Health IT

A critique of interoperability, big data, and AI in medicine

Tech
March 27, 2022

Today medical records are developed for a single encounter (an outpatient visit or hospital stay). The medical records for an encounter are signed off at the end of the encounter and cannot be changed. An addendum medical record can be added later to correct misinformation in the encounter medical records, but this is seldom done.

This process enables medical documents to be legal recordings of what happened during each encounter. But …

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5 ways that health IT can improve health equity

Tech
March 23, 2022

On March 10, I had the distinct privilege of presenting to the ONC Health IT Advisory Committee at their meeting titled “Health Equity by Design.” The presentation highlighted five areas of focus for health IT in reducing health disparities: health equity data collection, actionable analysis of the data, integration of health care and social service providers, the special role that health information exchanges (HIEs) can play, and access to health …

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The myth of physician resistance

Tech
March 21, 2022

I’m an RN and clinical informaticist. When I was studying health care informatics, I learned about physician resistance. The idea is that physicians are uniquely resistant to EHRs and health care information technology (HIT) apps. If only they went to more training or spent more of their limited time customizing their preferences, they would get the benefits of the EHR. For years, I believed this to be true.

Yet, I had …

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How an AI bot transformed my EHR experience

Tech
March 19, 2022

What is it about the documentation of patient encounters that is so aggravating? I was ecstatic to be part of the generation that entered the computer age in medicine. The first day I opened a chart on a pull-down menu within a pixelated screen I felt like I was ushering in the future. We would be able to mine charts for clinical gold!

As a clinician, I value the …

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3 ways interoperability will improve health care

Tech
March 7, 2022

In health information technology circles, interoperability has become quite the buzzword. A Google search for “Interoperability in Healthcare” yielded 28 million results. Given its pervasiveness, it’s not surprising that the precise meaning of the term is often obscured. The 21st Century Cures Act defined three key components of interoperability: “(A)… the secure exchange of electronic health information with, and use of electronic health information from, other health …

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Human nature will help patients better than any algorithm or AI

Tech
March 4, 2022

Tapping into the mindset of one of the most villainous cinematic computers, the HAL 9000 of 2001 A Space Odyssey, may provide introspection to save us from the same paranoid meltdown that led HAL (spoiler alert) to embark on a murderous rampage. Homicidal activity should not be a lurking risk in any of us, but burnout is.

Briefly, in case you are unfamiliar with Stanly Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke’s sci-fi …

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The artistic side of a broken pot: a story about Oracle and Cerner

Tech
March 4, 2022

I recently had an opportunity to assist a hospital organization with its electronic health records implementation in Las Vegas. I’m usually working non-stop during implementations, but I was ecstatic when I could get a break from work to sightseeing. I arranged with a tour bus to explore the Grand Canyon (I’m not much into gambling).

I reported to the tour bus at 6 a.m. and was ushered inside the remarkably comfortable …

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Want to improve telehealth? Ask people with disabilities.

Policy
March 4, 2022

Telehealth is the best option for millions of Americans, but more Americans need to be included.

Three-hundred-and-thirty U.S. health organizations have called on Congress to act swiftly in renewing waivers that allow for the provision of telehealth services and to consider permanently allowing virtual health services.

The COVID-19 pandemic has established that telehealth and technology-delivered services — like apps — are here to stay and benefit …

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Break the rules of health care with technology

Tech
February 23, 2022

In the 21st century, all but one U.S. industry has used information technology (IT) to cut costs, increase access to products and services, and improve quality.

Health care is the lone exception. For decades, medical costs have risen faster than inflation — with spending now above $4 trillion annually. For patients, accessing medical care is both time-consuming and burdensome. Meanwhile, U.S. health …

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Artificial intelligence is worse than the old boss

Physician
February 19, 2022

It seems that each positive story I read about the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI) is countered by a negative story.

