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Health Care Technology

Health Information Privacy
commentary
The Perils of Connecting Our Bodies to the Internet
Mary Lee
Oct 15, 2018
The WorldPost (Washington Post)
High-tech health care solutions are part of an emerging sector of medical technologies that monitor personal health data by essentially connecting your body to the Internet. As smart devices in health care evolve, the line between human and machine is blurring, and creating new concerns about consumer safety and privacy rights.
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Electronic Medical Records
commentary
How Smartphone Apps Could Help Keep Health Records Accurate
Ben Moscovitch, Robert S. Rudin @rsrudin
Oct 4, 2018
TechCrunch
Electronic health records have helped streamline record keeping but providers aren't always able to reliably pull together records for the same patient from different hospitals, clinics, and doctor's offices. The growing use of smartphones offers a promising opportunity to improve record matching.
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Health Care Technology
commentary
How VR and AR Could Transform the Health Sector
Anna Knack
Feb 20, 2018
Digital Health
Immersive technologies such as virtual and augmented reality allow users to behave how they would in the real world, but in an artificial environment. Both technologies can help train medical professionals, deliver health services and improve the health outcomes of NHS users. But they also risk displacing workers in the health sector.
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The Elderly
commentary
An Uneven Future: An Ageing Population Needs Innovation, but Not at the Expense of Equal Care
Camilla d'Angelo
Oct 5, 2017
Health Service Journal
Expected increases in life expectancy together with increasingly complex physical and mental illness will continue to exert huge pressures on health systems. How should the UK prepare for the challenges ahead?
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Electronic Medical Records
commentary
A 'Learning System' in Behavioral Health Can Help in Sharing Best Practices, Innovations
Bradley D. Stein @BradleyDStein
May 30, 2017
Modern Healthcare
Leveraging technological advances to make better use of the best available data could help rein in healthcare costs and improve both quality and safety. This makes sense whether the healthcare being delivered is physical or behavioral.
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Civil Rights
commentary
Using Digital Data in Criminal Investigations: Where and How to Draw the Line?
Brian A. Jackson
May 15, 2017
Forensic Magazine
Personal devices such as smartphones and wearables gather and store personal data. How much of this "digital footprint" should be available for criminal investigations?
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Electronic Pharmaceutical Prescriptions
commentary
Responsible e-Prescribing Needs e-Discontinuation
Shira H. Fischer, Adam J. Rose
Feb 7, 2017
The Journal of the American Medical Association
Implementation of electronic prescribing has been a big success in health information technology. But most e-prescribing systems don't allow electronic cancellation of orders. Adding this feature could help reduce medication errors.
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Health Information Technology Interoperability
commentary
Toward a Learning Behavioral Health Care System
Bradley D. Stein @BradleyDStein
Dec 20, 2016
Inside Sources
New technologies for capturing and sharing data have begun to transform the way providers practice medicine in the United States. Expanding these technologies to behavioral health care could enhance the delivery of services and improve outcomes for millions of Americans.
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Telemedicine
commentary
Telehealth Alone Won't Increase Health Care Access for the Underserved
Lori Uscher-Pines, Ateev Mehrotra
Dec 16, 2016
Health Affairs Blog
Telehealth can bring care into communities that have limited access to providers or facilities. But it must be integrated into a well-functioning system that can address the added needs that telehealth generates.
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Emerging Technologies
blog
The Price of Personalized Health Care
Nov 13, 2016
Medical care in the United States is entering an era where technology can give patients more control over their care and let them take control of their health data.
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Mental Health Treatment
commentary
Thinking Outside the Box to Find Solutions to Mental Health Problems
Christian Van Stolk, Joanna Hofman @JoannaBHofman
Oct 19, 2016
The BMJ
Many innovative ways to deliver mental health services in the UK aim to benefit individuals, industry, government, and the economy.
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Health Information Privacy
commentary
Privacy Preferences for Healthcare Records and Information Across Europe
Catherine L. Saunders, Sunil Patil
May 11, 2016
Statistics Views
The general public has a more nuanced preference for the privacy of electronic health records than previously thought. Survey respondents said that they would not be averse to individuals involved in the health and rescue professions having access to their basic health information.
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Electronic Medical Records
commentary
Ransomware Hackers Are Coming for Your Health Records
Lillian Ablon, Mark W. Friedberg @MWFriedberg
Apr 11, 2016
Newsweek
Cyber criminals may be preying on hospitals because cyber protection measures likely have not kept pace with electronic data collection and because hospitals typically do not have backup systems and databases in place, even though such attacks can strain health care systems and potentially put patients' lives at risk.
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Physicians
commentary
Relationships Between Physician Professional Satisfaction and Patient Safety
Mark W. Friedberg @MWFriedberg
Feb 23, 2016
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Perspectives on Safety
Health system leaders should view regular and detailed assessment of physician professional satisfaction as an invaluable early warning system for potential threats to quality and safety. But simply surveying doctors on their overall levels of job satisfaction isn't enough.
