E-mail service comes to healthcare industry
It only took three years (!), but doctors can now enroll on the Health Care Notification Network (HCNN) to receive e-mail notification about recalls and other industry alerts rather than waiting up to two weeks (!) for a letter in the mail. According to the press release announcing the new service, more than 90% want a drug safety alert sent immediately online instead of via US mail (apparently, the remaining 10% still think the InterWeb is just a useless fad), and more than half think office staff should also receive the alerts.
“This is an obvious example of the simple, obvious use of technology that has clear benefits,” says Dr. Ed Fotsch, CEO if iHealth Alliance, the nonprofit board governing the HCNN service. “Change in healthcare is always hard.”
The Alliance is turning to major medical societies, health plans, liability insurers, and others with connections to the healthcare profession to put out the word and encourage doctors to sign up.
