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/va-medical-center-shrinks-workforce-to-address-ehrm-budget-shortfalls
VA Medical Center Shrinks Workforce to Address EHRM Budget Shortfalls
VA leaders
asked Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center to reduce its employee workforce to
offset EHRM budget concerns regarding increased payroll and reduced revenue.
By Sarai Rodriguez
December 30,
2022 - The rising budget associated with the Department of Veterans
Affairs’ (VA) Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) project has led to
workforce cuts at Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center, according
to reporting from The Spokesman-Review.
Since the
start of its implementation, the Oracle Cerner EHR system has been plagued by
prescription errors, incorrect patient information, and delays in follow-up care
caused by lost referrals.
An
investigation at current implementation sites revealed nearly 500 major
incidents and at least 45 days of downtime have been recorded with
the Oracle
Cerner EHR system since the system go-live in 2020.
Additionally,
the Oracle Cerner EHR system had 930 hours of “incomplete functionality” and 40
hours of “outage” between Sept. 8, 2020, and June 10, 2022.
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https://mhealthintelligence.com/news/patients-satisfied-with-sdoh-needs-addressed-via-telehealth
Patients Satisfied with SDOH Needs Addressed Via Telehealth
Survey
results show that patients were satisfied with clinicians using telehealth to
tackle social determinants of health needs, with 63 percent saying that their
medical and social needs were met.
By Mark Melchionna
December 30,
2022 - Published in Cureus, a recent survey indicated
that most patients were satisfied with telehealth, stating that their medical
and social concerns were met during virtual visits, which supports the future
use of virtual care to address social determinants of health (SDOH).
Amid the
rapid uptake of telehealth during the COVID-19 pandemic, patient satisfaction
remains a key factor contributing to the high usage of this modality. In
addition, the pandemic highlighted how SDOH impacts patient care.
Researchers
conducted a survey to review levels of patient satisfaction with the care they
receive through telehealth and whether clinicians could address both medical
and social needs through virtual care.
The survey
polled patients at a university-affiliated primary care training clinic in
Detroit. The survey aimed to gauge patient satisfaction with the technical
components of their virtual visit, the visit, and the screening tool used to
assess SDOH needs.
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https://healthitsecurity.com/news/pro-russian-hacktivist-group-killnet-poses-threat-to-us-healthcare-cybersecurity
Pro-Russian Hacktivist Group KillNet Poses Threat to US Healthcare
Cybersecurity
HC3 warned
the sector of a pro-Russian hacktivist group called KillNet, which could endanger
healthcare cybersecurity.
By Jill McKeon
December 30,
2022 - The Health Sector Cybersecurity Coordination Center (HC3) issued an
analyst note about KillNet, a pro-Russian hacktivist group that is known to be
a threat to the US healthcare sector. The group has been active since at least
January 2022 and is known for executing distributed denial of service (DDoS)
attacks against countries supporting Ukraine.
“While
KillNet’s DDoS attacks usually do not cause major damage, they can cause
service outages lasting several hours or even days,” the analyst note stated.
“Although
KillNet’s ties to official Russian government organizations, such as the
Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) or the Russian Foreign Intelligence
Service (SVR), are unconfirmed, the group should be considered a threat to
government and critical infrastructure organizations, including healthcare.”
A senior
member of KillNet threatened the US Congress “with the sale of the health and
personal data of the American people because of the Ukraine policy of the U.S.
Congress,” HC3 noted.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/top-10-healthcare-it-news-stories-2022
Top 10 Healthcare IT News stories of 2022
Workforce
challenges, patient engagement efforts, ongoing interoperability hurdles and
some big announcements from legacy EHR and Big Tech players were among the news
and reports that captured the most attention this past year.
By Andrea Fox
December 30,
2022 11:13 AM
While
Healthcare
IT News readers have
had a lot to focus on this year with cybersecurity imperatives and AI innovations, they also were
very interested in new product launches, new regulator approvals, acquisitions
and selloffs – including one of the most significant health IT M&A deals
yet. But the top most-read story of the year had to do with a challenge nearly
every healthcare organization is facing: clinician burnout, and how to help
address it.
Report: 90% of nurses considering leaving
the profession in the next year.
