Technology Advice for Small Businesses

Analytics drive fifteen-fold growth

A Westchester County, New York, practice has surged from 16 physicians in 1996 to 250 physicians today thanks to care transformation driven by analytics. Westmed Medical Group, which operates five large ambulatory care sites staffed by both primary care and specialist physicians, currently has more than 250,000 patients and $285 million in annual revenue. Under… Continue reading Analytics drive fifteen-fold growth

Physician success depends on technology

The deployment and utilization of electronic medical records (EMRs) is driving a health-care technology revolution as physicians find that their EMRs complement their other systems, enabling the establishment of patient portals, medication tracking, and electronic prescribing among other things. Physicians are making strides in regard to technology adoption, however, in many cases it’s the result… Continue reading Physician success depends on technology

Protecting your network

As of June 30, 2014, more than 1,000 data breaches affecting more than 500 patients each have been reported to the Department of Health & Human Services – for a total of roughly 32,000,000 people who have had their privacy compromised. And, according to the annual Redspin Breach Report, published in February of 2014, 7.1… Continue reading Protecting your network

It’s time to get ready for ICD-10

The compliance date for ICD-10 is farther away than it once was, but it’s still coming — and health-care practitioners should be moving forward with preparedness plans, if the results of a recent survey are any indication. The survey — which questioned physician practices, hospitals, payers, vendors, and others — was conducted by eHealth Initiative… Continue reading It’s time to get ready for ICD-10

More health-care providers seeking outside help with security

Unauthorized data access by employees is one of the most significant security problems in health care, according to a new report. The findings by KLAS, which consulted 106 health-care providers to produce its report “Security and Privacy Perception 2014: High Stakes, Big Challenges,” echo that of another reported produced by Verizon. The latter also found… Continue reading More health-care providers seeking outside help with security

Focus on your core business by outsourcing your IT

Chief Information Officer (CIO) Denis Tanguay’s workload has quadrupled over the past few years, and he has been struggling to stay on top ensuring that systems are secure and available when his employees need it. How did he overcome these struggles? He found a solution in outsourcing. As the CIO for Central Maine Healthcare explained… Continue reading Focus on your core business by outsourcing your IT

The importance of data security

Recently, a server of a Texas health-care system was hacked, compromising the protected health-care records of approximately 405,000 individuals. The three-day attack, which took place in December of 2013 at the five-hospital St. Joseph Health System in Bryan, Texas, was one of the largest HIPAA security breaches ever, according to Department of Health and Human… Continue reading The importance of data security

The storage conundrum

The move to digital technology is saving time and reducing errors, but it’s also creating an unprecedented amount of data that must be stored. According to a BridgeHead Software survey, the health-care industry generates almost a third of the world’s data, which it says “increases day after day.” While the majority of respondents to the… Continue reading The storage conundrum

Meaningful use has been good business – but not perfect

In the early 2000s – even into the current decade – health care had some catching up to do when it came to technology. Much of the industry was paper-based and when technology was used, it was often in separate areas, creating silos of information that couldn’t communicate. The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act… Continue reading Meaningful use has been good business – but not perfect