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Must-See Sessions, Exhibitors at HFMA #ANI2013

It’s that time of year again. The Healthcare Finance Management Association’s annual ANI conference is just days away. I’ve come to associate the month of June with all things revenue cycle and the anticipation of learning more than I ever wanted to know about financial risk, reimbursement strategies, RACs, coding … the list could go on and on. I do enjoy the show, almost more than HIMSS, because it is smaller, shorter and so much more manageable from a logistics standpoint. HFMA puts out a great mobile app each year, and this year marks the first time I’ll be able to take advantage of it thanks to a (finally) upgraded phone.

Last year in Las Vegas, the show floor and educational sessions were largely focused on ICD-10 and ACOs. Flipping through this year’s brochure, I see that health insurance exchanges, Stage 2 of Meaningful Use and payer relationship strategies will also see a bit of the limelight. Personally, I’m looking forward to learning what healthcare finance folks think of this surge in healthcare consumer cries for price transparency. Are they paying attention? Will charge masters ever change (for the better)?

I thought I’d share some of the sessions I’m most looking forward to attending. I admit that I’m a big fan of panel discussions. Solo presenters can turn into sleep-inducing monologues far too quickly.

To Merge or Not to Merge: Hospital Executive Panel Discussion (Monday, 6/17)
What are the advantages and challenges of maintaining stand-alone status? What factors could influence a decision to see affiliation partners? What various affiliation strategies have worked for others?

Living in Atlanta, which has seen its fair share of hospital mergers and partnerships, I’ve often wondered why some facilities choose to go it alone and some choose to affiliate. I’m looking forward to hearing some inside scoop from the four scheduled hospital executives.

Transitioning to Value: Barriers, Solutions and Opportunities (Tuesday, 6/18)
Former CMS administrator Don Berwick will give this keynote address, which promises to “identify the barriers that must be overcome to reform the delivery system, the outcomes of successful delivery models, and the signals of progress within provider organizations.”

I can’t help but wonder how his stage presence will compare to Farzad Mostashari’s, and what sort of neck attire he’ll don.

Physician/Hospital Revenue Cycle Integration: a Panel Discussion (Tuesday, 6/18)
This session will cover the “opportunities and challenges of unifying the revenue cycle to reduce overall costs while increasing collections and patient satisfaction.”

I think it will be interesting to hear from providers just how important patient satisfaction (and presumably referrals) are to a provider’s bottom line. I expect at least one of the panelists will bring up Stage 2, as I’m learning that patient engagement and satisfaction are closely intertwined.

Women as Leaders: Charting the Course (Tuesday, 6/18)
As I mentioned in a recent post, I’m looking forward to learning how the HFMA board members (dare I call them #RevCycleChicks?) on this panel manage careers, families and communities.

Quiet: Harnessing the Strengths of Introverts to Change How We Work, Lead and Innovate (Wednesday, 6/19)
This keynote from author Susan Cain seems tailor-made just for me. Until social media came into my life, I’d always considered myself an introvert. But social networks have turned that idea on its head in unexpected ways, and so I wonder if Cain will touch on digital media in her presentation.

Best Practices for Managing Consumer Payments in the Current Environment (Wednesday, 6/19)
This “late-breaking session” promises to share best practices on improving collections and patient satisfaction.

I hope they’ll touch on the “future” environment, as it seems reasonable to assume that 2014 will likely make a number of current best practices out of date.

Then, of course, there is the exhibit hall, which I always enjoy roaming around without plan or purpose. A few recent postcards have piqued my interest in several companies:

sock

I’m not even sure what the name of this company is, but the idea of a singing sock intrigues me.

emdeon

I fared poorly at Emdeon’s Cash Stacker games last year, and am determined to do better this time around. Plus, the company always seems to be doing interesting things in the revenue cycle space, so I look forward to catching up with several of their team members to get the inside scoop.

relayhealth

I’m very intrigued by the idea of provider benchmarking at the moment, so I’m planning to learn more about what RelayHealth is doing in this area.

athenahealth

While this postcard doesn’t allude to athenahealth’s recent claims of guaranteed ICD-10 compliance, it will definitely be my main talking point when I stop by their booth.

