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Huntzinger Names New Chief Technical Officer to Expand Technical Service Offerings
Scranton, PA – February 19, 2019 – Huntzinger Management Group, Inc. (Huntzinger), a leader in healthcare advisory, managed, implementation, and staffing services, today named John Hendricks as its Chief Technology Officer. Huntzinger President, Chief Operating Officer, and Founding Partner Tanya Freeman made the announcement.
“With the fast-paced and ever-changing environment in which we operate, John’s role as Huntzinger’s Chief Technology Officer is critical to our success,” Freeman said. “John will be responsible for the management of all company technology assets, licenses, configurations and security. In addition, he will continue to provide executive leadership at our client sites.”
Hendricks brings more than 20 years of healthcare information technology experience to Huntzinger. Prior to joining Huntzinger, Hendricks served as the Chief Technology Officer at UnityPoint Health, the Director of Technology at University Hospitals of Cleveland, and an IT Manager at Cleveland Clinic.
About Huntzinger
Huntzinger provides IT advisory, managed, implementation, and staffing services to the healthcare industry. We focus on clinical and operational business performance optimization by ensuring alignment between IT, clinical, and ambulatory areas to position our healthcare clients for the future. For more information, visit www.huntzingergroup.com.
Contact Information:
Huntzinger Management Group
Diane Kleehammer
Vice President of Marketing
570-824-4721
[email protected]Posted 2.19.2019 -
Perspectives from the 2019 CHIME HIMSS CIO Forum & Week of HIMSS
2.19.2019
Chris Hargrett, Associate, CHIME Foundation
The 2019 CHIME HIMSS CIO Forum and week of HIMSS events have drawn to a close, but what makes these events special are the takeaways and insights gained by CHIME members and CHIME Foundation partners. Here are a few testimonials from CHIME CIOs and Foundation representatives who attended HIMSS and the CIO Forum:
“It’s rewarding to be able to answer important career questions that these leaders have to give them a broad perspective on the healthcare marketplace. We appreciate being part of that journey with the CIO leaders. [Favorite part is] networking with these leaders and spending time with them [and] helping to facilitate dialog and discussion with their peers, where they can exchange ideas [and] share challenges…”
Hillary Ross, Senior Partner
Managing Director, IT Practice Leader
Witt/Kieffer“This is probably my 10th HIMSS event and my seventh time with CHIME coming to the CIO Forum. …This is one of the largest gatherings of health IT people, so it’s always great to see a lot of people. …I really like the CHIME Focus Groups, meeting with the CHIME Foundation partners and helping them understand what the problems are that we are trying to solve. They have the hammers, we are the nails. I have enjoyed the presentations and networking.”
James Brady, PhD, CHCIO, FHIMSS, CIO
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services“[This is] not my first [CIO Forum]. [My] favorite parts are keynotes and networking… [The] takeaway from this year’s event is loneliness is real, don’t forget the social … aspects treating the patient and AI is real. [It] will disrupt the world as we know it and it is coming to healthcare.”
Christine Brutschea, CIO
ACIO Information Technology
St. Luke’s Hospital & Health NetworkWhat insights or takeaways did you receive from the 2019 CHIME HIMSS CIO Forum? Submit your insights and takeaways to [email protected]. We would love to hear from you.
More Foundation Insight:
Posted 2.19.2019 -
Want to Present at CHIME19? Here are Tips for Getting Selected
2.19.2019
Candace Stuart – Director, Communications & Public Relations
Being selected to be a speaker at a CHIME track session or at Leadership from the Edge is no easy task. The competition is high, and for Foundation firm members there is the added requirement of partnering with a CIO or senior healthcare IT executive who is a member of CHIME. Last year, two Foundation members embraced the challenge and were invited to participate alongside their CIO colleagues.
What was the secret to their success? Great topics, great relationships and great timing.
“Be very careful about topic selection,” advised Jocelyn Clarke, executive director at Kirby Partners. Clarke co-presented a Leadership from the Edge session on women in the health IT workplace with Myra Davis, senior vice president and CIO at Texas Children’s Hospital. “Try to pick something that really hits on the zeitgeist of what is going on in healthcare IT so that it gets the audience excited. The odds of getting a CIO to collaborate with you will be much higher if the topic is very valuable and exciting at the same time.”
