Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/912958
33 CIO / HEALTH IT UCSF Researchers Mine EHRs to Track 435k Patient Movements, Pinpoint Source of C. Diff By Jessica Kim Cohen A team of UC San Francisco health informatics researchers analyzed EHR data from a three-year period to identify one source of Clos- tridium difficile, a common hospital-acquired infection. For the study, the research team used time and location stamps from EHRs to trace the movements of more than 85,000 patients seen at UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus between 2013 and 2016. They detected 435,000 location changes, which they used to construct a map of where patients with C. diff infections had traveled in the hospital. The research revealed one location in particular — a CT scanner in the emergency department — as a significant source of infection. Four percent of patients who entered the scanner within 24 hours of a patient with C. diff contracted the infection within two months, while the overall rate of infection for those who used the scanner was 1.6 percent. The research results, published in the Oct. 23 issue of JAMA Internal Medicine, led UCSF Medical Center at Parnassus to align cleaning prac- tices for the CT scanner with those used in other radiology suites. "Most studies looking at C. diff in hospitals typically only look at whether patients were on the same hospital floor," said Russ Cucina, MD, senior author on the study and chief health information officer at UCSF. "But they don't think about everywhere else in the hospital patients go. If we just look at transmission in their room, we're missing potential opportuni- ties for disease transmission." n Allscripts Q3 Revenue Grows 15% From Last Year: 4 Things to Know By Jessica Kim Cohen A llscripts released its third quarter earnings results Nov. 2. Here are four things to know about the company's performance in the third quarter of 2017. 1. The company posted $449.4 million in revenue for the third quarter, up 14.5 percent from $392.4 million during the same period one year prior. 2. Allscripts reported $304 million in revenue from bookings during the third quarter, up 4.5 percent from $291 million in bookings one year prior. 3. The company's net loss totaled $17.4 million during the third quarter, compared to $100,000 in net income accrued during the third quarter last year. 4. Allscripts officials adjusted the company's 2017 financial outlook to be at the high end of its previous estimate. Officials expect year-end revenue to be in the range of $1.79 billion to $1.82 billion. n Deloitte: 3 Ways Blockchain Might Improve Hospital Operations by 2027 By Jessica Kim Cohen B lockchain technology has the potential to streamline operations management at hos- pitals and health systems, according to a De- loitte Center for Health Solutions report. For the report, the Deloitte Center for Health Solu- tions surveyed 33 experts including healthcare C-suite executives, physician leaders and technol- ogists about how digital technologies will change hospital operations during the next 10 years. Blockchain, a permanent and shared record of online transactions or exchanges, was one of the respondents' frequently-discussed technologies. Blockchain uses cryptographic techniques to en- able each user on a network of computers to se- curely store, exchange and view information. Here are three examples of how blockchain might improve hospital operations during the next 10 years. 1. Data interoperability. A blockchain-en- abled health information exchange would alleviate security concerns related to data-sharing between different providers. A patient would be able to ac- cess and share their data from the blockchain and each provider would be able to update relevant in- formation with an individual key. 2. Supply chain management. Blockchain would enhance transparency and accountability as medical supplies and drugs move across the hos- pital supply chain, the report states. With a block- chain-enabled supply chain management system, retailers, wholesalers, distributors and manufac- turers would be able to track the transfer of materi- als across the globe. 3. Revenue cycle management. A block- chain-based payment process system can improve the efficiency of the hospital revenue cycle, in part by eliminating the need for intermediaries be- tween hospitals, physicians, insurers and patients, according to the report. One use might involve enabling patients or insurers to deposit a payment, which would not be released until a predetermined clinical outcome is reached. n