The Health Techzone was unusually quiet this week as kids prepared to go back to school. Even during a slower news week, HealthTechZone still had some noteworthy developments to report.
Solix is marketing its Solix Connect service as a great way for health insurers to outsource their call center services. Solix Connect is a HIPAA-compliant service that can connect with policyholders and potential customers over the telephone, IVR or e-mail support. Agents can also run direct mail campaigns and distribute literature for insurance companies.
As open enrollment for state health insurance exchanges under the Affordable Care Act starts on Oct. 1, many insurers expect heavy call volume and questions about their products. A U.S-based service like Solix Connect can handle the traffic at prices that are competitive with in-house call center costs.
As higher fines and lawsuits make data breaches and HIPAA-compliance failures more costly, two University of Michigan researchers, along with other experts, are working specifically on improving healthcare cybersecurity. For example, Sutter Health, a healthcare provider offering services in over 100 California towns, suffered a data breach that exposed millions of customers' personal information to attackers.
Aside from data breaches, healthcare systems also have to worry about malware like Trojan horses and worms. At the Gwinnett Medical Center in Georgia, a virus that slipped past the network's security solution disabled the network, requiring employees to revert to using paper records until the virus was eradicated.
Finally, the U.S. healthcare industry reported two major acquisitions this week. SSI Group acquired Medibis, and First Databank acquired Design Clinicals. SSI Group, which focuses on healthcare payment solutions, plans to utilize Medibis, which offers technology converting raw data into intelligence, to expand its reach into physician's offices as well as into ambulatory and surgery centers.
First Databank, which provides clinical drug information, will combine its information database with Design Clinicals patient care and medication reconciliation tools. The integrated solutions will provide a way for healthcare providers to meet Meaningful Use requirements related to medication reconciliation and electronic health records.
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