The topic should be interesting, innovative and address a need, added Kali Durgampudi, chief technology and innovation officer at Greenway Health. Durgampudi, then in the role of vice president of innovation and mobile architecture at Nuance Healthcare, paired with Shafiq Rab, MD, senior vice president and CIO at Rush Medical Center, for a track session titled “The Journey from Virtual Assistants to Ambient Clinical Intelligence.” They avoided discussing products and instead focused on strategies for using ambient clinical intelligence to assist physicians in their workflow.
“We took great care so that it was not a sales pitch about a product but actually a sales pitch about a concept,” Durgampudi said. “And that concept resonates easily with both technology and clinical people. “
Having a good fit with your CIO counterpart is key, Clarke and Durgampudi said. Clarke and Davis’ Leadership from the Edge proposal was based on a survey of Davis and 16 other women CIOs to assess the state of the industry for women. The findings originally were used in a career-focused HIMSS presentation for women directors and managers who aspired to be C-suite executives. Davis’ career path and successes aligned well with the overall results, which – contrary to some industries – showed women CIOs were thriving.
“Given the cultural climate of the last couple of years,” Clarke said, “I thought this would surprise people in a positive way, make people feel energized about the kind of culture healthcare is building for men and women at the executive level.”
Durgampudi and Rab share a passion for innovation. They wanted to showcase advanced technologies like artificial intelligence and deep learning to help others understand how these tools can be used in clinical settings.
“We believe this is a tremendous game changer and a value-add,” Durgampudi said. “We wanted others to think through, figure out and learn.” Based on the enthusiastic question-and-answer session that followed, their talk inspired many in the audience to continue to explore the possibilities of the technologies.
CHIME is accepting proposals to participate in track sessions or Leadership from the Edge at the 2019 CHIME Fall CIO Forum in Phoenix in early November. To be eligible, a CHIME Foundation member must partner with a CHIME member on the proposal. To learn more about the proposal process and to submit a proposal for a track session or Leadership from the Edge, go here.
More Foundation Insight:
Posted 2.19.2019 -
CHIME Innovation to Offer Education, Partnership Opportunities
2.19.2018
Jonathan Fritz – Executive Director, CHIME Innovation
CHIME Innovation made its official debut at the CHIME HIMSS CIO Forum with CHIME Board Chair Shafiq Rab sharing details about the program from the main stage during the morning welcome.
“This is a new initiative to train, equip and empower our CHIME and CHIME Foundation members to innovate and apply these new revolutionary technologies,” he said. “Starting this year, you will be able to attend workshops, summits and other events hosted by CHIME Innovation.”
He encouraged the audience to seek me out and learn more. I had the pleasure to discuss our plans with several CHIME Foundation partners throughout the week, but for those of you who couldn’t attend, or whose path did not cross mine, here are some highlights:
- I will oversee CHIME Innovation as the executive director. Some of you know me already through my previous role as chief strategy officer and director of new ventures at Symphony Corporation. You can learn more about my journey here.
- The launch of CHIME Innovation marks the completion of the buildout of the Intermountain and CHIME Innovation Center. The center is within the Kem C. Gardner Intermountain Transformation Center in Murray, Utah.
- We will hold our first workshop, “Developing an Innovation Framework,” on March 17-18 at the Intermountain and CHIME Innovation Center. Taught by faculty from CHIME Innovation and Intermountain Healthcare, the workshop will introduce concepts that establish a common language and toolset for innovation. More information about the workshop is available here. Although the first workshop is for CHIME members, we are developing an offering for Foundation members, including a customized workshop among Foundation firms that regularly intersect with each other.
- We will be sharing CHIME members’ innovation success stories, which can be submitted online here. Please consider encouraging the CHIME members you work with to submit their stories.
Education is a cornerstone of CHIME Innovation, which will be presented at the centers and labs, and will be available remotely as well. In September, we will hold our first CI2O Innovation Summit; the summit will focus on the intersection between chief information officers and chief innovation officers. Liz Johnson, chief innovation officer at Tenet Healthcare, and Marc Probst, CIO at Intermountain Healthcare, are the summit co-chairs.
