Weekly Overseas Health IT Links – 19 June, 2021.
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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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/ehr-vendor-cerner-announces-hundreds-of-layoffs-workforce-reduction
EHR Vendor Cerner Announces ‘Hundreds’ of Layoffs, Workforce Reduction
Leading EHR vendor Cerner Corp has announced a significant workforce reduction that is expected to effect hundreds of its Kansas City employees.
June 11, 2021 - EHR vendor Cerner Corporation has announced that it is currently going through a reduction of their workforce that is expected to effect hundreds of employees according to a news report from KCTV5.
Update 06/11/2021: Cerner has clarified that the number of employees laid of totals to 500.
Even with the layoffs, Cerner will still be Kansas City’s largest private employer with 13,000 employees at last count, Misti Preston, Cerner’s director of external communications and public relations, said.
While Preston did not provide an exact number of layoffs, she said the number is in the hundreds.
The EHR vendor has not filed WARN layoff notices with Missouri or Kansas, Preston noted. These notices cover mass layoffs or closings as part of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1989.
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Emergency Department Utilization Drops Contained to First COVID Surge
Researchers said effective patient education prevented the emergency department utilization drops seen during COVID’s first surge from repeating.
By Sara Heath
June 10, 2021 - Startling drops in COVID-era emergency department utilization for life-threatening symptoms, such as heart attack or stroke symptoms, might not be much of a long-term worry, new research reveals.
The data, published as a research note in JAMA by experts from Kaiser Permanente, showed that major dips in ED visits for more life-threatening symptoms only happened during the initial COVID-19 surge; during subsequent surges, patients visited the ED for serious medical attention at equal rates as before the pandemic.
"In May 2020, we reported that, in the early months of the pandemic, the weekly number of patients admitted to our hospitals for a heart attack fell to nearly half of what would be expected," the study's lead author Matthew D. Solomon, MD, PhD, a cardiologist for The Permanente Medical Group and a physician researcher with the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research, said in a press release.
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Ransomware Attacks: CISA Shares Operational Tech Asset Security Guide
In response to ongoing ransomware attacks targeting operational tech assets and control systems of critical infrastructure entities, CISA published a guide to mitigation and response.
June 10, 2021 - The Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency unveiled guidance for defending against ransomware attacks targeting operational technology assets and control systems, in light of the rise in critical infrastructure attacks.
The guidance joins a host of federal agency and White House efforts to crack down on ransomware and improve threat sharing between entities, as the frequency and disruption of attacks continues to ripple across the country.
From the massive SolarWinds and Accellion hacks, to recent hospital outages and attacks against transportation entities, security leaders are increasing pressure on the Biden Administration to better combat these threats and strengthen the country’s cyber posture.
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https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/hblog20210608.649654/full/
Empowering Patients Through Shared Visit Notes
June 10, 2021 10.1377/hblog20210608.649654
In spring 2021 a new federal rule went into effect, requiring all health care providers that maintain electronic medical records to make clinical notes and other health care information available to patients at no charge. While this rule, part of the 21st Century Cures Act, is revolutionary—and possibly unsettling—for many health systems, it is the next logical step for others.
According to OpenNotes, which has tracked this for a number of years, more than 260 health care organizations in the United States were making clinical notes available to patients prior to the new rule. For many of these organizations, the rule expands the types of notes and other medical information that they were already sharing with patients. Those organizations and their leadership that had prioritized transparency and patient–provider partnerships, were primed to adapt to the federal changes. For other organizations, this is new territory, but they can use resources and learning from those who have already gone down this road.
The New York State Health Foundation (NYSHealth) recently held a webinar, “Supporting Patient and Family Access to Health Information” to share strategies that health systems are employing to make sharing notes with patients easier and more useful for patients. NYSHealth grantee partners discussed innovative ways for health care organizations to seize this moment to enhance patient engagement by focusing on the OpenNotes movement.
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https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/09/amazon-care-has-multiple-customers-says-exec-babak-parviz.html
Amazon has signed up multiple companies to its telehealth service, executive says
Key Points
- Amazon has signed up multiple companies to its telehealth service, called Amazon Care, a company executive said Wednesday.
- Amazon Care provides virtual and in-home health services to some Amazon employees.
- The company announced in March that it would open up Amazon Care to other companies later this year.
Amazon has attracted multiple companies that are interested in using its telehealth service, known as Amazon Care, company executive Babak Parviz said Wednesday.
“We’ve had quite a bit of interest from other companies in using this service,” Parviz, a vice president working on Amazon Care, said at The Wall Street Journal’s Tech Health virtual event. Parviz added that Amazon plans to announce which companies have signed on to use the service later this summer.
