Health IT

Health data, such as race, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation and, gender identity are crucial to addressing public health needs and in understanding the various backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses of beneficiaries covered by federal and state health care programs. Across Medicare, Medicaid, commercial insurances, and federal delivery systems such as the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Indian […]

Health data is critical for health care decision making and policy development. It can be used to determine a course of treatment, coverage eligibility, and even insurance premiums, but can be vulnerable to flaws like missing information or bias. The COVID-19 pandemic presents a notable example of the challenges and opportunities in leveraging health data. […]

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has produced several opportunities for telehealth and digital health solutions to proliferate as resolutions for care continuity and personal health tracking. Consumer technologies such as “wearables”— smartwatches, fitness trackers, and other technologies that measure health metrics — are one such solution increasingly touted as the key to helping individuals take charge […]

This panel explored the role of data sharing, interoperability, and health IT in tracking and stemming the spread of COVID-19. Panelists: Ravi Chawla, MBA, M.S., Vice President of Informatics, Independence Blue Cross Kenneth Mandl, M.D., MPH, Director of Computational Health Informatics, Boston Children’s Hospital Deven McGraw, J.D., MPH, LLM, Cofounder and Chief Regulatory Officer, Ciitizen […]

Event Description On July 14 2020, Chris P. Austin, M.D., director of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) joined us for a conversation about leveraging data analytics to advance our understanding and treatment of COVID-19. Dr. Austin and his team at the NIH recently launched the […]

Public Webinar Health care has remained a leading issue in the 116th Congress and bipartisan momentum is growing around several key priorities. This fall, the House and Senate are poised to consider legislation surrounding drug pricing, surprise out-of-network billing, and various health care “extenders,” among other topics. With the 2020 presidential election cycle approaching, attention […]

Public Briefing It has become evident to many in the health policy community that the delivery of truly patient-centered care depends on eliciting, and acting upon, meaningful feedback from patients and families. It was only a decade ago that patient experience of hospital care was first routinely publicly reported via the Hospital Consumer Assessment of […]

Reforming the American health care system is a front-burner topic for many policymakers. One main reason is the desire to extend coverage to some if not all of the more than 45 million uninsured in this country. But there is an emerging consensus that reform must also encompass ways to improve quality and value in […]

Digital health technologies, particularly those designed to engage and empower patients, have the potential to address unmet health needs and deliver care in new, lower-cost ways. Information shared from electronic health records, the “cloud” and apps can help clinicians target conditions, measure and monitor patient outcomes, personalize treatments, and engage patients in their care. This […]

With millions of people projected to obtain health insurance coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), access to care is expected to be an issue. Efforts to promote telehealth and telemedicine could help. In addition to electronic health records there is telestroke, teleICU and telepsychiatry. “Robodocs” have attracted recent media attention. Studies […]

Electronic devices are pervasive throughout our culture. Still, they are a relatively new phenomenon in the physician’s office, even though electronic health records (EHRs) can help consumers stay connected with their care managers, monitor their health, and get reminders that it’s time to take their medicine. They can also help to better coordinate care, avoid […]