With the guidance of an advisory board, we are developing additional programming and value-added services to meet the needs of CHIME’s membership and the global healthcare community. I will serve as chair. Joining me are the following CHIME and CHIME Foundation members:
- Shafiq Rab, MD, MPH, CHIME Board Chair and Lead Innovation Ambassador, Senior Vice President and CIO, Rush University Medical Center
- Russ Branzell, President and CEO, CHIME
- Kali Durgampudi, MS, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Greenway Health
- Heather Nelson, MHA, CIO, University of Chicago Medicine
- Marc Probst, CIO, Intermountain Healthcare
- Liz Johnson, MS, RN-BC, Chief Innovation Officer, Tenet Healthcare
- Rusty Yeager, Senior Vice President and CIO, Encompass Health
We have three partnerships and would welcome more. Our partners include Greenway Health, Intermountain Healthcare and HealthX Ventures. More information about our partnerships can be found here.
Please take advantage of this new resource. You can reach me at [email protected] if you have questions or would like to get involved.
More Foundation Insight:
Posted 2.19.2019 -
Energized Committee to Make CPES More Relevant Than Ever
2.19.2019
By Arika Lycan, Specialist, CHIME Foundation
The 2019 CPES Planning Committee and CHIME Foundation staff are hard at work fleshing out a robust, incomparable CPES program, with many beneficial changes already slated for this year’s agenda.
CPES19 reflects a notable departure from the familiar structure of the past several years, and forges a bold new direction, guided by Foundation members’ feedback and input. New CPES program elements include:
- Program and tracks designed for three specific audiences:
- Sales representatives
- Marketing (Product Marketing and MARCOM)
- Customer success representatives
- New breakout sessions tied to three specific CHIME Foundation Certified Healthcare Executive (CFCHE) exam domains
- Off-site travel for a local CHIME member facility tour
Building up to 2019’s event, CHIME sought new energy and participation for its CHIME Partner Education Summit (CPES) Planning Committee. Many Foundation firms expressed interest in supporting the event, and a dynamic group of new and returning CHIME Foundation and CHIME CIO members leads our CPES planning efforts this year:
CPES19 Planning Committee Members
- Carina Edwards, Imprivata (Chair)
- Karl Anderson, Medtronic
- Susan Biddle, Fortinet
- Cyndi Cahill, Atos
- Cletis Earle, Kaleida Health
- Jana Langhorne, CynergisTek
- Deborah Gash, Saint Luke’s Health System
- Larry Kaiser, Optimum Healthcare IT
- Barry Mathis, Clearwater Compliance, LLC
- Frank Nydam, VMware
- Melissa Prusher, Avaap
- Donna Roach, Ascension Information Services
- Jen Ryan, Imprivata
- Alok Sharma, 314e
- Paul Slaughter, NTT Data Services
- Raju Togi, CITI
- Laurel Vine, Cerner
- Gus Vlahos, CDW
- Phil Wasson, Hyland
Melissa Prusher, vice president of Global Marketing at Avaap and CPES Planning Committee member said, “I found great value in hearing from healthcare CIOs firsthand and connecting with industry peers at CPES18. I’m looking forward to attending again this year!”
Prusher received many insights from CPES faculty at last year’s event that resulted in great discussions and new directions for her team. “I took away a lot of ideas to enhance how we connect with our CIO customers and develop marketing programs at Avaap.”
Registration for CPES19 and hotel block are open now, and more information on the event is available here. As always, there will be an opportunity to pursue the CFCHE certification, with an exam scheduled at the conclusion of CPES19 on Friday afternoon.
The CPES Planning Committee members look forward to sending their teams to CPES19 and seeing many of their CHIME Foundation peers participating in this exciting and valuable summit.
