One of the ways that HITECH Answers is different from other media sites is the sense of community. The thought leaders in our community are good about sharing their thoughts on the issues of today. We publish at least eleven guest posts a week now, on our three sites. In case you missed some, here are the top ten read and shared guest posts in the month of June. You can also read previous month’s Top Ten Lists. Thank you for contributing and reading.
Practice Managers – Seriously How Are You Keeping Up?
By Chad Tunison, Partner, eHealthcare Consulting, Inc.
Twitter: @ehealthcareorg
I think it’s time for the healthcare industry to stand up and give Practice Managers the applause they deserve. It is commonly known that providers (regardless of specialty) have it rough these days due to increasing regulations, however, what never seems to get headlines is just how difficult the people running their businesses have it. I did a quick search on one of the major job boards and found 145 Practice Manager openings in my home state of Indiana; over 100 of these postings paid under $35,000. That is 1.5 positions per county! Continue reading on RCMAnswers.net…
Added Data Security Comforts Patients During Telehealth Encounters
By Tom Toperczer, Director Product Management, OmniJoin, Brother International Corporation’s Web Conferencing Service
Twitter: @OmniJoin
Criminal attacks are the leading cause of protected health information (PHI) breaches, according to a Ponemon Institute study sponsored by ID Experts. The data security firm reports that breaches cost the healthcare industry $6.2 billion in 2016, while HIPAA Security and Privacy rule violation penalties for providers range from $50,000 per breach incident up to $1.5 million. Continue reading on HIEAnswers.net…
Encryption for Data Safety and Practice Success
By Mark Hollis, CEO and Co-Founder, MacPractice, Inc.
Twitter: @MacPractice
It’s an accepted part of everyday life — people text, shop online, use social media platforms or browse the internet using whatever device they’re carrying or seated in front of, even at work. Many employers shrug off the thought of lost productivity, reasoning that if people weren’t online, they’d be chatting with coworkers or doing something else instead. But it’s more than a productivity issue; connected devices can pose a significant risk to healthcare organizations. Continue reading on HITECHAnswers.net…
How to Truly Solve the Patient Engagement Problem with AI
By Waqaas Al-Siddiq, CEO and Founder of Biotricity Inc.
Twitter: @biotricity_inc
The most urgent problem facing the U.S. healthcare system today is cost. Traditional factions of political party affiliation, socio-economic status, and patient-payer-provider categorization all agree that the astronomical costs of the current system are not sustainable—and only increasing. Paradoxically, a staggering amount of these expenses are either preventable or reducible. Most are simply due to an inefficient allocation of resources, both financial and medical. Continue reading on HITECHAnswers.net…
What’s Next for Electronic Health Records?
By John Halamka, MD
Twitter: @jhalamka
With the Department of Justice announcement of the $155 million dollar eClinicalWorks settlement (including personal liability for the CEO, CMO and COO), many stakeholders are wondering what’s next for EHRs. Clearly the industry is in a state of transition. eCW will be distracted by its 5 year corporate integrity agreement. AthenaHealth will have to focus on the activist investors at Elliott Management who now own 10% of the company and have a track record of changing management/preparing companies for sale. As mergers and acquisitions result in more enterprise solutions, Epic (and to some extent Cerner) will displace other vendors in large healthcare systems. Continue reading on HITECHAnswers.net…
Why is Risk Management Such a Challenge?
By Clyde Hewitt, VP of Security Strategy, CynergisTek
Twitter: @cynergistek
If one lesson is clear from the constant stream of recent settlements announced by the Office for Civil Rights, it is that covered entities are not implementing risk management plans to reduce risks to protected health information (PHI) to an acceptable and appropriate level. The frequency of seeing the same finding is a strong indicator of a more systemic issue – that organizations could use more detailed guidance on how to manage risks. Continue reading on HITECHAnswers.net…
Your EHR has Failed: What Next?
By Michael Nissenbaum, President & CEO, Aprima Medical Software
Twitter: @AprimaMedEHR
The ambulatory electronic health record (EHR) replacement market continues to thrive as physicians seek to satisfy new quality reporting requirements, improve inefficient workflows and address the need for interoperable systems. When a practice is struggling with its existing EHR, how do providers and administrators know the time is right to cut their losses and seek a replacement? More importantly, what can practices do to avoid repeating past mistakes, instead of selecting and implementing a solution that addresses both today’s needs and those of the future? Continue reading on HITECHAnswers.net…
Post-Interoperability Era: Now It’s All About Actually Exchanging Health Records
By Buff Colchagoff, CEO, RosettaHealth
Twitter: @rosettahealth
Twitter: @BuffColchagoff
Both the Sequoia Project and DirectTrust recently announced that they are exchanging more health records and connecting more provider sites than ever before – reinforcing how more EHR transactions and more States are being covered as connectivity expands for both. This news reinforces how the increased demand for exchanging of health records, which is being further bolstered by true business incentives, is changing the current landscape. In addition, as a continuation of discussions from HIMSS 2017, health data exchange interoperability is no longer a just nice thing to have, but it’s truly necessary. Continue reading on HIEAnswers.net…
RACs Moving Forward: Year of Uncertainty is Over
By Lula Jensen, MBA, RHIA, CCS, MRO
Twitter: @MROCorp
Medicaid Services (CMS) has finally awarded the new RAC contracts. After a standstill in 2016, as RAC regions remained unresolved, RACs now have the green light to fully reengage and return to business as usual. In the May 2017 issue of HCPro’s HIM Briefings, I covered the topic of the return of RACs and outlined what Health Information Management (HIM) professionals can do to prepare for the next round of audits, including four tips to stay proactive and avoid becoming overwhelmed. Continue reading on RCMAnswers.net…
Facts Tell But Stories Sell
By Marcia Rhodes, Managing Director, Amendola Communications
Twitter: @AmendolaComm
Twitter: @Rhodes_PR
“Story telling is the oldest form of teaching,” Matt Cavallo declared when we met on May 23. I couldn’t agree more. Great story telling has always intrigued me. Maybe that’s why I’m in PR. I have always believed that behind every organization is a zealous individual with an epic story waiting to be shared. It’s usually the CEO or founder, though not always. Continue reading on HealthcareNOWRadio.com…
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