Rhapsody announces that the company will merge with Corepoint Health, the supplier of the Best in KLAS healthcare integration platform. The transaction will bring together two companies at the forefront of interoperability and create a dynamic combination of technology, talent, services, and trusted customer relationships to address the most complex healthcare interoperability challenges.
Both
companies will continue to support and advance their respective solutions,
while the combined entity will also devote its expanded resources to addressing
the growing need for interoperability among regional, national and
international healthcare providers and vendors.
“Corepoint’s platform offers incredibly fast, turn-key operations for provider organizations, HIEs and OEM partners, all with industry leading customer satisfaction. Complementing this with Rhapsody’s fully customizable and multi-platform capabilities creates great synergies for our current and future customers,” said Erkan Akyuz, president and CEO, Rhapsody. “Both entities share great technical depth and breadth and both have maintained long-standing customer relationships, which together yields a broader foundation on which to build the future of interoperability in healthcare. Together, we can better support our customers to fulfill all of their changing and future needs.”
Available on premises and as a cloud-based service, the Rhapsody and Corepoint interoperability platforms offer comprehensive routing and transformation functionality for every operating environment, offering highly differentiated features, applications and end customer focuses.
The two platforms also support commonly used messaging standards and protocols such as FHIR, HL7 V2, CCD/C-CDA and DICOM. These integration engines are among the most secure technology platforms in the healthcare industry, with customer bases that include the entire healthcare ecosystem and across the globe, including provider organizations, technology vendors, HIEs and public health systems.
“We are entering a new era in
healthcare where the emphasis will be on expanding ecosystems and establishing
new data trading partner relationships to optimize clinical and operational
workflows. These initiatives will be powered by interoperability and data
management: healthcare organizations that can excel in these areas will have a
significant competitive advantage,” said Sean Cassidy, CEO of Corepoint Health.
“The combination of Rhapsody and Corepoint enables our customers to continue to
get tremendous value out of the products and services they love, while having
the confidence that their interoperability partner is heavily invested in
helping them confront the challenges they will face in the future.”
“We move decisively when perfect opportunities present themselves,” said Philippe Houssiau, operating partner at Hg. “The opportunity to bring Corepoint and Rhapsody together was incredibly compelling. Our investments in these two phenomenal companies demonstrate how excited we are about the future of interoperability. Rhapsody is off to an amazing start as an independent company: joining forces with Corepoint will enable the combined team to accelerate the delivery of FHIR-based services, cloud-based integration solutions and support for regional and national interoperability frameworks.”
Netwrix released an infographic based on the findings of its global 2019 Netwrix Cloud Data Security Report for the healthcare industry. The infographic provides an industry perspective of the data that healthcare organizations store in the cloud, the state of their cloud data security and their plans for using cloud technology.
The 2019 Netwrix Cloud Data Security Report revealed that 32 percent of healthcare organizations store a wide range of sensitive data in the cloud, including healthcare data and personally identifiable information (PII) of customers and employees. In addition, the number of those who are ready to adopt Cloud-First approach has increased by 31 percent since 2018, and the number considering becoming 100 percent cloud-based has grown by 12 percent. Unfortunately, their IT teams might not have enough resources to properly protect this sensitive data in the cloud, as 85 percent of them did not see an increase in their cloud security budgets in 2019.
Other findings revealed by the research
and shown in the infographic include:
26 percent of healthcare organizations had at least one security incident in the cloud during the past 12 months. These organizations have two things in common: None of them classified all the data they stored in the cloud, and all of them store all their sensitive data in the cloud.
The majority of IT teams at healthcare organizations plan to strengthen data security in the cloud by encrypting data (70 percent) and monitoring activities around data (50 percent). However, one third of them do not receive any financial support from their management, which makes it more difficult for them to improve security in the cloud.
18 percent of healthcare organizations would consider moving their data from the cloud back on premises. Their main reasons include security concerns (56 percent), reliability and performance issues (22 percent), and high costs (22 percent) for the cloud. If they decide to make this move, they will start by migrating healthcare data (33 percent), customer data (33%) and employee data (11 percent).
“Prioritizing security efforts is the key to ensuring data security in the cloud, especially if budgets are tight, as is common at healthcare organizations. When organizations know exactly what data they have in the cloud and have classified it according to its value and level of sensitivity, they are in a better position to choose appropriate controls within their budgetary constraints and protect sensitive data more effectively,” said Steve Dickson, CEO of Netwrix.
“By 2022, more than 30 percent of the hospital data centers will be based in the cloud. Healthcare systems have been skeptical about adoption of cloud, but cost pressures and the need to reduce capital expenditure have been changing that mindset. After enduring several high-profile breaches and realizing the maturity of various cloud providers (both in expertise and scalability), healthcare systems are finally less skeptical than they used to be about the cloud.” — Gartner, “Forecast Overview: Healthcare Provider Market, Worldwide, 2018,” by Anurag Gupta, July 13, 2018.