More Foundation Insight:
Posted 2.19.2019 - Program and tracks designed for three specific audiences:
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CHIME and Digital Health Canada Announce Plans to Launch Canadian Chapter
ORLANDO, FL, Feb. 13, 2019 – The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and Digital Health Canada announced today that they have signed a letter of intent (LOI) to establish a Canadian CHIME chapter. Digital Health Canada will operate the CHIME International – Canada Chapter through Canada’s Health Informatics Executive Forum (CHIEF).“We are thrilled to have our friends in Canada become part of CHIME,” said Russell Branzell, president and CEO of CHIME. “Our goal is to transform health and care around the world using the amazing technical resources now available. Technology alone will not transform care, though. It takes healthcare IT leaders sharing their knowledge and learning from one another. This partnership allows us to join forces to truly revolutionize healthcare everywhere.”“This partnership strengthens the digital health leadership network between Canada and the U.S.,” said Mark Casselman, CEO of Digital Health Canada. “CHIEF and CHIME members experience similar strategic and operational challenges and opportunities in digital health across North America. CHIEF members will benefit from access to CHIME educational programs, certifications, and membership – building upon the trusted network of public-private sector engagement and knowledge sharing that is core to the CHIEF member experience.”CHIME is a membership-based organization serving more than 2,800 chief information officers (CIOs) and senior healthcare executives in 51 countries. CHIME offers online and in-person educational and networking opportunities as well as accreditation through a domestic and international CHIME Certified Healthcare CIO (CHCIO) program.CHIEF brings together more than 150 CIOs and senior healthcare leaders from healthcare delivery, government, and private sector organizations across Canada. CHIEF leaders exchange best practices and share their expertise with government and system stakeholders in setting the agenda for the effective use of digital to improve health and healthcare in Canada.About CHIMEThe College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers (CIOs), chief medical information officers (CMIOs), chief nursing information officers (CNIOs) and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With more than 2,800 members in 51 countries and over 150 healthcare IT business partners and professional services firms, CHIME provides a highly interactive, trusted environment enabling senior professional and industry leaders to collaborate; exchange best practices; address professional development needs; and advocate the effective use of information management to improve the health and healthcare in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.About Digital Health CanadaDigital Health Canada connects, inspires, and educates the digital health professionals creating the future of health in Canada. Our 2500+ members are a diverse community of accomplished, influential professionals working to make a difference in advancing healthcare through information technology. Digital Health Canada fosters network growth and connection; brings together ideas from multiple segments for incubation and advocacy; supports members through professional development at the individual and organizational level; and advocates for the Canadian digital health industry. Digital Health Canada is also the home of Canada’s Health Informatics Executive Forum (CHIEF), serving more than 150 CIOs and senior leaders from healthcare delivery, government, and private sector organizations across Canada.ContactsCandace StuartDirector of Communications and Public Relations, CHIME734.665.0000Eileen McPheeCommunications Manager, Digital Health Canada416-277-8136Posted 2.13.2019 -
Columbia Asia Hospitals launches its Patient Engagement Suite, powered by MphRx’s Minerva platform
February 12, 2019 – MphRx announces today that Columbia Asia Hospitals, a chain of 28 hospitals across India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam, has launched their Patient Engagement Application Suite, with patient facing applications available on Web, Android and Apple devices. Powered by MphRx’s FHIR based digital health platform – Minerva, the integrated patient engagement applications provide an aggregated view of patient’s health data across the network’s hospitals and enables online booking of health care services and physician appointments.
Columbia Asia Hospitals had created a strategic direction to rollout an integrated patient engagement platform across its growing network of hospitals to provide its consumers with an improved digital health experience. The Minerva platform provides a unified and scalable infrastructure to expand their digital services with a seamless user experience across all digital touchpoints.
“Minerva’s industry standard open platform approach enabled us to execute our digital patient engagement strategy,” says Deen Sulbigar Ali Ahamed (Zulfi), Group Head of IT, Columbia Asia Group of Hospitals. “Minerva is a unified platform that allows patients to book and manage appointments through any channel of their choice whether it’s website, mobile app or even by making a call to customer care. Patients can avoid hospital queues by registering online and paying for consultation and services through the app. Further, patients get notified when their reports are ready and they can easily view the lab results and download reports from anywhere. We are excited to roll out this solution, and look forward to giving our patients a simplified and seamless experience”.
“We feel extremely proud and honored to be chosen as the technology partner for Columbia Asia Hospitals in their digital transformation journey, providing health applications to improve patient engagement and drive clinical excellence,” quotes Mahesh Uberoi, President, and CEO of MphRx. “Columbia Asia is one of the largest network of hospitals in South East Asia and has been expanding its care network quite rapidly. This implementation was particularly complex with its multi-national requirements and we are proud to have deployed our product at this scale. It’s a one-of-a-kind deployment, where a health system has deployed a single digital platform across multiple countries that they operate in. With Minerva as the underlying platform, Columbia Asia Hospitals can easily scale up their IT infrastructure to support the broadening patient base and deliver a seamless user experience at the point of care across all its facilities.”
