Long-term Care for You or your Love Ones Information from DHHS

Long-term care for your loved ones

If you have aging parents or grandparents, then you probably worry about them. Even independent people need a hand now and then.

You might be planning for the future, and what kind of care they may need. But if you haven't, then I recommend this site from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a great place to start.

Click Here to Learn More >>

Reimbursement for home monitoring gradually expands

By Neil Versel

Barriers to reimbursement for telehealth services are falling, slowly.

One of the most recent victories came in Massachusetts, where lawmakers this summer approved a general appropriations bill that included Medicaid reimbursement for remote monitoring services in patient homes. This action, passed over a veto by Gov. Deval Patrick, makes Massachusetts the 12th state to approve Medicaid payments for home monitoring, according to the American Telemedicine Association.

In fact, the Massachusetts legislation has a bit of a catch: it applies only to home health agencies, not hospitals or physician practices, which is why the Massachusetts Medical Association declined to comment. The Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts, however, was ecstatic. More

Johns Hopkins launches mHealth Evidence reference site

The mHealth Evidence site brings together sources and research related to feasibility, usability and efficacy of mobile healthcare technologies, though Boncana said there still remains limited data on health outcomes. It includes a searchable database and what Boncana said is a way to help researchers know where there are gaps in the literature.

mHealth Evidence currently contains close to 4,400 records, and will automatically pulls in new, relevant citations from PubMed, the National Library of Medicine’s index of medical literature. More

Slideshow: 10 Patients Apps from US Children’s Hospitals

One trend that emerged while researching MobiHealthNews’ most recent report, 205 Hospital-branded apps for patients, was that children’s hospitals are far and away the most creative and ambitious of healthcare providers in the United States using mobile apps for patient engagement.

Click Here for mobile apps from US Children's Hospitals

FDA’s final guidance for mobile medical apps

The two broad categories of apps that the FDA regulates, according to the final guidance, are:

are intended to be used as an accessory to a regulated medical device – for example, an application that allows a health care professional to make a specific diagnosis by viewing a medical image from a picture archiving and communication system (PACS) on a smartphone or a mobile tablet; or
transform a mobile platform into a regulated medical device – for example, an application that turns a smartphone into an electrocardiography (ECG) machine to detect abnormal heart rhythms or determine if a patient is experiencing a heart attack.

The FDA also published an important guidance document for mobile health devicemakers — the hardware side of the industry — in August. The guidance on device interoperability had been in the works even longer than the mobile medical apps document.

Read the FDA’s final guidance for mobile medical apps here. (PDF)

Telehealth powers Population Health Management

Population Health is one of the three cornerstones of healthcare’s “Triple Aim” – which includes

Improving the experience of care
Improving the health of populations
Reducing the per capita costs of healthcare

Briefly, Population Health looks beyond the health outcome of an individual. It looks at outcomes across a group as well as the distribution of outcomes within that group.

The Healthcare Intelligence Network has put together a nice infographic that summarizes how telehealth powers Population Health Management.

It covers:

How people are using telehealth for clinical vs. non-clinical purposes
Top clinical areas targeted for telehealth
The top technologies being employed for telehealth
Top types of clinical applications for telehealth
How they are tapping the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) provisions that support telehealth

You can use this infographic to

Determine if your telehealth solution is aligned with where others are going
Determine how you can tie telehealth into the ACA’s provisions
Determine your best clinical options for implementing telehealth

(Hands On Telehealth) Nirav Desai via aweber.com

Medication Adherence: Getting America to Take Its Medicine

The Healthcare Intelligence Network is the leading online source of healthcare business information.
Complex patients remain the top targets of programs to improve medication adherence (MA), but more than half now also zero in on MA levels during transitions in care — up from 37 percent in 2012.
This HINfographic on Medication Adherence illustrates a wealth of data on current programs, including the most likely targets of MA programs, the most common barriers to medication compliance, the most influential tools, and the conditions that respond most favorably to efforts to improve MA.
This Medication Adherence HINfographic is derived from data published in 2013 Healthcare Benchmarks: Medication Adherence.

More

Patient and Family Engagement

The Patient and Family Engagement module of the CUSP Toolkit focuses on making sure patients and their family members understand what is happening during the patient's hospital stay, are active participants in the patient's care, and are prepared for discharge. AHRQ More

FL Patients Too Poor to Enroll: DOH

© Health News Florida Floridians who use county health departments for primary care are mostly too poor to qualify for enrollment in a health plan through the online Marketplace to open Oct. 1, 2013, the Department of Health says. More

Final FDA Rule Out for Medical Device Unique Identifiers

Six years after authorizing legislation was enacted, the Food and Drug Administration has issued a final rule to establish a unique device identifier for medical devices.
Read More »

HHS Site Aims To Educate About Health Information Exchange

Yesterday, HHS launched a website aimed at helping health care providers educate their patients on making informed decisions about health information exchange. Meanwhile, two Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT officials explained the decision to launch the website in a Health Affairs Blog post. The Hill's "Healthwatch" et al. More

