Healthcare IT News - December 2008 - (Page 1)

HosPItaL emrs: Forecast cloudy page 41 Published in partnership with SMpa e EW se N g s er 08 20 ak 21 e tHE nEWS SourcE For HEAltHcArE inForMAtion tEcHnoloGy n DeCeMber 2008 Four to the board Four new members were elected to the HIMSS Board of Directors. See who they are. PAGE 27 News Daschle urged to keep IT focus By diAnA MAnoS, Senior Editor WashIngton AHic 2.0 debuts HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt led the efforts to transition the original panel to a public-private entity. PAGE 3 See how it works Health information networks will show how they exchange information across a network of networks. PAGE 6 commeNtarY – Many healthcare leaders have a positive eye toward President-elect Barack Obama’s nomination of former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) to be the next Department of Health and Human Services secretary. They urge Daschle, if he is confirmed, to focus on healthcare IT as a pivotal part of a U.S. healthcare transformation. Since the news broke of Daschle’s nomination on Nov. 19, many healthcare IT insiders have hailed him as a good pick for HHS secretary because of his bipartisan negotiating capability and healthcare advocacy. H. Stephen Lieber, president and CEO of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, said Daschle’s book, “Critical: What We Can Do About The Health-Care Crisis,” is an indicator of his commitment to healthcare and healthcare IT. be leveraged to improve the quality, safety, and elect Barack Obama e f f i c i e n c y o f c a r e ,” nominated Tom Daschle as Lieber said. next HHS secretary. Lieber said HIMSS wHat It meaNs: ➔ would work closely with IT likely to be among his the secretary-designate priorities in revamping on securing additional healthcare system. funding for healthcare Tom Daschle information technol“HIMSS believes Senator ogy as well as continuing current Daschle understands critical healthcare IT initiatives. healthcare issues and how IT can dAScHlE see page 6 tHe News: President➔ Monitored to health Managing Editor Eric Wicklund says IT can do wonders for people with diabetes. PAGE 8 HosPItaLs & IDNs right decisions A small hospital in rural Arkansas shows how decision support can save lives. PAGE 12 PHYsIcIaN PractIces & ambuLatorY care Information technology makes a sweet difference in how patients monitor chronic diseases. By Eric Wicklund, Managing Editor ears ago, the treatment of diabetes relied as much on intuition as medicine. Excessive urination and thirst were seen as signs to test for the chronic disease, exercise and diets were prescribed to manage its effects, and mood swings and lethargy were used as indicators to check a diabetic’s blood sugar. The advent of information technology – from monitors that can continuously measure a person’s REPORT blood-sugar level to online wellness programs that relay real-time information from patients to doctors and vice versa – has helped immensely. Such measures have improved the diagnosis and treatment of diabetics and literally added DIABETES WATCH IT to drive ambulatory care model By Molly MErrill, Associate Editor FaLLs ChUrCh, Va – A new report says industry trends in healthcare signal the need for a next generation ambulatory care delivery model, one which will rely heavily on information technology. The driving forc- John es behind this new Toussaint, MD model include: a physician shortage coupled with growing demand for services, new processes of providing care such as open access and quality of care initiatives, greater consumer participation in paying and choosing care, and reimbursement that is becoming more performance-based. ModEl see page 19 neurologist needed A new specialist on-call service gets neurologists to the bedside faster than ever. PAGE 17 PaYers Y HITN A diabetic teenager checks his blood sugar with a glucometer. Newer versions of the device allow a person’s blood sugar to be continuously monitored via a small catheter or RFID chip. Also on the counter are a pair of pens for distributing insulin. SPECIAL Heartened IT will help Kansas City heart patients track their disease. PAGE 34 VeNDors Generation next Information technology vendors are looking at the next generation of doctors as ready customers. PAGE 38 years to their projected lives. “We view this as the future,” says Jim Mingle, founder, president and CEO of MyCareTeam, which has developed the MCT-Diabetes software platform to help diabetics, doctors and nurses coordinate diabetes management. “We’ve taken technology and used it to gather all the data that’s out there … so that healthcare can be taken outside the doctor’s diABEtES see page 4 clinicAl toolkit inpatient EMrs After banner years, the market outlook is hazy. PAGE 41 economy puts tech projects on hold By BErniE MonEGAin, Editor ChICago – Marc Probst, the CIO of MAnAGEMEnt Solutions Asset tracking Chalk one up for patient safety as advocates call for standard global location numbers. PAGE 43 www.HealthcareItNews.com MedTech Publishing Company / Vol. 5 No. 12 Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City, says his IT budget this year will be slashed by 40 percent. Intermountain, known for its cutting edge information technology initiatives, has been hit by the economic crisis just as most other enterprises have, inside and outside of healthcare. sidering or postponing For Intermountain, the investments in both clini40 percent cut, means the cal and information techERP project – enterprise nology, as well as facilities resource planning – that and equipment, according had been slated for 2009 to a new survey conducted will have to wait. by the American Hospital The situation is one Association. example of how the troubled Marc Probst The survey found that 39 percent economy is affecting IT projects in of hospitals are putting off investhospitals across the country. Hospital executives are recon- ments in new information technology. It also reported that 45 percent are delaying the purchase of clinical technology or equipment. “The capital crunch is making it difficult and expensive for hospitals to finance facility and EconoMy see page 15 economy’s impact Hospitals reconsidering or postponing capital expenditures 45% 39% 56% IT Clinical technology Expansion, renovation Source: AHA e l connect: gRapHS 1208 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Healthcare IT News - December 2008

Healthcare IT News - December 2008 Contents AHIC 2.0 Debuts See How It Works Monitored to Health Right Decisions Neurologist Needed HiMSS Insider: Four to the Board Heartened Generation Next Clinical Toolkit: Inpatient EMRs Management Solutions: Asset Tracking

Healthcare IT News - December 2008

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