Patient safety and quality improvement
Top Stories
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Feature
30 Sep 2020
Attack on Universal Health Services a cry for change
A suspected ransomware attack on Universal Health Services is an existential crisis for healthcare organizations that needs to be addressed, according to one security expert. Continue Reading
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Feature
14 Aug 2020
EHR vendors eye safe data access for third-party health apps
EHR vendors are designing data authorization scopes for third-party health apps. It's a process that hinges on patient trust and requires transparency. Continue Reading
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Feature
18 Nov 2019
Google-Ascension deal reveals murky side of sharing health data
The Google-Ascension partnership is a 'PR failure' that demonstrates a need for greater transparency about what happens to patient health data. Continue Reading
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News
11 Oct 2019
Ransomware attacks on hospitals will worsen if security doesn't improve
Ransomware attacks are insidious. Experts urged healthcare CIOs to invest in proactive security measures to combat the growing threat. Continue Reading
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News
08 Oct 2019
Experts expect hospital ransomware attacks to continue
One week after being hit by a ransomware attack, hospitals in Alabama are turning away patients while working on recovery, and experts warn of similar attacks in the future. Continue Reading
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News
02 Oct 2019
Hospital ransomware attacks lead to patients being turned away
Ransomware attacks hit seven hospitals in Australia and three in Alabama, with the Alabaman hospitals being forced to turn away patients because of the attacks. Continue Reading
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News
31 Jul 2019
Healthcare CIOs straddle fee-for-service, value-based care
For health systems with one foot in a fee-for-service model and the other in value-based care, reimbursement for services can get tricky. Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Jul 2019
Social determinants of health data provide better care
Knowing the use cases for social determinants of health, such as coordinating care and identifying care gaps, is an important first step in making the data worthwhile. Continue Reading
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Feature
23 Jul 2019
EASE app increases patient-provider communication
EASE, a mobile healthcare app, can be used to send updates on patients from the OR to their families. Mobile apps like this create more transparency, but also present a challenge for CIOs. Continue Reading
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News
14 Jun 2019
Nexera launches self-assessment for hospital supply chain
Nexera's free Hospital Supply Chain Performance Self-Assessment tool will help supply chain and CQO professionals evaluate and improve supply chain processes. Continue Reading
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Tip
07 Jun 2019
Improve patient engagement with mHealth, monitoring technology
Providing patients with mobile health technology, as well as reminder systems and options for virtual visits, can help keep them engaged in their healthcare. Continue Reading
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Guide
02 May 2019
Patient engagement strategies get consumerization booster shot
Healthcare organizations are being tasked with developing effective methods to keep their patients engaged, with nudges from government agencies that anything less won't be tolerated. Continue Reading
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Feature
02 Apr 2019
Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine to train students with modern tech
Kaiser Permanente's new medical school will combine cutting-edge tech and a clinical setting to train future doctors. Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Apr 2019
'Nurse hangover' cures include self-service tools, communication
Nurses aren't in control of their schedules, which can lead to staffing issues that affect patient care. Self-service tools like WorkJam ensure adequate shift coverage. Continue Reading
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News
20 Feb 2019
NHS AI code launched to set rules of engagement for tech firms
The government says its code of conduct for the use of artificial intelligence and other data technologies in the NHS sets out the data privacy rules of the game for tech firms Continue Reading
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Feature
04 Feb 2019
Population health approaches buoy value-based care
Value-based care extends population health's use of data analytics to identify care gaps and cost reductions. A prominent college dean sees the efforts always being connected. Continue Reading
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Tip
15 Jan 2019
Physicians can reduce medical errors with the help of AI
EHRs on their own don't always have the capabilities needed to detect abnormalities in a patient's chart. Fortunately, AI can help detect medical errors that may go unnoticed. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Aug 2018
Medical group sees the future in value-based healthcare
The fee-for-service healthcare payment model is broken, according to the CEO of a medical group. The better model, and the path to better patient care, he says, is value-based care. Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Aug 2018
FDA challenge encourages development of pain management devices
An FDA innovation challenge pushes developers to create pain management devices as a way to address the ongoing opioid crisis in the United States. Continue Reading
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Tip
12 Jul 2018
Hacking and fraud escalate concerns about AI in healthcare
While many in healthcare tout the benefits of AI in clinical settings, artificial intelligence isn't immune to nefarious misuses, such as hacking and clinical fraud. Continue Reading
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Feature
20 Jun 2018
Hospital cybersecurity might slightly increase heart attack deaths
Although the findings are not a slam-dunk, statistics in a study show some sort of link between more deaths of heart attack patients and hospitals' responses to data breaches. Continue Reading
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Feature
31 May 2018
Physician burnout targeted by health IT, wellness vendors