Global Care Administrators announced that its deep learning health intelligence platform will go to market under the name Global Care Analytics (GCANA). According to company president, Scott Guilfoyle, the platform gives healthcare management a tool for key management insights within claims-and-cost and clinical data, and solid predictive analytics from local and/or global data via the desktop.
Scott Guilfoyle
“Global Care gives the C-suite of health systems,
hospitals, and medical groups the power to conduct deep analytics, and
predictive analytics, of their data. The CEO, COO, or CFO can execute precisely targeted, complex queries
on massive data sets with real-time or near-real-time responses by dragging and
dropping preset queries into the engine,” says Guilfoyle.
“We have a patented hyper-ingestion engine that can take in a
million datasets a minute, which is amazingly fast and accurate. Then our
hyper-digestion process uses neural networks to analyze the oceans of data, and become more
and more accurate as it learns to refine its ability to make connections.”
Guilfoyle, the former CTO of PayPal,
and CIO of LendingTree,Bank of
America Card Services, and GE’s Aircraft Engine Services, Aircraft
Engines eBusiness, and Plastics Americas, believes the
company’s deep analytics platform gives healthcare executives access to
billions of data points for better organizational management, delivery of care,
and population health. “Plus, there is enormous value in access to our global
health data exchange. Each time we onboard a new client, and each time any and
all clients query the platform, the ocean of collected health data in our
exchange grows larger, and our platform grows more knowledgeable and more
accurate.”
Global Care was founded by former senior healthcare executives who all, according to CEO Kevin Sullivan, “Understand the enormous value of the data trapped within a healthcare organization. This is the intelligence engine I wish I’d had in my former senior operations positions. The value of deep analytics will radically transform day-to-day healthcare management for the better. When executive management has desktop power to identify gaps in care or delivery of care services, outcome metrics, and the most complete real-time picture of the health of their patient populations, they can speed up more knowledgeable decision making. Speed, precision, deep knowledge, and agility through predictive analytics are tools they can use to radically change their landscape.”
Guilfoyle says the analytics technology will be followed by what most healthcare management think of as “unobtainium:” A frictionless transaction (billing-claims-reimbursement) systemthat authenticates the patient, authorizes the procedure, files the claim with the payor, and reimburses the provider in real-time as care is delivered. Imagine providers being paid before the patient leaves the facility.”
He says company’s Global Care Pay technology could help eliminate some of the $147bn – $510bn of waste in administrative complexities and manual transactions. “Global Care Pay applies smart contracts and blockchain technology to make the transaction frictionless, immediate, highly accurate, and secure. It’s our next big step and one we’re really excited to bring to market in the near future.”
Sullivan says the two-year-old, privately-held company is raising capital, and it plans to build out the pay system on the foundational success of the analytics platform. “We’re way out front on blockchain pay technology, and our work with clients on deep learning analytics gives us the kind of real-world environment we need to fine-tune the Global Care Pay for a soft release in the next 12-14 months.”
It’s hard to understate how much the internet has benefited society. It distributes knowledge to the world, it allows us easy access to myriad services, and it makes it easy to communicate with people the world over, bringing us all closer than ever before. And that’s just the basic things the World Wide Web provides.
But, wonderful though it may be, the internet also holds its own perils. Cybercrime has turned into one of the greatest threats to businesses and by extension the whole of society. In 2018, a hacking attempt took place somewhere in the world about every 40 seconds. Billions of dollars in damages are attributed to cyberattacks every year. The health industry has become a favored target for hackers, mainly because of patient data which is valued more than financial information.
It’s a sad fact, then, that many businesses do not take cybersecurity, the only line of defense against this online onslaught, as seriously as they should. Around half of all businesses admit that they do not consider cybersecurity a very high priority.
That is a mistake that could cost a company everything. This infographic, brought to us by HostingTribunal, serves to warn everyone about the incredible danger that are hackers. It lists all the most devastating and notorious cyberattacks to take place in recent history. These hacks caused monumental harm to their victims, and this visual journey details the exact extent of the damage as well as how the attacks happened — and lots more. So read on if you wish to learn about the biggest hacks in recent history.
Solo or small medical practices are disappearing at a rapid rate. The reasons for this are simple: most are unable to stay afloat because of rising operational costs, reduced payments for services rendered, and the introduction of new regulations. Thankfully, if you want to remain in practice and continue to provide quality care to your patients, there are solutions.
Lack of
Insurance Companies
The reduction in
available health care options makes it difficult not only for patients to find
a doctor but also for doctors to receive adequate payments. It seems the only
one making out on the healthcare front is the insurance companies. Because of
their limited numbers, they can pretty much dictate who a patient can see and
how much a doctor can charge. This can put a person at a much higher health
risk and cause a doctor to lose a large percentage of their income. On top of
that, insurance companies can retract a payment previously made within the
first 3 months.
