Tech

Cerner beats Epic in the DoD sweepstakes. What does that mean for the rest of us?

Tech
August 12, 2015

The health information technology (HIT) world has been hit by a watershed event like no other. The Department of Defense (DoD), widely respected for its indiscriminate generosity to contractors, has awarded the most coveted prize in recent HIT memory: the Defense Healthcare Management Systems Modernization (DHMSM) contract. And the winner is … Leidos, the contractor formerly known as SAIC. A couple of years ago, when the race for …

Read more…

Why should physicians have to enter orders in the computer?

Tech
August 5, 2015

shutterstock_85514146

So, there I was yesterday, working frantically to keep myself above the water level of the rapidly rising swamp of patients.  Navigating, haltingly, the onerous and demonic EMR.  So I thought I ordered three nebulizers, but it was only one.  The respiratory tech approached me and informed me that she would put them in, but only this time. That I’d have to …

Read more…

Strong ethical principles should guide EHR implementation

Tech
July 29, 2015

shutterstock_112692424

The U.S. health care system is headed toward a profoundly digital future. Provider organizations around the country are adopting and updating their health information technology (HIT) infrastructures. Many have begun requiring that clinicians gain proficiency in electronic health records (EHRs) in order to provide clinical care. A proliferation of start-ups and HIT companies in health care is poised to disrupt (innovatively or …

Read more…

EMRs can hurt physicians during lawsuits. Here’s how.

Tech
January 10, 2015

shutterstock_225356470

While the electronic medical record (EMR) has advantages, it also has introduced liability risks. EMRs can lead to lawsuits or result in a weak defense by casting the physician in an unfavorable light.

For example, examine these exchanges in a recent malpractice trial:

  • Plaintiff attorney: Doctor, if the emergency renal consult was called in at 11:30, why did you wait until 6 p.m. …

    Read more…

5 ways to increase your EMR efficiency

Tech
October 28, 2014

One of the major reasons that health care providers resist implementing an electronic medical record (EMR) system is the belief that using it will decrease provider productivity, reducing the number of patients they can see and therefore reducing practice revenue.

However, an EMR that is designed around a streamlined workflow can enable providers to work faster and more efficiently. Having an EHR and vendor that can give you ongoing visibility and …

Read more…

5 reasons why physician champions are needed

Tech
October 25, 2014

It has been 5 years since the passage of the HITECH Act portion of the Affordable Care Act. The purpose of HITECH was “to promote the adoption and meaningful use of health information technology.” While the result of this legislation has been the significant increase in the adoption of EHRs, most of the potential benefits of digital technology have yet to be demonstrated. there are multiple reasons for this lack of proof.

The portions of …

Read more…

Health care fails to adopt technology. Here are 5 reasons why.

Tech
September 25, 2014

Why do so many seemingly great technologies fail to penetrate the health care system?

I hope the following five answers shed some light on the realities of technology adoption in health care.

1. Many new technologies don’t address the real problem

Tech entrepreneurs often take a backward approach to invention. They start by discovering a nifty technology. Later, they figure out how people can use it.

This technique often teaches entrepreneurs a tough lesson: Technology …

Read more…

Vaginal video games: What to make of mobile Kegel apps

Tech
August 18, 2014

k goal

There are two new high-tech ways that aim to help you with Kegel exercises, both with Kickstarter campaigns. There is the Skea (Smart Kegel Exercise Aid), basically a video game that proposes controlling the avatar with a vaginal probe that uses the pelvic floor muscles and kGoal, a vaginal insert that is meant to connect wirelessly with your smart phone and measures your squeeze …

Read more…

Patient sensors: 5 differences between the consumer and health care market

Tech
June 17, 2014

The technology industry has been buzzing of late because of the big players entering the wearable sensor market. We are very familiar with Misfit and Nike’s Fitbit for some time. Others investing into the sector include Intel, Microsoft,  Apple and Samsung.

There is no doubt that the inertia for fitness trackers is undergoing modulation. This is a result of both a dampening of the initial “wow” factor by consumers and a maturation of the market. Recalls of …

Read more…

Psychiatric hospitals need meaningful use incentives

Tech
May 22, 2014

Imagine you go to work one day and your boss says all employees will be evaluated based on the performance of a new set of job skills that require additional training and, perhaps, new computer hardware and software. The boss also announces that some employees will be reimbursed for the cost of acquiring these skills and tools. You aren’t among this privileged group.

In government, this is called an unfunded …

Read more…

Why doesn’t everyone have a pocket ultrasound machine?

Tech
May 1, 2014

vscan-hellimed-eco

For about 2 years now a tiny ultrasound machine has been part of my standard physical exam tools as I take care of patients in the hospital and in the outpatient clinic. In November 2011, I first picked up an ultrasound transducer in a continuing medical education course on bedside ultrasound for emergency physicians. I am an internist, not an emergency physician, …

Read more…

5 ways to improve the adoption of medical apps

Tech
February 3, 2014

Before the adoption of new technologies which will undoubtedly improve health care (as it has the retail and finance sectors), it must be introduced in ways which are digestible, scalable, and subject to rapid iteration.

Is mobile technology different from the adoption of any other change in health care delivery? I think not. The culture of care certainly requires change as care models are changing. The point of care is shifting to the home, professionals …

Read more…

The human side of medicine that no computer can ever touch

Tech
November 27, 2013

As I look back all those years ago to when I chose medicine as a career, I suspect that my motives were similar to most people who enter this wonderful profession. I wanted to become a doctor because I had a genuine and sincere desire to help people. I also liked the idea of a busy and energetic job, one where I was comfortably as far away as possible from …

Read more…

Who do you want reading your EKG?

Tech
November 27, 2013

I know what you’re thinking, punk. You’re thinking “did he fire six shots or only five?” Now to tell you the truth I forgot myself in all this excitement. But being this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world and will blow you head clean off, you’ve gotta ask yourself a question: “Do I feel lucky?” Well, do ya, punk?
– Harry Callahan (played by Clint …

Read more…

Your EMR is watching you

Tech
September 2, 2013

A recent article on American Medical News titled “Medical charting errors can drive patient liability suits” led with a case involving a bad outcome after coronary artery bypass surgery. The plaintiff’s attorney alleged that the doctors did not review the patient’s lab results or x-rays because they did not specific say so in the medical record.

The article quoted a defense attorney who said, “By the time [the doctors] are deposed, …

Read more…

Boston hospitals go Epic: Hear from a holdout

Tech
August 11, 2013

In the Boston marketplace, Partners Healthcare is is replacing 30 years of self developed software with Epic.   Boston Medical Center is replacing Eclipsys (Allscripts) with Epic.   Lahey Clinic is replacing Meditech/Allscripts with Epic.  Cambridge Health Alliance and Atrius already run Epic.   Rumors abound that others are in Eastern Massachusetts are considering Epic.  Why has Epic gained such momentum over the past few years?

Watching the implementations around me, …

Read more…

17
pages

CME Spotlights