• Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust Selects Health Catalyst for Care Redesign Programme

    First UK Implementation of Health Catalyst Data Operating System to deliver actionable insights to improve outcomes as part of Care Redesign

    SALT LAKE CITY, USA and LONDON, ENGLAND – June 11, 2019 – Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust aspires to embed a data-driven organisational culture, with clinical analytics routinely embedded in clinical delivery, decision making and real-time outcome measurement.  This will be realised as a result of a new agreement between the Trust and Health Catalyst.

    Health Catalyst will be supporting the Trust’s Care Redesign programme.  This clinical transformation programme aims to ensure that patient pathways are clinically-led, evidence-based, with a mature ‘joined up’ use of data, in order to minimise unwarranted variation.

    The agreement marks the first UK implementation of Health Catalyst’s Data Operating System (DOS™), a cloud-based digital platform that enables clinicians to integrate and analyse data from virtually any software system or other data source.  The Health Catalyst suite of analytics applications built on top of DOS are designed to analyse the most common problems facing healthcare organisations, ranging from unwarranted clinical variation to operational flow and patient safety issues such as sepsis.

    The platform will be installed within the Trust, bringing together data from the Trust’s many clinical information systems to help eliminate data siloes and helping to support Guy’s and St Thomas’ data-driven ambitions.  Currently Guy’s and St Thomas’ has over 50 different systems for collecting and analysing data covering the range of its services, which have expanded considerably in recent years.  Patients are expected to experience shorter waits and improved care over time as Guy’s and St Thomas’ increases the organisational-wide levels of insight from data analytics.

    “We recognize that an advanced capability to analyse and visualise data is at the core of everything we need to achieve through Care Redesign,” said Simon Steddon, Guy’s and St Thomas’ Medical Director.  “We need reliable, accurate data to understand exactly where we are today and to move to where we want to be. With Health Catalyst, I am confident we have found a partner with the knowledge and experience to help us increase our overall data literacy and optimise our use of analytics as we work to improve the outcomes and experiences of our patients and staff.”

    “For academic centres such as Guy’s & St Thomas’ it is increasingly important to harness data from many sources in order to glean insights from that data, and then work to measurably improve,” said Dan Burton, CEO of Health Catalyst. “Health Catalyst is focused on helping hospitals and health systems to organize and analyse relevant clinical, financial and operational data in order to improve the quality and cost of patient care. We are honoured with Guy’s & St Thomas’ trust in Health Catalyst and believe that, with their forward-thinking strategies for care and analytics, both organizations will benefit from our meaningful partnership.”

    Brendan Farmer, Managing Director of Health Catalyst UK & Europe, added, “We believe the Guy’s and St Thomas’ Care Redesign programme is a ground breaking project and we are delighted to be chosen to partner with them to improve the extent and quality of their data by unlocking it’s utility through our DOS™ platform. Having supported NHS England on the blueprint design phase of their Global Digital Exemplar programme, we will be working closely with Guy’s and St Thomas to support their programme and demonstrate the applicability of our 3 systems approach to outcomes improvement in the NHS.”

    Health Catalyst technology and services are widely deployed among healthcare organisations in the United States, including more than 50 of the nation’s largest healthcare organisations as of December 31, 2018. Over 650 customer-verified improvements in clinical, financial and operational outcomes among Health Catalyst’s customer base have been generated since 2015.

    About Health Catalyst, Inc.

    Health Catalyst is a leading provider of data and analytics technology and services to healthcare organisations, committed to being the catalyst for massive, measurable, data-informed healthcare improvement. Our customers leverage our cloud-based data platform—powered by data from more than 100 million patient records, and encompassing trillions of facts—as well as our analytics software and professional services expertise to make data-informed decisions and realise measurable clinical, financial, and operational improvements. We envision a future in which all healthcare decisions are data-informed. Learn more at www.healthcatalyst.com.

    About Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

    Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust is among the UK’s busiest and most successful foundation trusts, with a long history of clinical excellence and high quality care. The Trust comprises two of London’s best known teaching hospitals – St Thomas’ Hospital and Guy’s Hospital. It also includes Evelina London Children’s Hospital and both adult and children’s community services in Lambeth and Southwark. The Trust is also part of King’s Health Partners, one of only six academic health sciences centres in the UK. Guy’s and St Thomas’ is guided by its values: putting patients first, taking pride in what we do, respecting others, striving to be the best and acting with integrity.

