Patient Engagement
The University of Tennessee Medical Center’s cath lab uses secure clinical communication technology to cut follow-up appointment scheduling wait times – from as long as a day to less than 30 minutes.
While face-to-face visits are still preferred by many, 90% of healthcare organizations polled by HIMSS Media say they're using or piloting remote care services to boost care coordination, manage at-risk patients and broaden pop health efforts.
The integration of the two technologies helps with the Medicare Chronic Care Management efforts of Rolling Plains Memorial Hospital’s rural providers.
Kyruus' new Patient Access Journey Report, which polled patients about their healthcare preferences, finds an appetite for streamlined, digitally mature scheduling experience.
Private hospitals in Thailand will have to display the price of medicines so that consumers can make better-informed decisions prior to purchase, starting from this week.
According to a report by the National News Bureau of Thailand, the country’s Ministry of Commerce has implemented a new measure after announcing medicine and medical supplies as controlled items, requiring hospitals to display pricing of some 3,000 items via QR codes allowing the general public to make comparisons.
Deputy Minister of Commerce Chutima Bunyapraphasara said that the central committee on pricing of goods and services’ meeting has agreed to authorise the Department of Internal Trade to implement control measures for pricing of medicine, medical supplies and medical services.
The measure will require private hospitals, manufacturers, importers and wholesalers to report sales prices to the department, which will then later be published on the department’s website. Any changes to pricing must be informed 15 days in advance.
On January 9 this year, the Ministry of Commerce approved plans to put medical-related fees, including drugs, supplies and service charges, on the price control list of the government’s central committee on prices of goods and services. The order for private hospitals to display prices of drugs is a direct follow-up from the subcommittee formed to work out measures to control medical-related fees.
Failure to comply with the new measure will result in up to 1 year imprisonment or up to 20,000 baht fine, or both. Private hospitals, which refuse to issue prescriptions to patients for medicine purchases outside the hospital, will face up to 5 years imprisonment, up to 100,000 baht fine, or both.
The Department of Internal Trade will be inviting representatives from hospitals to explain the measure, and will consider further measures to control medicine and medical service pricing in the future.
Patrik Sundström, program manager of e-Health SALAR, discusses how Sweden is using technology to move healthcare from the hospital to the patient, in line with the ambitious Vision for eHealth 2025 national strategy.
With video conferencing and mobile apps, providers can offer patients more touchpoints to improve engagement, experience and outcomes at the same time.
The industry has to use metrics to move the needle on quality measures, says Dr. Geeta Nayyar, Chief Healthcare and Innovation Officer at Femwell Group.
There is a passion within HIMSS’ membership that is part of the heart and soul of the organization, says Stephanie Denvir, senior director of strategic relations at HIMSS.