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.

EMC introduces new storage, expansion options

EMC has released two new deduplication storage systems and expansion options, including the EMC Data Domain DD670 and the EMC Disk Library 5000 series.

Study: Automated clinical mgmt cuts post-liver transplant costs, improves outcomes

Enhancing the EHR to consolidate information for comprehensive immunosuppressive medication review following liver transplant was associated with fewer rejection episodes and fewer toxicity events, and it decreased costs, according to a study published in this month's Journal of American Medical Informatics Association.

Report: Privacy insecurities plague electronic healthcare

The adoption of digital patient records, increased regulation, provider consolidation and the increasing need for information exchange between patients, providers and payors all point towards the need for better information security, according to an article published in this month's International Journal of Internet and Enterprise Management.

IBM dedicates $100M for healthcare hires, development

IBM will dedicate $100 million during the next three years to an initiative to help medical practitioners and insurance companies provide evidence-based care to patients.

HHS approves Florida data mining waiver to identify Medicaid fraud

U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has approved the state of Floridas Medicaid waiver request to help fund a demonstration program that will allow the states Medicaid Fraud Control Unit to mine Medicaid Management Information System data to identify cases of potential Medicaid fraud.

HIMSS: NPRM modifies HIPAA compliance for business associate deals

The contractual obligations in the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on modifications to the HIPAA privacy, security and enforcement rules under the HITECH Act for business associates and downstream entities are game changers, according to Amy S. Leopard, JD, from Walter and Haverfield, during a webinar sponsored by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).

Florida AG aims to combat Medicaid fraud via data mining

Attorney General (AG) Bill McCollum and the Florida Agency for HealthCare Administration's Secretary Tom Arnold have submitted a formal request to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for a waiver from the federal government which, if granted, would launch a Florida pilot data mining program to combat Medicaid fraud.

HHS attempts to strengthen HIPAA privacy rules with new NPRM

Today, we begin to make real the phrase private and secure as operative characteristics of that ambitious project of improving health information in the U.S., said David Blumenthal, MD, the national coordinator for health IT during a Thursday press conference concerning the notice of proposed rulemaking published by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the July 8 edition of the Federal Register to strengthen HIPAA privacy and security rules.

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.