“If there is one thing we guard more than our financial information, it is our healthcare privacy,” says John Dancu, CEO of IDology, a leader in multi-layered identity verification and fraud prevention solutions for the customer-not-present environment. “There is a significant increase in value of protected health information (PHI) because of its use by highly sophisticated … [More]
UA Cancer Center in Phoenix
Downtown Phoenix’s Biomedical Campus includes a Phoenix arm of The University of Arizona Cancer Center, one of 45 specially designated by the National Cancer Institute as a comprehensive cancer center. To achieve this designation, the center must focus on basic and clinical research, prevention, education, outreach and training as well as patient care. The only cancer center … [More]
Private Health Exchanges
Private health exchanges, or marketplaces, are one of the “new kids on the block” and they’re fast becoming a compelling option for employers and employees. In fact, 6 million people enrolled in their employer-sponsored benefits through private exchanges in 2015, double the previous year, as reported last year by global professional services company Accenture. Exchanges … [More]
Plastic Surgery – There’s an App for That
Interest in plastic surgery continues to grow. And now there’s an app that facilitates HIPAA-privacy-protected, interactive consultations between patients and plastic surgeons. Zwivel, created by board-certified plastic surgeon Gary D. Breslow, M.D., allows prospective patients to consult with multiple doctors, and even upload photos to them, all from the convenience of their … [More]
PCH’s Trauma Care Expands
Phoenix Children’s Hospital broke ground last month on a new Emergency Department and Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center that will dramatically increase the hospital’s emergency and trauma care capacity to meet the needs of Arizona’s burgeoning pediatric population. Traumatic injuries are the leading cause of death in Arizona of children between the ages of 1 and 16. Phoenix … [More]
Healing Buildings
Healthcare is going through drastic change around the country, shares Angela Watson, a principal and design leader at Shepley Bulfinch, an architecture, planning and interior design firm for which healthcare has been a big part for nearly 100 of its 140-plus years, and she sees Phoenix as an area particularly strong in opportunity. “Healthcare providers in the Phoenix area look … [More]
Cancer Screening Advances
Scottsdale-based Beacon Biomedical, Inc., a privately held company focused on developing patient-friendly cancer screening, received an investment from Phoenix-based Hyalescent Ventures, which focuses its investments on healthcare and medical technology. Beacon has secured the exclusive worldwide rights from the NIH for the detection and quantification of a signaling protein … [More]
More than Weight Loss
Weight Watchers’ new Beyond the Scale program shifts from a focus on weight loss alone to overall wellness — including emotional and physical health. This augments the best practices information Weight Watchers provides employers through its Weight Watchers Health Solutions program that helps companies make their workplaces healthier and employees more engaged. Part of Beyond … [More]
Healthcare Services Platform Consortium Aims for Interoperability
Interoperability is a key need in healthcare today, with the growing focus on collating and sharing data. Scottsdale-based Healthcare Services Platform Consortium was founded to create a platform model that would allow users to download an application and use it with only minor configuration adjustments, explains Oscar Diaz, CEO, comparing such convenience to iOS and Android … [More]
Specialty Obstetrics Focuses on Diabetes
A healthcare issue in America today is the growing epidemic of obesity. And, with obesity being a significant factor in leading to diabetes, one of the specialties that has evolved in obstetrics and gynecology is maternal-fetal medicine. John Elliott, M.D., founded Valley Perinatal in 2013 to focus on the high-risk obstetrics of diabetic moms. “Our role is to provide … [More]
Classification for Better Care
A recent update to medical coding — the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) — makes medical coding a universal language, as it has already been adopted across the globe. Two key improvements over prior processes are specificity and infinite coding. Specificity removes even the smallest chance of error in the diagnosing, coding, billing or … [More]
Critical Rehab Advances
The City of Surprise will finally get a hospital when the Cobalt Rehabilitation Hospital of Surprise opens this month. The $17.5-million, 55,000-square-foot facility will also be the first hospital in Arizona to provide the ZeroG® Gait and Balance Training System, a robotic body-weight support system mounted to a motorized trolley that rides along an overhead track. The system … [More]
Domestic Medical Travel as Healthcare Cost Solution
Companies today face mounting pressure to provide appropriate healthcare coverage despite staggering costs. Rising to the challenge, a growing number of business owners and corporate executives have sought strategies to help avoid substantial monetary penalties for non-compliance under reform’s new regulations and, concurrently, curb healthcare costs. In this … [More]
Go! Gargle!
Improving on the tried-and-true sore throat home remedy of gargling with salt water, registered nurse January O’Connor devised her GoGargle! formulation initially for her husband, adding honey, aloe, mint and chamomile for their immediate soothing benefit as the salt-water gargle works to reduce swelling. The Scottsdale resident began marketing it as a compressed and convenient … [More]
Expanding Delivery
The new name of Abrazo Community Health Network better expresses the sense of caring that underlies the philosophy of the healthcare system that has evolved from what was previously a hospital system (“abrazo” means “embrace” in Spanish), explains Kat Rondeau, chief business development officer. “The new brand rolled out in May was the result of research regarding what a … [More]
Advancing Safety in Medical Imagery
The use of advanced imagery in healthcare is increasing, but this technology that helps improve patient outcome also has the potential to do harm. Scottsdale-based PACSHealth, LLC manufactures a tool that collects data and sets up the ability to send alerts, reports and other components around that data set to ensure what is being programmed is actually what is delivered and … [More]
Bonus Payments Help UnitedHealthcare Promote Value-Based Care
Through its PATH program, which annually rewards physicians who meet certain performance-based criteria, UnitedHealthcare awarded approximately $1.2 million in bonus payments to 30 Arizona care providers named winners of the PATH Excellence in Patient Service Awards. Care providers who earned recognition as a UnitedHealthcare PATH Excellence in Patient Service Award winner have … [More]
Communication Key in Care
Today’s dynamic healthcare landscape relies on highly educated and motivated leaders with strong managerial expertise to oversee large healthcare operations and their success is determined by how well they clearly communicate with patients, staff, providers, business partners, insurance companies, and regulators. Blair Smith, Ph.D., dean of informatics-management-technology … [More]
