Health IT Issues that Deserve a Second Read – November 2020

One of the ways that HealthIT Answers is different from other media sites is the sense of community. The thought leaders in our community are good about sharing their thoughts on the issues of today. We publish at least eight guest posts a week now, so in case you missed some, here are the top ten read and shared guest posts in the month of November. You can also read previous month’s Top Ten Lists. Thank you for contributing and reading.

Most Played Radio Episode in November

From How I Transformed This, hosts Tammy Hawes and Clark Buckner talk with Dilawar Syed, CEO of Lumiata, about Lumiata’s innovative approach, and how artificial intelligence can help manage the COVID-19 pandemic.

Most Read Thought Leader Posts in November

The Role of Innovation And Technology In Primary Care’s Post-COVID Future
By Dr. Jonathan Yoder, Family Medicine Physician and Practice Innovation Physician Champion, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Inlightened Expert
Twitter: @GetInlightened

We all know – many of us too well – that healthcare is notoriously slow to change. While some areas move faster than others when it comes to innovation, there are those that have remained quite stagnant, like primary care. Consider this sobering statistic: Continue reading…

Keeping Health Plan Members Informed with Education Outreach
By Dr. Gary Call, Chief Medical Officer, HMS
Twitter: @HMSHealthcare

Medical experts learn more about the coronavirus every day. New protocols for testing and treatment are becoming the norm, and evolving information emerges daily about the characteristics of COVID-19 and how it presents in individuals. Continue reading…

Five Ways Patients are in the Driver’s Seat When it Comes to Healthcare
By Matt Dickson, Vice President of Product, Strategy and General Manager, Stericycle Communication Solutions
Twitter: @StericycleComms

Even during an unprecedented healthcare crisis, it is imperative that people continue to take care of themselves, both physically and mentally. But due to concerns about exposure to coronavirus, people are not venturing en masse to emergency rooms or hospitals, a trend we experienced during the SARS epidemic, and routine care with physicians is slipping. Continue reading…

Telemedicine or In-Person Visit? Pros and Cons
By Bernard J. Wolfson, Kaiser Health News
Twitter: @KHNews
Twitter: @bjwolfson

As COVID-19 took hold in March, U.S. doctors limited in-person appointments — and many patients avoided them — for fear of infection. The result was a huge increase in the volume of remote medical and behavioral health visits. Continue reading…

2020-2025 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan is Now Available
By Elise Sweeney Anthony, Seth Pazinski and Peter Karras, ONC
Twitter: @ONC_HealthIT

On October 30th, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the final 2020-2025 Federal Health IT Strategic Plan. The Plan demonstrates the federal government’s ongoing, coordinated focus on improving the access, exchange, and use of electronic health information. Continue reading…

National or Local: How Should Privacy be Determined
By Matt Fisher, Attorney and chair of the Health Law Group at Mirick, O’Connell, DeMallie & Lougee, LLP.
Twitter: @matt_r_fisher

The debate around privacy that had been forefront of mind for many prior to COVID-19 disrupting everything has not gone away. Instead, privacy has been simmering in the background, every so often be thrust into the spotlight during the course of the pandemic. Continue reading…

Effective Listening Programs Are Critical For Healthcare Organizations During COVID-19
By Lauren Beechly, Director, Client Consulting, Perceptyx
Twitter: @perceptyx

Over the past six months, Perceptyx has compiled the responses of nearly 750,000 healthcare employees, who answered a series of COVID-19 specific surveys and broader employee experience surveys. The results are illuminating, underscoring the need for effective listening programs. Continue reading…

What is the Work of Informatics? Integration of Recent Workforce Analyses
By William Hersh, MD, Professor and Chair, OHSU
Twitter: @williamhersh

In 2006, I published a paper entitled, Who are the Informaticians? – What We Know and Should Know. As my interest in developing educational programs was growing at the time, I was also thinking about the nascent growth of biomedical and health informatics as a profession. Continue reading…

A Year in the Life of Digital Healthcare Research: New Findings from AHRQ’s DHR Program
By Gopal Khanna, MBA, Director of AHRQ and Chris Dymek, Ed.D, Director of AHRQ’s Digital Healthcare Research Program
Twitter: @AHRQNews

As we look at today’s rapidly changing healthcare ecosystem, one thing is clear: innovations in digital technology have enormous potential for improving patient care. But equally true is the reality that implementing these advances—making sure that new digital technologies have practical benefits for patients and clinicians—can be very challenging. Continue reading…

Partnering on Core Systems Can Increase Innovation and Profitability
By Zachary Fox, Executive Vice President, Partners, DrFirst
Twitter: @DrFirst

Things have changed since the frenzy of EHR adoption in the years following passage of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act over 10 years ago. The once greenfield opportunities with first-time EHR buyers is now a crowded “rip and replace” market. Continue reading…