Good works are always a good idea, and several companies are making charitable contributions in lieu of giveaways:

optum

jpmorganbnymellon

What sessions and exhibitors are you looking forward to? Let me know what I shouldn’t miss via the comments below.

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June 13, 2013 I Written By

As Social Marketing Director at Billian, Jennifer Dennard is responsible for the continuing development and implementation of the company’s social media strategies for its three key properties – Billian’s HealthDATA, Porter Research and HITR.com. She is a regular contributor to a number of healthcare blogs, and currently manages the Technology Association of Georgia Health Society’s social media channels. You can find her on Twitter @SmyrnaGirl.

Filed Under: ACO  EMR  Healthcare  Healthcare IT
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“Breadwinner Moms” and #HITChicks

You’ve got to wonder at the title of a new Pew Research Center survey, so aptly called “Breadwinner Moms.” It’s catchy, for sure, but at the same time carries with it a hint of guilt that so many of us working moms are all too familiar with.

The survey found that “40% of all households with children under the age of 18 include mothers who are either the sole or primary source of income for the family.” That’s up 29% in the last 53 years, which isn’t all that surprising since, as the survey found, women now make up 47% of the labor force. I hope that we’re all fairly familiar with the historical and cultural forces behind these increased percentages.

Though not surprising to me, as the majority of my female contemporaries work and have children, I do wonder what portion of women in healthcare IT – or #HITchicks, as I like to call them on Twitter – are a part of this growing group. I’d safely bet that at least 50% of the women I work with have children at home. Ladies, do you see similar statistics play out at your organizations?

While this number seems to be increasing, I think it is also causing the “mommy guilt” so many of us feel at one time or another to ease a bit. At least we have other moms to commiserate with once we get to the office. I think parents today are fortunate that many in the corporate world have embraced telecommuting and working from home. (Though with young children at home this summer, I find myself more productive working in the office. My four-year old just can’t wrap her head around the need to not bother me when my home office door is closed.)

I wonder if this survey, and the general topic of women in the workplace, will be brought up at the “Women as Leaders” session at the upcoming HFMA ANI conference in Orlando. This will be my third time attending, and I find that I enjoy it just as much as I do HIMSS.

The session description reads, “Join a lively and inspiring conversation with the women on HFMA’s Board of Directors about how women can thrive as leaders in a highly demanding environment. Although women have long held leadership positions in health care, barriers to these roles continue to exist. Learn how the women on HFMA’s Board of Directors have achieved a seat at the leadership table and made their voices heard.”

They’ll “identify core skills women need for leadership success, such as self-confidence, team management, and negotiation; help women new to leadership roles excel and embrace the challenges they face; and share success stories for managing careers, families and communities.”

It’s the “families” part I’m most interested in hearing about. Though I love my career so much that I don’t see myself ever totally give it up, I’ve realized the term has to be fluid – changing in shape and definition to meet the needs of my family, which at the end of the day trumps career – and being the breadwinner – every time.

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May 30, 2013 I Written By

As Social Marketing Director at Billian, Jennifer Dennard is responsible for the continuing development and implementation of the company’s social media strategies for its three key properties – Billian’s HealthDATA, Porter Research and HITR.com. She is a regular contributor to a number of healthcare blogs, and currently manages the Technology Association of Georgia Health Society’s social media channels. You can find her on Twitter @SmyrnaGirl.

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Bill Gates Puts a New Spin on the Great EMR Debate

I heard an interesting interview on NPR the other day with Bill Gates on the subject of polio eradication. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been working for a number of years now on the effort, and are intent on seeing that no child ever becomes paralyzed as a result of the disease. The interview got me thinking about money, as NPR host Robert Siegel grilled Gates about the cost of this hopefully final vaccination push in the three countries that still show cases of it each year – Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria.

