It is not uncommon, in today’s age, to do large amounts of personal business online. This includes discussing or sharing medical records. You may think that any place that shares your medical records online would invest in intense digital security, but you would be surprised.
It takes just a small mistake on the part of the health organization working with your records and your data can be breached. In fact, there have been multiple examples of large medical organizations allowing thousands of patient’s information to be leaked.
In 2010, Columbia University Medical Center and New York-Presbyterian Hospital were victims of cyber security attacks involving the theft of close to 6,800 patient records. A Temple University doctor had his laptop stolen which contained the private medical files of nearly 4,000 patients. These are just two of way too many examples.
Part of the problem is that these records are being protected by individual not properly trained in digital security. Medical professionals all know about HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) — a US law designed to provide privacy standards to protect patients’ medical records and other health information provided to health plans, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers.
They know that you don’t share medical information to anyone that isn’t approved of in writing by the patient. But even that standard is often broken by some medical professionals. So, if some people in the medical industry are willingly leaking information, just imagine how often information is leaked accidentally.
So, what can you do? As with most instances of digital security, it is best to take matters into your own hands. The only person who will always, 100 percent of the time, advocate for you – is you. It is vital that you do everything you can to protect yourself and your data when going online. This can prevent others from ascertaining your location, medical data, personal data, and much more.
Let’s take a look at a few ways that you can protect yourself in the digital realm:
Be aware with whom you are communicating
It might be obvious that you shouldn’t send personal information to strange email contacts or social media profiles, but not everyone considers the authenticity of medical websites. Often times people will look up medical advice and find themselves sharing personal details with any random website that offer to let you chat with a “real” medical professional.
These websites can not only put your medical information at risk but also your credit card information since we guarantee you won’t get to chat with anybody without coughing up your card number.
Beyond that, it is also important to consider the applications your medical facility is using to share your information. Before agreeing to access your data digitally, look into the software they are using to ensure it is considered respectable and safe.
With National Doctors’ Day coming up on March 30 and “physician” being the highest-paid job of 2018, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2019’s Best & Worst States for Doctors, as well as accompanying videos.
To identify the best states for those in the business of saving lives, WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia across 18 key metrics. The data set ranges from average annual wage of physicians to hospitals per capita to quality of public hospital system.
Best States for Doctors
Worst States for Doctors
1
Montana
42
Vermont
2
Wisconsin
43
Massachusetts
3
Idaho
44
Maryland
4
Minnesota
45
Delaware
5
Iowa
46
Hawaii
6
South Dakota
47
Connecticut
7
Kansas
48
New Jersey
8
Nebraska
49
Rhode Island
9
Mississippi
50
District of Columbia
10
North Dakota
51
New York
Best vs. Worst:
Mississippi has the highest average annual wage for surgeons (adjusted for cost of living), $316,828, which is 2.7 times higher than in the District of Columbia, the lowest at $117,763.
Oklahoma has the lowest number of physicians per 1,000 residents, 0.99, which is 6.3 times lower than in the District of Columbia, the highest at 6.20.
Florida has the highest projected share of the population aged 65 and older by 2030, 27.08 percent, which is two times higher than in Utah, the lowest at 13.21 percent.
Nebraska has the lowest annual malpractice liability insurance rate, $4,977, which is 8.2 times lower than in New York, the highest at $40,826.
By Rick Halton, vice president of marketing and product, Lumeon.
Rick Halton
For the past decade, EHR investments have been touted as the key to unlocking a transformative, cost-effective, and efficient healthcare industry. A recent study found that spending on EHR systems will continue to dominate healthcare’s technology spend in 2019. But if budgets continue to be prioritized towards optimizing EHR systems, why are there still so many issues related to delivering coordinated care? EHR vendors often do not clearly explain that new issues can arise after implementation, and even make certain processes more complex.
Despite significant investment of EHR systems over the years, care processes continue to be inconsistent and labor intensive. Not only does this result in overwhelming operational costs for hospitals, but it also leads to massive variance in outcomes.
EHR investments are important, but they aren’t a silver bullet. EHRs can only go so far towards improving care outcomes and operations, as they do not address the true problem: disjointed care process issues. Hospitals must consider the broader context that EHRs play into, including investing in greater orchestration and automation of patient care.
