2016

Did Healthcare Policy Issues Play a Role in the Iowa Presidential Caucus Results?

By Harris Meyer for Modern Healthcare After attacking Donald Trump over the weekend for his previous favorable remarks about single-payer healthcare, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz squeaked out a victory over the billionaire New York developer in the Iowa presidential caucuses Monday night, with Florida Sen. Marco Rubio trailing close behind. Meanwhile, the Iowa Democratic Party declared…

Read MoreDid Healthcare Policy Issues Play a Role in the Iowa Presidential Caucus Results?

Hacking Accounted for 98 Percent of Healthcare Data Breaches in 2015, Report Says

By Heather Landi for Healthcare Informatics While lost and theft of employee devices accounted for the majority (68 percent) of healthcare data breaches in 2014, last year was a different story, with 98 percent of breaches due to hacking and IT-related incidents, according to a Bitglass Healthcare Breach Report. The report cites a series of…

Read MoreHacking Accounted for 98 Percent of Healthcare Data Breaches in 2015, Report Says

The Best of the Best: HCI’s Top 10 Health IT Stories of 2015

By the Editors of HCI for Healthcare Informatics Not surprisingly, it was another big year in the world of health IT, mixed with positive developments and unsettling trends. Last week, HCI Editor-in-Chief Mark Hagland looked at the seven significant things we learned this year, and social media manager Megan Combs parsed through the analytics and found…

Read MoreThe Best of the Best: HCI’s Top 10 Health IT Stories of 2015

Healthcare HIT Enters ‘Post-EHR Era’

By John Commins for HealthLeaders Media A drop in the percentage of IT budgets that is directed toward electronic health records systems signals a shift in focus. Now it’s on broader business problems and on operational efficiencies, research suggests. Hospital health information technology budgets are still growing, but the focus has shifted from meaningful use benchmarks…

Read MoreHealthcare HIT Enters ‘Post-EHR Era’

Study Reveals One Reason Why Many Hospitals Struggle With Quality, Safety and Costs

Source: Ohio State University for Infection Control Today As hospital leaders continue to feel pressure to improve patient outcomes and reduce costs, a new study reveals one reason why many organizations fall short. Use of evidence-based practice among chief nurses and their hospitals is relatively low, according to a survey led by Bernadette Melnyk, dean of…

Read MoreStudy Reveals One Reason Why Many Hospitals Struggle With Quality, Safety and Costs

Take Advantage of Expanded External Cause Codes in ICD-10

By Cathie Wilde, RHIA, CCS, AHIMA-Approved ICD-10-CM/PCS trainer for ICD10 monitor Monday, 11 January 2016 During the transition to ICD-10, external cause codes – the codes that capture specific details about an injury or health event – received a bad reputation. Many ICD-10 naysayers highlighted what they viewed as the absurdity of them. In an…

Read MoreTake Advantage of Expanded External Cause Codes in ICD-10

The End of Meaningful Use: 6 Health IT Leaders React

By Akanksha Jayanthi and Max Green for Becker’s Health IT & CIO Review January 15, 2016 While CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt’s announcement of the end of meaningful use was met with a collective sigh of relief from the healthcare industry, questions, concerns and expectations regarding the future remain. Though frustrating, many IT leaders do…

Read MoreThe End of Meaningful Use: 6 Health IT Leaders React

OIG Says No Fines for Hospital’s Transcription Service

By Eric Topor from Health Care Daily Report for BNA Dec. 29 — The Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General posted an advisory opinion Dec. 29 (No. 15–15) that said it wouldn’t impose sanctions on a hospital’s proposal to provide market rate transcription services for radiology tests performed at the hospital for patients of an unaffiliated…

Read MoreOIG Says No Fines for Hospital’s Transcription Service

A Mobile Device Triggered a HIPAA Breach In Your Office… Now What?

By Jennifer B. Cohen, Esq. for Physicians News Digest In today’s health care environment, even the smallest practices have integrated the use of mobile devices into their daily practices; recordkeeping using laptops, tablets, and even cell phones has become a norm, rather than an exception. This is no surprise, given the portability and convenience of using…

Read MoreA Mobile Device Triggered a HIPAA Breach In Your Office… Now What?