Featured Report: The Question Your Doctor Should Be Asking You — but Isn’t

Fierce Health IT

Survey: Consumer health tech adoption remains low

Dec,22,2014

by: Katie Dvorak

Use of technology to manage healthcare still remains low for consumers, but many of them view devices and apps in a positive light, according to a new survey from consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton and research practice Ipsos Public Affairs. For instance, while seven in 10 respondents said they owned a smartphone or tablet, only two in 10 indicated that they used the devices to monitor or manage their health. The older the consumer and the greater their income, the more likely they are to use technology to keep track of their health, according to the report. One of the reasons for low adoption of tech to manage care is security and privacy concerns, according to the report. Because of that, providers must offer secure tools to entice their patients to use them, the authors said.  Read More

Modern Healthcare

What's in your wallet? 'Big data' wants to tell doctors and health plans

Dec,20,2014

by:  Carol Levine

Does privacy still matter? According to Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, privacy is no longer a “social norm.” But a recent report from the Pew Research Center found that Americans are indeed concerned about their privacy. More than half (55%) of survey respondents said that the “state of your health and the medications you take” was “very sensitive” information, second only to Social Security numbers. Fewer people considered information about their relationship history (40%), religious or spiritual views (22%), or political views (20%) as very sensitive. At the bottom of the list, only 8% considered “basic purchasing habits” very sensitive. Read More

Time 

The Question Your Doctor Should Be Asking You — but Isn’t

Dec,29,2014

by: Mandy Oaklander

The last time you went to the doctor, were you asked how much soda you drink? Probably not, but at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, it’s now among the standard questions doctors will ask—and then log into the patient’s electronic health record. Those records, analyzed in a new study, reveal some interesting connections between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and a slew of health problems. Read More

Politico Pro

High noon for federal health records program?

Dec,28,2014

by: ARTHUR ALLEN

Vast spending, frustrating software, angry doctors facing a punch in the wallet — and a hungry new Congress. It could add up to a powerful threat to the Obama administration’s $30 billion program to digitize the nation’s medical records.

Many doctors hate the clunky, time-sucking software they got through the massive subsidy program, and most complain that cumbersome information exchange is frustrating their efforts to coordinate and improve patient care. A quarter-million — half of those eligible for the electronic health records program — will face fines in 2015 for failing to use the systems in the way the government required. State Medicaid officials don’t know how many of their doctors are using electronic records, although they have handed out $9 billion of those federal funds to encourage their adoption. Nor do they have much sense of how much the technology is helping low-income patients. Read More

Heathcare POP Mobile Application Development

Healthcare Providers,
As you know Healthcare IT is changing every day especially in the new m-health field. Where mobile devices like iPhones, Smartphones and tablets becoming how doctors react to their patients and staff. But with this changes comes new laws about how mobility should be used to work with patient data in a secure way. This is where our mobile app called "Healthcare POP" can help Healthcare POP brings all of your healthcare info into one web-based app that can that can work on every mobile, tablet and desktop. For more information on Healthcare POP visit our demo website at http://www.wireheadtec.com/MobileApp.html Then call us if you have any questions.

Featured Report: Almost 70 percent of clinicians at US hospitals use smartphones, tablets

EHR Intelligence 

Patient Engagement Rises with Consumer EHR Satisfaction

Dec,10,2014

by: Jennifer Bresnick

Patient engagement helps consumers view EHRs more positively and encourages them to take charge of their health.

The overwhelming majority of patients believe that electronic health records (EHRs) are useful for physicians and valuable for their care, according to a newly released survey by the National Partnership for Women and Families.  Patients were more likely to rate EHRs as a positive development when they had online access to personal health information through a portal or if they could perform routine administrative tasks like making appointments through the internet.  The survey illustrates the importance of patient engagement while highlighting the spread of health IT and its potential impact on the nation’s health.  Read More

MobiHealthNews

Survey: Almost 70 percent of clinicians at US hospitals use smartphones, tablets

Dec,09,2014

by: Aditi Pai

More than two-thirds of clinicians at US hospitals use smartphones or tablet computers at their facilities, according to a small HIMSS survey of 139 clinicians. The survey was conducted between October and November of 2014 and published in time with the group’s mHealth Summit event in Maryland this week.

