HealthCare Cloud Computing Before It Was Cool

Like its atmospheric modifier, cloud computing comes together in boundless shapes and sizes. Some say it’s a simple feat — accessing and storing data and programs over the Internet instead of on a hard drive — but a mind-boggling combination of data processing, synchronization, communication, and protection takes place beyond the individual user’s confines.

In any case, it’s big business, with public cloud companies projected to stake out an estimated $500 billion in market cap by 2020. “The depth and breadth of cloud progress is pretty shocking,” investor Byron Deeter of Bessemer Venture Partners told Forbes.

That’s a long way from the roots of the dot-com era, when Application Server Providers (ASPs) connected people via the Web to software hosted in offsite data centers, and thereby offered businesses a viable alternative to buying hardware and hiring people to manage it. Still, the drawbacks at the time — sluggish connections and sky-high ASP operations costs — kept traditionally late-adopter industries like healthcare mostly on the ground rather than in the cloud.

Healthcare’s ascent

As recently as 2014 only about 22 percent of healthcare organizations surveyed by HIMSS Analytics were planning to use cloud computing for back-office functions. In 2016, nearly 47 percent of respondents have cloud usage in their back-office plans. The same holds true for business continuity/ disaster recovery functions and health information exchange: the former rising from 31 percent in 2014 to 47 percent in 2016, and the latter from 20 to 41 percent.

“In 2014, the cloud was primarily seen as a model that could support HIE and data storage, whereas, in 2016, it is being leveraged for a full range of functions including patient empowerment,” according to the survey report.

Indeed, healthcare entities cite the following factors (in order of importance) in their move to the cloud:

  • Cost savings
  • More complete disaster recovery capabilities
  • More scalability for internal requirements
  • Speed of deployment
  • Improved user access to applications
  • Plans to scale information and virtual care to patients
  • Freeing up internal storage/compute cycles
  • Accommodation of mobile workforce
  • Regulatory compliance
  • Accessibility to compute cycles

Another way to say it is that core health IT components, such as electronic health record (EHR) systems, cannot be at risk for downtime with vital patient care considerations hanging in the balance. With technologies coalescing in the background, tens of thousands of EHR users across multiple vendor platforms now use the cloud daily with complete trust.

Additional “hot spot” cloud applications in healthcare continue to emerge in the areas of telemedicine, medical imaging, public health and patient self-management, hospital management, therapeutic interventions, and secondary use of data for analysis and clinical research.

In response, cloud service providers “need to ensure uptime and performance, deliver on compliance and service level agreements, and offer reliable technical support,” the HIMSS Analytics report states.

NetDirector, one of the originators of the cloud-based integration platform, has built its healthcare business by ensuring the movement of clinical records between providers, helping them achieve a safer and more efficient level of care. The company’s HealthData Exchange combines cloud-based technology with world-class security levels to enhance workflow — which, in turn, allows providers to focus on patient care.

Learn more about the further emergence of cloud-based healthcare data integration or request a free demo.

 

 

Ransomware Rises Up as Major Healthcare Data Security Threat

Ransomware, a form of digital extortion, involves lockdown of computers via malware or encryption of electronic files with a private key that only the attacker holds. Victims are left to pay the hacker to regain access, develop workarounds or isolate affected data/devices.

The FBI reports an increase in incidents in which users infect their computers with ransomware by clicking on a compromised website, often lured by a deceptive email message or pop-up window. A fairly recent variant encrypts files on a hard drive as well as any external or shared drives to which the computer has access.

Although ransom amounts typically range from a few hundred to several thousand dollars per instance, hackers collected more than $200 million total in the United States during the first quarter of 2016.

Healthcare organizations, in particular, need to be on the lookout. Research conducted by security firm Solutionary reveals that the healthcare sector accounted for 88 percent of all ransomware attacks it tracked during the first half of 2016.

In perhaps the highest profile healthcare case of this year, 434-bed Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center in Los Angeles paid $17,000 in bitcoin ransom to obtain a decryption key and restore normal operations after a lockout.

Why is healthcare such a target?

