Featured Report: Mobile EHR Users More Satisfied Than Desktop, Laptop Users

HealthDataManagement

Mobile EHR Users More Satisfied Than Desktop, Laptop Users

Oct,23,2014

by: Greg Slabodkin

A new survey of nearly 600 physicians reveals that those accessing electronic health records from mobile devices report higher levels of satisfaction and fewer challenges with their EHRs than non-mobile users. The annual survey, which EHR research firm  Software Advice commissioned polling firm Research Now to conduct, indicates that 58 percent of mobile users are "very satisfied" with their EHR versus only 28 percent of non-mobile users. In addition, mobile users are less affected by common EHR software challenges than non-mobile users. Just 39 percent of mobile users report that learning how to use their EHR system was challenging compared to 58 percent of non-mobile users.Read More

Modern Healthcare 

Castlight Health tool saves money for patients, JAMA study shows

Oct,22,2014

by: Darius Tahir 

Using Castlight Health's price discovery tool results in strong savings for customers shopping for the best deal in imaging—but not in clinician office visits or lab results, a study released in JAMA shows. The results provide an “early glimpse of the potential ability of greater price transparency to influence the choices patients make,” Princeton professor Uwe Reinhardt wrote in an accompanying editorial. The study, co-authored by two Castlight data analysts and Neeraj Sood, the director of research at USC's Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics who also is a paid adviser to Castlight, examined 253,757 households insured by 18 large employers between 2010 and 2013 and using Castlight Health's price transparency platform.  Read More

iHealthbeat

Government Indifference Must Not Stand in the Way of Mobile Health Innovation

Oct,22,2014
by: Morgan Reed

Outdated elements of health care regulation pose a serious threat to innovation. Without substantial changes, new technologies that can improve the lives of patients and the capabilities of their caregivers will remain out of reach to most consumers. Scores of mobile health companies have shared stories about federal regulatory requirements that fail to keep pace with advancing technology. These companies are providing critical services to patients and providers in both consumer and enterprise settings. They have become frustrated with factions within HHS that stand in the way of mobile health innovation. Read More

Healthcare IT News

Wearable tech must get smart with data

Oct,21,2014

by: Mike Miliard

For wearable technology to live up to the hype, especially when it comes to healthcare, it will have to be "interoperable, integrated, engaging, social and outcomes-driven," according to PwC. One in five American adults already own a wearable device, according to PwC's new series, "The Wearable Future," a rapid adoption rate that's only expected to increase. But in a related report from PwC's Health Research Institute, "Health wearables: Early days," data suggests many of the fitness bands and step-tracking smartwatches flooding the market have "under-delivered on expectations." To wit: 33 percent of consumers who purchased a wearable technology device more than a year ago now say they no longer use it, or do so infrequently. Read More

Mobile 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 to schedule and appointment with one of our Healthcare IT reps and we can show you our healthcare apps can help your practice

Featured Report: 7 Quick Marketing Tips for Attracting Holiday Business

ZD Net

For enterprise, mobile devices about to become irrelevant

Oct,12,2014

by:  Larry Dignan

 Samsung has revved up a services engine to better target enterprises and sell Galaxy tablets and smartphones. Apple has paired up with IBM to drive enterprise sales of iPhones and iPads. And Microsoft has Nokia, Surface and other devices. But a funny thing is happening on the mobility front when it comes to real business: The actual device is becoming irrelevant.  Read More

Marketing Sherpa

How reputation affects success (and 5 ways to improve it)

Oct,07,2014

by:Daniel Burstein

For an ecommerce transaction, trust is essential. While ecommerce has grown significantly, it still requires more confidence for a customer to purchase from an online retailer (where the value of the product and reliability of the store is conceptual) than a brick-and-mortar retailer (where customers can touch and feel a product and take it home instantly). We wanted to test this theory and see how reputation affects overall ecommerce success. In thisMarketingSherpa Ecommerce Benchmark Study survey Read More

Dex Media

7 Quick Marketing Tips for Attracting Holiday Business

Oct,07,2014

by: Marion Jacobson

The final weeks of 2014 are upon us, ready or not. It’s 11 weeks until Christmas, and savvy shoppers are already making plans to take advantage of Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Even if you don’t have a retail business or sell gifts or holiday-related items, you’re probably thinking of ways your business can capitalize on holiday activity. Read More

Mobile Marketing Watch

Infographic Shows the ‘Good and Bad’ of Social Media Marketing

Oct,10,2014

by: Michael Essany

Just because everyone, it seems, is using social media marketing for their business doesn’t mean that everyone is using it effectively. “Despite the growth of social media marketing,” says Kimberlee Morrison of SocialTimes , “CMOs still have some questions. Social has the potential to connect brands with consumers the world over, but only for those who understand how to use the medium.”   Read More