The Minerva patient engagement suite allowed them to provide a single point of care solution on both web and mobile. The underlying Minerva platform, integrates clinical and non-clinical data across disparate health IT systems and facilities to provide a 360-degree view of patient data accessible instantly from anywhere and on any device. The applications allow patients to book and manage appointments, access all their lab results and radiology reports instantly, and get medication alerts and reminders.
The Minerva Customer Care application provides marketing and helpdesk tools that enable the Columbia Asia Customer Care department to manage on-boarding of patients, book and manage appointments on the behalf of patients, and set up and manage appointment slots for all physicians.
The physicians at Columbia Asia Hospitals, via the Minerva physician application will get instant access to aggregated medical records, order laboratory and radiology services for patients, add and edit progress notes, and view and edit discharge summaries of any in-patient episode.
In a short span of nine months since the first Columbia Asia hospital went live on Minerva, hundreds of thousands of appointments have been booked through this platform.
About MphRx
MphRx, Inc. is a rapidly growing healthcare technology company headquartered in New York, with offices in Princeton, London, Singapore and New Delhi. MphRx has built Minerva, a Digital Health platform with deep interoperability at its core. The platform has been deployed in over 20 countries with health systems leveraging its capabilities to drive their Interoperability and Digital Health initiatives for over 80 million patients. MphRx is an EN ISO 13485:2012, ISO 9001:2008 and ISO 27001:2013 certified organization.
For more details, visit www.mphrx.com or contact us at [email protected].
About Columbia Asia
Columbia Asia is an international private healthcare company founded by an American entrepreneur, Mr. Daniel Baty in 1996. From the outset, Columbia Asia envisioned to provide quality, affordable healthcare services easily accessed by people wherever they live – driven by our vision statement, a passion for making people better. It is owned by an investment fund, International Columbia US, LLC (ICU). In 2016, Mitsui & Co., a Japanese conglomerate with deep operating experience in Asia joined as a shareholder in ICU.
Today, Columbia Asia is one of the largest and fastest growing hospital groups in Asia. It currently has 12 hospitals in Malaysia, 11 in India, 2 in Vietnam and 3 in Indonesia.
With no more than 200 beds per hospital, it leverages modern technology to provide efficient specialist care and to reduce length of hospital stays which results in more cost-effective care. The hospitals of Columbia Asia provide a wide array of specialist services such as General Surgery, Paediatrics, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Orthopaedics, Internal Medicine, Oncology, Cardiology, Neurosurgery, Bariatric surgery and more. These are appropriately supported by ancillary services that include an Intensive Care Unit, Neonatal Care Unit, Physiotherapy, Laboratory, Pharmacy and Imaging.
At Columbia Asia, strict clinical governance, ethics and excellence is demanded.
Posted 2.12.2019 -
Securing Connected Medical Devices – A Practitioner’s View
Description: Securing Connected Medical Devices – A Practitioner’s View – Interview with Tressa Springmann & Michael Hardesty. When asked about the escalating cyberthreat landscape and the challenges of protecting Connected Medical Devices, LifeBridge Health’s SVP & CIO and their IT Security Analyst shared the significance of the security strategy of encompassing people, processes, and technologies. Listen to Tressa Springmann and Mike Hardesty as they talk to Kalyan Siddam about the lessons learned, the best practices and, the role of latest Machine Learning tools. Learn the importance of considering the entire device Lifecycle Management and choosing platforms that can complement existing investments, and effortlessly plug-in to protect and ensure continued patient care.
Media Contact: Kalyan Siddam, Director of Product Management, Zingbox, [email protected]
Posted 2.12.2019 -
CHIME and BCS The Chartered Institute for IT Agree to Launch Chapter in UK
ANN ARBOR, MI, Feb. 11, 2019 – The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and British Computer Society – The Chartered Institute for IT announced today that they have signed a letter of intent (LOI) to establish a CHIME chapter in the UK.
