Willingness Among Patients To Share Health Data

Survey Finds Willingness Among Patients To Share Health Data
	A new Pew Research Center survey finds that U.S. residents are increasingly open to sharing their health information with providers. According to the survey, about 52% of respondents say using a health information website that would give providers access to their records and simplify the appointment scheduling process would be acceptable. Health IT Interoperability et al.

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Slavitt, DeSalvo Clarify Upcoming Changes to Meaningful Use

1/19/2016, acting CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt and National Coordinator for Health IT Karen DeSalvo offered more details about the upcoming changes to the meaningful use program. Among other things, they noted that the transition will take some time and that current regulations -- such as Stage 3 -- remain in effect. EHR Intelligence et al. Read More

House Calls: Lessons Learned From A California Program For Homebound Patients

Glenn Melnick and coauthors studied House Calls, an in-home program managing care for high-risk, frail, and psychosocially compromised Medicare patients, to demonstrate how other in-home programs can learn from House Calls' structure. Although the program continues to evolve logistically, it persistently shows reductions in operating costs and hospital utilization per patient.
http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/35/1/28.abstract

HIMSS: EHR Use Associated With Quality Performance Benefits

A new survey by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society finds that the majority of health IT users have experienced savings and improvements in clinical quality performance as a result of electronic health record implementation. EHR Intelligence, HIMSS release.
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Telemedicine Reduces ED Visits by Senior Living Residents

A study published in Telemedicine and e-Health finds that telemedicine can help to reduce the number of emergency department visits among senior living community residents. The study included 1,219 residents of such communities, including 479 who received care via telemedicine. FierceHealthIT, Telemedicine and e-Health. Read More

4 ways to reduce non-emergency ER use

With emergency departments (EDs) suffocating under increasing loads of non-emergency patient, the CEO of San Diego's Scripps Health highlights several possible solutions in a commentary in Becker's Hospital Review.

Several actions need to happen to reduce non-emergency use of emergency departments, Van Gorder said. They include:

1. Non-emergency patients must seek treatment from their regular doctor, urgent care or other venue.
2. Hospitals must expand hours and locations, as well as treatment access points including telemedicine. One recent study found that teaming up with senior living communities to offer telemedicine visits reduces ED visits.
3. Organizations must rethink how patients with behavioral health issues are treated, including developing specialty care sites that can address psychiatric emergency, and foster closer collaboration among providers, payers, government and community services--with more funding.

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HHS' OCR Guidelines Clarify Patients' Right to Health Data

HHS' Office for Civil Rights has released guidance to help patients exercise their right to access their personal health information under HIPAA. The guidelines clarify the types of information covered by HIPAA's access rule, the exceptions to the rule and how it intersects with requirements under the meaningful use program, among other things. AHA News et al. Read More

CES 2016: Running list of health and wellness devices

By Jonah Comstock

January 06, 2016

The event once known as the Consumer Electronics Show, CES, is upon us once again, and once again we're ringing in the new year with a range of health and fitness device announcements from both established players and new upstarts. We've already reported this week on the latest from Fitbit and Withings, as well as Under Armour's new foray, with HTC, into connected fitness hardware. All that is below, plus many more health and wellness devices that were unveiled at CES this year.  Read More

Telemedicine 2016: A look Ahead

The Arizona Telemedicine Program Blog
Telemedicine in 2016: A Look Ahead
By Nathaniel Lacktman on January 7, 2016

Last year showed us that telemedicine continues to be an innovative alternative to traditional brick-and-mortar health care. The number of providers offering telemedicine services notably increased, and several states enacted laws requiring health plans to cover telemedicine. Here are four key trends that will drive the continued growth of telemedicine to transform health care in 2016. Read more »

Study Finds Most Nurses Believe Tele-ICU Tools Bolster Performance

A new study finds that most nurses believe the use of telemedicine tools in the intensive care unit can help them perform their jobs more efficiently and effectively. However, nurses also cite certain barriers to the technology, such as interruptions in care and technical problems. FierceHealthIT, American Journal of Critical Care. Read More