Shares of Teladoc Health, a major telemedicine provider, slid 1.6% following the news.
Amazon Care launched in 2019 as a pilot program for employees in and around the company’s Seattle headquarters. The service provides virtual urgent care visits, as well as free telehealth consults and in-home visits for a fee from nurses for testing and vaccinations.
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An Interview with Healthcare Interoperability Expert, Julie Maas
June 11, 2021
In this new virtual world, I’ve found me new favorite interview style. I visit the virtual booth of a vendor at a virtual conference and in the chat of the virtual booth I interview one of their experts. There’s something exciting about the off the cuff answers and the ability to ask specific follow up questions based on the answers.
That’s what I did at the recent DirectTrust Summit when I visited the EMR Direct booth. Julie Maas, Founder and CEO of EMR Direct, obliged me to the virtual chat interview where she shared more details about EMR Direct, her experience and work with DirectTrust, and the biggest challenge she sees in healthcare interoperability today. Check out the copy and pasted transcript of my chat interview with Julie Maas below.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and EMR Direct.
I have a technical background and years of experience as a software product manager. My co-founder also has deep internet infrastructure expertise as well as a medical background, so when initiatives like Direct and FHIR were starting to really materialize almost a decade ago, we launched EMR Direct to help make those capabilities more accessible.
It didn’t take us long to sort out that our customer is usually the CTO or the development team faced with implementing challenging interop capabilities. This involves encryption, managing certificates, and complex standards that every EMR vendor didn’t necessarily want to grow an expertise in. So, we help with that and we like to do it in a way that feels like an extension of their team.
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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/telehealth/redesigning-telehealth-experience
Redesigning the Telehealth Experience
Analysis | By PSQH | June 11, 2021
Consider lessons learned from COVID-19 to drive adoption forward.
This article was originally published June 10, 2021 on PSQH by Megan Headley.
Telehealth may be here to stay, but it’s not being consistently adopted by all people in all places.
According to the Telehealth Adoption Tracker from The Chartis Group, a healthcare management consulting firm, there have been significant variations in telehealth adoption based on geography, demographic data, and service line, among other factors. The index was designed to measure how rapidly COVID-19 has accelerated the trend of telehealth adoption across the country, and measures data from several million claim records from January 1, 2020, through January 25, 2021. However, it’s also now providing insight into how health systems and physician groups might create a more cohesive telehealth offering going forward.
“We adopted telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic out of necessity. Now we’re at the point where health systems and physician groups are asking themselves how we can optimize the role that telehealth plays in our care models,” says Chartis Group principal Ryan Bertram.
In flipping the “digital switch” to widespread telehealth during the early days of the pandemic, many organizations were forced to scramble to leverage a variety of solution platforms to meet all patient needs. Now, as vaccinations take hold and infection rates have lessened, many of these same organizations are exploring ways to use lessons learned from COVID-19 in building an enterprisewide telehealth solution. “I think we’ll see an evolution over the next few months and years to really build that enterprise capability out,” Bertram predicts.
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Opinion: We at Scripps Health were victims of a ransomware attack. Here’s what we’ve learned.
By Chris Van Gorder
June 10, 2021 2:23 PM PT
Van Gorder is president and CEO of Scripps Health. He lives in San Diego.
This past year, we’ve witnessed doctors, nurses and hospitals on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic performing heroically in the face of the most difficult circumstances seen in a century. Just as it seems hospitals and health-care systems may be rounding a corner on coronavirus, the cybersecurity threat has been covertly plaguing our hospital systems and critical care facilities.
In May, Scripps Health’s IT team detected unusual network activity on our systems — yet another ransomware attack had fallen on a major U.S. health-care provider. Our team worked quickly to initiate an investigation and to take steps to contain the incident. Computer consulting and forensic firms were immediately engaged to expedite the recovery and investigation process, and federal law enforcement was notified. As part of the necessary containment, we took down our systems; access to electronic medical records was restricted. This created operational disruption at our hospitals and facilities. Through it all, however, patient care remained front and center while our teams worked around the clock to restore systems quickly and safely. We are deeply appreciative of the work and resilience of our physicians and staff in continuing their commitment to providing exceptional patient care during this challenging time.
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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/ehr-vendor-meditech-signs-onto-apple-health-for-ehr-data-exchange
EHR Vendor MEDITECH Signs onto Apple Health for EHR Data Exchange
A new feature in the MEDITECH EHR will allow patient data exchange with providers through Apple’s Health app, fostering patient empowerment.
June 10, 2021 - EHR vendor MEDITECH announced a new feature that aims to promote patient empowerment through patient data exchange with providers via Apple’s Health app.
The new feature builds on Health Records on iPhone, a digital health solution that forms a direct connection between a healthcare organization and a patient’s Health app on her iPhone.
