Protocol for a Systematic Review of Telehealth Privacy and Security Research to Identify Best Practices.

Healthcare professionals engaged in telehealth are faced with complex US federal regulations (e.g., HIPAA/HITECH) and could benefit from the guidance provided by best practices in Privacy and Security (P&S).

Accessibility needs and challenges of a mHealth system for patients with dexterity impairments.

Unlabelled: Purpose State: An innovative mobile health system called iMHere (interactive Mobile Health and Rehabilitation) has been developed at the University of Pittsburgh to support self-care and adherence to self-care regimens for patients with chronic conditions. The goal of this study is to explore and to identify the accessibility needs and preferences of individuals with dexterity impairments when they use the iMHere system.

Method: Participants were asked to perform tasks after a one-week field trial.

Evaluation of inpatient clinical documentation readiness for ICD-10-CM.

This research study examined the gaps in documentation that occur when coding in ICD-10-CM. More than 4,000 diagnoses from all chapters were coded from 656 electronic documents obtained from a large integrated healthcare facility at the time the study was conducted (2012). After the documents were coded, areas for documentation improvement were identified for chapters that resulted in deficiencies in documentation, and a quick reference guide was developed.

VOIP for Telerehabilitation: A Risk Analysis for Privacy, Security and HIPAA Compliance: Part II.

In a previous publication the authors developed a privacy and security checklist to evaluate Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) videoconferencing software used between patients and therapists to provide telerehabilitation (TR) therapy. In this paper, the privacy and security checklist that was previously developed is used to perform a risk analysis of the top ten VoIP videoconferencing software to determine if their policies provide answers to the privacy and security checklist. Sixty percent of the companies claimed they do not listen into video-therapy calls unless maintenance is needed.

VOIP for Telerehabilitation: A Risk Analysis for Privacy, Security, and HIPAA Compliance.

Voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP) systems such as Adobe ConnectNow, Skype, ooVoo, etc. may include the use of software applications for telerehabilitation (TR) therapy that can provide voice and video teleconferencing between patients and therapists. Privacy and security applications as well as HIPAA compliance within these protocols have been questioned by information technologists, providers of care and other health care entities.

The effects of barriers on Health Related Quality of Life (HRQL) and compliance in adult asthmatics who are followed in an urban community health care facility.

This cross sectional descriptive study sought to identify perceived barriers to follow-up care for adult asthmatics who are followed in two community health care facilities. A second purpose of the study was to determine the effect of any barriers to Health Related Quality of Life (HRQL) and compliance in the sample. Thirty-four adults completed a demographic and health status survey, the MiniAQLQ and the EWash Access to Health Care Survey.

Current coding competency compared to projected competency.

Coding competency is extremely important to the health information management (HIM) profession and healthcare in general. The research presented in this article evaluates coding skill and competency using practice-based research. The projected skill set for the clinical data specialist, the future coding role set forth in the publication Evolving HIM Careers, was used to determine how prepared current coders are in terms of projected competencies.

Standards for the content of the electronic health record.

A descriptive, cross-sectional study was performed to measure the awareness, use, and validity of the minimum content recommended in the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards for content and structure of electronic health records. A Web-based survey was developed and used as the primary tool to collect this data. Data was collected from a random sample of healthcare facilities from across the country, vendors, and volunteers.

The effectiveness of ICD-10-CM in capturing public health diseases.

This research study examined the usefulness of the ICD-10-CM system in capturing public health diseases (reportable diseases or the nationally notifiable infectious diseases, leading causes of death, and morbidity/mortality related to terrorism), when compared to ICD-9-CM.1-3 It also examined agreement levels of coders when coding public health diseases in both ICD-10-CM and ICD-9-CM. Overall results demonstrate that ICD-10-CM is more specific and fully captures more of the public health diseases examined than ICD-9-CM.

A five-year followup of hand function and activities of daily living in systemic sclerosis (scleroderma).

The purpose of this study was to identify hand factors that change over a five-year period that may be risk factors for the development of functional disability in persons with systemic sclerosis (scleroderma). Sixty individuals with scleroderma were administered assessments of grip and pinch strength, joint range of motion, and pain, and were observed for the presence of digital ulcers, digital scars, calcium deposits, puffy fingers, and tendon friction rubs. Matched-pairs chi square analyses and Fisher's exact tests were performed to compare variables at year 1 and five years later.