iPhone

E-Prescribing: it can save you money

Posted on November 24th, 2011 by Bill

e-Prescribing

Lately, we have put a lot of blogs up about smart phones and how they integrate into the medical community. One of the most important ways that they can make health-care provider’s lives much easier is through E-prescribing. A lot of doctors and health agencies have already implemented some form of sending prescriptions via an electronic service, citing the ease of use and timesaving aspects that electronic prescriptions offer. However, that isn’t all that E-prescription can do for you; it can also save you money.

New governmental initiatives are pushing for modernization of data maintenance across the board in the medical services, including prescriptions. In order to accomplish this, the federal government passed the HITECH Act in 2009. This act offers incentive payments to physicians through Medicare and Medicaid if they use electronic prescriptions for more than 40% of their prescriptions, not including those for controlled substances.

Government incentives are direct ways in which E-prescribing can cut costs. There are, however, many indirect ways that handling your prescriptions electronically can reduce your overhead. The most important of these is in the time saved. “time is money” is a cliché for a reason. Although it may seem quicker to just write out a prescription by hand, this is not the case. In fact, one third of all hand-written prescriptions necessitate a phone call from the pharmacy for clarification. To put this in more stark relief, the Medical Group Management Association estimates that, on average, medical practices receive fifty phone calls a day from pharmacies. These calls are disruptive to workflow, and thus consume time.

Furthermore, E-prescribing makes more efficient use of the physician’s time. Electronic prescription systems contain databases and programs that account for drug interactions and contra-indications, which means that the physician does not have to. Over time, this increases efficiency and productivity, and both add up to dollars saved. In one study, published in 2007, a group practice of thirteen physicians claimed that by transferring their records completely to an electronic format, they saved 1 million dollars in the first year and a half. Considering that this included the cost of implementing the system, that is an impressive saving (especially when you take into account that this does not include the federal reimbursement mentioned above).

For more on E-prescription, read Electronic Prescribing: Building, Deploying and Using E-prescribing to Save Lives and Save Moneyput out by the Center for Health Transformation. For more information on the HITECH Act, see Electronic Prescription Is Safe And Efficient, However Hurdles Remain.

Can smart phones actually help people?

Posted on November 2nd, 2011 by Noah

eye exam via smart phone

Dexcomm has been in the communications industry since the 1950’s and over that time we have always strived to stay on top of the amazing changes in communications technology. We were the first telephone answering service in the state to be able to receive and deliver emails. We offer sms, email, and fax delivery, web based on call management, and are currently bringing onboard a completely secure and HIPAA compliant smart phone app that will allow medical practices to communicate all their messages in a private and encrypted environment.

Our secure messaging app for smart phones is an one example of great leaps in technology. Another example aimed at helping people around the world is featured in the following video. Netra has developed an app, and cheap ($2) accessory to the smart phone that can provide quick and accurate eye exams. The impact that this development could have for children around the world, in developed and undeveloped countries alike is amazing.

iPhone 4s is missing one crucial business feature

Posted on October 14th, 2011 by Noah

Apple has done a lot of things right with their newest iPhone hardware and ios upgrade. For starters this time they released the phone to all three major US carriers at the same time. The phone sold more than 1 million pre orders on its first day by being available to Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T customers.

This phone is packed with new features, Siri voice control, all new A5 dual-core chip, a great new 8mg camera with new software to make it easier to use, and the ability to record 1080p video. The release of iOS 5 brings its own set of new advancements, a reworked notification center, Twitter account intergration, Newsstand for magazine subscriptions, and PC Free which for the first time gives you the ability to set up a new iPhone without having to plug it into a computer.

So what is this major missing feature you may ask? Is it missing some great new hardware? Perhaps apple made a human factors mistake? Is there an app to download and overcome this problem? The answer to all these questions is no. The missing feature is more of a standing problem with any smart phone. The problem is in a word ‘voicemail’. Whats wrong with voicemail? Well if you are using your phone for business, which most of us are, the numbers are clear. Over 75% of business callers hang up on voicemail without leaving a message. Now it’s a gamble to think what these callers are doing next. Sure some may just be waiting to call you back at a time when you will answer, or even sitting down to write you that nice email. I would wager that most are simply calling the next person in their google or phone book search, that’s right they are hanging up on your voicemail to call your competition and give them the business that you would have gotten if only a person would have answered the phone instead of a machine.
In our modern world filled with smart phones and over automation, it’s easy to get frustrated anytime a machine steps in to do a job we were expecting a human to do. Don’t take that gamble with your customers, show them how much they mean to you by insuring they always speak to a person when they call your business. Learn how to keep those customers that called you first by downloading our guide to Finding the Right Answering Service.

