Health IT Literature Review Report and Interactive Data Visualization on the Health IT Dashboard!

http://dashboard.healthit.gov

ONC recently updated its Health IT Dashboard with the results of a comprehensive literature of the impacts of health IT titled: Health Information Technology: An Updated Systematic Review with a Focus on Meaningful Use Functionalities. The literature review updates previous systematic reviews with the new peer review literature published during the 2010 to 2013 time frame.

The literature review results include findings that the majority of new studies indicate that health IT enabled significant gains in health care quality, but efficiency and safety were still the subjects of relatively little research. In addition, this report has a complementary interactive data visualization that allows users to see the value of health IT across these outcomes. The report and data visualization are just one of many examples of what ONC has been doing to show the value of health IT and make data come alive.

Download the full report [PDF — 2.2 MB] from HealthIT.gov, or dig deeper into the literature with ONC's interactive data visualization. With the data visualization you can:
·       Read about the effect of health IT on outcomes
·       Use a clickable interactive tree map that shows what Meaningful Use health IT functionalities have positive or negative impacts on healthcare outcomes.
·       Browse through a sortable and interactive table of 236 new health IT studies to explore what the new research evidence shows regarding the relationship between health IT and quality, safety, and efficiency.

Health Information Exchange

What is Health Information Exchange and how does it impact my practice? Find resources and learn more about HIE, the benefits, and how to get started on the following pages:
·       What is HIE?
·       HIE Benefits
·       Nationwide HIE Strategy
·       Getting Started with HIE

Click here for more information

Everyone has a role in protecting and securing health information

Everyone has a role in protecting patient privacy, and securing health information. ONC's Health Information Technology Policy Committee’s (HITPC) Privacy and Security Tiger Team  and the Committee's Privacy & Security Tiger Team have provided guidance and value as ONC has worked to promote the secure adoption of health IT. Please take a look at the impact the HITPC's Tiger Team has had on ONC's role to inspire trust and confidence in health IT. You can view the new infographic and learn more by visiting HealthIT.gov.

There is also newly released Data Brief reporting results from the 2012 ONC Consumer Survey on Privacy and Security. The Data Brief highlights the critical role of health care providers in making sure that reasonable privacy and security protections are in place for electronic health records (EHRs) and other health IT.  Click here for the Infographic and for more information.

UK: Key role of housing & telecare to support independent living

ASSISTED LIVING INNOVATION PLATFORM

Knowledge Transfer

Opening Doors to wider networks of people/ rganisations

The HeakthTech and Medicines Knowledge Transfer Network (Health KTN) is a single front door through which members can find all the expertise and support they need across the innovation chain, from first idea, to patenting and packaging

intellectual property, finding academic and industrial partners for product development and manufacturing scale up, meeting regulatory standards, and getting access to market. More

70 percent of clinicians use mobile devices to view patient information

Sixty-nine percent of providers use a mobile device to view patient information and 36 percent use mobile technologies to collect data at the bedside, according to HIMSS survey of 170 individuals who held a wide variety of positions in healthcare organizations.  More

HIMSS Surveys Point to Growth in Mobile Health, Nursing Informatics

A new survey from HIMSS Analytics, the research arm of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, finds that nearly 70% of surveyed health care leaders say that clinicians at their organizations use mobile technology to view patient data. Meanwhile, HIMSS' annual Nursing Informatics Workforce Survey finds that the field of nursing informatics has grown in recent years. MobiHealthNews et al.  More

HIMSS Leadership, Analytics Surveys Pinpoint IT Challenges

The recently released Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Leadership Survey finds that health IT executives are most concerned about sustaining financial viability and improving operational efficiency. In addition, a HIMSS Analytics report finds that only about half of hospitals have implemented a plan to archive data. Healthcare Informatics et al.     Read more

mHealth skeptics and supporters - the stats

While some people believe that mHealth is the logical choice for engaging with consumers, others are skeptical, citing lower adoption of or access to such technologies by the most critically ill patients - typically the elderly or the lower class.

To shed light on the real potential for mHealth, this week’s newsletter includes an infographic (from Deloitte Center for Health Solutions) that highlights

• How consumers are currently using mHealth
• What people are skeptical about when it comes to mHealth
• The ways in which consumers are receptive to mHealth  

 Infographic: A check-up on consumers' use of mHealth

Telemedicine breaks down international barriers

mhealthnews.com

Telemedicine has long been considered an ideal means of connecting healthcare providers with people in remote parts of the country. Now a growing number of providers are using the technology to push their expertise across the globe. Pittsburgh-based UPMC, for instance, recently announced two deals to enable video access to its physicians in Afghanistan and India. That's on top of the health network's ongoing telemedicine partnerships in China, Kazakhstan, Italy, Colombia, Singapore, Mexico and Ireland, and ongoing conversations with Germany, Brazil and Israel, among other countries. Read more

ONC releases proposed 2015 EHR technology certification criteria

BREAKING NEWS: ONC releases proposed 2015 EHR technology certification criteria - FierceEMR fierceemr.com

True to its word, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has released a proposed rule containing the next edition of electronic health record technology certification criteria.

