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Join the discussion at the Journal Club about dermatologic ultrasound.

The link is ( need to copy and paste)

http://www.aiumcommunities.org/group/aiumjournalclub/forum/topics/common-applications-of-dermatologic-sonography

New field for sonography: Scalp, Hair and Eyelashes!

Link:

http://bjr.birjournals.org/content/early/2012/01/17/bjr.22636640.abstract

While providers are focusing on meaningful use, ICD-10, and a myriad of other pressing areas, many wonder if real-time location systems (RTLS) are a worthwhile investment right now.

Orem, Utah-December 27, 2011-An estimated 10 to 15 percent of the healthcare market is currently utilizing a real-time location system (RTLS) solution. Some providers may initially view RTLS as a specialty investment that is only helpful at certain types of organizations. However, the KLAS Real-Time Location Systems (RTLS) 2011: Maximizing the ROI study finds that 95 percent of responding organizations (ranging from facilities with 25 beds to large IDNs with thousands of beds) that use RTLS cite operational efficiency gains.

Over 150 organizations shared their RTLS experiences-outlining differences in depth/breadth of deployment and vendor performance. Respondents in this study shared their experiences working with AeroScout, Awarepoint, Ekahau, GE, Intelligent InSites, Radianse, and Versus. An update on the RTLS solutions offered by CenTrak, Cerner, Hill-Rom, Sonitor, and TeleTracking is also provided. 

Healthcare application hosting providers are hosting more vendors and providing more services amidst acquisitions and dramatic changes in the market.

Orem, Utah - December 21, 2011 - Application hosting continues to garner attention from a growing number of healthcare providers, particularly in the community hospital space, according to the KLAS report Application Hosting: Dynamic Changes Bring Providers Better Options. Healthcare providers see hosting as a way to offload capital expenditures and tap into the higher level of technology a hosting provider can offer. One CIO of a 25-bed hospital in the Midwest said, "I don't worry about anything. [Our hosting provider] takes care of it all; I couldn't possibly try to maintain all the servers myself."

KLAS' report shows that significant shifts in the performance of hosting providers, in acquisitions, and in application hosting sales, which are surging in community hospitals, have all shaped a dynamic market. The competition has increased, and hosting providers have expanded their available hosting options. In 2009, KLAS reported that nearly all software-hosting vendors were performing better than third-party hosting firms. Since then, service firms ACS and Dell have had significantly improved satisfaction scores. They now better rival the traditionally highly performing software vendors Cerner, GE, McKesson, and Siemens. ACS and Dell were the only firms hosting Epic and MEDITECH, two EMR market share leaders that don't offer their own hosting services. Siemens' scores improved while McKesson's and Allscripts' scores fell.

Increasing staff shortages are motivating many healthcare providers to look for solutions that better utilize their current staff and attract new talent.

Orem, Utah - December 19, 2011 - Healthcare providers' ability to deliver care is more contingent upon people than any other variable, according to the KLAS report, Human Capital Management: Finding the Right Vendor Mix. KLAS found that many providers are feeling tremendous pressure to replace, acquire, or interface human capital management (HCM) solutions to improve the recruitment, training, utilization, and retention of staff.

While most providers already have an HR/Payroll application-the foundation of an HCM system-as well as Time & Attendance (TA) and Staff Scheduling systems (SS), many are boosting their HCM approach by looking to acquire Talent Management applications, which include Talent Acquisition, Learning and Development, Succession Management, Compensation Management, and Performance Management.

Recently, the historical divergence in vendor performance has become more pronounced as the attributes that separate the best from the merely good reveal themselves.

Orem, Utah-December 16, 2011 In a market where all vendors maintain excellent standards in basic claims submission, the KLAS Ambulatory Clearinghouse 2011: Dollars, Sense and 5010 Readiness report finds that vendors who are focused on making the provider-to-clearinghouse claims transfer as painless as possible through quality service and support, as well as providing functionally strong claims management tools, have the most satisfied clients.

In the Clearinghouse 2011 specialty report, 842 providers gave their feedback concerning vendor-provided support and ranked the importance and strength of vendor-developed claims management tools.

Epic and maxIT Healthcare top software and service ratings from 18,000 interviews compiled for the 2011 Best in KLAS report

Orem, Utah - December 15, 2011 - KLAS published its 2011 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Professional Services report. The annual report ranks the best-performing healthcare IT vendors in more than 100 market segments based on ratings from over 18,000 interviews with healthcare providers.
"Since 1998, KLAS has been committed to helping healthcare providers make decisions based on candid peer feedback," says Adam Gale, KLAS president. "Best in KLAS rankings mark those vendors who best keep their promises in their market segments for offering a combination of superior products, strong service, and high customer value. We hope these ratings continue to help providers find transparency from their vendors in making purchasing decisions."   
In the 2011 KLAS report, Epic was the top-ranked overall software vendor with an 87.1 out of 100. MaxIT Healthcare garnered top ratings for professional services, scoring an 88.7. 

Following is a list of the 2011 Best in KLAS vendors for software: 

Providers share dose reduction best practices and reveal the perceived low-dose industry leader

OREM, Utah - December 14, 2011- In this year's KLAS CT report, CT 2011: Focused on Dose, providers shared what they are doing to help keep patients safe from radiation dose exposure. Protocols are the key to dose reduction best practices, and providers report that they are working with radiologists, physicists, and technologists to rework protocols for procedure type. Specifying protocols for the height and weight of patients is another step in standardizing the process.

While providers are taking much of the dose reduction work on themselves, vendor involvement also plays a role. "Thirty-eight percent of providers in this study feel that Siemens is the low dose leader, followed closely by GE at 32 percent. On the other hand Toshiba and Philips trail the top two vendors, both with only 15 percent of the provider votes. Siemens' commitment to research and development and technology help Siemens standout as the leader in the low dose perception," said Kirk Ising, report author.

Most organizations are skeptical of cloud computing security and are taking a variety of approaches to cloud adoption.

Orem, Utah - December 8, 2011 - Providers are beginning to consider cloud computing in healthcare, but their trust in public cloud options (such as Amazon and Google) is weak, according to KLAS perception report Path to Cloud Computing Foggy: Perception Study 2011. One CIO of a facility with more than 1,000 beds told KLAS, "I don't know that there are a ton of major healthcare providers putting their patient data in the (public) cloud right now. From a liability perspective, it isn't as mature as some other industries. That is a major concern for me right now."
In addition to patient data security, two major provider concerns KLAS identified were data privacy and data control.  As a result, a growing number of providers are gravitating toward private clouds, where they could use designated servers and ensure control and security of their data. A physician from a large 300 physician clinic said, "From a standalone practice's perspective, I am generally scared that I will lose my data. But if it is in the cloud, I know it is more secure. I can see why physicians who have their own practices might all want to use cloud solutions. Then they wouldn't have to worry about the security of the data on-site in their office." 

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