By Christopher Jason
December 15,
2020 - The Gravity Project, a community-led HL7 Fast Healthcare
Interoperability Resources (FHIR) Accelerator, published
an implementation and recommendation guide for social determinants of health
(SDOH) data and terminology, with a focus on food insecurity, housing
instability and quality, and transportation access.
Research
shows that identifying and implementing a
patient’s SDOH data into the EHR is crucial to finding answers to significant
health issues. Studies show this data accounts
for 80 to 90 percent of individuals’ health.
Once
identified, SDOH data can create opportunities to offer social services and
interventions for high-risk individuals.
Health
systems across the country are attempting to implement SDOH data into patient
health records. Yet, most health systems face issues, such as interoperability,
when trying to implement SDOH into their respective EHRs, meaning there isn’t
an abundance of information about what healthcare can do with SDOH data.
-----
https://ehrintelligence.com/news/cms-proposes-rule-to-streamline-prior-authorization-data-exchange
CMS Proposes Rule to Streamline Prior Authorization, Data Exchange
The
proposed rule intends to improve patient data exchange, interoperability, and
clinical workflows by streamlining prior authorization.
By Christopher Jason
December 14,
2020 - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed
a new rule aiming to boost patient data exchange and streamline prior
authorization to alleviate clinician burden.
Additionally,
the rule would allow providers to improve patient care and spend more time with
their patients.
Prior
authorization is a key utilization management strategy many healthcare
payers use to ensure patients access the most clinically and cost-effective
medication available to them. When a drug has prior authorization requirements,
the provider must submit certain documents to a healthcare payer to receive
permission before prescribing the drug.
Completing
prior authorization can be demanding for providers and lead to delays in
patient care access, with 46 percent of clinicians submitting authorization
requests by fax and 60 percent made over the telephone. However, electronic
prior authorization is becoming more prevalent in the medical field.
-----
https://www.massdevice.com/dhs-warns-on-medtronic-mycarelink-cybersecurity-vulnerabilities/
DHS warns on Medtronic MyCareLink smart monitor cybersecurity
vulnerabilities
December 10,
2020 By Sean Whooley
The U.S.
Dept. of Homeland Security warned on cyber vulnerabilities with the MyCareLink
made by Medtronic (NYSE:MDT).
Medtronic’s
MyCareLink (MCL) Smart Model 25000 patient reader is potentially vulnerable to
improper authentication, heap-based buffer overflow and the
time-of-check/time-of-use race condition, according to a notice
from DHS.
Successful
exploitation of the vulnerabilities could result in an attacker being allowed
to modify or fabricate data from the implanted cardiac device being uploaded to
the CareLink network and remotely execute code on the MCL smart patient reader
device, which could allow control of a paired cardiac device.
The
vulnerability requires initiation within Bluetooth signal proximity of the
vulnerable product and Medtronic is currently unaware of any cyberattack,
privacy breach or patient arm as a result of the vulnerabilities at this time.
-----
https://www.healio.com/news/nephrology/20201214/survey-despite-interest-mobile-health-literacy-and-app-use-low-in-patients-with-ckd
December 14,
2020
Survey: Despite interest, mobile health literacy and app use low in
patients with CKD
A
survey of patients with chronic kidney disease determined that although many
are interested in using mobile health technologies, current electronic health
literacy and use of these apps were low.
In
addition, Black and Hispanic respondents reported more interest in such
technologies than their white counterparts.
“[Digital
and mobile health] mHealth technology has the potential to improve the
management of CKD by facilitating patient education, supporting behavior
engagement (such as medication adherence and dietary modification) and aiding
in patient-provider communication,” Sarah J. Schrauben, MD, MSCE, of the
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and colleagues
wrote. “ ... In addition, the global coronavirus pandemic has necessitated that
nephrology care be delivered remotely to improve social distancing and thus,
has created the need to harness the potential of using mHealth technologies.”
To
explore patient experience and attitudes with such technologies, the
researchers surveyed 932 participants in the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort
Study (mean age, 68 years).
-----
https://ehrintelligence.com/news/improving-patient-privacy-regulations-for-interoperability-rule
Improving Patient Privacy Regulations for Interoperability Rule
Policymakers
are concerned with a potential lack of patient privacy regulations under the
ONC’s interoperability rule.
