IBM announced the expansion of its Health Analytics Solution Center last May. The Dallas-based center is adding new technology and has doubled the number of healthcare solution architects and technology specialists. Teams there are working to help physicians connect smart phones, tablets and other devices to electronic medical records (EMRs) while also helping healthcare providers build new solutions for remote patient monitoring.
With this expansion, the IBM Analytics Solutions Center is incorporating some of the same technology used in IBM's Watson, the experimental computer system that defeated the two best human contestants in the game show Jeopardy! earlier this year. Using sophisticated analytics to understand the meaning and context of medical information, advanced health analytics is increasingly being used to help healthcare organizations gain new insight from the explosion of health data growing at a rate of 35 percent per year, according to a recent study by Enterprise Strategy Group.
As clinicians adopt smart devices at five times the rate of the general population, they will increasingly need to connect to EMRs for instant access to patient records in their office, during hospital rounds, or on call. This growing use of mobile devices however creates new challenges. Updating medical records, entering notes and accessing information on small devices with tiny keys can be challenging. Physicians may choose to interact using their phone via text, voice or a combination of both.
Using clinical voice recognition from Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) and medical terminology management from Health Language, Inc., IBM is working to improve the mobile EMR experience through voice recognition and technology that provides understanding of medical text, similar to the way Watson analyzed hundreds of millions of pages of text from books, encyclopedias and periodicals to compete on Jeopardy!. This will allow caregivers to derive more insight from medical notes, exams and pathology reports that now can be evaluated and compared electronically.
By using analytics to determine hidden meaning buried in medical records, pathology reports, images and comparative data, computers can extract relevant patient data and present it to physicians, ultimately leading to improved patient care.
Remote Analysis of Patient Data
IBM is also expanding its work in remote patient monitoring at the center, helping hospitals integrate and connect devices from among different manufacturers, enabling patients to be closely monitored from home. For example, remote monitoring can be used after a patient leaves the hospital to watch for complications post-discharge. By feeding important data such as temperature, blood pressure, pulse oximeter readings, and even when medications are taken automatically by an application on a Bluetooth smart phone, a nurse care coordinator can monitor the patient in real-time. This allows patients to recover in a comfortable setting, while still enabling caregivers to take action if and when needed. These and other health analytics technologies are designed to help healthcare organizations make sense of the massive volumes of data they generate every day.
With the rapid adoption of electronic medical records and other health IT applications, the amount of data associated with health care providers in North America is expected to reach close to 14,000 petabytes by 2015. The massive increase in health data and the need to gain insight from it has made the field of health analytics increasingly important as leading hospitals use analytics to transform many aspects of their business such as clinical decision making, coordination of care and for measuring performance and patient safety.
The Health Analytics Solution Center has worked with more than 150 hospitals, health plans and other healthcare organizations since its opening in late 2009. The center provides clients access to health analytics experts, technical architects and specialists, with access to hundreds more health industry experts from across IBM, including experts from IBM's Business Analytics and Optimization consulting organization and IBM Research.
It is the first center of its kind to address the need for advanced analytics across the health care industry, taking advantage of increased computing power to collect and analyze data streaming in from sensors, patient monitoring systems, medical instruments and handheld devices as well as the volumes of data generated by hospitals every hour. This year marks IBM's centennial and healthcare continues to be one of its most important areas of industry focus.
The company spends more than $6 billion a year on R&D, much of it on healthcare, and IBM is one of the few technology companies with large teams of physicians and other clinicians on staff to ensure healthcare's most pressing needs are met.
About IBM For more information about IBM, visit: http://www.ibm.com/smarterhealthcare Follow us on Twitter @IBMHealthcare or www.twitter.com/ibmhealthcare Join in the discussion on the Smarter Healthcare LinkedIn Group Watch our videos at www.youtube.com/ibmhealthcare Contact(s) information Holli Haswell IBM Media Relations 720-396-5485
Monday, June 13, 2011
GE Healthcare Next Generation Post-Processing Software receives FDA clearance.
GE Healthcare announced FDA clearance of READY View, a new MR advanced visualization platform to help clinicians process and analyze images anytime and anywhere. A part of the Dexus workflow, READY View is accessible through any PC, PACS or RIS workstation, allowing access to process and analyze images in any office, meeting room or even at home.
The READY View advanced visualization platform provides a combination of protocols, applications and advanced tools that enable a fast, easy and quantified analysis. In addition to standard and advanced protocols, such as 4D review and image averaging, READY View offers fast and accurate multiparametric protocols, such as Brain Oncology, knee, liver and many more. Multiparametric protocols offer a new, simple and intuitive workflow to process all functional data from a single screen without having to leave a reading station.