A number of interrelated factors play into healthcare’s ransomware vulnerability:

  • Hospitals and health systems store detailed personal information on patients to make it readily available in the course of care. Stolen health insurance credentials can be used to commit medical fraud, fetching 10 to 20 times more than credit card numbers on the black market.
  • Healthcare providers rely on electronic records to stay operational. With patients’ lives potentially on the line during a ransomware attack, they may be more willing to pay up quickly than victims in other industries.
  • Healthcare is a consolidating industry, with major care organizations merging and acquiring other facilities. Integration of disparate information systems often leaves gaps that give hackers access to sensitive data.

What can be done?

Threat intelligence experts at Solutionary say healthcare organizations can counter the threat of ransomware by using off-site backups for their data — and the systems used to access that data. They should also test the backups regularly to ensure data can be restored quickly.

While providing data exchange services to healthcare organizations, NetDirector utilizes IT infrastructure provider Peak 10’s offsite data center to ensure online backups, data recovery capabilities, minimal to no downtime, and the most current security certifications.

With the major risk of self-managing data security, it makes sense for providers to use a trusted vendor like NetDirector to protect against ongoing threats such as ransomware.

For more information on complete healthcare data integration services, contact NetDirector or request a free demo.

 

HIPAA Incidents Highlight Need for Adherent Technology Approach

It’s been a busy summer for the Department of Health and Human Services’ HIPAA-compliance body, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). Between late June and early August, OCR reached settlements totaling $11.65 million in four cases of HIPAA violations and vulnerabilities.

In chronological order:

A $650,000 settlement announced June 29 stated that Catholic Health Care Services (CHCS), which provided management and IT services as an HIPAA business associate to six skilled nursing facilities in the Philadelphia area, failed to safeguard residents’ electronic protected health information (ePHI). Theft of a CHCS-issued iPhone — unencrypted and not password-protected — compromised the ePHI of 412 residents. OCR determined that CHCS had no risk analysis or risk management plan in place for handling PHI, as required under HIPAA’s Security Rule.

OCR announced on July 18 a $2.7 million settlement with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) over “widespread and diverse problems” that will be addressed through a three-year corrective action plan. OCR’s investigation started after OHSU submitted breach reports involving unencrypted laptops and a stolen unencrypted thumb drive containing ePHI. Although OHSU performed risk analyses in six years between 2003 and 2013, the processes did not cover all ePHI in OHSU’s enterprise. “While the analyses identified vulnerabilities and risks to ePHI located in many areas of the organization, OHSU did not act in a timely manner to implement measures to address these documented risks and vulnerabilities to a reasonable and appropriate level,” according to OCR.

A statement released July 21 detailed multiple alleged HIPAA violations at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) settled by a $2.75 resolution amount and corrective action plan. OCR found that ePHI stored on a UMMC network drive was vulnerable to unauthorized access via the organization’s wireless network. Users could access files in an active directory after entering a generic username and password. The directory included 328 files with the ePHI of an estimated 10,000 patients dating back to 2008. OCR determined that UMMC was aware of risks and vulnerabilities to its systems as early as 2005, but failed to take risk-management action until after the breach. The agency cited “organizational deficiencies and insufficient institutional oversight.”

Advocate Health Care Network agreed to settle potential HIPAA penalties for $5.5 million and by implementing a corrective action plan, OCR announced on Aug. 4. The settlement amount was the largest to date against a single entity, according to OCR, reflecting “the extent and duration of the alleged non-compliance.” The investigation began in 2013 after Advocate submitted three breach notification reports pertaining to separate incidents involving a subsidiary, Advocate Medical Group. The combined breaches affected the ePHI of approximately 4 million individuals, the agency reported. The incidents included the theft of four desktop computers from an administrative office building, unauthorized access to a billing service’s network, and theft from an employee vehicle of an unencrypted laptop — exposing ePHI in each case.

HIPAA audits also a consideration

OCR’s recent actions stemmed from investigations following breach notifications. However, healthcare organizations should also be prepared for the agency’s stepped-up HIPAA audit activity. Every HIPAA covered entity and business associate is eligible for an audit. So-called remote “desk audits” are currently underway and will be completed by the end of 2016. Onsite audits will follow, covering a broader scope of requirements from HIPAA’s rules.