By Christopher Jason
December 14,
2020 - Following the Office of the National Coordinator for Health
Information Technology (ONC) interoperability rule, developers should adopt a
regulation that addresses patient privacy protections on third-party
applications, according
to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics
Association (JAMIA).
The final ONC
interoperability
rule aims to drive patient access and sharing of their electronic
health information, allowing the individual the ability to coordinate their own
healthcare. It also calls on medical providers and device developers to promote
patient data access using third-party apps and APIs.
“Delivering
interoperability actually gives patients the ability to manage their healthcare
the same way they manage their finances, travel and every other component of
their lives,” Don Rucker, MD, national coordinator for health information
technology, said
in March. “This requires using modern computing standards and APIs that give
patients access to their health information and give them the ability to use
the tools they want to shop for and coordinate their own care on their
smartphones.”
Furthermore,
the final rule adopted
the HL7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) standard, which will
allow applications to run in health systems across the country.
-----
https://www.medicaleconomics.com/view/use-apps-to-improve-patient-outcomes
Use apps to improve patient outcomes
December 14,
2020
Keith A.
Reynolds
Medical Economics Journal, Medical Economics December 2020, Volume
97, Issue 16
While
there are myriad apps available in digital storefronts hosted by Apple, Google
and Amazon, it can be difficult to choose an effective app that also keeps
patient health data safe.
As
the technological landscape evolves, so does the world of health care. Using
smartphone apps, doctors can utilize technology to improve their understanding
of their patients’ health.
While
there are myriad apps available in digital storefronts hosted by Apple, Google
and Amazon, it can be difficult to choose an effective app that also keeps
patient health data safe.
The
intelligence of smartphones in the exam room
Bradley
Crotty, M.D., MPH, chief digital engagement officer and internist at Froedtert
& Medical College of Wisconsin, sees the use of medical apps as a step
along the road to making health care less of a transactional relationship
between patient and physician.
-----
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/blog/technology-brings-care-home-chronically-ill-patients
Technology brings care to home for chronically ill patients
Video visits,
temperature sensors and wearables can replace the need for clinic visits. The
pandemic has only accelerated this process – and shown the need to innovate
infrastructure and make investments.
By Joyoti Goswami
December 15,
2020 02:46 PM
At
Geisinger in Pennsylvania, a pilot program to bring care to the homes of older patients
with complex healthcare needs has shown a 35% reduction in visits to the
emergency department visits, a 40% drop in hospital admissions and an average
annual savings of nearly $8,000 per patient. The future will see chronic
disease being managed more from homes and physicians' offices than in a
hospital setting.
Chronically
ill patients may not always require visiting the hospital frequently if their
follow-ups and routine checkups can be managed remotely. Especially in times of
a pandemic, they are better off staying at home.
However,
that should not affect their care. Given today’s technological advancement in
healthcare, most follow-ups can be well managed remotely. While nothing can
beat an in-person experience, physicians can check in on them digitally,
through remote patient monitoring tools or video consults.
Technology
is rapidly changing the bedside examination. Video visits, infrared temperature
sensors, mobile health, and wearables replace the need for clinic visits. While
remote patient monitoring and telehealth have been on the radar for a few years
now, defined workflows and processes around it are continually evolving to
improve the care delivery experience. The pandemic has only accelerated this
process and the need to innovate better infrastructure and device
investments.
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https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/telehealths-evolution-2020-will-continue-new-year-more-streamlined-technologies
Dec 15
Telehealth's evolution in 2020 will continue in the new year with more
streamlined technologies
Better
data, better devices and a better experience will push telehealth to the next
stage of its development in 2021.
Jeff Lagasse,
Associate Editor
While 2020
has been a taxing year for society and the larger healthcare system, it will
also mark the evolution of telehealth from fringe offering to mainstream
treatment model. And with usage and patient satisfaction at an all-time high,
trend lines are starting to emerge: Patients like it, providers like it, the
reimbursement picture is clearer on where action is needed and the technology
will play a larger role in patient care in 2021 than at any point in history.
One of the
biggest takeaways from the past year is how dependent telehealth's evolution
has been on the human component. Virtual health legislation was first passed
back in 1996, so the concept isn't new; it's been around in some form for the
past 25 or 30 years. But there were barriers to adoption, and the biggest one,
in hindsight, was that human systems didn't want to change. Now everybody is on
board.
