Health IT

Ending health care’s affordability crisis begins with actions to fix state markets

COMMENTARY | Because states can more easily engage with local employers, health care providers and payers, they are addressing the challenge by analyzing spending, overseeing mergers and reducing the costs of medication.

What happened to the Idaho Health Data Exchange, and can other states learn from it?

The exchange ran into financial troubles after its leadership made funding deals that fell through, leading to a bitter feud over a contract.

Why Blockchain Is a Key Technology for State and Local Governments

COMMENTARY | Blockchains are a promising solution for securing data in health care, finance, voting and other public applications.

AI-enabled health care: First, do not automate harm

A procurement contract template with AI riders, algorithms that are secure and free from bias and medical devices that can be queried as to their functionality and safety will all improve the quality of health care, Aspen Institute fellows say.

Better mental health treatments with synthetic patient data

Synthetic data will allow the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services to research mental health treatments without exposing patients' identity.

Wyoming health IT modernization nears completion

The modules of the Wyoming Integrated Next Generation System were procured separately to ensure best-of-breed solutions.

The best way to protect personal biomedical data from hackers could be to treat the problem like a game

By accounting for the value of the shared data, the game-based approach finds strategies that strike the right balance between utility and privacy.

More than $20M in Federal Funds Available for State-Based Insurance Marketplaces to Make Improvements

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services funding will help improve access and update systems to reflect new eligibility thresholds, state officials said.

How Two States Resolved Problems with PrepMod’s Vaccine Management System

Virginia and Maryland both experienced issues with vaccine appointment link sharing. Virginia opted to develop its own vaccine management platform, while Maryland worked with the vendor.

Lawmakers Push to Make Telehealth Options Permanent

Early data shows patients quickly embraced telemedicine options agencies expanded during the coronavirus pandemic. 

Confronting Mental Illness, Officers Preferred Remote Clinicians Over A Human Presence

A Texas startup believes they have improved on the best practice of social workers riding along with law enforcement. Mayors at SXSW were taken with the idea, awarding the company first prize in their civic tech pitch competition.

Streamlining Local Health Department Inspections and Permitting

No two agencies are alike, which made designing a software solution for preconfigured forms and procedures difficult in the past.

New Website Allows Washington State Residents to Research Health-Care Costs

Washington's HealthCareCompare, created by a state agency, allows residents to research the cost and quality of hundreds of medical, dental and pharmacy services and procedures.

With Analytics, New Federal Funding Could Be Turning Point in the Opioid Crisis

COMMENTARY | States like New Jersey, Virginia and Massachusetts are moving forward with data-driven approaches to treating opioid addictions.

From Monitoring the Opioid Epidemic to Intervening

Analytics could help us stem the opioid crisis. We just need to solve a few red tape and data problems.

This State Just Surged Forward in the Race to Implement Precision Medicine

Public-private partnerships are becoming the norm in medical data-sharing efforts to improve the treatment of diseases.