As indicated, the stakes have never been higher for healthcare providers and vendors when handling ePHI. Technology such as NetDirector’s HealthData Exchange electronically moves data among disparate systems while adhering to HIPAA security standards. While helping to ensure compliance, the cloud-based solution frees up time that can be allocated to optimizing the patient care experience.

For more information on how to ease regulatory burdens, contact NetDirector or request a free demo.

 

 

NetDirector makes Inc. 5000 for 6th Consecutive Year

TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — NetDirector, a leading cloud-based integration and data exchange provider, has been named as a member of the prestigious Inc. 5000 list for the 6th consecutive year, a recipient of the GrowFL “Companies to Watch” award, and a member of the Gulf Coast 500 by Business Observer FL.

Companies like NetDirector that are included on the Inc. 5000 list are among the top companies in the nation, having demonstrated the highest growth in revenue over the last three years. The companies with the highest percentage growth and who meet the other qualifications are then published by Inc. as the Inc. 5000. It is an honor for NetDirector to be included in this list for the 6th consecutive year. With only 4.6 percent of the companies on this year’s list making it on for six consecutive years, it is a very rare accomplishment. NetDirector intends to continue the trend in the coming years with their expansion of integration offerings in the healthcare market.

Florida Companies to WatchSM chooses the 50 companies statewide that are expected to see significant growth over the next several years. NetDirector was among more than 500 nominees for Florida Companies to WatchSM, which is a statewide program managed by economic development group GrowFL, in association with the Edward Lowe Foundation. This is the first year NetDirector has been named as one of the Florida Companies to WatchSM.

The Gulf Coast 500, published by Business Observer FL, is awarded to the Top 500 ranked companies in nine counties along the gulf coast, as decided by total revenue. NetDirector earned a spot in the Gulf Coast 500 for the fourth consecutive year thanks to their steadily increasing client base and revenue.

By linking disparate systems with “plug-and-play” style connectivity, NetDirector eases the operations of companies in the mortgage banking and healthcare industries by allowing data to flow seamlessly from one party to another. Maintaining security and data integrity has been another key focus of NetDirector from the beginning. GrowFL, Business Observer FL, and Inc. recognize the importance of these key factors in today’s evolving mortgage and healthcare technology environments.

“To be included on these lists and receive these awards really tells us that we’re doing things right,” said NetDirector CEO Harry Beisswenger. “NetDirector is committed to the success of a variety of organizations in healthcare and mortgage banking, and we know the secret to that lies with seamless integration workflow.  We owe all of our achievements to the NetDirector team, our customers, and our strategic partners/vendors.”

For more information on connecting to NetDirector’s ecosystem contact us at 813-749-7131 or info@netdirector.biz to explore how NetDirector fits in your organization.

Saving Money for Patients and Providers in Healthcare

Economists and actuaries at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services project U.S health spending to increase an average of 5.8 percent for the period of 2015-2025. That rate will outstrip growth in the gross domestic product by 1.3 percentage points, with health spending representing 20 percent of the total economy by the forecast period’s end.

Higher medical costs and an aging population afflicted with chronic disease will continue to drive spending, while policymakers and providers look to new care/payment models and information technology (IT) as counteracting forces. “Every single strategy needed to fix what’s wrong with U.S. healthcare will require intensive IT facilitation, data analytics and process management,” observed Mark Hagland, editor-in-chief of Healthcare Informatics, in a recent commentary.

On medical frontlines, technology costs at physician-owned multispecialty practices have spiked more than 40 percent since 2009, according to newly released data from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA). While acknowledging technology’s “crucial” role in helping healthcare organizations move away from traditional fee-for-service structures, MGMA CEO Halee Fischer-Wright, MD, added: “We remain concerned that far too much of a practice’s IT investment is tied directly to complying with the ever-increasing number of federal requirements, rather than to providing better patient care.”

Nonetheless, practices have made headway in patient-facing technology implementation, notably portals that present an interface for patients to view personal health information and carry out transactions online. More than 50 percent of 850 respondents to an MGMA poll said patients were able to set up appointments through their practice portal.

