HHS: ACA Exchange, Medicaid Expansion Coverage Reaches Record 31M

A record 31 million people have gotten coverage through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) thanks to growth in Medicaid expansion and the insurance marketplaces, a new report finds.

Biden administration officials used the report released Saturday by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to highlight efforts to expand coverage on the ACA’s marketplaces and in Medicaid, including increased marketplace subsidies passed in...

Family Healthcare Costs Decreased Last Year for First Time in Milliman Report's 16-Year History

The annual cost of healthcare for a family of four was $26,078 in 2020, 4.2% lower than the year prior based on Milliman's projections. In fact, all categories Milliman examined — except for one, pharmacy costs — were lower year over year.

The Case for Optimism in Post-COVID Chronic Care Management

The COVID-19 pandemic effectively taught healthcare professionals, and their patients, how to do chronic care management remotely, which boosts convenience and thus engagement.

Strategies for Managing Hybrid Cloud Environments in Healthcare

Healthcare is slowly moving to the cloud. There is growing comfort with using cloud-based apps like word processing and some pioneering organizations have implemented their own private clouds for file storage.  Many clinical applications, however, remain inside on-premise Data Centers. How can healthcare organizations manage performance and security in this hybrid environment?

What Is Digital Care's Destination? 4 Predictions for 2021 and Beyond

Where is digital innovation headed — and how should it be incorporated into member benefits for a patient-centric, value-added experience?  Now, providers, payers and employers must consider their long-term strategies for care delivery.

VA Head Visits Hospital After 'Pleas for Help' With New Cerner EHR

The Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Denis McDonough, visited Spokane, Wash.-based Mann-Grandstaff Medical Center after he heard concerns that the VA's Cerner EHR adoption was causing distress for veterans and hospital staff, according to an April 29 article by CBS affiliateKrem 2.

Experts: COVID's Telehealth Boom Giving Patients an 'Overwhelming Drive for Self-Empowerment'

It's not a secret that COVID-19 has dramatically increased the demand for and interest in digital health. Matthew Stoudt, co-founder and CEO of AppliedVR, said that there is an "overwhelming drive for self-empowerment" that patients are now beginning to experience as they embrace virtual healthcare services. "The more that people are becoming digitally comfortable, the more they feel like they can...

Using Team-Based Approaches to EHR Usability, EHR Optimization

A multidisciplinary team focused on EHR optimization is effective at improving EHR usability and ultimately mitigating clinician burnout, according to a Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association (JAMIA) Open case report.   

VA Faces Pivotal Moment With EHR After Months of Lingering Usability Problems

Months after the initial go-live, VA employees and congressional stakeholders tell Federal News Network the deployment in Spokane was far less successful than the department initially touted. And though some pieces of the electronic health record are working well, they say the initial rollout was not a viable proof of concept for VA’s $16 billion, 10-year EHR modernization effort — at least not yet.

Implementing Measurement Science for Electronic Health Record Use

The EHR era is still in its infancy. An appreciation of its failures is widespread, but reliable, quantitative metrics of vendor performance are lacking. Scientifically sound EHR use metrics are needed to drive measurable improvements in EHR design, implementation, and regulation and to inform improvements in clinical workflows and teamwork.