“MR is moving to quantitative analysis to improve lesion detection, characterization or monitoring,” said Jim Davis, general manager, global MR business GE Healthcare. ”The READY View platform is the first step in bringing clinicians a fast and easy way to process and analyze MR data anytime and anywhere. With READY View, clinicians can automatically segment an abnormality, convert into a 3-D volume and then quickly see and export the curve and associated statistics to the segmented area. ”
To read the full article please visit www.psqh.com
The READY View advanced visualization platform provides a combination of protocols, applications and advanced tools that enable a fast, easy and quantified analysis. In addition to standard and advanced protocols, such as 4D review and image averaging, READY View offers fast and accurate multiparametric protocols, such as Brain Oncology, knee, liver and many more. Multiparametric protocols offer a new, simple and intuitive workflow to process all functional data from a single screen without having to leave a reading station.
“MR is moving to quantitative analysis to improve lesion detection, characterization or monitoring,” said Jim Davis, general manager, global MR business GE Healthcare. ”The READY View platform is the first step in bringing clinicians a fast and easy way to process and analyze MR data anytime and anywhere. With READY View, clinicians can automatically segment an abnormality, convert into a 3-D volume and then quickly see and export the curve and associated statistics to the segmented area. ”
To read the full article please visit www.psqh.com
Tim Appenheimer Appointed VP and Chef Medical Officer at KSB Hospital
As reported by WREX.com
Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital promoted Tim Appenheimer, MD, to Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, effective July 3, 2011.KSB Hospital President and CEO Dave Schreiner explained that Dr. Appenheimer's promotion was done to address the growing focus on improving healthcare quality and patient safety across the country.
"We wanted a physician-led division of quality," Schreiner said, "Dr. Appenheimer understands the entire clinical side and he can help shepherd quality improvement issues through the process."
As such, Appenheimer's division will now include the Quality and Medical Staff Services Department, the Safety Department, the Infection Control Department, the Family Medicine Residency program, Home Care and Hospice, and the Hospital Medicine program.
http://www.wrex.com/Global/story.asp?S=14898480
Katherine Shaw Bethea Hospital promoted Tim Appenheimer, MD, to Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, effective July 3, 2011.KSB Hospital President and CEO Dave Schreiner explained that Dr. Appenheimer's promotion was done to address the growing focus on improving healthcare quality and patient safety across the country.
"We wanted a physician-led division of quality," Schreiner said, "Dr. Appenheimer understands the entire clinical side and he can help shepherd quality improvement issues through the process."
As such, Appenheimer's division will now include the Quality and Medical Staff Services Department, the Safety Department, the Infection Control Department, the Family Medicine Residency program, Home Care and Hospice, and the Hospital Medicine program.
http://www.wrex.com/Global/story.asp?S=14898480
Atlanta Newspaper Covers on Hospital Acquired Infection Reporting in Georgia
By Carrie Teegardin
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In twenty eight states, hospitals are required by law to make a public report on at least some of the infections patients pick up while under the hospital's care. Georgia is not one of those states, and patient advocates say that makes it difficult for consumers to make informed choices about where to go for health care.
"This should be something the state does for its consumers," said Holly Lang, director of the Hospital Accountability Project at Georgia Watch, a statewide consumer organization.If restaurants must post their inspection scores on their walls, then hospitals should have to disclose rates of potentially deadly infections within their facilities, Lang said. That would help patients choose a hospital, she said, while also pressuring hospitals to improve patient safety.
Legislation to require reporting on infections at hospitals has been proposed in Georgia but not passed, said Pam Keene, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Community Health."I think hospitals felt very defensive about releasing information because they felt it would be bad for their marketing," said state Rep. Pat Gardner, D-Atlanta.But Gardner said that needs to change. "This is the age of consumer directed health care and if we want consumers to take a more active role in their health care, they need access to all kinds of information that is not currently available to them," she said.
Kevin Bloye, spokesman for the Georgia Hospital Association, said the state's hospitals are cautious about public reporting of infection and quality data because hospitals are still working to develop accurate systems for collecting such information that allows for fair comparisons. "More transparency is what the public wants and we're responsive to that," Bloye said. "But the key is making sure what we report is right and fair to each of the stakeholders involved."
http://www.ajc.com/news/georgians-kept-in-dark-975123.html?printArticle=y
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In twenty eight states, hospitals are required by law to make a public report on at least some of the infections patients pick up while under the hospital's care. Georgia is not one of those states, and patient advocates say that makes it difficult for consumers to make informed choices about where to go for health care.
