iPhone medical apps released in April 2014, part 1

http://www.imedicalapps.com/: April produced a bounty of interesting medical apps — so many that our research team is still going through them all. In the interim, I have gone through half of the new medical apps identified by our research team and the following are the ones I found noteworthy for our readers. If you want to read our other “top medical apps for the month of” lists they are featured at the end of this post.  Read More

90% of Adults Willing To Share Health Data To Boost Care, Survey Says

Ninety percent of surveyed U.S. adults would share their personal health information with researchers as long as the data were used to improve the understanding of diseases and to boost treatment. Meanwhile, the percentage of individuals who use a mobile phone to access health information has risen. Clinical Innovation & Technology, MobiHealthNews.  Read More

Randomized Trial of an Electronic Personal Health Record for Mental Health Patients

Druss BG, Ji X, Glick G, von Esenwein SA. Randomized trial of an electronic personal health record for patients with serious mental illnesses. Am J Psychiatry 2014 Mar; 171(3):360-8. [Supported by grant R18 HS17829.] Select to access the abstract.

CONCLUSIONS:

Having a personal health record resulted in significantly improved quality of medical care and increased use of medical services among patients. Personal health records could provide a relatively low-cost scalable strategy for improving medical care for patients with comorbid medical and serious mental illnesses.

PMID: 24435025 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Rural hospitals equal in outcomes, ahead in ED care

Rural hospitals are equal to their urban counterparts in care quality, patient safety and outcomes, and their emergency departments (EDs) are more efficient and less expensive, according to a new study by iVantage Health Analytics.
"Acknowledging that not all care is equal, and that complex care cases are appropriately referred to tertiary care centers, the findings of the 2014 Rural Relevance Study challenges the notion that rural hospitals are: more costly, more inefficient and maintain lower quality and satisfaction," the study states. "Importantly, as the industry seeks to address the new healthcare through innovative delivery models, the achievements of rural healthcare must be recognized as a key component for integration into broader strategies for patient-centered care under the Affordable Care Act."  Read More

What does a hospital intranet have to do with Meaningful Use?

What does a hospital intranet have to do with Meaningful Use? content.hospitalportal.net

Ideas about ways hospitals can use their intranets to support Meaningful Use.

Get out, and stay out, of the hospital

Consumer Report's most recent hospital Ratings, which include readmission rates for 4,460 hospitals in all 50 states plus Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico, show that some hospitals do a much better job than others in avoiding readmissions. For example, Sarasota Memorial Hospital, in Sarasota, Fla., had a readmission rate of 13.3 percent, the lowest among the hospitals in our Ratings with at least 500 beds. By comparison, Nassau University Medical Center, in East Meadow, N.Y., had a readmission rate of 20.2 percent, the highest among hospitals with at least 500 beds. Overall, 28 percent of hospitals earned a high Rating in readmissions; but just about as many—27 percent—got a low Rating in the measure. The data, which come from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, is for patients 65 and older and covers July 2011 to June 2012, the most recent dates that are publically available.See More

Tablets Help Home Health Agency Boost Care Coordination, Cut Costs

A new case study by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives shows how a California-based home care and hospice agency improved care coordination and documentation and reduced medical supply costs by rolling out tablets to its 1,300 care providers. mHealthNews, Healthcare IT News.  Read More

Good info on mHealth adoption by consumers

Study: Docs need to promote mHealth apps mhealthnews.com

A new study indicates 70 percent of consumers use mobile apps every day to track physical activity and calorie intake – but only 40 percent share that information with their doctor. Privacy concerns and the need for a doctor's recommendation are the 2 factors hindering the use of mobile technologies to promote health and well being. Using a smartphone to track health and fitness is more important than using the phone for social networking (69 percent), shopping (68 percent), listening to music (60 percent) or even making/receiving phone calls (30 percent).

Strong Data Infrastructure Needed to Improve Health Care for Americans

A new report funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) describes interoperability challenges in the U.S. health information technology system and proposes a potential future state health IT architecture. “A Robust Health Data Infrastructure” includes recommendations for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) as they continue to develop the national vision for an effective and efficient interoperable health ecosystem.

