Hospital food goes digital

In what is reported to be a first in the US, a new program at Scottsdale Healthcare allows patients to order food at any time during the day through digital room service, reports the Tuscon Citizen.

Patients can scroll through a menu on their in-room televisions to order food, which is then delivered about 20 to 30 minutes later. The program has been in the works for two years. Computer software keeps track of the dietary restrictions assigned to each patient, cutting out high sodium for cardiac patients, for example.

Menus include salmon with dill sauce, roast pork loin, Philly cheese-steak sandwiches and dessert. Each order is broken down into nutritional information such as calories, fat grams and sodium.

Healthcare and banking software company, Misys, said its turnaround was on track, despite a 43% decline in pre-tax profits in the year to May, according to the UK-based Telegraph.

The company was left floundering last year after a failed takeover attempt by founder Kevin Lomax and a profit warning linked to poor sales.

New chief executive Mike Lawrie said yesterday: "The turnaround programme at Misys is progressing in line with our expectations. We're making good progress on cost take-out, which has helped margins and profitability, but we have an awful lot of work to do before we see the top-line growth recurring for Misys."

In the US, Ontario Systems and HTP announced a partnership to integrate their healthcare revenue management applications, according to eMediawire.com.

The aim of this interaction is to accelerate providers' revenue cycles and provide increased service and communication with their patients.

Ontario Systems' Artiva Healthcare receivables management system will now work seamlessly with HTP's RevRunner pre-registration technology for patient identification, insurance verification, bill estimation and authorisation.