“As smartphones and tablet computers are relatively new tools to healthcare organizations, it is necessary to establish a baseline understanding of the presence and impact these technologies have in US hospitals,” HIMSS researchers wrote. “By doing so, the market will have a better way to adjudicate the potential these tools have for US healthcare providers and relevant vendors.”  Read More

BBC News Health

Text messaging service 'helps people take their pills'

Dec, 09,2014

by: Staff

A text messaging service could help people remember to take the medicines they have been prescribed, say researchers. A test scheme, which involved heart patients, cut the numbers who forgot or just stopped taking their pills. One in six was helped to continue their treatment, reducing their risk of heart attack and stroke. It has been estimated that the NHS spends more than £500m on wasted medicines and avoidable illness Other research has shown around a third of patients do not take their medicine as directed. Study leader Prof David Wald said text reminders could be used by GPs, hospital doctors and pharmacists for a range of different conditions, including diabetes, TB and HIV.  Read More

Modern Healthcare

Inaccurate provider directories blamed on weak tech, network churn

Dec,11,2014

by: Darius Tahir

 Insurers are under fire for giving consumers bad information about which providers are in their plan network. The controversy raises a simple question: Is it really so hard to maintain an accurate provider directory?  The inaccuracies have drawn criticism from California regulators and proposals for stricter oversight from the nation's insurance commissioners and the Obama administration.  Reliable provider directories are more critical than ever now that millions of Americans are expected to choose their own health plans in the new marketplaces, consumer advocates say, especially given that many lower-cost coverage options have very narrow provider networks.  Read More

Healthcare POP 

Healthcare Providers,
As you know Healthcare IT is changing every day especially in the new m-health field. Where mobile devices like iPhones, Smartphones and tablets becoming how doctors react to their patients and staff. But with this changes comes new laws about how mobility should be used to work with patient data in a secure way. This is where our mobile app called "Healthcare POP" can help Healthcare POP brings all of your healthcare info into one web-based app that can that can work on every mobile, tablet and desktop. For more information on Healthcare POP visit our demo website at http://www.wireheadtec.com/MobileApp.html Then call us if you have any questions.  

Best Regards,
Howard Lee
CIO
Wirehead Technology
Tel: 312-286-8416
Email:wireheadtec@gmail.com
web: www.wireheadtec.com

Featured Report: Revised federal data show U.S. healthcare spending growth hit 53-year low in 2013

Modern Healthcare

Revised federal data show U.S. healthcare spending growth hit 53-year low in 2013

Dec,03,2014

by: Melanie Evans

 U.S. healthcare spending apparently grew more slowly last year than at any time in the past half-century—including the Great Recession—as Medicare squeezed outlays, millions of Americans continued to go without health insurance and those with health plans spent at a slower pace on hospitals, clinics and pharmacies.  The nation spent $2.9 trillion on healthcare last year, an increase of 3.6% from the prior year and the weakest growth since 1960, after federal actuaries and economists revised recent estimates. That spending remained weak in 2013 was not surprising: U.S. health spending growth fell below 4% in 2009 with the recession that stripped private health insurance from millions of individuals. But newly revised numbers show an acceleration in 2012 to 4.1% before a slump last year. Read More

MobiHealthNews

MDs may be more interested in DIY health services than patients are

Dec,04,2014

by: Brian Dolan

PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute (HRI) published a report on top trends for the health industry in 2015, which was based on findings from a survey of 1,000 consumers in the US and additional interviews with healthcare executives. “With consumers leading the way, bearing more costs and making more decisions, change is erupting throughout the health industry,” Kelly Barnes, PwC’s US health industries leader said in a statement. “Established healthcare companies and new entrants are rapidly developing cost-efficient products and services tailored directly to consumers.”  Read More

Fierce Mobile Healthcare

Report: To succeed, wearables need more than fitness focus

Dec,01,2014

by: Judy Mottl

Unless mHealth wearable makers want innovations to go stale the way some fitness devices have, they'd better start making more appealing and relevant products, says a new Juniper Research report.  "The key is making the devices provide meaning as well as data--counting steps is all very well, but will not keep consumers interested unless that information can be contextualized and made useful for them," James Moar, a research analyst with Juniper, told FierceMobileHealthcare in an email interview. Read More

iHealthbeat

Can the U.S. Health Care System Realize the Promise of Digital Health?