"It's
a testament to how challenging it is to change things without some bigger
impetus," said Dr. David Nickelson, vice president of client growth at
digital consultancy Nerdery.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/nih-among-agencies-targeted-russian-cozy-bear-hackers-says-wapo
NIH among agencies targeted by Russian 'Cozy Bear' hackers, says WaPo
Breached
network management software vendor SolarWinds has also listed the U.S. Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention and Blue Cross Blue Shield as customers.
By Kat Jercich
December 15,
2020 03:05 PM
The
National Institutes of Health is among the federal agencies that have been
victimized by Russian hackers, according to a report in the Washington
Post.
The
NIH, the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department, the
Department of the Treasury and the Department of Commerce were said to have been targeted by the hackers known as
"APT29" or "Cozy Bear," likely part of Russian
intelligence services.
The
hackers reportedly used updates for network management software from the
SolarWinds company to breach the organizations.
A
December 13 archival snapshot of the SolarWinds website also lists the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Blue Cross Blue Shield as
customers. (The site has since been taken down.)
It
is unclear whether the CDC or BCBS were affected by the intrusion, which
impacted "fewer than 18,000" SolarWinds customers worldwide,
according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing from the company Monday.
-----
https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2020/12/15/proposed-changes-to-hipaa/
Proposed Changes to HIPAA
December 15, 2020
John Lynn
Many
people in the healthcare IT and HIM communities have been anticipating some
changes to HIPAA coming soon. As Rita Bowen from MRO recently shared,
“the rule is 20+ years old and the practice of medicine has changed, the
maintenance of the health information, etc.. so yes, it is time for a face
lift.” As expected, HHS released
a number of proposed modifications to the HIPAA Privacy rule. You can
find the full 357 pages (small by HHS standards) of the proposed
rule here.
These
proposed changes to HIPAA are part of a broader effort by the HHS Secretary to
do whatever is legally possible to help promote value-based care including the
recently released changes
to the Stark Law and Anti-Kickback Statute. Plus, HHS clearly wants
to support an individual patient’s right to engage in their care, access their
data, and remove barriers to being able to more effectively coordinate care.
Some
of the big things that stood out to me from looking at the rule initially are
the following:
- Removal of the need for patients
to sign that they received a Notice of Privacy Practices (NPP)
- Covered Entities will only have 15
days instead of 30 days to respond to patients’ request for their records
- No more charging patients for
viewing their records through patient portals
- Less restrictions on patient
identity verification when requesting copy of their PHI
- Caregiver and Family access to a
patient’s records when in crisis has changed from where there is a
“serious and imminent threat” to “serious and foreseeable threat” to allow
more flexibility
- Minimum necessary is no longer
required when sharing patient info with providers or health plans when
requested for care coordination or case management
- Expansion of disclosure options
when PHI is shared with social services and community agencies
- Allowing patients to record or
take photos of their records
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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/innovation/anatomy-its-role-intermountains-covid-19-vaccine-administration
Anatomy of IT's Role in Intermountain's COVID-19 Vaccine Administration
By Mandy Roth |
December 15, 2020
As the
nation prepares for a massive vaccination deployment, IT is the champion behind
the scenes, ensuring that the process goes smoothly. Intermountain CIO Ryan
Smith shares the challenges ahead, along with the solutions that will keep his
organization on track.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
·
The process is complicated by distributions from
two manufacturers whose drugs have different dosing schedules.
·
Scaling for such a massive initiative requires
proper technology for registration, documentation, tracking, and billing.
·
Innovations developed during the early days of
the pandemic are being repurposed to reduce costs.
How does a
multi-hospital, multi-state healthcare delivery system coordinate COVID-19
vaccine administration from two different manufacturers, with two different
dosing schedules, and adhere to priorities recommended by outside authorities,
along with managing documentation, reporting, and billing?
It's
complicated.
At
Intermountain
Healthcare, along with many other hospitals and health systems across the
nation, IT is playing a leading role behind the scenes, making sure all pieces
of a very complex and essential process are properly executed.
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https://healthitanalytics.com/news/big-data-analytics-calculator-determines-covid-19-mortality-risk
Big Data Analytics Calculator Determines COVID-19 Mortality Risk
The online
calculator leverages big data analytics to quantify COVID-19 mortality risk,
which could help leaders determine who should get vaccinated first.
