Just an occasional post when I come upon a few interesting reports that are worth a download or browse. This week we have a few.
First we have:
Study on the requirements and options for RFID application in healthcare
Identifying areas for Radio Frequency Identification deployment in health care delivery: A review of relevant literature
This document is the first deliverable of the RFID & Health project. It provides an overview of the state of the art in RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) applications in healthcare delivery.
Some 325 sources have been reviewed in order to draft three ‘long-lists’ of applications, enablers and barriers of RFID deployment. In the next phase of the project, these will be validated and prioritised through expert interviews and a Delphi survey. Case studies will be used to further assess the costs and benefits of the most promising applications.
The list of sources which have been reviewed for this report is believed to cover all important scientific publications, policy documents and relevant articles from the professional press, in Europe, North America and Asia, related to the topic of RFID applications in healthcare. In addition, more general literature on RFID — technology, market, enablers and barriers — has also been covered.
More here (including direct report download links)
http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR608/
Second we have:
Technologies C-Level Should See
May 5, 2009
Health care best practices research firm ECRI Institute has listed 10 technologies it says hospital C-suite executives should be watching.
A new report from the Plymouth Meeting, Pa.-based firm explains each technology and why it bears a close look. The technologies are:
* electronic medical records,
* ultrahigh-field strength MRI and premium-slice CT,
More here:
For the report, "Top 10 Hospital Technology Issues: C-Suite Watch List for 2009 and Beyond," click here. The report is free but registration is required.
Additional information is also here:
Research firm lists top technologies impacting hospital c-suite executives
May 05, 2009 | Molly Merrill, Associate Editor
It is good to see EHRs at the top of the list.
Third we have:
Project HealthDesign Overview
Project HealthDesign is a $10-million national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) created to stimulate innovation in personal health information technology. During the first round of funding, which received additional support from the California HealthCare Foundation, nine multidisciplinary teams created a range of tools that addressed specific but complex self-management tasks – from a cell-phone-enabled medication management system to alert children with cystic fibrosis when to take certain medicines, to a personal digital assistant that collects and supports self-reported pain and activity data. For information about the first-round grantee projects, see http://www.projecthealthdesign.org/projects.
In the second round of Project HealthDesign, RWJF will award a total of up to $2.4 million in grants to as many as five grantee teams. Teams will work to demonstrate how to improve the health and wellbeing of people with chronic disease by helping them capture, understand, interpret and act on information about the patterns of their everyday lives. During the two-year initiative, teams will work with clinical partners and patients with two or more chronic conditions to:
§ Identify, capture and store several types of ODLs for their target patient population;
§ Analyze and interpret ODL data to extract clinically useful information;
§ Use this information to provide feedback to patients so that they can better manage their conditions and improve their health;
§ Enable patients to share this information with their doctors, nurses and other members of their clinical care team;
§ Present the information to clinicians in ways they can easily integrate into their clinical work flow; and
§ Identify and explain opportunities and challenges associated with this overall approach to policymakers and clinical leaders
The program is supported by the Foundation’s Pioneer Portfolio, which funds innovative projects that can lead to fundamental breakthroughs in the health and health care of all Americans.
More here:
http://www.projecthealthdesign.org/about/overview
Not so much a report but an initiative to help understand where and how PHRs can really make a difference. Very important work before one just rushes in to implement in my view.
Fourth we have:
Health Spending Is Taking Up Bigger Chunk of National Purse
Cheryl Clark, for HealthLeaders Media, May 4, 2009
Though the rise in healthcare spending has slowed, it's taking up a much bigger space in the nation's budget, says a new report from the California Healthcare Foundation.
The report showed that national healthcare spending reached $2.2 trillion, or $7,421 per person, in 2007 representing more than 16% of the gross domestic product. Continuing at the same pace, it will reach 20.3% of the country's gross domestic product by 2018.
"Although there has been some moderation in health spending growth in recent years, its share of the economy continues to grow," the report says.
"This report shows the very trend that's behind a lot of the financial woes of the healthcare industry," said CHF senior program officer Marian Mulkey. "The fact that we are spending more and more on healthcare services translates into higher premiums, and makes it harder for businesses and employees to afford coverage. This documents the problem that is at the heart of the debate about health reform."
Mulkey said that the report, the sixth one in a series of annual reports, called Health Care Costs 101, is based on data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
More here:
http://healthplans.hcpro.com/content.cfm?content_id=232423&topic=WS_HLM2_HEP
The figures are really just staggering.
The report and a few back for 5 years are found here:
http://www.chcf.org/topics/healthinsurance/index.cfm?itemID=133630
Fifth we have:
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Health Information Management Profession Needs To Double in Size
It is apparent to a growing number of concerned health care professionals that the transition from paper to electronic health records is central to health care reform, just as resolving the health information work force gap is vital to broad EHR implementation and optimization. Unfortunately, too often the understanding ends there.
The problem is this lack of understanding could very likely create confusion -- or worse, disinterest or unawareness -- among the very people health care needs to recruit in order to close the health information management (HIM) work force gap in time to accelerate the national implementation of an EHR system. If we are to reach the goal of an EHR for every American by 2014, we will most likely need to double the estimated 75,000 educated and credentialed HIM specialists engaged in managing health information and health records management today.
Ours is a field in a period of dynamic change as health care shifts from paper to EHRs. HIM professionals work across all types of care settings, including:
- Hospital and integrated delivery systems (about 60%);
- Medical groups and other ambulatory facilities (12%); and
- Long-term care and specialty care (5%).
The remainder work for IT vendors and consulting services, pharmacological manufacturers, insurers, colleges and universities, and public health and other governmental agencies.
More here with links to background information:
Last we have:
Proper incentives key to P4P success: study
Posted: May 7, 2009 - 12:00 pm EDT
Pay-for-performance can be effective if physicians get the right incentives, according to a study by Bridges to Excellence published in the American Journal of Managed Care.
The report used statistical data from Bridges to Excellence pay-for-performance programs with more than 13,500 participating physicians in four cities: Albany, N.Y.; Boston; Cincinnati; and Louisville, Ky. The two programs focused on improving patient care while reducing medical errors in medical practices, and improving care for diabetes patients.
Physician participation rose as the potential rewards increased, but there was no “cutoff” pinpointing the exact reward driving participation. Sufficient rewards for one type of program may not be sufficient for another type of program. The more health plans offering pay-for-performance, the better the physician participation, the study concluded.
Vastly more here:
http://www.modernhealthcare.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090507/REG/305079966
Link to article is in text.
So much to read – so little time – have fun!
David.
0 comments:
Post a Comment