According to Gates, a nice tidy sum of $5.5 billion will be necessary to vaccinate enough children to finally push out the disease. The question arose as to whether or not this money will be spent wisely. Could it be put to better, more effective use fighting other healthcare conditions, such as malaria, that affect greater numbers of people? Gates made the point that once polio is eradicated, the enormous amount of money already being spent on fighting it can then be spent on these other issues – a statement that to me didn’t seem to sit well with Siegel.

Now, if you’re in healthcare, chances are money crosses your mind a few times a day. And if you use an EMR, you’ve likely voiced an opinion or two on whether it has lived up to its promised value. I think Gates’ point above on cost effectiveness of disease eradication – the most expensive disease gets eradicated first to free up its funds for other healthcare causes – can be applied to the EMR ROI debate.

Yes, healthcare is expensive. Yes, current and possibly future EMRs may not have the best interfaces or give the ideal user experience. But, given time (perhaps a lot of time), they will ultimately help springboard immense cost savings throughout the industry. I consider them the backbone of interoperability, especially when it comes to health information exchange and accountable care – two notions that might just become the norm once EMR utilization finally reaches critical mass.

Stage 2 Meaningful Use will likely see a shift in the market, and from what I’ve read thus far, is causing providers to think about Meaningful Use in a new way. It might be a hiccup in this journey to cost savings, but it will likely separate the wheat from the chaff as far as vendors go. Hopefully, only effective products will be left standing, which will in turn make it easier for providers to use EMRs in the most effective way.

Money will of course be on everyone’s minds at the upcoming HFMA ANI show in Orlando. This has got to be one of my favorite events as it is smaller than HIMSS but still has that bustling, breaking news vibe. I’ll be interested to hear from providers their opinions on the recent push for greater price transparency when it comes to hospital costs, and how they are feeling about EMRs as of late. It will also be interesting to see how vendors are helping these providers meet Stage 2 and patient engagement head on.

Will you be at the ANI show? Drop me a line in the comments below and let me know what you’re looking forward to learning about or seeing the most.

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May 13, 2013 I Written By

As Social Marketing Director at Billian, Jennifer Dennard is responsible for the continuing development and implementation of the company’s social media strategies for its three key properties – Billian’s HealthDATA, Porter Research and HITR.com. She is a regular contributor to a number of healthcare blogs, and currently manages the Technology Association of Georgia Health Society’s social media channels. You can find her on Twitter @SmyrnaGirl.

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Opening up the Pandora’s Box of Patient Portals

I received an interesting email in my inbox last week from a hospital informatics friend. He recently overheard several primary care physicians talking about the patient portal soon to be coming their way, and they were not enthusiastic about the technology.

“They were complaining about an upcoming patient portal,” he wrote, “where all lab results are visible to the patient. They worry that the flood of calls wanting more info on each lab result, especially the insignificant, will unnecessarily tax primary care. This will lead to the need for countless hours of education, and reassurance that tests not within the textbook definition of ‘normal’ aren’t always cause for concern.”

Being a patient myself, I can certainly understand where they’re coming from. I am the type who wouldn’t hesitate to call about a line item I didn’t understand or that seemed abnormal on my lab results, assuming Google (much to every doctor’s chagrin) couldn’t give me a clearer picture.

This fear of patient portals leading to unnecessary communication with the patient is not just confined to the doctors above. I heard conversation around this very topic at the iHT2 conference I wrote about last week. Some providers, like Kaiser Permanente and Geisinger, have been successfully using patient portals for years. Others, like West Georgia Health, are just beginning to plan for implementation.