By Jessica Kent
December 14,
2020 - Researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
used big data analytics to develop a COVID-19 mortality risk calculator, a tool
that could inform public health policies around vaccination.
In a study published
in Nature Medicine, researchers noted that COVID-19 can impact people in
drastically different ways. While children and young adults may experience mild
illness or no symptoms at all, the elderly have infection mortality rates of at
least several percent.
The pandemic
has also highlighted stark racial and ethnic differences in disease outcomes.
Black and Hispanic individuals in the US have died at much higher
rates than whites, the team stated. People with comorbidities like diabetes
have experienced worse outcomes from the virus as well.
To date, the
US and other countries have mostly relied on community-based interventions,
such as mask-wearing and social distancing. There are a range of pandemic
scenario models that can predict future trends in infection and deaths at the
population level, but predisposing factors have yet to be included in most
mitigation efforts.
-----
https://healthitanalytics.com/news/all-of-us-precision-medicine-program-returns-first-genetic-results
“All of Us” Precision Medicine Program Returns First Genetic Results
The
program has started to return genetic results to participants who donated
biosamples, further advancing precision medicine research.
By Jessica Kent
December 11,
2020 - NIH’s All of Us precision medicine research program is beginning
to return genetic results to participants, with individuals now able to
receive information about their genetic ancestry and traits.
As part of
the program’s goal to build a massive research resource with data and samples
from one million or more participants, subjects shared information through surveys,
EHRs, and biosamples (blood, urine, and/or saliva). All of Us researchers strip
the data of personal identifiers and make it available through the All of Us Research Hub.
The program
principally aims to ensure that participants have access to their own
information, and many participants have expressed interest in understanding
what their genetic data can tell them.
“We’re
changing the paradigm for research,” said Josh Denny, MD, All of
Us’s chief executive officer. “Participants are our most
important partners in this effort, and we know many of them are eager to get
their genetic results and learn about the science they’re making possible.
We’re working to provide that valuable information in a responsible way.”
-----
https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/from-weaponized-ai-to-threats-against-vaccine-rollout-there-are-cybersecurity-trends-to-watch
From weaponized AI to threats against the vaccine rollout, here are 6
cybersecurity trends to watch in 2021
by Heather Landi
Dec 14, 2020
12:02pm
Could
2021 be the year that healthcare finally gets smart about cybersecurity? Many
in the industry say real change needs to happen as the situation has become a
matter of life and death.
Hospitals
are facing a new wave of ransomware attacks even as they also struggle to
confront a nationwide surge in COVID-19 cases. There was also a recent
report out of Germany of the first patient death directly tied to a
ransomware attack.
Research
suggests that healthcare organizations lack the necessary money, tools, and
talent to address the biggest cybersecurity threats. In the face of rising
threats, the next year could see healthcare organizations getting serious about
security by putting in real investment and commitment from the top-down,
experts say.
“With
hackers setting their sights on healthcare, the gravity of recent attacks has
finally woken up the healthcare community as the impact of inadequate security
is causing downtimes in hospitals where elective procedures are put on hold and
patients are diverted to other facilities,” said Caleb Barlow, CEO and
president of cybersecurity firm CynergisTek.
-----
https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/hhs-proposes-changes-to-hippa-privacy-rule-to-improve-care-coordination
HHS proposes changes to HIPAA privacy rule to improve care coordination
by Heather Landi
Dec 10, 2020
1:36pm
The
Trump administration proposed changes Thursday to data privacy rules to give
patients more access to their health information and improve care coordination.
The
changes to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
Privacy Rule will support patients' engagement in their care, remove barriers
to coordinated care and reduce regulatory burdens on the healthcare industry,
the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said in a release.
The
proposed
changes (PDF) to the HIPAA Privacy Rule also will facilitate greater family
and caregiver involvement in the care of individuals experiencing emergencies
or health crises and enhance flexibilities for disclosures in emergency or
threatening circumstances, such as the opioid and COVID-19 public health
emergencies, HHS said.
The
agency also aims to reduce administrative burdens on HIPAA-covered healthcare
providers and health plans while continuing to protect individuals’ privacy interests
regarding their health information.