What’s more, portals could play a role in retaining patients over time, concludes a report from athenahealth, which supplies cloud-based EHR and revenue cycle management technology to nearly 80,000 providers. The research shows that after an initial visit to a primary care practice, 80 percent of patients with portal accounts returned for a second visit within 18 months (compared to patients without portal accounts returning 67 percent of the time).

On a broader scale, integrated IT makes possible the sharing of patient information among healthcare’s complex network of stakeholders. For example, radiology service provider EmCare Rays uses a data and document exchange solution from NetDirector to replace point-to-point HL7 integrations with each of its customers. “We believe that we can improve client integration turnaround time and reduce ongoing support overhead,” noted Ivo Yueh, director of IT software development at EmCare Rays.

So while technology such as NetDirector’s HealthData Exchange enables seamless communication among providers, billers, labs, radiology services and others, it also achieves interoperability across the board and improves communication and patient outcomes — potentially at lower costs.

That’s important not only for its immediate impact but moving forward as well. Policy-makers want to see more digital health technologies tailored for use by patients who formerly would have fallen through the healthcare system’s safety net. Timely outreach and interconnection to people likely have to have a chronic disease is a clear path to cutting treatment costs, they say.

 

For more information about technology that’s bending the healthcare cost curve, contact NetDirector or request a free demo.

 

 

NetDirector Launches HealthData Exchange

NetDirector Launches their HealthData Exchange, with Emcare Rays and their Network of Healthcare Providers

TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 2, 2016 /reposted from PRNewswire/ — NetDirector, a leading cloud-based data exchange company, unveiled their HealthData Exchange in 2014 to address the number one issue in healthcare today: interoperability. The HealthData Exchange solution leverages over a decade of experience in providing integration platform services across disparate systems, based on NetDirector’s unique “integrate once” approach allowing healthcare providers to gain access to the entire HealthData ecosystem of systems and vendors. This approach eliminates the need to develop and maintain multiple data interfaces, ensures data integrity and security, and improves resource allocation. NetDirector is disrupting traditional models by bringing its significant experience of providing Integration-Platform-as-a-Service (iPaas) solutions in the heavily regulated mortgage banking industry to healthcare.

EmCare Rays offers a suite of radiology full-service solutions, teleradiology services, and technology products that improve operational efficiencies and enhance patient care. The radiology information system (RIS) utilized — called RaysTracker™ — can drive the entire RIS workflow for a facility with additional PACS features to streamline radiology effectiveness. The RaysTracker™ is a web-based system that provides real-time access to patient images, reports, a unified work list, quality assurance (QA), metrics and more.

Rays’ current ecosystem of radiology service interoperability includes hospital systems, standalone hospitals, radiology centers, and emergency centers. Transactions that are being processed by the HealthData Exchange include varying types of HL7 data such as orders, results, and demographics. As an extended workflow, several clients request Rays’ professional billing services and enable additional data exchange to a separate billing system through the HealthData Exchange. NetDirector is currently in the process of onboarding 4 new facilities and implementing the connection to a second billing system to create an even higher level of data congruence. NetDirector is already processing nearly one million healthcare transactions per month.

NetDirector’s HealthData Exchange removes the barriers of vendors needing to comply with each other’s standards. The solution allows any provider or vendor to send/receive transactions in a variety of formats including HL7, XML, JSON, or custom configured standards. This vendor-neutral interoperability platform is far superior to traditional point-to-point integrations used by the majority of providers and vendors. Seamless communication between providers, billing, labs, radiology and vendors is instrumental to achieving interoperability and providing better patient care across the continuum of systems and providers.

“Implementation of the NetDirector offering by EmCare Rays is a validation of the positive effect our interoperability platform can have on vendors and providers alike,” commented Harry Beisswenger, CEO of NetDirector.

NetDirector’s unique approach to interoperability provides some of the following differentiators:

  • Diverse data format support: XML, JSON and HL7
  • Connection agnostic: LLP, Web Services, SFTP.
  • Monitoring/Dashboard offers detailed interface metrics and alerts to ensure high availability
  • Store and forward provides short-term disaster recovery
  • Vendor Neutrality allows for expansive network of EMR, RIS, LIS integration partners
  • Unparalleled customer service via Dedicated Integration Analysts.
  • Consumption based pricing so customers only pay for their monthly transaction volume

“It has been a long time goal of ours to introduce our cloud-based data exchange solution to the healthcare industry,” said Beisswenger. “We have built a world class technology offering with an innovative approach that solves some of the most complex challenges of interoperability.”

