Tag: News

Few Managed Care Plans Have Current Contact Info for Medicaid Members as Redeterminations Loom

Few Managed Care Plans Have Current Contact Info for Medicaid Members as Redeterminations Loom

MedCity News

Just about one-third of managed care plans have verified or current contact information for between 76% and 100% of their Medicaid members, a recent survey found. 
The news comes as the Medicaid continuous enrollment provision is set to expire March 31 due to the Consolidated Appropriations Act. The requirement was part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and banned states from disenrolling people from Medicaid during the public health emergency (although the Consolidated Appropriations Act separated the requirement from the PHE, which will end in May). Starting April 1, states can resume disenrollments and Medicaid enrollees will have to undergo the…

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We’re Feeling the Effects of the Nursing Shortage. Technology Can Help.

We’re Feeling the Effects of the Nursing Shortage. Technology Can Help.

MedCity News

The healthcare industry is in desperate need of nurses — and fast. Chances are this isn’t news to you. You’ve seen the countless headlines covering the impact the pandemic has had on nurses, and how that nursing shortage has impacted employment numbers, healthcare facilities, and patient care.
Nurses are burnt out. They’re stressed, exhausted, and struggling to find adequate mental health support. But the pandemic isn’t the only issue to blame. Experts are predicting that over 1 million RNs will likely retire by 2030, which will only add to the heaviness of the nursing shortage. An overly-stressed out and aging workforce of…

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Where Are All the Patients?

Where Are All the Patients?

MedCity News

It’s no secret that patient enrollment is one of clinical research’s biggest hurdles. According to an analysis of trials listed, 55% of terminated trials were ended because of low patient enrollment. The analysis also reported that Phase III and Phase IV trials have an enrollment efficiency of less than 40%. Yet another analysis found more than 80% of studies do not enroll on time, often leading to a study extension or additional research sites.
The problem isn’t just enrollment, it’s also the enrollment of diverse patients. Racial and ethnic minorities, specifically Black or African American, Hispanic/Latino, Indigenous and Native American, Asian, Native…

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Rising Costs Are Keeping Healthcare CFOs Up a Night — Can Data Help?

Rising Costs Are Keeping Healthcare CFOs Up a Night — Can Data Help?

MedCity News

The increasing costs of labor and supplies are the top issues keeping healthcare CFOs up at night, according to a new report released by Syntellis, a provider of performance management software. To effectively address these concerns, healthcare providers must ensure they have access to data-driven analytics software that can help them make important decisions — such as how to effectively manage their existing workforce and where to shift care delivery models — the report said.
Syntellis surveyed more than 200 U.S. healthcare finance professionals who work at hospitals, health systems and integrated delivery networks. These professionals agreed that last year was a…

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What Is PHI, and How Can Healthcare Organizations Keep It Secure?

What Is PHI, and How Can Healthcare Organizations Keep It Secure?

HealthTech Magazine

What Is Protected Health Information?According to UC Berkeley’s Human Research Protection Program, PHI includes any information found in medical records or clinical data sets that can be used to identify an individual. In addition, this information must have been collected, used or disclosed while providing a healthcare service. PHI can be used during the diagnosis or treatment of a patient or in clinical research processes.
The HIPAA Privacy Rule and Security Rule require the protection of identifiable health information, such as:
Information collected by doctors, nurses and other healthcare providers in the medical record
Conversations between doctors and other healthcare providers about a patient’s…

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HeartBeam: The First 12-lead medical grade heart attack detection that’s personal, portable, and easy-to-use

HeartBeam: The First 12-lead medical grade heart attack detection that’s personal, portable, and easy-to-use

eHealth Radio Network

Branislav Vajdic, PhD, and the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of HeartBeam, Inc. joins eHealth Radio and the Heart Health and Health News Channels. HeartBeam is the first 12-lead medical grade heart attack detection that’s personal, portable, and easy-to-use.
Listen to interview with host Eric Michaels and guest Dr. Branislav Vajdic discuss the following:
Please tell us about your background and why you launched HeartBeam. We’d love to hear more about how this device is being used for the first time outside of a medical setting, and what makes it different from what’s currently available.
According to the American Heart Association, more people die…

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Caraway, Ash Wellness Launch Partnership to Combat Rise in STIs on College Campuses

Caraway, Ash Wellness Launch Partnership to Combat Rise in STIs on College Campuses

MedCity News

In order to catch the attention of reporters, companies often look for creative news hooks to tie their announcements to. Two companies have decided to use Valentine’s Day to forward their message of sexually transmitted infection prevention. How romantic!
Digital health startup Caraway Health is teaming up with at-home testing company Ash Wellness to provide STI kits for those aged 18 to 27, the companies announced Tuesday. New York City-based Caraway provides mental, physical and reproductive health services for Gen-Z populations, with a particular focus on women and people assigned female at birth. It offers an app that enables users to access its…

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GSK’s Covid-19 Valentine to Vir Biotech: ‘You Can Go Your Own Way’

GSK’s Covid-19 Valentine to Vir Biotech: ‘You Can Go Your Own Way’

MedCity News

Vir Biotechnology’s Covid-19 research may yield more drugs and perhaps a vaccine, but no longer with the financial support of GSK. The collaboration agreement the two companies struck up in the early days of the pandemic has been amended, leaving Vir to either find another partner or continue its coronavirus research on its own.
The alliance did successfully develop the Covid-19 drug sotrovimab. GSK and Vir will continue to share responsibilities for that drug, which is available under the brand name Xevudy in more than 40 countries. The U.S. is no longer one of them. Last April, the FDA withdrew emergency authorization…

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Federal agencies offer updates on TEFCA, interoperability milestones

Federal agencies offer updates on TEFCA, interoperability milestones

Healthcare IT news

On February 13, the government leaders thanked the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and six Qualified Health Information Networks (QHIN) for working to create a nationwide interoperability network under the 21st Century Cures Act. The ‘Network of Networks’ 
At the U.S. Department of Health and Human services, Secretary Xavier Becerra presented certificates of recognition to the CommonWell Health Alliance, eHealth Exchange, Epic TEFCA Interoperability Services, Health Gorilla, Kno2 and KONZA for moving into the pre-production testing process of the Trusted Exchange Framework and the Common Agreement.
With the framework, ONC and the Sequoia Project, TEFCA’s recognized coordinating entity, seek to establish…

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Epic, eHealth Exchange and CommonWell among HHS-approved QHIN candidates

Epic, eHealth Exchange and CommonWell among HHS-approved QHIN candidates

Healthcare IT news

A half-dozen organizations on Monday were approved by the Department of Health and Human Services as the inaugural batch of candidates to participate as qualified health information networks as part of ONC’s Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement.During a Feb. 13 event at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, six healthcare organizations were approved to implement TEFCA as prospective QHINs: CommonWell Health Alliance, eHealth Exchange, Epic TEFCA Interoperability Services, Health Gorilla, Kno2, and KONZA National Network.
In a blog post, National Coordinator for Health IT Micky Tripathi recognized those organizations, “for their willingness to voluntarily step up and meet the…

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