Industry consolidation, tech reporting mandates, heavy workloads and 'EHR fatigue' are causing high levels of stress and work dissatisfaction among healthcare professionals, experts say. Continue Reading
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Podcast
30 Mar 2018
Preventing diagnostic errors in medicine with software
In this podcast, a medical expert talks about how physicians can avoid diagnostic errors -- a top threat to patient safety -- by using AI-based clinical decision support software. Continue Reading
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Blog Post
22 Mar 2018
Researchers use EHR data to predict opioid prescriptions
EHR data can help healthcare providers identify which patients in a hospital were most likely to be prescribed opioids after discharge, according to researchers at the University of Colorado ... Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Mar 2018
5 healthcare cybersecurity best practices for care organizations
Hospital CIOs who want to ensure that their environments are protected should be sure to implement multifactor authentication and AI-based monitoring to prevent data breaches. Continue Reading
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Opinion
08 Mar 2018
Healthcare ransomware attacks threaten patient safety
Worry about health IT cybersecurity has shifted from hacker-triggered health data breaches to ransomware and malware exploits that shut down hospitals and threaten patient safety. Continue Reading
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Opinion
08 Mar 2018
New risk to cybersecurity in healthcare: Hacker as a service
Health IT and hospital security professionals must try to stay ahead of cyberattacks against electronic patient records. But now hackers are prepping the next generation. Continue Reading
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E-Zine
08 Mar 2018
Hospitals bone up on medical device cybersecurity plans
Healthcare cybersecurity can be likened to those old movie westerns pitting the good guys against the bad guys. Back then, however, it was easy to distinguish the white hats from the black hats. Not so in today's complex, sinister world of computer hacking, malware, ransomware and botnets, where the black hats stealthily maneuver through the shadows of a cyberspace that has often been compared to the wild wild west. In some respects, healthcare systems have shown definite signs of improvement in preventing certain types of cybercrimes. But crime reductions in one area can mean increases in other areas as cybercriminals turn their attention to easier and perhaps more lucrative targets that threaten medical device cybersecurity.
The March issue of Pulse opens with the recognition that hackers are forever vigilant at concocting new and innovative ways to steal patient information and disrupt hospital operations. To add insult to injury, the perpetrators are now offering their hacking "best practices" as a service for less than altruistic reasons.
Along those lines, our cover story reports on healthcare's increasing use of and dependence on connected medical devices and the resulting vulnerability to hacks, namely ransomware. But IT analysts and security executives see artificial intelligence and blockchain as effective weapons in strengthening medical device cybersecurity. In another feature, we examine the misconception that security measures to safeguard electronic protected health information contained in clinical files march in lockstep with HIPAA privacy laws. To overcome that false sense of security, healthcare organizations need to closely assess key HIPAA mandates like risk analysis and policy audits.
Also in this issue, crippling ransomware attacks are supplanting health data breaches as the greatest enemy to patient privacy and safety. Statistics show that even though the number of patient records breached plummeted last year, ransomware and malware incidents doubled, security threats from insiders continued unabated, and health organizations took longer to discover they were breached. But there are several steps CIOs and CISOs can follow to protect patient information and shore up cybersecurity.
Continue Reading - 07 Mar 2018
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Feature
15 Feb 2018
Michigan uses prescription monitoring to fight opioid crisis
Michigan public health officials use e-prescribing and monitoring and analytics software from Appriss Health to fight opioid addiction by tracking overprescribing and abuse. Continue Reading
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Feature
05 Apr 2016
Patient matching technology helps HIE reduce duplicate records
In this Innovation Spotlight, SearchHealthIT looks at how an HIE reduced duplicate patient records by using NextGate's patient matching technology. Continue Reading
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Feature
24 Jul 2015
Wearable health technology and HIPAA: What is and isn't covered
Healthcare data many think is protected by HIPAA may not be. With wearable health technology, some experts are concerned by what's not covered. Continue Reading
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Tip
08 Jan 2015
The top six priorities of a new healthcare CIO
Assessing performance strengths and identifying any gaps should be part of a healthcare CIO's plan of attack when joining a new organization. Continue Reading
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Tip
15 Jul 2014
Mobile devices facilitate remote patient monitoring
Physicians' comfort with mobile devices allows some to interact with and observe patients in their homes, without need for an office visit. Continue Reading
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Feature
06 May 2014
Healthcare review sites make physicians reevaluate online presence
Today's Internet-savvy patients are doing research before scheduling a physician's visit. In turn, providers must be aware of their own online presence. Continue Reading
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Quiz
13 Dec 2013
Quiz: PACS integration with other imaging systems and EHRs
Implementing a PACS requires preparation and adjustments to be made along the way. Take this quiz to test your knowledge of hospital imaging systems. Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Sep 2012
Clinicians discuss pros and cons of point-of-care testing devices
The growing use of point-of-care testing devices could improve the efficiency of medical tests, but some users worry about the quality of the devices. Continue Reading