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://www.digitalhealth.net/2021/02/special-report-shared-care-records-4/
Special Report: Shared Care Records
Having a shared care record in place can mean improved access to patient information and reduced risk of errors being made from a clinicians perspective. But how important is it to ensure that such records are being designed with patients in mind? Jennifer Trueland investigates.
Shared care records, a notion which involves different parts of health and care services share and access information about patients, has long been an ambition for health systems.
Despite successive targets coming and going with all the predictability of Groundhog Day, there is now some hope that genuine sharing of patient data is becoming a reality, at least in some parts of the country.
This means that – arguably – the NHS is actually beginning to catch up with what many lay people think is happening already.
“I think there’s a [public] perception that the patient’s clinical record is all joined up and that everyone knows what’s going on,” says Graham King, chief information officer at The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust.
“That’s not actually the case. NHS plans have, for many years, targeted the aim of sharing records appropriately between organisations. And I think we are now bringing this to a reality – our programme of work is exactly about doing that.”
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https://healthitanalytics.com/news/machine-learning-model-shows-higher-covid-19-cases-than-reported
Machine Learning Model Shows Higher COVID-19 Cases Than Reported
A machine learning model estimated that the number of US COVID-19 cases is nearly three times greater than reported.
By Jessica Kent
February 09, 2021 - Since the pandemic began, experts have looked to daily counts of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths in an effort to contain the virus. Now, a machine learning algorithm has revealed that these numbers may be higher than reported.
In a study published in PLOS ONE, researchers estimate that the number of COVID-19 cases in the US since the pandemic started is nearly three times that of confirmed cases. The machine learning algorithm provides daily updated estimates of total infections to date, as well as how many people are currently infected across the US and in 50 countries hardest hit by the pandemic.
According to the model, as of February 4, 2021 more than 71 million people in the US had contracted COVID-19. This is significantly greater than the 26.7 million publicly reported number of confirmed cases.
Of those 71 million Americans estimated to have had COVID-19, seven million had current infections and were potentially contagious on February 4, the algorithm showed.
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https://healthitanalytics.com/news/clinical-decision-support-tool-accelerates-covid-19-evaluations
Clinical Decision Support Tool Accelerates COVID-19 Evaluations
A clinical decision support tool integrated into the EHR can help clinicians evaluate patients with COVID-19 symptoms.
By Jessica Kent
February 11, 2021 - A clinical decision support tool can guide clinicians through diagnostic evaluations of patients with COVID-19 symptoms, significantly reducing the time it takes to assess these patients, according to a study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
When patients go to the hospital or emergency department with COVID-19 symptoms, it’s essential to isolate them so that the infection doesn’t spread. However, keeping patients isolated longer than necessary can delay patient care, take up beds needed for other patients, and unnecessarily utilize personal protective equipment.
In spring 2020, the Infectious Diseases Society of America recommended repeating a COVID-19 test in patients with moderate to high probability of COVID-19. But there was little guidance about what factors contributed to a patient being low or high probability. Experts at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) aimed to develop a solution.
“A team of infectious disease specialists at MGH worked around the clock to review admitted patients one by one to provide guidance about who needed additional testing and whose probability of COVID-19 was low enough that isolation could be discontinued,” said Caitlin Dugdale, MD, an infectious disease physician at MGH and one of the study's co-first authors.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/patient-portals-have-benefits-not-everyone-can-access-them
Patient portals have benefits – but not everyone can access them
A new study found that portal users had higher knowledge about their disease, higher ratings of current health, and lower disease-related stress.
By Kat Jercich
February 12, 2021 01:37 PM
A study published this week in Kidney Medicine found that although electronic health record portals are increasingly emphasized in chronic kidney disease treatment, interventions are needed to ensure all patients have access to these tools.
Led by researchers from the University of Michigan, the University of Utah and the University of Vanderbilt, the study examined whether kidney function was associated with portal use at one large medical system.
"Chronic kidney disease is highly prevalent and contributes to substantial morbidity and mortality," the study team wrote. "Yet many patients are not fully engaged in their care, and remain unaware of their diagnosis and its implications."
"There exist opportunities to strengthen management by educating patients about CKD and increasing engagement through effective patient-provider communication," they added. "Electronic health record patient portals may provide one strategy to enhance patient-provider communication, optimize information sharing, and allow patients to be more engaged in CKD care."
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https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2021/02/12/do-doctors-almost-universally-hate-ehrs/
Do Doctors Almost Universally Hate EHRs?
February 12, 2021
Yes, that probably feels like a clickbait headline, but it was what one reader asserted in the comments of my article that Paper Is Contagious. You can check out the full comment here. This is definitely something I’ve heard before this comment. In fact, I’ve heard it a lot. However, if we’ve learned anything in the last few years, it’s that just because you hear something a lot doesn’t make it true. In this case, I think there’s a lot more nuance than most people want to consider. This is how I look at it.
Do doctors almost universally hate EHRs? Or do they just universally hate the documentation part of their job and the explosion of documentation requirements that their job has put on them?
Doctors universally hated paper charts too. That’s why stacks of paper charts would be seen on doctors’ desks. They didn’t want to do the paper chart documentation either. They also hated searching for paper charts and hated reading their colleagues (and sometimes their own) terrible handwriting. Although, we don’t hear those complaints from EHR users since the EHR literally solves those problem. The challenge is that doctors just take those for granted now.
Don’t get me wrong. There’s a lot more EHR vendors can do to make EHR software better for doctors, but I think much of the ire around EHR software is a reflection of the reimbursement and regulatory documentation requirements and not the EHR itself.