Nov,20,2014

by: Kate Ackerman

NEW YORK -- Embracing digital health is key to curbing out-of-control health care costs, increasing access to care, improving care quality and encouraging patient engagement. But the current regulatory and policy landscape could get in the way of the U.S. realizing the full potential of health IT. That was the message from speakers and attendees at the New York eHealth Collaborative's fourth annual Digital Health Conference in New York City this week. Read More

Wirehead Technology: Healthcare IT Managed Services

Healthcare Providers are you having trouble keeping up with the new government rules and regulations in Healthcare and don't know where to turn to get help? Then let us help you Wirehead Technology's Healthcare Managed IT Services will work with you to help you not only understand the rules but put together all the IT services that will help you comply with all the new Healthcare rules and stay with you to make sure your Healthcare practice is always up to date on all of the rules. To see how we can help your practice visit our Healthcare IT page at 

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Featured Report: Twitter may help track flu outbreaks

Kaiser Health News

Pacemakers Get Hacked On TV, But Could It Happen In Real Life?

Nov,06,2014

by: Daniela Hernandez and Julie Appleby 

Jay Radcliffe breaks into medical devices for a living, testing for vulnerabilities as a security researcher.He’s also a diabetic, and gives himself insulin injections instead of relying on an automated insulin pump, which he says could be hacked.“I’d rather stab myself six times a day with a needle and syringe,” Radcliffe recently told security experts meeting near Washington, D.C. “At this point, those devices are not up to standard.” Concern about the vulnerability of medical devices like insulin pumps, defibrillators, fetal monitors and scanners is growing as health care facilities increasingly rely on devices that connect with each other, with hospital medical record systems and —directly or not — with the Internet. Read More

Fierce Mobile Healthcare

Twitter may help track flu outbreaks

Nov,15,2014

by: Judy Mottl

Twitter is proving to be a viable way to track seasonal flu outbreaks, though researchers recommend further study regarding using tweets to monitor influenza outbreaks.

A study by nearly a dozen San Diego State University researchers, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, reveals the social network is becoming a more reliable and accurate supplementary surveillance tool when it comes to identifying flu outbreaks. "With the popularity of social media growing, the Internet is a source for syndromic surveillance due to the availability of large amounts of data," according to the study abstract, which notes that collecting data on flu activity can be slow, and typically delayed by up to two weeks, when using traditional data collection methods. Read More

Fierce Health IT

NIST releases draft guidance on sharing cyberattack info

Nov,13,2014

by: Katie Dvorak

Healthcare providers can help one another when it comes to cyberattacks by sharing information during and after an attack, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has created draft guidelines to help organizations handle those relationships. "By sharing cyber threat information, organizations can gain valuable insights about their adversaries," Christopher Johnson, lead author of the guidelines, said in an announcement. "They can learn the types of systems and information being targeted, the techniques used to gain access and indicators of compromise."  Read More

Modern Healthcare

Here's why healthcare should be talking about net neutrality

Nov,19,2014

by: Darius Tahir 

The techie term “net neutrality” likely isn't in the daily lexicon of most senior healthcare executives. But it should be, and soon, argue those in healthcare technology who have been following the topic. The wireless telecommunications industry's trade group, CTIA, for example, has been circulating a letter to healthcare organizations, asking their support to oppose regulation that would ensure continued net neutrality. But others argue healthcare benefits from net neutrality and should be lobbying for its continuance via a new Federal Communications Commission mandate.  Read More

Wirehead Technology Healthcare IT Systems

Wirehead Technology Customized Computers

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Featured Report: EHRs to save $78B over 5 years

