Blog for hireCentral.com

Healthcare IT spending to hit $40B in 2011

Fri, 27 May 2011 12:40:00 GMT

Healthcare IT spending is expected to reach $40 billion by the end of this year, according to a studyfrom market research firm RNCOS.

Much of that growth will come from spending on electronic health record (EHR) systems, mobile health applications and efforts to comply with new government standards.

Boosted by increased spending on healthcare software -- which is needed for the rollout of EHR systems -- the U.S. healthcare IT market is expected to grow at a rate of about 24 percent per year from 2012 to 2014, the study said. Spending on healthcare software rose 20.5 percent in the past year, from $6.8 billion in 2010 to a projected $8.2 billion this year, according to RNCOS.

Recent mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare IT market also point to growing private-sector interest in software, which will see sales grow at rate of more than 30 percent annually from 2012 to 2014, the report said.

The study attributed some of the increase in spending to the Healthcare Reform Act, the new ICD-10 coding system and adoption of EHR systems, which will be mandatory by 2015. Also a factor: Medicaid enrollment, which is expected to increase by 16 million people by 2019.

ICD-10 is a comprehensive medical coding system that includes more than 55,0000 codes; hospitals are required to be using it by Oct. 1, 2013.

And the adoption of EHR technology -- hastened by the requirement that healthcare facilities must achieve "meaningful use" of such systems -- is forcing hospitals and other healthcare providers to move ahead with technology implementations faster than ever.

In addition, the RNCOS report noted that consumers are keenly interested in the benefits of mobile health technology. The mobile health market is estimated to hit $2.1 billion by the end of the year. It has grown by 17 percent in each of the past two years.

The main driver behind that double-digit growth rate is the increasing use of smartphones. By the end of 2011, 50 percent of mobile phones in the U.S. are expected to be smartphones, up from 21 percent in 2009.

See the entire InfoWorld article here.

Pharma Companies Bring in Big Investments

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 04:00:00 GMT

It appears pharma companies in Philadelphia are bringing in big investments...

Last week, TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals Corp., of Malvern, said it raised $32 million in its latest financing, which was led by Clarus Ventures L.L.C., of Cambridge, Mass.

Other investors included Amgen Ventures , of San Diego; Hatteras Venture Partners, of Durham, N.C.; HealthCare Ventures L.L.C., of Princeton; Latterell Venture Partners , of San Francisco; Novitas Capital, of Wayne; Quaker BioVentures , of West Philadelphia; and the Vertical Group, of Summit, N.J.

Also this month, Gemin X Pharmaceuticals Inc. raised $8 million from its existing institutional investors, led by Caxton Advantage Life Sciences Fund L.P., of New York, and Sanderling Venture Partners , of San Mateo, Calif. That round of investment comes less than four months after Gemin X attracted $16 million.

But are they hiring?

Is this part of a larger trend that companies are still unwilling to hire as a whole; instead choosing to hold onto cash and do more with less. Many analysts say this trend won't change until at least mid-2011.

The latest Survey of Professional Forecasters by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia had economists offering a weaker view of the U.S. economy than they did three months ago. No surprise there.

But the 36 forecasters offered up some dreadful predictions on the trends in payrolls. (Whatever the opposite of rose-colored glasses is, that's what they were wearing.)

They revised downward the growth in jobs over the next four quarters with nonfarm payroll employment rising at a rate of 8,000 jobs per month during the summer and 114,100 per month during the fall. But when they calculated an annual average level for 2010, the result is job losses running at a monthly rate of 45,200.

Next year would bring job gains of 143,800 per month on average, they say. Though that sounds better, it's still below the 200,000 level that economists say is the minimum needed to begin to reduce the unemployment rate, which was 9.5 percent in July.

See the entire article at Philly.com

House strikes gift ban in effort to boost business

Thu, 8 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT

Reversing course on a new law aimed at diminishing the influence on doctors of pharmaceutical and medical device companies, the House on Wednesday voted to strike the so-called gift ban law, which critics say has hurt commerce in the medical and restaurant industries.

An amendment to preserve the ban attracted 40 votes, with 108 against. The elimination of the gift ban was included in economic development legislation that cleared the House 145-4 and now needs to be reconciled with a Senate bill in a conference committee.