This connection grants patients portable access to information related to their allergies, conditions, immunizations, lab results, medications, procedures, and vitals.
Now, as iOS 15 becomes available this fall, the flow of patient data exchange will go both ways; patients at participating organizations will be able to share their personal health information with hospitals and physician practices.
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Telehealth has enabled wider access during COVID-19 – but not for everyone
Experts at the American Telemedicine Association annual conference and expo highlighted the improvements necessary for virtual care to be truly equitable.
By Kat Jercich
June 10, 2021 04:17 PM
The rise in telehealth use during the COVID-19 pandemic has showcased two contrasting narratives about access to virtual care.
Even as telehealth made it easier for some patients to get the care they need, especially those who struggle to reach in-person services, it also exacerbated the digital divide for others.
"COVID accelerated our commitment," said Alexis McGill Johnson, CEO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, during a panel at the American Telemedicine Association's annual conference and expo this week.
"It was a disruptor, but an accelerator," she added.
According to McGill Johnson, PPFA found that patients could rely on telehealth during the pandemic to preserve care continuity.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/more-outreach-info-blocking-compliance-high-oncs-do-list
More outreach on info blocking compliance high on ONC's to-do list
National Coordinator for Health IT Micky Tripathi also outlined his "wish list" for IT innovation at the DirectTrust Summit this week.
By Kat Jercich
June 09, 2021 01:45 PM
Although the state of the pandemic has been looking better in the United States recently, National Coordinator for Health IT Micky Tripathi says we're not out of the woods yet.
But technology can help ensure a more seamless response moving forward, he said.
One job for inter-agency task forces, he noted, will be considering: "What are the challenges we experienced in the pandemic? What are those gaps, and how do we characterize them, and what does that say about the investments we should make in the future?"
During a presentation at the DirectTrust Summit 2021 this week, Tripathi recognized the leaps and bounds the country has achieved when it comes to data-sharing and interoperability and outlined the goals his agency has for keeping up the momentum.
"We've really in a very short time – but with a lot of money and a lot of blood, sweat and tears – we've gotten that foundation laid" for modernizing the country's health system, he said.
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What’s on Micky Tripathi’s Wish List? Highlights from #DirectTrustSummit Day 1
June 10, 2021
Micky Tripathi, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology at the US Department of Health and Human Services shared his interoperability wish list during his opening keynote at the 2021 Direct Trust Summit. Topping his list was richer information exchange to support advanced payment models.
I am not a tech guy, but I do enjoy learning more about interoperability and the progress the industry is making towards the nirvana of free and easy health information exchange. That is why I was excited to attend (virtually) the 2021 Direct Trust Summit.
What stood out for me was:
- The lack of worry/concern/discussion about information blocking
- Micky Tripathi’s interoperability wish list and how it reflects where the ONC is pushing the industry
- The impact interoperability can have on patient satisfaction
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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/how-do-leading-ehr-vendors-stack-up-against-each-other
How Do Leading EHR Vendors Stack Up Against Each Other?
EHR vendor Epic came in first in terms of overall product suite and overall loyalty, with 63 percent of customers reporting deep interoperability.
June 09, 2021 - As the digital health transformation progresses, the use of health IT continues to grow. New KLAS reports outline the strengths and weaknesses of four of the top EHR vendors in terms of interoperability, cost, and more.
Epic Systems
Epic’s combined overall product suite grade came in at a B+, slightly over the market average of a B. Additionally, Epic received an A for its combined overall loyalty grade, surpassing the market average of a B+.
2021 marks the 11th year that Epic has been named Best in KLAS Overall Software Suite, the report noted.
Overall, 94 percent of customers reported satisfaction with the EHR implementation, and 63 percent of customers reported deep interoperability with the health IT.
The report noted that customers have widely adopted Epic’s patient portal and population health management solution, as well. Additionally, Epic’s EHR has been proven effective in large, complex organizations and holds the largest market share in US hospitals, KLAS wrote.
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New Survey Finds Patients Are Ready for Remote Patient Monitoring
Four out of five are in favor of remote patient monitoring, according to a survey by MSI International, and many see value in the platform for chronic care management.
June 09, 2021 - While healthcare providers are embracing remote patient monitoring to expand care management into the home, a new survey finds that their patients are just as excited about using the platform.
Four of every five consumers responding to a May 2021 survey by MSI International say they’re in favor of RPM, especially for monitoring of chronic diseases, and about half want to see it integrated with clinical care services.
According to the survey of some 300 consumers, between 65 percent and 70 percent said they’d be willing to participate in an RPM program with their care providers to monitor blood pressure, heart rate, blood sugar and blood oxygen levels.