What Follows
As a result of
reduced payments for doctors, they aren’t able to provide a wealth of care.
Usually, a visit to any doctor’s office requires a patient to wait for over 30
minutes just to get into an exam room. Then the doctor comes in, reviews the
patient’s chart for a minute, and takes a glancing look at the patient while
they ask what’s wrong. Doctors can no longer afford to chit-chat with their
patients to find out what’s truly going on with their health. Instead, they
have to schedule as many appointments as they can to reduce their losses.
Adapting to
the New Way of Practice
It’s not likely that the current health insurance system will change anytime soon. It’s up to you to make a few changes in order to continue to pay your bills and your staff and to do what you set out to do when you first opened the office doors: provide exceptional care to patients. However, there are ways to cut costs and improve care. One way is to train employees for more than one position.
This will allow your practice to function efficiently and will also enable you to have fewer people on staff which, in the end, translates to reduced overhead expenses. Another way to keep up with the changing regulations and improve your bottom line is to use healthcare consulting services. These companies can provide the assistance you need to get your business organized, improve your billing process, and offer suggestions for implementing new services that can add revenue.
Show You Care
Many people shy away from traditional primary care physicians in lieu of healthcare clinics. The main reason for this is the clinics’ hours of operation. Healthcare clinics usually open earlier, stay open later and have Saturday hours. Changing your business hours to offer convenience shows your patients that you understand that not everyone can visit their doctor between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Even having flexible hours once a week, say on Wednesday, where you remain open until 7:00 p.m. will allow people to schedule an appointment for after work. In addition, get back to traditional standards where you provide a follow-up call or text to see how patents are doing.
Presence on
the Web
Another way to
add new clients is to have a website/blog. This allows your clients to keep in
touch with the practice and give honest reviews of their visits. In turn, it
will let you make changes based on the remarks you receive. In addition, having
a presence on social media will bring traffic to your website/blog and help you
gain new clients.
Whether you have
an existing practice or are making the decision to end a hospital residency and
venture out on your own, having your own
medical practice call be both profitable and rewarding.
While there have been fewer deaths in
recent years due to medical advancements, the number of men who are being
diagnosed with heart issues remains high, and prevention is better than cure.
Here are a few
ways to improve your heart health. For more information and advice, visit https://thenewalpha.com/
Eat
good fats.
Eating the right kind of fats is crucial
for keeping the heart healthy. Diets high in saturated fats such as red meat,
trans fats found in processed and fried foods, and hydrogenated oils can clog
arteries and cause high levels of cholesterol. By comparison, unsaturated fats
are proven to be good for heart health. Eat foods rich in these fats, such as
nuts, avocados, and olive oil to raise your good cholesterol and lower your bad
cholesterol.
The omega-3 fatty acid is also proven to
prevent heart disease, so adding oily fish to your diet twice a week can also
improve your heart health. These fats are also present in walnuts and flaxseed,
so sprinkle these on salads or cereals for a heart-healthy boost.
You should also up your intake of fruits
and vegetables, as these foods are high in fiber and antioxidants. They also
keep blood pressure levels healthy. High blood pressure increases the risk of a
heart attack. This is because they’re packed with potassium, which is proven to
lower blood pressure.
Get a check-up.
More
than half of American men don’t get regular medical check-ups, and many don’t
even know they’re at risk of a cardiac event. Conditions such as high blood
pressure and diabetes may have no symptoms, but can hugely increase the risk of
a heart attack. Make annual visits to your doctor, and any potential problems
are more likely to be caught early.
Exercise.
Obvious
and essential. Many men don’t exercise regularly, and the older we get, the
harder it is for us to get motivated to start a new regimen. Simply lifting
weights isn’t enough. Men need 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise, such as
aerobics, running, or swimming five times a week. Make it vigorous. You need to
be breaking a sweat for it to work.
Quit smoking.
There
are tens of millions of men in the United States that smoke, but smoking, even
chewing tobacco, is a major risk factor for heart issues. If you’re a smoker,
it’s time to quit. We know it’s hard, but ask friends and family for advice and
talk to your doctor about any help they may be able to offer you.
De-stress.
Men
tend to handle stress by keeping it all inside. This type of chronic stress can
lead to increased risk of heart disease. If you don’t feel comfortable talking
about the things that are causing you stress just yet, try other techniques
such as breathing techniques, massage, or meditation.
Getting a sprained ankle disrupts your routine. It keeps you from your sports or exercise regimen, forcing you to cut back your activity to virtually nothing. If you’re competitive, you’ll get antsy while in recovery mode right out of the gate. As much as you want to get back out there, you have to take the healing process seriously, so you don’t risk prolonging or exacerbating the injury. The goal is to get back out there as soon as possible, not to aggravate a simple sprain by acting on your impatient impulses. How can you heal a sprained ankle both quickly and efficiently?