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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/florida-launches-pulse-platform-for-emergency-patient-data-exchange
Florida Launches PULSE Platform for Emergency Patient Data Exchange
Add Florida to the list of states that will have an increase in emergency patient data exchange during natural disasters and public health emergencies.
February 10, 2021 - The State of Florida has launched the Patient Unified Lookup System for Emergencies (PULSE) platform to boost patient data exchange during statewide public health emergencies and natural disasters.
Developed by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) in 2014, the PULSE platform provides secure health data exchange during an emergency. The platform can integrate directly through the eHealth Exchange.
PULSE, a cloud-based solution, enables emergency responders to search for health information, such as medications, diagnoses, allergies, and lab results on disaster victims. The solution limits access to authorized personnel and the patient data is in a ‘view only’ format for those with access.
Florida leaders said the state integrated this platform to provide COVID-19 public health assistance and aid providers during the 2021 hurricane season. The PULSE integration will also give its users increased auditing, query, and reporting abilities during public health crises and natural disasters, state leaders said.
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https://healthitanalytics.com/news/how-data-analytics-can-help-manage-intensive-care-unit-capacity
How Data Analytics Can Help Manage Intensive Care Unit Capacity
Data analytics tools can help hospitals manage patient capacity and flow in intensive care units, particularly during COVID-19 surges.
By Jessica Kent
February 10, 2021 - Data analytics tools have proven to be valuable assets in several areas of healthcare. From disease detection to workflow optimization, advanced analytics solutions have the potential to increase care efficiency and enhance day-to-day operations.
At University of Colorado Hospital, leaders recognized the need for advanced tools to help manage patient flow in the intensive care unit (ICU).
“Our organization has grown very rapidly over the last several years. We’ve developed several homegrown tools that help us utilize data, which has been great. But the downside is that it has resulted in a lot of manual labor on our end,” Jamie Nordhagen, Director of Capacity Management at University of Colorado Hospital, said during a recent episode of Healthcare Strategies.
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Top Updates to the Interoperability Standards Advisory (ISA) – 2021 ISA Reference Edition Now Available
Brett Andriesen | February 8, 2021
Even if you’re not a standards guru, it’s not a stretch to say that standards help the world go ‘round, especially in the world of health information technology (health IT).
ONC is excited to share the 2021 Interoperability Standards Advisory (ISA) Reference Edition. Whether you’re a policy wonk, a software developer, or a public health pro, there’s a little something for everyone this year. (And if you are a standards professional, you might want to track the ISA’s RSS Feed – requires RSS Feed viewer – to stay on top of all changes to ISA, in real-time.)
Many of the changes this year are iterative in nature, but a few are noteworthy.
Top Updates to the ISA for 2021
COVID-19 – At the top of the list is a new sub-section on the COVID-19 Novel Coronavirus Pandemic, as well as a Specialty Care and Settings “tag” for COVID-19 related interoperability needs across the ISA. These additions, updated often, are a great resource if you are looking for the latest in health IT response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Public Health Emergency – In addition to the COVID-19 sub-section and Specialty Care and Settings listing, we’ve added four interoperability needs connected to public health emergency response. These include sections on health care personnel status, the use of hospital/facility beds, lab operations (population lab surveillance), and population-level morbidity and mortality. Together, these elements can help emergency officials maintain situational awareness around public health emergencies and optimize emergency operations.
Admission, Discharge, and Transfer (ADT) Notifications to a Record Locator Service – A new interoperability need has been added to support ADT notifications of patient encounters to a Record Locator Service, which is a key component of identifying patient records to support alerting use cases by health information exchanges.
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Government launches blueprint to join up NHS and social care in England
The proposals include the development of a data strategy for health and social care.
By Tammy Lovell
February 11, 2021 11:48 AM
Health secretary Matt Hancock today (11 Feb) set out plans to reform the NHS and deliver a more joined up health and care system.
A government white paper outlines proposals to make integrated care systems (ICSs) the default across England, reduce legal bureaucracy, and better support social care, public health and the NHS.
The proposals include the development of a data strategy for health and social care, which aims to “bust bureaucracy” by improving the way data is collected and shared.
Under the reforms, the health and care sector will be enabled to “use technology in a modern way” by improving the quality and availability of data, the paper states.
It adds that “improvement in the interoperability of systems will mean that data will be able to be collected through provider systems, reducing reporting burdens by extracting from existing data sets and sharing with multiple users.”
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AI has advantages for COVID-19 vaccine rollout, but potential dangers too
Healthcare organizations can harness machine learning to schedule vaccines, streamline patient communications and even prioritize access – but the technology is hardly infallible.
By Kat Jercich
February 11, 2021 01:38 PM
The question of who should get access to COVID-19 vaccines first has varied from state to state, with some governments prioritizing those with high-risk conditions and others lowering the age of eligibility.
One South Dakota-based system, Sanford Health, is using a machine learning model to identify which individuals are at greatest risk of having severe COVID-19 outcomes – and applying the algorithm to eligible groups.
"With [those] 85,000 people what we can do is take a real-time picture that evolves over time, using computer learning to tell us what patients or what people in the Midwest get the sickest from COVID-19," said Sanford chief physician Dr. Jeremy Cauwels to Minnesota Public Radio.
Cauwels told MPR that he believes an artificial intelligence approach is more equitable than random choice for administering the vaccine.
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FDA Approves Use of AI Tool Predicting Adverse Events In ICU
February 11, 2021
The FDA has agreed to a special authorization allowing a vendor to deploy its AI tool designed to predict adverse events in hospital ICUs.
