Health IT Week in Review: September 30th

UT’s New Medical Center Aims to Boost Patient Education

Last week the University of Tennessee Medical Center held a ribbon cutting ceremony debuting its new health information center in Knoxville. The center aims to teach patients, who are often overwhelmed by the complexity of doctor-delivered medical information, about their conditions to decrease unnecessary trips to the ER, poor compliance with treatment regimens and missed tests–all of which lead to billions of dollars of excess government spending each year.

With patients looking to credible sources for medical information and clarification, UT Medical Center offers an alternative to the often times unreliable “Dr. Google”. The medical center doubles as an academic center where residents and students train. The Certified health information specialists will be on staff both to advise students and to help patients. Community health events will also be hosted in a conference room to engage and inform the public.

Source: Modern Healthcare, 9/22/14
 
Punish EPR Laggers

NHS England’s National Director for Patients and Information, Tim Kelsey, made waves by urging healthcare leaders to implement “radical” proposals to improve the use of electronic patient records, such as financial penalties and stripping training accreditation for laggards.

Kelsey also said the National Information Board would build on its goal of providing patients access to some of the data in their GP records by March of 2015, to almost all the information by next year. Kelsey further suggested that plans are being drafted to allow patients to write into their own records in the next few years.

Source: eHealth Insider, 9/19/14
 
Your Medical Record Is Worth More to Hackers Than Your Credit Card

According to findings from recent FBI investigations into the stolen data black market, your medical records are worth 10 times more than your credit card number. Stolen health credentials can go for $10 each, which is 10 to 20 times the value of stolen credit cards. The stolen health information, which includes names, birth dates, policy numbers, diagnosis codes and billing data, is used to submit fraudulent bills.

The percentage of healthcare organizations that have reported a criminal hacking record attack rose 20% between 2009 and 2013 and attacks are likely to continue to increase. Furthermore, security experts say hackers are increasingly targeting the $3 trillion U.S. healthcare industry. Because the data is valuable and HIT systems are often dated, healthcare data is a goldmine for thieves.

Source: Reuters, 9/24/14
 
Health 2.0: Healthline CEO Talks Healthcare & Health Start-Up Turns to Consumers

Health 2.0 conferences have brought hundreds of revolutionary technology companies to the world’s attention. This year at Health 2.0, Healthline CEO Dean Stephens announced his company’s launch of a new data analytics platform called HealthData Engine, which aggregates and normalizes unstructured data like physician notes and patient histories, so that it can be used and combined with structured data, such as problems lists and medications. This results in a more comprehensive picture of the patient’s health.

The Health 2.0 conference also introduced a Silicon Valley startup called Iodine, an innovative company that provides an online service for customized drug-taking information and guidance. Iodine is breaking new ground by using Google Consumer Surveys as a research tool for medications. The startup has captured data from 100,000 consumer surveys and combined that information with other publicly available data like clinical research, physicians’ reports to the FDA and surveys of pharmacists.

Iodine’s website offers basic information about hundreds of drugs as well as a section detailing the pros and cons of taking the drug, cost and co-pays, alternative drugs and interactive tools that let the user rate their experience with a specific drug. Iodine’s wide range of material and data-driven approach distinguish it from other online drug reference guides. However Iodine does not yet have a business model and its founders are wary of advertising. Nonetheless, the startup shows potential so keep an eye out.

Source: mHealthWatch, 9/22/14

Source: New York Times, 9/23/14
 
Graphic of the Week: Prescribing Health Apps