News

News

• July 30, 2015 30 Jul'15

  ONC still putting cash behind its priorities

  While the Obama administration may be nearing lame duck status, its health IT arm, ONC, is still doling out money to people doing things that align with the agency’s goals of the moment. In this ...

• July 28, 2015 28 Jul'15

  Family physicians find meaningful use audits are expensive, unhelpful

  The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) didn't get the response it desired when it sent a letter of concern about the meaningful use audit program to CMS in April. In fact, CMS hasn't ...

• July 28, 2015 28 Jul'15

  Telehealth experts bullish on ROI of wearable health technology

  According to Telehealth and mHealth experts, providers can achieve ROI in the wearable health technology market. This news analysis examines the issue.

• July 24, 2015 24 Jul'15

  With continuing breaches, mHealth should learn from past thefts

  Data breaches in healthcare won't be stopping anytime soon. At the mHealth + Telehealth World Congress, experts said learning from past thefts is key.

• July 23, 2015 23 Jul'15

  As you get ready for ICD-10, plan for "what if" scenarios

  With ICD-10 fast approaching, some healthcare providers won't be prepared in time. In order to ensure that you aren't one of them, CIOs need to make sure they're ready for the less obvious -- yet ...

• July 23, 2015 23 Jul'15

  In wake of UCLA health data breach, security expert says providers should be forthcoming

  The 4.5 million people who had their health and financial records potentially exposed in a hack of the UCLA Health provider system were not the only victims of the breach, which UCLA officials said ...

• July 21, 2015 21 Jul'15

  A health IT implementation brings work interruptions

  Undertaking a health IT implementation will result in numerous interruptions to the workflows of clinicians and associated staff members, though those interruptions frequently don't involve the new ...

• July 21, 2015 21 Jul'15

  Infographic: Epic leads Cerner in battle for EHR market

  Epic continues to dominate archrival Cerner in the inpatient and ambulatory EHR markets, according to recently updated meaningful records from CMS.

• July 16, 2015 16 Jul'15

  Patient advocates: You can now get big data training

  With big data evolving so rapidly within healthcare, even the most engaged and informed patients and healthcare advocates might feel they don't know enough to truly take part in and evaluate the ...

• July 15, 2015 15 Jul'15

  Meaningful use targeted

  Meaningful use is in the spotlight again, but not necessarily in a good way. The American Medical Association’s (AMA) call this week to “reboot” government regulation of EHRs is the latest in a ...

• July 15, 2015 15 Jul'15

  With mobility, par8o boosts patient referral process

  In tandem with mobile devices, par8o's patient referral software helps hospitals and physician practices more carefully monitor referral activities.

• July 14, 2015 14 Jul'15

  Health information management professionals foresee less coding in their futures

  Health information management professionals believe proficiency in big data analysis, informatics and data mining will be more important for workers in their positions in the future than they are ...

• July 13, 2015 13 Jul'15

  EHR market as viewed through meaningful use attestation stats

  Updated meaningful use attestation stats from large CMS database show top vendors have solidified market dominance in inpatient and outpatient spheres.

• July 10, 2015 10 Jul'15

  Join the discussion: Healthcare Internet of Things Twitter chat

  Our #chatHIT on Twitter on Thursday, July 23 at 3 p.m. EST, will assess and question the development of the healthcare Internet of Things.

• July 09, 2015 09 Jul'15

  Connecticut is the latest state to enact telemedicine law

  On June 22, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy signed a telemedicine commercial reimbursement statute into law, making Connecticut the 28th state to do so. The vote provides a stark contrast to the ...

• July 08, 2015 08 Jul'15

  New CMS data digs into big money paid to docs by manufacturers

  Last year, manufacturers of drugs and other medical products, along with group purchasing organizations, spent $6.49 billion on U.S. physicians and teaching hospitals for such items as travel ...

• July 07, 2015 07 Jul'15

  CMS, AMA announce plans to help providers through ICD-10 conversion

  After formerly questioning how the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is handling the upcoming ICD-10 conversion, the American Medical Association (AMA) announced it will work with CMS on ...

