Information Week, January 25, 2012
BEI Commentary: As expected, mobile applications related to EHRs are starting to become more popular. Kaiser has recently announced the ability for patients to access their medical records via an Android app, with iPhone coming soon.
Nine million Kaiser Permanente patients now can access their electronic health records (EHRs) and securely email their physicians using their smart phones and other mobile devices.
Kaiser Permanente, which has the largest civilian EHR system in the world, this week introduced a new mobile EHR application for Android smartphones. An iPhone application also is in the works and will be available from Kaiser Permanente in coming months. In the meantime, iPhone users, as well as users “of any mobile device,” can access their Kaiser Permanente EHR via a new “mobile-optimized” version of the Kaiser website, kp.org, said Kaiser Permanente CIO Phil Fasano in an interview with InformationWeek Healthcare. Read More
Information Week – Healthcare, December 22, 2011
BEI Commentary: It is always nice to see documented results showing the benefit of HIT. In this case, Philadelphia area hospitals were able to reduce readmission rates by 7% and save $4 million in one quarter. This represents the promise of HIT: Improved outcomes and cost savings.
A survey of 29 Philadelphia-based hospitals has found that the 18 facilities that submitted patient readmissions data saw a 7% drop in their 30-day same-hospital readmission rates. The figures represent more than 400 patients who avoided being re-hospitalized and $4 million in savings for the third quarter of 2011.
How did they accomplish these goals? According to the Transitions of Care Survey Summary Report, recently released by The Health Care Improvement Foundation, hospitals participating in the 18-month Preventing Avoidable Episodes (PAVE) Project improved upon strategies that enhance transitions of care and prevent hospital readmissions. Those strategies could not have happened without electronic health records (EHRs) and related health information technology tools. Read More