"Nurses are thinking about leaving, and the pandemic isn't solely to
blame," Shawn Sefton, RN, chief nursing officer and vice president of
client services at Hospital IQ, told Healthcare IT News in March. The software services
company surveyed more than 200 nurses working in U.S. hospitals and 90% were
considering leaving the nursing profession in the next year, with 71% of the
nurses with more than 15 years of nursing experience reporting they wanted out
as soon as possible. With key findings suggesting mass burnout, high turnover
and a diminishing U.S. nurse workforce, Sefton said leaders couldn't continue
to ignore burnout any longer and discussed actions healthcare organizations can
take to eliminate some of the key problem drivers.
VA, Healthy Together collaborate on mobile
access to health records.
While the VA has been mired in controversy over implementation failures and
delays related to its Oracle-Cerner EHR rollout and impacts to patient safety,
the agency is forging ahead on its goals to
improve digital operations and veterans' access. One example is partnering with
Healthy Together, which uses the agency's API to provide veterans with secure
mobile access to their health records.
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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/innovation/digital-health-takes-center-stage-ces-2023
Digital Health Takes Center Stage at CES 2023
Analysis
| By Eric Wicklund |
December 30, 2022
The
massive consumer electronics show returns to Las Vegas in January with a
renewed focus on consumer-facing technology that personalizes and improves the
healthcare journey.
KEY
TAKEAWAYS
·
CES 2023 will take place January 5-8, 2023, in
Las Vegas, taking over the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Venetian
Convention and Expo Center on the Las Vegas Strip.
·
The massive consumer electronics show will see a
renewed focus on healthcare technology, ranging from digital health panels to
wearables, AI software, and healthcare applications in smart
homes, vehicles and other consumer goods.
·
Healthcare organizations are taking new interest
in this event as providers look for new technologies and strategies to connect
with consumers outside the hospital, clinic, or doctor's office.
CES 2023 kicks off next week in Las Vegas, shining a
spotlight on the consumer electronic industry and bringing renewed attention to
the growing influence of digital health.
What once was
a small corner of one exhibit hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center
exhibiting early smartwatches and fitness trackers will now be found throughout
the massive conference. Digital health has been integrated into smart home
devices that track daily activities alongside room temperature, lights and
visitors at the front door; as well as in electronic games and home
entertainment platforms. It's in TVs that can connect to the internet and
enable connections with family, friends and caregivers, and new cars that can
monitor a driver's health.
Virtual and
augmented reality (VR and AR) will be featured prominently in Vegas this year,
as will AI and robotics. And expect remote monitoring tools and platforms to
make their presence known in wearables that track a wide range of vital signs
and activities and the aforementioned smart home technology. In short, while
healthcare was once a side benefit or add-on to consumer electronics, it's now
part of the form and functionality.
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https://healthitanalytics.com/news/ml-model-accurately-predicts-need-for-massive-transfusion-during-surgery
ML Model Accurately Predicts Need for Massive Transfusion During Surgery
A recent
study described the success of a machine-learning model in predicting the need
for massive transfusion during surgery, allowing for early intervention among
high-risk patients.
By Mark Melchionna
December 29,
2022 - Published in JAMA Network Open, a recent study described
how adding preoperative data and intraoperative hemodynamic monitoring data to
a machine learning (ML)-based prediction model led to accurate real-time
predictions of the need for massive transfusion during surgery.
Many
healthcare providers are using predictive analytics to improve the timeliness
and quality of treatment while reining in costs. For example, a study published
in December found
that a disease management outreach program supported by predictive analytics
effectively reduced medical spending among chronic heart failure patients.
In various
clinical settings, massive hemorrhage is the leading cause of death. When
managing this condition, acute bleeding control and supplementation for
intravascular volume and blood component deficiencies are required, according
to the study.
Researchers
noted the importance of massive transfusion in preventing complications amid
uncontrolled intraoperative hemorrhage. Further, because of the time required
to prepare blood product for massive transfusions and the need for additional
medical personnel, they noted that the ability to predict the need for massive
transfusion early is critical for necessary hemorrhage management.
