Practice Technology

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) wants to better integrate behavioral healthcare with primary care. In fact, the change is spelled out in new proposed standards for its Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) program.

Epocrates, Inc., an athenahealth company and provider of the top medical app for U.S. physicians, has expanded collaborations with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN).

Patients’ ratings of care experiences are a key part of quality improvement efforts, so health providers are increasingly finding their compensation tied in part to those ratings, according to a Commonwealth Fund-supported study.

Choosing the best EHR vendor can be one of the most important, difficult and confusing decisions physicians face. So knowing the choices that other physicians have made can add some valuable context around the decision-making process.

With the Oct. 1, 2014 deadline looming, many physicians are still struggling to get started in their adoption of ICD-10. Here’s a list of resources to help practices prepare for the ICD-10 transition.

[VIDEO] Topics: Healthcare photo-sharing app Figure 1 released, no financial benefit from ACOs, care coordinators reduce costs, more.

Many physicians see Twitter as a way to develop a global connection among colleagues in a variety of specialties. Here is a subjective list of 10 internists who offer unique and engaging content to their followers.

One in five physicians may be filing for divorce from their electronic health record (EHR) system. While it’s a sobering statistic that is being validated by multiple national market surveys, it signals a new era in the adoption and acceptance of health information technology.

Meeting the cost of converting a small practice to electronic health records requires a close examination of all other practice expenses.

As part of our continuing coverage of Medical Economics EHR Best Practices Study, we spoke with Melissa Lucarelli, MD of Randolph Community Clinic. A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with an MD from the University of Illinois, she operates a rural solo practice in Randolph, Wisconsin. She is working with McKesson to implement an EHR system.

A reader disagrees with a previous letter-writer's view that electronic health records benefit medical practices.

A surgeon at a Maine hospital has performed what's being touted as the first surgical procedure broadcast using Google Glass.

3D printing could lead to new practical and tiny medical implants thanks to a Harvard team developing 3D printed micro-batteries.

A group of more than 40 electronic health records developers made headlines recently when they announced an "EHR Developer Code of Conduct" that outlined plans to enhance patient safety, data portability, system interoperability and security. But not everyone in the health IT industry was so impressed.

Oct. 14, 2014, is the compliance date for ICD-10. That looming deadline has many physicians anxious about the amount of training that will be required. In the Medical Economics webinar, “ICD-10 Expert Views on Preparation,” three panelists discussed some of the major implementation concerns for physicians and offered advice to help them get started.

Medical app usage in a medical practice was much higher among smartphone users (51% daily) than tablet users (30% daily), according to a report from American EHR Partners.

One innovative Florida primary care practice has innovated to optimize care for seniors with multiple chronic conditions - increasing patient satisfaction, boosting the amount of time doctors and patients spend together, improving patients' medication adherence, and achieving lower rates of hospital use than its peers, according to Health Affairs.

Solutions to the challenge of exchanging patient health data between different electronic health record systems are beginning to emerge.

[VIDEO] Topics in this episode: Physicians replacing EHRs, smartphones can make you look old, the FDA looks into uChek app, more.

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) is renewing its call for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to pay physicians for telephone evaluations, care plan oversight services, and online evaluations.

When it comes to securing and protecting patient health information, physician practices with fewer than 50 providers fared the worst in a recent audit by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Tired of worrying about lost charges, payment delays, and other errors? Find out how mobile charge capture can prevent bottom line headaches.

[VIDEO] Topics in this episode include the Xbox One's importance in healthcare, EHR incentives, independent practices ARE NOT dead, more.

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