Critics of the ban said it was discouraging out-of-state interests from doing business in Massachusetts and said the ban had not led to demonstrable reductions in health-care costs. Supporters of the ban said the state had already heavily invested itself in implementing it and needed to give the law more time to work itself out. Ban supporters also said other states were pursuing similar bans and predicted the law could help reduce health-care costs and ensure that the interests of patients, not drug and device makers, are the top priority for physicians.

Speaking against the ban were Reps. Garrett Bradley, Brian Dempsey and Barry Finegold. Pushing to preserve the ban were Reps. Alice Wolf, Ruth Provost, Jason Lewis and Elizabeth Malia.

See the entire article at Mass High Tech.

Have Sunshine Laws Left Companies in the Dark?

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:57:00 GMT

The federal Physician Payment Sunshine Act. State disclosure laws in Vermont and Massachusetts. More disclosure laws in possibly dozens of other states in the near future. It’s enough to make a compliance department throw up its hands and leave the hassle to a third party—which is exactly what many pharma companies are doing now or plan to do in the future, according to a new study conducted by Cegedim Dendrite.

The respondents—56 professionals working in the compliance departments at their respective pharma/biotech/medical device companies—expect that the farming out of this data collection will increase the cost of aggregate spend reporting and compliance over the next year. But most have little choice, as this wave of legislation seems to have caught them with their pants down.

See entire article at PharmExec.

MTC has created several apps that allow pharmaceutical and device companies to manage, track, report on, and process payments to medical professionals. Contact us today to see how we can help you

Nursing remains a recession-resilient career

Wed, 8 Jul 2009 20:24:00 GMT

A recent Vanderbilt University study showed that nursing demand remains high, even in this difficult recession...

The study was performed by Dr. Peter Buerhaus, director of the Center for Interdisciplinary Health Workforce Studies in the Vanderbilt Institute for Medicine and Public Health.

Buerhaus and his team collected registered nurse workforce data from 2002 through 2007 showing increases of 228,986 full-time nurses in hospital settings and 136,779 in non-hospital settings during that time. Data from 2007 shows nurse wages decreased by 1.7 percent, which correlates to the economic slowdown that started in late 2007. With unemployment rates anticipated by many experts to increase by 8 to 9 percent by year’s end, nursing still emerges as a more resilient career compared to most others.

But more nurses are carrying larger responsibilities among their families because of the recession. “Seventy percent of nurses are married,” said Buerhaus. “This increases the pressure for RNs to work because they may very well be the sole breadwinner in the household.”

His previous research projected a nursing shortage of 800,000 to 1 million by 2020. However, based on current trends, the nation will have 285,000 empty nursing positions by 2020, growing to 500,000 by 2025. “Increasingly, the projected nursing shortage is viewed as much as a quality and safety problem as it is a workforce problem,” said Buerhaus. “There is no way possible that our health care system could function without a half million nurses.”

Enrollment demand at universities remains high as well..

Paddy Peerman, assistant dean of Enrollment for Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, has seen a near doubling of applicants into the school’s master’s program in the last two years. Her admissions staff is weeding through 42 percent more applicants for fall enrollment than 2008. The School has 340 general openings for incoming M.S.N. students (including both nurses and non-nurses) and a total student body in excess of 700 students. “In addition to the quantity, the quality of our applicant pool just keeps getting stronger,” said Peerman. But, that’s the good news.

But the demand can't be satisfied because of too few nurses available to teach...

The bad news is that the faculty shortage is narrowing the potential pipeline for nurses desperately needed in the future. The National League for Nursing reports that an estimated 90,000 applicants are turned away from nursing schools, due in large part to a severe faculty shortage.

The entire report is available at Amazon: The Future of the Nursing Workforce in the United States: Data, Trends and Implications

Nursing Graduates Finding Tougher Job Market

Mon, 6 Jul 2009 18:36:00 GMT

New nursing school graduates are having an unusually tough time finding jobs after years of efforts to recruit people to the profession.

Experts continue to warn of a looming shortage of nurses in Iowa and across the nation. And some nursing schools are touting the profession as a safe alternative for workers who have been laid off from other careers.

But for the moment, at least, nursing jobs - like jobs in dozens of other fields - are relatively scarce...