• July 02, 2015 02 Jul'15

  New research: Physicians key to wearables taking off

  What's the key to wearables truly taking off? According to a report by MedPanel, it's physicians who have the power. "As long as tech companies view wearables and apps as consumer-driven markets, ...

• July 01, 2015 01 Jul'15

  HIMSS reports spike in health IT security worries

  Until recently cyber-security was one of many issues for health IT executives; now it is top of mind for most. Anecdotally, it is abundantly clear how widespread increased worry about cyber-attacks ...

• June 30, 2015 30 Jun'15

  Architecting health data for the cloud

  Bayer HealthCare recently announced plans to improve health data and reduce pain management cases.

• June 30, 2015 30 Jun'15

  FDA group to support combined EHR, electronic data capture systems

  Clinical research and patient information captured during treatment are kept in different electronic systems and by separate organizations. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wants to ...

• June 25, 2015 25 Jun'15

  The reason some doctors quit? EHRs, says one noted columnist

  The general consensus surrounding the movement to EHRs, at least from what I've heard and read, is that, although not perfect, EHRs are a good thing for doctors, healthcare organizations and ...

• June 24, 2015 24 Jun'15

  CommonWell grows, despite Epic absence

  Despite the continued absence of health IT’s biggest name, the CommonWell Health Alliance, a vendor-backed interoperability group, keeps growing. EHR giant Epic Systems Corp. is the notable ...

• June 23, 2015 23 Jun'15

  FDA makes a deal with online patient group to study patient-reported drug safety data

  The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is teaming up with the largest online patient network to collect and study patient-reported drug safety data. The research agreement between ...

• June 18, 2015 18 Jun'15

  Steps to achieve a value-based contract

  A shift to value-based payments and benefit designs is underway -- accelerating, even-- despite the significant obstacles, a health policy brief from the Brookings Institution has found. The piece ...

• June 17, 2015 17 Jun'15

  Practice Fusion CEO talks market share in solo practices and relationship with bigger vendors

  Ryan Howard, the 40-year-old founder and CEO of cloud EHR vendor Practice Fusion Inc., certainly doesn’t lack for confidence. In some ways, Howard’s brash charisma resembles that of  a market ...

• June 16, 2015 16 Jun'15

  Cerner CEO Neal Patterson tells Senate committee of wife's interoperability dilemma

  Neal Patterson, CEO of EHR vendor Cerner Corp. -- a founding member of CommonWell Health Alliance -- has a personal reason to pull for CommonWell to realize its goal of greater health IT ...

• June 15, 2015 15 Jun'15

  New research: FDA-regulated digital health devices could save U.S. healthcare billions

  Last year, the FDA seemed to lean toward deregulation of wellness, wearable and mobile devices when it downgraded -- from Class III high-risk to Class I low-risk -- mobile device data systems, ...

• June 12, 2015 12 Jun'15

  CMS publishes hospital discharge, Medicare payment data

  The costs of the top 100 most frequently billed discharges were part of recently released Medicare payment data documenting the year 2013.

• June 11, 2015 11 Jun'15

  Providers work for security in healthcare, lock down mobile devices

  With mobile devices proliferating -- and security in healthcare lacking -- providers are ramping up efforts to better safeguard devices and related apps.

• June 11, 2015 11 Jun'15

  ICD-10 codes elicit humor

  “Struck by Orca” is by no means the most obscure or unintentionally humorous entry in the voluminous catalog of new ICD-10 codes for medical conditions. But it is, indeed, the memorable Twitter ...

• June 09, 2015 09 Jun'15

  Switching to cloud-based EHRs reduces data breach concerns for most small practices

  Significantly fewer physicians that deploy cloud-based EHR systems in solo or small medical practices are worried about their system's security than their counterparts that use server-based EHRs. ...

• June 04, 2015 04 Jun'15

  In Texas, regulators dig in on the other side of telemedicine

  Telemedicine can and will do a lot of good when it comes to improving patient care and saving money. But lawmakers in Texas are pushing back, making it more difficult for telemedicine technology ...