The agency issued an Emergency Use Authorization for an ICU solution developed by CLEW Medical, whose CLEW-ICU uses predictive screening to identify patients with a higher likelihood of being diagnosed with serious conditions such as respiratory failure or hemodynamic instability. These conditions are frequently associated with COVID-19.
CLEW trained its AI using data on nearly 100,000 patients in ICUs. The AI-based algorithms are machine-learning models trained to predict such problems hours in advance. The product, CLEW-ICU, integrates care delivered by local and remote teams. According to the vendor, this clearance is the FDA’s first for technology in this category.
The FDA authorization follows a steadily increasing deployment of predictive tools in the emergency department, ICU and other hospital areas where patients might be at risk of sudden decline. These tools have been particularly popular as the pandemic has raged on, bringing in patients in particularly sensitive and volatile conditions.
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A Digital Stethoscope for Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM)
February 11, 2021
I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t know the history of the stethoscope and definitely didn’t understand how it worked. Although, we certainly all know how iconic the stethoscope is in healthcare. It’s been a fixture in medicine that hasn’t really been innovated on in years. At least until now.
A company called Thinklabs has created a digital stethoscope called the Thinklabs One. Interested in all sorts of remote medical devices, I had to sit down with Clive Smith, CEO and Founder of Thinklabs, to learn more about this device.
In a smart move, they made the device look similar to the end of a traditional stethoscope. Although, given its digital nature, there’s no need for the hollow tubes since it can be used with headphones (bluetooth work fine) or even remotely monitored and listened to on your computer from a remote location. I was also intrigued that the sounds could be recorded.
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PBM Pilots Digital Health Solution to Improve Medication Adherence
Analysis | By Mandy Roth | February 11, 2021
Concept uses AI and daily financial incentives to improve health outcomes by inducing permanent behavioral change related to medication habits.
You can lead a patient to the pharmacy, but you can't make them take their medication. Pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) Magellan Rx Management is piloting a digital behavioral health solution from Wellth to change that dynamic. The approach features artificial intelligence (AI) technology and daily financial incentives to help members build lasting habits, according to a news release issued by the PBM's parent company, Magellan Health.
Medication nonadherence is a widespread issue, cited as responsible for possibly 100,000 preventable deaths and $100 billion in preventable costs each year.
The pilot will focus on improving adherence and health outcomes for patients with conditions including diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, depression, asthma, and psychosis.
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Telemedicine-based program for COVID-19 patients helps maximize health care delivery
The rapid upscaling of a telemonitoring program in which health care providers performed daily telemedicine check-ins on COVID-19 patients faced a unique set of challenges. How these were resolved, and early outcomes are reported in the peer-reviewed journal Telemedicine and e-Health.
"Kaiser Permanente's Virtual Home Care Program (VHCP) was able to rapidly establish a telemedicine-based program for the management of COVID-19 positive patients in the DC and Baltimore Metro regions. Preliminary data suggest that such a program may be effective in keeping patients out of the hospital and/or emergency room," stated James Shaw, MD, Med-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, and coauthors.
The researchers described three main challenges. The constant flow of providers into and out of the program. Challenges in the management of Spanish-speaking patients and the need for translators. The initial lack of an alert system in the pulse oximetry program to alert patients and providers when a patient registered a low oxygen reading.
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https://healthitsecurity.com/news/ncsc-chinese-threat-actors-targeting-us-healthcare-genomic-data
NCSC: Chinese Threat Actors Targeting US Healthcare, Genomic Data
A recent NCSC alert details the massive, ongoing campaign led by Chinese threat actors to steal healthcare, genomic, and valuable data from the US and other countries.
February 04, 2021 - Threat actors with ties to China are continuing to target US healthcare, genomic, and other valuable data through hacking and other malicious activities, according to a recent alert from the National Counterintelligence and Security Center.
The alert follows a CBS 60 Minutes report detailing China’s push to control US healthcare and other foreign efforts to obtain DNA data from US citizens.
Chinese efforts to hack into US systems have been going on for years, with the most recent federal alert warning that nation-state actors were exploiting device vulnerabilities to gain access to US networks.
“For years, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has collected large healthcare data sets from the U.S. and nations around the globe, through both legal and illegal means, for purposes only it can control,” according to the NCSC alert.
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https://healthitanalytics.com/news/artificial-intelligence-tool-combats-new-covid-19-mutations
Artificial Intelligence Tool Combats New COVID-19 Mutations
An artificial intelligence framework could speed the development of vaccines to treat new COVID-19 mutations.
By Jessica Kent
An artificial intelligence method can help combat emerging COVID-19 mutations by identifying the best potential vaccines to treat the virus, according to a study published in Scientific Reports.
As COVID-19 begins to mutate in populations globally, scientists are concerned that the mutations will minimize the effectiveness of vaccines that are now being distributed. Recent variants of the virus in the UK, South Africa, and Brazil seem to spread more easily, which have the potential to lead to more hospitalizations and deaths.
Researchers from the University of Southern California (USC) Viterbi School of Engineering set out to develop a new artificial intelligence method to combat emergent mutations of COVID-19 and accelerate vaccine development.
The team used data from a bioinformatics database called the Immune Epitope Database (IEDB), in which scientists around the world have been collecting data about the coronavirus and other diseases.
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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/ny-hie-hits-record-number-of-ehr-alerts-patient-data-lookups
NY HIE Hits Record Number of EHR Alerts, Patient Data Lookups
COVID-19 triggered a severe increase in EHR alerts and patient data lookups across Western New York healthcare organizations.
February 09, 2021 - Patient data lookups by county and state health departments doubled and EHR alerts sky-rocketed in Western New York during COVID-19, according to a HEALTHeLINK 2020 report.
