In 2014, there were 28 million patient discharges in U.S. hospitals. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services estimates that in 2017, six million senior citizens were readmitted to hospitals, which cost an average of $15-20 million.

MEDITECH Associate Vice President Cathy Turner was featured in Minority Nurse's blog called "The Latest Technology in Health Care." Turner, along with other industry thought leaders, gives her take on what technology is coming in the not-too-distant future and how it will impact nurses. 

At a time when financial pressures could lead to more hospital closures, it’s no surprise that the Becker's Hospital Review 4th Annual Health IT + Revenue Cycle Conference drew a full audience, to explore how our industry is responding to the growing demands of the patient as consumer.

As National Home Care and Hospice Month draws to a close, we’re looking back on the home care blogs that have captured the attention of our readers. If you missed them the first time around, or simply want to refresh your memory, check out our five most popular home care and hospice blogs:

The transition into hospice care is a sensitive time for patients and their families. I’ve spent the entirety of my career working in one form of home care or another, including 28 years spent in various roles within home health and hospice.

Delivering effective care to homebound patients carries a number of challenges — from scheduling aides to providing up-to-date care instructions to transmitting information back to the doctor’s office or hospital.

In facing these challenges, Kalispell Regional Healthcare (KRH), a network of three hospitals, 32 clinics, and 20 affiliated outreach clinics in northwestern Montana, weighed the benefits of a new system with the potential costs.

In this episode of our thought leader podcast series, I chat with John Haffty, CEO of Navin, Haffty & Associates, on the importance of EHR value & sustainability in the vendor selection process. With extensive experience helping healthcare organizations maximize the value of their EHR, John shares his insights into how to make a wise EHR investment.

Quality care for our patients is at the heart of Med Center Health. Part of quality care is following the latest evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of various disease states, especially those with high risk of mortality. According to the CDC, more than 1.7 million people acquire sepsis each year in the U.S. with at least 270,000 deaths as a result. But early identification and intervention can help patients dramatically. As the “Surviving Sepsis Campaign” has grown and evolved under the auspices of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the CDC and CMS have challenged hospitals and providers to treat sepsis as a medical emergency, set treatment goals, and rigorous deadlines.

Recently, at MEDITECH’s Physician and CIO forum, I sat down with John Lynn, the editor and founder of Healthcare Scene, and also the founder of two conferences, Expo.Health and the Healthcare IT Marketing and PR. He is an entrepreneur with a broad range of IT skills and the ability to bridge the gap between technical and non-technical groups. Some other strengths include a strong experience in healthcare IT (specifically electronic medical records), marketing, blogging, social media and SEO.

As an EHR vendor, it’s our responsibility to know where the industry is going and why. We drive innovation in the healthcare IT space so we can provide the tools clinicians need to care for their patients. The healthcare spectrum is complex, and we know that our technology has to provide interoperable data across care settings.