Electronic Nursing Documentation: Charting New Territory

Medscape Nurses

Nurses Speak Up About Electronic Charting
Advantages of Electronic Charting
EHRs Take Too Much Time
Perception, Reality, and Learning Curves
Too Many Check Boxes, Too Little Narrative
Changing Nurses' Workflow: Real-Time Charting
Point-of-Care Charting
Whose Chart Is It, Anyway?
From User-Unfriendly to Nurses' Best Friend

5 ways to link health information technology, quality measurement

A new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) summarizes the comments it received on its July 2012 request for information and from focus groups on how to enhance quality measurement through health information technology. More

Consumers Spend 52 Hours Online Annually Searching for Health Info

A new study finds that U.S. consumers each spend about 52 hours online annually searching for health information. WebMD is the most accessed online source, and personal computers are the preferred tool to conduct such searches, according to the report. FierceHealthIT. More

EHRs Associated With Fewer ED Visits, Hospitalizations, Study Finds

A study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association finds that the use of electronic health record systems is associated with a modest decrease in emergency department visits and hospitalizations among patients with diabetes. Medical News Today et al. More

EHR adverse events data cause for alarm

MDLYNX NURSING: Healthcare IT News, 09/09/2013

Software default values, though implemented for safety, are proving in many cases to be harmful for patients if not used properly. After analyzing more than 300 event reports related to EHR software default values, more than 3 percent were found to result in unsafe conditions or prolonged hospitalization for patients, according to a new report by the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority. More

Study: Facebook Groups Could Boost HIV Education, Testing

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine finds that Facebook could help educate high-risk individuals about HIV prevention and testing. Forty-four percent of study participants assigned to an HIV prevention Facebook group requested a no-cost HIV home testing kit, according to the study. NPR's "Shots" et al. More

Five quick tips for successful EHR implementation

ZDNet Health: Here's a short, to-the-point introduction to some key factors that can help you succeed in your EHR implementation.
Over the past few years, there has been quite a bit about the growing need for health care practitioners to use electronic health records (or EHR). Here are five such articles:

No matter who you talk to, though, implementing a working, secure EHR system is quite the challenge. More

6 apps for the visually impaired

Most technology is geared toward people with good vision. For those of us with impaired vision - yes, I have vision problems too - it's a bit harder to use. Fortunately, there are apps that can help. These can even help you out in other non-tech areas.

System: Android, iOS

Click Here to Learn More >>

The Social Determinants of Health: A Toolkit for Collaboration

The Association of Academic Health Centers has created a toolkit is to bring together academic health center leadership with representatives from multiple sectors, including employers, nonprofit organizations, the federal government, the public health community, and foundations, to communicate, collaborate, and plan for the future. View the toolkit: More

Healthcare assistant on the go

Hospital visits can be scary, but it's important to have regular checkups. This new app makes the doctor's office, and healthcare in general, less complicated.

Its information comes directly from the Medicare Hospital Compare database. Find out what hospitals have the best survival rate for heart conditions and other health issues. See what nursing homes and clinics have the best inspection rates. More System: Android, iOS

School nurses use the SaaS-based HealthMaster medical-record platform to keep track of students' medications and immunizations.

SaaS Helps School Nurses Track Meds, Immunizations
School nurses use the SaaS-based HealthMaster medical-record platform to keep track of students' medications and immunizations, such as whether a vaccine is given or if insulin was administered.
READ MORE »

In schools, software-as-a-service (SaaS) platforms aid school nurses in monitoring students' medications and health needs. HealthOffice medical-record software and Ericom's SaaS remote-access platform allows school medical personnel to keep track of students' conditions. - See more at: http://www.eweek.com/enterprise-apps/ericom-healthmaster-enable-health-record-access-in-schools.html?kc=EWKNLHCR08212013STR2&dni=74925514&rni=23373956#sthash.kRyRcwon.dpuf

With Some Medicare Payments Based on Patient Satisfaction, More Hospitals Are Relying on Parents as Virtual Advisers

When staffers at the Nemours/Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del., want to simplify appointment scheduling, make surgery smoother for kids or even work on doctors' bedside manner, they turn to a special group of experts, a "virtual advisory council" made up of parents on a private social network. Wall Street Journal

Fla. Bill Would Require Private Insurers To Cover Telehealth Services

A Florida lawmaker has introduced a bill that would require private insurers in the state to cover telehealth visits. The bill also would direct state officials to research methods for implementing and regulating a telehealth system. South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
More

Does home monitoring make a difference in cost and outcomes?

The Annals of Internal Medicine study is clear — home monitoring and data collection helps patients manage their chronic disease. But, the largest benefit is seen when home monitoring is combined with additional support from the patient’s healthcare team. More

The role of mobility strategies in healthcare: Survey results. Over 500 healthcare organizations were surveyed to better understand how hospitals are addressing the mobility trend and what the challenges are. This report examines these challenges and discusses solution ideas. Read the white paper.

