February 7th 2025
Doctors handle their patients with care, and they need to do the same with data.
Quality focus, coordinated implementation needed to realize benefits of EHRs
February 24th 2011Those in the healthcare system will need to focus on quality control and coordinated implementation to realize the potential of electronic health records (EHRs) and clinical decision support (CDS) software to improve clinical care, according to the authors of research published online by the Archives of Internal Medicine.
41% of office-based doctors plan to achieve meaningful use
February 24th 2011Forty-one percent of office-based physicians plan to achieve meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) and apply for incentive payments from the government, according to a survey by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and discussed by David Blumental, MD, MPP, national coordinator for health information technology (HIT), in a posting on his blog.
Survey: EHRs seen as positive for patient care, especially by those in larger practices
February 24th 2011Electronic health records (EHRs) will have a positive effect on patient care, according to 39% of doctors participating in the 2011 Thomson Reuters - HCPlexus National Physicians Survey. The survey included responses from 2,958 doctors of varying specialties and practice types, from all 50 states plus the District of Columbia.
MedApps suite added to AT&T ForHealth portfolio
February 10th 2011Users of AT&T's portfolio of mobile health (mHealth), cloud-based, and telehealth products?ForHealth?now will have the ability to automatically transmit readings from retail health monitors to electronic health records and review and manage collected data remotely from any location with Internet connectivity now that the portfolio includes two products from MedApps (HealthPAL and Health COM, respectively).
HIMSS Davies Award nomination process now open
February 10th 2011The Healthcare Information and Management System Society (HIMSS) is now accepting applications for the 2011 HIMSS Davies Awards of Excellence. The awards program honors independent physician practices, public health and community health organizations, and hospitals and health systems that have successfully achieved value from electronic health record systems to improve healthcare delivery.
Treatment with Internet and telephone helps curb smoking
February 10th 2011When it comes to helping patients refrain from smoking, a treatment strategy that includes both the Internet and the telephone is more successful than treatment that includes only the Internet or includes the Internet with tailored content and social support, according to the results of research published in the January 10 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Most patients do not access their medical records electronically
February 10th 2011Eighty-six percent of patients do not access their medical records electronically despite vast investments in electronic health records (EHR) systems and high hopes that consumers will use EHRs to participate in shared medical decision-making, according to research conducted by PwC's Health Research Institute in conjunction with its "Top Health Industry Issues of 2011" report. PwC surveyed 1,000 U.S. consumers about their points of view on reform-related issues.
CMS e-prescribing policy will hurt IT adoption, say medical societies
January 27th 2011The American Medical Association (AMA) and 103 state and specialty medical societies urged the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to revise the Medicare e-prescribing penalty policy in a letter sent to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. This policy, which would penalize physicians next year if they don?t use e-prescribing in the first 6 months of this year, will hurt efforts to implement widespread health information technology (IT) adoption among physician practices and cause them to take on needless financial and administrative burdens, according to the organizations.
Research firm ranks 'best' EHR, practice management systems
January 27th 2011Research firm KLAS has released its 2010 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Professional Services report, which includes the annual rankings of healthcare information technology vendors. The rankings are based on more than 17,000 interviews conducted yearly with healthcare providers.
Electronic messages may increase colorectal screening rates
January 27th 2011Personalized electronic messages to patients overdue for screenings and mailings targeted to patients with expired orders for colonoscopies may increase colorectal cancer screening rates over the short term, according to two reports posted online that will be published in the April 11 print issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Technology changes needed for PCMH-N model to work, says internist
January 27th 2011Technology needs to change so that information can be accessed quickly, easily, and safely if the Patient-Centered Medical Home?Neighbor (PCMH?N) model is going to be successful, writes Christine A. Sinsky, MD, a general internist, in the January 3 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. Her editorial was in response to a position paper released by the American College of Physicians (ACP) in October.
Life with and without electronic health records
January 25th 2011One of the many technological advances in healthcare is the electronic health record. However, paper-based records are still the preferred method of recording, storing and retrieving patient information in many hospitals and doctors' offices.
Study: Advanced EHRs don't boost quality
January 25th 2011Hospitals with basic electronic health records demonstrated a significantly greater increase in quality of care for patients being treated for heart failure, but similar gains were not found in hospitals that upgraded to advanced electronic health records, according to RAND Corp.
Group advocates online 'do not disclose' list for personal health information
January 6th 2011Individual choice and control over personal health information were favored by the majority of Americans participating in an online survey of more than 2,000 adults performed by Patient Privacy Rights and with Zogby International. The survey sought views on privacy, access to health information, and health information technology.
Report: Doctors, hospitals must cooperate for ACO, HIE success
January 6th 2011Healthcare reform will require physicians and hospitals to engage in information-sharing via collaborations such as health information exchanges (HIEs) and accountable care organizations (ACOs). Results of a recent PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) report, however, found that both groups must overcome issues with one other to be successful.
New site collects EHR complaints for educational purposes
January 6th 2011Have a beef about your practice?s implementation or use of an electronic health record (EHR) system? You can report it at EHRevent.org, a new site launched by the not-for-profit iHealth Alliance in collaboration with federal agencies and PDR Network.
Ninety percent of EHR purchasers not on track to meet 'meaningful use'
January 6th 2011About 90% of healthcare providers who have purchased electronic health records (EHR) systems are not on track to meet their 'meaningful use' implementation goals, according to the 2011 Black Book Rankings user survey.
Telemonitoring aids blood pressure control in diabetic patients
January 6th 2011A fully automated cell phone-based telemonitoring system that involves patients in their care significantly improved blood pressure control among patients who had diabetes and uncontrolled systolic hypertension, according to a study by Alexander G. Logan, MD, of the University of Toronto, and colleagues.