Since March, the HIE sent over 5.4 million COVID-19 alert notifications to its connected healthcare organizations.
Leaders at HEALTHeLINK, a health information exchange (HIE) that spans over Western New York and is part of the Statewide Health Information Network for New York (SHIN-NY), stated the value of patient data exchange has never been more evident as it has been during COVID-19.
“We understand the unique and critical role HEALTHeLINK has to securely share clinical information and to also support our health care community in times of crisis,” Dan Porreca, executive director of HEALTHeLINK, said in an emailed statement.
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Cerner eyes opportunities in clinical research, population health as it builds data business
Feb 10, 2021 5:41pm
With slowing growth in the medical records software market, Cerner is eyeing opportunities in its data business, including in the clinical research space.
Cerner announced plans in December to acquire the health division of Kantar Group, which provides data, analytics and research to the life sciences industry, for $375 million.
The addition of Kantar Health is a strong complement to Cerner's existing data-as-a-service business and represents a meaningful entrance into the pharmaceutical market, said Cerner chief financial officer Marc Naughton during the company's fourth-quarter and full-year 2020 earnings call.
During the JPMorgan Healthcare conference in January, Cerner executives said the health IT company was setting its sights on building a $1 billion data business for the healthcare and life sciences industries.
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Mount Sinai study finds Apple Watch can predict COVID-19 diagnosis up to a week before testing
Darrell Etherington @etherington•
A new study from Mount Sinai researchers published in the peer-reviewed “Journal of Medical Internet Research” found that wearable hardware, and specifically the Apple Watch, can effectively predict a positive COVID-19 diagnosis up to a week before current PCR-based nasal swab tests.
The investigation dubbed the “Warrior Watch Study,” used a dedicated Apple Watch and iPhone app and included participants from Mount Sinai staff. It required participants to use the app for health data monitoring and collection, and also asked that they fill out a day survey to provide direct feedback about their potential COVID-19 symptoms and other factors, including stress.
During the course of the study, the research team enlisted “several hundred healthcare workers” to participate, and collected data over several months, between April and September. The primary biometric signal that the study’s authors were watching was heart rate variability (HRV), which is a key indicator of strain on a person’s nervous system. This information was combined with information around reported symptoms associated with COVID-19, including fever, aches, dry cough, gastrointestinal issues, and loss of taste and smell, among others.
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https://healthitanalytics.com/news/ai-ehr-data-can-help-predict-covid-19-outcomes-mortality
AI, EHR Data Can Help Predict COVID-19 Outcomes, Mortality
Applying artificial intelligence to EHR data can help providers identify factors that are predictors of poor COVID-19 outcomes.
By Jessica Kent
February 09, 2021 - Artificial intelligence could help identify factors in EHR data that are predictive of poor COVID-19 outcomes and mortality, according to a study published in npj Digital Medicine.
The vast amount of data contained in EHRs can provide a valuable asset to researchers during crises like the current pandemic, the team noted.
For the study, the research group used the COVID-19 datamart, a frequently refreshed snapshot of longitudinal data on patients with a COVID-19 infection flag from many data sources across the Mass General Brigham hospital system.
Using EHRs from more than 16,000 students, the team applied an artificial intelligence algorithm to identify 46 clinical conditions representing potential risk factors for death after a COVID-19 infection.
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https://www.auntminnie.com/index.aspx?sec=sup&sub=cto&pag=dis&ItemID=131545
Decision support could improve ED pediatric appendicitis imaging
Kate Madden Yee, AuntMinnie.com staff writer
February 9, 2021 -- Clinical decision support could boost the appropriate use of CT for diagnosing appendicitis in children presenting at the emergency department (ED), according to research published February 9 in JAMA Network Open.
A team led by Dr. Anupam Kharbanda of Children's Minnesota in Minneapolis found that although decision support didn't necessarily reduce the overall use of CT for diagnosing pediatric appendicitis across the entire study population, at one health system it did reduce the use of the modality in those children at low or moderate risk of the condition.
"Although [our study] did not show an overall reduction in imaging, [it] revealed more appropriate use of diagnostic imaging," the group wrote.
Although appendicitis is the most common pediatric surgical emergency, it can be difficult to distinguish it from other causes of acute abdominal pain, Kharbanda and colleagues noted. The pressure to improve emergency department efficiency has led to an increase in the use of CT and ultrasound in patients with suspected appendicitis, but both have their drawbacks: CT exposes children to radiation and ultrasound may produce unclear results.
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Report: Patient info at risk due to rampant API vulnerabilities among major mobile health apps
Thirty mobile health apps from larger healthcare information technology companies were susceptible to a broken object level authorization (BOLA) attack.
By Dave Muoio
February 09, 2021 02:39 pm
A recent report testing the security capabilities of several mobile health apps highlighted "systemic" shortcomings and vulnerabilities that could lead to the exposure of users' sensitive health and identity information.
Conducted by cybersecurity marketing firm Knight Ink and sponsored by mobile app API security company Approov, the investigation reverse-engineered 30 mobile health apps using an open source security framework, analyzed their static code and then penetration-tested their APIs.
The report did not disclose the names of the tested apps or developers (some of whom agreed to provide access to the investigation under the condition of anonymity), but noted that they are from international healthcare information technology companies with revenues ranging from $600 million to $8 billion, and an average employee count of about 15,000.
API-related vulnerabilities were abundant across the 30 apps, according to the report. Seventy-seven percent contained hard-coded API keys, and 7% contained hard-coded user names and passwords. What's more, 7% of those API keys came from third-party payment processors that specifically warn customers not to hard-code keys in plain text. None of the apps implemented certificate pinning, which allowed the researcher to freely conduct person-in-the-middle attacks against the apps' communications.