    For more information contact:

    John Underwood
    Freshwater
    [email protected]

    Todd Stein
    Amendola Communications
    510-417-0612
    [email protected]

    Posted 6.11.2019

  • CynergisTek’s Survey Data Reveals Leading Cybersecurity Concerns for Healthcare Organization Executives

    Client-Conference Discussion Unveils That Risks Associated with Internet of Things, Medical Devices, Third-Party Vendors, and Program Management are Top of Mind for Security Executives, Yet Action is Lagging

    AUSTIN, TX – June 11, 2019 – CynergisTek, Inc. (NYSE AMERICAN: CTEK), a leader in healthcare cybersecurity, privacy, and compliance, today announced findings from its first “CAPP Conference Survey.” The survey was administered to attendees of the company’s first inaugural CAPP Community Conference: Cybersecurity 2019 this past May, which focused on tackling some of the most pressing issues facing healthcare cybersecurity and privacy, including vendor breaches and risks, new state privacy laws, privacy and security culture, and medical device security. The survey of approximately 60 C-level healthcare executives revealed the greatest perceived threats and current challenges these organizations are facing in cybersecurity and privacy.

    Overall, the findings highlighted that the issues respondents were most concerned about were the risks associated with Internet of Things (IoT), medical devices, third-party vendors, and program development/management. However, the data also pinpointed some of the barriers or disconnects within the organization to solve these issues, like executive leadership buy-in. Most notably:

    • 40% responded that third-party risk is the threat that concerns them the most.
    • Of the emerging threat areas (5G, AI, IoT, and supply chain) discussed, over 50% responded that they were the most concerned about IoT.
    • Nearly one third of respondents reported that medical device security is one of the top five risks facing healthcare according, to the Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices, however most reported not having an effective strategy in place to assess the risks posed by medical devices. Even more alarming, 26% said they don’t have any process in place at all.
    • Almost half of the organizations reported to have conducted an incident response exercise only one time, or to have never done one at all.
    • ‘Culture’ was listed as the leading difficulty (over compensation and training) in retaining cybersecurity professionals.
    • 54% of those surveyed said the biggest barrier to meeting privacy and security challenges was due to lack of adequate resources (tools, money, or people), and only 13% was due to senior management buy-in. However, in a follow-up question, 40% responded that they didn’t know if their Boards were more or less involved with cybersecurity and privacy programs than they previously had been.

    “The fact that the vast majority of respondents report a lack of resources as a serious constraint against their cybersecurity program, and senior management buy-in as the least concern, shows there is a huge disconnect happening and is extremely troubling,” said David Finn, Executive Vice President of Strategic Innovation at CynergisTek. “If executive leadership truly understood the business risks posed by inadequate cybersecurity and realized the major operational, financial, and patient safety implications a security incident can have, they would ensure any and all resources needed were available. We need to make sure we are effectively communicating these issues to executive leadership so they make cybersecurity a business priority.”

    The “CAPP Conference Survey” findings reiterate the issues facing the healthcare industry today and the difficulties to keep up with the ever advancing cybersecurity world. The disparity between the severity of these cybersecurity threats and the lack of urgency from organizations to implement a plan or solution is creating a dangerous landscape that many healthcare organizations have fallen victim to. The CAPP Conference provided a platform to help bridge this gap by bringing together industry experts and CynergisTek’s CAPP community members to serve as resources to one another to help address these common issues and work together to find a resolution.

    For the complete “CAPP Conference Survey” data, please visit https://insights.cynergistek.com/slideshare/capp-conference-survey.

    About CynergisTek, Inc.

    CynergisTek is a top-ranked cybersecurity firm dedicated to serving the information assurance needs of the healthcare industry. CynergisTek offers specialized services and solutions to help organizations achieve privacy, security, and compliance goals. Since 2004, the company has served as a partner to hundreds of healthcare organizations and is dedicated to supporting and educating the industry by contributing to relevant industry associations. The company has been recognized by KLAS in the 2016 and 2018 Cybersecurity reports as a top performing firm in healthcare cybersecurity, as well as the 2017 Best in KLAS winner for Cybersecurity Advisory Services.

    Contacts

    Media Contact:
    Aria Marketing
    Danielle Johns
    (617) 332-9999 x241
    [email protected]

    Investor Relations Contact:
    CynergisTek, Inc.
    Bryan Flynn
    (512) 402-8550 x8
    [email protected]

    Posted 6.11.2019

  • INTEGRIS Health Selects Health Catalyst to Drive Enterprise-Wide Performance Improvement

    SALT LAKE CITY, UT and OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – June 7, 2019 – Health Catalyst®, Inc., a leading provider of data and analytics technology and services to health care organizations, announced today that INTEGRIS Health, Oklahoma’s largest not-for-profit health system, will use the Health Catalyst Data Operating System (DOS™) across its network to drive data-informed clinical, operational, and financial performance improvements.