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What Happens After a Ransomware Attack in the Health IT Environment?
CyberMDX’s Ido Geffen takes a hard look at ransomware attacks within a healthcare environment, including what providers are getting wrong and needed security mitigations.
June 09, 2021 - When the FBi warned of the active ransomware attack wave against providers in the Fall of 2020, it heightened reporting and highlighted the need for proactive security measures to protect the healthcare environment.
But as healthcare has remained a top target for cybercriminals and as attacks become increasingly more disruptive, many providers are still struggling to understand the threat landscape and just what security measures to prioritize.
In terms of challenges and response needs, it appears providers are at a standstill. Take, for example, the recent ransomware attack against Scripps Health: hackers struck early in the morning on a weekend, when staffing was reduced, and forced the health system into EHR downtime procedures.
Communication was challenged between providers, and some patient appointments were delayed or diverted to nearby hospitals. The attack and response is nearly identical to the ransomware incident against Universal Health Services in September 2020.
In both instances, the attack caused outages at multiple care sites, disrupted business operations, impacted patient appointments, and lasted for approximately four weeks.
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https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2021/06/08/coronavirus-vaccine-older-adults-cdc/4031623162557/
June 8, 2021 / 12:08 PM
High COVID-19 vaccination rate in older adults leads to decline in cases, deaths
June 8 (UPI) -- COVID-19 infections, emergency room visits, hospitalizations and deaths declined significantly among older adults in the United States this spring as more seniors were vaccinated against the virus, according to data released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Compared with adults ages 18 to 49 years, there were 40% fewer coronavirus cases among adults age 70 years and older between April 18 and May 1, the data showed.
ER visits during the same three-week period were 59% lower for the older age group and hospital admissions were 65% lower, the agency said.
Among adults age 70 years and older, deaths from the virus were down 66% compared with those ages 18 to 49 years, according to the CDC.
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https://www.fedscoop.com/onc-refocuses-on-tefca/
HHS to issue timeline for health care data sharing guidance in coming months
Written by Dave Nyczepir
The Department of Health and Human Services will publish a timeline in the coming months for the release of its long-overdue framework for the seamless sharing of electronic health information.
Dubbed the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, or TEFCA, it aims to achieve the network interoperability that has been lacking as health care providers attempt to share clinical information for treating patients and state and local governments attempt to share public health information for monitoring disease outbreaks.
Interoperable networks are critical for sharing real-time data nationwide on disease outbreaks that could help HHS prevent the next pandemic before it starts.
The 21st Century Cures Act passed in 2016 required the creation of a common set of data standards, but only with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic did gaps in the public health data system become readily apparent.
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As COVID-19 exacerbates violence in the workplace, one health system is using discreet wearables to protect staff
by Dave Muoio
Jun 8, 2021 11:02am
Bassett Healthcare Network will be the first system to deploy the Strongline Staff Safety System across its entire caregiver workforce. The deployment comes as healthcare executives, legislators and labor groups alike call for an increased focus on healthcare workers' safety. (Strongline)
Workplace violence has long been a concern among provider organizations. Data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics suggest that healthcare workers were five times as likely to experience a workplace violence injury as of 2018.
And, healthcare professionals have warned that the stressors COVID-19 placed on patients and workers alike have increased the number of incidents occurring among nurses and clinicians.
“More than three-quarters of incidents involve patients, family members and other customers, and sadly there’s even some workplace violence among healthcare colleagues and others that contribute,” Tommy Ibrahim, M.D., president and CEO of New York’s Bassett Healthcare Network, told Fierce Healthcare. “The pandemic has only really added to that, and it’s continued to accelerate.”
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https://www.mobihealthnews.com/news/emea/himss21europe-how-empower-patients-digital-age
#HIMSS21Europe: How to empower patients in the digital age
Global healthcare leaders at the #HIMSS21Europe conference have called for the development of self-care apps, the enhancement of digital literacy and the transformation of clinician-patient communication to empower patients.
June 09, 2021 09:19 am
Healthcare is being democratised through the internet and wider availability of digital services. Apps are being developed, which can inspire healthier behaviours and encourage patients to share their experiences. However digital literacy needs to be improved to better incorporate patients in decision-making.
The 'Empowering patients in the Digital Age' panel consisted of Dr Kristine Sørensen, Founder and Director, Global Health Literacy Academy, Denmark, Graham Prestwich, Public and Patient Engagement Lead, Yorkshire and Humber Academic Health Science Network (AHSN), UK, and Dr Xènia Acebes Roldán, Managing Director of Healthcare Services, and Dr Caridad Pontes García, Director of Pharmaceuticals, at CatSalut Catalan Health Authority, Spain. The moderator was Monica Kleijn Evason, Patient Engagement Advocate, Spain.
