Study: EHR use leads to loss of time
As hospitals increasingly use electronic health records, they may also be increasingly losing time during the day to the technology, according to a new study. Read more here.
Cutting Back on $100B in Unnecessary Imaging
It’s no secret that some portion of medical imaging performed each year is unnecessary. The question is how much and, maybe more importantly, what can be done about it? Another report out this week took a stab at quantifying the problem. Read more here.
Medical Identity Theft: How The Health Care Industry Is Failing Us
Unlike the financial services industry, health care companies lack measures to adequately prevent identity theft, even as they continue to digitize medical records and other sensitive information. Read more here.
CMS Finalizes EHR Meaningful-use Rule, Adds Some Flexibility
The CMS late Friday finalized a rule allowing hospitals and eligible professionals more flexibility in how they meet meaningful-use requirements for the electronic health-record incentive program. The agency had first proposed the idea in a May draft rule. Friday's final rule left the May proposal unchanged. Read more here.
MRIs Linked to Wasteful Healthcare Spending
Use of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) climbed more than 350 percent between 1996 and 2010 a study published by the American College of Radiology (ACR) found, adding millions to healthcare costs without always delivering assumed value. Cases in point: knee and shoulder MRIs done without prior radiographs and stand-alone MRIs to find causes of back pain. Read more here.
FBI Warns Healthcare Companies About Hacker Threat
The FBI has issued a warning that hackers are actively targeting the healthcare industry, reports Reuters. The announcement follows the recent attack on hospital group Community Health Systems, which put the personal information of about 4.5 million patients at risk. Read more here.
Decade of Lung CAD Brings Insight, but Little Daily Use
Computer-aided detection (CAD) is known to boost radiologist performance in the detection of lung nodules, and radiologists certainly need the help. But despite a decade of fine-tuning and some powerful new capabilities, CAD systems haven't found a place in daily practice at most imaging facilities. Read more here.
CMS Officially Sets ICD-10 Transition for October 1, 2015
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its final rule officially setting the ICD-10 transition date for October 1, 2015. Asserting that the new date “allows ample time” for the healthcare industry to prepare for the change, the final rule confirms what the agency told the industry in May after the one-year delay was voted through as part of [...]
Report: ACOs to Cover 130M Lives by 2017
A recent report from Dallas-based Parks Associates, a market research and consulting company, has found the number of lives covered by accountable care organizations will increase from 40 million in 2015 to over 130 million by 2017. The research firm said business and regulatory changes, as well as the emphasis on performance-based metrics will cause an increase [...]
Google Ventures Further into Healthcare Realm
Google's co-founders said earlier this month that they don't foresee the tech giant becoming a healthcare company, but that doesn't seem to be stopping the company from taking on more health projects--including its newest venture to create a full picture of what a healthy human should look like. Read more here.