Should the FDA be tasked with health IT oversight?

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In the last two years, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has received 260 reports of health IT malfunctions, some of which resulted in 44 reported injuries and six deaths. These numbers are prompting FDA officials to call for a federal framework and oversight to ensure patient safety. Read »

An Evolving EHR market can be unsettling

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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 »

Will ARRA widen Digital Divide?

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As the deadline for submitting public comment for the meaningful use criteria draws near, it seems as if there has been an uptick in concern and criticism being voiced regarding the federal government’s legislative efforts to drive healthcare IT adoption. Read »

CIO state-level network a bright idea

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The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) has launched CIO State Network (StateNet), an online communication and resource network for healthcare chief information officers to keep abreast of state matters related to the HITECH Act and other state health IT activity. It’s a great idea and a strategic move for CHIME. Read »

Money, training will make a difference in EHR adoption

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The Departments of Health and Human Service and Labor announced last Friday nearly $1 billion in grants under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for healthcare IT training, regional extension centers (RECs) and health information exchange. Read »

An Award-winning combo: EMRs and HIEs

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AtlantiCare (Egg Harbor Township, N.J.) and Heartland Health (St. Joseph, Mo.) were awarded the 2009 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards for their organizational innovation and performance excellence. Not surprisingly, one of the components of both of their successful programs is healthcare IT. Also not surprisingly, in light of the HITECH Act's grants, both healthcare systems have EMRs and health information exchange (HIE). Read »

Building up the supply of health IT workers to meet the upcoming demand

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Back in July, I wrote an article about developing a health IT workforce within the community college system that will be needed to help physician groups and healthcare systems implement EMRs and EHRs with the passage of the ARRA legislation. Read »

How to strengthen provider relationships

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One of the criteria for meaningful use of electronic health records (EHRs) is the ability to share data among providers to deliver patient care that has no gaps and promotes collaboration. American Pathology Partners is implementing Halfpenny Technologies' interoperability platform for an additional reason, which is equally important in this rapidly changing healthcare environment. Read »

Balancing privacy and sharing health information

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The Health IT Standards Committee approved privacy and security standards for electronic health record systems on Tuesday, September 15th. The federal advisory panel is tasked with delivering a set of standards that meet the HITECH Act's more stringent rules under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). Read »

Guaranteed HITECH Act bonus payment: Sign me up

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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 »