First Communications Business Services

First Communications offers high-capacity long-haul and metro fiber network services as well as voice and data services across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic U.S. Our network includes more than 600 on-net wire centers, 250,000 fiber miles and 5,400 fiber route miles. The fiber network includes approximately 500 metro route miles reaching more than 50 Tier 1, 2 and 3 markets. First Communications serves a diverse customer base, including carrier/wholesale customers, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises. for more information about our special deals please visit our website for a FREE Quote  http://www.wireheadtec.com/Firstcom.html

Featured Report: Weak mobile device security bodes big risk for hospitals

Fierce Health Payer

4 complaints providers have with Medicare Advantage

Sept,12,2014

by: Dina Overland

Medicare Advantage plans are widely popular among Medicare-eligible consumers, but not everyone is fond of them. Many providers actually dislike the Medicare Advantage program and, therefore, are reluctant to contract with Medicare Advantage insurers, reported NerdWallet.

There are five common issues that providers have with the Medicare Advantage insurers, which continue to boost their enrollment numbers with broader coverage than traditional Medicare, FierceHealthPayer previously reported. Three of them are summarized below.

 Read More

Fierce Mobile Healthcare

Weak mobile device security bodes big risk for hospitals

Sept,08,2014

by: Judy Mottl

Only slightly more than half of healthcare employees (59 percent) are using full-disk encryption or file-level encryption on mHealth computing devices used at work, according to a new Forrester research report, which concluded that medical enterprises must adopt a data-centric approach to endpoint security on all employee devices. Such a security strategy will lead to less risk of data theft and data breaches, as well as shore up regulatory compliance, according to the report's authors. Read More

Modern Healthcare

Advocate, NorthShore merger would create giant health system in Illinois

Sept,12,2014
by: Andrew L. Wang
Advocate Health Care, Illinois' largest system, and NorthShore University HealthSystem, the dominant health network in Chicago's northern suburbs, announced today they will merge to form a 16-hospital system to be called Advocate NorthShore Health Partners.

Together, the two non-profit systems generated $7.3 billion in revenues and $361 million in operating income in 2013,according to the Modern Healthcare Financial Database. Presence Health, the 12-hospital network formed in the 2011 merger between Resurrection Health Care and Provena Health, was the second-largest system by revenue in the state with $2.8 billion in total revenue, according to the database.   Read More

Fierce Health IT

Telemedicine beneficial in management of chronic diseases, lowering costs

Sept,11,2014

by: Katie Dvorak

There are many uses for telemedicine to manage chronic diseases, and no matter the process, the technology offers beneficial results and costs reductions, according to a recent study.

The study, published online in the journal Telemedicine and e-Health, looks at the impact telemedicine has on cost, quality and access to care, focusing three chronic diseases: congestive heart failure, stroke and obstructive pulmonary disease. Read More

Wirehead Technology: Healthcare Managed IT 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: Doctor-patient video visits to triple to 16 million next year

MobiHealthNews

Doctor-patient video visits to triple to 16 million next year

Aug,28,2014

by: Brian Dolan

According to research firm Parks Associates the number of doctor-patient video consultations in the US will almost triple over the next year.

“The number of doctor-patient video consultations will nearly triple from this year to the next, from 5.7 million in 2014 to over 16 million in 2015, and will exceed 130 million in 2018,” Harry Wang, Director, Health & Mobile Product Research, Parks Associates said in a recent statement.  Read More

Fierce Mobile Healthcare

Mobile app privacy practices scarce, lack transparency

Aug,24,2014

by: Judy Mottl

Mobile healthcare application privacy policies are hard to find, and those in place are not providing transparency on privacy practices and more than half aren't focused software, according to a new study.

The research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, states that of the 600 most common apps, just 183 boasted a privacy policy. Of those policies, about two thirds, or 66.1 percent, did not address the software and sharing practices.  Read More

Fierce Health Payer

Price transparency: a win-win for insurers and consumers

Aug,27,2014

by: Diana Manos

Price transparency is more than just an exercise in being up-front--it's imperative to improve the bottom line for any health insurer, says a new brief from the nonprofit, Families USA.

Prices vary dramatically by provider, oftentimes with no difference in quality, leaving consumers with a hard time discerning where to get the most value for their money, according to the brief.

"More expensive providers do not necessarily deliver higher-quality care," writes Lydia Mitts, senior policy analyst for the organization, which advocates for affordable, higher-quality healthcare for U.S. consumers.  Read More

Med City News

Despite promise, mobile health faces slow road

Aug,26,2014

by: Dan Verel 

While mobile health is an increasingly popular topic in healthcare and technology circles, patients – the most important piece of the equation – are still perhaps unpersuaded, according to a report in the MIT Technology Review.