Does innovation overshadow prevention?

...We are in the midst of a much-needed transformation of the U.S. health care system. At the root of this transformation is correction of our current system’s over-dependence on procedures, technology, and emergent care at the expense of prevention and public health. While innovation will remain an important component of the American medical establishment, it cannot continue to overshadow a solid foundation of primary care...RWJF

FDA Finalizes Guidance on Radio Frequency Wireless Technology

The FDA has finalized guidance on the use of radio frequency wireless technology in medical devices. An FDA official said the development of "innovative, safe and effective medical devices that incorporate wireless technology" could help cut costs and boost quality. Bloomberg BNA. iHealthBeat

Calculating Return on Investment for Remote Patient Monitoring Programs

Remote patient monitoring devices can lead to fewer office visits and better health outcomes. But gauging their value relative to cost has been difficult, until now.

The ROI calculator for heart failure monitoring is user-friendly and publicly available as a web-based tool. Interested organizations with active RPM programs for congestive heart failure and/or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), regardless of type of technology, may contact Valerie Steinmetz for more information. The ROI calculator is available through the External Link below.

External Links

ROI Calculator for Heart Failure Monitoring

EHRs and Patient Education

Using Electronic Health Records to Improve Patient Education

Read about the results of AHRQ-funded research in the book chapter, “Improving Patient Education With Electronic Health Records.” This research investigated the best approaches for using EHRs to provide patients with materials that are understandable and actionable, especially those with limited health literacy and English proficiency.

The chapter includes:

A review of existing EHR systems to understand how they are designed and used to deliver patient information.
Two case studies of health systems using EHRs to address patient education for populations with limited literacy or English proficiency.
Implications for Meaningful Use criteria.

The chapter is included in the report Health Information Technology in the United States: Better Information Systems for Better Care, 2013 published by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The entire report can be accessed at: http://www.rwjf.org/content/dam/farm/reports/reports/2013/rwjf406758.

Improving Healthcare Quality Through Clinician Use of Health IT

A new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) found that providing patient-specific decision support, supporting clinical workflow, and coordinating care are ways health information technology (IT) can help clinicians and patients make decisions that may lead to better outcomes. “Findings and Lessons from the Improving Quality Through Clinician Use of Health IT Grant Initiative” documents the findings of more than 20 research projects that investigated how health IT applications can assist providers in providing evidence based care. Multiple studies showed positive impacts on process and intermediate outcomes.

To access the report, select: http://healthit.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/docs/page/findings-and-lessons-from-the-improving-quality-through-clinician-use-of-health-it.pdf (PDF, 1.17 MB).

Ethics and HIT

Challenges...
http://jamia.bmj.com/site/icons/amiajnl8946.pdf

patient safety should trump all other values; corporate concerns about liability and intellectual property ownership may be valid but should not over-ride all other considerations;
transparency and a commitment to patient safety should govern vendor contracts;
institutions are duty-bound to provide ethics education to purchasers and users, and should commit publicly to standards of corporate conduct; and
vendors, system purchasers, and users should encourage and assist in each others’ efforts to adopt best practices.

Meaningful Use (MU) & Nursing

Nurses are central to ensuring Meaningful Use ...

http://www.himss.org/ASP/topics_FocusDynamic.asp?faid=395

Bowles, K. (October, 2010). Achieving Meaningful Use with Information Technology: Telehealth Research. Online Journal of Nursing Informatics (OJNI),14 (3). Available at http://ojni.org/14_3/Bowles.pdf

Bowles, K.,(February, 2011) ONJNI....Achieving Meaningful Use With Decision Support Research http://tinyurl.com/4ol9r6p

CMS & MU:

Meeting the Requirements for Meaningful Use: Attestation Calculator

HIMMS:

Meaningful Use OneSource assists eligible healthcare providers and professionals in understanding Meaningful Use Stage 1 and Stage 2 requirements, timelines, and the proposed rule. Our dynamic and living body of documents and tools fully prepares you to:

Meet Meaningful Use proposed Stage 2 certification criteria and standards
Receive Medicare and Medicaid incentive funding and avoid penalties
Implement Meaningful Use specifications practically and successfully
Get updates on federal and state regulations with content vetted by industry experts!

Social media tools encourage people to share information, collaborate, and interact. These tools reinforce and personalize health messages, reach new audiences, and build a communication infrastructure based on open information exchange. The tools include:
Bookmark and Share Twitter Facebook YouTube	Podcasts E-mail Updates RSS Feeds AHRQ Social Media Policies

Pages

MDLYNX NURSING: Healthcare IT News, 09/09/2013

External Links

Other Nursing Informatics & HIT Blogs of Interest

Nursing Informatics & Technology: A Blog for All Levels of Users

News from healthcareitnews.com

mobihealthnews

iHealthBeat

Health information technology improves care and saves lives

Ethics and HIT

e-Behaviorial Health