For the most part, the American Academy of Family Physicians, an advocate for health IT, supports the meaningful use criteria that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released at the end of last year. They have an issue, however, with the reporting requirements of the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking. Read »

Aside from the upfront cost of implementing electronic health records (EHRs), one of the major barriers for adopting health IT cited by physicians is a lack of standards. On Friday, HL7 published a standard for clinical research in an EHR system. Read »

The Drummond Group's announcement that it will submit to become a certification body for electronic health records (EHRs) when the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) opens up the pool in early 2010 is good news for the industry. Read »

In his speech to congress on Wednesday, President Obama made no specific mention of EHRs, or even health information technology for that matter. He did, however, mention Canada, which received immediate applause from the audience. Though Obama was referring to the Maple Leaf's single-payer system, there are also notable differences between the two countries' EHR adoption strategies. With a population 10 times as large, and the most complex healthcare system in the world, the United States presents a unique technology challenge. But perhaps we can still benefit from some "lessons learned" by our neighbors to the North. Read »

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) announced earlier today that it would launch two certification programs on Oct. 7. Providers need to understand not only the difference between the two programs but the consequences of choosing an electronic health record (EHR) product certified in one program over the other. Read »

Can you keep your deadlines straight, let alone involved entities and acronyms? The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) needs to approve "meaningful use" of health IT recommendations by the Health IT Policy Committee, which providers must achieve to receive funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009. ONC's recommendations are expected by the end of the year. The Health and Human Services (HHS) Department, however, will deliver its final rulemaking on requirements in the spring of 2010. Read »

Mainstream support for open-source electronic health records is gaining ground. And that's a good thing for physicians. Read »

No, that question is not a joke in the vein of "How many fill-in-the-blanks-here does it take to change a light bulb." The answer, which will evolve in the next several months, will determine if the certification process' trustworthiness is worth the increased complexity with the addition of more bodies. Read »

You've purchased the software, installed the hardware, and booked the staff training. But before you cut the ribbon on that new EHR, you might want to ensure it's legal. One of the highly-touted benefits of EHRs is the potential to help reduce an estimated $5.8 billion in annual spending on malpractice claims. But if data-entry increases exponentially without the proper audits and reviews, interoperability could lead to inter-liability, and providers may find themselves victims of HIT negligence. Read »

Let's face it, EHR disasters are part of the lore of health information technology. Handed down by word of mouth in hushed whispers around the water-cooler, these horror stories serve as cautionary tales for those implementing new technology. In a 2007 report by the Medical Records Institute, now defunct, 19% of respondents reported having deinstalled an EHR, while 7% were currently engaged in the process. Read »