    The effort will centralize data from INTEGRIS’s Epic electronic health record (EHR) system, and from financial, operational and patient satisfaction systems to DOS, a health care-specific, cloud-based, open, flexible, and scalable platform, providing a single comprehensive environment to integrate and organize data from disparate software systems. DOS is deeply embedded with health care domain knowledge, enabling a broad range of analytics pinpointing opportunities for measurable improvements across the enterprise.

    “A key strategy for INTEGRIS is to provide our caregivers with great clinical and business intelligence to help them continuously improve the care we provide,” said Timothy Pehrson,

    president and CEO of INTEGRIS. “Health care is so complex that physicians and business leaders need robust tools to turn data into information, and information into action. Health Catalyst provides the perfect blend of data science and tools that INTEGRIS caregivers need to improve care and value to the people we serve. We are excited about this partnership.”

    INTEGRIS-affiliated hospitals contain more than 1,800 licensed beds and approximately 1,400 physicians and 10,500 employees. INTEGRIS has 11 Centers of Excellence, along with research, staff education, support groups for patients and their families and educational programs for the community. With more than 300 access points across the state, approximately 60 percent of Oklahomans live within 30 miles of a facility or physician included in the INTEGRIS organization.

    Health Catalyst analytics applications built on the DOS platform address the most pressing concerns of health care organizations, including managing population health; gaining a comprehensive view of the true cost of care; empowering executive decision support with a dashboard view of enterprise-wide performance; benchmarking and prioritizing improvement opportunities; and monitoring, detecting, predicting and preventing threats to patient safety, before harm can occur.

    “Equipping our talented providers with robust and accurate analytics will fuel exponential improvement in clinical outcomes that drive value for our patients and communities,” said Tommy Ibrahim, M.D., executive vice president and chief physician executive of INTEGRIS. “After an extensive review of multiple vendors, we are pleased to partner with Health Catalyst to execute on this important strategy to deliver clinical, operational and financial excellence at INTEGRIS.”

    In combination with Health Catalyst’s world-class outcome-improvement services, DOS fuels improvements across enterprises by integrating and analyzing critical data from over 200 of the most widely-used data sources, and delivering real-time decision support for clinicians, administrators and other healthcare professionals.

    “We believe that Health Catalyst offers the most mature analytics toolset in the health care market today,” said Benjamin Mansalis, M.D., vice president of clinical and business intelligence at INTEGRIS. “Our partnership with Health Catalyst will empower caregivers with key insights to deliver the highest quality and value of care to the patients of INTEGRIS.”

    INTEGRIS will have access to Health Catalyst’s full library of technology solutions and content culled from the company’s outcomes-improvement work with health systems across the country.

    “INTEGRIS is an innovative, forward-thinking, care-quality leader whom we are proud to support in continued excellence across all areas of healthcare delivery,” said Dan Burton, CEO of Health Catalyst. “It is no surprise INTEGRIS recognized that a holistic perspective combined with granular insight is necessary to drive significant and sustainable improvements as more value-based care arrangements take hold. We are committed to driving value-based, enterprise-wide data-informed decisions which result in measurable outcomes that ensure INTEGRIS maintains its upward trajectory and fulfills its patient-centric mission across the region.”

    About Health Catalyst

    Health Catalyst is a leading provider of data and analytics technology and services to healthcare organizations, committed to being the catalyst for massive, measurable, data-informed healthcare improvement. Our customers leverage our cloud-based data platform—powered by data from more than 100 million patient records, and encompassing trillions of facts—as well as our analytics software and professional services expertise to make data-informed decisions and realize measurable clinical, financial, and operational improvements. We envision a future in which all healthcare decisions are data-informed. Learn more at www.healthcatalyst.com.

    About INTEGRIS Health

    INTEGRIS, the largest Oklahoma-owned not-for-profit health system in the state, is known for innovation and unparalleled quality offering advanced treatment options and specialties found nowhere else in the region.

