Healthcare spending will be 6.5% lower than their estimate of 7.5% for 2013, according to a new report from PwC’s Health Research Institute (HRI). The report, Medical Cost Trend: Behind the Numbers 2014 is based on the analysis of medical costs in the large employer market covering more than 150 million Americans. Each year, HRI issues its projection for the following year’s medical cost trend based on activity in the market that serves employer-based insurance.

For this year’s report, HRI interviewed health plan actuaries and officials (whose companies cover a combined 95 million people), industry executives and health policy experts. Economic recovery has played a major role in healthcare spending slowdown in 2014, but this year’s report also identified other contributing factors:

Four factors “deflate” medical cost trend in 2014:

1. Convenient care is efficient care- Healthcare will continue to move out of hospital and physician offices in 2014.
2. High performance care networks cost less- Faced with high medical costs, employers are combing the country for doctors and hospitals that can provide high-quality care at a lower price.
3. Readmissions ratchet down- New readmission penalties take direct aim at waste in the health system, estimated to be as high as 30%.
4. High deductible goes mainstream -  When consumers pay more for their healthcare, they often make more cost-conscious choices.

Two factors “inflate” medical cost trend in 2014:

1. Specialty drug costs reverse generic drug savings- Widespread adoption of generic medicines has helped dampen medical inflation, but the rise of expensive complex biologics will nudge spending trends upward.
2. Industry consolidation can lead to higher costs- Health industry consolidation has increased more than 50% since 2009— activity that is expected to continue through 2014.

Additionally, PwC has released an infographic visualization to highlight the key findings of their recent report.

Click here to download the full report

Image credit: Tax Credits via cc

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Ringadoc, whose innovative platform simplifies the doctor-patient communication has secured a marketing partnership with electronic medical record (EMR), Practice Fusion. The partnership enables Ringadoc to reach more than 100,000 monthly active users of Practice Fusion’s platform.

Ringadoc will leverage Practice Fusion’s advanced advertising capabilities to reach forward-thinking doctors who are already using technology to increase practice efficiency and revenue. With users that are tech savvy, both Ringadoc and Practice Fusion provide solutions for medical professions looking to streamline their practice and provide the best care available for their patients, anytime and across any device.

Ringadoc CEO and Co-Founder Jordan Michaels.

“Rinagadoc and Practice Fusion are similar in that we are both cloud-based offerings that empower physicians, so this was a natural partnership. Offering Ringadoc to Practice Fusion’s network makes sense because we want to reach doctors who understand that technology can enable them to better serve patients,” says Ringadoc CEO and Co-Founder Jordan Michaels.

Ringadoc is also announcing the launch of their API to answer customer’s demands for access to all their after-hours messages through the various tools and platforms that they are interacting with daily. The API allows approved partners to give their doctors and patients direct access to the two-way communication Ringadoc is capturing after-hours.

Related: Ringadoc’s After-Hour Answering Service Solution Simplifies Doctor-Patient Communication

“In the past there’s been a significant void between doctor-patient communication occurring in the office during business hours compared to after-hours. Ringadoc has taken substantial steps to eliminating this void by capturing, logging, and documenting the two-way conversations outside the office. We have gotten numerous requests from our doctors to surface this valuable data, which is the next natural step. Giving partners access to data that Ringadoc captures will help bridge that communication gap and will help provide a more comprehensive and accurate picture of where the patient is in the continuum of care,” says Product Manager and Co-Founder Micah Grossman.

Companies interested in the Ringadoc API should visit http://ringadoc.com/api

Interested in trying Ringadoc? Right now, HIT Consultant readers can click here to sign up for a one-month free trial.

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Infographic highlights the recent eClinicalWorks survey findings for accountable care organizations, PCMH, and shared-savings programs tools for success.

eClinicalWorks® conducted an online survey with responses from 2,104 healthcare professionals in the United States. All interviews were conducted between May 21 and 31, 2013. The results included responses from 682 physicians. According to the survey of physicians and healthcare professionals, conducted in May 2013, the primary motivator for becoming an ACO or PCMH is to improve patient outcomes.

The infographic shown below highlights the key findings broken down by highest rated features, challenges, and most valueable tools for for healthcare organizations pursuing ACO, PCMH and shared-savings programs.