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Electronic Medical Records
commentary
Electronic Health Records: Yesterday's Ebola and Today's Zika
Shira H. Fischer
Feb 18, 2016
The Health Care Blog
Electronic health records in U.S. hospitals are not yet prompting for screening questions related to Zika virus. Why? The existing system is too slow to respond and when it does, it finds itself chasing the past.
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Health Information Privacy
commentary
A Unique Identifier Could Protect Patient Privacy
Michael D. Greenberg
Feb 3, 2016
STAT
The policy debate about unique patient identifier numbers should determine the best approach for reconciling two goals: optimizing the privacy and security of health information and making record matching as close to perfect as is practical.
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Telemedicine
commentary
Paying for Telemedicine
Shira H. Fischer
Sep 3, 2015
The RAND Blog
Telehealth, delivering health services and information via technology, holds great promise. But more information is needed to determine what works and what doesn't.
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Health Information Technology Interoperability
commentary
The Little Exchange That Could...Transform the U.S. Health Care System
Robert S. Rudin @rsrudin, Jayme Fuglesten @JaymeFuglesten
Jan 28, 2015
The Health Care Blog
As Congress continues to think about whether and how to support the development of Health Information Exchanges, it should consider the commitment required to bring a mature statewide or national network of HIEs into practice. It should prioritize the evaluation of government-funded HIEs, so that research can help inform and foster return on investment for scarce taxpayer dollars.
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Cost-Effectiveness in Health Care
commentary
Knowing When to Say Yes to Medical Technology
Emmett B. Keeler
Nov 18, 2014
The Health Care Blog
CT lung cancer screening turns out to be like many new medical technologies: It improves health but is quite expensive. Moreover, it needs implementation that targets those most likely to benefit and provides them the care they need efficiently.
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Bundled Payment for Health Services
commentary
The Winding Path to Effective Bundled Payment
M. Susan Ridgely, Peter S. Hussey
Aug 29, 2014
Health Affairs Blog
It's not unusual for a demonstration to fall short of its original objectives. Learning from such cases is part of the innovation process. This is especially worthwhile for bundled payment, which has many potential benefits for patients, providers, and payers.
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Health Care Quality Measurement
commentary
The ACA's Opportunity to Improve Care for Substance Use Disorders
Katherine E. Watkins
Jul 28, 2014
The RAND Blog
The Affordable Care Act (ACA) will significantly increase coverage for the publicly funded treatment of substance use disorders. But in order to maximize the benefit to patients, families, and society, it's critical to invest in the development, validation, and use of performance measures.
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Pharmaceutical Drugs
commentary
What Drives the Market for Orphan Drugs?
Susan M. Gates
May 14, 2014
The RAND Blog
The 1983 Orphan Drug Act appears to be successful in promoting development of new treatments for relatively rare conditions. But an unintended consequence of its success is the high cost of specialty drugs.
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Health Information Technology
commentary
How Technology Can Help Save Health Care Dollars
Jeffrey Wasserman
May 6, 2014
InsideSources
Devising methods to stimulate patients' use of computers, smart phones, and other technology to become more engaged in their health care could usher in an era in which better health is just a click or tap away.
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Science, Technology, and Innovation Policy
commentary
10 Ways Innovation Could Help Cure the U.S. Health Spending Problem
Steven Garber
Apr 29, 2014
The Health Care Blog
Many studies grapple with how to control spending by considering changing how existing technologies are used. But what if the problem could be attacked at its root by changing which drugs and devices are invented in the first place?
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Health Care Technology
commentary
Health Care Innovation: The Challenge Ahead
Jeffrey Wasserman
Apr 22, 2014
The RAND Blog
Substantial progress could be made toward the goals of reducing spending and increasing value by altering the financial incentives faced by inventors, investors, payers, providers, and patients.
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Health Information Technology
commentary
Physicians' Concerns About Electronic Health Records: Implications and Steps Towards Solutions
Mark W. Friedberg @MWFriedberg, F. Jay Crosson, Michael Tutty
Mar 12, 2014
Health Affairs Blog
If practicing physicians are correct, the current state of EHR technology has introduced several impediments to providing patient care, undermining physician professional satisfaction. Many of these problems also should be of great concern to patients.
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Health Care Workforce
commentary
Is There Really a Physician Shortage?
David I. Auerbach
Dec 6, 2013
The Health Care Blog
Large coverage expansions under the ACA have reignited concerns about physician shortages. These estimates result from models that forecast future supply and demand for physicians based on past trends and current practice. While useful exercises, they do not necessarily imply that intervening to boost physician supply would be worth the investment.
