Practice Technology

Practices making the plunge into electronic health records prior to the final definition of "meaningful use" should require the EHR contract guarantee the system will meet those requirements.

Several entities will receive more than $90 million in funds from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for efforts involving electronic health records (EHRs) or informatics it was recently announced.

Merck & Co. has released iPhone applications for the professional and consumer editions of its Merck Manual.

Microsoft has launched a new Web site, www.h1n1responsecenter.com, with a self-assessment tool to help individuals with flu-like symptoms determine whether their illness is severe enough to warrant immediate medical attention, and whether they are at risk for developing severe disease. The site also offers practical advice for those with flu-like symptoms.

After a successful pilot program in the Seattle area, a website that matches cash-paying patients to healthcare providers is slated to launch nationwide on November 2.

Patients are willing to use e-mail and physicians' websites to communicate with their doctors in an effort to save time, as long as they do not have to pay for the ability.

More than 140,000 (23 percent) of all office-based physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants in the U.S. are now using electronic prescribing, according to Surescripts. At the current pace, the company projects, the total number of health care professionals prescribing medication electronically via its network this year will more than double from the 74,000 active electronic prescribers who used it at the end of last year.

Users of Google Health who have scheduled telehealth consultations with physicians or mental health therapists via MDLiveCare will be able to share medical records with their doctors before the appointments and receive records from the doctors after the appointments, thanks to a new collaboration between the two companies.

Health-care information technology (HIT) has the potential to cut costs, increase access and improve quality in the U.S. health care system, according to results of a Harris Interactive survey of a nationwide sample of 2,200 adults aged at least 18 years commissioned by the Career College Association and TechAmerica.

Abnormal results on outpatient imaging tests sometimes may not receive timely follow-up even when clinicians receive and read results in an advanced, integrated electronic medical record system, according to a report in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

A new Web initiative to be launched in Ohio by several health plans is designed to benefit patients and practices by reducing the time, effort, and expense associated with the paperwork required for office visits.

Rising operating costs, maintaining physician compensation levels, and implementation of electronic health record systems were the top concerns among Medical Group Management Association members this year.

In order to encourage providers to adopt EHR technology, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has informed state Medicaid directors that the federal government will reimburse states for 100 percent of incentive payments made to healthcare providers showing "meaningful use" of electronic health records.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology has published more information on its $598 million grant program to go towards 70 Health Information Technology Regional Extension Centers.

A one-year evaluation study from the Group Health Cooperatives demonstrates that a medical home model in conjunction with health information technology could solve the nation's primary care physician shortage.

The Medical Group Management Association is asking the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to hasten the reporting of electronic health record data for the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative P4P program, according to a letter from the organization.

The Federation of American Hospitals sent a letter to federal health IT officials asking them to drop "meaningful use" proposals that would require healthcare providers to meet quality improvement targets in order to qualify for federal incentive payments.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced in late August plans to award $598 million in grants to open as many as 70 regional offices next year to help practices adopt electronic health record systems.

If patient information is stolen, practices must notify the affected patients and, in some cases, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and local media, according to new regulations that go into effect on September 23.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have released a new fact sheet outlining the World Health Organization's International Classification of Diseases, 10th edition.

Details of a $694-million program that will create a national extension service to help office-based physicians set up their health information technology have been announced by federal officials.

Medical students view electronic-health-record technology as an important component of their medical education and a critical factor when choosing where they will practice medicine, according to results of a recent survey.

The new program could demonstrate that a low-cost, rigorous survey method can produce ratings and reports on most doctors in the United States.

Although Medicare is expected to offer a financial hardship exemption from electronic health records, the agency has offered scant details so far.

A deferred-payment loan of up to $315,000 for solo physicians to purchase electronic health record systems may soon be available from the Small Business Administration.