Category Archives: Uncategorized

IBM’s Watson cracks medical mystery with life-saving diagnosis for patient who baffled doctors

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http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/ibms-watson-cracks-medical-mystery-life-saving-diagnosis-patient-who-baffled-doctors-1574963

IBM WatsonIBM Watson

Are computers coming for your job? IBM’s Watson, a super computer powered with artificial intelligence, will have the medical profession looking over their shoulders after correctly diagnosing a patient within minutes – something doctors failed to do after months.

A female patient suffering from leukaemia had been baffling medical professionals from Japan after treatment and all previous treatment being prescribed for the condition was proving ineffective. It was a mystery for doctors. The team with no other ideas on what to do decided to call in IBM’s Watson for help and it proved to be a life-saving move.

The mighty machine spent just ten minutes studying the patient’s medical information and was able to cross-reference her condition against 20 million oncological records, which had been uploaded to its system by doctors from the University of Tokyo’s Institute of Medical Science.

It discovered the patient actually had a varying form of leukaemia than first diagnosed and told doctors it required different treatment.According to a report by Silicon Angle the new treatment proved far more effective than original methods.

http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/it/ibm-minutes-solves-patient-care-stumped-doctors-for-months

Editor’s Corner: OIG audit reveals dirty secrets about Meaningful Use

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http://www.fiercehealthcare.com/it/oig-s-incentive-audit-reveals-dirty-little-secrets-about-meaningful-use?utm_medium=nl&utm_source=internal&mrkid=959610&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTXpsa01XWXpOV0UxTlRkaiIsInQiOiJGY2ZNVUhtVE42ZFA1ZzJFdnd5VjlIYlh5WGtxMlVWeGZ1ZmpaQUtFdVwvZW8wbndLcmhrQ2tDQU5ReUhZcFwvcjhsRWRkVVV5aHFjWkVVWjFBXC81UGhVQzBONE15WmV6RWF2S1N6KzViT2hvVT0ifQ%3D%3D

So far this year we’ve seen a shift in attention when it comes to electronic health records: less on the EHR Incentive Program, and more on the newer, more trendy issues, such as precision medicine, the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act and ransomware.

But that old stalwart, Meaningful Use, is still a major focus, at least for the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. And it should be for the rest of us, as well, based on what OIG has been unearthing.

The OIG issued its latest audit report on how states are paying Medicaid Meaningful Use incentives, and it isn’t pretty. The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System made incorrect Medicaid incentive payments to 24 out of 25 hospitals reviewed, totaling almost $15 million in overpayments.

Costly ICU Stays Don’t Improve Mortality Rates

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http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/quality/costly-icu-stays-dont-improve-mortality-rates?spMailingID=9343227&spUserID=MTMyMzQyMDQxMTkyS0&spJobID=980918097&spReportId=OTgwOTE4MDk3S0

Hospitals that use ICUs frequently are more likely to perform invasive procedures and have higher costs

Hospitals that use ICUs frequently are more likely to perform invasive procedures and have higher costs, but without demonstrable improvement in patient survival.

Worthwhile California initiative

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Worthwhile California initiative

Worthwhile California initiative

At a time when health care spending seems only to go up, an initiative in California has slashed the prices of many common procedures.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (Calpers) started paying hospitals differently for 450,000 of its members beginning in 2011. It set a maximum contribution it would make toward what a hospital was paid for knee and hip replacement surgery,colonoscopies,cataract removal surgery and several other elective procedures. Under the new approach, called reference pricing, patients who wished to get a procedure at a higher-priced hospital paid the difference themselves.

THE THREE FOCAL POINTS OF LEADERSHIP

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https://leadershipfreak.wordpress.com/2016/08/11/the-three-focal-points-of-leadership/

self-awareness includes seeing yourself through the eyes of others

Focus is power to maximize results and increase impact. Apart from focus, leaders stand ankle deep before an  ocean of opportunity.

Understand the Culture: 8 Questions to Ask Potential Employers

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http://johngself.com/self-perspective/2016/08/understand-culture-8-questions-ask-potential-employers/?utm_source=Self+Perspective+from+JohnGSelf+%2B+Partners%2C+Inc.&utm_campaign=85ba12fca3-RSS_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_70effc545f-85ba12fca3-88600789

Here is today’s rundown for the SelfPerpsective Podcast.

John is working on a new CEO search which led him to focus on the importance of understanding a potential employer’s corporate culture.  

On Wednesday, John’s blog, After All These Years:  It Is Still the Culture, discussed how candidates said they were rarely, if ever, provided any information on a suitor’s corporate culture.  This is amazing since poor culture fit is one of the most common reasons that candidates recruited from outside an organization are forced out in less than two years.

Today John, who has a reputation for accurately reading a company’s culture after only a short period of time, provides some sample questions for candidates.

Share your experiences and contribute to the conversation.

Thanks for listening.

The SelfPerspective Podcast Team

 

A state-by-state breakdown of 71 rural hospital closures

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http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/finance/a-state-by-state-breakdown-of-71-rural-hospital-closures.html

More than 70 rural hospitals have closed since 2010 — and many more may be headed down the same path.

Rural hospitals are facing a myriad of financial challenges, and those in states that have not expanded Medicaid are feeling the most financial pressure. Sixty-three percent of hospitals vulnerable to closure are in states that have not expanded Medicaid, according to a report from iVantage Health Analytics, a firm that compiles a hospital strength index based on data about financial stability, patients and quality indicators.

Here are 25 states that have closed at least one rural hospital since 2010, according to research from the North Carolina Rural Health Research Program. For the purposes of its analysis, the NCRHRP defined a hospital closure as the cessation in the provision of inpatient services. Although all of the facilities listed below no longer provide inpatient care, many of them still offer services, including outpatient care, imaging, emergency care, urgent care, primary care or skilled nursing and rehabilitation services.