Data Analytics

Hospitals and health systems use current and past data from its informatics systems to find trends, draw conclusions and identify the potential for improvement outcomes in patients and populations, and to support business decision-making. In patient care, data analytics can show areas  that need improvement, and bottlenecks to faster and more accurate diagnoses. On the business side, health system data can be leveraged to lower costs, maximize revenue, streamline and improve operations. Data is increasingly being used to look at the larger picture of population health to identify traits that can flag patients that may need additional resources to prevent readmissions. It can also help identify patients at high risk for some diseases that can be contacted about additional screenings for improved preventative care.

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Digital health startup receives FDA clearance for Parkinson’s Disease applications on Apple Watch

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved 501(k) marketing clearance for the prescription mobile app Parky for monitoring Parkinson’s Disease.

COVID-19 vaccines prevented 300K deaths in 2021

COVID-19 vaccines were very effective at preventing serious illness and excess deaths in 2021, according to new data from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The vaccines were also linked to considerable cost savings. 

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UnitedHealth Group’s Optum completes $8B merger with Change Healthcare

Optum has completed its nearly $8 billion merger with Change Healthcare, bringing an end to an embattled and controversial transaction.

Validation and testing of all artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms is needed to eliminate any biases in the data used to train the AI, according to HIMSS.

VIDEO: Understanding biases in healthcare AI

Validation and testing of all algorithms is needed to eliminate any biases in the data used to train the AI, according to Julius Bogdan, vice president and general manager of the HIMSS Digital Health Advisory Team for North America.

U.S. News & World Report children’s hospitals cardiology heart surgery

Type 2 diabetes rises sharply among children during the COVID-19 pandemic

Researchers involved in a new study said it is unclear whether the virus infection itself was a factor, or if it was environmental factors such as a move to remote learning or the shutdown of sports and school activities that may have caused the increased risk.
 

Heart studies under fire for allegedly manipulating data

Three medical journals are investigating possible manipulation of data in heart studies led by researchers from Temple University that found favorable health impacts of blood thinners.

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VIDEO: AI can help prevent clinician burnout

Julius Bogdan, vice president and general manager of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Digital Health Advisory Team for North America, discusses how artificial intelligence (AI) can help combat clinician burnout.

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New AI program aims to expand biomedical and behavioral research

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has launched a new artificial intelligence (AI) program, backed by $130 million in funding, that aims to expand the use of AI in the biomedical and research communities.

Around the web

HHS has thought through the ways AI can and should become an integral part of healthcare, human services and public health. Last Friday—possibly just days ahead of seating a new secretary—the agency released a detailed plan for getting there from here.

Philips is recalling the software associated with its Mobile Cardiac Outpatient Telemetry devices after certain high-risk ECG events were never routed to trained cardiology technicians as intended. The issue, which lasted for two years, has been linked to more than 100 injuries. 

Heart Rhythm Society President Kenneth A. Ellenbogen, MD, detailed a new advocacy group focused on improving EP reimbursements, patient care and access. “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu," he said.