An Ebola patient is seen in the ED and discharged. The hospital points to its EHR software as the culprit. Alas, if it were only that simple. In fact, as we all are now aware, the EHR has been exonerated (in an unusual and carefully worded clarification). The patient has died. And we as physicians […]
With the ICD-10 countdown clock again ticking toward the October 1, 2015, compliance deadline, I’m reminded of the rush to complete Y2K projects in 1999. There is a lot of work to do and less than year left to do it. The deadline represents thousands of hours of testing work for QA professionals and applications […]
Former HP Software worldwide quality evangelist leads QAT consulting practice focused on healthcare software and clients Healthcare IT Leaders today announced the hire of Michael Cooper as Chief Quality Officer and VP, Quality Assurance and Testing (QAT), leading the company’s QAT services and consulting practice. Cooper is an acknowledged authority on software quality and testing, […]
Most healthcare organizations are conservative when it comes to investing in new technologies, but a new report suggests early adoption of social, mobile, analytic, cloud and machine-to-machine technologies are hallmarks of higher growth rates and market leadership. The findings come from a new study, The Digital Dividend: First Mover Advantage, conducted for Verizon by the Harvard […]
Most would agree that doctors and nurses, i.e., those on the front lines of delivering patient care, have meaningful jobs. But what about those behind the scenes, such as the healthcare IT workforce that installs the electronic medical records systems (EMRs), maintains billing and coding software and manages the overall IT infrastructure of hospitals and health […]
Wearing coveralls, a red flannel shirt, work boots and a John Deere hat, Epic Systems' CEO and founder Judy Faulkner made it clear during a keynote speech Tuesday during the annual Epic Users' Group Meeting (UGM) that the company was sticking to what it knows - developing its Epic Systems software and improving interoperability with other EHR vendors. […]
Long before FitBit, Google Glass and Bluetooth headsets, wearables entered the world in a non-social media world. No one wrote an online review about the abacus ring, the first known wearable, but chances are that everyone did laugh when the first person tried to put an Apple II computer into a cut-out backpack. So at least […]
Jason, mythic hero prior to the Greek Dark Ages, was tasked to find the Golden Fleece before he could claim his throne. For this quest, Jason recruited other Greek heroes, Hercules, Orpheus, Castor and Pollux, to name a few of the Argonauts. Today, a new Jason summons new heroes to join in the quest for […]
Nearly half of IT employees at a hospital would like to work for their current employer until retirement, according to a 2013 Towers-Watson survey. But the reality of today's HIT job market is one of greater volatility, with most HIT workers open to new opportunities under certain circumstances. In our own survey of HIT full-time […]
When it comes to IT recruitment, hospital hiring managers may feel like they are looking for a needle in a haystack. But our survey of the healthcare IT workforce points to two rich veins of HIT candidates that should be tapped more often by recruiters. Our report — and our own day-to-day outreach — points […]
Hospitals are actively evaluating and buying new Revenue Cycle Management (RCM) applications to supplement core RCM functions, such as patient registration, billing and collections, according to a newly released report from HIMSS Analytics. These newer solutions are designed to improve collection rates, business office workflows, productivity, patient satisfaction and patient convenience, according to the 2013 […]
“I’m a hot-air balloon that could go to space,” sings Pharrell Williams in his mega-hit, “Happy.” That’s a feeling shared by many healthcare IT consultants these days who are riding sky-high on a surplus of challenging projects and ever-increasing pay rates. In our first-ever survey measuring engagement and job-seeking trends among HIT professionals, consultant satisfaction, […]