What is telehealth? The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) defines telehealth as “the use of telecommunications and information technology to provide access to health assessment, diagnosis, intervention, consultation, supervision and information across distance. Telehealth includes such technologies as telephones, facsimile machines, electronic mail systems, and remote patient monitoring devices which are used to…
2018 is set to bring regulatory changes and some challenges for health care providers. Big data analytics will play a significant role in the coming year. Health care Information Governance (IG) is a key factor in big data analytics, as managing the volume of big data needs a coordinated plan. Data and information support nearly…
The Pew Research Center officially defined millennials as people born between 1981 and 1996. And although baby boomers are often considered the “largest generation” in number, millennials actually outnumber the boomers by 7.7 million. More than any other generation millennials and the way they communicate and interact have been shaped by technology, especially by the expansion…
2015 was a banner year for healthcare computer hacks and experts predict that 2016 is going to be worse. Two Southern California hospitals have been recently attacked by hackers who accessed one of the hospital’s computers and then spread a malware program that encrypts the data on all computers. The malware locks the hospital’s computer…
Many organizations are talking about addressing social determinants of healthcare. The term “social determinants” of health refers to “the circumstances in which people are born, grow up, live, work, and age. This also includes the systems in place to offer health care and services to a community. These circumstances are in turn shaped by a…
Healthcare cybersecurity breaches continue to rise, concerning everyone in the healthcare community from providers to services to patients. While everyone hoped these attacks would subside there is still a lot of cyber-transgression occurring.
Many organizations need to consider upgrading their technology, especially regarding data integration- they can choose a structure that is flexible and adaptable to new applications as needed, or function as a centralized platform- which has other issues regarding functionality. A rethinking of logistics, technical issues, and resource allocation will be at the core of this…
Nearly everyone knows Amazon, the successful international e-commerce website for consumers and sellers, founded in 1994. The “Amazon effect” affects multiple industries, including health care. What exactly is the “Amazon effect”? It’s a term used to describe Amazon.com’s success. The meaning can vary depending on the industry, but it generally refers to the difficulty many…
There’s a reason why the “Medicare Access & CHIP Reauthorization Act” (MACRA) is also called the “permanent doc fix”. MACRA permanently eliminates the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula (and its annual threat of physician payment cuts) and provides positive annual payment updates lasting through 2019. Right now, Medicare measures the value and quality of care…
Most of us here in the United States are used to the traditional health care delivery model: A fee-for-service delivery system, where private insurance companies or patients themselves pay for services received. This includes everything from standard office visits to surgical procedures. The roles between patients and health care providers are clear-cut and usually leave…