February 7th 2025
Doctors handle their patients with care, and they need to do the same with data.
EHR implementation could be hurt by shortage of IT professionals
October 19th 2011Who are you going to hire to help implement and maintain your increasingly sophisticated electronic health record systems over the next few years? Depending on where you live, that could be a real challenge, according to the American Health Information Management Association. The group warns that, in many parts of the country, no one will be available without concerted training and incentives. Find out what's being done to increase the supply of trained professionals for practices such as yours.
PCPs lead way with increasing EHR adoption
August 24th 2011Physician practices are steadily adopting electronic health records (EHRs), according to recent reports, and primary care physicians are leading the pack. More than 40% of practices now use EHRs, with more than 2,200 already having attested to meaningful use. Who are they and how did they do it?
Physicians are highly satisfied with EHRs but some still can't afford them
August 17th 2011Meaningful use incentives are a strong motivator for physicians to implement electronic health records (EHRs), but lack of funds remains the primary reason for not taking the plunge, according to a new survey. Still, practices which had stretched to buy them were highly satisfied with EHRs.
Diabetes care improves with new information technology
August 11th 2011Add effective use of technology to diet, exercise and medication compliance when it comes to helping patients control their diabetes. A study found that care for patients with diabetes was appreciably improved when their physicians used electronic health records (EHRs) extensively. And lowering A1c? There?s an app for that.
Avoid incentive double-dipping with new CMS information
August 11th 2011Is your practice inadvertently trying to double-dip when it comes to Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) incentive programs? To make sure you don?t, the agency has posted new answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) about how many incentives you can receive at once. The information is complicated but useful.
EHR transition initially may raise lawsuit risk
August 10th 2011A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine says that new information systems tend initially to increase malpractice risks for physician practices, largely because of unfamiliarity with the system and computer-related errors.
Streamlined claims rule would save your practice time and money
August 10th 2011The interim final rule was released in early July by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and is available for comment until September 6. It requires insurers to use uniform transmission formats and standardized forms when they request information or provide patients' claims and coverage information to doctors.
What patients want: New tools ease path to medical home
August 3rd 2011More than 70% of primary care and multispecialty practices are on the path to becoming Patient-Centered Medical Homes, according to a new study, and some new technology is helping them gather the patient information they need to achieve that status. Learn about some products that can help your practice conduct affordable patient surveys.
SGR opponents hope YouTube video goes viral, influences Congress
August 3rd 2011Opponents of Medicare?s sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula are hoping their YouTube video goes viral. The American Academy of Family Physicians and 10 other physician-led groups released the YouTube video as part of a coordinated effort to infect Congress with the desire to eliminate the SGR in any deficit-reduction plan. Here?s a preview.
Proposed disclosure rule too burdensome for practices, associations say
August 3rd 2011More than 90% of medical practices responding to a recent survey said that it would be ?very? or ?extremely? burdensome to meet the requirements of the proposed ?accounting of disclosures? rule. Read more to find out what several associations are suggesting in place of that rule.
E-prescribing of controlled substances now possible with application approval
August 3rd 2011DrFirst?s release of the first application available nationwide and approved by the Drug Enforcement Agency for e-prescribing of controlled substances should make e-prescribing easier for physicians?and prescription abuse a little harder for patients. Learn more about the product and how you may no longer have to maintain a dual prescribing system?paper for controlled substances and electronic for everything else.
Brief reprieve on requirement to electronically submit quality measures
July 21st 2011The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) gave physicians a break in its recently proposed rule on meaningful use requirements for electronic health records (EHRs). The revision would allow eligible providers (EPs) to ?continue to report clinical quality measure results as calculated by certified EHR technology by attestation? through 2012. Previously, CMS had required eligible providers (EPs) to start submitting quality measures electronically to CMS next year.
Study looks at most common eprescribing mistakes and how to prevent them
July 13th 2011A recent study suggests that outpatient computer-generated prescriptions may be just as error-prone as your old paper versions. There is a solution to reduce mistakes, however. You can program your e-prescribing system to help you avoid common errors.