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UK Health Minister: 'Tech has made a huge impact on our battle against the disease'
Lord James Bethell, UK health minister, shares the learnings and achievements to come from COVID-19 and why the UK should be more like Israel.
By Sara Mageit
February 10, 2021 09:08 AM
Hosted by trade association techUK, the two-day Future Summit on 10-11 February brought together thought leaders, technology experts and policymakers to focus on four key themes – people, society, economy and the planet.
In a keynote address today, Lord Bethell of Romford, parliamentary under-secretary of state for innovation, Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), shared key learnings from the pandemic and ways to create a legacy for going forward.
WHY IT MATTERS
Learnings from the pandemic are constantly evolving as we continue to learn more about the novel COVID-19 virus. During this unprecedented phase for healthcare, technology has enabled large-scale data sharing, remote consultations and EHR integrations, as well as innovations to reduce infection rates.
techUK has published a plan setting out 10 recommendations to accelerate the digitalisation of the health and care sector. The Ten Point Plan aims to ensure digital technology is at the forefront of improving outcomes for citizens and transforming how care is delivered nationally.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/hospital-it-leaders-talk-lessons-learned-tough-pandemic-year
Hospital IT leaders talk lessons learned from a tough pandemic year
In the first of a new feature series focused on the hard-won lessons of the past year, three CIOs, a CMIO and a CHIO describe how their new investments and digital transformation strategies point the way to a healthier 2021.
By Bill Siwicki
February 10, 2021 11:35 AM
The COVID-19 pandemic has put the healthcare industry through the wringer. It's required new ways of working, new methods of communication, new solutions to old problems and innovative solutions to new problems.
Healthcare executives up and down the line have learned many valuable lessons from their experiences this past year. This feature story is the first in a series that will highlight how IT leaders managed the myriad challenges of 2020 – and how they plan to build from those lessons toward a better and more resilient future, this year and beyond.
In this installment, you will share in expertise from:
- Andy Crowder, chief information and analytics officer at Charlotte, North Carolina-based Atrium Health.
- Tina Esposito, chief health information officer at Advocate Aurora Health, based in Downers Grove, Illinois.
- Andrew Hamilton, RN, CIO and deputy director at AllianceChicago.
- Eric Jimenez, CIO at Artesia General Hospital in Artesia, New Mexico.
- Dr. Paul Testa, chief medical information officer at NYU Langone Health in New York City.
Making digital connection the new normal
The greatest health IT learning of 2020 in the face of COVID-19 has been the profound want of patients and clinicians to connect digitally, said Testa of NYU Langone Health.
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U.S. COVID-19 Vaccinations Lag Because We Don’t Have the Technology to Actually Administer Them
February 10, 2021
The following is a guest article by Lori Jones, Chief Revenue Officer and President, Provider Market at Olive.
Healthcare technologists are our next line of defense against COVID-19. Without them, the vaccine rollout will take years.
The emergence of Americans from the grips of this pandemic relies upon the swift, effective rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. Yet its distribution has so far fallen extremely short of expectations, despite being the fastest vaccine ever developed in the West.
What we are seeing is a stark contrast between the inspiring push made by scientists and drug manufacturers to develop a vaccine in record time, followed by an incredibly inefficient rollout that’s been exacerbated by outdated technology and burdensome administrative processes.
The Biden administration has pledged 100 million vaccinations in its first 100 days. But at the current rate, some estimate it could take 18 months to vaccinate all the residents in our major cities. We can point to delayed production, but few are recognizing the enormous burden being placed on underfunded and often neglected local public health departments. They’re charged with both coordinating distribution and setting up mass vaccination sites to administer shots — and as their resources are stretched thinner than ever, this burden on them is a direct cause of the catastrophic inoculation delays.
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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/6-ehr-usability-pitfalls-challenges-leading-to-clinician-burnout
6 EHR Usability Pitfalls, Challenges Leading to Clinician Burnout
Total EHR time, clinician age, and EHR documentation were some of the top EHR usability factors that lead to clinician burnout.
February 08, 2021 - Multiple EHR usability factors lead to clinician burnout, highlighted by total EHR time, after-hours EHR time, and EHR documentation time, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA).
According to the study authors, clinician burnout impacts up to 80.5 percent of clinicians and an average of 44 percent of clinicians experience burnout. Clinician burnout also costs health systems roughly $250,000 to $1 million per clinician who quits due to burnout or job dissatisfaction.
The research team evaluated over 7,000 articles over six databases and found 35 articles that fit their preferred criteria. The researchers dissected the articles to better understand clinician EHR use and its impact on clinician well-being.
The researchers found total EHR time, after-hours EHR time, on-site EHR support, perceived EHR usability, in-basket burden, and documentation burden as the top predictors of clinician well-being and burnout.
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https://healthitsecurity.com/news/hackers-dump-more-health-data-as-feds-share-ransomware-factsheet
Hackers Dump More Health Data, as Feds Share Ransomware Factsheet
On the heels of a federal joint ransomware fact sheet, the Conti ransomware hacking group dumped more health-related data onto the dark web.
February 08, 2021 - The Conti ransomware hacking group recently released two massive healthcare data dumps tied to Leon Medical Centers and Nocona General Hospital on the dark web for sale. The leaks follow a newly released National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force (NCIJTF) ransomware factsheet.
As previously reported, Leon Medical Center confirmed data was exfiltrated by hackers during a ransomware attack in November 2020.
Around that time, Conti hackers claimed to have stolen a trove of employee and patient data from the Florida health system, including Social Security numbers, contact information, insurance details, diagnoses, treatments, and photographs.
