Practice Technology

The concept of ?meaningful use,? together with an improving economy, appears to be spurring an increase in healthcare information technology spending, suggest recently released results of the 21st annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Leadership Survey.

To close the broadband connectivity gap that exists among healthcare practices, the Federal Communications Commission is proposing transforming its Rural Health Care Program, which is authorized to spend $400 million per year, to help healthcare delivery locations meaningfully use health information technology.

"Healthcare information technology is the instrument that will transform healthcare . . . [and] improve quality, safety, access, and cost-efficiency," said Barry P. Chaiken, MD, MPH, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society board chairman, March 1 in his opening remarks at the HIMSS annual conference in Atlanta.

Ascension Health will offer online and Web camera visits to patients beginning in the spring.

Twenty percent of physicians plan to purchase an iPad within the year, according to responses from a survey by Epocrates shortly after Apple announced the device.

Automated telephone outreach with speech recognition is not an effective way to increase the incidence of colorectal cancer screening, according to a study of 80,000 health plan members published in the February 8 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Medical practice leaders continue to experience administrative challenges reporting data for Medicare?s Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, according to results of a survey recently released by the Medical Group Management Association. Specifically, respondents reported difficulty accessing the feedback reports and said that the presentation of information in the reports was not satisfactory.

More than 150 health information technology systems from 104 participating companies and organizations, including vendors, health information exchanges, government agencies, and open-source development groups, were tested recently at IHE North America?s annual Connectathon. Results are posted here.

Nearly 44 percent of office-based physicians reported using all or partial electronic health record systems in practice.

Dermatologists and oncologists are the physician specialist groups most likely to communicate with patients online, according to the latest physician report, "Physicians in 2012: The Outlook on Health Information Technology," from pharmaceutical and healthcare market research company Manhattan Research.

Two academic medical centers and one rural hospital will be recognized with Stage 7 awards, representing attainment of the highest level of electronic health record adoption as judged by HIMSS Analytics, at the 2010 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society annual meeting in March in Atlanta.

Healthcare cost control is the overarching theme for 2010, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute's "Top 10 health industry issues in 2010" report.

Physicians are more likely to report drug side effects through an electronic health records system than they are via traditional paper methods, according to the results of a survey sponsored by Pfizer.

Do not purchase the wrong electronic medical record (EMR) system.

Medical Economics magazine asked 10 practices to reveal the best lessons learned from electronic health record adoption experiences.

The Department of Health and Human Services will fund two additional grant programs totaling $38 million to support the training and development of the skilled workforce required to support broad adoption and use of health information technology.

The watchdog group Patient Privacy Rights has released its first personal health record privacy report card in an effort to educate and protect consumers.

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology is updating its electronic health record technology certification programs to conform to the interim final rule recently released by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Eighty-five percent of healthcare providers believe that their ambulatory electronic health record software will let them meet the 2011 meaningful use deadlines being considered by the federal government, according to a report from research firm KLAS.

Amendment of a medical record can be a good thing, but be sure to complete your records correctly the first time.

Learn how to transition to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10).

U.S. hospitals are only halfway to qualifying for government incentive payments aimed at controlling healthcare costs while improving the quality and effective delivery of patient care, according to a survey released by technology consulting firm CSC.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota?s 10,000 employees and family members are part of a new pilot program testing the insurer?s Online Care Anywhere program. The program is designed to allow patients access to medical care from home or work via computer or phone.

Aetna and WellPoint are the first national health plans to earn certification for electronically exchanging administrative data using the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare Committee on Operating Rules for Information Exchange Phase II rules.

Remote monitoring of patients in intensive care units was not associated with an overall improvement in the risk of death or length of stay in the ICU or hospital, according to a study.

The federal government can encourage physicians to buy electronic health record systems, but it is the vendors and hospitals that affiliate with doctors that ultimately will determine whether they adopt them, according to a new report from healthcare market research publisher Kalorama Information.

Should a physician send his or her patients a "friend request" on Facebook? Social networking poses new challenges and rules for doctors and other professionals who embrace it.

The American Medical Association (AMA) changes in Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding from year to year can have an enormous effect on any practice.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to 33 medical societies requesting information about the financial backing they receive from the pharmaceutical, medical device and insurance industries.

Iowa?s Medicaid program is the first to receive federal matching funds for planning activities necessary to implement the electronic health record (EHR) incentive program established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, according to an announcement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).