3 Examples of Bio-medical Monitoring with smart phones

Posted on October 4th, 2011 by Noah

iPhone-Portable-ECG-Device

We are all aware of the amazing things that our smart phones are becoming capable of, but did you have any idea of the true scope of their capabilities? One of the most recent and fastest growing segments of smart phone development goes hand in hand with the miniaturization of bio-medical monitoring equipment.

These developments will bring advanced bio-medical monitoring, previously only available in the hospital or with expensive hardware, into the homes of many. The ability to monitor critical health information, and more importantly alert one’s physician to important fluctuations will potentially save lives and dramatically reduce health care costs. The applications are endless, and the advantages priceless.

Following are three examples of what some developers are currently bringing to market.

Withings: The Smart Blood Pressure Monitor, Body Scale, and Smart Baby Monitor

AIRSTRIP Technologies : Healthcare Anywhere

AliveCor : iPhone ECG

ipads, smart phones, and HIPAA

Posted on September 20th, 2011 by Bill

Marianne K. McGee over at Informationweek.com put out a rather informative article detailing the problems that HIPAA requirements pose for IT departments in or associated with the medical field. A salient point in the article is that more and more patients and staff are relying on mobile devices to transfer medical information. As the article points out, mobile devices are often what are attacked when someone is trying to illegally gain access to an information system.

Many medical organizations preempt this by simply avoiding the issue. Mony Weschler, the ancillary informatics director at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City, provides an example of this approach. McGee’s article quotes Weschler thus, “We don’t store patient data on devices like smartphones and iPads.”

Though this policy is a good one for the present, how will it work in years to come? No blanket policy in the world will prevent your staff from transmitting information in the most expedient manner possible if the situation demands, and that is how it should be—especially in a sector such as the medical professions where so much information is time-critical. HIPAA regulations even make allowances for information that is shared during instances where timeliness is imperative (see: HIPAA and Natural Disaster: when is it appropriate to share medical records?). Instead of totally banning the use of newer, more portable communication technologies, the tact to take is to develop a sound, considered plan of integration of these technologies so that neither timeliness nor security is compromised.

Timeliness is an inherent quality of good communications, in *some* ways even more important than security. In fact, it may be reasonably argued that the advancement of communication is propelled by the invention of methods for *quickly* transmitting ideas, with the security of those transmissions as an after-thought which improves the general method. In a perfect world, timeliness and security would run apace of one another as communication technology progresses. However, that is simply not how the world works, and people use the technologies at hand. The fact is that, at some point, someone who works for you has probably already sent a text or sent an email from a smart phone that contains information that falls under HIPAA’s purview.

In the long run, we can’t expect this issue to go away. In a world that more and more relies on transportability of the work-space, people are not going to stop using their ipads and smart phones. In the medical industry, to do so is to potentially fall behind the competition. The trick is to make sure that the transition is made carefully and with fore-thought. The first thing to do is to familiarize yourself with what exactly HIPAA requires of communication security. To help with this, see 5 Questions to Ask About HIPAA Security. Though it is oriented towards selecting an answering service, it will provide you a good over-view of HIPAA compliance.

BART Shuts down Cell Service and Raises Free Speech Questions

Posted on August 16th, 2011 by Noah

BART transit phone jamming - photo by Eric Risberg/AP

BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) blocked cell phone transmissions last Thursday as an attempt to disrupt communications of protest organizers. The protesters were planning on disrupting BART operations to illustrate their outrage in the July 3rd shooting death of Charles Blair Hill by BART police.

The shutdown of communications is being compared to the Mubarak regime techniques recently used against protesters in Egypt, and is being considered by many ‘A Major First Amendment Problem’. BART’s decision has also lead to more protest and disruptions of service.

BART authorities contend that their decision was based completely on the safety of the public and the dangers of overcrowding the station platforms where people must board subway trains.

BART’s chief spokesman, Linton Johnson, was quoted Monday afternoon. “There is a constitutional right to safety, A lot of people are forgetting the fact that there are multiple constitutional rights and are focusing solely on one. BART is obligated to protect them all”

Here are some leading news stories reporting on both views of this free speech debate.

http://www.npr.org/2011/08/16/139656641/cell-service-shutdown-raises-free-speech-questions

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/127783668.html

http://www.bart.gov/news/articles/2011/news20110812.aspx

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/08/12/officials-interrupt-phone-service-to-stall-protest/

What are your personal views on this; is it appropriate to remove first amendment rights in the name of public safety? If so, where is the line drawn, and is the removal of cell phone communications actually an infringement of the first amendment? These are important questions to be resolved and applied to modern technology as our population quickly moves towards mobile technology as preferred methods of communication. Are mobile devices, sms, facebook, and twitter all protected under the first amendment?