One in 10 Americans owns some sort of health tracking device, from FitBit to Nike to Jawbone, yet more than half of those devices are no longer being used by the patient, writes Nanette Byrnes, citing consultancy firm Endeavor Partners.

With respect to mobile applications, more than 100,000 are available, but “very few” have been downloaded 500 times, while more than two-thirds of consumers have stopped using the apps, according to a PWC report   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 

Featured Report: FBI warns healthcare firms they are targeted by hackers

Venture Beat

Guess what? Doctors don’t care about your Fitbit data

Aug,15,2014

by: Mark Sullivan

In theory, health wearables could make a real difference by providing a way to monitor at-risk people, like diabetics. They might be a great way to monitor poorer people who often never touch the health care system until it becomes an emergency. Also, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is introducing millions more people into an already taxed healthcare system, and wearables could be a powerful tool to monitor those new members, catching illnesses before they turn into clinic visits.    Read More

Modern Healthcare

Reform Update: Hospitals see more paying patients, but there's a hitch

Aug,20,2014

by: Beth Kutscher 

Insurance expansion under healthcare reform is starting to yield patient volume for hospitals, but the costs of staffing up for more patients are eclipsing the additional revenue.Earnings reports for not-for-profit systems in the first half of the year show that many providers are seeing rising salary and benefit expenses cut into revenue gains, leading to smaller operating surpluses. “As the pieces of the Affordable Care Act are coming together, it's changing the demand for care,” said Jeff Jones, managing director at Huron Consulting Group. “It's shifting the way that providers are thinking about their labor pools.”    Read More

Reuters

FBI warns healthcare firms they are targeted by hackers

Aug,20,2014

by: JIM FINKLE

 The FBI has warned that healthcare industry companies are being targeted by hackers, publicizing the issue following an attack on U.S. hospital group Community Health Systems Inc that resulted in the theft of millions of patient records.

"The FBI has observed malicious actors targeting healthcare related systems, perhaps for the purpose of obtaining Protected Healthcare Information (PHI) and/or Personally Identifiable Information (PII)," the agency said in a "Flash" alert obtained by Reuters on Wednesday. Read More 

MobiHealthNews

California court’s BYOD ruling could affect hospitals’ policies

Aug,19,2014

by: Jonah Comstock

A new California Court of Appeals ruling has dealt a major blow to bring your own device (BYOD) policies. Although the case focused on employees working in retail, the court’s decision may have implications for any employer with a BYOD policy in place. It could potentially have repercussions for healthcare down the road.

In a class action lawsuit, a customer service representative named Colin Cochran sued his employer, Schwan’s home food delivery service on behalf of 1,500 customer service reps who had been denied reimbursement for work calls made on their personal mobile phones. Overturning the verdict of the California Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals ruled that employers must reimburse employees for some “reasonable portion” of their phone bill, even if the employee’s phone plan was unlimited (so the work calls cost them no additional money) or was paid for by a third party.  Read More

Healthcare  POP Mobile Application

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 PM us a call if you have any questions.  

Best Regards,

Howard Lee

CIO

Wirehead Technology

Tel: 773-944-0370

Email: wireheadtec@gmail.com

web: www.wireheadtec.com

Featured Report: Patients should have access to network info before buying health plans: analyst

Healthcare IT News

Telemedicine finds favor, but needs vary

Aug,14,2014

by: Mike Miliard

Nearly half of healthcare organizations polled for a new HIMSS Analytics report use telemedicine technology -- with some of them combining as many as four different tools to enable remote care. The 2014 U.S. Telemedicine Study, the first of HIMSS  Analytics' new Essentials Briefs series, tracks a technology strategy that's increasingly finding favor among healthcare providers who are seeking ways to deliver better care to a larger patient populations at lower costs. "Organizations continue to strive toward a value-based rather than volume-based care model, and many telemedicine technologies can aid in that transition," said HIMSS Analytics Research Director Brendan FitzGerald in a press statement. Read More

Fierce Mobile Healthcare

Hospital streamlines ER consults via tablets

Aug,08,2014

by: Judy Mottl

A year-long mHealth pilot program featuring the use of iPads and initiated by a Pennsylvania health network aims to enhance emergency medical services for home-based patients while reducing emergency room visits and hospital admissions.

