“A master patient index (MPI) is an index of known patients within a single organization whose visits are linked together by a single identifier, typically the medical record number. MPI management activities typically pertain to a software application that identifies, coordinates, and lists database information. Enterprise MPI (EMPI) combines MPIs of two or more organizations.…
Healthcare data is collected to improve the cost and quality of healthcare. But this leads to the question of how to incorporate data of different quality and accessibility, as the data is usually sourced from a wide variety of systems used within administrative and clinical systems. Interoperability between administrative and clinical systems offers the opportunity…
Information blocking is “a practice by a health IT developer of certified health IT, health information network, health information exchange, or health care provider that, except as required by law or specified by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a reasonable and necessary activity, is likely to interfere with access, exchange, or…
On July 15, 2020, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield and United States Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Chief Information Officer Jose Arrieta provided an update for members of the media on HHS efforts to gather and disseminate real-time hospital data on COVID-19. In short, rather than requiring hospitals…
Website ADA compliance related lawsuits are on the rise. Federal lawsuits have jumped year after year as companies fail to meet website ADA compliance accessibility guidelines. In particular, persons with disabilities have sued businesses for not providing adequate access. The Americans with Disabilities Act or ADA aims to prohibit discrimination. It ensures equal opportunity and…
Among many other things, COVID-19 has shown us the importance of data for healthcare to predict, prepare, and respond in an effective and structured manner to a global health crisis. We need data to determine the current virus status, document the spread and calculate the curve. To mitigate the spread, real-time data collection, governance and…
What is health data integrity? Data integrity refers to “the process of maintaining the accuracy, reliability and consistency of data over its entire ‘life-cycle.’ Applied to healthcare, this can include (but is not limited to) maintaining the accuracy of patient’s personal details, health summary, clinical notes, test results and family information.” Data is needed to…
Patients have more access to their healthcare data today than ever before, leading to more informed healthcare decisions. There are many reasons why people want access to their own information as well as those they may be caring for, such as an elderly parent or a child. But the problem is where to look and…
News about a deadly virus that appeared in Wuhan, China in December 2019 (now called “coronavirus disease 2019”, or “COVID-19”) is everywhere as the number of cases rises. As of February 23, there have been 35 confirmed cases in the United States, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). And it is not even known…
It’s a new year with new challenges. 2020 might be shaking the healthcare industry with new privacy laws and regulations. New rules, new challenges. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) intends to spend 2020 working on rules tackling privacy issues such as cybersecurity and patients’ right to their data. Healthcare privacy is complex.…