As a HIPAA compliant communications company, we at Dexcomm are well aware that the misuse of these mentioned forms of communication are punishable under the stringent privacy regulations laid out in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Does this then imply that the lawful use of these technologies should to be protected?

iPhone…Just how great is this thing?

Posted on March 17th, 2010 by Mike Ritter

As I’ve said in previous iPhone blogs, I really do love this little thing. Sure…it’s useful and cool, but I’m in a very unique generational position to really appreciate this thing. Let me explain…

As a member of Gen X (born in 1970) I’m old enough to remember being told to walk up to the console TV and turn the dial to one of the three or four channels we received. I was 10 or 11 when we finally got cable. My family owned a Beta VCR. I warmly remember record albums! And as I’ve said before, I was the only person I knew prior to the advent of the Sony Walkman and the like to carry around music in a portable form (non boom box)…though carrying around a Radio Shack tape deck with one of the old guy one ear ear piece things wasn’t all that portable. And now, as a 39 year old married father of two, I hold in my hand an Apple iPhone and I’m sincerely amazed at how far we’ve come. Back in 1981 when I was carrying around me tape deck and handful of cassettes I would never have dreamed of anything like this. To compare…let’s see what’s currently on my iPhone.

MUSIC:

Billy Joel – The Stranger

Brandi Carlile – Give Up The Ghost

Brandi Carlile – The Story

Counting Crows – August And Everything After

Counting Crows – Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings

Ian Moore – And All The Colors

Ian Moore – Modernday Folklore

Louis CK – Shameless

Louis CK – Small Club Bits

Marin Gaye – What’s Goin’ On

Midlake – The Trials Of Van Occupanther

Pearl Jam – Against

Pearl Jam – Ten

The Beatles – Abbey Road

The Beatles – Blue Album

The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour

The Beatles – Red Album

The Beatles – Sgt Peppers Lonley Hearts Club Band

The Beatles – White Album

The Police – Outlandos d’Amour

The Wiggles – Various Stuff

FULL LENGTH MOVIES:

The Dark Knight

Monster’s, Inc.

Star Trek (2009)

VIDEO:

4 Separate Lectures About Science/Evolution

Pearl Jam – State Of Love And Trust Unplugged

The Dragon Slayers (2 Minute Movie I Made With My Boys)

11 Half Hour Episodes of NBC’s 30 Rock

53 Episodes Of The Mr. Deity Podcast

Imagine laying all of that out in some analog form…be it records, or tapes, or video tapes. It’s ridiculous the amount of information that can now be carried in your pocket! And add to that all of the abilities the phone comes with…from being a phone in your pocket (that you can all anywhere in the WORLD with), keeping notes in digital form, voice recorder, synced e-mail, to the myriad of iPhone apps designed to make life easier and more productive.

All of this sits in the palm of my hand…in a stylish little unit that slides into my pocket.

While there are times I definitely envy what my young sons will inevitably see in terms of scientific breakthroughs in their life times, I do feel that they will miss out on a bit of just what makes those things special. Being in the center of the analog to digital switch over gives me and the rest of us that can appreciate this a certain reverence for what we have.

And next time, I’ll opt for the larger capacity iPhone!

Talking Carl for iPhone

Posted on January 24th, 2010 by Mike Ritter

Sometimes there are things so silly, so useless and yet so damn funny you can’t explain them. This describes Talking Carl, a new iPhone app to a “T.” There really is no point for this app…just pure, simple silliness. Carl is a little red blobby guy who stands motionless on a serene cartoonish background. the thing is…Carl listens to you and repeats what you say, but in a higher pitch.

I know. But seriously…it’s ridiculously funny. Poor Carl also hates it when you poke him and will grunt accordingly. Poke him in his eyes and he shuts them and hollers back at you. Stroke him gently and he laughs uncontrolably. Leave him alone for a while and he sort of gets mad that you’ve ignored him. Pinch him and he growls.

Again…I know. But trust me on this. It’s funny. VERY funny. And it fits in nicely with the previous post regarding time wasting apps. Plus, and I find this of upmost importance, kids CAN NOT PUT IT DOWN! Provided you can tolerate the screaming as a result of their giddiness from playing with this thing, they will stare at this thing for an hour without looking up.

Talking Carl is a paid for app and can be found here. Current price is 99 cents…

Dragon's Lair for iPhone

Posted on January 8th, 2010 by Mike Ritter

One of the stocking stuffers I received this Christmas was a $25 iTunes gift card for the App Store for iPhone apps. In searching for things to spend it on, I ran across an old friend. Well…it felt like an old friend, anyway! Now available for iPhone is the first laser disc video game from back in 1983, Dragon’s Lair!