One internal medicine physician writes: “Someday, with enough computing power and artificial intelligence, we may be able to have systems that can do some basic medical advice and education about health care that could end up saving doctors a lot of time and …

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Here’s a crazy thought: Make technology work for doctors

Tech
February 15, 2022

We are surrounded by technology.

This hasn’t always been the case in the health care industry—we can be a bit more “deliberate,” if you will—but the pandemic notably accelerated the pace at which organizations invested in new technology. Rock Health’s 2021 year-end report found that digital health funding among U.S.-based startups reached a record $29.1 billion in 2021, which almost doubled the number ($14.9 billion) from 2020. The …

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Physician informatics and the chief medical information officer [PODCAST]

Podcast
February 11, 2022
YouTube video

This episode is sponsored by Athelas, the number one provider of remote patient monitoring.

“At the beginning of my time as a CMIO, I needed to remain clinical to build camaraderie with my colleagues. This proved essential as the health system was going through a transition to …

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Debunking the myths around asynchronous care

Tech
January 25, 2022

It is no secret that telehealth adoption has skyrocketed as a result of the pandemic, and because of that, many health systems are in the process of shifting to a virtual-first hybrid care model. Unfortunately, video visits, which most will equate with telehealth, have done little to help with the age-old issues of patient access and convenience, provider efficiency, and rising health care costs.

Patients often encounter the same frustrations during …

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Information overload and physician burnout: a KevinMD panel discussion [PODCAST]

Podcast
January 22, 2022

Welcome to a special episode of The Podcast by KevinMD.

In this 60-minute episode, I partner with DrFirst, a pioneer in health IT for over 20 years. We bring together physicians with different backgrounds to explore information overload and physician burnout.

Dr. Sameer Badlani is chief digital officer, …

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A new boon for Big Data and patient care

Policy
January 13, 2022

Big Data in medicine is the data analysis of large amounts of patient medical information to improve medical care. Analysis of data may be used to pick the best intervention for a patient based upon care outcomes of similar patients or to evaluate physicians.

The primary source of patient medical information is patient medical records, where a medical record reports what happens during an encounter, where an encounter …

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Physician informatics demystified

Physician
January 8, 2022

Nurse: “I need help with the computer; patient transfer needs to be completed.”

Me: “Ma’am, the patient’s medications are on ‘MAR HOLD,’ which means Medication Administration Record Hold. Therefore, we cannot administer medication unless an attending physician releases this hold. Can we get the physician on the phone for him to reconcile the meds?”

Nurse: Reluctant to call the physician, insists on completing the transfer at the unit manager screen. Finally, she …

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Disrupt health care with blockchain

Tech
December 22, 2021

Health care requires forward progression in the chase for quality, safety, and sustainability. When considering how far we have come collectively, success is often celebrated. Be it a new vaccine to curb a pandemic, an advanced diagnostic tool to expedite diagnoses or process alteration to achieve sustained quality, advancement is paramount in both length and quality of life and care delivery. Retrospectively, one can look with ease on the way …

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Health care technology innovation from COVID

Tech
December 7, 2021

The provision of quality medical services is the main target that every health care provider aims at achieving. Medical practitioners should have effective technical skills to ease their service delivery to their clients regardless of the health care sector’s various challenges.

During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many government-imposed restriction measures had adverse effects in many sectors, including health care. Patients with comorbidities have a weak immune system, and …

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The race to find uses for Big Data

Tech
December 6, 2021

Smartwatch wearers: Have you checked your smartwatch lately? Did it tell you how many steps you have or how fast your heart is beating? How accurate is the information? What does that number mean for your overall health, and where do all of those numbers go after they are reported back to your computer?

The health care industry is under constant pressure to securely store patient information and still have it …

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How can technology innovation save primary care? [PODCAST]

Podcast
November 18, 2021
YouTube video

“I believe there is a formula that can reduce the risk of burnout and save primary care, rooted in one key objective: Remove work from primary care doctors and nursing staff’s plates immediately.

Easier said than done. And that’s where technology and clinical navigation must be leveraged — to assist, facilitate, …

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CME Spotlights