By directing investments toward automated digital care plans that are supported by EHRs, hospitals can more effectively connect patients along their entire care journey, and only engage the care team when necessary. Just as the airline industry found success with their equivalent, the “flight plan,” the healthcare industry must provide its own “care traffic control” to deliver coordinated care. This approach is increasingly recognized as care pathway management (CPM).
Opting for “care traffic control?”
The airline industry has successfully crafted and fine-tuned the entire digital trip experience for passengers, which the healthcare industry can utilize in its own way. For example, airline passengers can find out real-time flight status, receive automated updates about seat availability, find information on airports, and be sent data on flight delays.
Both boarding and takeoff are efficient and seamless procedures, with airlines connecting preflight checklists to central airline and airport IT systems. This gives flight crews current policies, procedures, and alerts, while traffic control systems coordinate which planes can take off at which times.
This same approach can effectively be used in healthcare. Automated protocols throughout the care plan can help providers pull relevant information from all necessary care teams and orchestrate operational processes in the background. Tasks can be completed in an efficient and timely manner, with managed expectations creating a seamless care pathway.
With a “care traffic control” approach, care teams manage by exception. Care plans are digitized, automated, and orchestrated across teams and settings, letting care teams be efficiently tasked at the right time and at the right place. Additionally, care teams can capitalize on virtual patient engagement techniques and will intervene only when manual engagement is needed.
The HealthCare Executive Group (HCEG), in partnership with Change Healthcare, published the 9th Annual Industry Pulse Research Report. Up to 255 survey respondents, with more than 48 percent being vice presidents or higher in executive leadership, shared their insight on the critical issues, challenges and opportunities ranked by HCEG members on the 2019 HCEG Top 10 list last fall.
The confirmation of the HCEG Top 10 and more detailed insights from the Industry Pulse survey are an invaluable resource for healthcare executives within their own organizations. Healthcare leaders can use this report to engage their management in deeper and more constructive efforts to competitively position themselves in their marketplace and to develop more robust and effective strategic programs.
Ferris Taylor
“We hope the 2019 Annual Industry Pulse Report spurs conversation and action for current stakeholders in adapting much faster to demands of a 21st century healthcare system,” said Ferris Taylor, executive director of HCEG. “If traditional stakeholders aren’t able to transform healthcare, outside parties will.”
Healthcare Amid Continued Uncertainty Reflected in HCEG Top 10 & Industry Pulse
External Market Disruption (#7) entered the HCEG Top 10 list for the first time and is confirmed by the Industry Pulse Report with 32.2 percent of respondents anticipating the greatest impact to be “disrupting current business models.” Whether or not external entrants find healthcare to be more complicated than they thought is yet to be seen.
Payment Reform/Value-Based Payments (#4) has been on the HCEG Top 10 list every year for the last decade. 63.6 percent of the Industry Pulse Report respondents expect it will be three years or more before payments contain both upside and downside risk.
Consumerism (#2), Mobile/Digital Health (#5) and member engagement have ranked high in the HCEG Top 10 for a number of years. This year’s Industry Pulse Report shows the tools and services being used to enhance member/patient engagement and the best approaches for addressing passive patients, such as incentives, health literacy and cost transparency tools.
The Data & Analytics (#1) to support multiple healthcare priorities is highlighted this year. Progress in how primary sources of clinical data and analytics have recently been impacting the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare quality and outcomes are also suggested.
Population Health/Social Determinants of Health (SDoH) (#3) moved higher in the HCEG Top 10 as the industry transitioned from broad medical condition segments of the population to looking at what is called “barriers to better health.” Industry Pulse survey respondents shared how their organizations are integrating SDoH and which non-medical barriers to care their organizations will take action on in the next 12 months. Also noted are anticipated challenges to integrating SDoH into population and clinical care programs.
Privacy/cybersecurity (#10) wasn’t a significant HCEG issue until four or five years ago when a 100 million member records were breached. Industry Pulse indicates that efforts to address cybersecurity threats may be stalling and provides specifics as to reasons. Recently, Modern Healthcare reported that 2 million member records were compromised across 31 different breaches in February 2019 alone — a 500 percent increase over February 2018. This should alarm the industry and HCEG encourages everyone to look at the reasons shared as to why Cybersecurity initiatives are not a higher priority.