Source: eClinicalWorks

The eClinicalWorks’ survey also found:

• In meeting the criteria of an ACO/PCMH, physicians and healthcare professionals indicate that a collection of tools are most valuable. The most important features named are:
  • Standard reporting formats for quality measures that are designed for submittal as an ACO or PCMH (95%).
  • Case management to coordinate care across multiple segments is equally important (94%).
  • Ability to report on different quality measures for different payers (93%).
  • Cost and utilization analytics (92%).
• Top challenge surrounding compliance is effectively tracking and monitoring quality outcomes (76%).
  • Second-ranked challenge is care coordination for patients across multiple points of care (72%).
• More than 6 in 10 current and prospective ACOs/PCMHs find the data extraction process for submitting required patient treatment and quality outcome data challenging.
  • Nearly half (46%) of current and prospective ACOs/PCMHs extract data by manual chart audits (28%) or have not even been able to extract data (18%).

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Survey highlights motivators, challenges and tools for healthcare organizations pursuing accountable care organizations (ACO), PCMH and shared-savings programs

Ambulatory healthcare IT solutions provider, eClinicalWorks today released the findings from a recent survey examining the motivators and challenges for organizations interested in participating in Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs), Patient-Centered Medical Homes (PCMHs) and other risk-based or shared savings programs. The research concluded that more than half (53%) of respondents currently participate in one of the referenced programs. Among those who do not, approximately one-third (34%) anticipate their organization becoming part of an ACO, PCMH or shared-savings plan in the next three years.

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Is Microsoft’s XBox fueling the growth of gamification in healthcare?  An exploration into the possibilities of XBox becoming healthcare’s gamification platform of choice. 

Technology is evolving exponentially around us, changing our lives down to the cellular level. Over the last century, here are some of the inventions that have expanded health care:

• Defibrillator: In 1932, Dr. William Bennett Kouwenhoven creates a way for doctors and other health professionals to restart a heart using electricity.
• Heart-lung machine: The first successful open-heart surgery using a machine to add oxygen to and circulate blood through a human body.
• Polio vaccine: This invention almost eradicates polio in the world, introducing weak strains of the virus so that people can produce antibodies o fight it off.
• Laser: Theodore H. Maiman, a physicist, creates this at Hughes Research Laboratories.
• Artificial heart: The Jarvik 7 is implanted into Dr. Barney Clark and keeps him alive for 112 days. The first one runs on an external compressor.
• Genetic engineering: The first sale of genetically engineered produce is approved by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1985.
• Xbox Kinect: Microsoft’s technology allows video game fans to play without using a controller. Different fitness games are released for use with this accessory.
• Xbox One: Microsoft’s latest home gaming console is designed to work with a new version of the Kinect accessory.

In a list of health care innovations, you may have been caught off guard by the last two. While they qualify as inventions, many would argue that they haven’t had the positive effect that the others have had on the course of human history. Now there is an argument that the Xbox One and Kinect may belong on this prestigious list, as the game console is able to monitor an individual’s heart rate using optical technology.

Tech tools for health care

Video games might offer health benefits if used in the right way, as Allied Health World has described. Gaming can help children learn in the classroom, help build and maintain muscle memory, fight against some of the effects of aging, and distract from pain and depression. With the next generation of Xbox console and Kinect device, it seems that Microsoft may be opening the door to a new territory: health monitoring.

A video on YouTube shows a man having his heart rate monitored by the Xbox through the Kinect. Being able to measure heart rate is important in studying the health of an individual, but heart rate monitors are not ubiquitous. The availability of the Xbox might even help to alleviate this problem and confront other health challenges as well. The many fitness games for Kinect include Just Dance, Zumba Fitness Rush, UFC Personal Trainer, and Nike + Kinect Training. These games allow individuals to work out at home, and some calculate the amount of calories burned in the course of playing.

Imagining the possibilities

Now we shift into brainstorming mode: Imagine the day when gadgets can be used to take vital signs while gamers enjoy a workout. Imagine the day when this information can be shared with nurses, doctors, dietitians, and other health professionals in order to ascertain what an individual needs to stay healthy.

Electronic health records are making their way into hospitals and physicians’ practices, which potentially allows easier sharing of a person’s medical records. Doctors can share test results or opinions, no matter the distance, and share options with patients more quickly. Patients themselves can access their information over the Internet, which might prompt them to take a more active role in tracking their own health.

Back to brainstorming: What if the Xbox could be used to help supplement these health records? What if the measurements taken during game play were then uploaded to the Internet, or to a personal health folder with other information? How much closer would people feel to taking control of their own health?

Tools for health tracking could become even more important with the increase in home health care. Between 2010 and 2020, the demand for home health care professionals is expected to increase by 70 percent according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Having the ability to better monitor health metrics could help these home care specialists provide service to their patients, and collaborate with doctors in the event of a crisis.

Game console or heart rate monitor?