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https://www.bankinfosecurity.com/ransomware-recovery-at-toronto-kids-hospital-to-last-weeks-a-20817
Children's Hospital Expects Weekslong Ransomware Recovery
Treatment and Diagnostic Delays at Toronto Hospital
Blamed on Malware Attack Akshaya
Asokan (asokan_akshaya) • December 28, 2022
Nearly
a week after a ransomware attack forced a network shutdown at Toronto's
Hospital for Sick Children, patients are still experiencing delays in treatment
and diagnostic procedures. The hospital says it has restored some systems,
phones and websites, but the recovery process could take weeks.
Hackers
targeted the hospital's network on Dec. 19, forcing it to take down its
affected network for the recovery. Popularly known as SickKids, the hospital is
one of Canada's largest research-focused centers for children.
In
a statement, the hospital said the hack affected a few of its
internal clinical and corporate systems, as well as some hospital phone lines
and webpages. The hospital did not provide details on the ransomware attack but
said at the time the incident did not result in any user data leaks.
In
its latest update, however, the hospital acknowledged that
while it has restored some of the affected systems, such as phone lines and
websites, it would take a few more weeks to completely restore all services.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-11574427/Stroke-victims-48-CENT-likely-make-recovery-diagnosed-using-AI-technology.html
Stroke victims up to 48 PER CENT more likely to make full recovery when
diagnosed using AI technology, trials suggest
·
AI that helps speed-up stroke
diagnosis has helped tripled patient recovery rate
·
The software has been used at 22
NHS hospitals so far to help 100,000 patients
·
But considering its success the
Government now wants to roll it out more widely
By Kate
Pickles Health Editor For The Daily Mail
Published: 11:00 AEDT, 27 December 2022 |
Updated: 11:00 AEDT, 27 December 2022
Artificial intelligence software used in NHS
hospitals has spared tens of thousands of patients from permanent disability,
initial findings suggest.
The technology, which assists doctors to quickly diagnose patients
who have had a stroke, has tripled the number who go onto live normal lives.
Initial analysis of the data, involving more than 100,000
suspected stroke patients, claims the proportion who made near full recoveries
increased from 16 to 48 per cent.
Experts suggest this is down to faster diagnosis and speedier
treatment - a key part of stroke recovery.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/telehealth-helps-stop-suicidal-ideation-many-patients-study-finds
Telehealth helps stop suicidal ideation for many patients, study finds
One person
dies from suicide every 11 minutes in the U.S. A new study shows that
telemedicine can be used to treat more severe mental illness – contrary to
previous thought.
By Bill Siwicki
December 29,
2022 10:30 AM
Recently,
the Journal
of Medical Internet Research published some significant data
highlighting the efficacy of psychiatric care delivered through telehealth:
Those in the treatment group were 4.3 times more likely to have suicidal
ideation remission.
This
is noteworthy because telehealth has not traditionally been equipped to treat
those with the most severe symptoms of mental health due to the oversight
necessary to actually provide safe, effective treatment, said Dr. Mimi
Winsberg, chief medical officer at Brightside Health, which led the study.
We
spoke with Winsberg to get an in-depth look at this study and what the results
mean for the future of telehealth and mental healthcare.
Q.
Please talk about your new study that examines the impact of telepsychiatry on
reduction in suicidal ideation over time. Who was involved? What kind of care
did they receive? What role did technology play?
A.
The study, which was published in JMIR Formative Research, sought to determine if
Brightside Health's telehealth platform, which is equipped with precision
prescribing clinical decision support, could successfully reduce suicidal
ideation among enrolled patients, versus a control group who tracked their
symptoms on the platform without receiving care.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/top-10-cybersecurity-stories-2022
Top 10 privacy and cybersecurity stories of 2022
Cybersecurity
breaches in healthcare continued at an alarming rate throughout the year,
affecting operations and patient safety, while government agencies and
policymakers focused on ways to improve resilience.
By Andrea Fox
December 29,
2022 12:00 PM
Also
known as the "Wall of Shame," the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services' Cases Currently Under Investigation details hundreds
of breaches reported by healthcare organizations across the United States over
the last 24 months. The number of threats, and the cost of those threats –
continue to rise.