    For more information contact:

    Todd Stein
    Amendola Communications
    510-417-0612
    [email protected]

    Posted 6.7.2019

  • Impact Advisors Named to CRN Solution Provider 500 List

    Firm ranked among North America’s largest 500 technology integrators

    CHICAGO, IL – June 6, 2019 – Impact Advisors, a leading provider of clinical, revenue cycle and information technology services to the healthcare industry, announced today that CRN ®, a brand of The Channel Company, has named the firm to its 2019 Solution Provider 500 list. This annual list ranks the largest North American IT channel partner organizations by revenue.

    The Solution Provider 500 is the industry standard for recognizing the highest performing technology integrators, strategic service providers and IT consultants. It is the industry’s predominant channel partner list, serving as a valuable resource for technology vendors looking to partner with top solution providers.

    “We are proud to be named to CRN’s 2019 Solution Provider 500 for another year,” said Maria Smith, CFO of Impact Advisors. “Impact Advisors is committed to working shoulder to shoulder with our clients to provide solutions that improve healthcare quality and delivery, making them safer and more efficient.”

    “The companies on this year’s list represent an incredible combined revenue of $320 billion, a sum that attests to their success in staying ahead of rapidly changing market demands,” said Bob Skelley, CEO of The Channel Company. “Congratulations to the solution provider organizations leading the way in digital transformation and the latest technology services.”

    The complete 2019 Solution Provider 500 list is available online at www.CRN.com/SP500 and a sample from the list will be featured in the June issue of CRN Magazine.

    About Impact Advisors

    Impact Advisors is a nationally recognized healthcare consulting firm and trusted partner of industry leaders focused on delivering clinical, revenue cycle, and information technology services to solve some of healthcare’s toughest challenges. Our comprehensive suite of patient access, clinical and revenue cycle services spans the lifecycle of our clients’ needs. Our experienced team has a powerful combination of clinical, revenue, operations, consulting and IT experience. The firm has earned a number of prestigious industry and workplace awards: Best in KLAS® for 12 consecutive years, CRN Solution Provider and CRN Fast Growth 150, Modern Healthcare’s Largest Revenue Cycle Management Firms, Healthcare Informatics HCI 100, as well as “best place to work” awards from: Modern Healthcare, Consulting Magazine, Becker’s Hospital Review and Achievers. For more information about Impact Advisors, visit www.impact-advisors.com.

     

    Media Contact:
    Karli Smith
    Chartwell Agency
    815-977-5343
    [email protected]

    Posted 6.6.2019

  • Vocera Smartbadge Wins 2019 MedTech Breakthrough Award for Best Internet-of-Things Healthcare Wearable Device

    Annual program recognizes outstanding healthcare technology solutions and companies

    SAN JOSE, CA – June 5, 2019 – Vocera Communications, Inc. (NYSE:VCRA), a recognized leader in clinical communication and workflow solutions, today announced the Vocera Smartbadge won the 2019 MedTech Breakthrough Award for “Best Internet-of-Things Healthcare Wearable Device.” More than 3,500 nominations from more than 15 countries, were submitted to this year’s MedTech Breakthrough Awards, an independent program honoring excellence in health and medical technology solutions, services, companies and leaders.

    The award-winning Smartbadge was introduced earlier this year, launching a new category of wearable communication. The durable, light-weight, and intelligent device was purpose built for healthcare. Combining hands-free calling capability of the Vocera Badge with smartphone functionality, the Smartbadge empowers clinician agility and accelerates patient care. Its 2.4” touchscreen enables clinicians to receive prioritized clinical events, read notifications with patient context, and securely text, while a dedicated, one-touch panic button makes it fast for staff to get help in emergency situations. 

    “The development and adoption of Internet-of-Things is one of the most exciting developments in the healthcare industry today, and Vocera is taking an innovative approach in creating powerful IoT solutions for improved communications,” said James Johnson, managing director, MedTech Breakthrough. “The Vocera Smartbadge employs breakthrough technology that delivers numerous tangible benefits that ultimately improve the lives of patients, families and care teams. We are excited to recognize Vocera for its success and this well-deserved 2019 MedTech Breakthrough Award.”

    The mission of the MedTech Breakthrough Awards is to honor excellence and recognize innovation, hard work and success in a range of health and medical technology categories, including robotics, clinical administration, telehealth, patient engagement, electronic health records, mHealth, medical devices, and more.

    “We are thrilled to receive this MedTech Breakthrough Award for the Smartbadge, which is another leap forward in our mission to support real-time health systems around the world,” said Brent Lang, president and CEO at Vocera. “This accolade could not have been achieved without customer input and the many Vocera employees who worked tirelessly to design, build and launch this one-of-a-kind device that is changing the way care teams communicate.”

