Stories about: Humana

Not all the data-leak start-ups have been snapped up by the big guys. Here are five data-leak-prevention companies to keep an eye on.

Australian organisations have made little progress towards improving their performance on innovation in the past 12 months, according to the Fujitsu Innovation Index 2007.

When CIO H. James Dallas attended his first NASCAR race about 10 years ago, he learned some fast lessons -- not about driving stock cars around an oval at high speeds, but about fostering innovation within an IT department.

Humana's business intelligence application recently sorted through claims to flag one particular member: a 44-year-old man hospitalized for a ruptured appendix. He had shown up as a "high utilizer" of health care services, prompting a call from one of Humana's personal nurses.

Humana Inc is on a mission to do what many US consumers would consider nothing short of a miracle: simplify buying and using health insurance. Its most recent target audience is the millions of Americans eligible for Medicare Part D, the government's revamped prescription drug plan for senior citizens.

A fast-growing part of Ken Erdner's IT group was running out of office space, so he moved them into a new area separate from the rest of the department. But Erdner failed to ask the employees what they thought, and that proved to be a mistake. He thought it was going to be a comfortable and productive space; the group felt isolated and resentful.

A fast-growing part of Ken Erdner's IT group was running out of office space, so he moved them into a new area separate from the rest of the department. But Erdner failed to ask the employees what they thought, and that proved to be a mistake. He was going for comfortable and productive; the group felt isolated and resentful.

Smart CIOs are applying the lessons of just-in-time inventory and portfolio management to IT staffing. The result: maximum flexibility and minimal trauma.

At a national sales meeting, the president of Reliant Pharmaceuticals rose to ask if there were any questions. "Throw anything at me," he said to the salespeople assembled. Someone immediately asked, "When are we getting automated?"

Raise your hand if you're tired of the perpetual debate about how important the CIO role is to the business. (I'm picturing a veritable sea of hands out there.) I know I'm beyond bored with discussions about who's got a "seat at the table" and who doesn't. I don't care if the CIO reports to the chief executive or to the CFO. And I've lost all interest in whether the top IT exec rose up through the programmer ranks or hopped a cubicle wall from the business side.

Humana says it's leading the health benefits industry into a new world in which the focus will shift from employers, doctors and hospitals, where it has been for decades, to consumers. The company says it can better serve its members by giving them greater choice and greater control over their health and health benefits.