From Des Moines Register: Nursing Graduates Finding Tougher Job Market

...Many hospitals have cut back on their hiring. Administrators say their finances are slipping, partly because recession-struck Iowans are delaying medical procedures, and because fewer patients have insurance to pay hospital bills. Also, experts say, fewer veteran nurses are retiring or cutting back on their hours....

...A recent national study found that the overall number of registered nurses has continued to increase during the recession, but that many veteran nurses either returned to the work force or delayed retirement because of the economy. The study, published in the journal Health Affairs, said the trends could give the appearance that the nurse shortage has disappeared in some areas of the country. But it warned that a shortage is likely to reappear and worsen in coming years....

As people hit refresh button on their careers, nursing wins

Fri, 3 Jul 2009 04:30:00 GMT

A recent article by the Cincinnati Business Courier discusses how more and more people are turning to nursing when they change careers. Are we surprised?

# Nursing as a career field is stabilizing as people return to the profession and others remain in their jobs longer.
# The Greater Cincinnati Health Council offers a refresher course for returning nurses.
# Many entering the field are in their 40s and 50s and want a more secure job.
# The market should open up once the economy turns around and older nurses retire.

From Cincinnati Business Courier: Bringing Nurses Back

The U.S. Department of Labor's March 2008 Employment Situation Summary reports employment in the financial and credit markets has fallen by 116,000 since October 2006, construction has dropped 331,000 jobs since September 2006, and real estate has lost 34,000 jobs since June 2006. Health care, on the other hand, continues to grow, adding 360,000 jobs during the past 12 months.

The employment outlook continues to look bright for nurses. The Labor Department estimates employment of registered nurses will grow 23 percent from 2006 to 2016 and the country will need 500,000 new RNs by 2016.

From NurseZone: Nursing Jobs Grow Despite Recesion

Job Search Strategies for the Web

Mon, 1 Aug 2005 04:00:00 GMT

So you’re ready to search for a job, and target your next career step. There are a number of resources available to you on the Internet, and by using them strategically you can have success.

Keep in mind, however, that the ease of applying for a job via a submit button has also made it easier for your peers as well, and has made it more difficult for you to differentiate yourself from the competition. This is amplified in today's difficult job seeker's market.

Then how do I use the Internet as a resource for my job search effectively? First, let’s discuss several of the resources available to you.

Job Boards

Generally the niche job boards such as hireRx.com and hireBio.com are more targeted to your industry than the general job boards such as Monster or HotJobs. They allow you to highlight important industry experience and skills.
In addition, recruiters in very specialized fields such as biotech, pharmaceuticals, chemistry and biology may be more likely to search these resume databases than those on the larger, more general boards.

When posting your resume on a job board, read the privacy policy to ensure your email address doesn’t end up being sold to third-parties. Speaking of email addresses, you should have an email dedicated solely to your job search. It’ll look better to potential employers and it will allow you to organize your job search without distractions.

Also, be sure to make your resume keyword rich. If you have experience in validation and/or have worked in regulatory environment, mention oft-used words somewhere in your online resume.

Networking Sites

Resources such as LinkedIn allow you to network with peers, friends and distant colleagues. Essentially they’re an electronic form of six-degrees of separation, where each person is only separated by six degrees from any other person on Earth.

While the jury may still be out as to whether you’re within two degrees to Donald Trump, no one can argue the best jobs are often obtained through networking. This is even more prevalent in relatively close-knit fields such as biotech and pharmaceuticals. By using electronic networking, you can ask a friend or colleague to make that introduction to the CEO of your local biotech. Once the online introduction is made, use your interpersonal and networking skills to close the deal and get a job at the company.

Social Networking

Sometimes finding a job can be as simple as changing your status on Facebook or tweeting on Twitter. If you’re looking for a job, announce it! If you’ve collected enough friends and have the right qualifications, there’s a good chance someone you know can connect you with that illusive job opportunity.

But being on Facebook also means making your private life public, so make sure to adjust your security settings so potential employers don’t find out about your wild night out drinking.

Straight to the Source

Though niche and general job boards have many job opportunities, quite a few firms receive enough visits on their corporate career areas they don’t feel the need to advertise. This is often the case with the larger biotech and pharmaceutical companies who have name recognition.