    The Smartbadge leverages the full software capability of the Vocera Platform – voice calling, messaging, clinical alerts and alarms, and more. Clinicians can reach the right team member by simply saying a person’s name, role or group, and the hands-free device routes alerts and messages directly to specific clinicians based on staff assignments and intelligent rules. The Smartbadge will integrate with more than 140 clinical and operational systems, including electronic health records, nurse call systems, physiologic monitors and more.  

    About Vocera

    The mission of Vocera Communications, Inc. is to simplify and improve the lives of healthcare professionals and patients, while enabling hospitals to enhance quality of care and operational efficiency. In 2000, when the company was founded, we began to forever change the way care teams communicate. Today, Vocera offers the leading platform for improving clinical communication and workflow. More than 1,850 facilities worldwide, including nearly 1,600 hospitals and healthcare facilities, have selected our clinical communication and workflow solutions. Care team members use our solutions to communicate and collaborate with co-workers by securely texting or calling, and to be notified of important alerts and alarms. They can choose the right device for their role or task, including smartphones or our hands-free, wearable Vocera Smartbadge and Vocera Badge. Interoperability between the Vocera Platform and more than 140 clinical and operational systems helps reduce alarm fatigue; speed up staff response times; and improve patient care, safety, and experience. In addition to healthcare, Vocera is at home in luxury hotels, aged care facilities, nuclear power facilities, schools, libraries, retail stores, and more. Vocera solutions make a difference in any industry where workers are on the move and need to connect instantly with team members and access resources or information quickly. In 2017, Vocera made the list of Forbes 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America. Learn more at www.vocera.com and follow @VoceraComm on Twitter.

     Vocera® and the Vocera logo are trademarks of Vocera Communications, Inc. registered in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other trademarks appearing in this release are the property of their respective owners.

    MEDIA CONTACT
    Shanna Hearon
    Vocera Communications, Inc.
    [email protected]
    669-999-3368

    Posted 6.5.2019

  • Canadian-Based Northern Health Adopts Nuance AI-powered Dragon Medical One to Revolutionize Care Delivery Across British Columbia

    Nuance’s speech recognition platform promotes care team collaboration, improves clinical documentation efficiency and physician mobility at Northern Health

    BURLINGTON, MA and PRINCE GEORGE, BC – June 5, 2019 – Nuance Communications, Inc.(NASDAQ: NUAN), an industry-leading provider of AI-powered solutions, today announced Canadian-based Northern Health has revolutionized its approach to care delivery with Nuance’s cloud-based Dragon Medical One (DMO) and PowerMic Mobile (PMM).

    Northern Health’s leadership team selected Nuance’s innovative technology solutions to support its 1,000 physicians who provide care to more than 300,000 patients annually in northern British Columbia. It was clear the Nuance technology streamlined the documentation process, improved the quality, and provided immediate real-time access to patient documentation.

    DMO and PMM serve as an enterprise-wide, front-end speech recognition solution for Northern Health, providing quick and easy documentation within the electronic health record (EHR) to standardize clinical documentation and spur adoption rates across its organization.

    “We needed a solution that would help us de-silo the Canadian healthcare system, provide our workforce with an efficient way to accurately capture a patient’s complete story at the point-of-care, and provide an integrated approach across the care continuum—this is where Dragon Medical One was magic,” said Lisa Gregoire, Director of Health Information Management at Northern Health. “Successful implementation across our organization has increased physician confidence to adopt new technologies like speech recognition and has increased our physicians’ ability to effectively direct patient care.”

    The Dragon Medical One cloud-based platform offers flexibility and portability, enabling physicians at Northern Health to access patient notes regardless of where they might be working on any given day. Nuance brings the power of speech directly to EHRs to drive Northern Health’s mission to redesign how primary and community care is delivered.

    “Because speech recognition is integrated directly into the electronic health record, it’s easier for physicians to provide richer documentation in a timely way,” said William Clifford, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer at Northern Health. “There’s no question, better, faster documentation supports better, safer care.”

    “Our solutions redesign the way physicians interact with technology across the world,” said Michael Clark, General Manager of Provider Solutions at Nuance. “We recognize Northern Health as a leader in the industry, paving the road for other organizations in Canada to adopt interoperable innovations to improve the daily routines of physicians and care teams while enhancing the continuity of patient care.”

    To read the full Northern Health case study, click here.

    About Northern Health 
    Northern Health delivers healthcare services across northern British Columbia, including acute care, mental health, public health, addictions, and home and community care. Covering almost two-thirds of BC’s geography, Northern Health is a recognized leader in rural and remote health care. For more information visit www.northernhealth.ca.

