Health IT Issues that Deserve a Second Read – October 2021

One of the ways that Answers Media 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 October. You can also read previous month’s Top Ten Lists. Thank you for contributing and reading.

Most Played Radio Episode in October

As organizations transition through this next iteration of the pandemic and think about how to position themselves for 2022, physician and executive leadership continues to be a top priority. The next generation of executive leadership must think differently and have the ability to evolve with anticipated crises and changes in the industry. It is imperative to understand what will be expected of those leaders, the requirements they must satisfy, and how they should position themselves and their organizations for success. In this episode of Value-Based Care Insights, host Daniel J. Marino speaks to Dr. Cheri Olsen of IPMA and Doug McKinley of the Lumina Leadership Institute to discuss the need for a collaborative leadership model. This is the second episode in a two-part series supporting the collaborative IPMA and Lumina Leadership Institute CME Conference, that took place October 14, 2021.

Most Read Thought Leader Posts in October

Will ‘Dr. Disinformation’ Ever Face the Music?
By Victoria Knight, Kaiser Health News
Twitter: @KHNews
Twitter: @victoriaregisk

Earlier this month, Dr. Rashid Buttar posted on Twitter that covid-19 “was a planned operation” and shared an article alleging that most people who got the covid vaccine would be dead by 2025. His statement is a recent example in what has been a steady stream of spurious claims surrounding the covid vaccines and treatments that swirl around the public consciousness. Others include testimony in June by Dr. Sherri Jane Tenpenny before Ohio state legislators that the vaccine could cause people to become magnetized. Continue reading…

Avoiding the Telehealth Cliff
By Dr. Nick van Terheyden aka Dr. Nick
Twitter: @drnic1

On this episode during Telehealth awareness week, it was great to catch up with Ann Wood Johnson, CEO of the American Telemedicine Association – ATA, the only organization completely focused on accelerating the adoption of Telehealth. Ann started out focused on early stage companies and joined the ATA before the Pandemic and has seen a tide of change in the space with Telehealth becoming a household term. Continue reading…

Research Results Published: More Apps are Integrating with EHRs
By Wes Barker and Christian Johnson, ONC
Twitter: @ONC_HealthIT

New ONC research shows a more than 20% rise in the number of apps that integrate with certified EHRs. A manuscript highlighting the findings of this research was recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association: “The Ecosystem of Apps and Software integrated with Certified Health Information Technology”. Our study analyzed apps that were discoverable in app galleries managed by EHR developers – Allscripts, athenahealth, Cerner Corporation and Epic Systems Corporation – as well as the SMART App Gallery. Continue reading…

Getting Electronic Medical Record Data Right: How Small Changes are Big Wins
By Jennifer Fitisemanu, RN, BSN, Consulting Architect, Epic Services, CereCore
Twitter: @CereCore

Historically, a patient’s electronic medical record was a way for the healthcare team to keep an account of the patient’s care. Over time, the record has become integral to sharing information with care teams across organizations, documenting quality care, ensuring accurate and timely payment of services, and detailing treatment plans across the care continuum. Continue reading…

The Largest Nascent Threats to Healthcare Data Security
By Jordan Bazinsky, Executive Vice President Payment Integrity and Retail, Cotiviti
Twitter: @Cotiviti
Twitter: @JordanBazinsky

The healthcare system represents one of the most significant parts of the United States’ economy—one that is very personal to everyone who engages with it. Yet, the story of the healthcare system is also the story of healthcare data: its creation, sharing, and use to improve health for individuals and populations. Unfortunately, the rapid innovation in healthcare and data use has been matched by organizations looking to exploit that repository of information. Here are three rapidly emerging new healthcare data threats that will require ingenuity and focus in the immediate future and beyond. Continue reading…

How Healthcare Organizations Can Strengthen Their Cybersecurity Posture Against Cyber Attacks
By Dan L. Dodson, CEO, Fortified Health Security
Twitter: @FortifiedHITSec

A strong cybersecurity posture guards against the most prominent cyber threats in healthcare, but the framework used should also scale to meet new threats. As National Cybersecurity Awareness Month kicks-off, here’s a look at a few types of attacks many cyber criminals are deploying against our healthcare ecosystem along with four ways every healthcare organization can leverage to mitigate and respond to the latest threats targeting healthcare. Continue reading…

Auto-Indexing to Connect Data in Hospitals for Better Patient Care
By Ruchi Medhekar, Senior VP of Strategy and Platform, Vyne Medical
Twitter: @VyneMedical

Improving data capture to form a more complete patient record. Creating true and measurable workflow efficiencies. Filling process gaps to recover lost revenue. All these priorities are essential to operating a successful hospital, and automation offers a solution to address each of these objectives. At its core, auto-indexing technology provides a straightforward path to transform unstructured patient information into structured, reliable data capable of powering the financial health of care organizations. How? Continue reading…

Certification for the Rest of Informatics
By William Hersh, MD, Professor and Chair, OHSU
Twitter: @williamhersh

After several years of planning, professional certification is coming to the rest of the informatics field, i.e., moving beyond just board certification for eligible physicians. While certification is somewhat easier to apply in the context of the physician board model, the AMIA has now rolled out the AMIA Health Informatics Certification. Those who are certified will be designated as ACHIP, the AMIA Certified Health Informatics Professional. A section of the AMIA Web site provides detailed on the certification, eligibility for it, applying for and taking the exam, and recertification. Continue reading…

Important Update: FTC Clarifies Health Breach Notification Rule
By Susan Walberg, JD MPA CHC, Principal Consultant, Compliance Ala Carte
Twitter: @AlaCompliance

As I have written in previous articles about HIPAA and health-tech, many apps in the marketplace have been largely unregulated with respect to the privacy and security of healthcare data. In order for healthcare-related apps to be regulated, for the most part, they needed to be covered under HIPAA. As a result, only the apps that were directly related to providing or billing for healthcare services, or those companies’ ‘Business Associates,’ were required to put specific controls and notifications in place. All the rest were not. Continue reading…

What Executives Think of Their Own Health System’s Performance
By David Burda, News Editor & Columnist, 4sight Health
Twitter: @davidrburda
Twitter: @4sighthealth_

They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. That sage advice apparently applies equally to people suffering from an addiction and people running a health system. A new study in the Journal of Healthcare Management reveals a big gap between what many executives think of their health system’s performance and how their system actually performs. Continue reading…