By Dan Chavez April 2010 – As the US healthcare system becomes more electronic, many are surprised to learn that most payments to providers are still paper-based. Even though authorization and claim submissions are 90% electronic and climbing, payments to providers are the inverse.  With the acceptance of Pay Pal, online banking, and direct deposit,… Read more »

by John Moran EDITOR’S NOTE: With HIMSS rapidly approaching, we asked John Moran, executive media coach for Schwartz Communications, to share some suggestions for optimizing this opportunity. We hope you agree his pointers are useful for any trade show, road show, or key business interaction. February 2010 – The upcoming HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management… Read more »

by Richard Noffsinger The biggest waves are always the best and most coveted for surfing, but they also have the potential for creating the most mayhem. Instead of salt water, the wave that I see building not too far off the horizon is made up of billions of kilobytes of clinical data, brought on by… Read more »

by Jim Gibson It’s that wonderful time of year when we weave into our daily routine the expression of good wishes – joy, contentment, and peace. This holiday season, I would like to wish you the “peace of invulnerability.” We all desire and cherish a sense of personal peace. Someone once described it to me… Read more »

by Ray Desrochers The healthcare payor market is changing faster than ever before.  Healthcare reform initiatives, regulatory revisions, and the movement away from the static, one-size-fits-all healthcare options of the past are creating new challenges and opportunities for payors across the nation. Many find themselves facing a growing demand for financial accountability and responsibility, transparency,… Read more »

by Philippe d’Offay With the growing adoption of EMRs and e-prescribing, many small and medium-sized practices are discovering that software – which has the ability to eliminate costly manual processes – also can introduce inefficiencies.  How will the patient’s electronic chart include the prescription that a doctor entered on her iPhone, or the lab that… Read more »

By Psilos Group: Al Waxman, Darlene Collins, and Lisa Suennen, Contributing Editors September 24, 2009 – ECONOMIC & INNOVATION DRIVERS FOR HEALTHCARE POLICY EDITOR’S NOTE: This paper is the first formal “policy perspective” published by healthcare venture capital firm Psilos Group. Psilos has been investing in private-sector healthcare reform since 1998, with a defined focus on… Read more »

by John Shagoury The patient care benefits and technological capabilities of high-tech diagnostic medical imaging are proven. However, there are two major concerns in this current system – excessive radiation risks for young patients and skyrocketing costs related to medically unnecessary tests being ordered by physicians. To combat these issues, an alliance of leading healthcare… Read more »

by Evan Steele Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) have been in the news a lot lately. It seems everyone is talking or writing about them, sometimes as a panacea, sometimes as a way to obtain Stimulus Bill money. Yet while they have been around for several years, their record is mixed. Some practices have done well… Read more »

by Ransom Parker There were few surprises when on June 16, 2009 the HIT Policy Committee released its initial recommendations for the definition of “meaningful use” of EHRs. While the recommendations are far from final, the “holy grail” remains intact at the policy level. We are reminded once again of the dramatic changes that are… Read more »