Practice Technology

Adults suffering from chronic diseases or conditions are significantly less likely to have Internet access than are healthy adults.

Americans spend 40% of their time online participating in social networking activities, playing games, or emailing. Almost 25% of the time online is spent with social networking sites and blogs, up from 15.8%.

Americans are divided about whether broadband Internet access is an advantage when it comes to obtaining health information, according to the results a national phone survey by the Pew Research Center?s Internet & American Life Project.

Support and monitoring via the telephone for patients who have chronic heart failure helps reduce the risk of mortality from all causes, and hospitalizations related to the chronic heart failure, according to a study recently published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. These interventions also were found to improve patient quality of life, reduce costs, and improve evidence-based prescribing.

Fifty-three percent of those going online for health information report that they have discussed information they found online with their doctors, and 51% say they have searched for information on the Web based on discussions with their doctors, according to a new Harris Poll.

The American Board of Medical Specialties plans to incorporate the ?meaningful use? of health information technology into its maintenance of certification program.

The president-elect of the American Academy of Family Physicians said he was cautiously optimistic about final rules for "meaningful use" of an electronic health record.

How to handle electronic health records upgrade issues.

The increasing use of electronic health records has led to a collaboration between the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organization (IHTSDO) and the World Health Organization to harmonize WHO classifications with the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine?Clinical Terms maintained and distributed by IHTSDO.

Even when physicians have access to e-prescribing capabilities, many do not routinely use the technology, particularly the more advanced features the federal government is promoting with financial incentives, according to a new study by the Center for Studying Health System Change.

The Federal Communications Commission and the Food and Drug Administration have announced a joint effort to help ensure that the capabilities of broadband use in healthcare and wireless-enabled medical devices are fully realized.

Sixty-six percent of healthcare providers responding to a recent survey said that certification is a very important element in the process they use to evaluate ambulatory EHRs, but 52 percent erroneously thought that they must purchase an EHR certified by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology to receive stimulus funds to cover the purchase.

The 21 percent reduction in Medicare physician rates has been postponed for another six months. This matter will come up for review again after the fall elections.

The Department of Health and Human Services has launched a new Web site aimed at helping consumers access healthcare coverage. HealthCare.gov is the first central database of public and private health coverage options, according to the government.

Two papers in the July issue of Health Affairs examine how email, cell phones, and other technology can affect the patient-provider relationship and health outcomes.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services has launched the Web site for its electronic health record incentive programs.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has established a temporary certification program through which it will authorize organizations to test and certify electronic health record technology.

Wellpoint Inc. reported it will offer web visits to healh plan members through the American Well Online Care platform.

Potential theft is the top worry of those with concerns about electronic health records, according to a recent online survey conducted for Xerox Corp. by Harris Interactive.

One obstacle to better use of clinical data within healthcare organizations is that capturing discrete patient data and entering that data in a computable format appear to be daunting, resource-intensive tasks, according to healthcare providers participating in a study, the findings of which are summarized in a white paper titled, Can Organizations Maximize Clinical Data?

A national initiative by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Institute of Medicine aims to improve access to health data so that developers of Web and mobile phone applications, social media, and other information technologies can create tools designed to improve health.

The U.S Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $83.9 million in grants to help networks of health centers adopt electronic health records and other health information technology systems.

A new study in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Washington will examine the effect of physicians sharing with patients, through online medical record portals, the comments and observations they make after each patient encounter.

Americans rely on Google searches as a source of healthcare information, second only to physicians, according to a survey.

The use of at-home blood pressure monitors and Web-based reporting tools that connect clinicians and patients via the Internet appears to significantly improve patients? ability to manage their hypertension to healthy levels, according to a recent study from Kaiser Permanente.