While
healthcare industry organizations work with federal lawmakers on ways for government to help address the relentless
cybersecurity attacks on critical healthcare infrastructure, the industry
is hyper-focused on issues like how to move the needle on third-party cybersecurity,
collaborating to improve cyber preparedness and best practices for
initiating cybercrime investigations. Here are Healthcare
IT News’ most-read privacy and cybersecurity stories of 2022.
EHR vendor hit with lawsuit following data breach.
In January, Tennessee-based QRS, which provides EHR and practice management
software, was accused of failing to implement recommended threat measures to
prevent and detect cyberattacks stemming from an August 2021 data breach of its
patient portal. "QRS failed to reasonably secure, monitor and maintain the
protected health information and personally identified information stored on
its patient portal," the plaintiff said.
CommonSpirit still working to restore EHR systems
after ransomware attack confirmed. The October cyberattack
caused a widespread outage at CommonSpirit hospitals and medical facilities
across several states. After the 2017 merger of DignityHealth and Catholic Health
Initiatives, the system became the second-largest non-profit hospital chain
with more than 350 hospitals nationwide. Lost access to medical records and
patient portals, delayed medical procedures, canceled appointments and other
disruptions plagued operations at upwards of 140 facilities. After further investigation, CommonSpirit discovered that the
breach had also exposed protected data held by Virginia Mason Franciscan
Health.
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https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2022/12/29/how-the-right-technology-can-simplify-a-healthcare-workers-life/
How the Right Technology can Simplify a Healthcare Worker’s Life
December 29, 2022
The
following is a guest article by Marcus Mossberger, Future of Work Strategist at
Infor.
If the
wrong technology can make a healthcare worker’s life miserable, the right
technology can do the opposite. Find out how the right technology can improve
retention during the “Great Resignation.”
Virtually
every study on healthcare worker burnout and turnover cites technology as one
of the leading culprits. For example, KLAS Research released a report on
clinician turnover that found that nurses are more likely than other clinicians
to leave their jobs, heavily influenced by their struggles with electronic
health record (EHR) systems.
Frustration
with disconnected processes and workflows is just one of many reasons
healthcare workers are quitting their jobs as part of the “Great Resignation.”
Today’s workers are willing to sacrifice salary and benefits for jobs that
offer more flexibility, more professional growth, more fulfillment, and more
appreciation for what they do.
Interestingly,
the common solution to counter all these new non-technology reasons for leaving
is technology. The hospital and health system C-suite must adopt new,
strategic approaches to technology—embracing an effective, objective, and
sustainable workplace well-being technology platform.
Burned
Out and Leaving Fast
Let’s
start with why healthcare workers—clinical and nonclinical—are burned
out. As mentioned, ongoing struggles with their EHR systems are a huge factor.
But they’re also suffering from cognitive overload. Whether delivering care or
submitting a claim for payment, virtually every task at a hospital or health
system is getting more complex, complicated, and time-consuming.
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https://ehrintelligence.com/news/10m-usda-grant-enhances-epic-systems-ehr-for-care-coordination-in-ny
$10M USDA Grant Enhances Epic Systems EHR for Care Coordination in NY
St.
Lawrence Health will use part of a multimillion-dollar USDA grant to enhance
its Epic System EHR, enabling EHR data exchange between all hospitals, clinics,
and emergency response services.
By Sarai Rodriguez
December 28,
2022 - The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has doled out $10
million in grant funding to St. Lawrence Health, a northern New York-based
health system, to bolster its Epic System EHR, according
to Watertown Daily Times reporting.
The project,
expected to take three years, will start with St. Lawrence Health's county-wide
EHR implementation across all hospitals, clinics, and emergency response
services in the local rural area.
A portion of
the $10 million funding will be used to launch an inter-facility transport
coordination center, providing emergency and medical personnel with patient
information through St. Lawrence Health’s Epic Systems EHR.
The health
system said it is “aimed at increasing the number of emergency personnel and
making it easier for them to figure out to which hospital a patient should be
transported.”
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/top-10-ai-and-machine-learning-stories-2022
Top 10 AI and machine learning stories of 2022
Efforts to
harness artificial intelligence to streamline healthcare operations and improve
patient outcomes accelerated this year, as providers strove to fine-tune
algorithms and arrive at deeper insights into clinical and operational
patterns.
