Industry

Health IT


CCHIT names new trustees, commissioners

Industry News | Thursday, December 10 2009
The Certification Commission for Health IT has named three appointees to its board of trustees and five new commissioners, whose terms begin Jan. 1, 2010.
 

HRSA to dispense $600M to community health centers to bolster health IT

Top Stories | Thursday, December 10 2009
President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) will administer nearly $600 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act awards to support construction and health IT projects in community health centers around the U.S.
 

Pennsylvania seeks to collaborate with Delaware for HIE development

Industry News | Wednesday, December 09 2009
The Pennsylvania Governor’s Office of Healthcare Reform issued a strategic plan this month in the hope of streamlining the creation of a health information exchange (HIE) through a collaboration between the governments of Pennsylvania and Delaware.
 

NHS cuts IT program by $812M

Top Stories | Wednesday, December 09 2009
The U.K.'s National Health Services front-line spending will rise along with inflation, yet not without reforms across the public sector, including a reduction of £500 million (U.S. $812 million) from the NHS IT program, according to the 2009 Pre-Budget Report  presented by Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling yesterday.
 

Initiate Systems' subsidiary scores California deal

Partnerships & Alliances | Wednesday, December 09 2009
Data management company Accenx, a subsidiary of Initiate Systems, reported that MemorialCare Medical Centers has chosen its Accenx Exchange as the interoperability platform to support the California system’s physician outreach program.
 

San Fran equity firm snaps up QuadraMed for $129M

Top Stories | Wednesday, December 09 2009
QuadraMed, a provider of health IT and services, has entered into a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by Francisco Partners, a technology-focused private equity firm.
 

National eHealth Collaborative looking to fill four vacancies

Industry News | Monday, December 07 2009
The nonprofit National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) has invited nominations for leaders in the health and healthcare fields to serve on the NeHC Board of Directors.
 

Iowa gets $1.6 in ARRA funds for EHR planning

Industry News | Wednesday, November 25 2009
Iowa’s Medicaid program is the first to receive matching federal funds to plan for the implementation of an EHRs incentive program as established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
 

Security protocols, policy of personal health info remains largely unsolved

Top Stories | Tuesday, November 24 2009
The problem of developing security mechanisms needed for management protocols and policy management of personal health information (PHI) remains largely unsolved, according to Gerald Masson, PhD, director of the John Hopkins University Information Security Institute, who spoke at an assembly hearing of the Health IT Standards Committee on Nov. 19.
 

Blumenthal issues $80M in ARRA grants to boost health IT workforce

Top Stories | Tuesday, November 24 2009
David Blumenthal, MD, the national coordinator for health IT, today announced plans to make available $80 million in grants to help develop and strengthen the health IT workforce in the community college setting.
 

MGMA to Blumenthal: ARRA isn’t being implemented properly

Top Stories | Tuesday, November 24 2009
An “inappropriate definition" of meaningful use and “inefficient administration” of the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs will lead to failed implementation of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), resulting in the “needless squandering of resources and significant disruption” to the U.S. healthcare system, according to a letter written to David Blumenthal, MD, from the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA).
 

CMS chief: Security standards lax for entities sharing data with CMS

Industry News | Monday, November 23 2009
Current interoperabilty information security standards limitations for health IT include minimum encryption standards, which are not being met by many of the 7,000 contributing entities, according to Michael Mellor, chief information security officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
 

Siemens releases Syngo.via

New Products | Monday, November 23 2009
Siemens Healthcare released its newest project, Syngo.via, a software solution that automates case preparation, integrates imaging modalities and pre-existing solutions and consistently updates customers.
 

House passes bill to help medical practices adopt health IT

Industry News | Monday, November 23 2009
The Small Business Health IT Financing Act, which includes a provision authorizing the Small Business Administration to guarantee health IT loans to small business health practices or medical professionals, was passed by the House of Representatives last week.
 

S.C. health system selects Telus for HIE

Contracts & Installations | Monday, November 23 2009
The Carolina eHealth Alliance has selected Telus Health Solutions' health information exchange (HIE) product, Oacis HIE, to electronically connect patient records across 12 disparate emergency departments in South Carolina.
 

Kaiser CEO: Computerization across U.S. needed for true reform

Top Stories | Friday, November 20 2009
Written by Jeff Byers
Healthcare in the U.S. can only be reformed with standard computerization and systematic thinking, said George Halvorson, CEO of healthcare organization Kaiser Permanente, in a Web cast hosted by Palo Alto, Calif.-based HP last week.
 

Study: Health IT fails to reduce healthcare costs

Industry News | Friday, November 20 2009
The increased computerization of U.S. hospitals hasn't made them cheaper or more efficient, although it may modestly improve the quality of care for heart attacks, Harvard researchers reported in the Nov. 20 edition of the American Journal of Medicine.
 

Survey: Providers look to health IT to mitigate reimbursement cuts

Industry News | Tuesday, November 17 2009
A recent poll of healthcare providers by consulting firm IVANS indicated that they plan to make better use of health IT in an effort to curtail potential cutbacks from Medicare funding.
 

Harris acquires Patriot Tech

Monday, November 16 2009
Communications and IT company Harris announced this week it has acquired health IT company Patriot Technologies.
 

Kerry introduces bill to make small practices eligible for health IT loans

Industry News | Friday, November 13 2009
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) introduced legislation last week that would help underwrite efforts by family doctors and other small medical practices to modernize their patients’ records and prescriptions.
 
Web Exclusives

Feature: U.S. needs national strategy to curb imaging overutilization

Medical imaging overutilization--a growing concern in the U.S.--exposes patients to unnecessary radiation, while also adding to rising healthcare costs, according to a study published online Aug. 24 in Radiology. In an interview, William R. Hendee, PhD, lead author, reviewed various methods by which medical imaging could be curtailed.

Radiology: Prelim study shows CE breast CT outperforms CT, mammo

Dedicated contrast-enhanced (CE) breast CT delivered significantly improved conspicuity of malignant breast lesions, including ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), compared with unenhanced breast CT and mammography, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology.

Radiology: Rad role may evolve as image-guided biopsies trend up

CT, ultrasound and MRI have helped shift biopsy techniques away from more invasive approaches toward image-guided percutaneous techniques, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology. The trend toward less-invasive approaches translates into enhanced safety and efficiency and could lead to more interaction between patients and radiologists.

CMS Webinar: Incentive payments to offset EHR adoption, not reimburse

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) EHR incentive payments are not considered reimbursement for money expended on EHR technology, but are intended to offset the cost associated with adoption and ongoing meaningful use, according to CMS during an Aug. 12 webinar.

CMS webinar: Eligible professionals can expect EHR incentives in 2011

Funding incentives for EHR use is the main goal of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) meaningful use initiative, and there are incentive programs for both hospitals and eligible professionals, according to Elizabeth Holland, health insurance specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services, who spoke during a CMS-sponsored webinar Aug. 8.

Webinar: Stage 1 of meaningful use is for quality reporting acclimation

Stage 1 requirements for meaningful use incentives aim to strike a balance between the overall goal of EHR use and widespread adoption, while avoiding added work, said Jonathan Teich, MD, PhD, chief medical informatics officer at Elsevier Health Services, during a HIMSS webinar titled “Meaningful Use: Safety and Quality of Care.”

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