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The credo "first, do no harm" applies not just to medical professionals, but to health IT intended to improve patient care, suggests a health-care management company executive. Dr. Wendy Whittington, chief medical officer of Dallas-based Anthelio Healthcare Solutions, told Healthcare Payer...
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Physicians who believe that they were wrongly denied Medicare bonuses last year associated with the use of electronic health record systems have two more weeks to file an appeal with the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Earlier this month, CMS extended the eligibility-appeals deadline...
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Instead of striving for "meaningful use" of electronic health records, health-care providers aiming to provide accountable care should shoot for "optimal use" of EHRs, argues a Wisconsin hospital executive. "In the future, we'll want to ensure that we're using EHRs to...
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The nation's health IT czar and the head of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued a joint statement encouraging states to help CMS meet its 2012 goal of paying incentives to 100,000 health care providers for achieving "meaningful use" of electronic health records. Acting...
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Health IT Update
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Thu, Mar 29 2012
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Filed under: Medical Records, Meaningful Use, Outcomes, Stimulus Package, Software, HHS, Policy, Technology, Standards, Regulation, Health reform, Treatment, Health costs
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In addition to diagnosing and treating everything from heart problems to headaches, doctors in training must learn how to use health IT in their practice, according to a study published in this month's Health Affairs journal. And the training shouldn't end there, contend the authors of "The...
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Health IT Update
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Wed, Mar 21 2012
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Filed under: Medical Records, Meaningful Use, Outcomes, Software, telemedicine, HHS, Policy, Technology, Standards, Health reform, Treatment
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A skirmish over the efficacy of electronic health records to reduce health-care costs is escalating into a full-scale war of words. At the center of the controversy is an article that appeared in the March issue of Health Affairs: "Giving Office-Based Physicians Electronic Access to Patients'...
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A study challenging the assumption that health IT reduces unnecessary medical tests is drawing criticism from several fronts, including from the national coordinator for health IT. The title of the article, published Monday by the journal Health Affairs, summarized the disputed findings: "Giving...
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Health IT Update
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Fri, Mar 9 2012
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Filed under: Medical Records, Outcomes, Software, telemedicine, HHS, Technology, Industry, Health reform, Treatment, Health costs
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Easy electronic access to test results appears to increase the likelihood that doctors will order imaging and lab tests by as much as 70 percent, according to a new study published in the March issue of the journal Health Affairs. The study raises questions about the presumed cost savings of...
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The time and money spent protecting personal health information from data breaches are well worth the investment, contends a new industry security report. The 67-page report, "The Financial Impact of Breached Protected Health Information: A Business Case for Enhanced PHI Security," includes...
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Mon, Mar 5 2012
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Filed under: Medical Records, Outcomes, Software, Security, Policy, Technology, Industry, Health reform, Treatment, Health costs
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Health-information exchanges could help medical providers to collaborate better and improve patient care, yet they are threatened by challenges, among them funding and sustainability, interoperability and acceptance by doctors, a survey suggests. The findings come from a mid-February online survey of...
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The federal government's proposed regulations for "next level" electronic health record performance will emphasize patients' electronic access to their health records and enhanced sharing of information throughout "transitions of care." The new Stage 2 meaningful-use guidelines...
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Health IT Update
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Fri, Feb 24 2012
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Filed under: Medical Records, Meaningful Use, Outcomes, Stimulus Package, Software, HHS, Security, Policy, Technology, Industry, Standards, Health reform, Treatment
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They say everything old is new again, but who would have thought that included electronic health records? The New York Times recently unearthed what might have been the first attempt to digitize health records -- half a century ago. A press release from Feb. 18, 1962, trumpeted a partnership between...
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The United States is a world leader in adopting electronic health records, according to a new industry study by Reston, Va.-based Accenture. The global management consulting firm analyzed EHR adoption in the United States, Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Singapore and Spain. Researchers...
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Health-care providers still have a lot of work to do to meet key health IT requirements expected under the government's Stage 2 "meaningful use" standard, a new industry report finds. CSC, an IT consulting firm based in Falls Church, Va., says the following essential areas require immediate...
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Fri, Feb 10 2012
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Filed under: Medical Records, Meaningful Use, Outcomes, Software, HHS, Policy, Technology, Industry, Standards, Regulation, Health reform, Treatment
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While health-care professionals seem to love iPads, health IT professionals are less enamored with the consumer-friendly tablet computers, according to a new industry report. Doctors and others are more likely to use technology they like, which could help chief information officers get everyone on board...
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Mon, Feb 6 2012
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Filed under: Medical Records, Outcomes, Software, Security, Policy, Technology, Industry, Standards, Regulation, Health reform, Treatment, Health costs