A little backstory… I was 13 in 1983, so I was EXACTLY in the wheel house for video games like this. I can remember storing up quarters and heading to the local convinient store (Time Saver, anyone?) to play Asteroids or Dig Dug or Joust. But when Dragon’s Lair was released, there was a huge push for everyone my age to see it. Dragon’s Lair utilized a laser disc internally, and was not really a traditional video game where the player controlled every bit of action. In fact, it was a cartoon split into snippets. As you, the hero, would reach certain points you’d need to be ready to react and press the appropriate buttons in order to go the right way/do the right thing to avoid being killed. If you did, the video would fairly seamlessly move on to the next challenge. If not, well…you got to see your guy die in all sorts of funny and gruesome ways. This game was so cool, I remember it being the first game you had to be 50 cents to play…and since it was so damn hard you’d spend $5 on it before you realized it! Which, was exacty the point of the designers.

So anyway, while searching for iPhone apps I noticed that this title was available for iPhone. At $4.99 it’s one of the more expensive games, but for purely nostalgia’s sake it’s worth it! The game play is smooth but just as difficult as it’s 1983 predecessor. Just as before, the game gives you a brief warning when you need to make the next move and you have a split second to do it or else! Hitting the right button at the right time can be a bit hard, especially if you have large hands…and having your hands over the touch screen in order to move does limit your ability to see the screen, but that’s simply a limitation of the touch format of iPhone.

If you were ever a fan of the old Don Bluth animated Dragon’s Lair, it’s worth the $5 as far as I’m concerned. $5 is not a lot to pay to feel 13 again…

Simple & Fun Time Killing Games On iPhone

Posted on January 4th, 2010 by Mike Ritter

If you have not been following Andrew’ Triplett’s wonderful gaming blog and you’re a gamer…then what are you wating fun?!? You can find it here. In that spirit, Andrew posted a great blog about time wasting games to play around with at your computer…and they are great choices. But what about when you’re mobile and not sitting at your desk? We’ve all found ourselves stuck someplace with 15 minutes or so to kill…what then? Never fear…Mike is here to lend you a hand. Here are a few wonderfully fun, simple and pretty fast paced iPhone games that will kill time like an assasin! Each game has a hotlink to a download site in it’s title…so go get ‘em!

Backbreaker Football

This is a great little football game with really nice playibility. Iit’s not a full game setup like a Madden type game. Nope…this is strictly a running back (that’s you) who is attempting to score while winding his way through a maze of potential tacklers all the while scoring additional points by juking defenders out of their socks…with additional points for showboating at the end. The game uses iPhone’s fun little feature of moving objects on screen when tilting the phone…so you literally make your running back change direction by simpply tilting the screen left to right. There is a free, limited game and a paid game that sells for 99 cents. Try it for free, but it’s well worth the buck.

Strategery

This fun, fast paced game is sort of a scaled down version of those old classic board games where armies try and take over territory, etc. In this case, it’s simply colors that advance into foreign territories winning or losing battles and gaining or losing numered dots along the way. The object it to attack the opposing colored dots (which fight back) in such a way so as to limit your loses while gaining ground and dots over your opponents. Very addictive! There is both a free and a pay version.

Paper Toss

This may be the quintesential time killing game. It literally digitizes live action time killing (balling up paper and tossing it into a can instead of working) and enables you to take your laziness on the road, which is exactly what would happen if you did this kind of stuff at work… The game features fantastic graphics and a really great live feel to the way objects move on screen. Your tosses are effected by a fan blowing across your field…so you need to take that into acount. And beware…toss one WAY out of the screen and you’re likely to hear about it from a disgruntled co-worker. There is a free as well as a pay version for this game.

reMovem

This one is crazy addictive. reMovem is as simple as can be, but will have you looking for ways to yank this game out and play it. The object is to group as many like colored balls together as possible before clicking and removing them from the board. You can begin removing balls when there are three or more like colored balls touching. Balls drop down AND across to fill the space made by removed balls…so you have to plan ahead. Very fast paced… Free and pay versions available.

Orba

My new favorite (and my wife’s as well) is Orba. Much like reMovem, this is a very simply game which revolves around removing like colored touching balls. Unlike reMovem, Orba only allows the balls to drop down…which means you have to plan your strategy quite differently. With each passing level, new colors are added, making it more and more difficult to match three or more touching groups. Be careful…this is one of those time killing games that you’ll start to play to kill a few minutes and look up and realize it’s been a week! Free and pay versions available.

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