05/02/2013
A Vanguard Communications report examining negative online doctor reviews finds that the most common complaints relate to bedside manner and customer service. Only 21.5% of the negative reviews criticized a doctor's medical skills. Becker's Hospital Review, eWeek.
05/01/2013
A report from Buck Consultants and WorldatWork finds that 52% of surveyed employers are weighing the use of mobile or online games to boost their employees' health care engagement over the next three years. Crain's Business Insurance/Modern Healthcare, Becker's Hospital Review.
04/25/2013
To enhance its Hospital Compare website, CMS has added new spreadsheets that provide information on several quality measures and allow consumers to customize how data are sorted. The interactive tables are among several recent upgrades to CMS' website. HealthLeaders Media.
04/22/2013
Companies and advocacy organizations are developing mobile applications and online tools to help caregivers manage care for individuals with certain conditions. Such tools can help caregivers track medications and learn more about a particular disease. AP/Sacramento Bee.
04/22/2013
In a perspective piece for the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, Jingquan Li of Texas A&M University writes that health-related social networking websites should have privacy frameworks in place to let users monitor and control how their personal health data are shared. FierceHealthIT.
04/17/2013
A contest launched by HHS, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT and the Health Resources and Services Administration is seeking programmers to develop applications based on a children's health text message database. Modern Healthcare.
04/15/2013
For a new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers used data from Google Trends to track how online searches for mental health-related terms increased and decreased during certain seasons. MedPage Today's "The Gupta Guide," InformationWeek.
04/15/2013
According to a Manhattan Research report, 70% of surveyed physicians say that at least one patient shares health measurement data with them and nearly 75% say that patient self-tracking could improve health outcomes. However, most patients who use self-tracking are not leveraging advanced technology, the report finds. Clinical Innovation & Technology, Manhattan Research release.
04/12/2013
Physicians should refrain from "friending" patients on Facebook and use caution when texting patients, according to a position statement published in the Annals of Internal Medicine by the American College of Physicians and the Federation of State Medical Boards. USA Today et al.
04/10/2013
In a perspective piece for The Atlantic, Peter Ubel of Duke University warns that increasing health care pricing transparency might not reduce health care costs. He recommends boosting the transparency of health care quality data along with pricing data. The Atlantic.
04/10/2013
A report from PricewaterhouseCoopers' Health Research Institute finds that 48% of U.S. consumers have consulted a health care-related review through Yelp, Facebook or another source. PwC notes that patient satisfaction scores already are financially affecting health care organizations through initiatives like CMS' value-based purchasing program. Becker's Hospital Review, PwC release.
04/09/2013
An index from Axial Exchange -- a provider of patient engagement technology -- ranks Florida hospitals based on patients' involvement in their care. The index looks at hospital rating websites and whether patients have access to digital health tools. Healthcare IT News et al.
04/05/2013
The Health Resources and Services Administration has published a final rule that calls for HHS to cease the operations of the Healthcare Integrity and Protection Data Bank and transfer its information to the National Practitioner Data Bank. Health Data Management.
04/04/2013
A study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research finds that patients who had online access to their electronic health record data experienced improved communication with their health care providers and greater engagement in their care. However, some patients reported negative effects of EHR access as a result of inconsistent or derogatory physician notes. FierceEMR, InformationWeek.
04/03/2013
A report from HHS' Office of Inspector General finds that CMS does not adequately oversee the "Plan Finder" website that it established to help consumers find coverage prior to the launch of the Affordable Care Act's health insurance exchanges. Modern Healthcare, CQ HealthBeat.