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Deloitte: Greater consumer agency will decelerate healthcare spending over next 20 years
by Robert King
Feb 8, 2021 3:40pm
Healthcare spending is expected to balloon to $8.3 trillion by 2040, which is $3.5 trillion less than a federal government estimate, a new report from consulting firm Deloitte finds.
The reason for the discrepancy is that consumers will take a more active role in their healthcare and therefore help curb spending, including by getting early signals of disease and addressing them proactively, according to the report released Monday.
“We anticipate that emerging technologies, an ability to cure and prevent disease (or detect disease in the earliest stages), and highly engaged consumers will lead to a deceleration of health spending between now and 2040,” the report said.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS') Office of the Actuary predicted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic that healthcare spending would grow by 5.3% each year and reach a massive $11.8 trillion in 2040. In 2019, healthcare spending was $3.8 trillion and represented nearly 18% of America’s gross domestic product.
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WHO report highlights need for better data to improve pandemic response
In partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, the report stresses the need to reinforce health data systems to improve health outcomes.
By Sara Mageit
February 09, 2021 09:56 AM
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has released the first global assessment on the status and capacity of health information systems in 133 countries, covering 87% of the global population.
The aim of the SCORE report is to identify gaps and provide guidance for investment in areas that can have influence on the quality, availability, analysis, accessibility and use of health data.
The Survey, Count, Optimise, Review, Enable (SCORE) initiative is a technical package of interventions, recommended actions, tools and resources that aims to support countries in meeting health information system needs.
WHY IT MATTERS
The SCORE report reveals that two-thirds of low-income countries have established a standardised system to report causes of deaths. Despite this, it proceeds to highlight the need to strengthen these systems to help the response to health emergencies and track progress towards global health goals.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/amia-has-suggestions-build-trust-ai-clinical-decision-support
AMIA has suggestions to build trust in AI clinical decision support
The informatics group's new position paper explores ways to enable rigorous but flexible oversight and help FDA and other policymakers ensure "adaptive CDS" is safe and effective.
By Mike Miliard
February 09, 2021 01:30 PM
The American Medical Informatics Association has issued some new recommendations for how clinical decision support tools that adapt their algorithms as they're trained with new data should be overseen to ensure safety and efficacy.
WHY IT
MATTERS
In board-approved position paper, published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics
Association, the clinical informatics group offers suggestions
to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration and other policymakers for how such
"adaptive CDS" should be managed as it evolves, given the
"unique challenges and considerations," it represents.
AMIA says the vast array of emerging new tools and applications – now and in the future – need a concrete framework "to ensure safe and effective use of AI-driven CDS for patient care and facilitate a wider discussion of policies needed to build trust in the broader use of AI in healthcare."
"Debates about the scope and force of oversight for the safety and effectiveness of CDS have tended to emphasize legal regulation, of which little exists, and institutional governance, which frequently is wholly lacking," authors said. "Organizational leaders have recognized content creation, analytics and reporting, and governance and management as critical components in the development of CDS, but achieving all 3 in sufficient depth remains challenging for organizations."
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/directtrust-hits-major-milestone-2b-exchange-transactions
DirectTrust hits major milestone with 2B exchange transactions
The nonprofit healthcare alliance reported that more than 265 million Direct Secure Messages were sent and received in the fourth quarter alone.
By Kat Jercich
February 09, 2021 12:10 PM
DirectTrust announced this week that there were 719 million Direct Secure Messages sent and received this past year, bringing the total number of transactions since the nonprofit began tracking them in 2014 up past 2.1 billion at the end of 2020.
The nonprofit healthcare alliance created to support electronic exchanges of protected health information among provider organizations, and between providers and patients, reported that more than 265 million Direct Secure Messages were sent and received between DirectTrust addresses in the fourth quarter alone.
"Notably, it took five and a half years for the number of Direct Secure Messages exchanged to reach one billion, and just 18 months to surpass two billion," said Scott Stuewe, DirectTrust president and CEO, in a statement.
"This milestone illustrates interoperability of electronic health information is here and continuing to gain traction as a means to facilitate better coordinated patient care," Stuewe continued.
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DirectTrust Passes 2 Billion Messages – Healthcare Interoperability in Action
February 9, 2021
The response to my article asking the question “Are we at the end of the healthcare interoperability tunnel?” was quite interesting. I think some people thought that I was hammering on all the work that’s being done on healthcare interoperability. Others understood that I was saying we can recognize the progress we’ve made on healthcare interoperability and also recognize that there will always be more work to be done.
A great example of this progress was the announcement from DirectTrust that the community has exchanged over 2 Billion messages (2.12 Billion at the end of 2020 to be exact). Yes, that’s Billion with a B with the 4th quarter of 2020 seeing $265+ million direct transactions between trusted endpoints. Here’s a look at a chart showing their growth by quarter since 2014:
What might be even more interesting is that they’re now up to 2,498,542 trusted endpoint addresses across 259,173 organizations that are served by DirectTrust HISPs. One of the big issues with Direct Messaging when it started was getting everyone a Direct address. It’s great to see this progressing so that direct addresses will be as common as fax machines.
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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/telehealth/using-telehealth-enable-value-based-care
Using Telehealth to Enable Value-Based Care
Analysis | By John Commins | February 08, 2021
Healthcare executives see telehealth competency as a foundational block for value-based care.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
· Care coordination and communication with patients are critical components of value-based care, and telehealth has proven to be a valuable tool for providers, especially during the coronavirus pandemic.