• June 03, 2015 03 Jun'15

  Wearable health technology meets corporate wellness

  Corporate America: Rise from your cubicle chairs and stand up if you want to stay healthy. That’s the key takeaway from the new 2015 corporate wellness study by Withings SA, the French consumer ...

• June 02, 2015 02 Jun'15

  AMIA task force recommends simplifying documentation, refocusing EHR regulation

  Now that EHRs have been cemented as technology that isn't going away any time soon, healthcare providers are looking for ways to set their EHR systems up for optimum performance and future ...

• May 29, 2015 29 May'15

  Like EHRs, clinical research data must be unchained for the greater good

  We write a lot about interoperability of EHRs in SearchHealthIT's stories and blogs because the topic is rife with obstacles for the healthcare industry to overcome. Yet the ability to share a ...

• May 28, 2015 28 May'15

  The journey to data analytics: Many healthcare professionals haven't started yet

  The importance of big data and data analytics is not lost on healthcare professionals, and many are clamoring to implement big data and data analytics within their organization. According to ...

• May 28, 2015 28 May'15

  Health IT startup offers single EHR option

  When a new health IT company’s name sounds like a call to action, you can tell right away that the enterprise, even while for-profit, has a sense of mission. FreeOurHealthRecords.com is an ...

• May 26, 2015 26 May'15

  Healthy prognosis for hospital wireless networks

  The growing needs of clinicians and guests mean IT departments must split their focus when managing wireless hospital networks.

• May 22, 2015 22 May'15

  Report explains how to secure expensive patient data on mobile devices

  Medical information is one of the most valuable types of data hackers can get their hands on, according to a report by the Institute for Health Technology Transformation (IHT2). While credit card ...

• May 21, 2015 21 May'15

  Electronic prescribing of controlled substances poised to take off

  E-prescribing has come of age. Now it’s e-prescribing of controlled substances’ (EPCS) turn. In 2014, 56% of U.S. physicians and 95% of pharmacies processed 1.2 billion electronic prescriptions on ...

• May 20, 2015 20 May'15

  Federal authorities on to healthcare cybercrime

  The FBI and Department of Homeland Security are chasing state-sponsored hackers who are perpetrating healthcare cybercrime.

• May 19, 2015 19 May'15

  New survey: Physicians most likely to make patient notes, prescriptions in electronic systems

  Physicians have come a long way in a short time in getting comfortable working with EHR systems and other healthcare technology. Nearly 80% of U.S. physicians say they are more proficient with EHRs ...

• May 19, 2015 19 May'15

  Healthcare CIO star John Halamka slams meaningful use

  John Halamka, CIO at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, criticized meaningful use and said healthcare CIOs with tight IT budgets must invest wisely.

• May 13, 2015 13 May'15

  Health Datapalooza 2015 to showcase health IT rock stars

  It's probably the only major health IT industry event at which you can play mini-golf all day. Welcome to Health Datapalooza 2015. The name of the May 31-June 3 conference pays homage to rock music ...

• May 13, 2015 13 May'15

  Healthcare CIOs must treat IT as a business

  CIOs must be able to clearly communicate and demonstrate the business value of the IT services they provide, Barry Runyon, research VP at Gartner Inc. who focuses on healthcare provider research, ...

• May 12, 2015 12 May'15

  Providers satisfied with internal ICD-10 preparation, eschew outside testing

  Most healthcare professionals are confident enough in their organization's internal ICD-10 preparation that they haven't consulted with an outside source to measure their readiness prior to the ...

• May 08, 2015 08 May'15

  Telemedicine reimbursement has ATA leaders optimistic

  In a podcast from the ATA annual meeting, ATA leaders expressed optimism because of telemedicine reimbursement.

• May 07, 2015 07 May'15

  Proposed changes to stage 3 of the EHR Incentive Programs

  On May 5, CMS outlined its proposed changes to the EHR Incentive Programs as part of meaningful use stage 3.

• May 07, 2015 07 May'15

  Researchers: Stop charging patients for paper copies of records

  Despite 94% of hospitals in the United States having already adopted a certified EHR system, many state regulations are still focused on paper records. That's the word from Niam Yaraghi, a fellow ...

