May 2009 - EMR and HIPAA

Reasons EHR Companies Use to Get You To Buy an EHR Now

EHR adoption has been really slowed by the passing of the $18 in EHR stimulus money. However, that doesn’t stop the EHR companies from doing everything they can to get doctors to purchase an EHR now. Here’s a couple of examples of what EHR...

Published Sun, May 31 2009 4:14 AM by EMR (EHR) and HIPAA

Sole Reliance on One EHR Certififying Body - CCHIT

There’s a whole lot of discussion going on (rightfully so) right now about CCHIT EHR certification and of course the term “certified EHR.” I don’t know if anyone else has noticed or not, but there seems to be a bit of a growing...

Published Fri, May 29 2009 4:52 PM by EMR (EHR) and HIPAA

Electronic Health Records Video Explanation

EMR Marriage, EMR Divorce, EMR Pregnancy and Now Marrying an EMR for Money

Yes, I’ve compared EMR to Marriage and it talks about it being a huge deal to “divorce” your EMR. Yes, I’ve compared EMR Implementation to Pregnancy. Now I bring you what may be my most important comparison of all: Don’t...

Published Thu, May 28 2009 1:11 PM by EMR (EHR) and HIPAA

Another Example Why Small EHR Companies Face Tough Challenges

No doubt many small EHR companies have been looking at themselves in the mirror long and hard and asking themselves how they’re going to survive this rough market. Not only did the HITECH act slow purchasing of EHR systems, but between “certified...

Published Wed, May 27 2009 10:23 AM by EMR (EHR) and HIPAA

My Least Favorite EMR Vendor Sales Line

A feature of every EMR vendor is a whole multitude of sales lines. If you’ve ever talked to a EMR sales person, you know what I’m talking about. This isn’t really unique to EMR sales. The same can be said of most software that’s...

Published Tue, May 26 2009 2:45 PM by EMR (EHR) and HIPAA

Government Shouldn’t Talk about Ill Defined EHR Term

A little while back, the Health Care blog has a pretty interesting post talking about how to define the term EHR. Normally, this debate would just be an academic debate which in the end nobody would really care about. You may remember my rant about EMR...

Published Tue, May 26 2009 10:33 AM by EMR (EHR) and HIPAA

Memorial Day and CCHIT 2009-2010 Criteria Revealed

In honor of Memorial Day, I took the weekend off. This ended up being a good thing since Saturday evening I was feeling quite sick. What a way to spend my time off, no? Not that any of you really care too much. However, I thought it was worth mentioning...

Published Tue, May 26 2009 2:21 AM by EMR (EHR) and HIPAA

Plans for EMR Stimulus Money Poll

I posted an EHR stimulus poll a week ago and I thought it would be interesting to post some preliminary results. I really wish a few more people would have participated in the poll. It’s only 2 clicks to add your opinion. I expect over time I’ll...

Published Fri, May 22 2009 11:45 AM by EMR (EHR) and HIPAA

EMR/EHR’s and HL7: Part One - General Overview

How do you make health databases talk? Use the ‘Health Level Seven’ (HL7) protocol. How do you make them say something other than four letter words? A lot of study, smarts, and intuitive understanding, and nifty tools I outline here will be...

Published Thu, May 21 2009 5:25 PM by EMR and EHR

ARRA’s Effect on EMR Reporting Versus Functionality

I was just reading through Jamie’s post on EMR and EHR talking about showing EMR “meaningful use” and EMR reporting. She provides some really interesting examples about the challenges of reporting out of an EMR that wasn’t designed...

Published Thu, May 21 2009 4:28 PM by EMR (EHR) and HIPAA

Good and Bad Doctors Exist Regardless of EHR

I find it interesting how many people are propping up electronic medical records as the silver bullet that’s going to solve our healthcare woes. It’s going to lower costs, improve care and solve world peace. Let there be no doubt that the...

Published Thu, May 21 2009 12:26 PM by EMR (EHR) and HIPAA

EHR, EMR, and Meaningful Use

John over at EMR, EHR, and HIPAA wrote a great blog on meaningful use, and some of the definitions that are being kicked around in the healthcare IT world. It is interesting to me that HIMSS includes in its definition of meaningful use ‘decision...

Published Wed, May 20 2009 2:09 PM by EMR and EHR

Body of Medical Knowledge Too Complex for the Human Mind

In a recent comment, Steven suggested that an EMR and HIT in general might be necessary because the volume of medical knowledge is so large and complex that it’s too complex for the human mind. Here’s a short section of his comment: Another...

Published Wed, May 20 2009 12:05 PM by EMR (EHR) and HIPAA

HITECH Operetta - Funny Video From Someone with Too Much Time

I’ve been pretty intense with most of my posts lately. I figured it was about time for a little something different. Interesting, funny, and delightfully entertaining. Check out this HITECH Operetta in 3 Acts by Dr. Ross Martin: If you’re...

Published Wed, May 20 2009 3:46 AM by EMR (EHR) and HIPAA