EHRs and PHRs

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05/17/2013

Bed Management Tools Are Market Opportunity for Vendors, Report Says

A report from HIMSS Analytics finds that bed management technologies represent one of the most promising market opportunities for vendors because of their low rate of market penetration. The report ranked 24 types of health care software applications. FierceHealthIT.

05/17/2013

Southeastern Penn. Prepares To Build First Data Exchange in Region

The Pennsylvania Attorney General's office is reviewing a five-year, $8.9 million contract under which Truven Health Analytics would build the platform for a new health information exchange in the southeastern region of the state. Government Health IT, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

05/16/2013

House Panel Approves $344M for Joint VA, Pentagon EHR Project

A preliminary bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee allocates $344 million for a joint, integrated electronic health system between the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. The funds must go toward the creation of an open-architecture system. NextGov.

05/15/2013

AHA: Protections for EHR Donations Should Be Made Permanent

In a letter to federal officials, the American Hospital Association wrote that regulatory protections for electronic health record donations should be made permanent. The federal government recently proposed extending the protections through 2016. AHA News et al.

05/15/2013

Doctors Say Health IT Will Result in Higher Costs, Report Finds

Although 73% of doctors say that health IT will improve care quality, 71% believe that the tools ultimately will result in higher costs, according to a report from the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. The report also finds that 60% of doctors believe hospital-physician relationships will suffer as hospitals comply with the meaningful use program. FierceHealthIT, Deloitte report.

05/15/2013

Opinion: VA, Pentagon Should Collaborate To Launch Joint EHR

In an opinion piece, Peter Levin -- former senior adviser to the Department of Veterans Affairs' secretary and CTO of the agency -- writes that VA and Pentagon should leverage the Open Source Electronic Health Record Agent to deploy a joint electronic health record system. Politico.

05/14/2013

Report: Physicians' Computer Use Can Affect Patient Satisfaction

A report from the American Medical Association's board of trustees states that a physician's communication skills can determine how computers affect patient satisfaction. In related news, New Jersey's AMA delegation is urging the association to inform federal officials that the appropriate use of electronic health record systems does not constitute fraud. Modern Healthcare, Modern Physician.

05/14/2013

Winners Announced for Challenge on Designing N.Y. Patient Portal

Mana Health will receive $15,000 as the first place winner of a New York eHealth Collaborative challenge. The contest asked software developers to build an online portal that would allow New York residents to access and share their health records. Health Imaging, NYeC release.

05/13/2013

Global Health IT Market Poised To Reach $56.7B by 2017, Report Finds

A MarketsandMarkets report predicts that the global health IT market will reach $56.7 billion by 2017, up from the 2012 market value of $40.4 billion. According to the report, the U.S. and Canada will account for the largest market share. Clinical Innovation & Technology et al.

05/10/2013

Data Brief Details How RECs Help Mid-Level Clinicians Adopt EHRs

A new data brief from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT outlines how regional extension centers have helped physician assistants and nurse practitioners adopt electronic health record systems and participate in the meaningful use incentive program. FierceEMR.

05/10/2013

Survey Says More Than 90% of U.S. Physicians Now Use EHRs

A survey conducted by Harris Interactive and released by Accenture finds that 93% of U.S. physicians report using electronic health record systems. According to the survey, 45% of U.S. doctors say they use health information exchange technology to access data from outside their organization, and 38% say that using EHRs and HIEs has helped lower their organization's costs. Healthcare IT News et al.

05/08/2013

44% of U.S. Prescriptions Submitted Electronically in 2012, Report Finds

The latest report from Surescripts shows that about 44% of all U.S. prescriptions were submitted electronically in 2012, compared with 36% in 2011. According to Surescripts, 69% of all U.S. physicians were electronically prescribing last year. FierceEMR, HealthTechZone.

05/07/2013

Health IT Leaders Agree on Top IT Infrastructure Priorities, Report Finds

A focus group conducted by HIMSS Analytics finds that health IT leaders generally agree on their top IT infrastructure priorities, which are related to mobile devices, security, data storage and the exchange of information and images. Clinical Innovation & Technology et al.

05/06/2013

Health IT Stakeholders Offer Input on Using EHRs for Coding, Billing

During a "listening session" sponsored by CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, officials from the American Medical Association and other groups offered input on using electronic health record systems for billing and coding. Modern Healthcare et al.

05/06/2013

Medical Groups Submit Comments on Federal Data Exchange Efforts

The American Medical Association, the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Academy of Family Physicians have responded to a request for information about how the federal government could promote health data exchange. American Medical News.

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