How to protect yourself when you share care duty
August 20th 2010If you provide care to a patient, even if he or she normally sees another physician for such care, you have established a duty to treat that patient and are a potential defendant if something goes wrong. Learn your responsibilities as well as ways to minimize your risk in such situations.
Viewpoint: Preparing for the unexpected
August 20th 2010When we see the aftermath of a natural or man-made disaster on television or in newspaper reports, we tend to be overwhelmed by the destruction and human impact and think we have some idea of what it must be like to be there. Or at least that's what the author thought until she saw the devastation firsthand of the aftermath of Hurricane Andrew in 1992.
World Health Organization launches global EHR standards program
August 13th 2010The increasing use of electronic health records has led to a collaboration between the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organization (IHTSDO) and the World Health Organization to harmonize WHO classifications with the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine?Clinical Terms maintained and distributed by IHTSDO.
Advanced features of e-prescribing often overlooked by physicians
August 13th 2010Even when physicians have access to e-prescribing capabilities, many do not routinely use the technology, particularly the more advanced features the federal government is promoting with financial incentives, according to a new study by the Center for Studying Health System Change.
FCC, FDA to promote broadband, wireless use in healthcare
August 13th 2010The Federal Communications Commission and the Food and Drug Administration have announced a joint effort to help ensure that the capabilities of broadband use in healthcare and wireless-enabled medical devices are fully realized.
EHR certification important, but needs clarification
August 13th 2010Sixty-six percent of healthcare providers responding to a recent survey said that certification is a very important element in the process they use to evaluate ambulatory EHRs, but 52 percent erroneously thought that they must purchase an EHR certified by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology to receive stimulus funds to cover the purchase.
Physicians among 94 charged with fraud
August 6th 2010Doctors and nurses were among 94 people in five cities charged in July for alleged participation in schemes to collectively submit more than $251 million in false claims to Medicare, according to the Department of Justice and Department of Health and Human Services.