Cigna publication project takes a page out of the big pharma and medical technology playbook.
Managed Healthcare Executive – Health Management
Tag Archives: Healthcare
Cognitive computing shakes up healthcare: What execs need to know
Dermatopathology sits in healthcare reform crosshairs
If dermatologists don’t more effectively police themselves, experts say, they may lose their ability to perform in-office dermatopathology. Dermatopathology also faces competitive pressures and aggressive fee reductions, these experts add.
Modern medicine – dermatopathology
Five ways to reduce healthcare administrative costs
Three ways payers can help consumers make wise healthcare decisions
Payers can facilitate action on the part of physicians to appreciate the growing awareness and financial responsibility of their patients and to better use a shared decision-making approach. Here’s three ways how.
Managed Healthcare Executive – Health Management
Top Healthcare Technology Advances to Watch Out
Healthcare organizations are searching for the best tools to improve patient care and, in some cases, reduce healthcare costs. These technology advances may replace obsolete procedures and treatments in the future. However, not all of them are as promising as the following.
Liquid Biopsies to Identify Cancer
Tumor biopsies have long been utilized in the diagnosis of cancer. Biopsies are also used to identify the tumor’s cell type and if it has any genetic alterations that will make a patient a candidate for a specific treatment. However, tumor biopsies require invasive procedures. Not everyone is healthy enough to undergo biopsy. In some cases, the location of the tumor makes it impossible to perform the surgery.
With liquid biopsy, these risks and complications may be eliminated. Liquid biopsies utilize the patient’s blood, plasma, serum, or urine, instead of biopsied tissue. These specimens are easier to obtain and are less risky.
The largest research done on liquid biopsies have produced results that are very similar to traditional tumor biopsies. Also, liquid biopsy can identify mutations associated with resistance to treatment that were not identified by traditional biopsy.
While 2017 is not the year that tumor biopsies will become a thing of the past, these early results of liquid biopsies are promising. It might not be long until cancer can be identified with a simple blood test.
Treating Disease Using the Microbiome
Known to be one of the most exciting innovations of the year, the medical community is finally acknowledging that our health starts largely in the gut.
Bacteria that make up microbiomes, or genetic footprints, help determine a person’s DNA and his or her predisposition to certain diseases. In fact, about 90 percent of diseases can be traced back to a person’s gut and the state of his or her microbiome.
This is why paying attention to gut health is very important. Whenever toxins are stuck in the digestive tract, inflammation occurs. Symptoms like bloating, food allergies, and skin problems then begin to appear. In some people, symptoms of autoimmune diseases appear.
Diabetes Drugs That Can Help Reduce Heart Disease
Millions of people have type 2 diabetes. This year is exciting for those with diabetes as we can see new diabetes medications that can alleviate comorbidities that come along with the condition, such as kidney problems and heart diseases.
Cellular Immunotherapy to Treat Lymphomas and Leukemia
Immunotherapy is becoming a viable option in treating certain kinds of cancers, mainly lymphoma and leukemias. Immunotherapy is a method of stimulating an individual’s own immune system so that strength is restored and the body will have the power needed to attack cancer cells. While immunotherapy also has its own set of challenges, it has proven to be effective in the treatment of lymphoma and leukemia.
Treating Depression with Ketamine
Although natural remedies and prescription medications are available for people with depression, these treatments do not work for some patients. Unfortunately, some end up committing suicide.
The medical community believes that there is hope in ketamine. The drug has been studied over the past few years and has given excellent results. It might become a good option for treatment-resistant depression cases.
3D Visualization and Better Reality for Surgery
Surgeons spend hours with their heads down and backs and necks aching while performing a procedure. They also sometimes have limited vision. Not to mention that a small mistake can be dangerous for the patient.
However, this past year, the fields of neurosurgery and retinal surgery are experimenting new technologies that will allow the surgeon to perform a procedure while his or her is up. 3D visual representations of the subject will also be provided.
This technology makes surgery more comfortable, thereby reducing risks of committing errors. Visual information allows surgeons to be more efficient and gives junior surgeons a better view of what is happening in the operating theatre.
Bioabsorbable Stents for Those with Coronary Heart Disease
Some coronary heart disease patients have metal coronary stents in their chests to prop their arteries open and alleviate blockage in the coronary artery. The stent remains in the patient’s body even after it has done its job. The stent may eventually impede blood flow and make scans and future surgeries hard to do. In some cases, blood clots may form.
Bioabsorbable stents are made of a naturally dissolving polymer, which is much like dissolving sutures. It widens a clogged artery for two years before the body absorbs it.
These advances in the field of healthcare technology are promising. However, it is essential that further studies and trials are made before they are applied and accepted as safe for the population. Let’s wait and see what 2017 has in store for us and whether these innovations in healthcare technology will have a significant impact in the industry.
How secured emails protect Healthcare industry file exchange
Need to exchange files in health sector:
File exchanges in the health care sector is a common affair that needs to be done with complete security. There is a constant need to exchange medical data and records about a patient, when he or she is going to shift from one hospital to another for treatment. Transferring data, medical bills and reports is not that easy. There is a high chance of data breaching and thus the risk of data loss or data theft. Especially when there is a constant need to share information in the medical sector, the sharing medium should be highly efficient and secure.
Problem with emails:
The conventional methods of data transfer are not that great when it comes to security. Emails are one of the most common forms of sending data in a medical sector. Email ids can frequently be hacked and thus the data can be stolen. Email can never be secure as hackers are continuously finding new ways to enter into your system. So even if the email id is secured, then there also stays the risk of data loss. Even if you change your passwords frequently and impose a lot of security features, the risk is still there. With modern methods that are coming up, the risk of your emails being hacked is very high. In other words, there is nothing like secured emails. Also there is the pain of sending files within a limited size limit. All this makes email one of the most risky places to send confidential and sensitive data. Gone are those days when email was the only form to transfer all the medical data.
Other modes of data transfer:
Other forms of data transfer include faxing machines, CD, DVDs, FTP transfer which are not that great when it comes to security. The process is hectic and quite complicated especially when the volume of data is too large.
Advantages of using Fax over IP solution:
So if one is looking for a secured way of data transfer then the best way can be fax over IP solution. This is one of the trusted mediums to send data as and when required. The high end IP based solution securely transfers all the data after it is encrypted. The data encryption is systematically done in both the uploading and downloading processes without any hassle. The exchanged files are safely kept in a virtual safebox from where the records can be retrieved as and when required. The best part of this data transmission method is that it is completely secure and you are free from the hassle of maintaining fax machines. Data is encrypted and can easily be decoded. The best part of this method is the easy user interface. It is as easy as sending an email . This can be quite useful when you are sending large volumes of data without any hassle. So adopting to online fax based solution can really resolve the problem of data transfer.
Protecting healthcare file exchanges is not that easy. Every medical record of an individual has to be kept in a systematic way. The data kept should be easily accessible as and when required. All these features combined with high end security are safe to send confidential data from one health sector to another via online fax based solutions. So get rid of emails and adapt to mediums like online fax based solution for secured data transfer.