Amidst a still-faltering economy, the bright spot has been healthcare IT, thanks to ARRA and its HITECH Act. Just as there is a lot of hope and energy invested in moving the healthcare industry into the 21st century, there are equal parts of anxiety and pessimism that billions of dollars will be spent without transforming the industry in the form of increased quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery, and reduction of medical errors and cost. Read »

It was reported on Jan. 26 that the Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel, better known as HITSP, will close shop when its contract expires Jan. 31, but John Halamka, MD, said a contract extension will keep HITSP operational until ONC awards work for the next evolution of standards development. Read »

It's not a surprise that there would be supporters and detractors of the proposed meaningful use requirements. With heavyweights making noise, however, you have to sit up straight and listen. Read »

One of the biggest challenges, if not the biggest challenge, of EMRs and EHRs is ensuring that the data is secure and patient privacy honored. There will always be a camp that thinks EMRs and EHRs can never be secured and we ought not use them. That's not the reality today, so we as an industry and a society need to keep the discussion going on how we can trust electronic patient data. Read »

In response to the two Harvard studies declaring that electronic health records do not save hospitals money, I'm going to highlight healthcare systems that are indeed saving money through the use of EHRs or EMRs. Read »

For providers who have hesitated implementing an EHR because of confusion, distrust or discontent, you may be patting yourself on the back. You knew there was a reason to wait. athenahealth announced a guaranteed HITECH Act bonus payment under the 2011 program year if you use its athenaClinicals EHR system. Read »