· A new HealthLeaders Intelligence Report shows that executives are prioritizing building telehealth platforms as a first step to enhance other value-based competencies such as care coordination, clinical integration, patient engagement, and access.
When it comes to developing competencies to prepare for value-based care, an overwhelming number of healthcare executives (81%) responding in a new HealthLeaders Intelligence Report say building their telehealth platform is their top priority.
That was no surprise to Kevin J. Conroy, MS, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Population Health Officer at CareMount Medical in Chappaqua, New York, who sees telehealth competency as a foundational block for value-based care.
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https://healthitanalytics.com/news/using-predictive-analytics-to-stay-ahead-of-patient-deterioration
Using Predictive Analytics to Stay Ahead of Patient Deterioration
Researchers from Michigan Medicine and Fifth Eye have developed a predictive analytics tool that can alert providers which patients are at risk of deteriorating.
By Jessica Kent
February 08, 2021 - In hopsitals and emergency departments, it’s essential for providers to continually monitor patients in order to stay ahead of potential adverse events. However, patient deterioration can be very difficult to anticipate, especially for clinicians working in fast-paced critical care settings.
At the Michigan Center for Integrative Research in Clinical Care (MCIRCC) and Fifth Eye, researchers recognized that nurses and physicians need a better way to consistently and reliably monitor patients.
The team developed a predictive analytics tool, called the Analytic for Hemodynamic Instability (AHI), which uses real-time streaming data to alert providers which patients are at high risk of deteriorating.
“The need to develop a tool like this has always existed,” Ashwin Belle, PhD, former analytics architect at MCIRCC and chief analytics officer and cofounder at Fifth Eye, told HealthITAnalytics.
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https://healthitanalytics.com/news/how-real-world-data-can-help-eliminate-cancer-care-disparities
How Real-World Data Can Help Eliminate Cancer Care Disparities
A new initiative directed by experts from academic, pharmaceutical, and healthcare organizations will leverage real-world data to reduce cancer care disparities.
By Jessica Kent
December 08, 2020 - While the healthcare industry has made significant strides in leveraging data and technology to treat cancer, gaps in treatments and outcomes continue to persist. Cancer care disparities still pervade the oncology sector, showing that industry improvements don’t extend to all population groups.
According to an October 2019 report from the American Cancer Society, the overall cancer death rate declined by 27 percent between 1991 and 2016. However, during that time socioeconomic disparities in cancer mortality only grew larger.
“Over time, we've seen that cancer mortality rates are declining across the board. But the gap between racial and ethnic minorities – in particular, people who identify as Black or African American – and White Americans continues to be large. We aren't making the progress that we would like to see,” Erica Warner, ScD, MPH, assistant professor, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, told HealthITAnalytics.
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Humana Launches Remote Patient Monitoring Program for Chronic Care
The insurer is partnering with DispatchHealth in a new CMS waiver program that allows them to combine home health, RPM and telehealth services to care for members with multiple chronic care management needs at home.
February 05, 2021 - Humana is launching a home healthcare service that includes remote patient monitoring.
The Kentucky-based insurer is partnering with DispatchHealth to launch the program in Denver and Tacoma, WA, for patients requiring care management for multiple chronic conditions, with plans to expand the service to Texas, Arizona and Nevada later this year.
The news aligns with a surge of interest in remote patient monitoring and telehealth programs during the coronavirus pandemic, during which providers are looking to shift in-person care to virtual care platforms that allow patients to be treated at home. Payers are also looking at the market as a means of reducing expensive and often unnecessary in-patient care.
In this case, Humana is looking to develop care pathways for members with heart failure, COPD, kidney and urinary tract infections cellulitis and other co-existing chronic conditions that can be managed at home through a combination of in-person and connected care.
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Telehealth, Licensure Portability Featured in New Disaster Preparedness Plan
A proposed national strategy for preparing for the next pandemic or disaster includes a framework for expanding access to and coverage of telehealth and a national plan for license portability.
February 05, 2021 - A proposed national strategy for preparing for the next pandemic or disaster includes increased access to and coverage of telehealth and a provider licensure plan.
Those ideas are contained in a study released this week by the Healthcare Leadership Council and the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy. The 25-page National Dialogue for Healthcare Innovation culls lessons learned from the current coronavirus pandemic and offers guidelines so that the nation will be better prepared if and when something this disruptive happens again.
“This initiative was well positioned to help clarify, shape, and coordinate the execution of that strategy among governmental and private sector leaders,” the report notes. “It was unique in its focus on private-public coordination; in developing recommendations applicable to a broader spectrum of disaster responses beyond pandemics (including natural disasters, bioterrorism, cybersecurity, and others); and in creating targeted, bold recommendations that private sector leaders, the new Congress, and incoming Biden Administration can adopt in the immediate term.”
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Google expands into health tracking using smartphone cameras to monitor heart, respiratory rates
Feb 4, 2021 11:00am
Google is stepping up its health-tracking game with a new tool to help consumers monitor key vital signs.
And while Google just closed a deal acquiring Fitbit, it says this new product doesn't need a wearable.
Instead, Google Health, the tech giant’s health and wellness division, has added new features to its Google Fit app that enables users to take their pulse just by using their smart phone's camera.
“We’re working on ways to unlock the potential of everyday smart devices. We’re exploring how to leverage sensors that are becoming more ubiquitous to support health and wellness,” said Shwetak Patel, director of health technologies at Google Health, during a briefing with reporters Wednesday.
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Highmark expands access to Freespira's digital PTSD, panic disorder therapy
Feb 8, 2021 4:05pm
Highmark is expanding access to Freespira, a digital therapeutic for panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, across its membership.