“Our friends in the UK have been great champions of CHIME,” said Russell Branzell, president and CEO of CHIME. “They have made us so welcome over the years when we’ve been invited to hold Leadership Academies or Boot Camps. We are thrilled to be able to extend all the benefits of CHIME membership to them, and to have their amazing teams now be part of the CHIME community.”
Chair of BCS Health, Andy Kinnear, said: “There is a new and sharp focus on professionalism for health and care IT leaders in the UK as we work to bring in the benefits of digital technology to improve patient care. This partnership gives BCS members access to CHIME education and its internationally recognized qualification CHCIO.”
Adam Thilthorpe, Director of Professionalism at BCS, added: “BCS are committed to supporting the NHS deliver digital leaders for the future; CHIME offers our members a valuable addition in achieving this standard of excellence.”
CHIME is a membership-based organization serving more than 2,800 chief information officers (CIOs) and senior healthcare executives in 51 countries. CHIME offers online and in-person educational and networking opportunities as well as accreditation through a domestic and international CHIME Certified Healthcare CIO (CHCIO) program. BCS The Chartered Institute for IT is a membership organization which aims to promote and advance the education and practice of computing for the benefit of the public.
CHIME now has four international chapters outside the U.S. being formed and one international chapter fully launched. CHIME has signed an LOI to open chapters in Italy, Ireland and in German-speaking communities in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland. In 2017 CHIME launched a chapter in India.
About CHIME
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers (CIOs), chief medical information officers (CMIOs), chief nursing information officers (CNIOs) and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With more than 2,800 members in 51 countries and over 150 healthcare IT business partners and professional services firms, CHIME provides a highly interactive, trusted environment enabling senior professional and industry leaders to collaborate; exchange best practices; address professional development needs; and advocate the effective use of information management to improve the health and healthcare in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.About BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT
BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT, are here to make IT good for society. We promote wider social and economic progress through the advancement of information technology science and practice. We bring together industry, academics, practitioners and government to share knowledge, promote new thinking, inform the design of new curricula, shape public policy and inform the public.
Our vision is to be a world-class organization for IT. Our 65,000 strong membership includes practitioners, businesses, academics and students in the UK and internationally. We deliver a range of professional development tools for practitioners and employees. A leading IT qualification body, we offer a range of widely recognized qualifications.
Contacts
CHIME:
Candace Stuart
Director of Communications and Public Relations, CHIME
734.665.0000
[email protected]BCS – The Chartered Institute for IT:
Julie Andrews,
BCS Key Account Manager
+ 44 1793417422
[email protected]Posted 2.12.2019 -
Survey: Patients Prefer Secure Texting Over Patient Portal Communication From Their Physicians
Patients welcome text messages that encourage better health, and family members prefer text message updates about loved ones
ROCKVILLE, MD — February 12, 2019 — Only 10 percent of patients prefer to receive physician communications via patient portals, whereas twice that many (19.6 percent) favor receiving information via secure text messages when in-person and phone calls are not an option. The new survey, conducted by DrFirst, the nation’s leading provider of e-prescribing and patient medication management solutions, also found that more than 90 percent of respondents would like the ability to communicate via secure text messaging with a family member’s care team if that loved one were ill.
According to the American Hospital Association (AHA), 93 percent of hospitals now allow patients online access to electronic health records (EHRs) via patient portals. However, due to privacy and security concerns, healthcare providers have traditionally avoided text messaging when communicating with patients, their families, or colleagues. The survey results suggest that despite widespread access to patient portals, physicians should consider secure messaging alternatives to satisfy consumers’ strong preference for text messaging when phone calls or in-person discussions are not feasible.
The survey findings also indicate that the majority of consumers would find it beneficial to receive reminders from their physician about simple behaviors that could improve their health. Depending on the type of message, 83 percent of respondents would welcome reminders from their doctors about taking prescribed medications, checking blood pressure, completing rehabilitation exercises, scheduling follow-up appointments, or similar tasks.
“The survey results confirm our observation that patients want to be more engaged in their care and desire more options for interacting with their healthcare providers using the same communication methods they regularly use in every other part of their life,” said G. Cameron Deemer, president of DrFirst. “Clinicians who use secure text messaging to connect with patients and their family members can improve patient satisfaction, drive medication adherence, and empower patients to be more actively involved in their health and wellness.”