Ivo Yueh, EmCare/Rays’ Director of IT Software Development, stated “We chose NetDirector to replace our current strategy of setting up point-to-point HL7 integrations with each customer.  We were also impressed with their ability to adapt their level of operational involvement to meet the complex needs of healthcare interoperability. With NetDirector, we believe that we can improve client integration turnaround time and reduce on-going support overhead.”

For more information about NetDirector’s new HealthData Exchange solution, please contact us at info@netdirector.biz or call 813.774.4797.

Company Bio:

NetDirector provides a secure cloud-based data and document exchange solution for the healthcare and mortgage banking industries to deliver seamless interoperability between parties. NetDirector bridges gaps created by disparate systems & technologies by allowing companies at any location to share data & documents securely over a single internet connection with any other member of the ecosystem. Our approach can be re-used in any industry where trading partners need to collaborate and exchange data in a seamless bi-directional, real-time manner. NetDirector currently processes more than 10 million transactions per month.

On the Road to Connected Healthcare & Interoperability

Key measures of healthcare interoperability — electronically sending, receiving and finding clinical information — grew significantly between 2014 and 2015, the most recent period studied by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC).

An ONC Data Brief, published in May 2016 based on American Hospital Association survey data, reveals a marked upswing in interoperable exchange activity among U.S non-federal acute care hospitals. The ability to electronically send clinical information reached 85 percent in 2015, up 7 percent from the prior year, while receipt of such information jumped to 65 percent, a 9 percent increase over 2014. Fifty-two (52) percent of surveyed hospitals said they could electronically find clinical information in 2015, a 4 percent bump from 2014.

In practical terms, 82 percent of surveyed hospitals said they could electronically exchange lab results, radiology reports, clinical care summaries or medication lists with ambulatory providers or hospitals outside their organization in 2015, up 6 percent from 2014 and 20 percent higher than in 2013.

However, rates of integrating clinical information did not significantly change during the study period, with only about 4 in 10 hospitals able to incorporate data from outside sources into their electronic health records (EHRs) without manual entry. Most commonly, hospitals said they did not use patient health information received electronically from outside providers because such information was not available to view in their EHR as part of clinicians’ workflow. Another sizable segment reported difficulty in integrating the information in the EHR.

Overall, about half of surveyed hospitals reported that their providers “often” or “sometimes” used information electronically received from outside sources when treating patients.

ONC expects increases in the interoperable exchange and use of health information from outside sources, according to the data brief. In 2015, significantly fewer hospitals reported exchange partners’ lacking EHR systems or systems without the capability to receive data as barriers to interoperable exchange, the data brief notes.

“Our chapter ahead is to bring it all together to make it usable and actionable for everybody who wants it,” said ONC’s National Coordination Karen DeSalvo, MD, during the agency’s annual meeting at the end of May. “The people of this country are ready for electronic health information to be available when and where it matters to them.”

At the moment, hospitals that engage in all core domains of interoperability have necessary patient information electronically available from outside sources and providers at about twice the national average, ONC’s report states.

The policy and technical actions needed to enable ubiquitous interoperability by the end of 2018, as outlined by ONC’s Shared Nationwide Interoperability Roadmap, should address current barriers between hospitals and their electronic trading partners, according to the agency.

NetDirector’s healthcare strategy aligns with ONC’s interoperability objectives and direction. The cloud-based HealthData Exchange enables hospitals and physicians to reduce the time, cost and effort needed to achieve EHR integration. The technology streamlines clinical workflow and communications with the extended provider community while supporting automated processes for paper-based processes in transition to full electronic connectivity.

For more information, contact NetDirector or request a free demo.