    About Nuance Healthcare
    Nuance provides intelligent systems that support a more natural and insightful approach to clinical documentation, freeing clinicians to spend more time caring for patients. Nuance healthcare solutions capture, improve and communicate more than 300 million patient stories each year, helping more than 500,000 clinicians in 10,000 global healthcare organizations to drive meaningful clinical and financial outcomes. Nuance’s award-winning clinical speech recognition, medical transcription, CDI, coding, quality and medical imaging solutions provide a more complete and accurate view of patient care.

    About Nuance Communications, Inc. 
    Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) is the pioneer and leader in conversational AI innovations that bring intelligence to everyday work and life. The company delivers solutions that can understand, analyze and respond to human language to increase productivity and amplify human intelligence. With decades of domain and artificial intelligence expertise, Nuance works with thousands of organizations – in global industries that include healthcare, telecommunications, automotive, financial services, and retail – to create stronger relationships and better experiences for their customers and workforce. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.

    Trademark reference: Nuance and the Nuance logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

    Media Contact Information
    Finley Hines
    Senior Manager, Corporate Communications – Healthcare
    Nuance Communications, Inc.
    Tel: 781-565-5438
    Email: [email protected]

    Posted 6.5.2019

  • Canadian-Based Northern Health Adopts Nuance AI-powered Dragon Medical One to Revolutionize Care Delivery Across British Columbia

    Nuance’s speech recognition platform promotes care team collaboration, improves clinical documentation efficiency and physician mobility at Northern Health

    BURLINGTON, MA and PRINCE GEORGE, BC – June 5, 2019 – Nuance Communications, Inc.(NASDAQ: NUAN), an industry-leading provider of AI-powered solutions, today announced Canadian-based Northern Health has revolutionized its approach to care delivery with Nuance’s cloud-based Dragon Medical One (DMO) and PowerMic Mobile (PMM).

    Northern Health’s leadership team selected Nuance’s innovative technology solutions to support its 1,000 physicians who provide care to more than 300,000 patients annually in northern British Columbia. It was clear the Nuance technology streamlined the documentation process, improved the quality, and provided immediate real-time access to patient documentation.

    DMO and PMM serve as an enterprise-wide, front-end speech recognition solution for Northern Health, providing quick and easy documentation within the electronic health record (EHR) to standardize clinical documentation and spur adoption rates across its organization.

    “We needed a solution that would help us de-silo the Canadian healthcare system, provide our workforce with an efficient way to accurately capture a patient’s complete story at the point-of-care, and provide an integrated approach across the care continuum—this is where Dragon Medical One was magic,” said Lisa Gregoire, Director of Health Information Management at Northern Health. “Successful implementation across our organization has increased physician confidence to adopt new technologies like speech recognition and has increased our physicians’ ability to effectively direct patient care.”

    The Dragon Medical One cloud-based platform offers flexibility and portability, enabling physicians at Northern Health to access patient notes regardless of where they might be working on any given day. Nuance brings the power of speech directly to EHRs to drive Northern Health’s mission to redesign how primary and community care is delivered.

    “Because speech recognition is integrated directly into the electronic health record, it’s easier for physicians to provide richer documentation in a timely way,” said William Clifford, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer at Northern Health. “There’s no question, better, faster documentation supports better, safer care.”

    “Our solutions redesign the way physicians interact with technology across the world,” said Michael Clark, General Manager of Provider Solutions at Nuance. “We recognize Northern Health as a leader in the industry, paving the road for other organizations in Canada to adopt interoperable innovations to improve the daily routines of physicians and care teams while enhancing the continuity of patient care.”

    To read the full Northern Health case study, click here.

    About Northern Health 
    Northern Health delivers healthcare services across northern British Columbia, including acute care, mental health, public health, addictions, and home and community care. Covering almost two-thirds of BC’s geography, Northern Health is a recognized leader in rural and remote health care. For more information visit www.northernhealth.ca.

    About Nuance Healthcare
    Nuance provides intelligent systems that support a more natural and insightful approach to clinical documentation, freeing clinicians to spend more time caring for patients. Nuance healthcare solutions capture, improve and communicate more than 300 million patient stories each year, helping more than 500,000 clinicians in 10,000 global healthcare organizations to drive meaningful clinical and financial outcomes. Nuance’s award-winning clinical speech recognition, medical transcription, CDI, coding, quality and medical imaging solutions provide a more complete and accurate view of patient care.