The report, a joint effort between AHRQ, ONC and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, comes at a time of intense effort to adopt certified health IT, connect care providers to improve population health, build capacity in the health-care system to use health IT for better health and care, and support consumer access to health information.    

Select to access the report: http://healthit.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/docs/publication/a-robust-health-data-infrastructure.pdf.

Lack of Interoperability Limits Meaningful Use Program

A report released by an independent task force concludes that meaningful use stages 1 and 2 "fall short of achieving meaningful use in any practical sense" because of the lack of interoperability among electronic health records. The report urges CMS to create a "truly interoperable health data infrastructure" through Stage 3 objectives. Health Data Management et al. 
Meaningful use stages 1 and 2 fall short of implementing the interoperability among electronic health records that is necessary to facilitate information exchange and develop a robust health data infrastructure, according to a new report from a taskforce assembled by the MITRE Corporation, Health Data Management reports.

Psychiatric Care Quality Data Posted to CMS' Hospital Compare Site

On 4/17/2014, CMS for the first time posted quality data from the Medicare's Inpatient Psychiatric Facility Quality Reporting Program to the agency's Hospital Compare website, Modern Healthcare reports (Frank, Modern Healthcare, 4/17).
CMS' Hospital Compare website now includes quality data on inpatient psychiatric facilities. The new data include information on how many hours patients spent in physical restraint and seclusion, as well as the facilities' follow-up care plans. Modern Healthcare, AHA News.

CMS said the Hospital Compare site now will include data on four quality measures collected from 1,753 inpatient psychiatric facilities from Oct. 1, 2012, through March 31, 2013. The data include the:

• Hours patients spent in physical restraint and seclusion; and
• Percentage of cases for which facilities created post-discharge continuing-care regimens and delivered such plans to the provider responsible for the next step of care.

Outpatient Diagnostic Errors Affect 1 in 20 U.S. Adults, AHRQ Study Finds.

AHRQ
The study, "The frequency of diagnostic errors in outpatient care: estimations from three large observational studies involving U.S. adult populations," used data from three previous studies of errors in general primary care diagnosis, colorectal cancer diagnosis, and lung cancer diagnosis.  In all three studies, diagnostic errors were confirmed through rigorous chart review. The authors estimated that about half of the diagnostic errors they found could have severely harmed patients.
Diagnostic errors can harm patients by delaying their treatment. For example, a delayed or incorrect cancer diagnosis could make the disease harder to treat or more deadly.
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology recently released the "SAFER Guides"—a new set of guides and interactive tools to help health care providers more safely use electronic health information technology products, including test results reporting and follow up.  These guides are available at www.healthit.gov/safer/safer-guides.  More

Longer nurse tenure on hospital units leads to higher quality care

ScienceDaily, 04/18/2014

When it comes to the cost and quality of hospital care, nurse tenure and teamwork matters. Patients get the best care when they are treated in units that are staffed by nurses who have extensive experience in their current job, according to a study from researchers at Columbia University School of Nursing and Columbia Business School. The study was published in the current issue of the American Economics Journal: Applied Economics. The review of more than 900,000 patient admissions over four years at hospitals in the Veterans Administration Healthcare System is the largest study of its kind to link nurse staffing to patient outcomes.  Read More

Docs make 12 million outpatient diagnostic errors every year

As hospitals focus more on quality measures and lowering readmissions, they also look to cut back on diagnostic errors, which occur in about 5 percent of U.S. adults, accumulating in as many as 12 million outpatient diagnostic errors each year, according to a study published in the BMJ Quality & Safety.  Read More

To learn more:
- check out the study abstract
- here's the announcement
Related Articles: Diagnostic errors: Most costly, common malpractice claim  Study: EHRs can help pinpoint potential diagnostic errors  Doctors' offices vulnerable to diagnostic errors