Ice and Compression
Cryotherapy
should be one of the first things you do after suffering a sprained ankle. The
principles of applying cold compresses to an injury are proven to speed up the
healing process. However, it isn’t a situation where more is better. Only ice
your ankle to the extent it’s necessary since you don’t want to get frostbite.
A routine ice compress with gel packs on your ankle should last no longer
than 20 minutes at a time. If you feel that the cold is becoming too painful to
bear before that threshold, then only ice as long as you’re comfortable.
Regular
compression is necessary as well. The best way to stop swelling and provide
stability is with a brace or a wrap, whichever you have access to in order to
put some pressure on the injury.
Elevation
Another simple
home remedy is to elevate your ankle. Whenever you’re sitting or lying down,
which should be most of the time, prop up your ankle so that it’s resting above
your waist or heart. When you raise the ankle, the swelling has a chance to go
down. Elevation discourages unwanted fluid buildup around the injury, so let
gravity do the work. As you begin to get restless, just remember to capitalize
on the chance to relax and prop up your feet. You don’t know when you’ll get an
opportunity to have an extended break again.
Rest and Exercise
Of course, you
need to get adequate rest after any injury. Once you have recuperated, speak
with your doctor about the best time to get back on your feet. Entering into
the physical therapy portion of your recovery will have you feeling much more
encouraged about returning to normal. This isn’t the time to go full speed,
though. You need to achieve a balance between rest and exercise. It’s important
not to overwork your injury, but not pushing hard enough could weaken your
ankle. You know your body, so if something doesn’t feel right, speak with your
doctor about holding back or trying different exercises.
RICE is an
acronym that describes the treatment to follow when dealing with a sprained
ankle, and if done correctly, your recovery should be relatively seamless.
Rest, ice, compress, and exercise are the standards of care throughout the
healing process. When followed, you’ll be back out on the field or in the gym
before you know it.
Removing the
barriers of access to technology does not close the digital divide for African
American and older patients, according to new research from The
Ohio State University College of Medicine.
As part of a
larger examination of patient portal use, this study published in the journal Telemedicine and e-Health
looked at the use of patient portals while people are admitted in the hospital.
Over a one-year period, researchers found patients age 60 and over used the
portal less than patients ages 18 to 29, and African American patients used the
portal less than white patients.
“Patient-facing
technology like inpatient portals are intended to engage patients in their
health care by improving communication with the care team and allowing them to
access test results, progress notes and other information in their medical
records,” said Daniel
Walker, assistant professor of family medicine and biomedical informatics
in CATALYST,
the Center for the Advancement of Team Science, Analytics and Systems Thinking
in Health Services and Implementation Science Research in the College of
Medicine. “The lack of use of this technology may be limiting its ability to
improve health and health care.”
The overall
study has been led by Ann
Scheck McAlearney, professor of family medicine and executive director of
CATALYST, and was funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
McAlearney explained, “This large, pragmatic, randomized and controlled trial
has been recruiting patients admitted to six Ohio
State University Wexner Medical Center hospitals over the past two years.
It enables us to examine various factors influencing patients’ and providers’
use of and experience with the patient portal, including identifying these
disparities we have found.”
Patients enrolled in the study used a hospital-provided tablet with a password-protected patient portal application they could access. Patients were not prompted to use the patient portal by the study team. To measure portal usage, researchers looked at the total number of tasks completed during the hospital stay such as logging into the application, sending messages to the care team, viewing test results, ordering meals and accessing tutorials.
The 60 to 69 age group used the inpatient portal 45 percent less than the 18 to 29 age group and the 70 and over age group used the inpatient portal 36 percent less than the 18 to 29 age group. African American patients used the portal 40 percent less than white patients.
“When we
looked at the data, we saw older patients used the tutorial feature more than
younger patients signifying older patients may need more training resources in
order to increase use,” Walker said. “The use disparity between African
American and white patients suggests the differences in use may be more nuanced
and not simply an access issue. Additional intervention is needed to close the
digital divide.”
Future
analyses will explore the factors that contribute to the age and race
disparities to help develop educational interventions to close the gap in
technology use.
“There’s been
a rapid growth of technological resources to help patients manage their
health,” said Dr.
K. Craig Kent, dean of Ohio State’s College of Medicine. “With continued
innovation, it’s vital that all patients, regardless of age or race, are able
to use these tools that can significantly enhance communication and patient
care. As helpful as these tools can be, the research of our team at Ohio State
shows that we need to create approaches that are usable to all patients,
regardless of age and race.”
Additional
researchers from Ohio State who worked on this study include: Jennifer Hefner,
Naleef Fareed and Timothy Huerta.