"This should be something the state does for its consumers," said Holly Lang, director of the Hospital Accountability Project at Georgia Watch, a statewide consumer organization.If restaurants must post their inspection scores on their walls, then hospitals should have to disclose rates of potentially deadly infections within their facilities, Lang said. That would help patients choose a hospital, she said, while also pressuring hospitals to improve patient safety.
Legislation to require reporting on infections at hospitals has been proposed in Georgia but not passed, said Pam Keene, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Community Health."I think hospitals felt very defensive about releasing information because they felt it would be bad for their marketing," said state Rep. Pat Gardner, D-Atlanta.But Gardner said that needs to change. "This is the age of consumer directed health care and if we want consumers to take a more active role in their health care, they need access to all kinds of information that is not currently available to them," she said.
Kevin Bloye, spokesman for the Georgia Hospital Association, said the state's hospitals are cautious about public reporting of infection and quality data because hospitals are still working to develop accurate systems for collecting such information that allows for fair comparisons. "More transparency is what the public wants and we're responsive to that," Bloye said. "But the key is making sure what we report is right and fair to each of the stakeholders involved."
http://www.ajc.com/news/georgians-kept-in-dark-975123.html?printArticle=y
Thursday, June 9, 2011
WSJ Article -Programs To Prevent Hosital Re-Admissions
Can a virtual nurse named Louise help keep patients from landing back in the hospital after they are discharged?
By Laura Landro
Wall Street Journal
Louise walks hospital patients through plans for their recovery at home.
It's part of a push to reduce the 4.4 million hospital stays that are a result of potentially preventable re-admissions, which add more than $30 billion a year to the nation's health-care tab, or $1 of every $10 spent on hospital care, according to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
With hospital stays shorter than they used to be, patients may be sent home in frailer states. They may not understand instructions on how to take care of themselves and face unexpected medical problems after leaving the hospital. More than a third of patients don't get the lab tests, specialist referrals or follow-up care they need.
With one in five of its elderly hospital patients re-admitted within a month of discharge, the federal Medicare program plans next year to reduce how much it will pay hospitals for certain preventable re-admissions. In April, Medicare announced it will provide $500 million in grants for organizations that work with hospitals on programs to reduce re-admissions. The government is funding an effort to help hospitals adopt Project RED, a discharge-planning program developed by Boston University that helped cut re-admissions at Boston University Medical Center by 30% in a 2008 study. Researchers there have developed the "virtual discharge advocate," Louise, to help explain home care to patients.
Re-admissions often occur because of poorly communicated instructions, such as when a rushed staff member hands a pamphlet or a printout with scant information to a patient or relative. "I got more instructions on how to take care of a goldfish I took home from the pet store as a kid than we give some people we send home from the hospital," says Victor Caraballo, senior medical director of Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia. It is providing $5 million to a patient-safety initiative involving more than 70 hospitals and aiming to reduce re-admissions by 10% by next spring.
To read full article please visit www.wsjonline.com
Correction & Amplification
The portion of Medicare patients who are readmitted within a month after a hospitalization is 20%, or one in five. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that one in 20 end up back in the hospital.
By Laura Landro
Wall Street Journal
Louise walks hospital patients through plans for their recovery at home.
It's part of a push to reduce the 4.4 million hospital stays that are a result of potentially preventable re-admissions, which add more than $30 billion a year to the nation's health-care tab, or $1 of every $10 spent on hospital care, according to the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
With hospital stays shorter than they used to be, patients may be sent home in frailer states. They may not understand instructions on how to take care of themselves and face unexpected medical problems after leaving the hospital. More than a third of patients don't get the lab tests, specialist referrals or follow-up care they need.
With one in five of its elderly hospital patients re-admitted within a month of discharge, the federal Medicare program plans next year to reduce how much it will pay hospitals for certain preventable re-admissions. In April, Medicare announced it will provide $500 million in grants for organizations that work with hospitals on programs to reduce re-admissions. The government is funding an effort to help hospitals adopt Project RED, a discharge-planning program developed by Boston University that helped cut re-admissions at Boston University Medical Center by 30% in a 2008 study. Researchers there have developed the "virtual discharge advocate," Louise, to help explain home care to patients.