High demand for secure text messaging between family members and care teams
With about 10,000 baby boomers turning 65 each day, healthcare providers are facing a growing need to communicate with their patients’ family members. According to the DrFirst survey, 91 percent of respondents would like the ability to communicate with their loved one’s care team via text messaging – a communication method that eliminates common phone tag delays. A secure text messaging alternative would allow caregivers and a patient’s family members to stay connected, without placing a patient’s privacy at risk.
Survey Details
The online survey included responses from 199 consumers/patients who visit the doctor at least once every six months. 58 percent of the survey participants were female, and 42 percent were male. About 25 percent of the respondents were over the age of 54, and another 25 percent were between 25 and 34 years of age. An additional 18 percent were between 18 and 24 years old, while 16 percent were between 45 and 54 years old.
About DrFirst
DrFirst, the nation’s leading provider of e-prescribing and medication management solutions, enables stakeholders across the healthcare industry to use comprehensive real-time data and connectivity to increase their patient safety ratings, efficiency, and profitability. Today, more than 170,000 healthcare professionals and more than 60% of electronic health record (EHR) vendors depend on DrFirst’s innovative software solutions to improve clinical workflows, expedite secure collaboration across a patient’s care team and drive better health outcomes. The company’s integrated technologies include its award-winning electronic prescribing platform, the most comprehensive medication history available, clinically specialized secure messaging, and patient medication adherence monitoring and benefits checking. Also, DrFirst was the first to offer e-prescribing for controlled substances (EPCS) and is considered the industry standard for providers nationwide. For more information, please visit www.drfirst.com or connect with us @DrFirst.
DrFirst Media Contact:
Lisa Chernikoff
Amendola Communications
734-678-5513
[email protected]Posted 2.12.2019 -
PDS hires Tamara Korbel as Director, Corporate IT Security and I&AM Technical Services
Milwaukee, WI – February 10, 2019 – PDS is pleased to announce that Tamara Korbel has joined their team as Director, Corporate IT Security and IAM Technical Services. In this new role Tamara will be responsible for two main areas; Corporate IT Security as our CSO, and the management of our Identity & Access Management (I&AM) Practice.
For corporate IT Security, Tamara will be responsible for the oversight of processes across the company to reduce information technology risks, manage incident responses and establish appropriate policies and procedures. For the IAM Technical Services, Tamara will provide functional management of the IAM organization to deliver high quality and high customer satisfaction.
“Innovation, strategy, risk and financial analysis have been the cornerstone of my tenure,” said Tamara. “These skills partnered with the team at PDS make for an exceptional future. It is an honor to be part of the PDS team and I look forward to the success that lies ahead.”
Prior to accepting this position, she served as Director of Technology and Security/Data Security Officer for Ridgeview Medical Center and Clinics in Minnesota from 2010 to 2019 and Information System Manager with Rice County District One Hospital from 1996 to 2010.
“We’re thrilled to have Tamara a part of our team, and her expertise will bring new depth to our growing I&AM practice, and a new level of security to PDS internally, said Mitch Prust, VP Data Center Products & Services. “Tamara brings a strong background in IT Data Security and a proven track record of success in the area of Healthcare IT Systems and Services, which will be invaluable to PDS.”
Tamara will based out of the PDS Bloomington, MN office.
About PDS
PDS is a Midwest based Information Technology Solution Provider that supports healthcare, government, education, manufacturing, and corporate organizations with Digital Workspace, Security, and Digital Infrastructure solutions. PDS is a strategic partner that helps organizations reduce risk and total cost of ownership, and to move closer to the vision of fully Connected IT.
PDS was founded over 30 years ago with a simple Golden Rule: “Do the right thing for your clients…and all else will follow” This client centric approach has driven our commitment to being a high-touch, value-added partner with shared goals and shared risk. It’s this simple value that has driven us to adapt and innovate as technology has evolved through the decades, and it is what continues to drive us today.