    About Nuance Communications, Inc. 
    Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) is the pioneer and leader in conversational AI innovations that bring intelligence to everyday work and life. The company delivers solutions that can understand, analyze and respond to human language to increase productivity and amplify human intelligence. With decades of domain and artificial intelligence expertise, Nuance works with thousands of organizations – in global industries that include healthcare, telecommunications, automotive, financial services, and retail – to create stronger relationships and better experiences for their customers and workforce. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.

    Trademark reference: Nuance and the Nuance logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

    Media Contact Information
    Finley Hines
    Senior Manager, Corporate Communications – Healthcare
    Nuance Communications, Inc.
    Tel: 781-565-5438
    Email: [email protected]

    Posted 6.5.2019

  • New Report Sheds Light on Health Care’s ‘Hidden’ Epidemic – Hospital Drug Diversion – and its Role in the Opioid Crisis

    Findings Based on Survey of 650 Health Care Professionals

    FRANKLIN LAKES, NJ – June 4, 2019 – BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company) (NYSE: BDX), a leading global medical technology company, today released a new report based on an independent national survey that examines drug diversion in U.S. hospitals, an underreported contributor to the opioid epidemic.

    Hospital drug diversion, when a health care worker “diverts” opiates or other controlled substances away from patients for personal use or sale, remains a significant challenge that is largely underdiscussed. Left undetected, diversion can lead to patient safety issues, harm to the diverter, and significant risk for the organization.

    The report revealed a number of key factors that contribute to drug diversion:

    • Denial of the problem in their own hospitals – Executives and providers (nurses, pharmacists and anesthesiologists) may be in denial about the diversion problem in their own facilities. The majority of providers surveyed (85%) were concerned about drug diversion in U.S hospitals, but only 20% believe diversion is cause for concern where they work. Despite this, half of respondents report they have observed suspicious activity in their hospitals that may have been evidence of diversion.
    • Detection technology is critical – Health care professionals believe the tools they are using to detect diversion are only somewhat effective and expressed the need for improved real-time detection tools to identify diverters without generating false positives. Specifically, 59% of executives want more accurate data to reduce false positives; 54% would like artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning technologies and advanced analytics; and, 53% would like to see mandatory diversion training. Hospital executives and providers believe that, if given the appropriate resources, diversion can be significantly mitigated.
    • Stressful work environment – Both executives and providers believe hospitals are stressful work environments, which may be a contributing factor that can make health care providers vulnerable to substance misuse. In fact, 78% of providers have known a peer who seemed stressed “to the breaking point.”

    “This report clearly shows how difficult the issue of drug diversion is to detect, as well as the challenges hospitals and health systems face with tracking and managing cases of diversion within their own facilities,” said Perry Flowers, vice president of Medical Affairs at BD. “Diversion is not a new problem in health care, but recent advancements in diversion tracking include machine learning to intelligently analyze opioid transactions and reduce false positives. Establishing a culture of open dialogue and reporting that encourages recovery may also be key to efforts that address diversion.”

    The report — Health Care’s Hidden Epidemic: A Call to Action on Hospital Drug Diversion — is based on findings from an independent survey of 651 health care executives and providers commissioned by the BD Institute for Medication Management Excellence and conducted by KRC Research, a global public opinion research consultancy. The survey collected data and opinions between February 20-28, 2019, from hospital executives, hospital diversion managers, anesthesiologists, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians and a diverse group of nurses. To download the full report, visit bd.com/diversion-report.

    The report also includes additional data and personal insights from clinical thought leaders to highlight barriers and solutions and bring context to the raw data. An included resource guide focuses more narrowly on ways to support hospitals as they address this problem – with guidance such as implementing machine learning and other technologies, and improving diversion education and training. The overall goal of the report is to foster a national conversation on the best ways to address this silent crisis.

    The national opioid epidemic has reached unprecedented heights, with Americans now more likely to die from opioid overdose than in a car accident — nearly 200 people a day on average, according to a 2019 analysis by the National Safety Council.1 Between 10% and 15% of the general population will misuse substances in their lives, including health care workers with access to controlled substances.2 This creates a vulnerability beyond that of the general population, making diversion a very serious problem across hospitals and health systems.

    “This report is an opportunity to encourage more robust discussion about diversion and how we can prevent it, detect it and help the hospital employees who are affected by it,” said Ranjeet Banerjee, worldwide president, Medication Management Solutions at BD. “While there won’t be a one-size-fits-all solution, we believe this report should spur additional research and ultimately lead to more actionable programs and resources for hospitals to adopt solutions.”

