Microsoft backs health IT standards

In a blog post co-written with David Kibbe of The Health Care Blog, Microsoft's top health care guy Peter Neupert voices some ambitious goals. Among them: patients’ clinical data should be in 75 percent of ERs, clinics  and hospitals by year-end; doctors should all be given a "face sheet" with all data relevant to a visit and it should be made available to patients online; and, patients should always be given an after-visit report online, which includes the next steps for care according to best practices.

  • HGM Buzz
  • By John Farrell
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  • February 3, 2009
John Farrell's picture

Telemetry Vendor Activity Means Options for Healthcare Providers

I've written extensively on telehealth and telemedicine initiatives being rolled out by hospitals and state governments across the country. With so much going into the implementation and funding of these projects, it's not surprising that the companies developing telemetry systems would also be making the news. Suffice it to say, the new year is off to a good start for telehealth's vendors.

  • John Farrell's blog
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  • January 25, 2010

Vendor partnership to stream device data to PHRs

Google's recently announced partnership with IBM will add new technology to the search giant's PHR that will automatically import data from medical devices. The new feature uses software created by IBM and guidelines from Continua Health Alliance to let patients exchange personal health data with doctors or other parties in real time.

  • HGM Buzz
  • By John Farrell
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  • February 9, 2009
Jared Quoyeser's picture

Webinar update: Making the case for healthcare IT and managing change

Thanks to our community and the more than 330 participants who joined us for the Jan. 29 webinar, Managing Change: How to Overcome Obstacles and Encourage Mobile Technology Adoption. Our three distinguished speakers described how they addressed real-world challenges in implementing mobile point-of-care technologies, including wireless networks and mobile devices.

  • Jared Quoyeser's blog
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  • February 2, 2009
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Houstonians not waiting on feds for health reform

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius may be perfectly comfortable overtaxing America's most productive citizens to pay for the Obama administration's health reform agenda, but healthcare professionals in Houston see a better way--an approach that improves health, reduces costs and lowers the number of uninsured.

  • John Farrell's blog
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  • July 20, 2009

Electronic prescribing offers many benefits

Beginning Jan. 1, it will pay for doctors to electronically prescribe medication for Medicare patients. Physicians who opt for paperless prescriptions will get an extra 2 percent in reimbursement rates from Medicare. Why? There are a number of reasons, the most important of which is patient safety. Electronic prescribing systems make it much easier to detect possible mistakes in dosages or raise concerns about dangerous interactions between the drug being prescribed and one already being taken by a patient.

  • HGM Buzz
  • By Mia Erichson
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  • December 18, 2008

Putting Patient Care First: The Mobile Clinical Assistant

[video]

Get a first-hand look at how the Mobile Clinical Assistant (MCA) platform was developed specifically for streamlining healthcare workflows and improving patient care around the world. Learn about its successful implementation at facilities that are now benefiting from mobile point-of-care technology.

  • Video Success Story
  • By webmaster
  • October 5, 2009
John Farrell's picture

HIT: No Reform Without It

With House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's 1,990-page health care reform bill (HR3962) drawing heavy fire from critics who are outraged over the legislation's epic new spending and taxes, pricier insurance, rationed care and dishonest accounting, it's reassuring to know at least one component of this "critical milestone" appears intact--recognition by our elected officials of the enormous promise that mobile health holds for improving healthcare and empowering patients.

  • John Farrell's blog
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  • November 2, 2009
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Software from the Patient's POV

As a general rule, I limit my focus on mobile point of care technologies to organizations that are actively positioning themselves within traditional healthcare settings. But with increasing emphasis being placed on heading off hospitalizations and physician visits by targeting the needs of patients in the home--and since HealthcareGoesMobile.com is all about building community within the healthcare space--it seems reasonable to mention a new start-up that's currently beta testing an online personal health care management service designed from the patient's point of view.

  • John Farrell's blog
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  • October 26, 2009
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Reformists should steal telehealth's thunder

A couple weeks ago, I wrote a blog post for MobileHealthWatch.com in which I said that while EMRs, CPOE, barcoding and other systems are interesting and vital in their own right, few mobile point of care technologies demonstrate the promise of transformation—and spark the imagination of health care consumers—like telemedicine. Over the past few days, more encouraging signs of telehealth's promise have emerged in the news.

  • John Farrell's blog
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  • May 11, 2009