Practice Technology

If you have a small or medium-sized practice, look for a toolkit in January from the federal agency for Healthcare Research and Quality designed to help you analyze workflow and redesign your practice before, during, and after you implement healthcare information technology (IT).

Be aware of the strengths and limitations of social networking sites such as Facebook when discussing sources of medical information with patients who have chronic diseases. That?s the advice from researchers at Harvard University and Brigham and Women?s Hospital who studied online communities related to diabetes and reported their findings recently in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Smartphone use will reach 1.4 billion in 5 years, according to research by research2guidance, and 500 million of those users will use healthcare-related applications.

Patients most likely to be "e-empowered" are those with pain-related or mental health conditions, according to the 10th Cybercitizen Health U.S. study by Manhattan Research.

An electronic message sent to doctors the moment they order a blood test for elderly patients reduces the unnecessary use of a test for which results often are false-positive for the elderly, according to research published in the November edition of American Journal of Managed Care.

The consequences of incomplete information at the point-of-care can be inconvenience, inefficiency, increased costss, and adverse, even life-threatening outcomes for patients.

Letters discuss maintaining hobbies and use of electronic health records.

Socioeconomic factors such as income and education levels, although strongly associated with broadband Internet use, are not the sole determinants of use, according to ?Digital Nation II,? a new report issued by the Department of Commerce?s Economics and Statistics Administration and National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

The American Medical Association has adopted a new policy in an effort to help physicians maintain a positive online presence and preserve the integrity of the patient-physician relationship.

Medical practices lag behind hospitals in their past efforts and future plans to address security issues related to electronic health records, according to responses to the 2010 HIMSS Security Survey, sponsored by Intel and supported by the Medical Group Management Association.

Patients are significantly more likely to abandon at the pharmacy prescriptions submitted electronically than those dropped off in person, according to the results of a study appearing in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

By day, Michael Sevilla, MD, is a family physician in the small northeastern Ohio town of Salem, about 20 miles west of the Pennsylvania border. But at night, between visits, and during his lunch break, he's "Dr. Anonymous," posting updates to his blog of the same name, checking his Facebook page and Twitter feed, or recording his latest Web-based radio show.

Daniel Z. Sands, MD, a practicing general internist, spoke at the American Academy of Family Physicians' Scientific Assembly about how engaging patients online can improve treatment adherence, lifestyle improvements, and outcomes.

"Wow, that was easy!" How wonderful it would be if you could utter those words once your transition to electronic health records was complete.

More than 6 million New York residents will have access to Web camera or telephone physician encounters, according to BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York and American Well.

One-third of 272 hospitals and practices surveyed that use an electronic health record system reported at least 1 known case of medical identity theft at their organization, according to results from HIMSS.

Letters discuss board certification and electronic health records.

Review 10 of the latest devices in Medical Economics' annual list of new technology products for practice.

Medicare practices that have implemented an electronic health record system report better financial performance than those that have not, according to a survey from the Medical Group Management Association.

The transition from paper to electronic health records may be a challenge, but it is worth the effort, says David Blumenthal, MD, national coordinator for Health Information Technology, who spoke during the annual conference of the Medical Group Management Association in October.

Under increasing pressure from third-party payers and facing the uncertainty of healthcare reform, physicians have been able to find some comfort in stable, or, in some cases, declining medical liability premiums.

Letter addresses how the value of face-to-face contact with patients may be diminished with use of electronic health records.

The traditional model of innovation in the medical technology industry, which includes iterative product improvements driven by physician collaboration and interaction, is being affected by new restrictions on products eligible for 510(k) marketing clearance, according to Pulse of the Industry: Medical Technology Report 2010, Ernst & Young?s annual report on the industry?s performance.

If you?d like your health-related messages to reach more people, improve access to your online content, and increase interaction with your patients and others, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention?s new guide, Health Communicator?s Social Media Toolkit may be useful to you.

Medical practices that have implemented an electronic health record system report better financial performance than those that have not, according to the Medical Group Management Association?s newly released Electronic Health Records Impacts on Revenue, Costs, and Staffing: 2010 Report Based on 2009 Data.

Healthcare providers responding to CompTIA?s Second Annual Healthcare IT Insights and Opportunities survey said that they generally are satisfied with the information technology solutions they now use in their practices, but they?re also interested in improved reliability and performance as well as lower costs for future purchases.

While 85% of physicians were aware of the financial incentives for implementing an electronic health record system, more than 35% did not know that they face government-assessed financial penalties for not complying.

Letter and response whether doctors over the age of 60 will see the benefits of implementation of electronic health records prior to retirement.

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology announced that it has tested and certified 33 electronic health record products under the government program that certifies the EHRs as being capable of meeting the 2011/2012 criteria supporting Stage 1 meaningful use as approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

Nearly 9 out of 10 physicians would like their patients to be able to track and/or monitor their health, particularly their weight, blood sugar levels and vital signs, at home but worry that too much information actually could slow down care according to a survey.