XBox Kinect

It is important to mention that Microsoft has not made any announcements about using the Xbox for health care. This brainstorming derives from two facts: The new Kinect can read heart rates, and the accessory was built for use with fitness games. During a presentation for the new Kinect, Microsoft showed off this feature and allowed the media to talk about it, as in these observations by Matt Hickey, shared by fellow Forbes contributor Dan Munro:

“10:23: It’s more sensitive, can read more data points of articulation [referring to the new Kinect camera]

10:23: The sensor can read your heartbeat

10:23: IT CAN READ YOUR HEARTBEAT”

An article on Mobihealthnews by Marcelo Calbucci dives even deeper: as the new Kinect can measure heart rate variability, could this be helpful in diagnosis of certain mental or physical conditions?

The imagined implications of the new game console might be based on wishful thinking. Or maybe this technological advancement could make home gaming devices useful for more than just the young members of a family. With this innovation, consoles could potentially become as integral for older generations as they have become for the younger ones. If reading heart rates is one of the capabilities of this new machine, it might be a welcome sign for those seeking wider access to health care.

About the Author:

Jamar Ramos is the contributing writer for AlliedHealthWorld.com where this article was originally published with permission. 

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New Google Glass app assists rapid response teams at hospitals with the ability to live stream video, along with vital signs, to a doctor or specialist.

What if Google Glass was used to provide a first-hand view of the patient bedside along with data such as vital signs and blood pressure? A new digital health startup called Farlo(Italian for “do it”) that uses wearables to save lives has developed their first product, aRRTGlass that employs Google Glass in a novel Rapid Response Team management solution for hospitals. The startup is banking on the potential of Google Glass to enhance the transformation of healthcare.

According to serial entrepreneur John Rodley, CEO & Founder of Farlo,

John Rodley, CEO & Founder of Farlo

“I think there’s a major shift going on in society about where computing happens and what it does, driven by increasing miniaturization, progress in communication standards, longer battery life and lower power consumption.  Glass is part of that shift, but it’s not the cause.  We want to ride that shift and are anxious to talk to anyone who has ideas about how that shift will play out in healthcare.”

Rodley has previously served as CTO/technical co-founder at Radius Partners and Roam Data that were both acquired for successful exits.

Related: Is Google Glass The Future of Connected Health?

Role of a Rapid Response Team

When a patient demonstrates signs of imminent clinical deterioration, a team of providers is summoned to the bedside to immediately assess and treat the patient with the goal of preventing intensive care unit transfer, cardiac arrest or death. These teams of providers commonly known as ‘rapid response teams’ has been shown to decrease hospital mortality and cardiopulmonary arrests outside of the intensive care unit (ICU). According to a study conducted by Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, rapid response team implementation decreased their monthly mortality rate by 18 percent and code rate by 71 percent, improving overall clinical outcomes.

How aRRTGlass Works

Instead of waiting until a provider arrives at a patient’s bedside, a nurse wearing Google Glass and using aRRTGlass would be able to live stream video, along with vital signs, to the doctor or specialist who is on the way over.”It gives them the first-person view of what’s happening at the bedside, along with data like heart rate and blood pressure. If they can’t see it, they’re not going to venture an opinion about the appropriate treatment until they get there,” he says. Providers also have the ability to ask questions and communicate with the caregiver who is in the patient’s room improving care coordination and patient engagement.

Below is some EKG data that the responding doctor could see on their Glass display, and an image of the desktop “base station” view of all the video and data being sent through the ArrtGlass system.

UI Homebase Station

Concerns/Barriers

There are a number of potential HIPAA and security questions/concerns surrounding the future application of Google Glass in the healthcare setting. John feels that the current debate over privacy and security starts on the wrong premise.

“Healthcare professionals would use Glass in an HIT setting the same way that a consumer wandering through a national park would – i.e. through the Mirror Interface.  Glass is hardware, an operating system and software.  The hardware is the enabling technology; the software and operating system are more application specific.  If you don’t want to put videos on YouTube, use different software.  The same as with any OTS technology you use in healthcare.  You don’t use OTS software, you customize it to the particular application,” said John Rodley.

The startup provided their first demo of the product recently at AngelHack Boston 2013, a competition for entrepreneurs and web developers. The team of four, led by Rodley, is continuing to develop the product with plans for a pilot version available for testing later this year.

For more information about Farlo and their aRRTGlass product, please contact directly John at john@farlo.co and @farlohealth on Twitter

References:

http://bmi205.stanford.edu/_media/jsuermondt-4.pdf

http://psnet.ahrq.gov/primer.aspx?primerID=4

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/innoeco/2013/06/can_google_glass_help_doctors.html

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