Power Your Practice

With smartphones dominating the telecommunications market and tablets growing ever more popular in the medical setting, the latest advancement in healthcare is the advent of mHealth – the use of mobile devices and applications in support of the practice of medicine.

The technologies may be getting smaller and smaller, but the scope of their capabilities is very, very large. Research firm Juniper estimated that 44 million health-related applications were downloaded on mobile devices in 2011.

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To the relief of doctors across the U.S., federal lawmakers have now agreed to a tentative deal that delays the 27.4% cut to Medicare physician payment rates. As long as the deal goes through, the current rates will be extended until 2013.

Concerns over the “doc pay cut” measures have been plaguing providers, so the agreement is welcome news to the healthcare industry. But some docs are disappointed with the deal. Congress will still need to revisit the payment issue by the end of the year to reach a real resolution, and worries over the adequacy of Medicare reimbursement rates remain.

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Over the past decade, many medical industry experts have been espousing the development of a more transparent, consumer-driven healthcare system.

Advocates for healthcare consumerism seek a truly patient-centered medical environment, in which patients can make decisions about their treatment options, have easy access to their health data, get multiple insurance options to choose from and are given the power to research and choose their providers.

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Technology is rapidly changing the way health care is delivered in hospitals and medical practices across the country. There are countless new health IT and patient care developments cropping up regularly, but certain strategies, systems and trends are set to reach a tipping point of adoption and popularity in the coming year.

Here are Power Your Practice’s findings on four of the most unique and interesting healthcare technology trends to keep an eye on in 2012.

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As 2011 draws to a close, Power Your Practice has been highlighting the technology and practice management news that will be most important in the coming year.

We’ve addressed the big transition to HIPAA 5010, the top health technology hazards to watch out for in 2012, and the industry’s ongoing concerns about the coming ICD-10 conversion.

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Florida Hospital Flagler, a facility in the Adventist Health System, has become the first hospital in Florida to earn HIMSS Analytics’ Stage 7 Award for electronic medical records (EMR) implementation.

The honor highlights Florida Hospital Flagler as an advanced adopter of EMR systems. Stage 7 is the highest level a hospital can attain under HIMSS Analytics’ Electronic Medical Records Adoption Model (EMRAM), the methodology by which they track the EMR progress of medical providers.

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