Diagnostic Reading #1: Five “Must Read” Articles on HIT & Radiology
Reading Time: 3 minutes read
Topics include: interoperability needs more progress; CDC increases Zika funding.
Diagnostic Reading summary includes: the need for increased interoperability; patients who travel for medical care are creating opportunities for new hotels near specialty hospitals; study shows millions of Americans can afford medical coverage thanks to Obamacare; millions of Americans are purchasing prescription drugs outside the U.S.; and the CDC awards nearly $200 million in Zika funding.
Interoperability needs rapid progress in 2017 – Health Data Management
Making progress on interoperability will remain one of the main themes for 2017 within the healthcare IT industry. The use of EHRs has achieved penetration among healthcare providers that, 10 years ago, seemed unlikely. More than 95 percent of all hospitals have them in place, and nearly 80 percent of eligible professionals are using them. But despite the rush to digitize medical records, it hasn’t enabled significant improvement in medical care—at least not of the magnitude of the hundreds of billions of dollars spent on EHR systems in the past 10 years.
Trading hospital rooms for hotel suites – New York Times
When out-of-town patients used to travel to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, some would find that their best hotel option prior to early-morning surgery involved a trip from New Jersey. As patients increasingly travel to and across the U.S. for medical treatment, developers are seizing on the benefits of situating hotels near major medical centers, many of which are in hotel-starved outskirts. A new hotel that opened just over a block from NewYork-Presbyterian has had a steady occupancy rate of more than 80% since it opened.
Millions more Americans can afford a doctor’s visit under Obamacare – Los Angeles Times
The Affordable Care Act’s historic expansion of health insurance coverage has brought medical care within reach of millions of Americans who previously couldn’t afford it, new research shows. The share of adults who skipped medical care because of costs dropped by nearly one-fifth between 2013 and 2015. The gains were even more dramatic in the states that have most expanded coverage through the federal healthcare law, often called Obamacare.
Faced with unaffordable drug prices, tens of millions buy medicine outside U.S. – Health Management Technology (Kaiser Health News)
As drug prices spiral upward, millions of Americans have committed an illegal act in response: They have bought prescriptions outside the U.S. and imported them. Some Americans regularly buy prescription drugs on the Internet or while traveling abroad. The popularity of the approach is underscored by the results of a recent poll. Eight percent of respondents said they or someone in their household had imported a drug at some point, a figure that would translate to about 19 million adults in the U.S.
CDC sends $184 million in Zika funding to states as Texas reports new case – Washington Post
The CDC is awarding nearly $200 million in Zika funding to states and territories to continue the fight against the mosquito-borne virus as Texas reported a new local case. The funds will help boost laboratory capacity to perform diagnostics and testing; add resources to track pregnancies and births affected by Zika; support more effective mosquito control; and increase communication to the public and healthcare providers. There were 4,617 cases of Zika reported in the continental United States as of Dec. 14, 2016.
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