Among the many tasks that nurses face, one of the most challenging — and rewarding — is supporting mothers through childbirth. 

Because labor and delivery can be unpredictable, requiring nurses to monitor and interpret lots of data while managing their patients safely, it’s critical that they have all the information they need to make the right clinical decisions.

Home Health agencies across the United States are preparing for the Patient-Driven Groupings Model (PDGM) that will create new requirements for the Home Health industry.

Last month on the MEDITECH News page, we covered Low Utilization Payment Adjustment (LUPA) and the Home Health Resource Group (HHRG) vs. Health Insurance Prospective Payment System (HIPPS).

When people think of life in California, they often think of movie stars, mansions, and pristine beaches. The reality can sometimes be less glamorous. Since 2016, the homeless population in California has risen by 13 percent. There are now an estimated 130,000 homeless individuals living across California, including 50,000 in Los Angeles alone. Walking the streets in San Bernardino County, the sight of people sleeping in cars, under bridges, and in parks is all too common. 

With the recent hacking and security breaches in the news, cybersecurity is back at the top of the news — but for healthcare executives and IT managers, we know that keeping patient data safe is an ongoing concern.

According to a new report from Navigant, 21% of rural hospitals in the U.S. are at a high risk of closing. Lack of liquidity, outdated technology, and knowledge gaps with minimal financial resources to fill them are just a few of the challenges rural hospitals are struggling to overcome. Despite these alarming statistics and obstacles, there are steps organizations can take to be successful and address socioeconomic drivers for their communities. 

What’s next for healthcare technology and nurses? This year at HIMSS19 MEDITECH’s Associate Vice President, Cathy Turner, BSN, MBA, RN BC, spoke with Patient Orator about the evolution of healthcare technology.

In our latest thought leader podcast, I spoke with Jim Fitzgerald, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at CloudWave about the role of cloud computing in healthcare.

In Ontario, healthcare is often siloed—a byproduct of the way the healthcare system is structured. Patients experience frequent gaps in care; they’re asked to explain their health concerns over and over within each different setting, and digital tools aren’t keeping up with how Ontarians live and work in their everyday lives. Sound familiar?

The nursing outlook on technology and business is on the fast track. Most nurse informaticists would state that their role did not exist 5-10 years ago, proof that the career path of nurses is widening as technology gallops forward. MEDITECH's Nurse Forum showcases how nursing continues to evolve; providing a platform for nurses to ask relevant questions, hear from industry leaders, take a step back and listen, and then share that wisdom with their community to understand what lies ahead. 

Lisa, a 45-year old single mother, visits her primary care physician complaining of fatigue and excessive thirst; blood tests reveal she has high blood glucose. She walks out of the clinic with a prescription and a pamphlet about type 2 diabetes. Now what?