Meaningful Use Program's Effect on Care Quality Unclear

A study that examined the connection between meaningful use and care quality shows mixed results. Meaningful use attestation was associated with slight improvements for two clinical quality measures, a decline in quality scores for two measures and no variation for three other measures. Health Data Management et al.
There is no clear association between attesting to the meaningful use of electronic health records and improvements in the quality of patient care, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine, Health Data Management reports.  Read More

Mayo Clinic-backed Better launches personal health assistant service

Mayo Clinic-backed, Palo Alto, California-based Better officially launched its service this week after a year of private beta tests following a high-profile debut at the All Things D event last year

Better offers everything from really basic administrative tasks all the way up to really high-end clinical work. What it comes out to is — across the board — having a personal health assistant — what the VA would call a care coordinator — who just takes cares of everything for you. Whether it’s appointments, prescriptions, or finding new doctors all the way up through — something is horribly wrong and I want to see a specialist, or nurse, or doctor. 

Read More

Telemedicine Gave Jack Porter a "Stroke of Luck" Instead of a Stroke

With Telemedicine, This person was able to have specialists in his hospital room...It made a dramatic difference in the options that  patients like Jack Porter have, and it elevated the standard of care. It ensures that the level of care patients get is equal to the care they would get in an urban locations.  Read More

CATCH is researching new user-friendly technologies to enable people to live independently

CATCH | About CATCH - CATCH ow.ly

CATCH builds on the track record of successful interdisciplinary and translational research across the University of Sheffield, bringing together and coordinating expertise across health research, engineering, psychology, computer science, architecture,... Read More

Experienced nurses shorten length of stay, improve patient outcomes

More experienced nurses deliver better patient care and shorten length of stay, according to a study published in the American Economic Journal: Applied Economics.
As experiences nurses leave, hospitals hire new nurses and temporary contract nurses, both of which significantly decrease productivity more than is attributable to changes in nurses' skills and experience, wrote researchers from Columbia University School of Nursing and Columbia Business School in the research, "Human Capital and Productivity in a Team Environment: Evidence from the Healthcare Sector."
Patients get the best care when treated in units staffed with nurses who have extensive experience in their current job, according to a study announcement.  Read More
To learn more:
- here's the study abstract
- read the announcement
Related Articles:
Study: Involving patients in nurses' shift change improves outcomes, prevents errors
Give nurses the power to make care decisions to improve patient outcomes
ICU staffing levels affect high-risk patient outcomes
Nurse mindfulness can decrease patient pain, stress during procedures

Doctors Saved 1 Hour Daily Using Laptops/Tablets for Hospital Rounds

Doctors using laptops or tablets for hospital rounds instead of paper could save 1 hour a day, according to research from Birmingham Women's Hospital.

Doctors Saved 1 Hour Daily Using Laptops/Tablets for Hospital Rounds

Doctors using laptops or tablets for hospital rounds instead of paper could save 1 hour a day, according to research from Birmingham Women's Hospital. Read More

Telemonitoring Reimbursement For Connecticut!

Effective July 1, 2014 Connecticut will be reimbursing for "Home Telemonitoring Service"

Scheduled remote monitoring of data may include, but not be limited to, monitoring of the patient's blood pressure, heart rate, weight and oxygen level.

Telemonitoring Reimbursement For Connecticut! | Guardian eHealth... gehs.net

Effective July 1, 2014!

Security Risk Assessment Tool

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) recognizes that conducting a risk assessment can be a challenging task. That’s why ONC, in collaboration with the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the HHS Office of the General Counsel (OGC), developed a downloadable SRA Tool [.exe - 66 MB] to help guide you through the process. This tool is not required by the HIPAA Security Rule, but is meant to assist providers and professionals as they perform a risk assessment.
The SRA Tool is a self-contained, operating system (OS) independent application that can be run on various environments including Windows OS’s for desktop and laptop computers and Apple’s iOS for iPad only. The iOS SRA Tool application for iPad, available at no cost, can be downloaded from Apple’s App StoreWeb Site Disclaimers.
For details on how to use the tool, download the SRA Tool User Guide [PDF - 4 MB].
A paper-based version of the tool is also available:

