Everyone has predictions for the future. With so much going on in the health IT arena, there are some certainties: more change, more innovation.

The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation awarded Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center a $5.3 million grant to pursue a project that marries health IT, system science and patient engagement in an effort to eliminate preventable harm in the intensive care unit.

The first two wearable devices by Sensogram Technologies AG will be introduced to the market this year as unique products in the growing field of mHealth and eHealth.

Bellevue, WA January 28, 2014 - Today, Edifecs, Inc., a healthcare solutions company specializing in information management and compliance technology, announced a strategic partnership with the Massachusetts Health Data Consortium (MHDC). MHDC will leverage the Edifecs Collaborative Testing Solution to support its ICD-10 testing efforts for data transactions among providers and state health plans. The ICD-10 Collaborative Testing Program (CTP) will reduce the cost and time of testing, mitigate financial and compliance risk, and improve overall ICD-10 preparation among participants. Currently, eight health plans and nine provider organizations are engaged in the CTP, with more expected soon.

An analysis at Boston Medical Center found that its cardiac care unit experienced 12,000 alarms a day, on average. But, according to a story on National Public Radio, the center was able to successfully combat alarm fatique by switching off lower-risk alarms and upgrading some warnings, for instance a pause in heart rhythm, to a higher level that signifies a crisis.

Interoperability differs from exchange, even though the terms often are used interchangedly, said Doug Fridsma, MD, PhD, chief science officer and director of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT’s Office of Science & Technology, at the organization’s Jan. 23 annual meeting.

To address the epidemic of chronic illness in Mississippi, the state government, the University of Mississippi Medical Center and Intel-GE Care Innovation are investing $1.2 million in an 18-month remote care management program to help rural patients with diabetes better manage their condition. If successful, the partners hope to replicate the program on a statewide level.

Payers are increasingly directing their efforts toward the digital consumer in different ways than ever before, according to a 33-page report published by Chilmark, a Mass.-based health IT analyst firm.