WHY IT MATTERS?
Digital empowerment can improve clinical and financial outcomes, but health literacy, which is a vital part of empowerment, is not widespread. According to Monica Kleijn Evason, it is estimated that 50% of patients in Europe are not health literate.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/emea/nhs-data-grab-delayed-three-months
NHS data grab delayed by three months
Patients now have until September to opt out of plans to share GP medical records with third parties.
By Tammy Lovell
June 09, 2021 11:59 AM
The NHS has delayed plans to share NHS medical records from every GP patient in England with third parties.
Health and social care minister Jo Churchill announced this week that the patient data sharing programme would be now rolled-out on 1 September instead of 1 July.
Patients previously only had until 23 June to opt-out by presenting a form to their GPs.
Churchill said the extra time would be used to “talk to doctors, patients and charities to strengthen the plan.”
The British Medical Association (BMA) called the new development “an important win for patients, family doctors and the BMA”.
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New Tech at Lenox Hill Hospital Reaches Outside the EHR to Capture the Patient's Story
Analysis | By Scott Mace | June 09, 2021
Nurse leader rounding software on iPad Minis raises HCAHPS scores, but will need to be carefully integrated with the EHR.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
· New approach supplements HCAHPS data with real-time patient experience data that can be sent to leadership promptly.
· HCAHPS responsiveness score rose from 19th percentile in 2018 to 93rd percentile in 2021.
· Hospital is "on the journey" to figuring out how this data flow gets linked to the EHR.
Realizing that the typical electronic health record, despite vendor slogans to the contrary, is far from patient-centered, Northwell Health's Lenox Hill Hospital found breakthrough HCAHPS scores by adding a second piece of technology to tell the story of inpatients' point of view.
Utilizing software from CipherHealth, Lenox Hill nurse leaders improved patient care handoffs between shifts, ultimately improving patient experience scores as reflected by HCAHPS.
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Canadian Study Highlights Value of Telehealth Access for Postpartum Care
The study found a 30 percent increase in women seeking help for postpartum mental health issues during the coronavirus, highlighting both the value of virtual care access and the need for more services.
June 08, 2021 - Research out of Canada shows an increase of more than 30 percent in new mothers seeking treatment for postpartum mental health issues during the coronavirus pandemic, and it highlights both the value of telehealth and a need for more virtual services.
As reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), the sharp increase in women seeking help for anxiety, depression and substance use disorders between April and November of 2020 occurred at the same time that access to in-person care was severely limited. And while the surge was largest in underserved populations, it affected all economic groups.
Postpartum mental illness affects roughly one in five new mothers, and has been the subject of several connected health programs aimed at improving access to care. The pandemic has highlighted the value of those services.
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https://patientengagementhit.com/news/4-sdoh-driving-health-disparities-in-patient-portal-use
4 SDOH Driving Health Disparities in Patient Portal Use
Race, income, geographic location or broadband access, and age can all influence patient portal use rates.
By Sara Heath
June 08, 2021 - As patient portal use and access become more commonplace in healthcare, it would be prudent for health IT leaders and clinicians alike to understand the health disparities that can also emerge with patient portal use.
The latest data shows that patient portal offerings are near universal. 2019 data from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT showed that 99 percent of large hospitals and 97 percent of all hospitals in aggregate offer patient portal access to patients. That is the most recent year for which ONC has data.
But that patient portal access and use isn’t seen uniformly across patient populations. Like other aspects of medicine, patient portal use sees health disparities, and that’s largely because of inequities in access. In other words, not every patient has the same opportunity to make the most out of patient portal access.
Below, PatientEngagementHIT explores some of the most common social determinants of health affecting patient portal use and adoption. This list is not exhaustive but represents some of the broadest SDOH categories influencing health IT use.
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Physician viewpoint: 4 ways to protect patient privacy in the 'big data era'
– June 7, 2021
Despite there being patients who struggle to get access to their complete health records, their data often is shared with insurance companies, pharmacies and big tech without them even knowing, according to Kenneth Mandl, MD, and Eric Perakslis, PhD.
In a June 5 perspective article published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Mandl, director of the computational health informatics program at Boston Children's Hospital, and Dr. Perakslis, chief science and digital officer of Durham, N.C.-based Duke Clinical Research Institute, explored the issues surrounding patient data privacy and sharing.
Drs. Mandl and Perakslis wrote that some EHR companies incorporate patient data into services like clinical decision support or matching patients to clinical trials. While HIPAA regulates how patient data can be shared and must be protected, this data no longer falls under the regulations when it has been de-identified, or stripped of names, dates of birth, addresses and other identifying information.