The insurer, which offers plans in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Delaware, initially piloted the use of Freespira in 2016 through its VITAL Innovation program, which tests new solutions coming to market, according to an announcement.
Freespira's device aids patients in managing their symptoms by training them to normalize any respiratory irregularities. Patients also have access to coaching if they're not already connected to a behavioral health provider.
Freespira said "hypersensitivity" to carbon dioxide and breathing irregularities caused by it can be key triggers to panic disorders and that its device provides patients with real-time feedback on managing their breathing symptoms.
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https://www.auntminnie.com/index.aspx?sec=sup&sub=aic&pag=dis&ItemID=131526
New COVID-19 AI models offer promising results
Erik L. Ridley, AuntMinnie staff writer
February 8, 2021 -- Deep-learning models that have been trained on datasets from multiple institutions around the world yield promising and generalizable results for identifying COVID-19 pneumonia on chest CT exams, as well as in predicting adverse patient outcomes.
In an article published online February 5 in the European Journal of Radiology, a multinational team of researchers led by Kuang Gong, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital shared how combining analysis of CT-derived biomarkers with information from electronic health records (EHR) can offer a high level of prognostic performance in patients with COVID-19.
The researchers trained and tested a deep-learning network to segment regions of COVID-19 lung infection using 369 noncontrast chest CT exams acquired at five institutions around the world on CT scanners from GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, and Siemens Healthineers.
Two image biomarkers -- total opacity ratio and consolidation ratio -- were then extracted and used together with analysis of vital signs and laboratory test results from the EHR in three of the institutional datasets to identify the factors that are predictive of severe patient outcomes, according to the researchers.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/tens-thousands-patient-records-posted-dark-web
Tens of thousands of patient records posted to dark web
NBC News reports that extensive patient data from Leon Medical Centers and Nocona General Hospital were published in an apparent extortion attempt.
By Kat Jercich
February 08, 2021 11:58 AM
Hackers have published extensive patient data from Leon Medical Centers in Miami and Nocona General Hospital in Texas in an apparent extortion attempt, reported NBC News this past Friday.
The tens of thousands of files reportedly include patients' names, addresses and birthdays, in addition to their medical diagnoses.
Requests to Nocona for comment were not returned by press time.
"Many hackers recognize the potential value of health data on the Dark Web, potentially upward of $1,000 per record in the current climate," said Tony Goulding, cybersecurity evangelist at the security vendor Centrify.
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Making Patients Feel Safer In Hospitals During (And After) The Pandemic
February 8, 2021
A new survey by SwipeSense has found that patients are worried about hospital safety and are happy to see facilities using contact tracking technology. It also points to a larger problem – hospitals’ failure to communicate to patients about safety – which still deserves attention.
With the pandemic underscoring patients’ vulnerabilities, 73% of those responding to the survey from vendor SwipeSense reported feeling concerned or extremely concerned about hospital safety, a 46% increase in their concern levels since the pandemic’s onset.
At present, many hospitals still use manual methods of contact tracing when dealing with COVID-19 and other outbreaks of disease. These methods can be time-consuming, may be unreliable and may leave staffers and patients at risk despite their best efforts.
Given these concerns, it’s not surprising that 83% of respondents reported that they’d feel safer with contact tracing technology onboard at hospitals. Automated contract tracing not only protects patients, it addresses staff concerns, the researchers said. This technology allows hospitals to more readily comply with new regulations requiring them to notify employees who have been exposed to a COVID-positive patient.
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EHRs Still Have a Ways to Go to Automatically Capture All Quality Data, Quality Experts Say
Analysis | By Scott Mace | February 08, 2021
Vendors lack funds for dedicated staff to build quality measures into their software, NQF vice president says.
The National Quality Forum (NQF) in December released a set of best practices for increased scientific acceptability in electronic health record (EHR) data quality. Produced by an expert panel, it identified the causes, nature, and extent of EHR data quality issues.
The final set of recommendations addresses development and adoption of healthcare performance measures that use EHR data, and a set of practices to mitigate concerns about such measures.
Recently, Sheri Winsper, RN, MSN, MHA, senior vice president, quality measurement at the National Quality Forum, spoke with HealthLeaders about the increasing practice of health systems relying upon EHR data to report quality measures.
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https://ehrintelligence.com/features/top-ehr-usability-challenges-and-how-to-overcome-them
Top EHR Usability Challenges and How to Overcome Them
Inappropriate EHR alerts, cognitive support matters, and objective encounters are a few of the top EHR usability challenges that health IT professionals encounter.
February 05, 2021 - EHR systems are constantly evolving. But while technology aims to help its users complete daily tasks, usability problems tend to arise.
Sometimes these problems occur at implementation. Yet, in reality, clinicians oftentimes encounter EHR usability issues during EHR optimization.
“Implementation of the EHR is not limited to a single event in time,” wrote researchers at The Ohio State University College of Medicine. “Rather, the technology changes when newer features are added, or interfaces are redesigned. These upgrades may improve functionality, but they also require physicians to adapt to changes beyond the initial implementation.”
“Users are required to continually learn how to use the newer system and then to incorporate these upgrades into their clinical workflow, often with negative work and psychological impacts,” continued the researchers. “Studies suggest that this type of continual change, such as that required by changes to the EHR, can result decreased productivity, increased stress and increased burnout.”
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Weekly News Recap
- Netsmart acquires GPM.
- Nordic acquires Bails & Associates.
- HIMSS confirms that HIMSS21 remains on track pending further COVID-19 developments, but with a virtual component added.
- Zyter acquires Casenet.
- KLAS announces Best in KLAS winners.
- Sharecare acquires Doc.ai.
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Enjoy!
David.