I asked Thomas Graf, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Population Health, at Geisinger, what advice he has to give to facilities that are just beginning their patient portal journey. He did not hesitate in answering: “Don’t be afraid. Chaos will not ensue.” He went on to say that Geisinger physicians did not find themselves inundated with patient requests for clarifications and explanations of insignificant results. Their workflows were in fact made more efficient.

Getting back to the note from my friend, he went on to ask, “Is there such a thing as too much information, or is HIT finally democratizing medicine enough that patients will be motivated to understand more about their own healthcare? Do the docs have a point, or have they just historically been lazy about communicating with patients, and now have to come to grips that patients can see the man behind the curtain?”

I don’t think it’s a question of laziness. I think it’s a question of access and time. Ten years ago, some of us didn’t have a small computer in our pockets, readily available to offer medical information whenever we needed it. So, we turned to the phone and called our doctor. Today, as I mentioned above, patients are much more likely to research symptoms and conditions online before initiating conversation with their PCP. Some doctors might groan about Google, but wouldn’t they rather have a motivated patient – someone who wants to learn about their condition – rather than an apathetic one?

Isn’t patient engagement the name of the game these days? Hopefully, doctors will be pleasantly surprised at the benefits their portal brings to patient care. They might also be surprised at the new level of engagement their patients now have access to.

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May 2, 2013 I Written By

As Social Marketing Director at Billian, Jennifer Dennard is responsible for the continuing development and implementation of the company’s social media strategies for its three key properties – Billian’s HealthDATA, Porter Research and HITR.com. She is a regular contributor to a number of healthcare blogs, and currently manages the Technology Association of Georgia Health Society’s social media channels. You can find her on Twitter @SmyrnaGirl.

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HIPAA Puts Innovation and the Cloud Into Perspective for Providers

I had the pleasure of attending the iHT2 conference in Atlanta for the second year in a row and was once again pleased with the opportunity to interact with providers in such an intimate setting. A far cry from the chaos and showmanship of HIMSS, to be sure. No matter what session I attended throughout the two-day event, I heard consistent mumblings of discontent around HIPAA, especially in the context of being a barrier to innovation in the mobile health space.

My Twitter friends have a habit of putting things into perspective for me, and Susana Vallelonga, aka @sgcalderoni, didn’t disappoint:

twitter

She makes a good point – one that ties into a recent discussion I had with Frankie Rios, the new Vice President of Information Security at GNAX Health. He is facing a similar challenge when it comes to convincing providers of the benefits of the cloud in the face of new HIPAA rules. He is no stranger to challenges, though, having spent 16 years in the US Marine Corps as a Senior Network Engineer, Trainer and Supervisor. I had the chance to chat with him recently about the state of cloud computing in the wake of the recently enacted Omnibus Rule.

Do you think the newly enacted HIPAA rules will scare providers away from migrating to the cloud?
Actually, the new HIPAA rules protect providers as they migrate data and applications to the cloud. Whether it is cloud computing or cloud storage, the new rules provide a stronger framework. The technology continues to mature and as it does so, I believe we will continue to see a growing acceptance of cloud services from providers.

How are you working to combat these fears?
We are educating providers from both a technology and policy perspective. Technologically speaking, there is no reason why the cloud cannot be as (or more) secure than an on-premise solution. We are also providing information on implemented controls to secure patient data within the cloud.

You recently created a set of criteria to help providers evaluate potential cloud providers and their compliance with HIPAA requirements. How would you say this list has changed in the last five years? What should providers be aware of now that they may not have even considered a few years ago?

The list has really not changed much in the last five years. All of the controls are based on information management security best practices that have been around much longer. What has changed are the security technologies and cost of implementing the controls. For some, the costs have gone down and for some the costs have increased.

A few years ago it was difficult to ensure that vendors had the proper controls in place. There were no instruments to hold vendors accountable other than extra contract language or business associate agreements. The responsibility was on the provider to implement security controls and ensure HIPAA compliance. In the case of a breach, the provider (not the vendor) was liable.

