Practice Technology

Healthcare cost control is the overarching theme for 2010, according to the PricewaterhouseCoopers Health Research Institute's "Top 10 health industry issues in 2010" report.

Physicians are more likely to report drug side effects through an electronic health records system than they are via traditional paper methods, according to the results of a survey sponsored by Pfizer.

Do not purchase the wrong electronic medical record (EMR) system.

Medical Economics magazine asked 10 practices to reveal the best lessons learned from electronic health record adoption experiences.

The Department of Health and Human Services will fund two additional grant programs totaling $38 million to support the training and development of the skilled workforce required to support broad adoption and use of health information technology.

The watchdog group Patient Privacy Rights has released its first personal health record privacy report card in an effort to educate and protect consumers.

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology is updating its electronic health record technology certification programs to conform to the interim final rule recently released by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Eighty-five percent of healthcare providers believe that their ambulatory electronic health record software will let them meet the 2011 meaningful use deadlines being considered by the federal government, according to a report from research firm KLAS.

Amendment of a medical record can be a good thing, but be sure to complete your records correctly the first time.

Learn how to transition to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10).

U.S. hospitals are only halfway to qualifying for government incentive payments aimed at controlling healthcare costs while improving the quality and effective delivery of patient care, according to a survey released by technology consulting firm CSC.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota?s 10,000 employees and family members are part of a new pilot program testing the insurer?s Online Care Anywhere program. The program is designed to allow patients access to medical care from home or work via computer or phone.

Aetna and WellPoint are the first national health plans to earn certification for electronically exchanging administrative data using the Council for Affordable Quality Healthcare Committee on Operating Rules for Information Exchange Phase II rules.

Remote monitoring of patients in intensive care units was not associated with an overall improvement in the risk of death or length of stay in the ICU or hospital, according to a study.

The federal government can encourage physicians to buy electronic health record systems, but it is the vendors and hospitals that affiliate with doctors that ultimately will determine whether they adopt them, according to a new report from healthcare market research publisher Kalorama Information.

Should a physician send his or her patients a "friend request" on Facebook? Social networking poses new challenges and rules for doctors and other professionals who embrace it.

The American Medical Association (AMA) changes in Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) coding from year to year can have an enormous effect on any practice.

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) sent a letter to 33 medical societies requesting information about the financial backing they receive from the pharmaceutical, medical device and insurance industries.

Iowa?s Medicaid program is the first to receive federal matching funds for planning activities necessary to implement the electronic health record (EHR) incentive program established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, according to an announcement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Two of the largest electronic health record systems in the country, Kaiser Permanente?s HealthConnect and the Department of Veterans Affairs? VistA, have joined forces in a pilot project in San Diego to exchange electronic health record information using the Nationwide Health Information Network created by the Department of Health and Human Services.

Orem, Utah-based research firm KLAS released its annual rankings of the best-performing healthcare IT software and services vendors.

Daily text-message reminders appear to increase patient adherence to recommendations from physicians, at least when it comes to sunscreen use, according to a report in the Archives of Dermatology.

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology has announced the first electronic health record products to be certified under its CCHIT Certified 2011 Comprehensive and Preliminary ARRA 2011 programs.

In the wake of Coca-Cola doling out a large-sum grant for a consumer health website operated by the AAFP, controversy has ensued.

The Medical Group Management Association suggests that government officials need to ease requirements for incentives related to meaningful use within medical practices.

California launched an online resource designed to help consumers decide which preferred provider organization is best for them.

The Medical Group Management Association says many medical groups may not achieve "meaningful use" and will not qualify for the EHR incentives if the criteria are too burdensome.

Collaborative care delivered via telephone benefitted patients with depression after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, according to a study recently published in Journal of the American Medical Association.

The Department of Health and Human Services plans to award $80 million in grants to develop and strengthen the health information technology workforce.

The Connecticut attorney general's office is investigating the loss of health information of 446,000 state residents by managed care company Health Net and the company's six-month notification delay.