Apr 19, 2013 | Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology
CommonWell is the name of the new organization formed to create the interoperability that would enable universal access to each patient’s health care records
It was big news in the healthcare IT world when six major healthcare IT companies joined together on March 4 and announced a collaboration intended to develop electronic health record (EHR) systems that are interoperable. That is a goal that can come none too soon for clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups.
The collaboration will take the form of an independent nonprofit organization to be called CommonWell Health Alliance. The six companies contributing to the formation of CommonWell are:
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Apr 10, 2013 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Digital Pathology, Instruments & Equipment, Laboratory News, Laboratory Operations, Laboratory Pathology, Management & Operations
Ongoing federal program to encourage providers to adopt EHRs is not without its critics who contend the market is dominated by nation’s biggest health IT companies
News reporters have finally begun to notice that it is boom time for vendors of electronic health record (EHR) systems. Over the past three years, revenue and profits have soared at the nation’s biggest health information companies.
Of course, pathologists and clinical laboratory managers had front row seats to watch these events as they unfolded in recent years. Since 2010, every clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology group has been working to interface their laboratory information systems (LIS) with the EHR systems of parent hospitals and client physicians. (more…)
Mar 25, 2011 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Clinical pathology laboratories will keep busy interfacing their LISs to these EMRs
Tis the season of electronic health records (EHR), now that both hospitals and physicians can qualify to earn incentives from the federal government when they implement these solutions and meet “meaningful use” criteria.
It is possible for individual hospitals to receive incentives totaling as much as $2 million for implementing a certified EHR. This is powerful motivation for cash-strapped hospitals. For that reason, pathologists and clinical laboratory managers of hospital laboratories can expect to be busy ensuring that their laboratory information system (LIS) interfaces properly with the EMR of their parent hospital.
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Dec 26, 2008 | Digital Pathology, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
On December 1, UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) unveiled its www.myoptumhealth.com solution. This is an upgraded web-based service that allows consumers to create and manage their own digital health record (DHR).
It’s widely accepted that conversion of medical records to digital format could improve medical outcomes and reduce healthcare costs dramatically. One unexpected development on that road to the universal electronic medical record (EMR) has been the well-financed efforts of companies like Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to offer digital personal health records (PHRs) to consumers via sophisticated Web sites. Now comes the major health insurer, UnitedHealth, with its DHR offering for consumers.
Like Google Health and Microsoft’s HealthVault, UnitedHealth’s myoptumhealth is free to consumers and allows them to create and manage their own digital health solution. However, unlike those two competitors, which have lined up affiliated services for its users, myoptumhealth is organized to offer consumers services provided by various UnitedHealth business entities.
Google Health and Microsoft’s HealthVault are partnering with medical providers to offer patients the ability to upload their records from provider files, and provide a host of online medical services, such as Allscripts ePrescribe, a free, Web-based prescription solution for physicians. The sites also provide consultation with medical experts; link patients with providers and related services, like TrialX, which matches patients with clinical trials; and provide a database of information on health topics.
HealthVault, which was launched in 2007, has more than 100 participating provider partners, including leaders in health information technology, such as Kaiser Permanente. Launched earlier this year, Google Health’s partner list is not yet as extensive but growing quickly, and includes medical technology leader, the Cleveland Clinic; national pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens and Longs Drugs; and laboratory testing giant Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX).
It is still too early to gauge whether medical laboratories and imaging providers will be willing to partner with these Web-based DHR services. Because of the importance of lab test data for any patient’s health record, Google Health, HealthVault, and myoptumhealth recognize the need to have clinical laboratories and imaging providers upload test results to patients’ digital health records and digitally sign them as evidence of authenticity. Access to lab results increases the value of DHRs to patients, enabling them to leverage the data in healthcare applications, ask their medical providers informed questions, and monitor their own health status by comparing lab tests over time.
While only time will tell, a positive indicator of consumer support is increased interest in online health information. Visits to health Websites rose 21% last year-more than four times the rate of total U.S, Internet population, according to comScore, a Reston, Virginia-based firm that measures digital usage.
Related Information:
UnitedHealth Takes On Microsoft, Google With Online Health Venture
Google Health: Is It Good For You?