Contact:
Lance Wand
Director, Marketing
[email protected]
(608) 246-2847Posted 2.11.2019 -
Spok Introduces a New Cloud-Native Clinical Communication Platform Powered by Amazon Web Services
Spok will showcase the latest evolution of Spok Care Connect® in booth #3371 at HIMSS19
SPRINGFIELD, VA – February 11, 2019 – Spok, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPOK) and a global leader in healthcare communications, will demonstrate the latest evolution of its integrated healthcare communication platform, Spok Care Connect, in booth #3371 at the 2019 HIMSS Annual Conference and Exhibition, Feb. 11-15, 2019, in Orlando, Florida. The first-of-its-kind cloud-native enterprise communication platform includes a fully integrated healthcare contact center, clinical alerting and alarm management solution, and a multi-device application for care team messaging. Spok Care Connect makes care collaboration easier by connecting important care team and patient information into messaging and alerting applications.
“We are particularly pleased to be able to showcase at HIMSS19 what we believe is a game changer in healthcare communication technology: the next evolution of the Spok Care Connect platform,” said Vincent D. Kelly, president and chief executive officer of Spok Holdings, Inc. “Spok Care Connect is a powerful system of action with deep EHR interoperability. It includes a robust workflow engine that will enable hospitals and health systems to consolidate their clinical workflows into a single system.”
The power to automate clinical workflows is what sets Spok apart in healthcare communications. Hospital teams will be able to adapt a comprehensive list of pre-defined workflow templates, deciding what information to pull from clinical systems and the right person or group to receive it. This approach will streamline communication and let clinicians focus on what they do best—taking care of patients.
Spok Care Connect is designed with a cloud-native architecture that dramatically simplifies product installation and configuration and it will introduce frequently requested customer self-service capabilities. The company has collaborated with Amazon Web Services (AWS) for a complete cloud services solution, giving Spok enterprise customers the most in security, agility, and breadth and depth of services with a real-time cloud-based communication solution.
Spok will unveil at HIMSS the first phase of its new suite of communication solutions:
- Spok Go™: An intuitive, multi-device application for care team messaging, Spok Go delivers real-time information from clinical systems. The secure care collaboration solution follows users anywhere, allowing clinicians to access information and send messages on both mobile and desktop devices to help manage workflows, alerts, and tasks. Available now for Apple iPhone and iPad, Android smartphones, and Windows and Mac desktops.
- Spok Conduct™: The groundbreaking solution is the first cloud-native workflow engine focused on clinical alerting and alarm management. Spok Conduct will enhance caregiver productivity, utilizing outcomes-based workflows that span across EHRs, nurse call, and other clinical systems. Users will be able to streamline clinical workflows with flexible routing and escalation of alerts to the right person. Available now for nurse call workflows.
- Spok Navigate™: The next step in healthcare contact center communications will allow operators to help patients and caregivers navigate their health system experience.
Spok has worked closely with members of its innovation partner alliance over the past several years to develop this cloud native platform. “It’s been great working with Spok as an innovation partner. We’ve been engaged for nearly two years through on-site visits and weekly virtual meetings, so we’re contributing real-time information and our providers are fully engaged,” said Dr. Mark Weisman, chief medical information officer at Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, Maryland. “It’s been incredible for us to see our feedback reflected in an app that ultimately helps us do our jobs better, and we look forward to continuing to enhance the platform with Spok.”
“Our experience supporting more than 1,900 hospitals across the U.S. has helped us create a solution that positions healthcare providers for success today and supports them with faster, smarter clinical communications for the next decade,” says Hemant Goel, president of Spok, Inc. “This latest evolution of our communication technology will allow our customers to leverage integrations to their existing Spok suite of solutions, while keeping security in the forefront.”
HIMSS19 attendees are invited to visit the Spok booth (#3371) for a personal tour of the latest evolution of Spok Care Connect. Learn more and book a demo or meeting at spok.com/HIMSS.
About Spok
Spok, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPOK), headquartered in Springfield, Va., is proud to be a global leader in healthcare communications. We deliver clinical information to care teams when and where it matters most to improve patient outcomes. Top hospitals rely on the Spok Care Connect® platform to enhance workflows for clinicians, support administrative compliance, and provide a better experience for patients. Our customers send over 100 million messages each month through their Spok® solutions. Spok is making care collaboration easier. For more information, visit spok.com or follow @spoktweets on Twitter.Spok is a trademark of Spok Holdings, Inc. Spok Care Connect and Spok Mobile are trademarks of Spok, Inc.
Contacts
Jill Asby
+1 (952) 230-5363
[email protected]Posted 2.11.2019