While the policy talk among attendees at February's HIMSS 2017 in Orlando may have been focused on the Affordable Care Act (ACA)’s future, HIMSS’ own policy team was spotlighting opportunities to advance its legislative and regulatory wish list under a new Congress and President Donald Trump.

Health information exchange (HIE) can improve the quality of care and clinical workflow, according to a study testing its benefits. The study, "The Effects of Health Information Exchange Access on Healthcare Quality and Efficiency: An Empirical Investigation," examined how using HIE gives physicians a full view of patient’s health—and how these insights lead to better care.

Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston have improved monitoring capabilities of "organs-on-chips," minature structures that use living cells to mimic the function of organs. The new platform includes a biochemical sensor for continuous and accurate monitoring of substances released from the organ chip.

When it comes to tracking steps, most wearables are relatively accurate. But when monitoring a user's heart, wearables fall behind in precision, according to researchers at the Cleveland Clinic who conducted a study testing the top heart monitoring devices for accuracy when compared to electrocardiograms.

According to the World Health Organization, 46 percent of the working population in India experiences symptoms of depression and excessive stress. Though obstacles remain in delivering mental healthcare to the population, one person has developed an online counseling service to increase access for millions of people.

Radiologist from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) have used artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to develop an application that acts as an assistant for clinicians when answering patient questions about upcoming radiologic care.

The need for changing healthcare delivery is clear, according to David Bates, MD, MSc, chief of the general internal medicine division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Allowing those changes to succeed in the world of value-based care, however, may require organizations to devote more of its own resources to delivery system reforms. 

Diabetes costs the United States around $300 billion a year, pushing developers to find a more cost effective means of managing the condition. A recent study published in PLOS ONE tests the effectiveness of mHealth technologies on the patient-physician relationship and self-management of diabetes.