• May 06, 2015 06 May'15

  Positive buzz at ATA show

  LOS ANGELES -- The American Telemedicine Association's (ATA) annual meeting and trade show came barely a month after the raucous, sprawling health IT industry-wide must-attend show HIMSS 2015. The ...

• May 06, 2015 06 May'15

  Urban populations benefit from telemedicine services

  Caring for patients in rural areas has long been a focus of telemedicine services, but urban healthcare also uses telemedicine.

• May 05, 2015 05 May'15

  Senate health committee leaders form bipartisan EHR improvement group

  A member of a Republican group that previously targeted the meaningful use program has crossed party lines to work with Democrats on a mission to improve the use of EHRs. Lamar Alexander (R- ...

• May 05, 2015 05 May'15

  FHIR gaining support as interoperability standard

  The CEO of health IT standards group HL7 International said the health IT industry is coalescing around FHIR as a new interoperability standard.

• May 04, 2015 04 May'15

  Jump in medical codes could benefit patient outcomes

  Albert Oriol, CIO of Rady's Children's Hospital, says the expansion of medical codes coming with ICD-10 should help produce more detailed data.

• May 01, 2015 01 May'15

  Health data security and interoperability key for CIOs

  Healthcare CIOs at the CHIME forum at HIMSS 2015 say health data security, interoperability, and analytics and wellness data are atop their agendas.

• April 30, 2015 30 Apr'15

  ICD-10 survey: Physician practice worries 'a little too high for comfort'

  With ICD-10 nearly certainly on its way in October, attitudes toward the sometimes controversial new medical coding system among many providers in small and medium-sized physician practices range ...

• April 30, 2015 30 Apr'15

  ATA meeting to display robots, other telemedicine services

  At Rady Children's Hospital, caregivers use robots to treat children. Robots and other tools that aid telemedicine services will star at ATA show.

• April 29, 2015 29 Apr'15

  Remote patient monitoring: What CIOs can do to make it happen

  Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a viable solution to a costly and prevalent problem around the world: chronic diseases. Healthcare CIOs have a vital role to play in making RPM happen, Zafar ...

• April 29, 2015 29 Apr'15

  CHIME leaders advocate for a national patient identifier

  In this video, CHIME leaders Russ Branzell and Chuck Christian push for a national patient identifier and discuss interoperability concerns.

• April 28, 2015 28 Apr'15

  CMS: Technology can tighten link between quality measures and improvement

  In publishing a final draft of its Physician Quality Reporting Programs strategic vision, CMS reiterated that it stands with the growing crowd of healthcare entities that are supporting a move away ...

• April 28, 2015 28 Apr'15

  HIMSS conference assesses enterprise imaging

  An enterprise imaging system should be accessible, interoperable and capable of returning analysis to pique the interest of large health systems.

• April 24, 2015 24 Apr'15

  Cerner touts Siemens users switching from Soarian at HIMSS 2015

  At HIMSS 2015, Cerner executives said Cerner is keeping three big Siemens Soarian users in the Cerner fold and poked Epic over its transaction fee.

• April 22, 2015 22 Apr'15

  PHI at core of new HHS and EEOC corporate wellness rules

  The government continues to watch electronic protected health information (PHI), and it’s not just HIPAA enforcers who are doing it. Both HHS’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and the Equal Employment ...

• April 21, 2015 21 Apr'15

  HIMSS mobile survey shows link between patient engagement and mobile tech

  Last week was the most significant one of the year for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. In the midst of its health IT mega-conference, HIMSS 2015, the group made time to ...

• April 16, 2015 16 Apr'15

  HIMSS 2015 delightfully chaotic

  CHICAGO -- Overheard on the show floor at HIMSS 2015: “Hey, I like that analytics engine.” HIMSS 2015 was a health techie’s wonderland, with plenty of partying, delightful chaos among hundreds of ...

