Annual Issue From The American Journal of Managed Care® Focuses on Evolution of Health IT

The eighth annual issue about health information technology from The American Journal of Managed Care® discusses the work that is being done to fulfill its promise to improve the US healthcare system.

(CRANBURY, N.J. — January 16, 2019) - The US healthcare system is still moving toward the full potential of health information technology (IT) to improve patient care and outcomes, according to the guest editor of the eighth annual health IT issue of The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®).

Citing the real world-evidence presented in the January 2019 issue, Mary Reed, DrPH, a research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Northern California Division of Research, highlighted three ways that health IT is continuing to evolve:

Electronic health records (EHRs) are maturing,
Interoperability and health information exchange (HIE) are developing, and
Patient-facing technology integration is growing.

“The issue highlights exciting ways that health systems and settings are moving toward using technology to support clinical care across transitions to enhance patient engagement and access,” Reed said.

Research featured in this issue include:

Hospitals with data breaches spend more on advertising. A study by Sung J. Choi, PhD, and M. Eric Johnson, PhD, found that found that a hospital data breach was associated with a 64% increase in annual advertising expenditures in the two years after the incident, possibly to repair institutional image and thwart competition for patients.

The impact of alternative payment models (APMs) on HIE. APM participation is associated with lower HIE volume and greater HIE diversity, breadth, and depth, according to Sunny C. Lin, MS; John M. Hollingsworth, MD, MS; and Julia Adler-Milstein, PhD.

Positive experiences for both providers and patients when telehealth is an option for follow-up care. In this Trends From the Field article, Karen Donelan, ScD, EdM; Esteban A. Barreto, MA; Sarah Sossong, SM; Carie Michael, SM; Juan Estrada, MBA; Adam B. Cohen, MD; Janet Wozniak, MD; and Lee H. Schwamm, MD, discuss how clinicians see value in telehealth as a way to enhance connections with established patients. Patients may be willing to pay standard co-pays or more for this convenience.

For the full issue, click here.

About The American Journal of Managed Care^®

The American Journal of Managed Care^® (AJMC^®) is a peer-reviewed, Medline-indexed journal that keeps readers on the forefront of health policy by publishing research relevant to industry decision makers as they work to promote the efficient delivery of high-quality care. AJMC.com is the essential website for managed care professionals, distributing industry updates daily to leading stakeholders. Other titles in the AJMC^® family include The American Journal of Accountable Care^® and two evidence-based series, Evidence-Based Oncology^™and Evidence-Based Diabetes Management^™. These comprehensive offerings bring together stakeholder views from payers, providers, policymakers and other industry leaders in managed care. To order reprints of articles appearing in AJMC^® publications, please contact Gil Hernandez at 609-716-7777, ext. 139.