Consumer Health Informatics News

Survey: Privacy compliance has declined

2006-05-14T08:56:00.000-07:00

Three years after federal rules governing the privacy of patients’ medical records went into effect, compliance seems to have declined for 6 percent, according to an annual survey conducted by the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA). Read more about this at here.

E-book: Making E-Health Work

2006-05-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

E-Health has become an integral part of present-day healthcare delivery. With healthcare consumers, increasingly the focus of most health systems, the widespread implementation of health information and communications technologies offers cost-effective opportunities to meet their increasingly sophisticated healthcare needs.Bankix Systems Ltd has released its latest e-book. It is a 200-page in-depth analysis of the issues involved in “Making E-Health Work,” the e-book’s title. Read more about this e-book at here.

Another consumer tools: Texas health care gets Web site

2006-05-14T08:45:00.000-07:00

Residents of the Texas Gulf Coast region have a new way to locate local health services with the introduction of the Go Local Texas Gulf Coast Web site. It’s available through MedlinePlus, the consumer health resource created by the National Library of Medicine at medlineplus.gov/tgc. Read more about this at here.

Article: Is health care literacy and transparency achievable?

2006-05-14T08:00:00.000-07:00

At some point, most of us--including nearly half of all American adults--will encounter health information we cannot understand. Not surprisingly, even well-educated people may have trouble comprehending a medical form or doctor's instructions regarding a drug or procedure. Health care transparency is the standardizing of performance metrics and outcomes reports, and making them easily accessible to everyone. The question is how feasible this goal would be. Read here for one perspective.

Consumer tools: UCompareHealthCare Offers Free Reports on Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Physicians

2006-03-11T09:01:00.000-08:00

"UCompareHealthCare has just unveiled its Web site, ucomparehealthcare.com, which features free reports on the nation's nursing homes, hospitals and physicians to help consumers make informed healthcare decisions. I checked the web site and found it very informative for health consumers to help them make informed decision about their choices of doctors, hospitals and others." Read more about this at UCompareHealthCare

Consumer tools: State web site discloses once-secret data on infections, deaths, prices at hospitals

2006-02-03T09:03:00.000-08:00

"'In a nationwide first, Floridians have a new tool to assess local hospitals -- an online state analysis of every hospital's track record for infections, deaths, complications and even prices. Although health care specialists say the new Web site is limited and does not allow for direct hospital-to-hospital comparisons, they say public disclosure of previously secret data on medical outcomes could spur hospitals to work harder to combat preventable conditions.' Read more at State web site discloses once-secret data on infections, deaths, prices at hospitals: South Florida Sun-Sentinel." Read more at Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Articles: Direct to Consumer: Women are a powerful, but untapped, audience

2006-02-03T08:04:00.000-08:00

"Women influence many family decisions—from choosing what's for dinner to selecting the medications their children take. In fact, nearly two-thirds of women are responsible for family healthcare decisions, according to a 2004 national survey conducted by Plan for Your Health. Many women also assume the care-giving role outside their nuclear families. Today's middle-aged woman may also look after her parents and in-laws too, often determining how long they can live on their own and how to best care for them. In addition, she often influences the important health decisions of grandchildren, co-workers, and friends." Read more at PharmExec.

Consumer tools: Really Personal PHRs

2006-01-27T09:05:00.000-08:00

"If we're committed to fostering the adoption of personal health records, we should take a page out of the consumer marketing textbooks — not the primers of health IT marketers. This was my conclusion after attending a recent meeting in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Markle Foundation, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Agency for Healthcare Quality Research and Quality. " Read more about this at iHealthBeat .

Consumer trends: Manhattan Predicts Online Health Trends

2006-01-27T08:06:00.000-08:00

"US healthcare specialist Manhattan Research has published a summary of the major trends for health and pharmaceutical marketers to consider in 2006. The trends chart the increased use of the web and other new technologies as a health information and communication tool for both patients and physicians." Read more at Daily Research News Online.

News: Wall Street Journal Looks at Tools That Identify Low-Cost Care Options

2006-01-26T09:07:00.000-08:00

"The Wall Street Journal on Thursday looked at efforts by insurers to provide patients with tools - including a cell phone Web browsing service - to help them find low-cost treatment options. Lumenos, a unit of WellPoint, in February will launch the cell phone service, which lets patients type drug names into their cell phones' Web browsers and get lists of lower-cost alternatives. The program is designed so that patients can ask their physicians about cost-effective alternatives while they still are at their appointments." Read more at iHealthBeat.

News: Healthline Adds $14 Million to its coffers in its second life

2006-01-25T09:08:00.000-08:00

"The San Francisco-based company had already raised $24 million in the months following its transformation from InterMap Systems, a company providing health information to medical enterprises, to Healthline Networks, a consumer-focused site, in July.
Healthline debuted during October (see Health Search Engine Debuts) as a destination site for those looking for information on health. It wants to differentiate itself from other sites by having medical experts review the news, articles, and health information it serves up in response to a query." Read more at RED HERRING.

Consumer tools: Consumer Health Complete Now Available from EBSCO Publishing

2006-01-25T08:09:00.000-08:00

"In continuing with the company's goal of providing the most comprehensive collection of online health and wellness resources, EBSCO Publishing has announced the release of Consumer Health Complete (CHC). This full text database is designed to support consumer and patients' information needs as well as foster an overall
understanding of health-related topics." Read more at Managing Information News.

Article: Americans do want some nationalized care

2006-01-23T09:09:00.000-08:00

"Five years ago, St. Luke's Health Initiatives sponsored a conference to discuss the question: 'Is employer-based health insurance obsolete?'A panel of national experts concluded that although it wasn't obsolete, it definitely was in trouble. They disagreed whether employer-based health insurance needed a strong dose of market-driven discipline to encourage direct consumer involvement in purchasing their own health services, or whether it should gradually be replaced by a single national system that provides basic medical services to everybody." Read more at AZCentral.

Consumer guidelines: Know your rights before joining health club

2006-01-17T09:10:00.000-08:00

Consumer: I've decided to join a health club. What do I need to know about choosing a club and signing a membership? Problems with health clubs used to be a significant concern in the some states in USA. Get to know your rights before you sign up for any at The Columbian Business.

News: 'changed vision' in Australian Health e-records

2006-01-17T08:11:00.000-08:00

THE federal Government must hose down consumer expectations about electronic health records in the wake of its "changed vision" for HealthConnect, the lead implementation team has warned. HealthConnect Tasmania said there was a high level of participation in state-based trials and consumers were expecting such a system to be available fairly soon. "Now the EHR will not be developed in the short term and instead HealthConnect is focusing on point-to-point messaging between providers, and ensuring that systems migrate to a common set of national standards over the next 12 to 18 months," it said. Read more at Australian IT.