2007 News Articles

Kerry Weems, acting administrator of the CMS, met with Molly Coye, CEO of HealthTech, David Brailer, founder of Health Evolution Partners, Jo Ellen Ross, president and CEO of Lumetra, and Paul Tang, chief medical information officer of the Palo Alto (CA) Medical Foundation to discuss key policy issues around EHR adoption. See a summary of the meeting in Modern Healthcare.

Ateret Haselkorn, Alan Rosenstein, Michele Van Zuiden, and Molly J. Coye were recently published in the American Journal of Medical Quality. The article addresses critical success factors for new technology planning and approval, and their presence in technology planning committees in a subset of U.S. Hospitals. The article was printed in the American Journal of Medical Quality.

2006 News Articles

HealthTech, the nonprofit center for technology and innovation in healthcare, has launched a national project to demonstrate that a redesigned primary care delivery system for lower-income individuals with very high health risks can lead to affordable health insurance options. The new primary care delivery approach -- known as an Ambulatory Intensive Caring Unit (A-ICU) -- is designed to trim healthcare costs for this group by 30 to 40 percent or more while improving quality of care.

Rocky Fredrickson, M.D. Appointed new HealthTech Senior Clinical Fellow
May 15, 2006

HealthTech is pleased to announce the appointment of Rocky Fredrickson, M.D. as a Senior Clinical Fellow. Dr. Fredrickson has been the Vice President of Clinical Excellence and Safety and Chief Medical Officer for Providence Health & Services. His responsibilities included physician integration and leadership development, clinical performance improvement, patient and employee safety, and risk management for all hospitals, long-term care facilities, home health agencies and medical groups at Providence Health & Services.

Report: Tech Adoption a Must for ED and Trauma Services
By Patty Enrado
Healthcare IT News - March 17, 2006

Automation will greatly improve emergency department efficiency and safety, according to a report released Thursday on key trends for emergency and trauma services.

Late adopters of real-time information systems; radio frequency identification for patients, staff and asset tracking; electronic whiteboards; electronic medical records (EMRs) and predictive demand modeling will face increasing operational costs, throughput delays and patient dissatisfaction, Health Technology Center (HealthTech) disclosed at its partners’ meeting.

2005 News Articles

Speak Up: Speech Processing Rewrites Clinical Data Entry
By Molly Joel Coye, M.D., MPH
Most Wired - September 21, 2005

Motivating clinicians to enter data into digital systems is an uphill climb these days. The tedium of keyboard-and-mouse data entry dampens their enthusiasm quickly and still generates complaints of wasted time. Voice recognition will be a key part of the solution, and practical, reliable tools are finally emerging.

Up Close with HealthTech’s Research Team
Healthcare Purchasing News Online - August 2005

For San Francisco-based Health Technology Center (a. k. a. HealthTech) analyzing past trends, observing and interpreting current trends and integrating all of that to forecast future trends not only is a way of life but a lot of fun.

Still, it represents a lot of hard work and painstaking research and sourcing, which healthcare providers and suppliers routinely rely on to make business decisions for the good of their organizations and patients.

Doing More with Less: Productivity and Emerging Technologies
By Molly Joel Coye, M.D., MPH
Most Wired - July 6, 2005

New technology is a double-edged sword for productivity in health care. The same technologies that will be essential for long-term improvements in efficiency are often so disruptive that productivity suffers for months or even years. Fortunately, the latest information technology (IT) developments are addressing these growing challenges to productivity and shortening the disruption by coupling IT adoption with comprehensive work flow and cultural change management.

Unplugged? Hospital-Physician Relations in the New World of IT
By Molly Joel Coye, M.D., MPH
Most Wired - March 24, 2005

As the national call for an electronically connected health system rolls forward, the traditional relationships between hospitals and community physicians--always turbulent--will be thrown into even less charted waters. What will be expected of hospitals and health systems? Until now, only a few hardy hospital systems have ventured to fund community physician IT investments and operations due to fraud, abuse and Stark prohibitions.

Remote Patient Management: The Sleeper Technology
Most Wired - January 24, 2005

Small boxes hooked up to home telephones for the management of chronic disease patients are the sleeper technology of this decade. Just a few steps from the "tipping point," these small boxes are remote patient management (RPM) devices. They will disrupt long-standing patterns of care, improving patient self-care and challenging CEOs to rethink future facility needs. And with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' launch of a series of RPM system demonstrations, private payer interest in these devices and wraparound disease management programs will grow.

2004 News Articles

Wireless Opens Doors for Disabled
San Jose Mercury News - Posted on Wed, Nov. 24, 2004

HealthTech Partner Sutter Health Gives Hospitals Digital Booster
San Francisco Business Times, From October 29th Print Edition

Aethon (www.aethon.com) has developed a cost-effective and reliable robot that delivers materials securely and autonomously throughout the hospital. The Company's product is the Tug, an intelligent, self-navigating, battery-powered robot that attaches to carts.

Ascension Health Ventures Closes Investment in Aethon – A Robotic Materials Transporter
Ascension Health Ventures

Aethon (www.aethon.com) has developed a cost-effective and reliable robot that delivers materials securely and autonomously throughout the hospital. The Company's product is the Tug, an intelligent, self-navigating, battery-powered robot that attaches to carts.

N. California health-care systems making unprecedented IT investments, according to Molly Coye
San Francisco Business Times, April 30, 2004

Sutter Health will spend $1.2 billion on information technology for its Northern California hospitals and medical groups, joining rivals Kaiser Permanente and Catholic Healthcare West in what is sure to become a high-stakes technology battle.

Wireless Market Shows Signs of Life in Health Care
iHealthBeat, March 26, 2004

Ravi Nemana, director of IT research at HealthTech, was quoted in an article on trends in use of wireless technology in health care settings. (HealthTech's report on the emergence and impact of wireless technology was published in September 2003.)

Coye Recognized as Visionary
FACCT, January 21, 2004

Portland, OR - FACCT - Foundation for Accountability announces the launch of the Innovators & Visionaries Database, a new online resource that highlights the projects, programs and people that are tackling today's health care challenges head on and leading the industry into the 21^st century.

Health Care Groups Ask Congress to Create Loan SRFs
The Bond Buyer Online, June 2, 2003

Two healthcare industry groups recently called on Congress to establish state revolving loan funds to help hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare providers upgrade and improve information technology, including hardware, software, and computerized clinical information systems.

Info-tech Gets a Jump-Start
Modern HealthCare, June 2, 2003

A not-for-profit research organization supported by 18 leading healthcare organizations last week unveiled a road map-and a public financing vehicle-for jump-starting the industry-wide adoption of information technology.