Service and Speed in the Healthcare IT Cloud

“Imagine the day when H1N1 detection is automated because it’s passively discovered in the cloud,” says John D. Halamka, MD and CIO at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). A respected leader in the healthcare technology, Halamka sees great potential for the cloud to play a vital role in improving healthcare delivery through shared resources […]

Challenges for the Future of Healthcare Networks

Medical facilities face the challenge of upgrading their healthcare networks and providing comprehensive support for the growing demands of digitized information according to a recent report by HIMSS Analytics. In a recent study, “Healthcare Provider Network Solutions, Barriers and Challenges” HIMSS reports that “As health care organizations implement information technology solutions including components of the […]

The Cloud in Healthcare IT Strategy

After Douglas Menefree joined the Schumacher Group as CIO, he completed a business process review.  He then challenged the software and healthcare divisions of the company to come together and focus their processes in order to best care for people. Menefree helped the overworked IT group shift from developing and maintaining software and systems to […]

Healthcare CIOs Focused on EHR and Infrastructure

One of the primary technology challenges for healthcare facilities is EHR implementation. According to a study by Level 3 Communications, CIOs are focused on meeting the impending federal deadlines.[1] Over half of those surveyed believe that EHR implementation and Meaningful Compliance will improve overall patient care. In addition to meeting EHR deadlines, healthcare facilities are […]

Healthcare Facilities Must Adapt or Die

While healthcare facilities exist to treat the sick and improve wellness, many of those same facilities limp forward struggling to survive. USA Today reported that on average 89 hospitals had closed per year over the past ten years,[1] while healthcare experts David Houle and Jonathan Fleece suggest that by 2020 one-third of U.S. hospitals will close their […]

Technology and Energy Efficiency In Healthcare

As healthcare facilities consider ways to help lower costs while improving services, they might consider ways that IT can help lower energy consumption. William Pentland at Forbes highlighted the energy consumption problems in healthcare. In “Heal Thy Self: U.S. Hospitals Are Huge Energy Hogs,” Pentland writes that hospitals over 200,000 sq. feet are “gluttonous consumers […]

Big Data in Healthcare

Over the past few years, multiple healthcare experts have been heralding the role big data will come to play in healthcare. With the press for EHR/EMR protocols, healthcare organizations have been digitizing more data than ever before. This massive data collection ultimately will help improve healthcare delivery in quality of care, hospital safety, refining cost […]

Towards a Healthcare BI Plan

Healthcare business intelligence can potentially improve patient care and reduce costs when used effectively within a given facility. At the same time, using BI within a healthcare environment comes with a range of challenges due to the critical nature of the environment, the massive amount of complex data that needs accurate interpretation, and the caution […]