Even with de-identification, patients can be re-identified "fairly readily" from datasets, for marketing and other purposes, using computational methods, the co-authors wrote.
Here are four recommendations by Drs. Mandl and Perakslis for healthcare providers to better preserve patient data privacy:
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Is Cerner an Acquisition Target for Microsoft and Google?
June 8, 2021
Thanks for my friend Shereese Maynard for pointing out this article that suggests Cerner might be an acquisition target soon. The article makes the salacious statement that “Cerner is a wounded gazelle, and the lions are hungry.”
For those keeping track at home, we’ve been through this before when Jim Cramer suggested that Apple Should Acquire Epic. Of course, Cramer said they “should” and the latest article says they “might be.” Both indicate a hedge which suggests they’re just pontificating and not really actually reporting on something they’ve found that would indicate this is near. When you remember that their business is about attracting eyeballs, then you at least read articles like these with that perspective.
As we cover the industry so deeply, I thought it might be worth taking a look at their arguments to see if they have any validity. Certainly, this will be of interest to those who currently use Cerner.
Core to the author (Dana Blankenhorn) of the article’s argument is that cloud companies are looking to roll up “the old enterprise software market by bringing preexisting industries into the cloud” and that healthcare is one of those industries. Along with that over arching concept is the fact that the CEO of Cerner is retiring and Cerner has done has had a good year, but not a great year with the most recent quarter showing less revenue than a year ago.
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https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2021/06/08/can-your-fax-do-this/
Can Your Fax Do This?
June 8, 2021
The following is a guest article by Simran Bagga, AI Program Director and Chris Larkin, Chief Technology Officer at Concord Technologies.
A digitized document workflow that includes data extraction capabilities elevates the level of care a provider administers. Here’s how it works.
A fax isn’t just a fax. A facsimile, telefax, digital fax, cloud fax—however you describe your means of transmitting documents—represents much more than basic data. A fax document flowing between systems and healthcare entities is actually a patient on the move. The effectiveness of a provider’s ability to extract pertinent data, move the information, and transition that patient in care will largely impact the patient’s outcome.
While clinicians and digital fax providers occasionally get caught up in the intricacies of pre-authorizations, referrals, claims forms, and lab results among other documents, achieving speed, accuracy, and contextual understanding in their transfer is critical. A successful digital document exchange process that incorporates data extraction functionality enables both consistent and efficient transfer of patient health information and the supported decision-making required for optimal care provision.
Moving from analog to extraction on the digital fax journey
For providers still using analog fax communications, there’s substantial validation to securing a digitized document workflow. Various complications in both administrative and patient workflow typically motivate practices to bid farewell to manual exchange of paper-based documents. Patient information rekeyed from manual faxes into the EMR, scheduling software, or communications with other providers, offers numerous opportunities for errors. Clinicians, simply seeking to provide quality care while being efficient, bear the brunt of compromised data integrity. Transmitting data digitally is the first step toward improved accountability and workflow, followed closely by embedding these capabilities into a practice’s clinical and line of business applications.
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GP Data for Planning and Research implementation date moved to Sept
The implementation date for General Practice Data for Planning and Research (GPDPR) service has been moved to 1 September 2021.
Hanna Crouch 8 June 2021
On May 12, NHS Digital issued a Data Provision Notice to GPs to enable GPDPR to begin from 1 July 2021 with the aim of giving planners and researchers faster access to pseudonymised patient information.
Concerns have been raised about the timeframes and whether enough time has been given to inform patients about the changes which could result in patient trust being “destroyed”.
Therefore, NHS Digital has said that to ensure that more time is allocated to speak with patients, doctors, health charities and others to strengthen the plan even further, the collection of GP data for planning and research in England would be deferred from 1 July to 1 September 2021.
Simon Bolton, interim chief executive of NHS Digital, said: “Data saves lives and has huge potential to rapidly improve care and outcomes, as the response to the Covid-19 pandemic has shown. The vaccine rollout could not have been delivered without effective use of data to ensure it reached the whole population.
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https://bylinetimes.com/2021/06/07/did-we-learn-nothing-from-the-last-nhs-health-data-grab/
Did We Learn Nothing from the Last NHS Health Data Grab?
7 June 2021
Robin Burgess, who witnessed the chaos of the ‘care.data’ scheme eight years ago, sees the same lack of consent, trust and engagement in its most recent incarnation
From 2013 to 2015, I was at the heart of the implementation of the ‘care.data’ programme as NHS England’s regional head of intelligence for London.
Care.data was the first, failed and disastrous attempt to harvest the public’s healthcare data without proper planning, consultation or engagement with people.
The current attempt to grab NHS patients’ GP records is repeating all of the same mistakes, including the core problem: the failure to gain the trust of both healthcare professionals and the public through properly communicating with them.
