Clinical

No approved commercial tests are available, and processing the emergency-use tests FDA temporarily authorized takes too long and raises concerns about accuracy. Researchers are working to streamline that process. 

Granite Health and Exeter Health Resources are partnering with the aims of achieving meaningful operational efficiencies and boosting a robust population health management program already in place. Granite Health itself is a partnership of five of the largest community-based health systems in New Hampshire, including Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, Concord Hospital in Concord, LRGHealthcare in Laconia and Franklin, Southern New Hampshire Health in Nashua and Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover. Exeter Health Resources includes operating affiliates Exeter Hospital, Core Physicians and Rockingham Visiting Nurse Association & Hospice. Granite Health is leveraging its broad scope of services and scale to identify care gaps and unexplained variation in utilization, cost and quality across its member health systems, the organization said. By adding Exeter Hospital’s 38 communities in its primary service area, Granite Health member health systems now serve eight of the largest cities and more than 120 towns in the state. With its significant scale and services, Granite Health has established a patient-centered population health management program to improve care, enhance the patient experience and decrease overall cost of care by practicing evidence-based medicine, the organization explained. The approach, the organization said, includes: • A data-driven strategy using claims and clinical information to identify populations in need of intervention and unexplained variation in utilization, cost and quality across the health system. • Learning collaborative and identification of best practices for care coordination and patient engagement. • Evidence-based recommendations for clinical practice that target known gaps and unexplained variation in care. “Granite Health continues to be at the forefront of embracing innovative ideas to improve the health of New Hampshire communities,” said Kevin J. Callahan, president and CEO of Exeter Health Resources. “The Exeter Health Resources affiliates will bring a lot of new strengths and capacity to Granite Health. But even for successful, growing independent healthcare organizations there are significant benefits from joining with other successful locally independent organizations to share resources, knowledge, competencies and infrastructure. By joining Granite Health, we will be better equipped to face the challenges of an ever-changing healthcare marketplace and help shape an even better future for New Hampshire’s healthcare system.” Rachel Rowe, president and CEO of Granite Health, has led the organization since its inception in 2011. “Throughout its 120-year history, Exeter Hospital has seen considerable growth and has become a leader in adopting effective tools to improve the health of its community,” Rowe said. “We have been working on population health management and operational efficiencies for over five years now. In the midst of a changing healthcare delivery system, we are excited to be growing and serving as a model for success.” Callahan joins Granite Health’s board of directors, which is comprised of the CEOs who represent each of Granite Health’s member health systems. Twitter: @SiwickiHealthIT Email the writer: bill.siwicki@himssmedia.com Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook and LinkedIn

OpenNotes has enlisted 10 experts from across the healthcare industry to serve as founding members of the OpenNotes Advisory Board.

The partners will develop a comprehensive diabetes platform and combine software, devices, medicine and professional care to improve diabetes management for patients.

The deal marks the first testing collaboration for Intermountain Precision Genomics outside of the U.S.

The technology leverages the company’s 175 million patient-record years and a patient’s medical history to predict the patient’s future health.

Roanoke, Virginia-based Carilion Clinic will put predictive analytics technology from PeraHealth to work spotting hospital patients who might be at risk.

Mylan Pharmaceutical may be getting some competition for its EpiPen, as Israel-based Teva Pharmaceutical Industries announced Friday that it hopes to launch its own generic version of the device by 2018 in the U.S.

Cerner has opened Healthe at Cerner Center at its Manyata campus in Bangalore, India – giving more than 2,200 associates access to the clinic, which offers routine screenings, physical exams and more.

AAP will put the funds toward technical assistance and education for clinicians and community health centers dealing with people infected with the virus.