By Andrea Fox
December 28,
2022 02:42 PM
Healthcare's
comfort level with artificial intelligence and machine learning models – and
skill at deploying them across myriad clinical, financial and operational use
cases – continued to increase in 2023.
More
and more evidence shows that training AI algorithms on a variety of datasets
can improve decision support, boost population health management, streamline
administrative tasks, enable cost efficiencies and even improve outcomes.
But
there's still a lot work to be done to ensure accurate, reliable, understandable and evidence-based results that
ensure patient safety and account for health equity.
There’s
no doubt that AI’s application in healthcare has gone beyond "real” in 2019 to significant investment by providers and payers last
year. This year, we’ve reported on deeper industry discussions focused on trust
and best practices. We’ve featured industry perspectives on the values of deep learning and neural networks and how to clear
data hurdles along with announcements of successful studies and of course, new
healthcare AI technology partnerships. Here are Healthcare IT News’ most-read
AI stories of 2022.
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https://www.healthcareittoday.com/2022/12/28/chicago-providers-charge-fees-to-answer-clinical-questions-submited-via-portals/
Chicago Providers Charge Fees To Answer Clinical Questions Submitted Via
Portals
December 28, 2022
Anne Zieger
Back
when patient portals were first introduced, one of the original concerns
clinicians raised was that they were afraid that they would get too many
patient messages and find themselves overwhelmed.
Over
time, most stopped complaining about this problem, though I’d wager it was
because they simply had worse things to worry about during the painful initial
period of EHR adoption.
It
may also have been that complaining wouldn’t help. At least in the early days,
health system administrators were very excited about giving patients the
ability to trade messages with clinicians, as they believed that getting
patients to do so was a great way to get them more engaged with their care.
More
recently, however, providers have begun to reevaluate
their position on charging for medical advice requested via a portal.
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https://www.healthleadersmedia.com/technology/fhir-apis-will-accelerate-patient-information-access-2023
FHIR APIs Will Accelerate Patient Information Access in 2023
Analysis
| By Scott Mace |
December 28, 2022
In a
lengthy interview with HealthLeaders, ONC Chief Micky Tripathi says simplified
data exchange will benefit providers, patients, and even public health.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
·
Although EHR vendors must support FHIR APIs at
end of 2022, providers aren't required immediately to upgrade to the latest
software versions that support them.
·
However, by the end of the third quarter of 2023,
providers need to be running those software versions to participate in CMS
payment rules.
·
The ONC has received more than 500 information
blocking complaints, but "in theory," the OIG cannot yet enforce
the rules, having not yet published its own final rules.
Federal rules
state that certified EHRs must support the standard FHIR application
programming interfaces (APIs) by the end of this year. It's one more step
toward transforming patient information access in a years-long process dating
back to the birth of the EHR, and will touch the day-to-day information sharing
of providers, patients, and even public health agencies.
HealthLeaders
recently spoke with Micky Tripathi, PhD, MPP, director of the Department of
Health and Human Services' Office of the National Coordinator for Health
Information Technology, about the standardized FHIR API rule and how it will
impact health systems and patients in 2023. This interview has been lightly
edited for brevity and clarity.
HealthLeaders:
What can healthcare IT professionals expect as API standardization is
implemented at the end of 2022, as the legislation directs?
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https://www.stripes.com/veterans/2022-12-25/spokane-va-computer-system-8540650.html
Spokane VA has reduced staff despite ongoing effects of troubled computer
system as veterans wait longer for care
By Orion Donovan-Smith
The
Spokesman-Review • December 25, 2022
WASHINGTON
(Tribune News Service) — In the middle of December 2021, Bernadine
Bank handed a letter to the chief of medicine at Mann-Grandstaff VA
Medical Center.
After
thanking her supervisor for the opportunity to start
the Spokane hospital’s gynecology clinic five years earlier, Bank got
right to the point.
“It is with a
heavy heart that I write to inform you of my resignation from the VA,” the
doctor wrote. “I think it will come as no surprise that I am leaving mainly
because of the Cerner EMR.”
