Healthcare Cyberattacks at Two Hospitals Prompt Tough Decisions as Their Clinical Laboratories Are Forced to Switch to Paper Documentation

Recent intrusions into the hospitals’ IT systems resulted in blocked medical records including medical laboratory data Healthcare cyberattacks continue to be a threat that bring potentially costly business consequences for clinical laboratories. Just in the past month, two hospital systems had their health information technology (HIT) systems disrupted due to security incidents. In response, the hospitals’ medical laboratories were forced to switch from digital to paper documentation and, in...

Australia’s NSW Health Chooses Epic for its Statewide Patient EHR

Five clinical laboratory information systems are part of the transition that will create a single statewide EMR for all New South Wales patients In a massive project, Australia’s New South Wales Ministry of Health (NSW Health) has selected health information system developer Epic to unify its five pathology laboratory information management systems (LIMS), nine electronic medical record systems (EMR), and six patient administration systems (PAS) into a statewide single digital patient record...

Two New Definitive Healthcare Surveys Show Use of Inpatient Telehealth is Outpacing Outpatient Telehealth Services

Medical laboratories may find opportunities guiding hospital telehealth service physicians in how clinical lab tests are ordered and how the test results are used to select the best therapies Telehealth is usually thought of as a way for patients in remote settings to access physicians and other caregivers. But now comes a pair of studies that indicate use of telehealth in inpatient settings is outpacing the growth of telehealth for outpatient services. This is an unexpected development that...

FDA, IBM, Merck, Walmart and KPMG Collaborate on Blockchain Pilot Project to Track Pharmaceuticals

First used to track cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, blockchain is finding its way into tracking and quality control systems in healthcare, including clinical laboratories and big pharma Four companies were selected by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to participate in a pilot program that will utilize blockchain technology to create a real-time monitoring network for pharmaceutical products. The companies selected by the FDA include: IBM (NYSE:IBM), Merck (NYSE:MRK), Walmart...

Sorting through EHR Interoperability: A Modern Day Tower of Babel That Corrects Problems for Clinical Laboratories, Other Providers

Despite the widespread adoption of electronic health record (EHR) systems and billions in government incentives, lack of interoperability still blocks potential benefits of digital health records, causing frustration among physicians, medical labs, and patients Clinical laboratories and anatomic pathology groups understand the complexity of today’s electronic health record (EHR) systems. The ability to easily and securely transmit pathology test results and other diagnostic information among...
;