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.

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.

Over the past decade, social media has made a huge impact on the way people communicate and stay engaged with what’s happening in the world. More healthcare consumers are using social platforms to learn about their conditions and providers, as well as to give feedback and advice in real time. But what about healthcare providers? Is spending time on social really worth it for them? 

No healthcare organization should ever have to choose between innovation and value. As our industry continues to transform, it will be important to both adopt new technologies that can meet the needs of demanding consumers, and still prioritize ROI and long-term sustainability while doing so.

It’s been almost 70 years since the idea of publicly recognizing nurses was first discussed — and while healthcare has undergone huge changes in nearly seven decades, the fact remains that nurses continue to serve one of the most critical roles in delivering patient care.

A little over 35 years ago, on Feb. 8, 1984, astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart left the space shuttle on mission STS-41-B for the first-ever untethered space walk, becoming what the New York Times called “the first human satellites.”

Today, in clinical settings all over the world, healthcare clinicians benefit from the same sense of untethering from wired technology, thanks to the evolution of the cloud.

Having a clear view of a patient’s prescription history is one of the most important tools a doctor can have during the opioid crisis. That’s why we recently integrated our EHR with the Michigan Automated Prescription System (MAPS) at Chippewa County War Memorial Hospital.

In a recent survey conducted by KLAS, 45 percent of physicians disagreed with the concept their EHR helps them provide quality care. That’s an astounding — and troubling — number, especially when you consider that EHRs are becoming just as widespread and integral to health care as tongue depressors.

When Kelly Del Gaudio started working at Galen Healthcare Solutions, her interest in clinical optimization drove the direction of their MEDITECH consultancy offerings focusing strongly on rule driven clinical workflow redesign.

What a year it’s been! On the MEDITECH blog, we’ve been lucky enough to connect with industry thought leaders and healthcare innovators on important topics such as new government regulations, interoperability, and the future of nursing. We hope that you’ve enjoyed reading and learning with us, and we’re excited to see what’s to come in 2019!