Business Intelligence

Providers utilize business intelligence to monitor referral patterns and collaborate with clinicians who order their services. Such analytics tools have also been deployed in the specialty to improve productivity, track patient satisfaction and bolster quality.

UnitedHealthcare launches rural Medicare Advantage pilot to cut reimbursement delays 50%
The insurer is planning to reduce reimbursement timelines for hospitals in Oklahoma, Idaho, Minnesota and Missouri from 30 days to 15. The details are unclear, but the company said the framework could extend nationwide.
AI roundup: Of workslop and rework | Patent that tech, industry player | Artificial Intellectualism, anyone?
Across industries, more than a third of the time saved by AI gets eaten by overstretched humans who have to clean up the technology’s sloppy work.
Epic, provider groups sue companies over alleged scheme to sell patient data
In a lawsuit, the EHR giant accuses Health Gorilla, et al., of posing as patient care entities to gain access to nearly 300,000 medical records, in violation of HIPAA. Health Gorilla vehemently denies the allegations.
Senate Report: UnitedHealth was aggressive in seeking higher Medicare Advantage payments
The Wall Street Journal obtained a copy of a report from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which reviewed more than 50,000 documents sent by UnitedHealth related to its Medicare Advantage patients. The outlet published the findings of the inquiry.
Walmart dips its toe back into healthcare with new digital platform
Less than two years after closing its patient care clinics and selling its telehealth services, Walmart is re-entering healthcare with a new platform to match patients with virtual providers.

Royal Philips Taps Into North American Mammography Market

Royal Philips Electronics has entered the North American mammography market with the introduction of MicroDose Mammography, a full-field digital mammography (FFDM) solution. The solution is said to administer a lower dose of radiation compared to other FFDM systems, without compromising image quality.

JAMA Finding Lends Support to Using Chest CT for Lung Cancer Screening

Hospital-based radiology departments that began offering discounted chest CTs to current and ex-smokers who could pay cash for the procedure may have been right. New research published in JAMA indicates that the standard insurance-covered annual chest x-rays do little if anything to actually reduce lung cancer death rates.

Legislators to Supercommittee: Eliminate SGR

Two members of the U.S. House of Representatives are urging President Obama’s supercommittee to eliminate the sustainable growth rate (SGR).

Nuclear Medicine Utilization Shows Slight Decline

Nuclear medicine/SPECT utilization is relatively flat and trending slightly downward, with the volume of procedures performed having decreased by an average of approximately 0.5% per year between 2007 and 2010. Last year, an estimated 17.0 million nuclear medicine procedures were performed on SPECT or SPECT/CT cameras in the U.S., at 7,230 hospital

Physicians Will Assume New Roles Under ACO Model, Study Says

A recent report published by the Institute for Health Technology Transformation in New York City, New York and Washington, D.C. outlines a myriad of changes to occur under the accountable care organization (ACO) model.

FDA Awards $2 Million For Centers of Excellence

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday awarded $2 million to support the establishment of two regional Centers of Excellence in Regulatory Science and Innovation at the University of Maryland in College Park, Maryland and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Interim Rule Adds Waivers to Physician Self-Referral Law

Working toward the goal of encouraging participation in the Medicare Shared Savings Program and the Advance Payment Initiative, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Office of Inspector General (OIG), and the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) last Thursday issued an interim final rule that sets forth waivers to the

Wireless Devices Pique Consumer Interest on Health Care Front

The wireless device revolution is impacting the health care space: Patients are exhibiting a marked interest in communicating with their physicians via such devices, according to a new study by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)® .

Business Intelligence

UnitedHealthcare launches rural Medicare Advantage pilot to cut reimbursement delays 50%

AI roundup: Of workslop and rework | Patent that tech, industry player | Artificial Intellectualism, anyone?

Epic, provider groups sue companies over alleged scheme to sell patient data

Senate Report: UnitedHealth was aggressive in seeking higher Medicare Advantage payments

Walmart dips its toe back into healthcare with new digital platform