Age, education and income level are not accurate indicators of patients’ willingness to adopt personal health records, according to a study published in the journal Perspectives in Health Information Management, FierceHealthIT reports.
Study Details
For the study, researchers from the University of Central Florida surveyed 562 patients at a physician practice that was considering offering PHRs.
The eight-question surveys aimed to evaluate patients’ perceived ability to:
Findings Related to Demographics
The study found that 74% of surveyed patients expressed willingness to use a PHR (Hall, FierceHealthIT, 10/15). It also found that:
The findings do not support the idea that older, less educated and lower-income patients would be less willing to adopt PHRs than other patients, according to FierceHealthIT.
Findings Related to Health Literacy
However, the study did identify differences between patients who were willing to use PHRs and those who said they would not use the tools. It found that:
Source: iHealthBeat
An electronic reminder system that notifies physicians when patients need colorectal cancer tests failed to significantly increase screening rates, according to a study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Reuters reports.
Study Details
For the study, researchers analyzed colorectal cancer screening rates at eight Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals that deployed an electronic reminder system called Oncology Watch in 2008. The hospitals integrated Oncology Watch into VA’s electronic health record system to boost colorectal cancer screening rates and improve care.
Researchers examined each hospital’s colorectal cancer screening rates two years before and two years after the Oncology Watch system launched, and compared those rates with 121 VA hospitals nationwide that do not have the Oncology Watch system.
Study Findings
Researchers found that:
Accompanying Editorial
In an editorial accompanying the study, Marko Simunovic of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, wrote that the study findings imply that “there doesn’t seem to be any benefit to Oncology Watch.”
However, he added that a randomized controlled trial would be necessary to verify that the electronic reminder system offers no benefits (Seaman, Reuters, 10/12).
Source: iHealthBeat
In the U.S., 302 developing and planned accountable care organizations are expected to spend a total of about $500 million on health IT systems in their first year, according to a report by Black Book Rankings, FierceHealthIT reports (Hall, FierceHealthIT, 9/25).
For the report, Black Book surveyed 302 ACOs across 46 states in the third quarter of 2012 (Black Book Rankings release, 9/24).
According to the report, smaller ACOs are expected to face about $1 million in startup costs for data and technology, while larger ACOs are expected to face about $4 million in such costs (Punke, Becker’s Hospital Review, 9/25).
Although nearly all ACOs said they actively are acquiring health IT systems, fewer than 7% said they have a synchronized stakeholder strategy for purchasing technology.
The report also found that:
According to the report, more than 50% of surveyed hospitals and payers said they expect a return on investment in health IT within two years of operation (FierceHealthIT, 9/25).
Source: iHealthBeat
Since May, about 275,000 U.S. residents have posted their organ donor status on Facebook, according to data from the social networking website, NPR’s “Shots” reports (Schultz, “Shots,” NPR, 9/20).
Background on the Initiative
Four months ago, Facebook launched an initiative that aims to leverage its network of 161 million users to more quickly match patients who are waiting for organ transplants with possible donors.
Through the initiative, members of the social networking website can declare themselves as organ donors under a new “Health and Wellness” section, which includes biographical information and updates on their health. The section also includes links to state donor registries (iHealthBeat, 5/1).
Facebook plans to expand the initiative to users in Canada and Mexico this week.
Reaction to the Initiative
Blair Sadler — an attorney and senior fellow at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement — said the new Facebook feature “shows the enormous potential of social media,” noting that people are more likely to be persuaded to donate by friends and family than by activists or public health officials.
However, in a recent opinion piece published by the Hastings Center, Sadler argued that more should be done to fully leverage the power of social media networks.
He noted that data from Donate Life California show that 4,000 state residents registered as organ donors in the 24 hours following Facebook’s announcement, compared with the typical 70 registrations per day. However, the registration rate dropped back down to its normal level by May 6.
Sadler said that social media campaigns need to continuously prompt individuals in order to maintain continued success (“Shots,” NPR, 9/20).
Source: iHealthBeat
The proliferation of electronic health record systems might be leading some health care providers to overbill Medicare, the Center for Public Integrity reports.
Billing Details
When using EHRs while treating Medicare patients, physicians can select among escalating payment codes for billing purposes.
For example, doctors must choose one of five payment codes for an office visit that best reflects the amount of time spent with a patient and the complexity of the care. The lowest-level code pays about $20, while the highest-level code pays about $100.
Stephen Levinson — a Connecticut physician and author of a book about medical coding — said that sometimes the system improperly raises billing levels based on the amount of patient medical history added to the EHR.