-----
https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/tech/7-predictions-for-how-technology-will-shape-healthcare-2021
7 predictions for what lies ahead for health tech in 2021
by Heather Landi
Dec 14, 2020
12:26pm
The industry
has fast-forwarded in areas like telehealth, remote monitoring, and artificial
intelligence and this will cause disruptive changes that will significantly
impact the technology market. (Getty Images/metamorworks)
Experts
say that the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital health
and virtual care forward by at least three years.
The
industry has fast-forwarded in areas like telehealth, remote monitoring, and
artificial intelligence and this will cause disruptive changes that will
significantly impact the technology market. Many experts, for example, expect
that communication and collaboration tools will explode in 2021.
Next-generation
solutions for patient matching also will be in high demand as COVID-19
vaccination efforts roll out, said Mark LaRow, CEO of Verato.
-----
https://medcitynews.com/2020/12/cms-proposed-rule-requires-payers-to-streamline-prior-authorizations/
CMS proposed rule requires payers to streamline prior authorizations
The rule
would require payers in the Medicaid, CHIP and QHP programs to build and
maintain application programing interfaces to improve data exchange and the
prior authorization process. But the rule does not include Medicare Advantage
plans, which the American Hospital Association called
"disappointing."
By Anuja Vaidya
Dec 11, 2020
at 2:16 PM
The Centers
for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued
a proposed rule that would require payers in certain programs to build
application programming interfaces to enhance data exchange with providers and
patients and simplify the prior authorization process.
Per the
proposed rule, payers in the Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program
and Qualified Health Plan programs will have to implement and maintain APIs
using the Health Level 7 Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources standard.
“This
proposed rule ushers in a new era of quality and lower costs in healthcare as
payers and providers will now have access to complete patient histories,
reducing unnecessary care and allowing for more coordinated and seamless
patient care,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma in a press release. “Each
element of this proposed rule would play a key role in reducing onerous
administrative burden on our frontline providers while improving patient access
to health information.”
-----
https://www.ajmc.com/view/to-report-or-not-report-health-care-data-breaches
To Report or Not Report Health Care Data Breaches
December 12,
2020
Amanda Walden,
PhD, RHIA, CHDA , Kendall
Cortelyou-Ward, PhD , Meghan
Hufstader Gabriel, PhD , Alice Noblin,
PhD, RHIA, CCS, PMP
The American Journal of Managed Care, December 2020, Volume
26, Issue 12
This
study presents information regarding the decisions that health care privacy
officers make about reporting a data breach, including factors that can affect
the decision process, such as personal/organizational knowledge, prior breach
status, and framed scenarios.
ABSTRACT
Objectives:
The study’s objectives were to explore the impact of personal/organizational
knowledge, prior breach status of organizations, and framed scenarios on the
choices made by privacy officers regarding the decision to report
a breach.
Study
Design: A survey was completed of 123 privacy officers who are
members of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA).
Methods:
The study used primary data collection through a survey. Individuals listed as
privacy officers within the AHIMA were the target audience for the survey.
Descriptive statistics, logistic regression, and predicted probabilities were
used to analyze the data collected.
-----
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/epics-care-everywhere-interoperability-platform-shows-big-jump-data-exchange
Epic's Care Everywhere interoperability platform shows big jump in data
exchange
The
electronic health record giant said that health systems had shared more than
221 million patient records in a one-month period this fall.
By Kat Jercich
December 14,
2020 03:50 PM
Epic
this past week released statistics showing that health systems using its interoperability platform Care
Everywhere had shared more than 221 million patient records in a one-month
period this fall.
The
jump, said the electronic health records giant, represents a nearly 40%
increase from the same period the year before.
Dave
Fuhrmann, senior vice president of interoperability at Epic, said the growth
reflects the desire for mobility and increasing demand for healthcare services
amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
"With
COVID-19, we got to see some of the value of that [interoperability] work at
Epic," he said. Particularly as patients sought telehealth treatment,
providers having the ability to access records made treatment more seamless and
efficient.
-----
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/top-10-ai-and-machine-learning-stories-2020
Top 10 AI and machine learning stories of 2020
Whether
assessing vaccine safety and efficacy, assisting with X-ray readings or
tracking communities' vulnerability to COVID-19, artificial intelligence has
been put to work in new and innovative ways throughout the pandemic.