A new study reveals that more than half of hourly employees say their current role prevents them from maximizing their full potential at work. The new research from WorkJam found that 61 percent of employees cite scheduling and communication pain points as reasons for leaving. The study also finds that today’s hourly workforce has little push back when it comes to the idea of implementing a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy at work.
Titled “Embracing a Bring Your Own Device Policy in the Workplace,” the study polled more than 1,000 U.S.-based hourly employees and employers across the retail, hospitality, logistics, healthcare, and banking industries to determine sentiment around BYOD policies. Among other findings, the study revealed that, across industries, there is little little push back from employees about using their personal devices for work purposes. In fact, 57 percent of millennials would prefer to use their personal mobile devices to access information such as schedules and training materials. WorkJam also found that more than two-thirds (69 percent) of employees believe that with the right application, they’d have an easier time picking up shifts that accommodate their schedules.
Steven Kramer
“Our smartphones are an extension of who we are, and being able to integrate aspects of our work lives into our personal devices creates ease and comfort for employees,” said Steven Kramer, co-founder, president, and CEO of WorkJam. “Today, every U.S. workplace relies on smartphones, and the service industry is no exception. If used in conjunction with a BYOD policy, employers can foster a more productive, engaged, and loyal workforce.”
According to Kramer, these findings should call attention to the impact implementing a BYOD workplace policy can have when it comes to building a more engaged and productive workforce.
“It’s never been more imperative that employers put the power of communication and scheduling into employees’ hands,” Kramer said. “Having access to a central repository of training information that can be updated instantaneously will enable employers to retrieve information on their own time, from anywhere. Additionally, there is no longer confusion when policies change. Entire departments are alerted immediately when there’s a change in operations.”
A 2016 study revealed that medical errors as the third leading cause of death in America. In fact, medical errors take 251,000 lives every year which works out at almost 700 deaths per day. There is a duty of care expected from medical professional towards their patients and these figures clearly indicate the need for change within the healthcare system.
What is medical negligence?
Medical negligence comes in many forms. Some common examples of medical negligence include unnecessary surgery, misdiagnosis and medication errors. These errors have been avoided if the medical practitioner followed the standard of care expected of them.
Medical negligence: A systemic problem
Healthcare systems link hundreds of different processes, practices, procedures, and technologies to deliver safer and accurate diagnoses. In many cases, medical negligence stem from systemic issues for example a breakdown in communication when patients are passed from one department to another. While these are of course built with patient safety as the priority, the sheer complexity can lead to mistakes happening despite everyone’s best efforts.
What can medical practitioners and physicians do?
Medical practitioners and physicians can do their bit to help lower instances of medical negligence by taking the time to learn about the most commonly occurring errors. It’s also important to make the patient your partner in the diagnostic process. Poor communication can negatively impact the healthcare provider-patient relationship and damage the patient’s perception of the quality of care received.
What can patients do?
Patients can also play a role in preventing diagnostic errors before they lead to serious harm by becoming more knowledgeable themselves, asking questions and getting second opinions if necessary.
Learn more about medical negligence
If you would like to find out more about why medical negligence occurs, why not take a look at the highly informative infographic guide below from the team at Hussey Fraser Injury Solicitors.
As technology continues to develop, artificial intelligence has taken leaps from a science-fiction fantasy to being included in everyday tasks. The telehealth industry is one of the newest industries to begin utilizing artificial intelligence, affecting everything from the distribution of electronic medical cards to personable interaction. As telehealth spreads across the United States, artificial intelligence is one of the most powerful forces shaping it.
Changing Diagnosis
One of the trickiest parts of telehealth is diagnosing any illness or issue. When so many ailments share an incredible amount of symptoms, doctors and medical professionals often need patient interaction to fully diagnose an issue. Artificial intelligence has begun to find ways around this and help to deliver accurate prognoses to patients.
Massive companies like Google have set their sights on the telehealth and e-health markets in recent years. Wearables allow doctors to diagnose issues from a distance by taking vitals such as body temperature and blood pressure. The inclusion of wearable smart gadgets keeps tabs on patients to help ensure that proper treatment is being adhered to as well, logging the data to help medical professionals gather all the data they need for treatment.
Connecting Health Cards
In a world so increasingly connected to the internet, there’s been a powerful increase in the use of electronic medical cards. Artificial intelligence is being trained to help advise patients in the best card and plan for them to keep a healthy balance between care and cost. Google’s efforts to use artificial intelligence as helpful assistants to medical professionals include being updated on card plans and working with patients to keep all parties as informed as possible.
