Nearly two-thirds of Americans who take prescription medications are non-compliant to their regimen. This is a two pronged issue: 20-30% of prescriptions are never filled and 50% of those who do fill the prescription do not take the medication as prescribed. It is clear that strategies are needed to improve medication management among the entire
Blog
19Feb
“2015 State of the Connected Patient” Report
Most Americans are still setting up doctor appointments and getting test results via phone calls, and they seem to be happy with it. A new survey from Salesforce shows that most Americans are satisfied with the care they receive from their physicians, despite fairly limited adoption of online tools to communicate with their doctors. Less than 10
05Feb
Poor Use of EHRs by Physicians, Study Finds
Despite a federal mandate to adopt electronic health records systems, many physicians remain woefully behind in how they receive patient data, researchers find in a February study titled The Role of Health Information Technology in Care Coordination in the U.S. Over half of physicians regularly get patient information -necessary to coordinate patient care- from sources other
29Jan
Government pledges to make HIPAA clearer for mhealth companies
The United States Department of Health and Human Services‘ (HHS) Office of Civil Rights, which oversees the administration of HIPAA, will begin working closely with mobile health companies to make sure HIPAA rules are clear and unambiguous, according to an HHS letter. “I think the letter … is absolutely critical,” Morgan Reed, executive director of ACT,
15Jan
Broader Sharing of Clinical Trial Data, Institute of Medicine Recommends
The Institute of Medicine released an extensive report that recommends government agencies and companies share data from research studies that they fund. The report’s authors set out numerous action steps that clinical trial sponsors are encouraged to follow in order to widen access, which include developing specific plans for sharing data, such as granting access through
08Jan
Physicians Say EMRs A Key Factor To Their Declining Income
According to a recent survey by The Medicus Firm, physicians feel reimbursement, EMRs, and hospital employment are the key factors limiting physician pay. The survey, entitled 2013 Physician Practice Preference and Relocation Survey was conducted with over 2,500 doctors, revealing several workforce trends and practice preferences. Compensation seemed to be a troubling area for many physicians. When asked what
Reducing Hospital Readmissions Starts with Better Collaboration
Two research studies released in early October on efforts to reduce hospital readmissions reached the same conclusion: crafting collaborative relationships with community-based caregivers to boost patient care is key in order to reduce hospital readmissions. Medicare payments for hospital readmissions cost the federal government about $26 billion annually, with more than half that expenditure linked to avoidable hospitalizations, according to
Misconception around Miracle mHealth Sensors
A week ago, TechCrunch featured an article titled Myths and Misconceptions of Our Wearable Future. The author reviewed numerous PR hype and science-fiction-fueled ideas that are prevalent around wearable hardware (a bit of software too) and that may mislead consumers in different areas of life and business industries. A misconception that has been seen in Health IT
Driving the Health IT Transformation
A new report published by The COMMONWEALTH FUND outlines numerous important and relevant recommendations founded on the premise that Digital Health Technologies will work toward improving population health, improving care experiences, and reducing per capita costs of care. Digital Health Technologies have the potential to transform and disrupt the health care delivery system by empowering consumers -and patients- to
Patient Feedback Improves Accuracy of EHRs, Study Finds
Enabling patients to provide feedback on the medication lists in their medical records can improve the accuracy of the patients’ medical records, according to a new study published in eGems (Generating Evidence and Methods to Improve Patient Outcomes). The researchers found that patients generally were “eager” to offer feedback on their EHRs, and provided accurate and useful information about