By then, it
had been more than a year since the Department of Veterans
Affairs began using Spokane as the testing ground for an
electronic medical record system, or EMR, developed by Cerner
Corporation under a $10 billion contract signed by the Trump
administration in 2018.
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https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/ai-fast-addressing-data-requirements-and-advancing-interoperability-says-one-expert
AI is fast addressing data requirements and advancing interoperability,
says one expert
Leveraging
AI, machine learning and neural networks can help healthcare standardize data,
comply with info blocking requirements and improve health outcomes.
By Andrea Fox
December 27,
2022 11:47 AM
New
rules and requirements add to the complexity of healthcare – something that
artificial intelligence can address, according to Vignesh Shetty, senior vice
president and general manager of Edison AI and Platform for GE Healthcare
(GEHC).
Healthcare
IT News asked Shetty about the progress that has been made on
the 360-patient view since he last spoke with us about the exciting advances in data-driven insights, as well as
how algorithms achieve challenging data exchanges.
Q. In
terms of the 360-patient view, what progress has been made toward improving
health outcomes?
A. From
MRI scanners used by doctors to detect tumors to mobile x-ray units in the ER
or ICU used to image the lungs of COVID patients, doctors and patients are
benefiting from artificial intelligence embedded in medical devices.
The
goal is to have AI tools ready when and where they’re needed to contribute to
faster diagnoses and, ideally, better patient outcomes.
-----
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41746-022-00735-1
Published:
27 December 2022
Factors associated with long-term use of digital devices in the electronic
Framingham Heart Study
Chathurangi
H. Pathiravasan et. al.,
npj Digital Medicine
volume 5, Article number: 195 (2022) Cite this
article
Abstract
Long-term use
of digital devices is critical for successful clinical or research use, but
digital health studies are challenged by a rapid drop-off in participation. A
nested e-cohort (eFHS) is embedded in the Framingham Heart Study and uses three
system components: a new smartphone app, a digital blood pressure (BP) cuff,
and a smartwatch. This study aims to identify factors associated with the use
of individual eFHS system components over 1-year. Among 1948 eFHS enrollees, we
examine participants who returned surveys within 90 days (n = 1918), and
those who chose to use the smartwatch (n = 1243) and BP cuff (n = 1115).
For each component, we investigate the same set of candidate predictors for
usage and use generalized linear mixed models to select predictors (P < 0.1,
P value from Z test statistic), adjusting for age, sex, and time
(app use: 3-month period, device use: weekly). A multivariable model with the
predictors selected from initial testing is used to identify factors associated
with use of components (P < 0.05, P value from Z test
statistic) adjusting for age, sex, and time. In multivariable models, older age
is associated with higher use of all system components. Female sex and higher
education levels are associated with higher completion of app-based surveys
whereas higher scores for depressive symptoms, and lower than excellent
self-rated health are associated with lower use of the smartwatch over the
12-month follow-up. Our findings show that sociodemographic and health related
factors are significantly associated with long-term use of digital devices.
Future research is needed to test interventional strategies focusing on these
factors to evaluate improvement in long-term engagement.
-----
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/ai-cure-for-bed-blocking-can-predict-hospital-stay-fpvjn5ql6
AI cure for bed blocking can predict hospital stay
Eleanor Hayward
Health
Correspondent
Monday
December 26 2022, 12.01am GMT, The Times
Technology
that accurately predicts when patients will be ready to leave hospital upon
their arrival in A&E is being introduced to solve the NHS bed-blocking
crisis.
The
artificial intelligence (AI) software analyses data including age, medical
conditions and previous hospital stays to estimate how long a patient will need
to remain.
Hospital
managers can then alert social care services in advance about the date when
patients are expected to be discharged, allowing care home beds or community
care packages to be prepared.
Nurses said
the technology had “revolutionised” their ability to discharge patients on
time, meaning people who would otherwise have been stuck in hospital had got
home for Christmas.
The latest
NHS England figures show that 13,697 hospital
beds a day — about 15 per cent of the total — are taken up by patients who
are fit to be discharged, the majority held up by delays in arranging social care.
-----
Enjoy!
David.
