Beginning in 2002 and ending a scant four years later, the animated series “The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius” followed the exploits of Jimmy and his none-too-bright buddy Sheen. And while the animators and writers may not have realized it at the time, they had the prescience to predict Amazon’s ascent to healthcare prominence, or dominance, depending on how you look at it.
According to the American Telemedicine Association, more than one-half of U.S. hospitals now have a telehealth program in place. Overall, 71 percent of healthcare providers are using telehealth or telemedicine technologies to provide medical services in ambulatory and inpatient settings. Telehealth produces a deluge of data, including vital sign and symptom collection from patients, leading some healthcare providers to worry that critical information may get lost in the coming data tsunami which might provide a basis for medical malpractice complaints.
Operational dilemmas are experienced in all industries. Airlines, for example, are arguably more operationally complex, asset-intensive and regulated than hospitals, yet the best performers are doing a far better job than most hospitals at keeping costs low and make a decent profit while delivering what their customers expect. Southwest Airlines, for example, has figured out how to excel at the two operational things that matter most: Keep more planes in the sky more often, and fill each of them with more passengers and more often than anyone else. Similarly, winners in other complex, asset-intensive, service-based industries — Amazon, UPS and FedEx — have figured out how to over deliver on their promise while staying streamlined and cost-effective.
Healthcare is one of the most expensive industries in the United States. For years, experts have tossed around potential cost-saving solutions, often involving the integration of technology into health facilities. Many of these solutions focus on the flashy topic of artificial intelligence. And while the potential cost savings with AI implementation are projected equate up to $150 billion annually in the health field, there are simple investments that are being overlooked that will not only help prepare health facilities for implementing AI down the road, but will provide results now.
Healthcare providers store a colossal amount of data in the form of decades of patient information, gathered before the real birth of data analytics, and before the concept of “big data” even existed. Piedmont alone had over 22,000 fields to analyze gathered from around 30 different published data sources. Multiplied by the number of records available Piedmont had to extract value from over 555 billion data points.
The need for efficient, reliable, and cost-effective storage solutions has never been greater. Healthcare providers are awash in data and as the amount of data healthcare users create continues to grow, so does the need for more robust security and better storage management.
One year ago, Jackson Health System in Miami realized a cultural shift was necessary in order to move forward. By Bill Griffith, Vice President of Business Process/Operational Improvement for Jackson Health System, Miami
A big part of routine daily healthcare management operations is managing huge volumes of data—and it's becoming increasingly more of a challenge. EMC estimates the amount of stored healthcare data nearly doubles every two years. The amount of data managed will continue to grow as healthcare organizations add new equipment and incorporate data-intensive, next-generation diagnostic tools.
Data breaches continue to dominate healthcare headlines, leading one to wonder if the unprecedented growth of Big Data is to blame? Health Data Consortium CEO Chris Boone shares his thoughts on this subject and more.
Healthcare dashboards are often computers screens, printouts, or other displays that allow hospitals and healthcare organizations to monitor and gain greater insight into their key performance indicators (KPIs). Based on the goals of the organization, dashboards can be customized to display any relevant information and can be updated in real-time to allow for quick and simple monitoring.
Dashboards can also be customized to show data relevant to hospital administrators, patients, physicians, and other stakeholders. Dashboards provide users with a simple way to pull reports and monitor quality of care, while acting as an easy clinical decision aide tool. Dashboards are beneficial to doctors, nurses, and staff because they provide a very quick overview, often with charts and graphs, allowing busy individuals to quickly take in the necessary information and make appropriate decisions.
HIMSS Poll finds nursing informatics specialists’ experience and salary continue to rise. Nursing Informatics Continues To Grow, Survey Finds By Christine Kern, contributing writer