Re-admissions often occur because of poorly communicated instructions, such as when a rushed staff member hands a pamphlet or a printout with scant information to a patient or relative. "I got more instructions on how to take care of a goldfish I took home from the pet store as a kid than we give some people we send home from the hospital," says Victor Caraballo, senior medical director of Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia. It is providing $5 million to a patient-safety initiative involving more than 70 hospitals and aiming to reduce re-admissions by 10% by next spring.
To read full article please visit www.wsjonline.com
Correction & Amplification
The portion of Medicare patients who are readmitted within a month after a hospitalization is 20%, or one in five. An earlier version of this article incorrectly said that one in 20 end up back in the hospital.
Missouri Center for Patient Safety Launches New Patient Safety Website
New Patient Safety Website Launched
The Missouri Center for Patient Safety (MOCPS) has introduced a new website,- www.mocps.org for health care providers and health consumers to provide a greater focus on important patient safety related issues and services. MOCPS' mission is to be a leader in providing solutions and resources that improve patient safety and the quality of health care delivery.
The new websitesite complements MOCPS' patient safety improvement activities, in addition to enhancing its services as a federally designated Patient Safety Organization (PSO), in partnership with organizations throughout the nation.The site now offers a blog format providing up-to-date information about MOCPS activities, programs and patient safety news, as well as audio and video content and a new Facebook presence.
Recently, the MOCPS sponsored, Patient Safety Awareness Month, in April, featuring an online recorded tele-forum with patient safety experts, Judy Baker, Department of Health and Human Services, Dr. Sean Berenholtz, Johns Hopkins, David Marx, Outcome Engineering, Becky Miller, MOCPS, and Diane Cousins, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The brief and information-packed discussions are available on the new website to encourage the public to learn about important patient safety issues.
More About MOCPS – The Missouri Center for Patient Safety was founded by the Missouri Hospital Association, Missouri State Medical Association and Primaris as a private, nonprofit corporation to serve as a leader to fulfill its vision of a health care environment safe for all patients, in all processes, all the time.
For more information about patient safety please visit www.psqh.com
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Kaiser Permanente Joins Partnership For Patients
Kaiser Permanente has joined the federal government's Partnership for Patients program - a $1 billion patient safety initiative aimed at improving care and reducing costs.
Partnership for Patients: Better Care, Lower Costs is a new public-private coalition announced in April by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The program is designed to help improve the healthcare quality, patient safety, and affordability of health care for all Americans.
"Patient safety is one of our top priorities and is a critical component of all our quality improvement programs," said Jed Weissberg, MD, senior vice president, Hospitals, Quality and Care Delivery. "We believe this initiative is a great step forward in elevating patient safety as a high priority nationally, and we hope that it will help place greater emphasis on the importance of continual development, testing and implementation of new programs that are aimed at the achieving the goals of reducing harm."
Partnership for Patients will focus on hospital safety with the goal of reducing preventable hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent. This is expected to save 60,000 lives, and reducing hospital readmissions by 20 percent over the next three years. The partnership has the potential to save up to $35 billion in health care costs, including up to $10 billion for Medicare.
The initiative aligns with Kaiser Permanente's dedicated emphasis on patient safety and its organizational goal to prevent adverse events and health care-associated infections.
"Every patient has the right to safe and reliable health care," said Amy Compton-Phillips, MD, associate executive director, The Permanente Federation. "We are proud to support this new national initiative that aims to bring us one step closer to that goal."
Partnership for Patients: Better Care, Lower Costs is a new public-private coalition announced in April by HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. The program is designed to help improve the healthcare quality, patient safety, and affordability of health care for all Americans.
"Patient safety is one of our top priorities and is a critical component of all our quality improvement programs," said Jed Weissberg, MD, senior vice president, Hospitals, Quality and Care Delivery. "We believe this initiative is a great step forward in elevating patient safety as a high priority nationally, and we hope that it will help place greater emphasis on the importance of continual development, testing and implementation of new programs that are aimed at the achieving the goals of reducing harm."
Partnership for Patients will focus on hospital safety with the goal of reducing preventable hospital-acquired conditions by 40 percent. This is expected to save 60,000 lives, and reducing hospital readmissions by 20 percent over the next three years. The partnership has the potential to save up to $35 billion in health care costs, including up to $10 billion for Medicare.
The initiative aligns with Kaiser Permanente's dedicated emphasis on patient safety and its organizational goal to prevent adverse events and health care-associated infections.
"Every patient has the right to safe and reliable health care," said Amy Compton-Phillips, MD, associate executive director, The Permanente Federation. "We are proud to support this new national initiative that aims to bring us one step closer to that goal."
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