Amanda Buie

Taking a top-down approach to government initiatives has been scorned by New Public Management advocates, who claim that a top-down hierarchical structure hampers efficiency, fails to meet the needs of society and lends itself to poor outcomes. Yet, today’s Meaningful Use initiative is noted for taking a top-down approach. If scholars are right, then Meaningful […]

Telehealth, not to be confused with telemedicine, is the delivery of health-related services and information via telecommunications technologies. It is yet another way to address healthcare quality issues and offer consumer-centric healthcare. InMedica’s most recent report, “The World Market for Telehealth – A Quantitative Market Assessment – 2011 Edition,” projects the telehealth market will “exceed […]

One of the most costly and concerning healthcare expenditures is emergency room visits. Providers and payers are especially concerned with the uptick in ER visits, because ER visits are known to be extra costly and peppered with discressionary visits. Providers and payers have decided lowering ER useage could be done by identifying ER abusers and […]

The future of Watson looks promising. Word is out that WellPoint has hired Dr. Watson to help physicians cure the ill. Watson has the ability to run patient information against medical information from multiple sources to provide feedback on diagnoses and treatment options. This powerhouse of information is exactly what the healthcare industry has been […]

If the $19 billion in stimulus money allocated for the adoption of EHRs wasn’t an indicator that EHRs are a critical piece to the industry, then the U.S. Surgeon General’s announcement that they will be pushing the EHR movement along so that patients can “take control of their own health” and have the necessary information […]

Organizations are shifting focus away from what needs to be done to meet the government requirements for incentive money to how they can benefit from their new or improved interconnectedness. As it turns out, some organizations are using their connectedness to satisfy consumer demands. This places a different type of emphasis on business intelligence (BI) […]

In a previous post, I touched on the opportunity for lifestyle analytics to provide information for better care – specifically preventative care. In another post I discussed how having a healthy population benefits all of society. A recent article in the Wall Street journal, Tying Health Problems to Rise in Home Foreclosures, discusses a National […]

A quick and dirty news search of “ICD-10” reveals that in the past month over 140 news articles were posted referencing ICD-10. Why the continued hype about a conversion that is a little more than two years away? The answer is – ICD-10 is a serious feat and requires a substantial outlay of time, effort […]

There was a provocative blog published that linked prescription non-adherence with beliefs, trust and lack of communication. As I read through it, my mind thought of two things: 1. Robert Putnam’s classic publication Bowling Alone and the importance placed on trust to create social capital, and 2. the Advocacy Coalition Framework’s role of beliefs. According […]

Poor IT security practices continue to plague the healthcare industry. Last year, a Ponemon Study found that poor security practices cost the healthcare industry $6 billion annually and that the HITECH Act has not resulted in changes to the approach taken to manage protected healthcare information. When an industry is under scrutiny for out-of-control escalating […]

There has been ample hype surrounding how the health care industry is using business intelligence to improve quality and decrease costs associated with providing care. The hurdles and benefits of overcoming siloed data, gathering more data (ICD-10), and transmitting data to the right people (portals, security) are well-documented. This has encouraged the industry to look […]

It is no secret that the role of social media in health care continues to evolve and be better defined. As health care professions begin to venture into this new space many red flags and warnings are being issued. Dr. Brian Vartabedian of the Texas Children’s Hospital/Baylor College of Medicine and collegues from the Mayo […]