 

iPaaS Set to Address Integration Challenges

14796090251_5d6467a59b_bWithin three years, a cloud-enabled capability known as integration platform as a service (iPaaS) will surpass traditional application integration suites as the preferred means of supporting business application, data and process integration projects, according to a March 2016 report published by IT research and advisory firm Gartner.

iPaaS will help application managers and directors of integration meet the challenge of integrating hybrid application portfolios and provide easy access to the data within those systems, the Gartner report states.

Gartner counts iPaaS as a fast-growing segment — up 55% in U.S. dollars in 2015 — within the worldwide application infrastructure and middleware market.

“2015 was the year that iPaaS became a serious alternative to traditional software-based integration approaches,” said Keith Guttridge, research director at Gartner. “Buyers are choosing iPaaS due to its low entry costs, reduced operational demands and improved productivity. Vendor interest in this space is also growing rapidly, with the number of offerings doubling in the past 12 months.”

iPaaS typically combines cloud-based applications and data sources, application programming interfaces (APIs) and on-premises systems. IT departments, development teams and even business users leverage iPaaS capabilities to create and manage integration interfaces. The technology’s functionality can support and bridge between a variety of connectivity protocols and data/message delivery styles, according to Gartner.

“For organizations that never established systematic integration practices on-premises, the thought of having to start now is daunting,” Gartner’s analysis states. “The large costs, long delivery times and complex infrastructure build associated with traditional on-premises approaches are just not in line with today’s lean approaches and timelines.”

Capabilities quickly maturing in iPaaS can address such concerns while adding new features via multiple intra-year product releases. “Most vendors have moved beyond the initial use case of data and process synchronization between packaged applications and data sources, and are now focusing on unlocking extra value through API creation and publication, mobile application integration, the Internet of Things and big data analytics,” the report says.

Gartner’s analysis adds that only a handful of iPaaS offerings currently serve the requirements of a specific vertical market; however, some providers “are in the process of delivering value propositions for a few selected industry sectors such as healthcare.”

The report recommends that end users who have not yet begun to pilot iPaaS projects begin to do so.

iPaaS in action

NetDirector’s cloud-based solutions reside behind the scenes from a customer perspective, leveraging iPaaS technology to move data and documents between various trading partners. The automated process generates return on investment by reducing full-time employees or extra staff formerly needed to manually key in data or handle documents.

In industries such as mortgage banking and legal services, the NetDirector Data Exchange provides a standardized format and hub for transactions between multiple parties. Even small organizations lacking in-house IT resources can easily interact with the hub and manage their data flow.

In the medical arena, NetDirector’s HealthData Exchange platform facilitates movement of patients’ clinical records between a variety of providers (e.g., hospitals, physician groups, labs, pharmacies, imaging centers, government agencies and insurance providers) to help ensure safe and efficient delivery of care.

For more information, contact NetDirector or request a free demo.

 

 

 

Move to the Cloud Helps Relieve Healthcare IT’s Resource Pinch

Improve your spending in healthcare with better cloud technologyStrategic planning at healthcare organizations calls for increased investment in cloud-based models to help alleviate resource overhead and reduce the need for technology refreshes.

Cloud services provider Peak 10’s 2015 “National IT Trends in Healthcare” report, which compiled responses from 149 IT decision makers, revealed that 25% of organizations not currently outsourcing to an Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) model would implement IaaS in production environments by the end of 2016. Among that same group, 25% said they would deploy IaaS for testing and development, and 27% planned to use IaaS for disaster recovery.

Peak 10’s follow-up report for 2016, released in May and available for download here, surveyed 157 C-level executives and IT professionals, who indicated that hospital groups continue to outsource IT functions and adopt cloud-based solutions. Other related trends include IT playing a more integral role in driving organizational revenue, and the need to juggle “security and compliance to balance mitigating attacks and staying in line with industry and government regulations,” the report states.

The 2016 survey respondents rated their own internal IT security program with a B- average score, “most likely due to being overwhelmed with limited IT staff available for security operations.” The report continues, “IT departments strive to cover as much ground as possible, but keeping up with security as a whole often results in the need to drop all IT pursuits and respond to an alarm.”

The most recent report also shows healthcare IT departments increasingly adopting application hosting using third-party cloud partners — up 33% since 2014 — as an initial foray into cloud outsourcing. They’re realizing operational and financial benefits through shared computing resources, setting the stage for more applications — and even full infrastructures — as viable cloud-based options.

