Patient Care

This page includes news coverage of various aspects of patient healthcare, including new technology innovations, what is working, what is not, personalized medicine and remote and telemedicine delivery. Find specific news in the areas of Care DeliveryDigital TransformationPrecision MedicineRemote Monitoring and Telehealth.

Wolters Kluwer Health and Cerner Corporation Partner to Create Dynamic Documentation Solution

Wolters Kluwer Health, a leading global provider of information for healthcare professionals and students, announced today that it has partnered with Cerner Corporation to develop a dynamic clinical documentation solution. The solution will leverage evidence-based ProVation® Clinic Note content and clinical decision support which, when embedded with Cerner Millennium®, will guide physician documentation and capture critical information at the point of care.

CIVCO Announces FDA 510(k) Clearance of ProturaTM Robotic Patient Positioning System Integration with Varian Clinac® iX and Trilogy® Linacs

CIVCO Medical Solutions, the leading provider of radiation oncology motion management solutions, is pleased to announce U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510(k) clearance of ProturaTM Robotic Patient Positioning System integration with Varian Medical Systems’ Motion Management Interface.

PACSGEAR Joins Lexmark's Perceptive Software

Lexmark International, Inc. (NYSE: LXK) today announced the acquisition of PACSGEAR, a leading provider of connectivity solutions for healthcare providers to capture, manage and share medical images and related documents and integrate them with existing picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) and electronic medical records (EMR) systems. Lexmark paid a cash purchase price of approximately $54 million.

Georgia Department of Community Health Launches Statewide Health Information Exchange Network with Truven Health Analytics

Truven Health Analytics and the Georgia Department of Community Health announced today the launch of a statewide health information exchange (HIE) network, known as the Georgia Health Information Network (GaHIN).

Greenway and Harland Technology Services Form Alliance to Deliver Managed Health IT to Ambulatory Practices

Greenway Medical Technologies announces an alliance with Harland Technology Services to support small to medium-sized ambulatory healthcare practices in implementing advanced health information technology (HIT) solutions.

GEMMS Announces New Low Cost Health Information Interoperability Program

At the recent GEMMS Annual User Group Conference, GEMMS announced the immediate availability of several new low cost GEMMS interface packages. GEMMS, a leader in specialty based EHR, has leveraged its GEMMS LINK technology to interoperability solutions that are low cost and which can be deployed rapidly. "For years our customers have requested that interfaces be easier, quicker and less expensive to deploy," stated Dr. Rodger Pinto, CEO of GEMMS. "This has been hard to do given the lack of standards that exist in the industry." He went on to explain, "but now with the new GEMMS LINK technology we are able to quickly and effectively provide high quality interfaces that can be managed by the users with a minimum of IT experience and allows for quick deployment and lower cost to the customer."

NextGxDx and athenahealth to Improve Clinicians' Genetic Testing Order Workflow

NextGxDx Inc., the most comprehensive online marketplace for genetic testing, yesterday announced that through its work with athenahealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHN), a leading provider of cloud-based services for electronic health record (EHR), practice management, and care coordination, the companies will deliver an integrated platform to help clinicians more effectively navigate and improve genetic test ordering.NextGxDx is designed to make the complex process of genetic testing simpler. Empowered by an intuitive user interface, physicians and other health care professionals can access up to date listings of all genetic tests from CLIA certified laboratories, order tests online, and receive results electronically. The company's bioinformatics team uses proprietary tools to update and curate test data.

GE Healthcare’s Centricity Practice Solution receives National Committee for Quality Assurance PCMH pre-validation

GE Healthcare announced today that version 11 of its EMR and practice management solution – Centricity Practice Solution – has received Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) pre-validation status from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).  With this pre-validation, customers using Centricity Practice Solution 11 can now eliminate some of the documentation required to qualify for PCMH recognition.In response to regulatory change, the healthcare industry is rapidly shifting to new care and payment models. The PCMH model is designed to improve primary care, with a focus on total care coordination through measurement, transparency, and accountability. Practices that have been recognized as Patient Centered Medical Homes by NCQA have often received enhanced reimbursement, increased patient satisfaction, reduced hospitalization rates, and reduced readmission rates.

Around the web

Positron, a New York-based nuclear imaging company, will now provide Upbeat Cardiology Solutions with advanced PET/CT systems and services. 

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.