So do your research, think about 25 companies you’d love to work for, and be sure to visit their corporate career site. You may just find your perfect job waiting for you.

Keeping Track

During your search, you may end up visiting over 100 corporate, niche or general job sites – each with their own username and password.

As a result, it’s important to focus on keeping organized. Keep an Excel spreadsheet with information about every resource you used, including the web address, username and password. Keep a log for each on the companies you applied to. No matter what anyone tells you, applying for the same job on each job board won’t help your chances to get the job; it will only annoy the recruiting manager.

In addition, once you’ve found the job you don’t want to your employer to find your resume online two years later. By keeping track of the username and password, you’ll save yourself some effort. And be able to contact each online resource to deactivate your account.

###

Tips for Getting Your Resume Noticed Online

Wed, 25 May 2005 04:00:00 GMT

Let’s face it. The days of being using creativity to get someone to look at your resume have passed. Items such as font, layout, white space, envelope color, paper texture and the first few paragraphs of a cover letter determined whether your resume got noticed by a hiring manager.

With the advent of one-click Internet applications, resume submission services and online career hubs for every industry, specialty and geography (such as Monster, HotJobs and hireCentral), applying to your perfect job is easy. But maybe it’s too easy. Even if your qualifications are a perfect match to a job opening, getting your resume noticed online isn’t easier – it may actually be harder. And you can end up being one of many in a large resume database wondering if your resume has ended up in a black hole.

There are certain things you can do however to ensure your qualifications are the first to be reviewed.

Keywords, keywords, keywords

Keep in mind that when you submit your resume to a career hub or an employer’s website, your resume is added to a database along with the thousands of individuals already there. Special fonts are removed, layout is standardized, and all that’s left to separate you from the competition is the content. So make sure your resume includes key words or phrases that a recruiter or an employer might search for.

For example, if you’ve completed a GMP certification, make sure you’ve put that exact phrase in your resume, and make sure it’s visible. If you have experience with specific manufacturing equipment that could help you get a job (or at least attract attention to your resume), make sure to include it.

You may ask, “How do I get all of this in while keeping it to one page?” Understand that I’m not encouraging you to write the Iliad, but requirements of limiting your resume to one page have become less critical in recent years – especially for highly specialized fields such as pharmaceutical manufacturing. Most recruiters search resume databases using industry-specific phrases. Because of this, including these phrases prominently on your resume is more important than keeping it short.

However, I do encourage you to ensure the most important qualifications are at or near the top of your resume. Many career hubs allow you to create a short bio separate from where you paste your resume. Make sure to include the most important items in this bio.

Set Realistic Expectations and Go Industry Specific

Posting your resume online should be only one component of your overall job search strategy. Understand there are thousands of people applying for job openings -- some of them qualified like you and others not as much. But while applying to a job has become as easy as copy, paste and submit, it’s also created more work for the employer to sort through these applications.

Depending on how specific the skills and requirements are for your industry, you may want to focus your efforts on industry-specific websites (such as hireBio.com) or professional/trade organizations for your industry. In recent years, large employers and search firms have limited their reliance on large general sites such as Monster, CareerBuilder or HotJobs because of the number of unqualified applicants they receive.

This is a generalization of course, but you should also note that third-party agencies (such as executive recruiters, headhunters, etc.) tend to not post their clients’ job openings on career hubs. Instead, they often search resume databases for individuals who meet their qualifications and then contact them. Employers, on the other hand, tend to react to applications submitted to them and are reluctant to spend the time to search these databases.

Both of these dynamics tell us that use of online avenues should include a combination of (a) reacting to job openings you’ve seen on employer’s websites and career hubs, and (b) submitting your resume to a career hub’s database in the hopes of being contacted later.

Have an Email account just for your job search

This is important for a number of reasons: (1) Because your email address may be available to unscrupulous individuals, it ensures your primary email account doesn’t receive ads for Viagra, eBay or requests to update your bank account’s password; (2) It doesn’t look good to a prospective employer when you use your current employer’s email account for a job search. Do I have to explain why? (3) It allows you to manage your applications, contacts and important job search information in one place, without the distraction of work or your personal life.

Oh, and be professional. Limit the creative email names such as hotbodinheels@myemail.com or sexykitten75@myemail.com. These are fine for Match.com, but I doubt it’ll help you land your perfect job.