The pre-hospital telemedicine effort, deployed by the Pittsburgh-based Allegheny Health Network, is the first in the state involving emergency medical services. Patients can speak directly to ER physicians via an iPad connection,  Read More

MobiHealthNews

Why hospitals are investing in telemedicine technology

Aug,14,2014

by: Jonah Comstock

Forty-six percent of healthcare providers answering a HIMSS survey used multiple telemedicine technologies in their practice, with the most popular technology by far being two-way video messaging.

HIMSS had 400 responses to an online survey, mostly from directors and managers at hospitals, but also from doctors and nurses in hospitals and private practices. The results paint a picture of telemedicine slowly being adopted to fill niches in a healthcare system still very much focused on Meaningful Use.  Read More

Modern Healthcare

Patients should have access to network info before buying health plans: analyst Aug,,2014 by: Melanie Evans  Regulators should back off health plans that give patients a limited choice of hospital and physician options or risk stifling innovation and raising prices, a health policy expert argues in the New England Journal of Medicine. Instead, regulators should ensure patients have access to network information before they buy health plans, wrote David Howard, an economics and health policy associate professor at Emory University. Another option is for insurers to leave the trade-off between cost and choice to consumers through greater use of tiered networks. Narrow networks (as the limited-choice health plans are known) give insurers leverage in price negotiations amid a wave of consolidation by health systems, hospitals and physicians, Howard wrote in a perspective piece for the journal.  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

Featured Report: Hospital pilots iPad video chats in lieu of ambulance rides

MobiHealthNews

Hospital pilots iPad video chats in lieu of ambulance rides

Aug,05,2014

by: Jonah Comstock

Allegheny Health Network in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has begun a one-year pilot of a novel telemedicine program, one that will allow first responders to connect select patients to a doctor via an iPad rather than actually transporting them to the hospital.

“The benefits of telemedicine to the patient are innumerable, offering direct in-home access to a physician who can see them and talk to them,” Richard Gibbons, Director of the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, Pennsylvania Department of Health, said in a statement. “I’m very excited about the potential of this program and glad to see that it is happening in a community hospital such as Allegheny Valley.”    Read More

AHRQ Innovations

Community-Based Health Coaches and Care Coordinators Reduce Readmissions

Aug,05,2014

by: Andrey Ostrovsky, MD

Supported by mobile technology, trained health coaches at Elder Services of Merrimack Valley (an Area Agency on Aging in Northeastern Massachusetts) visit recently discharged Medicare patients in their homes and monitor them via telephone to identify and address declines in health status that increase the risk of readmission. Administered in partnership with area hospitals, the 4-week program begins with an inhospital visit to determine the risk of readmission. Patients at medium or high risk for readmission receive an in-home visit within 48 hours of discharge and a weekly phone call for each of the next 3 weeks. During each encounter, the coach uses a tablet-based application that provides suggested questions written in lay language based on the patient's diagnoses, treatment, and overall risk profile. If the answers indicate a decline in health status, the system sends a real-time alert to a nurse care coordinator, who subsequently uses a different component of the software to help the patient and coach address the issue within 24 hours, including arranging for any needed services. The use of health coaches supported by the tablet-based software significantly reduced readmissions among at-risk Medicare patients, as compared with use of health coaches without the software. This reduction generated substantial cost savings for partner hospitals and the health care system as a whole.  Read More

Modern Healthcare

Stage 2 attestations inch upward, latest CMS data indicate

Aug,06,2014

by: Joseph Conn 

Hospitals, physicians and other eligible professionals are inching closer to upgrading their electronic health-record systems, but significant progress remains limited to a small handful of providers, the latest CMS data show.
As of Aug. 1, 78 hospitals have attested to meeting the more stringent EHR Stage 2 requirements. That's just 24% of the 322 hospitals that have already attested for the 2014 reporting year, which began for them Oct. 1, 2013. The data was part of a CMS Data Review slide presentation given Wednesday to the federally chartered Health Information Technology Policy Committee.  On the provider side, 1,898 physicians and other eligible professionals have attested to Stage 2. That’s 35% of the 5,365 physicians and other EPs who have attested during their payment period, which began Jan. 1, 2014.  Read More

Fierce Health IT

The rise of nurses in health IT

Aug,04,2014

by:Katie Dvorak

From chief nursing informatics officers to chief information officers, nurses increasingly are taking on new leadership roles in health IT and having a major impact on healthcare innovation and delivery. For instance, nurse informatics are vital to information system development, implementation and optimization, according to the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society's 2014 Nursing Informatics Workforce Survey, released in February. More than 70 percent of the survey's respondents hold a title that specifies informatics, and interest in additional training within the field is also shown to be on the rise.  Read More

Wirehead Technology 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: 773-944-0370
Email:wireheadtec@gmail.com
web: www.wireheadtec.com