Online Servers: May not Always Be on Line

Posted by barbarahales

ASP solutions In an ASP solution, both the application and the data reside on the supplier’s servers, and the practice or clinic employees use a regular web browser to access the software. In some cases, client software is installed on in-house computers, but the critical data still resides on the vendor’s computers. The main advantage [...]

Choosing who to host your Software

Posted by barbarahales

Client-server solutions Most office software today is locally hosted – the program runs on an in-house computer (desk tops, notebooks or laptops) and stores the data either on a hard drive or on a network server in the premises. This offers the greatest control, since the data and the program reside on in-house servers. Further, [...]

Health Insurance Perks Come to an End

Posted by barbarahales

“Price-fixing, bid-rigging and market allocation” have all been perks of the Health Insurance companies since 1945 when they became exempt from Anti-trust laws that held stringent guidelines for all other businesses and have been responsible for driving up costs. Fortunately, this is about to end.  President Obama just endorsed a bill that would rid us [...]

Health Insurers Should be Held to the same Rules as Businesses

Posted by barbarahales

The McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945 gave insurance companies a free pass on monopoly restriction, leaving industry regulation up to state governments. According to Robert Gibbs, the White House Press Secretary, removing the exemption, woulld “allow appropriate enforcement and examination of potential policies that mighyt prove uncompetitive, might stifle competition.  And we think this better promotees [...]

Healthcare Parts may be Stronger than the Whole

Posted by barbarahales

Now that President Obama has revealed his latest healthcare proposals for  reform, it is left out in the open for criticism and vulnerability to Republican scrutiny. (and it will get just that, undoubtedly) Perhaps, as has been stated before, baby steps are needed before trying to accomplish a complete package of mammoth proportions. Certain aspects [...]

Healthcare Suggestions Entertained;Let’s Not Stop Here

Posted by barbarahales

President Obama revealed his healthcare plan this morning. His current plan maintains a large portion of the health reform architecture passed by Senate Democrats in December. Features remaining include a requirement for people to purchase their health insurance, government subsidies for people who cannot afford coverage and means to raise revenue to pay for the [...]

EMR System Purchase Enigma

Posted by barbarahales

There appears to be some excitement over an amendment to the Senate bill permitting healthcare providers practicing in hospital-owned outpatient clinics to get purchase subsidies for their electronic health records. According to the original guidelines of 2009 ARRA, some of these clinicians would not be eligible for the incentive payments. This poses an enigma for [...]

U.S. to Europe- “We are Behind You All the Way”

Posted by barbarahales

According to the International Health Policy Survey, polling ten thousand primary care physicians in 11 nations, the United States lags behind other countries in implementation of health information technology and  decreasing the overall access to care. The decline in IT and primary physicians is directly lowering the quality of healthcare here. Only 46% of U.S. [...]

Medicare Cutbacks are Going to Cut Back Physicians

Posted by barbarahales

As part of ARRA and Healthcare Reform, physicians have been promised an increase of 1-2% increases in Medicare and Medicaid payments to defray the cost of purchasing and implementing electronic medical systems at their office   or health facility until $44,000 has been covered over a five year period. What most people are totally unaware [...]