Data & the Age of Genomics

Health IT Now Coalition www.healthitnow.org,, a diverse group supporting incentives to deploy health IT and the Center for Data Innovation http://datainnovation.org a leading think tank, sponsored the event “Data-Driven Medicine in the Age of Genomics” on December 11th. Joel White Executive Director of Health IT Now told the attendees that genomic medicine holds a key to unlocking the future in medicine and personalized health. …Continue reading

VA to Pilot Technology

The Veterans Administration www.va.gov is piloting IBM technology to assist physicians in caring for patients. The two year pilot will emphasize Evidence-based Critical Decisions. The plan is to study innovative approaches to quickly search EMRs and medical literature for relevant published studies. The IBM Corporation www.ibm.com was awarded the contract for $6,782,693 to provide a system using Watson technology made famous on Jeopardy in 2011. …Continue reading

MHS Shifting to More PCMHs

The Military Health System (MHS) www.health.mil is implementing more cost-effective coordinated care using the Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) model www.tricare.mil/tma/ocmo/PatientCenteredMedicalHome.aspx. According to a report submitted to Congress last March evaluating the Tricare program for FY 2014. MHS is working to reduce the unnecessary use of urgent care, emergency rooms, and shifting more of the enrollee primary care workload to PCMHs. …Continue reading