Technology

Efficiencies that could be gained in healthcare information exchange present emerging opportunities to close discrepancies between evidence-based recommendations or best practices and the care that is actually delivered.

At the spring live meeting of the ACO & Emerging Healthcare Delivery Coalition in Scottsdale, Arizona, attendees heard presentations and participated in workshops that discussed better integration of care, improved use of technology, and the future of healthcare and the Affordable Care Act.

With an increased interest in transitioning to a Learning Health Care System, there is an urgency to understand the ethical implications associated with the transition.

This sweeping proposal is the biggest step yet in shifting reimbursement from a volume-based to a value-based system. Stakeholders offered mixed opinions this week.

Patients whose hospital care providers used mobile secure text messaging to communicate had shorter hospital stays compared with patients whose health providers used standard paging systems to communicate.

Two posters presented at the AMCP Managed Care & Specialty Pharmacy Annual Meeting evaluated opioid misuse and healthcare utilization and cost, as well as a program to flag potential misuse early.

Scottsdale Health Partners’ success is derived from its physician engagement, care coordination and transformation, and meaningful IT usage, explained James Whitfill, MD, chief medical officer. The organization has also learned that direct contact with both patients and provider is critical to continuing that success.

While healthcare for retirees once meant repeated trips to the doctor’s office, many are now able to receive high-quality medical services without leaving the comfort of home. And it’s all because of telemedicine.