Dashboard translates EMR data into visual guide for medical staff
Date: Oct 19, 2011 A new real-time patient status system prompted a change in care in one out of three patients during a trial period, according to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford (Calif.) and technology firm HP.
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EMR will be an integral part of new NCI site for colorectal cancer screening
Date: Oct 10, 2011 A five-year, $6.3 million grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) establishes UT Southwestern Medical Center and Parkland Health & Hospital System as part of a three-site network for colorectal cancer screening. The Parkland-UT Southwestern PROSPR (Population-based Research Optimizing Screening through Personal Regimens) Center joins similar NCI PROSPR sites already operating in California and Washington state. Parkland’s EMR system and its Center for Clinical Innovation will serve as the information technology backbone of the collaboration with UT Southwestern.
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EMR implementation: efficiency vs. incentives
Date: Sep 23, 2011 Guest commentary
Government incentives have made EMR implementation a hot topic for many medical practitioners. Everyone loves getting money back from the government, but don’t let the incentive money push you into a decision you will regret.
Read » How to build a solid footing for patient data
Date: Sep 13, 2011 Guest commentary
The transition from paper records to electronic medical records (EMRs) promises to improve healthcare efficiency, clinical decision-making and patient outcomes. The U.S. government is even prepared to provide $19 billion in incentives for hospitals that can demonstrate “meaningful use” of EMRs.
But an EMR is only as good as the data it contains. If the data in the EMR is wrong -- or even if it’s right but hours old -- then EMRs are nothing more than rapid-access gateways to inferior data. Analyses of EMR data quality show that the information is often faulty. However, the cause of these inaccuracies can be easily remedied, opening the door for major hospital-wide benefits.
Read » EMR for orthopedic practices earns complete ambulatory EHR certification
Date: Sep 02, 2011 Merge Healthcare’s EMR for orthopedic practices, OrthoEMR, earned complete Ambulatory EHR certification on Aug. 18 from Drummond Group, an Office of the National Coordinator Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB). The certification covers 2011/2012 compliance with criteria issued by the U.S. Secretary of Health & Human Services as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
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Double-Digit Growth Forecast for World Healthcare IT Market
Date: Aug 16, 2011 The world healthcare IT market is expected to grow from $99.6 billion in 2010 to $162.2 billion in 2015, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 10 percent, according to business intelligence and market research firm ReportsnReports.
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Mobile EMR App and Emergency Widget Introduced
Date: Aug 08, 2011 CORAnet Solutions, Inc., a Washington, D.C.-based firm, announced on Aug. 8 the release of its mobile personal health record (PHR) system with two applications. The company explained that its CORAVault application gives private individuals access to their electronic medical records through their smart phones and mobile devices, and its CORAnet Emergency Widget provides basic medical information in case of emergency.
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EMR Integration Part of Growth Plan as MinuteClinic Surpasses 10 Million Patient Visits
Date: Aug 01, 2011 On Aug. 1, MinuteClinic, the retail health care division of CVS Caremark and largest provider of walk-in medical clinics in the United States, announced that it has surpassed 10 million patient visits. MinuteClinic opened its first retail-based clinic in Minneapolis in 2000 and now has nearly 600 clinics in CVS/pharmacy stores located in 26 states and the District of Columbia. Nine million of the visits have occurred since the beginning of 2007. MinuteClinic reported that it has maintained a 95 percent patient satisfaction rate.
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EMR Vendor Tops 100,000 Users
Date: Jul 13, 2011 Electronic medical record (EMR) vendor Practice Fusion reported on July 13 that over 100,000 medical professionals use its EMR to serve 16 million patients. The San Francisco-based company said it had 55,000 users serving 6 million patients at the end of 2010.
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How Automation Technology Can Help in the Transition to Electronic Medical Records
Date: Jul 08, 2011 Guest commentary
As organizations move to implement electronic medical record (EMR) systems, they are quickly discovering there is a tremendous amount of manual data entry, or many tasks that are repetitive in nature, which delay the benefits of an EMR system. In addition to the massive amount of data populating the EMR, connections to the many different applications that consistently feed the electronic record are required. As a result, many hospitals and health organizations are beginning to appreciate that automation is an effective way to make that happen.
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