• April 15, 2015 15 Apr'15

  It's feet first for all HIMSS 2015 attendees

  This morning as I came down the hotel elevator for breakfast, it stopped at a floor and in came a young guy carrying two stuffed bags and sporting a HIMSS 2015 badge. "You ready to walk another 10 ...

• April 14, 2015 14 Apr'15

  Vendor eClinicalWorks embraces wellness at HIMSS 2015

  With Walgreens' president as keynoter, HIMSS 2015 is emphasizing consumer health and wellness. EHR developers such as eClinicalWorks have joined in.

• April 14, 2015 14 Apr'15

  Proposal would shrink 2015 meaningful use attestation period

  Following through on a promise made earlier this year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services released a proposal to relax meaningful use reporting requirements in 2015. A major piece of ...

• April 13, 2015 13 Apr'15

  HIMSS 2015 attendees just want to find their way

  When I got into the taxi to catch my plane from Boston to the HIMSS 2015 conference, my cabbie didn't know how to get to Logan Airport. He needed a GPS to guide him. Then, in Chicago, the ...

• April 13, 2015 13 Apr'15

  CIOs call for interoperability at HIMSS 2015

  At the HIMSS 2015 health IT show in Chicago, members of CHIME say interoperability, security and analytics weigh on their minds.

• April 13, 2015 13 Apr'15

  Expert warns OCR HIPAA audits ahead

  In this podcast, first of a two-part series, CynergisTek health data privacy expert David Holtzman says the 2015 round of HIPAA audits are coming soon.

• April 13, 2015 13 Apr'15

  HIPAA audits to affect healthcare business associates

  HIPAA privacy expert David Holtzman says healthcare business associates will be audited. Patient access to health data will be part of audits.

• April 10, 2015 10 Apr'15

  ONC rebukes information blocking on eve of HIMSS 2015

  Released just ahead of HIMSS 2015, ONC's report to Congress details how unnamed vendors and providers are curtailing EHR interoperability.

• April 10, 2015 10 Apr'15

  Healthcare organizations turn attention to EHR interoperability

  Interoperability of healthcare data, long a sticking point in getting EHRs and exchanges working to their full potential, may see some big advances this year. Vendors are discussing how the cloud will help the cause, and standards developer Health ...

• April 08, 2015 08 Apr'15

  With a punch list in hand, CMS readies for ICD-10

  The march toward ICD-10 is on in earnest. Along with apparent solid congressional and industry support for ICD-10 after last year’s surprise one-year delay in stepping up medical coding from ICD-9, ...

• April 07, 2015 07 Apr'15

  External testing stats stick out in ICD-10 preparedness survey

  The ICD-10 deadline hasn't changed since a delay was signed into law more than a year ago. Just as the ICD-10 implementation date hasn't budged since then, so too has the Workgroup for Electronic ...

• April 07, 2015 07 Apr'15

  Healthcare spending infographic: Security tops priorities

  New infographic details the top healthcare spending trends from TechTarget's health IT purchasing survey, with security investments a likely priority.

• April 06, 2015 06 Apr'15

  Meaningful use stage 3 proposed rule tweaks EHR program

  The meaningful use stage 3 proposed rule contains eight principal objectives for what's expected to be the final stage of the EHR program.

• April 02, 2015 02 Apr'15

  Joint Commission issues warning on EHR safety

  EHR errors can cause serious problems. The Joint Commission, the independent healthcare accreditation agency that functions as a quasi-governmental body, issued that warning in the days before the ...

• March 31, 2015 31 Mar'15

  Patients favor physicians over technology and online medical resources

  Many patients acknowledge there is a place for technology in their healthcare, but the majority of them still value face-to-face interaction with their physicians above all else. A 3,000-person ...

• March 26, 2015 26 Mar'15

  Halamka and Tripathi take aim at meaningful use stage 3

  The health IT world reeled when CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health IT unleashed more than 700 pages of proposed rulemaking for meaningful use stage 3 for healthcare ...

• March 25, 2015 25 Mar'15

  CHIME, athenahealth lukewarm to meaningful use stage 3

  Provider CIOs and vendors are ambivalent toward new stage 3 meaningful use rules, but HHS officials say they mean progress for health IT and healthcare.

