Technology

Researchers involved with a study published in a recent Archives of Internal Medicine hypothesized that you could improve colorectal screening rates among your patients by sending reminder messages and personalized risk assessments via their personal health records (PHRs). The results didn?t turn out quite the way they had thought.

You and your peers increasingly are relying on smartphones and tablet computers to check email, research medications and conditions, and complete online surveys, according to new research by online research company Knowledge Networks using its Physicians Consulting Network.

Good news if you use an electronic health record (EHR) system?and a tip on how best to use it, courtesy of the Sage Healthcare Insights survey: Patients feel more comfortable with physicians who use an EHR system, and they believe that the information contained in the medical record is more accurate when they physically see the information being entered electronically.

A newly published study by Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) researchers may lead to electronic health record (EHR) system improvements that facilitate your ability to follow up on your patients? abnormal test results?if vendors heed the findings.

Your physician colleagues in Michigan may be able to offer insights into American Medical Association subsidiary Amagine Inc.?s health information technology (IT) platform, Amagine, which now is available to physicians nationwide.

Remember this name--Farzad Mostashari, MD, ScM--because you?re going to be seeing and hearing it a lot. He is the new person leading the federal government?s efforts to encourage the adoption of health information technology and health information exchange in the practices of you and your peers as well as by other health system entities.

Are you part of the 80% of ambulatory providers who have purchased an electronic health record and are confident they will qualify for meaningful use this year? Take a closer look to be sure.

Need help adopting electronic health records and achieving meaningful use? You can look to the 3,000 people who will be the first graduates of the Community College Consortia to Educate Health Information Technology Professionals by the end of the summer. More than 2,200 of these graduates are expected to complete their training in April.

Collaboration and information-sharing between you and your fellow health professionals have the greatest near-term potential for facilitating large-scale health sector innovation, according to findings from a global health leader survey on national health sector innovation.

When you're on Facebook or Twitter or using other social media, remember to be honest, respect privacy, and uphold the reputation of the medical profession.

Just in time to help you meet Medicare's June 30 deadline for starting to e-prescribe or face a 1% reduction in your 2012 payments, a newly updated guide to eprescribing is available with a plethora of useful information.

Demonstrate benefits of EHRs to reluctant physicians.

On April 18, primary care practices around the country began attesting to meaningful use of an electronic health record system in hopes of earning $44,000 over five years from the CMS.

Understand what to look for in a license agreement with an electronic health record vendor.

Know what to ask when interviewing someone for tech support.

If you've adopted electronic health records (EHRs), you can now take the next step toward receiving Medicare's EHR incentive payments.

A majority of medical groups stated that critical software upgrades to comply with new patient privacy standards have not been made and testing with health plans has not been scheduled.

Is your practice using social media? Twenty percent of your patients may be doing so, and social media may be a way that you can reach them?and others.

Your patients belonging to a racial or ethnic minority, and those with the lowest annual incomes, may be less likely than others to adopt personal health records (PHRs), according to the results of research, titled ?The digital divide in adoption and use of a [PHR],? published in the March 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Where does your group stand in transitioning to the new Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) Version 5010 electronic standards? If you?re like the majority of respondents to a recent Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) survey, it?s facing significant challenges in this effort.

A well-designed automated patient identification and outreach program can motivate those who have gaps in care to have their treatment needs addressed, according to a peer-reviewed paper published in Population Health Management.

Are you or any of your patients among the 5 million people who, according to a new white paper from accounting firm Kaufman, Rossin & Co., have been affected in the 166 incidents of data breaches since September 2009?

If you want your practice to reap benefits from electronic health records (EHRs), computerized provider order entry, and clinical decision-support systems, it?ll take strong leadership and staff ?buy-in.? So conclude researchers from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (HIT) after reviewing 154 recent studies on the topic.

You and your patients have a new non-government resource for information related to the Affordable Care Act, thanks to a new Web site launched by a coalition that includes the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Association, and five other organizations.

As a physician practicing family, or internal medicine, you are more likely than your colleagues in pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, psychiatry, or other medical specialties to quality for Medicare- or Medicaid-related incentives for achieving ?meaningful use? of electronic health records (EHRs). That?s the finding of an analysis of federal survey data by Brian K. Bruen, lead research scientist in the Department of Health Policy in the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services, Washington, DC, and colleagues.

If your patient population is similar to the pool of those responding to a recent survey, you?ll want to consider adding a secure online communication tool to your practice to allow patients to obtain lab results, request appointments, pay medical bills, and communicate with your offices?if you haven?t done so already.

If your practice is on the small side and plans to implement an electronic health record (EHR) system soon, an analysis of 26 primary care practices?each ranging from two to 12 physicians?in the Dallas, Texas, area may provide some insights into the financial and nonfinancial costs you?ll incur.

Seventy-three percent of Americans surveyed would use a secure online communication service to make it easier to get lab results, request appointments, pay medical bills, and communicate with their doctors' offices.

Learn how to handle the decision to buy an electronic health records system.

Are you ready to deal with the vast amount of information available to your patients in just seconds, thanks to technology?