Care.data was horribly rushed and driven on at a furious and incoherent pace by the then lead for data at NHS England, Tim Kelsey. A history graduate and former journalist, he was a data harvesting man and the co-founder of Dr Foster – a commercial enterprise later sold to the NHS, but the purpose of which was to use big data sets, not for commercial gain but for healthcare planning purposes.
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DOJ, White House Take Aim at Critical Infrastructure Ransomware Attacks
Following disruptive ransomware attacks on NY MTA, MA Steamship Authority, and JBS Meats, the DOJ and the White House announce steps to crack down on threat actors.
June 04, 2021 - This week, the White House and the Department of Justice announced efforts to improve the coordination of investigations into ongoing ransomware attacks and data extortion efforts, while urging private sector entities to make ransomware defense a top priority.
The federal efforts come on the heels of repeated critical infrastructure attacks that have disrupted the supply chain, including SolarWinds, Accellion FTA, Colonial Pipeline, and the latest attacks on JBS Meat, Massachusetts Steamship Authority, and New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Attack repercussions are rippling across the country and demanding greater defenses and coordination across entities, federal agencies, and global entities.
DOJ Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology Anne Neuberger sent a letter to all federal prosecutors on June 3, which provided guidance for coordinating investigations into all cases of ransomware or digital extortion and individuals suspected of unlawful operation of infrastructure used in these schemes, like botnets and cryptocurrency.
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Apple unveils automated health data alerts, in-EHR record sharing, fall risk analysis and more at WWDC 2021
by Dave Muoio
Jun 7, 2021 3:42pm
iPhone users will soon be able to review long-term analyses of their health, receive automated alerts of changes to their loved one’s condition and share health data directly to their provider’s EHR system through the Apple Health app, the tech company revealed today at its annual WWDC event.
These health features will land alongside others designed to help users better understand the results of their health tests or records, as well as those providing new ways to measure iPhone owners’ gait and risk of a fall.
“A critical part of taking care of yourself is monitoring changes in your health, which can be subtle and easy to miss, so this year we’re offering three new features to help you to identify, measure and understand those changes,” Sumbul Desai, M.D., vice president of Apple Health, said during the developer conference.
For the past few years, Apple has encouraged users to store their health and wellness information within the company’s Health app.
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New mHealth Group Targets Data Security, Tackling the Digital Divide
The Digital Health Measurement Collaborative Community (DATAcc) looks to develop best practices for the use of mHealth data gathered outside the traditional healthcare setting.
June 04, 2021 - The Digital Medicine Society has launched a new collaborative aimed at developing best practices for measuring health through mHealth platforms.
The Digital Health Measurement Collaborative Community (DATAcc), which currently comprises 27 members, “will use interdisciplinary expertise, data, and use cases to develop and demonstrate best practices and advance harmonized approaches to speed the use of digital health measurement to improve health outcomes, health economics, and health equity.”
The group defines digital health as the use of digital technologies to collect clinical and other data from people outside the traditional health setting. That data is used by clinicians for care management and health and wellness coaching, and by individuals who want to take more control of their health. It’s also increasingly being used by researchers, including those in the pharmaceutical industry.
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https://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/study-collaboration-24-hospitals-one-health-record
Jun 07 2021
A study in collaboration: 24 hospitals, one health record
The result is a single hospital information system for data collection and management, linking medical professionals.
Susan Morse, Managing Editor
The ONE initiative in northeastern Ontario ties 24 acute care hospitals to a single and shared electronic health information system.
ONE -- One Person, One Record, One System -- uses standardized, evidence-based clinical best practices across two dozen organizations that have unique cultures, patient populations, clinical workflows and governance philosophies.
How the hospitals accomplished this is the focus of a HIMSS21 session, "24 Hospitals, ONE Record: A Study in Collaboration," on Tuesday, August 10 from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m. in the Venetian Lando Room 4301 in Las Vegas.
The work was guided by an Executive Steering Committee of CEOs. All 24 acute care Northeast Ontario hospital boards committed to working together to achieve EMR and clinical standardization, according to Dr. Derek Garniss, chief medical Information officer and the ER medical director for Sault Area Hospital in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario.
Garniss is speaking with Chantal Gagne, a registered nurse and director of Inpatient and Surgical Services for North Bay Regional Health Centre in Ontario.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/biden-admin-could-consider-military-action-ransomware-response
Biden admin could consider military action in ransomware response
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said that "all options are on the table" when it comes to repercussions for cyberattacks.
By Kat Jercich
June 07, 2021 12:30 PM
In an interview on ABC's This Week with George Stephanopoulos, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said the Biden administration is evaluating all of its options when it comes to ransomware attacks enabled by foreign nation-states.