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Evidence Based Health Practice
commentary
How to Improve the Way Medical Research Is Applied in Frontline Care
Bryony Soper, Ellen Nolte
Oct 7, 2013
Guardian Healthcare Professionals Network
Many people assume that it is enough to present clinicians and managers with the results of medical research for them to adopt those techniques that work best. This is quite untrue. The scale and pace of medical advance poses a continual challenge, and there is often a gap between recommended care and actual care received.
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Electronic Medical Records
commentary
How Electronic Health Records Can Lead to Care Coordination
Robert S. Rudin @rsrudin
Aug 13, 2013
The RAND Blog
Inadequate care coordination is a major problem in health care delivery, but information technology is emerging as an important tool for enhancing coordination and, ultimately, improving the delivery of care, writes Robert Rudin.
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Health Information Technology
commentary
The Delayed Promise of Health-Care IT
Arthur L. Kellermann, Spencer S. Jones
Feb 26, 2013
Project Syndicate
Globally, the health IT industry should not wait to be forced by government regulators into doing a better job. Developers can boost the pace of adoption by creating more standardized systems that are easier to use, truly interoperable, and afford patients greater access to and control over their personal health data.
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Health Care Cost Inflation
commentary
Health Care Costs Are Killing Us
Arthur L. Kellermann
Jan 4, 2013
the RWJF's Human Capital Blog
At a time when our country is teetering on the edge of a “fiscal cliff,” no challenge in health care is more important than reducing health care spending, writes Arthur L. Kellermann.
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Health Care Costs
commentary
What Will Change Most About Our Routine Physicals Over the Next Decade?
Arthur L. Kellermann
Aug 31, 2012
Zócalo Public Square
Don't forget—an American's odds of living a long and healthy life still depend more on his zip code than his genetic code. That won't change until we make healthcare more affordable, writes Dr. Arthur Kellermann.
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Health Care Technology
blog
Could Liability Concerns Derail Clinical Decision Support?
M. Susan Ridgely, Michael D. Greenberg
Jul 6, 2012
Computerized clinical decision support (CDS) systems have been developed to enhance physician decisionmaking and reduce the incidence of avoidable medical errors. Drug-drug interaction warnings are a mainstay of CDS systems, but they give rise to a fundamental problem that limits the utility of the systems to date.
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Health Information Technology
commentary
Unraveling the IT Productivity Paradox—Lessons for Health Care
Spencer S. Jones, Paul Heaton, Robert S. Rudin @rsrudin, Eric C. Schneider
Jun 14, 2012
New England Journal of Medicine
Although health care organizations have favorable characteristics that can maximize IT's benefits, the reengineering of health care delivery is only beginning, write Spencer Jones, Paul Heaton, Robert Rudin, and Eric Schneider.
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Community Resilience
commentary
Medical Records Immune to Tornado in Joplin, Mo.
Mahshid Abir, Arthur L. Kellermann
May 23, 2012
USA Today
Across the country, electronic medical records, designed first and foremost to make health care delivery safer and more efficient, are proving valuable when disaster strikes, write Mahshid Abir and Art Kellermann.
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Measuring Health Care Costs
commentary
Do Physicians Need a 'Shopping Cart' for Health Care Services?
Robert H. Brook
Feb 22, 2012
The Journal of the American Medical Association
Providing physicians with cost data in real time automatically as a part of the electronic medical record could make them better purchasers for their patients and provide better value, writes Robert H. Brook.
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Patient Safety
commentary
Clinical Decision Support and Malpractice Risk
Michael D. Greenberg, M. Susan Ridgely
Jul 6, 2011
The Journal of the American Medical Association
From the standpoint of policy makers, the basic challenge is to ensure that liability concerns do not derail the clinical value of new CDS technology, write Michael Greenberg and M. Susan Ridgely.
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Health Care Technology
commentary
Innovation Means More Than Something New
Elizabeth A. McGlynn
Oct 9, 2009
Economist.com
Information on comparative effectiveness by itself does not change the system that produces these results, writes Elizabeth McGlynn.
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Health Information Privacy
commentary
Creating Health ID Numbers Could Improve Patient Privacy
Richard Hillestad
Oct 30, 2008
The Hill
As it considers ways to improve the efficiency and quality of U.S. health care, one issue that a new Congress should reconsider is the longstanding roadblock that has stalled efforts to create a system of unique patient identification numbers for every person in the United States, writes Richard Hillestad.
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commentary
'Lifestyle' and Live-Saving Drugs
Thomas Croghan, Patricia M. Pittman
Nov 28, 2004
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Published commentary by RAND staff.
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commentary
Sharing of Health-Care Data Needs a Tuneup
Elizabeth A. McGlynn
Jun 26, 2003
Los Angeles Times
commentaries by RAND Staff: insightful commentaries on current events, published in newspapers, magazines and journals worldwide.
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