There are distressing similarities between what the United States faced with HIV/AIDS in the 1980’s and the current opioid epidemic. Most people have a personal story related to the harm that can be associated with opioids. The numbers of opioid deaths and people suffering from substance use disorder has reached staggering numbers.

As caregivers, we all fall victim to “alert fatigue,” when the sheer number of alerts a clinician receives causes them to unknowingly miss important safety warnings. Ironically, all these alerts that are meant to improve patient safety can cause workers to become desensitized and potentially miss important warnings; from incessant smartphone buzzing, to tablet chimes or the blinking red indicators of your EHR.

HIMSS demands a lot of attention from our marketing department, and for good reason; the annual conference is unquestionably the premier event in the healthcare IT industry. I’ve been the lead writer for MEDITECH’s branding for several years, and I can attest that we begin preparing for the next HIMSS mere days after the conference concludes. This year was no different, save for one exciting detail — I would be attending the conference for the first time.

When I think about how far we've come with providing care across the entire care continuum, it reminds me of one of my favorite documentaries, Remaking American Medicine. 

One of the patients this PBS series introduces is a woman with multiple chronic diseases. It's clear how important her community is, in making sure that she and her many caregivers are all on the same page.

Clinician burnout is a topic we’ve covered in detail here on the MEDITECH blog, and for good reason. Long nights of excessive documentation are taking time away from clinicians, interfering with their relationships with patients.

We’ve compiled some recommendations from clinicians and industry leaders on how to address staff burnout. 

We’ve all sat through meetings where important tasks are discussed, but when it comes time to delegate the work or follow-up afterward, things get lost in the shuffle. This is especially common for those of us working in a hectic Emergency Department.

Blow out the candles: our blog turns one today.

When we first created this vehicle, it was because we truly believed it was MEDITECH’s responsibility as a healthcare leader to help providers drive important conversations. Our company has always been willing to knock down barriers for the sake of patients, and also for the sake of leading the industry forward.

There is no shortage of social determinants of health (SDOH) that can present roadblocks for patients in Kalispell, Montana. Our vast landscape means that patients may live some 30 miles from their providers. With limited access to public transportation, many patients are left struggling to attend regular primary care appointments. We also live in a zero vacancy area, making it nearly impossible for some of our patients to find affordable housing.

Healthcare IT should always be about the patient. To that end, interoperability is the cornerstone of this patient-first perspective — as an important support mechanism for the timely and effective exchange of information critical for delivering patient care.

As most of us in healthcare know, interoperability is not quite where it needs to be for our patients. While technology can make everyday life much more agile, sometimes it seems like IT is leaving the patient experience behind.