"We won't stand for a nation supporting or turning a blind eye to a criminal enterprise," Raimondo said.
"We are considering all of our options," she continued. "We are not taking anything off the table as we think about possible repercussions, consequences or retaliation."
When asked if some of those actions should include the military – even if these are private, non-governmental entities – Raimondo repeated, "As I said, all options are on the table."
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The Data Revolution: Personalized Medicine and the Future of Healthcare
June 7, 2021
The following is a guest article by Dr. Waqaas Al-Siddiq, Chairman, CEO & Founder at Biotricity.
In 2011, near the end of his almost decade-long fight with cancer, Steve Jobs had a realization: “I think the biggest innovations of the 21st century will be at the intersection of biology and technology. A new era is beginning.”
Jobs was a renowned futurist, and now, ten years later, we’re starting to see hints of what that new era might look like – facilitated largely in part by one of his most memorable legacies: the modern smartphone. Traditional barriers keeping people from accessing health information are being broken down by consumer-friendly health platforms available on smartphones through connected devices, sensors, and apps. This is paving the way for a patient-empowered healthcare system where health records, treatments, and healthcare professionals are more accessible than they ever have been.
Smartphones have enabled the creation of new connected healthcare tools like apps for chronic disease management, counseling, medication management, and specialized care. According to records from IQVIA, there are over 400,000 healthcare apps available for consumers to download worldwide. Apps give consumers a way to easily access healthcare information in unprecedented ways – connecting them to healthcare professionals and opening access to specialists and treatments. You can now see a doctor on video through your phone, send photos, and share health information in minutes. Apps display the data on your phone in a user-friendly format, often with analytics that can be used to support self-management or share with a physician. By 2020, there was estimated to be more than 50 billion smart connected devices in the world, collecting, analyzing and sharing data.
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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/technology/patient-access-hospital-ehr-data-expands
Patient Access to Hospital EHR Data Expands
Analysis | By Scott Mace | June 04, 2021
App-based inpatient access rose more than 50% between 2018 and 2019.
More and more hospitals are enabling patients to access their electronic health records via online portals and mobile apps, according to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).
Seven in 10 hospitals now permit such access, according to a new ONC data brief evaluating conditions at the end of 2019.
Also that year, nearly every hospital enabled patients to electronically view their health information using a portal, ONC reported.
Three out of four hospitals allowed inpatients to view their clinical notes in the hospital's patient portal.
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Hospital Patient Portal Adoption, Patient Data Access Reaches Ubiquity
Ninety-seven percent of all hospitals, and 99 percent of large hospitals, offer patient portal adoption and patient data access for inpatients, ONC reports.
By Sara Heath
June 07, 2021 - Nearly every inpatient hospital enabled patient data access, while three-quarters let patients view clinical notes via the patient portal, according to 2019 data from the Office of the National Coordination for Health IT.
The data brief, which represents the most recent information ONC has, showed a serious improvement in patient data access by way of digital technology. Another 70 percent of inpatient hospitals reported they enable patient data access by way of mobile application, the report showed.
This comes as new ONC mandates take effect requiring healthcare organizations to enable patient access to clinical notes. Starting on April 5, healthcare organizations across the country have had to offer virtual access to clinical notes.
An even three-quarters of inpatient hospitals have long been poised for that rule, with 75 percent reporting to ONC that they enabled patient access to clinical notes via the patient portal in 2019. That was a 30 percent increase from the year pervious, when only 57 percent of hospitals said they enabled patient access to clinical notes via the patient portal.
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COVID Was a Tipping Point for Telehealth. If Some Have Their Way, Virtual Visits Are Here to Stay.
Analysis | By Kaiser Health News | June 07, 2021
There is an emerging consensus that many services that once required an office visit can be provided easily and safely — and often more effectively — through a video chat, a phone call or even an email.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
· The widespread embrace of telemedicine — arguably the most significant healthcare shift wrought by the pandemic — is not without skeptics.
· Even supporters acknowledge the need for safeguards to prevent fraud, preserve quality and ensure that the digital health revolution doesn't leave behind low-income patients and communities of color with less access to technology — or leave some with only virtual options in place of real physicians.
· Some worry that telehealth, like previous medical innovations, may become another billing tool that simply drives up costs, a fear exacerbated by the hundreds of millions of dollars flowing into the burgeoning digital health industry.
This article was published on Monday, June 7, 2021 in Kaiser Health News.
As the COVID crisis wanes and life approaches normal across the U.S., health industry leaders and many patient advocates are pushing Congress and the Biden administration to preserve the pandemic-fueled expansion of telehealth that has transformed how millions of Americans see the doctor.
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Enjoy!
David.
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