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Is biometrics the panacea to the health care industry’s data security ills? Without question, it can be part of a solution that incorporates other best practices. And biometric technology continues to evolve. For example, this month’s E-News Exclusive examines how biometric signature authentication can provide another layer of protection to health care organizations looking to stay ahead of data thieves. — Lee DeOrio, editor Biometric Signature Authentication: The New Modality of Choice for Safeguarding EMR Access By David Rizzo Meaningful use. Two words of towering importance that now remind every hospital administrator, CFO, and medical group CEO that they must comply with newly promulgated regulations from federal HIPAA and HITECH legislation, or risk forfeiting funds previously received from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. But while emphasis originally stopped at the word “meaningful”—as in, is the EMR system being employed as demanded by law—greater emphasis now lands squarely on the word “use”—as in, will the physicians, paramedical staff, and record-keeping and insurance-billing departments actually use the EMR as required? After all, what good is any electronic system if the user experience suffers? Full Story » Researchers to Tackle EHR Barriers With $2.5 Million Grant The University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) has received a $2.5 million grant to make the EHR more useful for health professionals and safer for patients. The five-year grant was awarded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to measure best practices across existing EHR systems, listen and learn what providers believe to be the ideal system, and then build and test a model EHR system that can improve patient care. John Windle, MD, a professor and chief of cardiology at UNMC and principal investigator of the grant, says the funding came from an understanding that the intended consequences of EHR adoption also had significant unintended consequences. His preliminary research suggested that physicians resisted EHR adoption because they felt it adversely affected their workflow, communications among the health care team, and patient care. Read more »   E-News Exclusive Has MU Gone Up in Smoke? Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes Report Analyzes EHR Patient Safety Concerns The Cost of Doing ROI Business Doctors Feel More Connected to Computers Than Patients EMRs Putting Financial Squeeze on Doctors Ask the Expert Industry Insight Tech & Tools Has MU Gone Up in Smoke? The complaints and concerns have been coming fast and furious for the beleaguered incentive program. Read more » Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes How will HIM departments face the strain of having to deal with more patients requesting their medical record be amended? Read more » Report Analyzes EHR Patient Safety Concerns Besides flaws in the technology itself, social factors within an organization can contribute to poor results. Read more » The Cost of Doing ROI Business State legislators and health care organizations find it difficult to agree on what's a fair price for fulfilling medical record requests. Read more »

Mobile Heartbeat CURE Smartphone App The Mobile Heartbeat CURE (Clinical Urgent REsponse) smartphone app enhances clinical communications, offering secure texting and allowing clinical staff to have patient information and current vitals at their fingertips. The new Dynamic Role feature allows clinical teams to connect immediately to whoever is assigned to a specific key role each shift, since the same extension number is used from shift to shift, allowing staff to find the specific caregiver they need quickly, easily, and without searching. With the Staff Assignment module, clinical staff can see which patients they are assigned to each shift and who else from the clinical staff is on each patient’s care team. The Staff Directory module makes it quick and easy to look up and find anyone in the hospital. Mobile Heartbeat CURE enables efficient delivery of clinical data and communications to users on-site, off-site, and at multiple locations to ensure timely patient care decisions and response. Learn more » Catavolt Health Care Mobile App Platform Catavolt’s health care mobile app platform allows health care providers and payers to securely mobilize critical patient data. It enables caregivers to use their mobile devices to view and interact with clinical information (such as patient histories, treatment plans, diagnostic information, and forms) and daily tasks (such as their calendar, appointments, and visit log). Catavolt's secure, HIPAA-compliant platform doesn’t store sensitive health care or personally identifiable information on mobile devices or in the cloud. Apps that are easily configured using Catavolt's health care mobile app platform include real-time access to patient records; secure collaboration across the continuum of care, including caregivers, providers, payers, and patients; digitization of paper forms; and real-time operational analytics for census, length of stay, discharge, readmit, and other metrics. Learn more » Stat Doctors Physician App Stat Doctors, a national eHealth solution, is launching a physician-facing application to simplify and improve delivery of the company’s eHealth services. The Physician App features a next-generation EMR system, enables seamless communication between Stat Doctors’ physicians and patients’ primary care providers, enhances coordinated care, and incorporates proprietary video technology, allowing physicians to interact with patients as they would in person. Features include built-in charting templates that automate much of the charting process and allow doctors to focus their attention on patients; a streamlined charting process that speeds up the delivery of discharge instructions and simplifies communication with patients’ primary care physicians; and patient charts and medical history doctors can view at a glance, providing contextual cues to inform patient care. The app is built entirely on top of Stat Doctors’ proprietary mobile application programming interface and is fully responsive based on the user device; is 100% native to iPad and leverages familiar touch-based and swipe-action functionalities; and offers an intuitive visual design with colored and highlighted selections that put the right information at physicians’ fingertips. Learn more » For The Record offers many flexible advertising programs designed to maximize your results. From print advertising to e-newsletter sponsorships, website advertising to custom e-mail marketing, For The Record helps maximize your investment. E-mail our experienced account executives today for more information or call 800-278-4400! Coming up in our January issue is our 2015 Transcription Resource Guide. Contact sales to secure a presence now. AlliedHealthCareers.com is the premier online resource to recruit HIM professionals. Post your open positions, view résumés and showcase your facility's offerings all at AlliedHealthCareers.com! Have a coding or transcription question? Get an expert answer by sending an e-mail to edit@gvpub.com.   The nation's top employers and recruiters of HIM talent advertise in For The Record magazine and post their job openings on AlliedHealthCareers.com. Check out the most recent opportunities that have been submitted by employers across the country! Senior Coding Specialist & Coding Specialist—MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, Dist. Columbia, US Doctors Feel More Connected to Computers Than Patients A survey found that more than one-half of health care practitioners frequently feel more attached to their computers than their patients, reports MedCity News. EMRs Putting Financial Squeeze on Doctors Some health care providers are under pressure from the high cost and reduced productivity involved in implementing EMRs, according to WRAL.com. For The Record's online gift shop features a wide variety of items for HIM professionals for any occasion. Whether you are searching for products to give friends or colleagues, hand out to clients, or wear yourself, finding the right gifts is easy and affordable at For The Record's online gift shop. Choose from t-shirts, journals, clocks, buttons, mouse pads, and much more! Check out our secure online shop today or call toll-free 877-809-1659 for easy and fast ordering. A Secure, Anonymous Résumé Bank Job Alerts Sent to Your E-mail