News

WALTHAM, Mass. – February 19, 2020 – Wolters Kluwer, Health announced today that Norway’s Helsebiblioteket--the Norwegian Electronic Health Library—is making it easier than ever for clinicians nationwide to rapidly find answers to their clinical questions with free access to UpToDate® Anywhere. The change marks an expansion of the long-term partnership between the two organizations that untethers UpToDate from desktop computers and enables access to the evidence-based clinical decision support resource from smartphones and tablets—anywhere and anytime—via the mobile app.

MINNEAPOLIS – February 10, 2020 – Carrot Health, a leading provider of healthcare solutions powered by social determinants of health (SDoH), announced today that it has been named Top Innovator in the Accenture HealthTech Innovation Challenge – Health North America. Carrot Health was one of 11 companies to compete in the final, which took place in Houston and featured the winners from the regional HealthTech Innovation challenges held at Accenture’s Innovation Hubs in Boston and San Francisco. The Accenture Health Tech Challenge supports innovative technologies and drives creative solutions to improve the way people access and manage healthcare.

Humana recently released some noteworthy figures related to the company’s value-based care programs. An annual review of the health plan’s efforts reported 27% fewer hospital admissions and 14.6% fewer emergency rooms visits compared with traditional approaches.

That’s good news for the healthcare industry in terms of the sizable investment it has made into evolving pay-for-performance models over the past decade, especially in light of early studies that suggested lackluster returns. In fact, one 2016 study published in the British Medical Journal found minimal evidence to support the theory that value-based care models impacted mortality rates.

The question now becomes: What is driving Humana’s results?

HISTalk»

Health plans, accountable care organizations (ACOs), medical homes, and other risk-bearing entities are at a critical juncture: they must achieve “value” at a time when healthcare is facing enormous challenges.

Rising healthcare prices, an aging population, and a rapid increase in costly complex and chronic diseases are driving up healthcare expenditures. Adopting value-based care is key to managing these expenditures as effective value-based strategies support higher quality care, lower costs, and a better patient experience.

Healthcare IT Today»

The evolution of today’s care model from the traditional episodic/disease or “sick” care model to one of more sustainable value-based wellness, continues. The industry is currently building on the success of earlier strategies aimed at chronic disease management, taking performance to the next level by advancing wellness models to focus on early intervention to minimize the potential for disease onset.

AllNurses»

MINNEAPOLIS – January 28, 2020 – Carrot Health, a leading provider of healthcare solutions powered by consumer data, and Deft Research, a leading market research and insights company advising healthcare organizations on business operations, today announced a partnership to deliver integrated solutions to the health plan market. The new product, Survey Solutions, combines Deft’s primary research expertise and Carrot Health’s consumer data analytics to help drive health plan performance.

Industry discussions related to social determinants of health (SDoH) have moved to center stage as health care stakeholders recognize the impact these nonclinical factors have on clinical outcomes and costs. SDoH are providing new insights into environmental influences that can hinder or promote a patient’s ability to follow through with care plans and make healthful lifestyle choices. 

ForTheRecord»

Data shared across an organization create a common language that informs decisions and supports organizational goals.

This builds alignment across business activities, catalyzes collaboration and enhances agility in response to competition and changing market dynamics—making the organization smarter, more innovative and more purposeful in its approach.

For health plans, these capabilities are particularly important in increasingly competitive Medicare Advantage (MA) markets, where consumers choose their insurance providers like they choose their medical providers. Add the move toward value-based reimbursement, and it becomes clear that the future belongs to organizations that power decisions with data-driven insights.

FierceHealthcare»

Part One of this two-part series on patient identity management best practices looked at strategies for mitigating errors during data conversion. In Part Two, we examine the factors that are critical to successfully achieving clinical data interoperability.

While the debate underway at the national level focuses on a national patient identifier and what it will take to achieve nationwide interoperability, closer to home healthcare organizations need to keep accurate patient identity and data exchange within their own walls at the forefront.

Healthcare Business Today»

An often-overlooked aspect of merger, acquisition or affiliation arrangements between healthcare organizations is the need to combine master patient index (MPI) databases. When improperly managed, data conversions can have serious short and long-term implications for impacted organizations and their patients.

Healthcare Buisness Today»

Thrive Behavioral Sciences, a leading provider of behavioral health services to skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, has launched its Furry Palz Program at select Avante Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers across Central Florida.

Furry Palz provides dementia patients a cuddly robot puppy or kitten that simulates a breathing pet and can rest on the patient’s lap.

McKnight's Longterm Care News»

In this edition of Harlow On Healthcare, Mirabelle Cabiling, VP – Clinical Operations of VirtualHealth (@virtualhealth_), discusses HELIOS, her company’s communications hub for care managers to coordinate diverse care teams. The platform accommodates multiple types of data regarding medical issues and social determinants of health and enables improved communications with patients. The workflow is designed to optimize quality care delivery.

HealthBlawg»

NEW YORK – January 7, 2020 – VirtualHealth, provider of HELIOS, the leading SaaS platform for care management and population health, announced today the promotion of Tomer Benami to Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Denis Kezerashvili to Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Benami will lead VirtualHealth’s financial strategy and operations, and Kezerashvili will oversee all of the company’s engineering and infrastructure teams.

ORLANDO, Fla. - (December 11, 2019) – Integrating the latest medical evidence into practice, Thrive Behavioral Sciences, a leading provider of behavioral health services to skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, has launched its Furry Palz Program at select Avante Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Centers across Central Florida. Furry Palz provides patients with dementia who are also battling the devastating symptoms of cognitive decline with an adorable robot puppy or kitten that simulates breathing pets and can rest on the patient’s lap.

The past decade has ushered in notable changes to the way nurses care for patients. In tandem with increased clinical responsibility to address higher acuity patients, today’s nurses are on the frontlines of the industry’s shift from “sick care” to sustainable wellness models. It’s an evolution that demands they move outside the four walls of the traditional acute care centers and into the community to deliver care to all, ensuring the underserved and most vulnerable populations have access to quality, proactive healthcare as well.