Healthcare IT News

EHRs to save $78B over 5 years

Nov,11,2014

by: Bernie Monegain,

EHRs are expected to save the global healthcare industry as much as $78 billion over five years, according to new analysis from Juniper Research.The Juniper report Digital Health, Remote Monitoring EHR Cost Savings 2014-2019, notes that EHRs are crucial as the supporting infrastructure for a wide range of digital healthcare and mHealth projects. Also, new accountable care organizationinitiatives, where healthcare providers are paid according to the measured wellness of a patient population, are resulting in a re-think in how healthcare needs should be addressed. The report finds that the medical profession will increasingly rely on EHRs to support disparate elements of digital health. Read More

Health Data Management

Older Americans May Miss Out on Web Health Highway

Nov,13,2014

by: Greg Goth

When it comes to the benefits of electronic health records, older Americans may be left behind, according to a new University of Michigan study. Less than a third of Americans age 65 and over use the web for health information and barely 10 percent of those with low health literacy--or ability to navigate the healthcare system--go online for health-related matters, according to the nationally representative study that appears in the Journal of General Internal Medicine  Read More

M2M Now Events

The paradox of digital health, part 1: Money
Nov,13,2014
by: Christopher Wasden

Despite the overwhelming evidence of the benefits of digital health over the traditional analog services, we have seen significant barriers to adoption that have resulted in what I refer to as the Ten Paradoxes of Digital Health. This article will address the Money Paradox. The Money Paradox in Digital Health is that healthcare stakeholders seem to be unwilling to transform their business models to deliver the digital triple aim of greater access, with better quality at lower cost unless they are paid more than at present to do it. How can we save money if we have to pay providers more to adopt money saving technologies?  Read More

MobiHealthNews

Survey: Hospital execs bullish on telemedicine, but slow to adopt

Nov,13,2014

by: Jonah Comstock

A survey by the law firm Foley & Lardner LLP of 57 executives at provider organizations found a healthy interest in telemedicine, but that concrete adoption is still in the early stages, and possibly more than a decade away. Only 3 percent of respondents considered telemedicine unimportant to their organizations. Fifty-two percent found it very important and 32 percent said it was important to their organizations.  Read More

Healthcare IT Managed Services

Healthcare Providers are you having trouble keeping up with the new government rules and regulations in Healthcare and don't know where to turn to get help? Then let us help you Wirehead Technology's Healthcare Managed IT Services will work with you to help you not only understand the rules but put together all the IT services that will help you comply with all the new Healthcare rules and stay with you to make sure your Healthcare practice is always up to date on all of the rules. To see how we can help your practice visit our Healthcare IT page at  http://www.wireheadtec.com/Healthcare.html

Featured Report: Does social media boost healthcare careers?

Health Data Management

Gallup Suggests Health App Adoption Strategies

Nov,05,2014

Greg Goth

Recent research from Gallup not only indicates the popularity of mobile device-based health apps is accelerating, but also dissects which types of apps are linked to specific types of well-being."Some types of apps are more closely related to high well-being outcomes than others,” say Gallup researchers Dan Witters and Sanjeeta Agrawal. "While use of running map apps and apps for healthy restaurant menu options are mutually highly linked to both social and physical well-being, other apps are more uniquely aligned. Apps for water intake and healthy recipes are strongly linked to social well-being benefits, while running maps and personal training apps are strongly associated with physical well-being."  Read More

Fierce Healthcare

Does social media boost healthcare careers?

Nov,03,2014

by: Zack Budryk

Many nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) believe social media use has helped their careers, according to a new survey by The Clinical Advisor.

