Realizing the Benefits of EHRs Takes Time

Large physician group practices with electronic health record experience say they still have a long way to go before realizing the quality-of-care improvements and cost-containment benefits of EHR systems, according to a recent survey. Read full article...

CCHIT Releases Details on New EHR Certification Programs

On Tuesday, the Certification Commission for Health IT announced that it will launch two new certification programs on Oct. 7. Read full article...

Are the stars aligning for telemedicine's succcess?

The current health care crisis has some experts saying that telemedicine's time has finally come.
While technology companies have been touting the use of virtual technology to allow doctors to remotely examine and monitor patients for decades, up until recently the business case for deploying these expensive systems was hard to justify. Read full article...

Panel Offers Initial Criteria for Defining 'Meaningful Use'

Today, a Health IT Policy Committee work group released its initial recommendations for defining "meaningful use" of electronic health records. The federal economic stimulus law requires hospitals and physicians to demonstrate meaningful use of EHRs to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments. Read full article...

The 80-20 Rule of Healthcare

Seeking to understand what patients are using emergency departments most frequently and find solutions, the nonprofit group Integrated Care Collaboration discovered that 9 Austin-area patients accounted for almost 2,700 ED visits over 6 years - an average of one visit per week. Read full article...

A Visit With EMR From the Patient's Perspective

In the EMR business, we often talk about the EMR experience for clinicians, but not as often about the experience for patients. This article from the Huffington Post blog gives us perspective on the positives and negatives (mostly positives) of EMR from the patient's point of view. Read full article...

Poor Communications Cost US Hospitals $12 Billion Annually

A University of Maryland study has put a quantitative value on poor communications and lack of information technology in hospitals: $12 billion annually. Read full article...

Stimulus Funds Raise Hopes for Increased Adoption of EHRs

Provisions of the federal economic stimulus package could encourage more physicians and hospitals to invest in electronic health record systems, although at least one stakeholder says adoption will fall short of government projections. Read full article...

Stimulus Requires Fast Action on Health Care IT

Although many of the details of the health IT provisions included in the stimulus packaged still need to be worked out, health care providers should start planning the rollout of electronic health record systems now to gain the maximum financial incentives. Read full article...

House Passes Economic Stimulus Package With Health IT Funds

On Wednesday, the House voted 244-188, with no Republican support, to approve an $819 billion economic stimulus package that includes more than $20 billion to help physicians and hospitals adopt health care IT. Read full article...

ICD-10 delayed until October 2013

If you were looking forward to ICD-10 to spur business, think again... HHS has delayed the implementation of ICD-10 until 2013. The link includes an audio segment with further details. Read full article...

Government Initiatives Promise Big Changes in EHR Industry

This blog post on HISTalk goes into detail about proposed legislative changes to rapidly increase the adoption of HIT. Possible changes include monetary incentives to encourage physicians to adopt EHR, creation of training programs to help clinicians adopt these systems, and funding to promote local and national health information exchanges. Read full article...

Report Projects 14% Annual Growth in EHR Market Through 2012

The market for electronic health record systems will grow by 14.1% annually through 2012, according to a report from marketing research firm Kalorama Information. Read full article...

Study: Electronic Medical Records Lessen Chance of Malpractice Claims

A recent study by Harvard researchers found that 6.1% of physicians with electronic medical records were involved in a malpractice settlement, compared to 10.8% without EMR. Read full article...

Survey Reveals Large Numbers of Practicing Physicians Ready to Call it Quits

A survey of over 270,000 physicians with 3.7% response rate reveals that 49% plan to limit their practices or leave medicine entirely by 2011, and 45% would retire today if they had the financial means. Read full article...

Survey: Hospital EHR adoption rate is below 12 percent

A somewhat sobering survey performed by the Harvard Institute for Public Health shows that only 1.7% of hospitals have fully implemented an electronic health record across all departments, though approximately 78% have implemented in at least some of their department. Read full article...

Confessions of a Physician EMR Champion

Written by Dr. David C. Kibbe, who for several years led the AAFP's effort to increase EMR adoption among its members, this article reflects on where the EMR movement has taken us so far and where it needs to go in the future to create better outcomes for patients. Read full article...

Better Healthcare Data Means Better Patient Care

It should be intuitive, but a lot of doctors still dispute whether EMR can enable better decision-making and improve patient care. The attached article notes a number of clinics where EMR implementation has led to improved decision-making and the factors that made it happen. Read full article...

How to "cash-in" on CCHIT?

Health and Human Services Secretary Mark Leavitt reflects on three years of CCHIT certification and publishes some resources to help physicians find local EHR grant money from the $700 million available nationwide. Read full article...

Providence Health Fined $100,000 For HIPAA Violations

Providence Health has the uncomfortable distinction of being the first healthcare organization fined for HIPAA compliance violations, to the tune of $100,000. Read full article...