• Administrative Safeguards [DOCX - 269 KB]
• Technical Safeguards [DOCX - 240 KB]
• Physical Safeguards [DOCX - 225 KB]

Study: Mobile Messaging App Improves Care for Servicemembers

A new study finds that a mobile messaging application can improve treatment experiences and appointment attendance among military servicemembers who are sick or injured. For the study, providers used mCare, a mobile app, to send announcements, appointment reminders, secure messages and wellness tips to their patients. MobiHealthNews.  Read More

Hospital MU 2014 Clinical Quality Measures Updated

Updated specifications for the Eligible Hospital 2014 electronic clinical quality measures finalized in Meaningful Use Stage 2 of the EHR incentive program are now available on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services website. In addition, a new tool called Bonnie for testing eCQMs has been released to support measure developers in e-specification of clinical quality measures. Read More

Survey: One third of wearable device owners stopped using them within six months

A third of consumers who own a wearable device stopped using it within six months, according to consulting firm Endeavour Partners’  September 2013 survey of 500 adults. Additionally, more than half of consumers who own one no longer use it.
The survey reads. “It’s not enough to sync with, link to, or work alongside one of the current devices on the market, or to partner with one of the many startups to design an even better device. Designing a strategy to ensure sustained engagement is the key to long-term success in this highly competitive space.”
Another recent survey, this one from Nielsen’s Connected Life Report, found 15 percent of consumers who know the term “wearable” — and are either already users of “connected life technologies” or interested in them — are wearing one.  Read More 

FDA, FCC, ONC Release Risk-Based HIT Regulatory Framework

by GREG SLABODKIN  NEW DEVELOPMENT: Clinical decision support software now in the regulatory crosshairs The report on a risk-based health IT framework, which was due to Congress by January, includes mobile medical applications--a technology area previously addressed by the FDA's September 2013 final guidance on mobile medical apps. However, one area that wasn't covered in the final guidance but is included in the FDASIA-mandated report to Congress is the topic of clinical decision support software. In the proposed regulatory strategy for health IT released today, the report states that "most clinical decision support (CDS) functionalities can be categorized as health management health IT and that the "FDA does not intend to focus its oversight on CDS with health management health IT functionality. After months of delays, the Food and Drug Administration, Federal Communications Commission, and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology today released a proposed strategy and recommendations for a risk-based regulatory framework ... READ MORE »

3 trends shaping telehealth

1. Integration. "More than ever before, there's a willingness to understand" that solutions and systems shouldn't be standing alone, he said. Vendors have to talk to each other and allow their products to integrate with other solutions that add value to the platform. And providers and payers have to understand as well that one system won't complete the home-based care package. "We have to be speaking more to each other than we have in the past," he said.
2. Identification. Not all mobile technologies are going to solve the nation's healthcare woes, Goldberg said. There's a certain "euphoria surrounding mHealth," he said, that masks the fact that technology works in some cases and doesn't work in others. "Sometimes an app isn't relevant or meaningful," Goldberg said. Payers and providers are therefore going to need a greater understanding of what they can do with telehealth and mHealth,
3. Education. "It's not just creating a widget, putting it on the shelf and people picking it up or buying it and knowing what to do with it," Goldberg added. Telehealth companies have to have the resources in place to guide consumers and providers to the best use possible for the technology. Therefore, as more and more providers, payers and consumers look to home-based monitoring, they need to have the support in place to know how to use it properly.

TORONTO | April 01, 2014 | Eric Wicklund - Editor, mHealthNews  Read More

Huge Public Data Dump on Physicians Coming from Medicare

As part of an initiative to increase government transparency, CMS in January announced it would begin releasing information on amounts paid to individual physicians under the Medicare program, but only on a case-by case basis.
Now, through the blog and in letters to the American Medical Association and Florida Medical Association, CMS is explaining its rationale for a big data dump that will start no earlier than April 9.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services expects soon to publicly post Medicare payment information on more than 880,000 healthcare professionals in all 50 states.
READ MORE »

Teledentistry for Arizona Children

 SWTRCblog

Recent initiatives to improve the oral health workforce have lead many partners to a readiness to promote strategies to enhance dental teams. These strategies include teledentistry practice. Teledentistry practice utilizes offsite collaborating dentists to coordinate dental care using electronic and communication technologies to reach children and populations in underserved areas.

