It is not uncommon for patients to share the same name and birthday, which can get confusing for traditional record-keeping systems. But technology that relies on things like fingerprints or other physical characteristics could hold the key to eliminating some of the mistakes can result from those mix-ups. In other health technology news: the challenges of telemedicine, virtual reality and childbirth, and electronic health records.
The Wall Street Journal: Hospitals Turn To Biometrics To Identify Patients
Biometric technology is coming to the hospital. Biometric systems, which identify people through fingerprints or other physical characteristics, have long been in use in sectors like law enforcement and consumer electronics. Now hospitals are using iris and palm-vein scanning to overcome a growing patient-identification problem. (Gormley, 2/6)
The Associated Press: Telemedicine’s Challenge: Getting Patients To Click The App
Walmart workers can now see a doctor for only $4. The catch? It has to be a virtual visit. The retail giant recently rolled back the $40 price on telemedicine, becoming the latest big company to nudge employees toward a high-tech way to get diagnosed and treated remotely. But patients have been slow to embrace virtual care. Eighty percent of mid-size and large U.S. companies offered telemedicine services to their workers last year, up from 18 percent in 2014, according to the consultant Mercer. Only 8 percent of eligible employees used telemedicine at least once in 2017, most recent figures show. (Murphy, 2/6)
The Wall Street Journal: Virtual Reality May Reduce The Pain Of Childbirth
Virtual reality may be coming to the delivery room. Researchers are studying the use of virtual reality to alleviate pain and anxiety during labor, and a handful of doctors and hospitals are already offering it to women. (Petersen, 2/6)
Modern Healthcare: Epic Switch Means 1,650 Trinity Health Jobs Will Relocate Or Outsource
About 1,650 Trinity Health employees will see their current positions relocated or outsourced in the coming years as the system transitions to the Epic electronic health records platform. The not-for-profit health system plans to relocate some of its revenue cycle employees to three consolidated billing offices in Michigan and Ohio and outsource some of its information technology employees to its application management services vendor, Leidos. (Bannow, 2/6)
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