With the new rule, business associates are also liable in the event of a breach, and must ensure that the same security controls are in place.

Along those same lines, how do maturing EMR technologies play into a provider’s decision to move to the cloud?
Most EMRs already have the ability to deliver their application in a cloud-based environment, or their solution is offered as an ASP model. This makes it very easy for providers to migrate their EMR technologies to the cloud.

The cloud is really just the “next step” from virtualization of current assets. It is not maturity of the EMR itself, but simply an enhanced infrastructure and platform functionality.

However, providers should ask how cloud options for their EMR impact clinician workflow. Changes should be clinician-centric; not technology-centric. All the technology in the world is meaningless if it doesn’t improve the workflow or functionality of the clinician.

It seems you are well versed in risk analysis, coming from a military background and then moving into healthcare IT. How has that first career prepared for you this new age of digital breaches in healthcare environments?
My first career in the military greatly improved my ability to act quickly on new situations or regulations. In addition, the emphasis on planning is an important part of the process along with communication.

Risk analysis is an ongoing process. Most implementation mistakes are around performing risk analysis and then doing nothing for the rest of the year. Risk analysis must be part of all aspects of information management in healthcare: especially, strategic and budget planning.

Simply checking the box off that the risk analysis is complete is wrong! As business processes and technology changes, so will the risks that have been introduced. Risk analysis is an ongoing process – not a once and done.

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April 25, 2013 I Written By

As Social Marketing Director at Billian, Jennifer Dennard is responsible for the continuing development and implementation of the company’s social media strategies for its three key properties – Billian’s HealthDATA, Porter Research and HITR.com. She is a regular contributor to a number of healthcare blogs, and currently manages the Technology Association of Georgia Health Society’s social media channels. You can find her on Twitter @SmyrnaGirl.

Filed Under: EHR  Electronic Health Record  Electronic Medical Record  EMR  Healthcare  Healthcare IT
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User Experience is Hot HIT Topic with Good Reason

User experience in the world of healthcare IT has never been a hotter topic. It seems not a day goes by that I don’t come across an article, blog, tweet, or outright rant regarding the state of user friendliness, especially with regard to EMRs. (Who can forget the American Medical Association’s note earlier this year to Farzad Mostashari, peppered with complaints about physician usability of EMRs?) I see plenty of negative coverage around the topic – plenty of folks like to have a soapbox to stand on, after all.

I don’t, however, see enough coverage devoted to businesses and providers working to make the backlash better. Surely there are unsung heroes out there in the world of HIT UX that are at their drawing boards right now, attempting to take the sting out of those extra clicks, and listening with bated breath to providers’ complaints and praises.

I came across one such story in New Orleans a few months ago, where, like many of you, I tried to successfully drink from the fire hose (bottled water, actually) that was HIMSS13. I was able to sate my thirst for good UX news at the PointClear Innovation Awards breakfast, which honored a select group of the company’s clients for their work in the realm of user experience.

McKesson took home top honors this year, and while I had some knowledge of their work in the area, I didn’t realize how great of an emphasis they have placed on making sure their healthcare IT solutions are used in the most optimal way for the best possible patient outcomes.

“The big dynamic we are trying to tackle is around critical decision makers,” explains Bobby Middleton, Executive Director, Enterprise Intelligence Product Management at McKesson. “Through experience with our customers and continued research, it is becoming very obvious that our healthcare leaders are often put in a position to make critical decisions without pertinent, relevant and timely information.

“Our Enterprise Intelligence solutions are all geared around providing the right information to the right person at the right time,” he adds. “Our User Experience research is being used to make sure the targeted offering we are delivering via these solutions help a specific set of critical decision makers make the right decision. It is going great so far, and really allowing our technology teams to connect with their end consumers.”

