DorlandHealth

Thursday, January 28, 2010

Contact: HHS Press Office
(202) 690-6343

University of Utah Hospitals and Clinics to Ensure Effective Communication for Persons with Disabilities

Patients with hearing, vision, and speech disabilities, who receive care at University of Utah Hospitals & Clinics, will be screened and provided with auxiliary aids and services as required by federal law under a Resolution Agreement reached with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

An HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR) compliance review identified areas of improvement needed to ensure that qualified individuals with disabilities receive equal access to the University of Utah’s health care system.  Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, recipients of federal financial assistance (often hospitals and health care providers reimbursed by Medicare or Medicaid) must provide auxiliary aids and services. These aids and services include qualified sign language interpreters and readers, when necessary to ensure effective communication with patients and companions who have hearing, vision or speech impairments.

Consumer Confidence in Health Care Rises in December

Confidence in maintaining coverage and the ability to afford future care holds steady. Americans express growing concern over the potential impact of health reforms on their finances and access to care.

Published: Jan 26, 2010  Princeton, N.J.

Americans’ confidence in their health insurance coverage and ability to access health care increased slightly last month. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health Care Consumer Confidence Index (RWJF Index) rose to 99.1 points in December, up from a reading of 96.9 in November.

Fueling the rise in overall confidence were small upticks in both of the sub indices that make up the RWJF Index. The Recent Health Cost Barriers Index gauges consumers’ recent experiences accessing health care based on their cost concerns; it increased from 100.3 in November to 101.7 in December. The Future Health Cost Concerns Index measures consumers’ worries about accessing health care or health insurance in the future because of cost; it also increased from 93.5 in November to 96.5 to December.

ECRI Institute Guides Hospitals on Electronic Health Record Implementation

Emphasizes Need to Report Problems 

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA—Electronic health records (EHRs) are the future of medical record keeping. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) includes incentive payments for hospitals that adopt an EHR, but the timetable for implementation is especially tight. To qualify for the full payment, hospitals will need to demonstrate “meaningful use” no later than October 2012.

To help guide institutions as they scramble to receive incentives while maintaining a thoughtful approach to implementation, ECRI Institute® (www.ecri.org) has published a Health Devices© guidance article outlining what hospitals need to be thinking about—and doing—right now. ECRI Institute, an independent, nonprofit organization that researches the best approaches to patient care, also emphasizes the need for hospitals to report EHR problems through a centralized Problem Reporting System.

Currently, only about 9% of the nation’s hospitals utilize some type of EHR. And the majority of those hospitals have implemented only the most basic system. “That’s not enough to be in compliance with the new standards or to warrant any incentive payment,” says Jason Launders, MSc, lead author of the article and senior medical physicist at ECRI Institute.

Greystone.Net Reveals Results of Research on Use of Social Media by Hospitals/Health Systems

Monday, January 18, 2010

ATLANTA –  Nine in ten hospitals or health systems are currently involved in Social Media to some degree, while only one in three currently has a formal Social Media plan in place, according to new research released by Greystone.Net. The research was conducted over a two month period using Greystone.Net’s research panel of over 100 hospital and health system marketers.

“It is impossible to ignore the effect that Social Media is having on the Internet in general, and on hospitals and health systems specifically,” said Mike Schneider, Executive VP of Greystone.Net.  “Organizations that have a formal plan to manage their Social Media interactions are more likely to be successful, and we expect more and more hospital Web departments to embrace this strategy moving forward.”

The research also showed that budgeting for Social Media, including hiring Social Media employees, is still relatively rare among hospitals and health systems - although many respondents commented that this is likely to change in the near future. Other key research findings include:

One Type A Characteristic Lowers Work Stress, Study Finds

Home Medical Equipment Supplier ActivStyle, Inc. Acquires Tampa-Based Advocate Medical Services, Inc.

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 25 -- ActivStyle, Inc., an industry-leading supplier of home medical equipment throughout the United States, today announced the acquisition of Advocate Medical Services, Inc.  Advocate provides medical supplies to customers who suffer from spinal cord injuries, spina bifida, urological incontinence and retention, chronic wounds and ostomies.

Advocate will significantly expand ActivStyle's expertise in the catheter supply market. With the transaction, Advocate will have access to a broader product line and the financial support of a larger parent organization.

"We're thrilled with the acquisition of Advocate as it will strengthen ActivStyle's position as a leading supplier of home medical equipment in the reimbursed Medicaid, Medicare and insurance markets," said Daniel A. Filippini, President and CEO of ActivStyle.  "In addition to expanding our presence in the overall urological market segment, Advocate brings a wealth of knowledge about its products, patients, and payer sources."

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