You can learn more about how Teledentistry can help individuals, communities and providers by watching our video.

Humana-Digital Health Pilot for Type 2 Diabetes

Humana's latest digital health pilot will test remote patient monitoring for Type 2 diabetes medcitynews.com

Humana's latest remote patient monitoring pilot will use Pharos Innovations' patient engagement platform to help members manage their Type 2 diabetes at home.

Telehealth Initiative-Northern California

New Telehealth Program Aims To Increase Specialist Care in Northern California - California Healthline californiahealthline.org

Seeking to improve access to health care providers -- especially specialists -- for new enrollees under Covered California, Blue Shield of California and Adventist Health launched a telehealth initiative targeting Northern California rural communities.

Show, Don't Tell, Telehealth Benefits

Marianne Aiello, for HealthLeaders Media, April 2, 2014

"Our vision is that any patient anywhere in the world, whether it's 50 miles north of here or 5,000 miles away can contact Miami Children's Hospital and get the correct specialist on the case so that the child receives the right care as soon as possible," Jacques Orces, MD, chief medical information officer for MCH, says in the video.  Read more
Telemedicine a Win for Stressed-Out Doctors

Federal Agencies Use Different Definitions for Telehealth, Study Finds

A new study published in the journal Telemedicine and e-Health finds that federal government agencies are using seven unique definitions of telehealth. The study's authors write that "although many definitions are similar, there are nuanced differences that reflect each organization's legislative intent and the population they serve." Becker's Hospital Review et al.  Read More 

Nurses Use Personal Smartphones for Care Despite Lack of Support, Security Issues

This finding, among others, is a highlight of a new white paper from the Menlo Park, Calif.-based Spyglass Consulting Group. The report is what Spyglass Managing Director Gregg Malkary calls an outgrowth of a similar study performed in 2009. Malkary says the results demonstrate a definite change in attitude among nurses in the past five years. Read more

Mayo Clinic study finds app reduces cardiac readmissions by 40 percent

According to an as-yet unpublished study, the Mayo Clinic has found that incorporating a smartphone app into cardiac rehabilitation can reduce emergency room visits and hospital readmissions by 40 percent.
This study was unrelated to last year’s iPad study, also conducted at the Mayo Clinic, for patients recovering from heart surgery in the hospital. Widmer said this study will be followed up by a larger trial, but there’s no reason public and private hospitals can’t start incorporating apps into cardiac rehabilitation now. He said several groups, including the VA, have expressed interest.
More

IBM's Watson Goes Mobile With New Class of Intelligent App Development

This eWEEK slide show examines what IBM is doing with Watson and mobile. - See more at: http://www.eweek.com/mobile/slideshows/ibms-watson-goes-mobile-with-new-class-of-intelligent-app-development.html?kc=EWKNLHCR04022014STR1&dni=116413499&rni=23373956#sthash.9FU1D84C.dpuf

Click here This eWeek slideshow shows what IBM is doing with Watson and mobile

This eWEEK slide show examines what IBM is doing with Watson and mobile. - See more at: http://www.eweek.com/mobile/slideshows/ibms-watson-goes-mobile-with-new-class-of-intelligent-app-development.html?kc=EWKNLHCR04022014STR1&dni=116413499&rni=23373956#sthash.9FU1D84C.dpuf

This eWEEK slide show examines what IBM is doing with Watson and mobile. - See more at: http://www.eweek.com/mobile/slideshows/ibms-watson-goes-mobile-with-new-class-of-intelligent-app-development.html?kc=EWKNLHCR04022014STR1&dni=116413499&rni=23373956#sthash.9FU1D84C.dpuf