By Mike Miliard
December 14,
2020 02:50 PM
Toward
the tail end of pre-pandemic 2019, Mayo Clinic Chief Information Officer Cris
Ross stood on a stage in California and declared, "This artificial intelligence stuff is real."
Indeed,
while some may argue that AI and machine learning might have been harnessed better during the early days of
COVID-19, and while the risk of algorithmic bias is very real, there's little
question that artificial intelligence, evolving and maturing by the day for an
array of use cases across healthcare.
Here
are the most-read stories about AI during this most unusual year.
UK to use AI for COVID-19 vaccine side effects.
On a day when vaccines, developed in record time, first begin to be
administered in the U.S., it's worth remembering AI's crucial role in helping
the world get to this hopefully pivotal moment.
AI algorithm IDs abnormal chest X-rays from COVID-19 patients. Machine
learning has been a hugely valuable diagnostic tool as well, as illustrated by
this story about a tool from cognitive computing vendor behold.ai that promises
'instant triage" based on lung scans – offering faster diagnosis of
COVID-19 patients and helping with resource allocation.
-----
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/pandemic-era-burnout-how-ehr-vendors-are-redesigning-ui-and-ux-battle-stress
Pandemic-era burnout: How EHR vendors are redesigning UI and UX to battle
stress
In our
seventh and final feature on burnout, experts at Epic, Cerner, Allscripts and
Mad*Pow discuss health IT usability problems and solutions, and describe where
user experience is headed.
By Bill Siwicki
December 14,
2020 12:19 PM
Poorly
designed, time-consuming electronic health record user interfaces are a common
and longstanding complaint among doctors and nurses.
Interfaces
that are not intuitive or that require too much effort to accomplish necessary
recordkeeping can push clinicians – many of whom already are charting at home
after hours – too far. It’s just more stress on top of existing burnout,
especially during the pandemic.
In
this seventh feature story in the Healthcare IT News Burnout
in the Age of COVID-19 series, usability experts from three top EHR vendors and
one top technology design firm outline the user interface/user experience
problems that physicians and nurses have encountered, solutions to these
problems, and where EHR and health IT usability is headed in the future.
IT stressors that lead to clinician burnout
According
to a recent New England Journal of Medicine study, 55% of
clinicians suffer from burnout. On average, doctors
spend more than 16 minutes per patient in the EHR with only 15 minutes
allotted for most patient appointments.
The
steady rise of burnout among clinicians is a crisis that is affecting the
healthcare industry, said Eva Karp, RN-BC, senior vice president and chief
clinical and patient-safety officer, at Cerner.
-----
https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2020/12/14/pushing-vision-tests-to-the-home/
Pushing Vision Tests to the Home
December 14, 2020
John Lynn
Across
many parts of healthcare, we’re seeing where various healthcare services are
being pushed to the home. Some of the most common right now are diabetic
care (which was a leader in this), heart care (see this interview
with AliveCor), and a plethora of other healthcare wearable devices that
measure steps, heart rate, etc etc etc. Of course, this shift has only
been accelerated by COVID-19 which has forced people to want care in their home
vs a doctor’s office.
Given
this trend, it’s no surprise to hear that we’re seeing the same thing happen
with vision tests to the home as well by a company called EyeQue. In order to understand how it
works, EyeQue was nice enough to send me their full
EyeQue Vision Monitoring Kit so I could see how it works first hand.
I’ll
admit that getting the package of devices was a bit overwhelming at
first. As a device nerd I loved it, but it was a bit intimidating to know
where to start and how all the various devices worked. Although, once I
started diving in, it made sense. Just be ready for a bit of a learning
curve at first.
-----
https://histalk2.com/2020/12/11/weekender-12-11-20/
Weekly News Recap
- Ro acquires Workpath.
- LeanTaaS raise a $130 million
Series D funding round.
- Amazon announces HealthLake.
- Baxter is reportedly offering to
acquire Omnicell for $5 billion.
- HHS OCR publishes draft HIPAA
changes.
- The federal government warns users
of GE Healthcare radiology equipment that default passwords and open ports
pose a serious security risk.
- PointClickCare will acquire
Collective Medical for $650 million.
- HHS publishes hospital-level
COVID-19 data for the first time.
- Non-profit Commons Project
announces that it has connected its CommonHealth Android health records
app to 230 health systems.
-----
Enjoy!
David.
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