It was another busy week in healthcare, and HealthTech Zone didn’t miss a thing. Let’s take a look at some of the latest.
Some states are moving forward with setting up their health information exchanges (HIE), as required by the Affordable Care Act, although some are still fighting the development of health insurance exchanges (HIX), also required by the act. Under the program, those states which choose not to set one up themselves will be overseen by Washington. Many states are still balking at the requirement to form HIXs. Republican governors in four immediately said they would not participate in setting one up and others have joined in.
Accountable care organizations (ACO) are on the cutting edge of healthcare reform, bringing together providers in a new format that trades lump sum payments for fees based on quality of care and lowering costs. Writing for govhealthit.com, Gary Palgon noted that ACOs are already transforming the way healthcare is organized. “It logically follows that the information technology (IT) necessary to support ACOs is also changing under our feet,” he asserted. “The massive shift of patients to the ambulatory sector to achieve lower-cost care, the need for coordinated care among diverse providers and the analytics required to manage population health are all moving the IT dial to a new frequency.”
A new study has shown that missed medical conditions, which may account for as many annual deaths as breast cancer, are an under-rated preventable cause of death, according to Johns Hopkins researchers. A study done by the researchers has shown that medical errors in the intensive care unit (ICU) may kill as many as 40,500 patients per year, putting diagnostics on par with breast cancer for patient deaths, according to a new study. Almost 40,000 women died of breast cancer in 2011.
Robots compound and dispense pills at hospitals and pharmacies. But now there’s something even better – faxes. "Fax is the only guaranteed way to transmit something electronically," Brent Lothrop, president of The Fax Guys, a Burnsville, Minn., reseller of Canadian-made RightFax software, told Pam Bernardino. "That's why it's widely used to move documents in health care, where there are federal privacy rules." Desktop faxing delivers documents directly to computers, saving time and money, letting healthcare providers quickly, accurately and securely submit prescriptions to pharmacies.
We’re used to having x-rays and other imaging tests to see deep inside our bodies. But now medical students, doctors, and consumers will be able to use the iPad and forego damaging radiation, with results in minutes, thanks to a new app. Created by Healthline and GE Healthymagination, in partnership with Visible Productions, the app features retina-display-ready (high-resolution screen technology) anatomy models of both sexes, including anatomical structures for orthopedics, cardiology and neurology.