Telehealth and electronic medical cards commonly go together, mostly due to their similar nature of an online-focused existence. This means that any advance in one field is likely to be tied to the other in some way. The training of artificial intelligence for telehealth provides a massive boon for those that utilize electronic medical cards for their health plans.
Improving Communication
When a patient is put on a new medication, keeping an accurate schedule can prove challenging. Studies show that as many as half of all patients fail to take their medicine on time, or at all. This is partially because so many patients fail to remember the new part of their daily regimen, allowing the important medicine to go forgotten.
Artificial intelligence is often utilized in speakers and home-based assistants to help with reminders. A common usage is to set a time each day where the AI will inform their patient to take their medicine. Some doctors have even begun having telehealth patients log their doses with artificial intelligence programs to keep real-time tabs on whether a patient is following the instructions they were given.
Telehealth has grown considerably over the last years and shows no signs of stopping. Through the utilization of electronic medical cards, telehealth provides an excellent alternative for those who may have difficulty travelling or otherwise reaching medical help. The ever-growing internet of things draws telehealth and artificial intelligence closer into an excellent combination for patients in need.
By Meghan Marx and Jenna Phillips, healthcare experts, PA Consulting.
Meghan Marx
Now that the 2019 health insurance Open Enrollment period has concluded, healthcare industry stakeholders are watching closely for any shifts in consumer behavior regarding enrollment and the overall uninsured rate. After a record drop in the uninsured rate from 2008 to 2016 in response to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the uninsured rate has begun to increase again, by 1.3 percentage points from 2016 to 2017, according to data from Gallup and Sharecare reported on the Health Affairs blog. Additionally, at the December 15 close of the 2019 open enrollment period, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced that 300,000 fewer individuals enrolled for 2019 than for the previous year. Under the policies of the current administration, the trend of decreased enrollment in exchange market plans, coupled with an increase in the U.S. uninsured rate, is expected to continue.
Jenna Phillips
The uninsured rate has fluctuated over time, but factors like the Congressional repeal of the individual health insurance mandate and reduced funding for health insurance enrollment counselors to support consumers to enroll in health insurance mean that the uninsured rate is expected to climb further in 2019. The increases in the rate of uninsured may seem small, but a 1.3 percent increase in the number of uninsured Americans represents 3.2 million more adults who were uninsured in 2017, compared to 2016. While the upward trend in the uninsured rate is consistent across population segments, a few specific demographics are at especially high risk of becoming uninsured, including young adults, low-middle income earners, and Hispanics.
Here’s what we know:
Young people are less likely to purchase coverage than older adults, who tend to have higher healthcare utilization. The 18 to 25 age bracket was the least likely demographic group to have health insurance in 2017, while those aged 65 and older were the most likely group to be covered. Notable is the 2.9 percent rate difference in coverage of individuals who are 25 to 26 years old, the age when parent’s health plans end coverage, an option guaranteed under the ACA.
Lower rates of employment and education are also associated with lower rates of health insurance enrollment. Low wages for unskilled labor are typically paid on an hourly basis, rather than as an annual salary, and employees in this situation may struggle to secure work with healthcare benefits. As a result, there is a lower rate of access to employer-sponsored coverage. While the poorest individuals and families qualify for government-sponsored coverage, there is a sizeable segment of the population that cannot afford to purchase commercial insurance but is disqualified from Medicaid based on income or personal assets.
In 2017, Hispanic Americans had the lowest coverage rate of any U.S. demographic, at 83.9 percent, and the lowest rate of private insurance coverage, at just 53.5 percent. This gap in the insured rate was especially apparent in states where Medicaid has not been expanded to cover the undocumented population. Language and cultural barriers and economic disempowerment might also have exacerbated the disparity of coverage between Hispanics and other racial groups.
It is not uncommon, in today’s age, to do large amounts of personal business online. This includes discussing or sharing medical records. You may think that any place that shares your medical records online would invest in intense digital security, but you would be surprised.
With National Doctors’ Day coming up on March 30 and “physician” being the highest-paid job of 2018, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 
As technology continues to develop, artificial intelligence has taken leaps from a science-fiction fantasy to being included in everyday tasks. The telehealth industry is one of the newest 