• March 24, 2015 24 Mar'15

  Patients confident, healthcare pros unsure of value of mHealth apps

  Perhaps in response to users' near-universal satisfaction with health apps, approximately half (46%) of healthcare professionals plan to integrate mobile apps into their practices within the next ...

• March 24, 2015 24 Mar'15

  KLAS says Epic Systems still tops, Cerner catching up

  Epic Systems wins big EHR buying decisions 2-1 over Cerner, down from 3-1 last year, KLAS says. The other players: Meditech, McKesson, and Allscripts.

• March 23, 2015 23 Mar'15

  Stage 3 meaningful use on the horizon

  Providers won't have to attest to stage 3 meaningful use until 2017. The objectives will hew closely to HHS' new value-based reimbursement approach.

• March 23, 2015 23 Mar'15

  Meaningful use a mixed bag for development of EHR systems

  Most agree that meaningful use has driven the development of EHRs, but vendors complain that this focus has distracted them from improving ease of use.

• March 23, 2015 23 Mar'15

  In struggles, meaningful use attestation shapes EHR

  Paper-based medical record systems aren't gone yet, but they're waning as providers install EHR software and complete meaningful use attestation.

• March 23, 2015 23 Mar'15

  Stage 3 meaningful use draws near: Are organizations ready?

  Six years after the HITECH Act set out $30 billion in incentives for healthcare providers to adopt electronic health records, it's clear the federal government's meaningful use program has dramatically shaped the technological development of EHR ...

• March 23, 2015 23 Mar'15

  A guide to news and analysis from HIMSS 2015

  More than 300 educational sessions -- including speeches, roundtable discussions and workshops -- await those attending HIMSS 2015.

• March 20, 2015 20 Mar'15

  Industry eager to see its sway on meaningful use stage 3

  The effect of industry feedback on the Health IT Policy Committee's recommendations for meaningful use stage 3 will soon be evident.

• March 20, 2015 20 Mar'15

  CIO John Halamka in intriguing EHR venture with athenahealth

  Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center's CIO John Halamka leads the hospital system into an unusual joint venture with EHR vendor athenahealth Inc.

• March 20, 2015 20 Mar'15

  Stage 2 woes may temper the effect of stage 3 meaningful use

  Although no curtain call is planned for meaningful use attestation, it sure looks like stage 3 reporting won't carry the oomph -- or rigidness -- of stage 2.

• March 19, 2015 19 Mar'15

  CHIME leads renewed push for national patient identifier

  Creating a national patient identification system has long been a goal for many healthcare system CIOs and other health IT leaders. Now the leading health IT CIO organization, the College of Health ...

• March 18, 2015 18 Mar'15

  Premera cyberattack shows medical info at risk

  The devastating cyberattack on Premera Blue Cross shows that medical information is becoming a top target for cybercriminals. To avoid attacks such as the breach involving more than 11 million ...

• March 17, 2015 17 Mar'15

  Nurses would trade time spent on medical devices for patient care

  Nurses would spend more time at patients' bedsides if they could cut down on how often they have to operate medical devices. That sentiment was shared by 91% of 526 nurses that took part in a ...

• March 16, 2015 16 Mar'15

  Top ONC official touts agency's role in precision medicine

  The chief health information officer for ONC says the agency has a leading role in President Obama's precision medicine initiative.

• March 13, 2015 13 Mar'15

  Why I'm more worried about EHR theft today than I was last week

  I had not been convinced about the dangers of one's EHR getting stolen in a data breach -- until now. If a cyberthief robs you of your financial information, that clearly brings long-term risk of ...

• March 11, 2015 11 Mar'15

  HHS unveils "Next Generation ACO Model"

  One of the more interesting but lesser known offspring of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the accountable care organization (ACO), appears to be holding strong as a model of how healthcare will be ...

• March 10, 2015 10 Mar'15

  Healthcare spending, EHR market share divulged in survey

  ICD-10 and population health management are more than just buzzwords for healthcare providers in 2015. More healthcare systems are projected to invest in those two areas than in any others, ...