Details of CPI Investigation
According to a recent CPI investigation, thousands of health care providers have been billing Medicare at increasingly higher rates over the past decade, costing taxpayers at least $11 billion in inflated fees.
The investigation found that many health care providers using EHR systems are choosing higher-paying treatment codes to inflate their bills, a process known as “upcoding.”
Some of the largest increases in upcoding have occurred in hospital emergency departments, which have widely adopted EHR systems and rarely are audited by Medicare, according to the investigation.
HHS Plans Investigation
Donald White — spokesperson for the HHS Office of the Inspector General — has said that the issue of upcoding is “on the radar” and that the office will be “looking into these codes and how [EHRs] may be affecting them.”
However, government officials say that they do not have a system to monitor the hundreds of different billing and medical software packages being used across the U.S.
Physicians’ Response
Some physicians note that EHR systems allow them to correct billing practices that for years did not pay them enough.
Robert Tennant — a lobbyist with the Medical Group Management Association — said, “With a paper-based system, there’s a little bit of concern from providers that they don’t have sufficient documentation to support a particular” coding level. However, he said that EHRs can help clinicians quickly retrieve a patient’s history.
Tennant said, “I don’t use the term ‘upcode.’ I use ‘correct code.’ I see it more as physicians being reimbursed more appropriately for the work that they’re doing” (Schulte, Center for Public Integrity, 9/19).
Source: iHealthBeat
Many patients want to use online health care tools, but few have access to such services, according to a recent survey by market research firm Harris Interactive, FierceHealthIT reports (Byers, FierceHealthIT, 9/17).
For the survey, researchers polled 2,311 U.S. adults between July 16 and July 23. They found that:
Source: iHealthBeat
Hospitals increasingly are relying on innovative new technologies to improve patient care, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Using Robots
For example, some hospitals are using robots to enable telehealth consultations between physicians and patients.
Paul Vespa, a neurological care specialist at the University of California-Los Angeles, uses a robot stand-in developed by InTouch Health to examine patients in different locations.
The robot enables Vespa to:
Using Other New Technologies
Other innovative technologies used by hospitals include:
Source: iHealthBeat
An Illinois orthopedic surgeon has started using iPod-based technology to improve the accuracy of knee replacement surgeries, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
Departure From Traditional Surgeries
Traditional knee-replacement surgeries involve running a metal rod through the patient’s tibia to align and secure an artificial knee.
George Branovacki — an orthopedic surgeon at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Ill. — said he “takes the rod out of the equation” by using his iPod’s Dash navigational software to more precisely measure and place artificial knees. Although the iPod-based technology received FDA approval in 2011, its manufacturer says Christ Medical Center currently is the only U.S. hospital to use it.
How It Works
During an operation, the iPod is placed in a frame with a pistol-like handle. It takes measurements on the patient and wirelessly relays the data to an infrared camera a few feet away.
The camera is connected to a computer that calculates where the surgeon should make an incision, and then the computer relays that information to the iPod’s screen to show Branovacki whether he is on target.
According to Branovacki, the device’s “GPS-like navigation” helps prevent small misalignments, which can have a large effect on a patient’s mobility and pain, as well as on the life of the implant. Those misalignments are significantly more likely when a physician must move his or her focus back and forth between the patient and a computer, he said (Nolan, Chicago Sun-Times, 9/10).
Source: iHealthBeat
On Tuesday, the American Health Information Management Association unveiled a new tool aimed at enhancing patients’ understanding of personal health records, Healthcare IT News reports.
AHIMA posted the guide — called Understanding Your Medical Record — on its myPHR.com website, which launched in 2006 as a resource for consumers interested in maintaining PHRs (McCann, Healthcare IT News, 9/12).
AHIMA’s new tool provides information on:
AHIMA CEO Lynne Thomas Gordon said, “Helping consumers understand the purpose of a medical record and how to access their clinical information will enhance the relationship between a patient and their doctor or health care provider” (Healthcare IT News, 9/12).
Source: iHealthBeat
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and the Health Resources and Services Administration have developed a no-cost video game to offer privacy and security training for health care providers, Modern Healthcare reports.
Officials unveiled the game during National Health IT Week, which runs from Sept. 10 to Sept. 14.
Laura Rosas — a privacy and security professional in ONC’s Office of the Chief Privacy Officer — said the game will be available Wednesday on ONC’s HealthIT.gov website. Rosas said the game is geared toward medical practices that have limited experience with health IT.
In the video game, characters act out scenarios involving health data privacy and security. The game then prompts players to choose one of four possible actions to address the situation (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 9/11).
Source: iHealthBeat
Copyright 2015 - Pulse Practice Solutions | 615.425.2719