Apps, Wearables, Cloud Services – All Part of mHealth

mHealth is an abbreviation for mobile health, a term used for the practice of medicine and public health supported by mobile devices. The term is most commonly used in reference to using mobile communication devices for health services and information and includes technology such as apps (applications), wearables and cloud services.  The market for these technologies is growing and as more options become available,

Anthem Breach Reminds Many of Importance of Security

Weaknesses in cyber security surely exist and the recent Anthem breach has many believing that this is just the start of an awful trend.  As well as the actual medical and miscellaneous personal information, social security numbers and financial information (for payment to providers) are all in one place – providing the winning trifecta for hackers. 

mHealth=Mobile Health

mHealth is an abbreviation for mobile health, a term used for the practice of medicine and public health supported by mobile devices. The term is most commonly used in reference to using mobile communication devices, such as mobile phones, tablet computers and PDAs, for health services and information.  The mHealth field has emerged as a sub-segment of eHealth,

Forces Joined for Interoperability

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is a staff division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and they are focused on implementing an interoperable and secure nationwide health information system.  The EHR/HIE Interoperability Workgroup (IWG) is a New York-led group of 19 states and 47 EHR and HIE vendors. 

Many Unhappy EHR Users Switching

Many EHR systems are falling short of user expectations and this is leading to many switching to new solutions.  Some of the main reasons for dissatisfaction are that many vendors have fallen short with updates, that customer support has been lackluster, and that some systems are cost prohibitive. Polls by Black Book Rankings had found that as many as 17% of EHR users were set to switch systems and a KLAS (an independently owned and operated company,

HIMSS Officials Weigh-In on Meaningful Use Requirements

In June Sylvia Mathews Burwell was confirmed as Secretary of Health and Human Services.  Just recently, the Healthcare Information and Management System Society (HIMSS), which represents 57,000 health IT professionals, sent a letter to Health and Human Services requesting that the agency adjust the meaningful use reporting period to a single three-month quarterly requirement vs.

CMS Payment Adjustments Set to Begin January 1, 2015

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS.gov) recently updated their ‘Payment Adjustments & Hardship Exceptions Tipsheet for Eligible Professionals’.  The information pertains to Medicare Eligible Professionals who are not meaningful users of Certified Electronic Health Record (EHR) and the payment adjustments that will be applied beginning January 1, 2015.  Meaningful use is using certified electronic health record (EHR) technology to: improve quality,

Apple’s HealthKit and Personal Health Records

On June 2nd, Apple Inc. announced its HealthKit platform, “a single place that applications can contribute to a composite profile of your activity and health.” Along with Samsung’s SAMI (Samsung Architecture for Multimodal Interactions) and Google’s anticipated Google Fit, HealthKit holds out the promise of having one’s pertinent health information available anywhere, anytime.