Just under half of respondents (45 percent) said they used social media in a career context, while more than two-thirds (68 percent) reported using it for personal matters. Of those who used it for business, 28 percent told the publication they feel it helps NPs' and PAs' careers, with no respondents thinking it harmed their careers, while 12 percent said it didn't actively help and 13 percent didn't know. Breaking responses down by specific social networks, LinkedIn was the most commonly used for strictly business purposes (48 percent). It was followed by Google Plus, which 36 percent of respondents used specifically for business purposes, and Facebook, with 26 percent.  Read More

iHealthBeat

Conference Highlights Progress on Different Fronts in Connected Health Technology

Nov,03,2014

by: Andy Oram

Technology is not the focus of the Connected Health Symposium, but technical advances play a major role there because of the potential for digital technology to help health care meet its broad goals of listening to patients and coordinating care among these patients, their family members and the professional team.In some ways, the technology is far more advanced than the health care providers who could benefit from it, and it is up to those health care institutions to evolve organizationally and culturally. But on the other hand, much technology looks good only on the surface and quickly comes to shame when connected to real-life workflows and patient needs.   Read More

MobiHealthNews

Health insurance upstart Oscar competes on telehealth, user experience

Nov,05,2014

by: Jonah Comstock

In May, Oscar, the New York-based individual-only insurance plan raised $80 million at close to a $1 billion valuation. That brought the company’s total funding to $150 million. It’s an impressive feat for a small startup attempting to compete in health insurance, which is so thoroughly dominated by huge legacy players. At IBF’s Digital Healthcare Innovation Summit in Boston, Oscar co-founder Kevin Nazemi spoke with Bessemer Venture Partner’s Steve Kraus about how a focus on user experience — and a fortuitous market opportunity in the Affordable Care Act — helped catapult Oscar into the national spotlight. He also announced for the first time that the company will be expanding from just New York into New Jersey.  Read More

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Featured Report: Medical Practice Compliance Program in 4 Steps

iHealthBeat

Google’s Newest Search: Cancer Cells

Oct,29,2014

by: iHealthbeat Staff

On Tuesday, a Google executive said the company is working on a wearable device designed to help doctors detect cancer and other diseases earlier, theWall Street Journal reports.

Details of Device

According to the Journal, Google is developing small magnetic particles, called nanoparticles, that would find and attach themselves to cells, proteins or other molecules inside an individual's body.The particles could be delivered into the system via an oral pill. The wearable device then would monitor the nanoparticles by using a magnet to attract and count them. Read More

Health Data Management 

Physician-Patient Email Communication on Rise

Oct,23,2014

Greg Goth

A new study from Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) offers some early insights into the effects of increasing numbers of emailed communications on doctors, suggesting that reimbursement models and physician workflow may need to adjust to accommodate message management.The were published online in Health Affairs.
“BIDMC was one of the first hospitals in the country to create a patient web portal providing a secure platform for patients to view parts of their medical record and send emails to their clinicians,” said lead author Bradley Crotty, M.D. “The portal became available in 2000, so we were able to take a 10-year look at the data and examine the email traffic resulting from this new use of technology.” Read More

Physicians Practice

Medical Practice Compliance Program in 4 Steps

Oct,29,2014
by: Alicia Shickle, CPC, CPCO, CPPM

Identifying and correcting potential vulnerabilities in your practice through a compliance program optimizes claims payment, minimizes billing mistakes, reduces the chance of an audit, averts protected health information (PHI) breaches, and avoids conflicts with Stark and other anti-kickback statutes. If you haven’t already initiated a compliance program in your practice, here’s how to get started  Read More

Health Data Management

Surviving a HIPAA  Privacy/Security Audit

Oct,30,2014

by: Staff

The HHS Office for Civil Rights expects in 2015 to begin a random audit program to assess compliance with the HIPAA privacy, security and breach notification rules. At the MGMA Conference, David Holtzman, a former senior advisor at OCR and now vice president of compliance services at security firm CynergisTek, walked through what providers selected for an audit can expect  Read More

Healthcare IT Managed Services

Healthcare Providers are you having trouble keeping up with the new government rules and regulations in Healthcare and don't know where to turn to get help? Then let us help you Wirehead Technology's Healthcare Managed IT Services will work with you to help you not only understand the rules but put together all the IT services that will help you comply with all the new Healthcare rules and stay with you to make sure your Healthcare practice is always up to date on all of the rules. To see how we can help your practice visit our Healthcare IT page at  http://www.wireheadtec.com/Healthcare.html