News

Summaries of open source, health care, or health IT news and information from various sources on the web selected by Open Health News (OHNews) staff. Links are provided to the original news or information source, e.g. news article, web site, journal,blog, video, etc.

See the following -

Health IT Now recommends HHS, Congress take steps against non-interoperable systems

Marla Durben Hirsch | FierceEMR | June 18, 2014

Health IT Now, buoyed by RAND's recent report on electronic health records, has called on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Congress to "decertify systems that require additional modules, expenses, and customization to share data," and to investigate business practices that prohibit or restrict data sharing in federal incentive programs.

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Health IT Orthodoxy after the Supreme Court

John Loonsk | Government Health IT | July 2, 2012

The focus of ACA attention will turn to results or repeal. And while a different decision could have had ACA become a weight on HITECH and health information technology (HIT), the principally bi-partisan nature of the HIT agenda should now refocus attention almost exclusively on results for it. Read More »

Health IT Security, FHIR Focus of ONC Secure API Server Challenge

Elizabeth Snell | HealthIT Security | October 10, 2017

ONC is challenging healthcare stakeholders to build secure Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) servers to improve health IT security and ensure that secure FHIR options are available in the future. The Secure API Server Showdown Challenge will ideally “identify unknown security vulnerabilities in the way open source FHIR servers are implemented,” ONC Office of Standards and Technology Director Steven Posnack, MS, MHS, wrote in a blog post...

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Health IT Task Force Synthesizes Open API Themes

Frank Irving | HealthIT Interoperability | February 11, 2016

Health IT integration will reach a significant threshold when, as specified under 2015 Edition criteria, electronic health records systems and related tools must provide consumer-facing access to the Common Clinical Data Set via an application programming interface (API). Hard at work deciphering how consumers could leverage API technology to access patient data is the Joint API Privacy and Security Task Force...

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Health IT tools lack proof of effectiveness

Katie Dvorak | Fierce Health IT | August 31, 2015

There are myriad apps, tools and technologies entering the healthcare marketplace--but most lack proof that they are helping consumers battle disease and stay healthy, according to an article in Fortune. To that end, hospitals must be very careful when adopting health IT, according to Richard Milani, chief clinical transformation officer at Ochsner Health System. "You want to be comfortable that the technology you're utilizing is reliable and accurate," Milani tells Fortune. "That's a genuine concern. If you have some scientific data or peer-reviewed data to back it up, that certainly makes it a little easier."

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Health IT's Next Big Challenge: Comparative Effectiveness Research

Paul Cerrato | InformationWeek | August 21, 2012

Healthcare providers are being pushed to deliver more cost effective medical care and to improve the health of not just individual patients but large populations. One key to carrying out both mandates is finding more clinically effective treatment options. Read More »

Health IT, At Least On The Big Island, Starts With Fresh Vegetables And Gardening

Mary Mosquera | Government Health IT | August 30, 2012

The first step for gaining patient buy-in for the use of health IT may start with fresh vegetables and gardening, a gateway to start thinking about and owning your health. Read More »

Health IT: Charting the Course For 2013 To Harness Health IT To Bring Down Costs And Improve Quality In Health Care

Farzad Mostashari | Health IT Buzz | March 6, 2013

Today HHS is announcing critical progress toward building the infrastructure needed for Health Information Technology (IT) systems to communicate seamlessly and securely.  This is crucial to our efforts to modernize our health care delivery system and will facilitate our efforts to bring down costs and improve care for patients. Read More »

Health Law May Strain Mental Health System

Beth Miller | USA Today | November 3, 2013

The Affordable Care Act will open doors for more patients to get treatment, but resources may not be there to meet the demand in states such as Delaware. Read More »

Health Level Seven International Project Supports the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s Blue Button® Requirements

Press Release | HL7 | February 28, 2012

[Health Level Seven® (HL7®) International] today announced a response to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) recent requirement that U.S. Federal Employees Health Benefit Program (FEHBP) health insurance carriers support the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Blue Button® text file format as a means of conveying personal health information to federal employees. Read More »

Health Nuts Are Guzzling Coconut Water Faster Than Aging Palm Trees Can Produce It

Lily Kuo | Quartz | November 5, 2013

The world’s supply of coconut water—along with the myriad foods, oils, cosmetics, fibers and fuels made from coconuts—could be under threat. The United Nation’s Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Nov. 1 that global demand for coconut products is outpacing the rate of production in Asia, where about 85% of the world’s coconuts are grown. Read More »

Health Officials Could Identify & Act On Crises Earlier With New Draper Biosurveillance Tool

Press Release | Draper Laboratory | October 22, 2013

A cloud computing service under development at Draper Laboratory could provide insights that enable public health preparedness and response officials to more quickly limit the severity of emerging public health crises, whether due to bioterrorism, novel influenza pandemics, or other disease outbreaks... Read More »

Health Orgs Dooming Their "Innovation" To Failure

Dave Chase | Forbes | June 15, 2013

Healthcare organizations are rapidly trying to reinvent themselves in light of the new rules of the game. One could argue it officially started October 1, 2012 with Medicare’s readmission penalties. People are calling this the “no outcome, no income” era. [...] Read More »

Health Policy And Implementation Challenges To Achieving Big Data Outcomes

John Loonsk | Government Health IT | April 29, 2013

Big Data must be near the top of its hype cycle by now. As with other technologies, it may eventually deliver on a great deal of this hype, but the outcomes will probably arrive later than the current frenzy would suggest. Read More »

Health Product Declaration Open Standard Launched

Katie Weeks | ARCHITECT | November 9, 2012

Nadav Malin, a member of the Health Product Declaration Pilot Committee, expands on the need for transparency as part of EcoHome magazine's Vision 2020 series. Read More »