I wonder if we’ll start to see more positive publicity of efforts like McKesson’s, especially as Stage 2 draws closer, more and more providers consider switching to more mature EMRs, and next year’s predicted influx of the newly insured start to clamor for greater digital engagement options and price transparency. One less click or toggle may just make all the difference when it comes to quality patient care.

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April 18, 2013 I Written By

As Social Marketing Director at Billian, Jennifer Dennard is responsible for the continuing development and implementation of the company’s social media strategies for its three key properties – Billian’s HealthDATA, Porter Research and HITR.com. She is a regular contributor to a number of healthcare blogs, and currently manages the Technology Association of Georgia Health Society’s social media channels. You can find her on Twitter @SmyrnaGirl.

Filed Under: EMR  Healthcare  Healthcare IT  Meaningful Use
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Patient Involvement in EHR Chart Maintenance, Good or Bad?

In a recent LinkedIn discussion I started, David Voran offered this powerful perspective:

A doctor’s ability to make good decisions depends on having the right information in the critical path of their day-to-day processes. Have discovered that patients can play a very big role in making this happen. Those patients who have access to their medical records, manage their information (my own internal patients that are nurses or physicians for example) help with the documentation process. They audit the chart 100% of the time and make sure that all of the relevant information that I need to help them with their health is teed up. Over the long haul it’s very easy to take care of these patients at the lowest possible cost.

The patients who can do some of this through the portal … at least monitor their charts and letting us know when there are errors are and that the data is clean, participate in their health, contribute new information that occurs outside the “walls” of our institution are the second least costly patients to provide health care as we can eliminate many office and specialty visits without adversely affecting quality measures.

The costly patients are those who are seeing multiple subspecialists who are not sharing information and don’t have access to their information and don’t want to invest in making sure the right information is presented to the right providers. These patients suffer repeated duplicative tests, have many more office visits than necessary and drive up the cost of care.

My take? What to improve physician performance and decrease cost of care? Open up the record and assign the patient the auditing job and get them engaged.

How do you feel about this perspective? Is it one you share? From my experience, many doctors would disagree with David on this. As with most things, there’s two sides of the coin. On the one side is the patient that’s involved in getting the doctor the right information. Every doctor loves that patient because a patient that withholds information from their doctor is an issue. On the other hand is the involved patient that’s paranoid over things that are a non-issue and make the doctor’s life miserable in the process.

The question I raise is, does access to the records causes more of the good kind of patient or more of the bad kind of patient?

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April 10, 2013 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit and Google Plus.

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Cash for Care a Trickle-Down Effect of EMR Dissatisfaction?

By now we’ve all heard about or read of the group of dissatisfied EMR users – hospitals and small-practice physicians who bought into the notion of government incentives – and a better way to deliver healthcare with the added benefit of more efficient processing and payment collection from patients and payers – but aren’t seeing the ROI they initially anticipated. Say what you will about this group, but one thing is for sure: Investment in healthcare IT systems like EMRs have led some physicians to turn to hospital employment, others to close up shop, and yet others to turn to more unique business models such as concierge or cash-only practices.

On the flip side of this change in healthcare delivery is an increasing demand from patients to know just what their dollars are paying for, no matter whether those dollars pay into a monthly insurance premium or directly for services rendered. I wouldn’t say we’re yet at the point where this demand is a trend, but I do believe that as more and more mainstream media outlets cover the debate over healthcare costs and price transparency, more patients like you and me will learn how to ask for costs up front, how to shop around, and most importantly, how to determine if what we’re paying for is worth it.

Entrepreneurs didn’t take long to catch wind of this, and as a result we’re seeing a number of consumer-friendly healthcare businesses pop up. Take Healthpons, for instance. I came across mention of this company a few weeks ago, and was intrigued by its Groupon model for healthcare services. The company offers one line of service for providers, and another for patients. According to its website, Healthpons offers a free portal that allows physicians to market their services at a cash price so that patients can quickly search for said practice and service by city, state, zip, specialty or symptom checker; purchase services and set appointments online. Patients, in turn, can use the portal to search for providers, find the one with the best price, and use a Healthpons discount to pay in advance and make an appointment at the same time.