This eWEEK slide show examines what IBM is doing with Watson and mobile. - See more at: http://www.eweek.com/mobile/slideshows/ibms-watson-goes-mobile-with-new-class-of-intelligent-app-development.html?kc=EWKNLHCR04022014STR1&dni=116413499&rni=23373956#sthash.9FU1D84C.dpuf

This eWEEK slide show examines what IBM is doing with Watson and mobile. - See more at: http://www.eweek.com/mobile/slideshows/ibms-watson-goes-mobile-with-new-class-of-intelligent-app-development.html?kc=EWKNLHCR04022014STR1&dni=116413499&rni=23373956#sthash.9FU1D84C.dpuf

Would you text your doctor?

RWJF: Click Here for the link

Telemedicine in Sports with a "POT"

"In terms of disease management,” stated Dr. Devi Shetty in Sanjit Bagchi’s article Telemedicine in Rural India, “there is [a] 99% possibility that the person who is unwell does not require [an] operation. If you don't operate you don't need to touch the patient. And if you don't need to touch the patient, you don't need to be there. You can be anywhere, since the decision on healthcare management is based on history and interpretation of images and chemistry...so technically speaking, 99% of health-care problems can be managed by the doctors staying at a remote place—linked by telemedicine.”

Read more »

ICD-10 rollout ushers in era of worldwide reimbursement for use of mobile medical apps

MobiHealthNews researchers have pored through the more than 155,000 entries for references to mobile health apps.
Under the “2014 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Codes” the system lists “mobile medical apps” as one of the external causes in its “Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes” category. For example, the new codes include a sub-code for “injury after falling over in an attempt to photograph a mole on one's back with a smartphone.”
The set of T33.011D billable diagnosis codes marks the first time that any mobile medical app user can be reimbursed for using the tools.  

Among the other sub-codes for injury caused by mobile medical apps is one for being “creatively destroyed by a mobile medical app” and another for “declaring that technology can’t solve everything in healthcare” after using one.

Mobile gaming may be next panacea for reducing stress, anxiety

Mobile gaming apps may be the next prescription for reducing stress and anxiety, according to a new research paper from the Assocation for Psychological Science.
The paper, titled "Mental Health on the Go: Effects of a Gamified Attention-Bias Modification Mobile Application in Trait-Anxious Adults," which the co-authors say is the first to investigate mobile apps use in psychiatry treatment, suggests that just one single gaming session can reduce acute stress responses when used in attention-bias modification training (ABMT). The study claims anxiety is the most common psychiatric disorder but only about 50 percent of patients seek treatment due to cost, accessibility of treatment and cultural stigma barriers.
Using mobile apps in psychiatric treatment is just one of the latest innovations in mobile healthcare tools. University of Cambridge researchers have developed a new smartphone app that promises to enhance the accuracy of colorimetric tests for diabetes, kidney disease and urinary tract infections. Mobile software is playing a big role in blood testing approach that uses a smartphone screen to analyze results in blood treatment scenarios. A recent poll of 1,500 physicians nationwide reveals 37 percent have prescribed a mobile medical application to patients.  Read More

TeamSTEPPS® 2.0 Updates, Streamlines Well-Known Patient Safety Training Curriculum

AHRQ has released TeamSTEPPS® 2.0, an updated version of its successful curriculum aimed at optimizing patient outcomes by improving communication and teamwork skills among health care professionals. Since TeamSTEPPS was first introduced in 2006, thousands of health care organizations have used the evidence-based teamwork system to build a foundation for patient safety. TeamSTEPPS 2.0 is a complete update and streamlining of the original curriculum. It includes several significant changes:

• A new measurement module provides information about ways to measure the impact of TeamSTEPPS and the available tools to support evaluation.
• The communication module has been moved up in the order of instruction to better align with the emphasis on overcoming communication errors within teamwork.
• The course management guide has been updated to include TeamSTEPPS modules and versions that have been added for the user's reference.

The curriculum is available online and in DVD format and includes slide presentations, teaching modules and video vignettes. To order the DVD, contact the AHRQ Publications Clearinghouse or call (800) 358-9295.