The revolutionary power of AI in healthcare

In this day and age, evolving technologies surround and influence people and businesses the world over. Technology has advanced by massive leaps and bounds in recent years, ushering in convenient developments like autonomous self-driving cars. However, in terms of industries for which artificial intelligence (AI) can do the most good, healthcare is at the top […]

Big data helps hospitals lower readmissions

For hospitals, readmission rates are a key performance indicator (KPI). They indicate the quality of care your practice provides and what sort of resources you need in reserve to avoid overcrowding. Some legislation even reduces government payouts to hospitals with high readmission rates. Regardless of whether you want to avoid a stiff penalty or just […]

Record $5.5 million HIPAA penalty doled out

If your organization hosts data regulated by the US government, you’re familiar with the scare tactics used to sell hosting services. But what lurks behind those vague threats of expensive lawsuits and unfair liability burdens? HIPAA is nearly 100 pages long and few providers actually know what it requires. Unfortunately, it took a massive breach […]

EHR hardware: what you need to know

Computers have changed the world in so many obviously amazing ways that cataloguing them is hardly necessary. But what about the more mundane areas of business where technology has changed things, such as with assembly lines or recordkeeping systems? Digital technology has in fact totally transformed the latter, especially in the healthcare industry with something […]

How hi-tech can healthcare get?

The mere mention of the word “technology” elicits a certain expectation. Namely, that we’re dealing with something that’s modern, and new, and has the potential to change our lives. The word “disruptive” is also indicative of change, so a term like “disruptive technology” may seem redundant. But in healthcare it makes perfect sense as the […]

Apple HealthKit: what’s in it for you?

Medical records are generally inaccessible and hard to understand. In fact, if you were to try reading your own medical data, you might find that it’s almost as if it’s in a different language. A medical record can be riddled with cryptic phrases, acronyms and complex terms that mean nothing in the eyes of someone […]

Learn from this NFL team’s EMR fumble

ESPN recently reported that a laptop containing the medical records of thousands of NFL players was stolen from the car of a Washington Redskins’ trainer. And while the team released a statement saying no health information protected under HIPAA guidelines was at risk, the incident shows that EMRs are vulnerable no matter the size of […]

Healthcare trends you should follow

“We are living in a digital world, and healthcare practices need a URL”. If Madonna could change the lyrics of her 1984 classic to speak to the healthcare industry, she may have sang something like this. A URL is just one facet of the digital strategy that hospitals and private practices alike will need to […]

OpenNotes portal initiative gaining steam

A recent initiative to give healthcare patients access to the notes their doctor or clinician writes about their visit is continuing its meteoric rise across the country. OpenNotes began a few years ago by researching the benefits of allowing patients to have access to their doctor’s notes. Since that initial study, the number of healthcare […]

Ransomware alert for healthcare practices

Ransomware is becoming a growing problem for the healthcare industry. And with around a dozen attacks on hospitals being reported since the beginning of the year, you may be wondering just how severe the problem is. Should you be alarmed? How can you protect your practice? Here’s an inside look at how the ransomware epidemic […]