“Most Wired” hospitals are partnering with other providers to share health data, study found. By Christine Kern, contributing writer
Boston Medical Center reduces support costs and adds functionality with a wireless LAN upgrade.
With all the talk of Big Data, there are still big questions as to how to most effectively leverage information and data to make a positive impact on healthcare delivery, cost, and outcomes. One health system leader thinks an approach developed by a Major League baseball team might be a game changer.
Health IT is in a state of constant evolution, and it often seems that, for every problem solved, another is created. That’s why it’s vital we stop to assess where the industry stands from time to time, as well as look to the future to determine the best course to take to achieve our collective goals.
Modern medicine depends on computer technology. Even the most basic of procedures, a physical checkup, begins with a physician typing a patient’s medical history into a laptop. And the advances that improve health care and help extend life spans—MRI scanners, X-ray machines, blood analyzers, etc.—all run on technology. But who keeps the technology running?
The consumerization of mobile devices, also known as bring your own device (BYOD), is a major trend affecting healthcare. This involves healthcare workers using their personal mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablets, to access applications that enable them to deliver care whenever and wherever it is needed. Concurrent are the broader trends of increasing caregiver mobility and the use of cloud computing— whether in the form of electronic health record (EHR) software as a service (SaaS), an enterprise private cloud, or other health- care cloud offerings.
Today, it seems that everywhere you go it is possible to access a Wi-Fi service with your smartphone, digital tablet, or laptop. Except, perhaps, at your workplace. Yet interest in providing wireless access within offices and other facilities is growing fast among businesses of all types and sizes. This interest reflects business needs and trends, such as...
After identifying your cloud computing goals, consider the type of network you want. Although a public network that uses the Internet to transport all traffic may seem like an attractive choice, it involves significant trade-offs for performance and security. Applications may not perform properly and/or bandwidth may not be available for mission-critical applications. Your network may suffer latency, jitter, and packet loss.
Many industry leaders championed a free market approach to healthcare during the 12th Annual World Health Care Congress last week. Here are a few key reasons why I don’t think this model is “the fix” our industry so desperately needs.
By the closest margin in the history of our survey, Stage 2 EHR Meaningful Use edges out ICD-10 Compliance as the top health IT initiative among healthcare providers for 2014.
As the healthcare industry moves toward adopting more technology, telehealth programs are popping up around the country. Two healthcare facilities explain how their telehealth systems keep patients connected and improve care quality.
Remote patient monitoring has the potential to change the shape of healthcare delivery, especially in chronic disease management. Could the smartphone represent the next wave in remote patient monitoring? I think so.By Vicki Amendola, Editor, Health IT Outcomes
According to our fourth annual Community Hospital Health IT Survey, MU is creating a new breed of unique challenges for small, rural hospitals — challenges that may require drastic changes to address.
For the past five years, EHR/MU was selected as the top health IT initiative for the coming year. This year, there’s a new top initiative, and what it is should come as no surprise.
Using a combination of handheld computers, barcode tracking, and route optimization tools, Diagnostic Laboratories & Radiology has improved the effectiveness of its field phlebotomists, accelerating specimen collection and lab result turnaround time.
Wireless infrastructure, wireless networks, or WiFi networks are some of the most challenging IT implementations done at hospitals. Wireless networks in hospitals often have to support a large range of devices, from medical equipment to laptops and desktops, to hospital-owned mobile devices, and even devices owned by doctors, nurses, staff, and patients. In addition to supporting a varying range of devices, these networks cannot interfere with the sensitive medical equipment throughout the hospital while still providing maximum coverage throughout the facility.
Common uses of wireless networks in hospitals include clinical communication, guest access, medical device connectivity, location tracking, and inventory management. Guest access can be one of the largest challenges, as the guest network must be secured properly or be separate from the network that operates critical-care devices in order to prevent any accidental or intentional damage or outages.
“Most Wired” hospitals are partnering with other providers to share health data, study found. By Christine Kern, contributing writer
