Interoperability
The Department of Health and Human Services will share its community and population health data with technology innovators and public health officials in the hope that they will use it to create new applications and tools to improve the health of Americans.
Microsoft Bing and Google have launched separate health maps that aim at making community healthcare data more transparent for consumers so they can make healthier decisions.
HP, one of the world's largest technology companies, announced Tuesday that it would be cutting 9,000 jobs as it readies to launch a new era of enterprise services - one that has a focus on cloud computing.
"I think open source is the right thing to do the same way I believe science is better than alchemy," software pioneer Linus Torvald, who developed the "kernel" that's the basis of the Linux operating system, has said. "Like science, open source allows people to build on a solid base of previous knowledge…. It's just a superior way of working together."
The key to healthcare reform, say some experts, lies in collaboration. But how does one get hospitals and physicians to work with each other?
Hudson Health Plan, a Medicaid managed care organization based in Tarrytown, N.Y., is poised to roll out new software that will mine its voluminous stores of patient data to ensure that members who are in need of extra attention are directed to the nurses and case managers they need.
A significant portion of healthcare activities can be done on a remote basis. By electronically linking patient and provider, chronic disease management, prescription renewals, vital sign monitoring and various other services can be accomplished for a fraction of the cost of a personal office visit.
Chalk one up the HIMSS Interoperability Showcase. Come 2013, the showcase, a popular draw at the Health Information and Management Systems Society's annual conference, will be on display and working on all things interoperable year-round a new showroom in Nashville.
Hospitals and physician practices that don't get on board now with social media are missing a huge opportunity to build their brand, according to experts.
With $220 million in hand among them, federally designated Beacon Communities across the country have begun the work of using healthcare information technology to do great things for their communities.