Practice Technology

As part of its ongoing electronic health records best practices series, Medical Economics examines the impact of EHRs on a rural medical practice.

In line with a growing trend of consumers taking more responsibility for their health, more than 40% of American consumers say they would change doctors to gain full access to their electronic health record.

The group of U.S. Senators say the schedule for demonstrating Meaningful Use 2 is too aggressive and practices who are not ready should receive a one-year extension.

Very few things will frustrate a medical practice owner or administrator more than the sight of outside vendors blaming each other for a technical problem the practice is experiencing.

There are multiple considerations when it comes to considering “incident to” billing by NPs and PAs, including using a physician’s PIN, direct physician supervision, exceptions to direct supervision, and drawbacks to using this billing method.

Computers in the examining room need not be a barrier to good communication with your patients.

In a cash deal valued at $644 million, Vista Equity Partners, Vitera’s parent company, will buy Greenway Medical Technologies. The deal expected to close this year following regulatory approvals would combine the two electronic health record companies.

The world’s top two technology companies recently made big moves in healthcare technology that will make it easier for people to monitor fitness and chronic conditions, and perhaps live longer.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has a new online source of information about patients' rights to withhold or allow their health information to be exchanged electronically with other providers.

Many of our patients seem to be gaining weight, and we are seeing more cases of obesity. Our physician is already spending time discussing risk factors with patients. Is there reimbursement specifically for weight management counseling?

A look at how an electronic health records (EHR) system made e-prescribing, charting, and reading a doctor’s handwriting easier for a family practice in Columbus, Ohio.

With the introduction of electronic health records (EHRs), and the increasing use of audit results and quality measures for payment, it is clear that the traditional nurse and front-office staff job descriptions have to be revamped. As doctors have to meet more and more requirements to get paid, they need to rely heavily on their staff to collect and enter data that insurers will review and use to determine payments.

InTouch Healthcare announces a new app making it easier for physicians to provide real-time, acute telemedicine consults with patients.

Spellex Corporation announces an enhancement for voice recognition software.

A recent study in the journal Nature that showed that playing a relatively simple car-racing video game helped seniors improve their memory, focus and multi-tasking skills is being hailed by some as a gamechanger. But does this mean that physicians should begin instructing elderly patients to play video games?

Outdated payment models and concerns over increased workload requirements are preventing medical practices from embracing electronic communications with patients.

Our coding expert explains the dos and dont's of billing Medicare for telehealth services.

A recent study finds that more local health departments are using Twitter, but mostly in one-way communication with followers.

Social media guidelines for physicians frequently focus on the need for doctors to separate their personal from their professional identities, but those types of policies get social media all wrong, according to a viewpoint recently published in JAMA.

The majority of physicians believe electronic health records (EHRs) have a positive impact on patient care, according to a recent survey by Athenahealth.

Would your patients benefit from using these apps to help control diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome or cardiac risk?

These TED Talks will give you ideas and inspire you to make your medical practice more efficient.

With the starting date for stage 2 of the meaningful use program fast approaching, two major provider groups are asking for more flexibility in the program's requirements

In one week Farzad Mostashari, MD, twice made national news. He announced his unanticipated departure as national coordinator for Health Information Technology (HIT) this fall, and he authored new research in Health Affairs showing that the exchange of health information jumped 41 percent.

A new study suggests that there may be a link between a physician’s office use of electronic health records (EHRs) and patients’ loyalty.

The ONC has released a guide for healthcare providers that explains key EHR contract terminology and how certain provisions could impact a physician’s practice.

Much of the national discussion on electronic health records adoption has focused on physicians, but getting the most out of this technology will require significant buy-in by patients. Find out what researchers learned when they studied how physicians can best engage patients in online records.

Older physicians break down technology adoption barriers, study says

Mobile devices are making it easier for these patients to monitor their blood pressure at home and accurately relay that information back to their physicians.

Doctors anxious about the Sunshine Act can download a new app to see exactly how the reporting process will work before results go public next year.