Practice Technology

Survey shows British PCPs feel they spend more time looking at computer screens in the exam room than they do with their patients.

Technology has improved medical care immensely in the past two centuries, yet the profession struggles with how to use it most effectively.

Although much attention is being paid to software solutions, gadget and tool providers continue to release new equipment options.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program has announced the funding of 111 projects in 35 states via $34.9 million in grants designed to expand access to health care services and increase educational opportunities in rural areas via telecommunications, computer networks, and other resources.

Physician smartphone adoption rates will experience significant growth over the next few years, according to the latest physician report from Manhattan Research. Currently, 64 percent of U.S. physicians own smartphones, but this rate will increase to 81 percent in 2012, according to the report.

Companies that work with healthcare organizations and handle private patient information are largely unprepared to meet the new data breach-related obligations included in the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act.

Google has launched a Web site, www.google.com/flushot, to help people locate the locations nearest to them at which H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccines are available.

Doctors in the United States and Canada lag behind other countries in the use of electronic health records, according to responses of 10,000 physicians in 11 countries queried for the 2009 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey.

Vermont physicians will get thre years' free access to an e-prescribing program thanks to a federal grant

AAFP forges partnership to help members and physicians select EHR vendor

HITECH has new requirements regarding business associates and notification of patients regarding breaches of unsecured protected health information.

The former head of Google Health has launched a new website, Keas.com, in an effort to provide individualized care plans.

The state of Rhode Island has launched a new system for tracking H1N1 flu that uses prescribing data provided by pharmacies throughout the state via a secure electronic link. Enabled by the state's e-prescribing and the digital healthcare infrastructure, the system is believed to be the first of its kind.

A new study published in Health Affairs finds that hospitals that disproportionately care for low-income patients are falling behind in adopting electronic health records.

GE Healthcare has launched a new business unit designed to improve healthcare systems connectivity for clinicians and patients.

The American Medical Association has launched AMAfluhelp.org to improve physician-patient communication and the coordination of care.

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.