The proposed rule, to be published in the Federal Register Feb. 26, represents ONC's new approach to update the criteria more frequently in order to include improved standards and improve regulatory clarity.
http://www.fierceemr.com/story/onc-releases-proposed-2015-certification-criteria/2014-02-21

Worth a Thousand Words: How to Display Health Data

Data on Display

What is the story you want to tell with your health data? This guide offers examples and tools for creating compelling data visualizations. Among the many tips offered: To communicate findings and implications from data, take them out of their native spreadsheet or database and conduct an analysis that goes beyond a simple flat format. And when making data available to the public, enable others to create their own data displays by offering a data download or, even better, an API into the data.
The complete guide is available as a Document Download.

Document Downloads

Worth a Thousand Words: How to Display Health Data (2.61 MB)

Read more: http://www.chcf.org/publications/2014/02/worth-thousand-words-data#ixzz2uKicgtAp

Connected Health Lessons

Three articles in the February issue of Health Affairs examine the benefits and challenges presented by telehealth and how to prepare for Medicaid expansion. The success of the Affordable Care Act will depend on embracing technology that allows providers to reach more patients, treat them effectively and efficiently, and track their progress over time. With partial sponsorship from the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF), the February 2014 issue of the journal Health Affairs explores the early evidence and future promise of connected health, which includes telemedicine, telehealth, and mobile health.

Read more: http://www.chcf.org/publications/2014/02/evidence-promise-connected-

CMS Adds New Quality Measures to Physician Compare Website

CMS’ Physician Compare website now includes quality measures related to the treatment of certain conditions. CMS says consumers will be able to find information about how well physicians provide care for patients with diabetes and other conditions. Modern Healthcare et al. Read more

Helping Cardiologists in Tucson Save Babies in Yuma

Instead of having to ship a DVD, the echocardiogram can now be transmitted over the broadband telemedicine network. In most cases, physicians receive a definitive diagnosis almost immediately, or within the same day.
This collaborative effort resulted in the publication of a seminal article authored by Lax, Warda and colleagues. Published in 2012 in Telemedicine and e-Health, the leading telemedicine journal, it confirmed that neonatal echocardiograms viewed and interpreted via telemedicine are as accurate as echocardiograms recorded and shipped to the interpreting physician in another city. And both are "indispensable in the remote diagnosis of congenital heart disease."
"The greater benefit is to the families," ... "They can be right there with their baby and get a diagnosis from the cardiologist in Tucson almost right away. And I can tell you, when you have a baby who's sick, that means so much, instead of having to wait until tomorrow or the next day, or even longer to get an answer."
Yuma Regional Medical Center has one of the top-ranked neonatal ICUs in Arizona. One reason is the Arizona Telemedicine Program, which helps the hospital fulfill its promise of "care close to home."  Click here for more

Integrating Internet, Moblie, And Video Technologies Into Patient Care

http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/33/2/251.abstract

In the February Health Affairs issue, Robert Pearl of the Permanente Medical Group provides a case study of Kaiser Permanente Northern California's experience with Internet, mobile, and video technologies. He identifies the two largest barriers to their use: the lack of reimbursements under the fee-for-service system, and the financial and other resources needed to truly integrate these technologies into existing models of care. The KPNC health system has been at the forefront of electronic medical record adoption, as well as the use of subsequent technological tools that integrate with these data; virtual patient "visits" have more than doubled in five years, from 4.1 million to 10.5 million virtual visits annually.

The February Health Affairs issue contains thematic content focusing on the current evidence and future potential of connected health, encompassing telemedicine, telehealth, and mHealth. This thematic content was discussed at a February 7 Washington DC event. http://www.healthaffairs.org/events/2014_02_05_early_
evidence_future_promise_of_connected_health/

Ageing population: what can we learn from overseas?

From intergenerational holiday camps to a parliament for older people, schemes across Europe and further afield could offer inspiration.

Click Here for more

Yale researchers have developed a program to treat substance abuse and dependence

Yale study identifies new substance abuse treatment wtnh.com

Yale researchers came up with an interactive web therapy based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT, and in a study with cocaine-dependent patients, it was pretty effective.
Scenes such as a boyfriend offering his girlfriend drugs are dramatized in a web base approach to treating drug and alcohol addiction. 
Yale researchers developed Computer Based Training in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT4CBT that teaches practical strategies.

Geriatric ER popularity grows to meet demand

The number of emergency departments (EDs) dedicated to caring for older adults will likely grow over the next 18 months in order to provide better healthcare, address population health and reduce costs, experts told AMN Healthcare.
The ECRI Institute estimates about 50 geriatric EDs are in operation in the United States and another 150 are in development. The growth is necessary to meet the needs of the number of Americans aged 65 or older, which will reach 89 million by 2050. Older adults make up a quarter of all ED visits, according to the AMN article.
The majority of changes necessary for implementing a successful geriatric ED are physical ones, Healthcare Design magazine reported. Soft colors, large-face clocks, calendars and patient boards, and nonskid floors and handrails create a more effective environment for treating geriatric patients.
The changes are essential, considering ED visits can negatively affect older patients with complex conditions, which often worsen aft their visits, according to a 2013 study published in the Annals of Emergency Medicine, FierceHealthcare previously reported. Before arriving, 46 percent of the elderly patients required help for daily activities--a number that rose to 67 percent at the ED. Moreover, about 48 percent of patients already had a geriatric syndrome, such as immobility, confusion and incontinence, before visiting the ED. After their visit, about 78 percent had a geriatric syndrome.
To learn more:
- here's the AMN article
- read the Healthcare Design piece
- check out the ECRI report (.pdf)