I chatted with Healthpons co-founder Patty Everette, to learn more about the business:

How do you qualify providers to participate in the program?
We have a system, similar to an insurance company, to review and verify credentials of all providers. This is why we are in a pre-launch phase to validate providers prior to posting their information.

How many providers have signed up?
We have validated about 6,000 providers and many more have enrolled.

The website mentions the patient portal will go live in all 50 states in 2013 – can you give us a more exact timeline?
June 2013 is our target launch. All validated providers will be posted, however, there are certain geographic areas that have a higher concentration of providers, such as the Southeast, Northeast and California. Each month we will continue to add providers as they enroll and are verified.

What types of providers is healthpons best suited to (primary care docs, dermatologists, cosmetic surgeons, etc.)?
The first provider registered was an ENT. We have pediatricians, surgeons, primary care, orthopedic, ENTs, family medicine and more. It is best suited to any provider willing to provide reasonable cash prices, willing to share content and to help people become more informed about what they do and how they are qualified to do it. Our focus is on transparency – and developing relationships.

How are you going to avoid the Groupon problem of too many vouchers sold, and providers subsequently becoming overrun with customers they are inadequately staffed to handle (typically resulting in poor customer service and no repeat patients)?
Our business model is not like Groupon. We make money primarily from any upgraded, subscription-based services or advertising.

All providers control the number of visits they can sell per service. We provide a guide to each provider as to what is recommended to sell. The consumer can see the provider’s availability prior to purchasing a visit. Also, we will monitor their sales and service comments to ensure quality and service is maintained.

I know there is more to share as Healthpons is developed with great depth. We have used multiple panels of providers and their office managers to preview our systems as we have developed. We took an idea we had and asked providers what they thought – what they wanted – then we asked our customers (patients) what they would like to get out of our platform. We bridged the concepts to bring doctors and patients together for an online network marketing experience to de-mystify medical services and pricing.

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April 5, 2013 I Written By

As Social Marketing Director at Billian, Jennifer Dennard is responsible for the continuing development and implementation of the company’s social media strategies for its three key properties – Billian’s HealthDATA, Porter Research and HITR.com. She is a regular contributor to a number of healthcare blogs, and currently manages the Technology Association of Georgia Health Society’s social media channels. You can find her on Twitter @SmyrnaGirl.

Filed Under: Electronic Medical Record  EMR  EMR Adoption  Healthcare  Healthcare IT
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Top Tech Innovators Poised to Make Big Impact on Healthcare

I had the pleasure of attending my second Georgia Technology Summit earlier this month, an annual event presented by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) that brings together the state’s up and coming companies, offers established businesses great networking opportunities, and presents everyone with great insight from some really A-level keynoters. (My husband, a fan of philosophy, was extremely jealous that I got to attend an event featuring Ray Kurzweil.)

As with last year’s event, healthcare IT dominated many of the presentations and exhibitor presentations. During the summit, TAG offers the top 10 in its list of Top 40 Innovative Technology Companies a chance to present, and so I thought I’d highlight those in the top 10 poised to make a big impact on healthcare.

Buzzy4shots.com
As you can tell from the image above, Buzzy4shots had a fun booth that demonstrated the kid-friendliness of their product. They also had the most kid-friendly giveaway – bright yellow kazoos, which I quickly snatched up. According to their website, their product purports to provide natural injection pain relief via “gate control,” which “works by confusing the body’s own nerves and distracting attention away from the poke, thereby dulling or eliminating sharp pain from shots, itching or burning from medications.”

While I don’t think this product is going to gain quite the level of buzz that more consumer-friendly mobile health apps have attained, I think it’s got a great business model. There will always be a need for injections, and people will likely always have a fear of needles, so I predict Buzzy4shots.com will do well if they can market themselves to the right business partners.