“Technology is changing at a rapid rate and while it is making patients’ lives easier, it is also increasing the amount of information that is at risk of falling into the wrong hands,” according to David Kidd, vice president of governance, risk and compliance at Peak 10. “Although healthcare organizations have been cautious about moving to the cloud, they are now recognizing the benefits and security in the cloud. This allows for more time to be spent on patients and the organization’s core mission.”

Overall, healthcare is ripe for the changes rippling through the ecosystem. NetDirector CEO Harry Beisswenger describes a paradigm shift in which hospitals are taking a “zero-footprint” approach with no software or hardware required on site. “You would connect to us once, map once, and you’d be done. Set it and forget it, instead of having to set up each interface and each customer individually and create all the business logic and formatting,” he explains. “We significantly reduce their hardware/software costs, as well as their analysts’ or resource costs, which are very expensive.”

NetDirector uses Peak 10’s Tampa Data Center to host its fault-tolerant technology stack, which maintains network uptime at 100% for most months and reduces the need for scheduled maintenance. NetDirector also maintains a second regional data center in Atlantato ensure full business continuity in the event of a disaster or outage at the main data center.

Click here for a list of technology partners working with NetDirector to provide its HealthData Exchange platform.

For more information on HealthData Exchange, contact NetDirector or request a free demo.

Improving Data Usage in the Healthcare Environment

HealthcareDataUsage2016At University of Colorado Health (UCHealth), continuous process improvement relies upon effective data usage and integration with the enterprise EHR system. Over the past year, UCHealth has leveraged data science to significantly improve resource utilization in cancer treatment. Now the health system is taking a comparable approach to operating room (OR) scheduling in a project that will roll out through the latter part of next year.

At a cancer treatment infusion facility, UCHealth optimizes scheduling to “level load” patients throughout the day and maximize chair usage. Daily reports, shared during staff huddles, indicate where unexpected patients can be added and when to expect peak loads. Additional performance reports include historic data and highlight areas for further improvement.

This merging of Lean production practices with data analytics has yielded 15 percent lower waiting times for cancer treatment patients — 33 percent lower at peak hours — amid a 16 percent increase in patient volume. What’s more, staff overtime dropped by 28 percent due to optimized scheduling.

The OR project will similarly mine data to maximize surgical resources across five hospitals.

And the forward thrust will lead to new opportunities, according to CIO Steve Hess: “So, inpatient is the natural next place to go after OR. But don’t stop there, think about radiology and imaging, think about lab tests, pharmacy needs, ambulatory clinics … Frankly, the canvas is blank in terms of what you can do with machine learning combined with process improvement philosophies.”

Areas of improvement

Sue Schade, recently identified as one of the “most powerful women in healthcare IT” by Health Data Management and currently interim CIO at University Hospitals in Cleveland, is a strong believer in “visual management” techniques that can help identify systems’ priorities. Her Lean-rooted philosophy takes aim at areas such as reducing cycle times, eliminating preventable incidents, decreasing variation, and increasing coordination and communication between teams.

Data derived from tracking systems helps hospital leadership zero in on the causes of major incidents to prevent reoccurrence and provides performance metrics that can be shared across departments.

Schade quotes from the book The Lean IT Field Guide, “If a picture is worth a thousand words, information made visible in the workplace is priceless.”

Simplifying healthcare data integration

However promising any improvement strategy may be, it would not be possible without properly formatted and integrated data. NetDirector’s HealthData Exchange meets this challenge by moving clinical and financial data among disparate systems within the healthcare ecosystem.

HealthData Exchange uses a “map once, use many” method — as opposed to custom point-to-point interfaces — to enable the sending and receiving of data to/from all of an organization’s providers and vendors. Connected hospitals and physician practices instantly have access to dozens (and potentially hundreds) of providers and vendors through pre-defined integrations.

And because it’s built and optimized for cloud deployment, HealthData Exchange incorporates redundancy and security at every level. The network currently processes more than 10 million data and document transactions per month, while enabling individual users with the means to proactively monitor all connections.

For more information, contact NetDirector or request a free demo.