Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1186182
31 CIO / HEALTH IT Cerner CEO outlines strategy behind Amazon partnership: 3 insights By Jackie Drees C erner CEO Brent Shafer discussed key areas behind the EHR vendor's strategy for its partnership with Amazon Web Services during the annual Cerner Health Conference Oct. 8 in Kansas City, Mo., Kansas City Business Journal reported. Cerner partnered with AWS in July, designating the retail giant as its preferred cloud provider. However, at CHC, Mr. Shafer stressed that there is "much more" to the collaboration than just moving Cerner to the cloud. AWS offers clients the opportunity to access "infrastructure as if it was a utility," said Matt Wood, vice president of artificial intelligence for AWS. He described Amazon's cloud "as a socket that customers can just plug into and then pull down all the server and data capacity to build any application on any scale," according to the report. Here are three areas Cerner plans to focus on as part of its innovation strategy with Amazon, according to Mr. Shafer: 1. Increase interoperability and usability of its platforms. 2. Transform data into insights. 3. Support rapid development and deployment of applications. n UnitedHealthcare launches app for virtual care visits By Jackie Drees U nitedHealthcare released a new mobile application that allows plan mem- bers to schedule and conduct telehealth visits with a physician directly from the app. UnitedHealthcare is the health insurance arm of UnitedHealth Group. The app is part of UnitedHealth Group's more than $3 billion annual investment in data, technology and innovation, said Anne Docimo, MD, CMO at UnitedHealthcare. "Digital health resources are fundamentally changing how people navigate the health system, making it possible to access care from anywhere at any time and helping remove barriers to care," Dr. Docimo said. Individuals enrolled in most UnitedHealthcare employer-sponsored plans are covered for virtual physician appointments. Virtual visits typically last about 20 minutes, and physicians can diagnose various nonemergency medical condi- tions, including allergies, flu, colds and pinkeye. Physicians can also prescribe medications and send prescriptions to the patient's local pharmacy for pickup, if necessary. The new app also allows members to view their health plan ID card on their smartphone, review and manage prescription medications and view informa- tion regarding the status of deductible and out-of-pocket spending, among other functions. n Deloitte: Healthcare lagging in data modernization efforts By Andrea Park O rganizations' are increasingly using cloud computing to store that data and transitioning to modernized data management platforms to integrate with the cloud as operations become more reliant on gathering and analyzing massive amounts of data. Despite the importance of these data modernization efforts, a new report from Deloitte found that, compared to oth- er industries, healthcare is moving slowly toward full adoption of more advanced databases. Here are three key takeaways from the report, which surveyed more than 500 decision-makers in the areas of cloud and data management at medium to large U.S. companies in industries in- cluding life sciences and healthcare; en- ergy, resources and industrials; financial services; technology, media and telecom- munications; consumer; and government and public services. 1. Of the leaders surveyed, those in healthcare and the life sciences were among the most likely not to have begun implementation of modernized plat- forms, second only to those in technolo- gy, media and telecommunications. 2. Healthcare fell just below the average in terms of those who have fully com- pleted adoption of data modernization: 33 percent of respondents in healthcare have done so, compared to an average of 34 percent across all industries. 3. Respondents in the healthcare indus- try were the least likely of all industries to agree with the statement, "I believe we will succeed in successfully mod- ernizing our data over the next several years." Just half of healthcare leaders agreed, compared to an overall average of 62 percent. n