Catavolt
It wasn’t until I saw their stage presentation that I realized Catavolt is making a play in the healthcare vertical. According to its website, the company’s flagship product, Catavolt Extender, is a “software service that connects to your existing enterprise systems, giving you secure access to all enterprise data anywhere at any time, through tablets, smartphones and desktops. Using an online control panel you can create, customize and manage mobile and web applications without any programming.”

A Catavolt rep talked me through some of the work the company is doing with the Defense Health Information Management System EHR (AHLTA) via its partnership with SAIC. You can read more on that here.

SoloHealth
This company seems to be Atlanta’s HIT darling at the moment. Bart Foster and his team are doing a great job of strategically marketing the company, and developing partnerships that position SoloHealth for even bigger impact. You may already know that the company “provides a free healthcare access point for consumers via its nationwide network of SoloHealth Stations that offer screenings for vision, blood pressure, weight and body mass index; a symptom checker; and an overall health assessment free of charge.

As more folks become accustomed to the idea that they will ultimately need to drive their own healthcare, consumer-friendly technologies like these kiosks will start popping up more and more. Foster announced on the GTS stage that its kiosks are already in 2,500 retail locations across the U.S., with another 1,500 likely by 2014.

AirWatch
If you’re a CIO worried about BYOD, then you’ve likely had a conversation with or at least heard of AirWatch and its mobile device management solutions for healthcare. Their booth at HIMSS was hard to miss and always busy, reflecting the fact that their solutions – no matter what industry you’re in – are here to stay with good reason.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the other healthcare-related innovators within TAG’s Top 40:

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March 28, 2013 I Written By

As Social Marketing Director at Billian, Jennifer Dennard is responsible for the continuing development and implementation of the company’s social media strategies for its three key properties – Billian’s HealthDATA, Porter Research and HITR.com. She is a regular contributor to a number of healthcare blogs, and currently manages the Technology Association of Georgia Health Society’s social media channels. You can find her on Twitter @SmyrnaGirl.

Filed Under: EMR  Healthcare  Healthcare IT
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Women Unite at HIMSS13

I’ll admit it. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect when Julie Moffitt, the original #HITchick herself, asked me to host the first #HITchicks tweetup, at HIMSS13. What I envisioned as four or five gals gathering at a bar near the convention center turned into something so much more rewarding. Twenty-plus women (and two of the smartest men in healthcare IT) showed up and jumped right into a dialogue around the challenges of what it means to be a woman in healthcare.

You might think this topic a tired one, but it is still incredibly relevant, especially as women like Yahoo’s Melissa Mayer and Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg put a new and divisive spin on what it takes to be successful women in tech.

The role of women in healthcare was also touched upon. When it comes to health – be it family or business – women definitely seem to be in the driver’s seat. Many in the audience noted that women make up a fair chunk of their C-suite – an ironic statement considering the off-putting presence of several scantily clad booth babes a few halls over. We’ve come so far, yet still have a ways to go.

I’m looking forward to gathering another fantastic group together at HIMSS next year, if not before then. In the meantime, take a look at a few of the tweets and pictures captured at HIMSS13:

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Mandi Bishop, Principal at Adaptive Product Solutions, and Brad Justus, ICD-10 Whisperer at KForce. Justus was joined by a second honorary #HITchick, Mark Palacio, Senior Manager, Media Relations – Healthcare IT at Siemens Healthcare.

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March 14, 2013 I Written By

As Social Marketing Director at Billian, Jennifer Dennard is responsible for the continuing development and implementation of the company’s social media strategies for its three key properties – Billian’s HealthDATA, Porter Research and HITR.com. She is a regular contributor to a number of healthcare blogs, and currently manages the Technology Association of Georgia Health Society’s social media channels. You can find her on Twitter @SmyrnaGirl.

Filed Under: EMR  Healthcare  Healthcare IT
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