    About BD
    BD is one of the largest global medical technology companies in the world and is advancing the world of health by improving medical discovery, diagnostics and the delivery of care. The company supports the heroes on the frontlines of health care by developing innovative technology, services and solutions that help advance both clinical therapy for patients and clinical process for health care providers. BD and its 65,000 employees have a passion and commitment to help enhance the safety and efficiency of clinicians’ care delivery process, enable laboratory scientists to accurately detect disease and advance researchers’ capabilities to develop the next generation of diagnostics and therapeutics. BD has a presence in virtually every country and partners with organizations around the world to address some of the most challenging global health issues. By working in close collaboration with customers, BD can help enhance outcomes, lower costs, increase efficiencies, improve safety and expand access to health care. For more information on BD, please visit bd.com.

    1Odds of Dying – Data Details. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/all-injuries/preventable-death-overview/odds-of-dying/data-details; Accessed October 30, 2018

     2Baldisserri MR. Impaired healthcare professional. Crit Care Med. 2007;35(suppl):S106-16.

    Contacts:

    Matthew Coppola
    BD Public Relations
    201.847.7370
    [email protected]

    Monique N. Dolecki
    BD Investor Relations
    201.847.5378
    [email protected]

    Posted 6.4.2019

  • Congress Leaders Doris Matsui, Bill Johnson and Greg Gianforte to Speak at CHIME Advocacy Summit

    ANN ARBOR, MI, June 3, 2019 – Three members of Congress will discuss healthcare IT initiatives at a conference hosted by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME). U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui (D-CA), U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) and U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte (R-MT) will discuss telehealth, cybersecurity and health IT innovation at the second annual CHIME Advocacy Summit on June 26-28 in Washington, D.C.
     
    Matsui, who has represented the city of Sacramento and its surrounding areas since 2005, has sponsored or co-sponsored several telehealth and IT-related bills, including the:
    Matsui was instrumental in crafting the Affordable Care Act as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees healthcare. She is a leader in Congress on the rapidly growing issue of telehealth and is the author of the bipartisan Excellence in Mental Health Act, which was signed into law in 2014. She also serves on the bipartisan Telehealth Working Group, is a co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Spectrum Caucus and co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional High Tech Caucus.
     
    Johnson has represented the Sixth Congressional District in Ohio since 2010. A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, he served as director of the Air Force’s Chief Information Officer Staff at U.S. Special Operations Command. Since joining Congress, Johnson has been a leading voice on technology issues. He has been a telehealth leader, serving on both the Energy and Commerce Telehealth Working Group and the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Telehealth Caucus that recently issued a request for information to stakeholders on how to expand access to telehealth and remote patient monitoring.
     
    He’s sponsored several telehealth bills in recent years, including the:
    Gianforte has represented Montana’s at-large congressional district in the House since 2017.  He serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee and on subcommittees on communications and technology, consumer protection and commerce, and health. His interests include telehealth and expanding access to and quality of care delivered in rural areas. He is the only Republican to join the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee for the 116th Congress. 
     
    “Congressional interest in health IT issues has skyrocketed in recent years,” said Cletis Earle, chair of the CHIME Public Policy Steering Committee and senior vice president and CIO at Kaleida Health. “This year alone we have seen bills, proposed rules and policies come out that address cybersecurity, interoperability, telemedicine and the opioid crisis – topics our members are deeply interested in. We are honored to have three leaders from Congress share their vision for how health IT can help to improve care.”  
     
    The program includes speakers from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of Civil Rights, the National Health Service (NHS) England, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Federal Trade Commission and more. The agenda is available here.
     
    “The Advocacy Summit provides a great venue to learn first-hand from federal and congressional policymakers,” said Shafiq Rab, MD, chair of the CHIME Board of Trustees and senior vice president and CIO at Rush University Medical Center. “The policies being considered today will change how our members and their organizations provide health and care for the next decade. It is critical that we fully understand the policies and have a voice in their development.”
     
    The CHIME Advocacy Summit is open to the public. More information about the program and registration is available here.
     
    Editor’s note: Members of the media are welcome to attend the CHIME Advocacy Summit. Please email CHIME Director of Communications Candace Stuart at [email protected] with a request to attend.  
     
    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 2,900 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 care in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.
     
    Contact
    Candace Stuart
    Director of Communications and Public Relations, CHIME
    734.665.0000
    Posted 6.3.2019
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