BOSTON—Healthcare research hits a “valley of death” before hitting the market, according to David Steinberg, MBA. Entities to facilitate a healthcare product’s progression from basic research to clinical practice could change that.

CHICAGO—Evidence-based medicine is plagued by several challenges that will impact its future, said former FDA Commissioner David A. Kessler, MD, speaking at the CMIO Summit on Transforming Healthcare through Evidence-Based Medicine.

CHICAGO--Vanderbilt University Medical Center has been successfully using a patient portal for 10 years and other facilities should plan for their own portal, according to speakers during a session at the 84th American Health Information Management Association Convention & Exhibit.

BOSTON—Can computers relate to patients better than human providers? Researchers led by Timothy W. Bickmore, PhD, a professor at the Northeastern University College of Computer and Information Science in Boston, have been testing various healthcare applications for virtual agentsand the results suggest this may be the case.

NantHealth LLC, a NantWorks company, and Blue Shield of California have entered into an exclusive agreement to develop and implement an integrated advanced technology system for California that will allow doctors, hospitals and health plans to deliver evidence-based care that is more coordinated and personalized, delivering better health outcomes.

Nuance Communications has acquired J.A. Thomas and Associates (JATA), a provider of physician-oriented, clinical documentation improvement (CDI) programs for the healthcare industry.

Healthcare is struggling with its basic terminology and nomenclature. No matter the reform strategy, the lack of standardized definitions is a legitimate problem that is quietly costing our national healthcare system in productivity and efficiency.