C. Peter Waegemann, MD, vice president for development for mHealth, spoke with
CMIO about the necessity of new communication patterns in healthcare, a topic on which he presented during the International mHealth Networking Conference Feb. 3-4 in Washington, D.C. The conference was sponsored by the Boston-based healthcare organization mHealth Initiative.

Patients checking into New York-Presbyterian (NYP) Hospital can create an account that enables them to view their health data and have access to it wherever and whenever they need it.

The progress toward defining meaningful use has been impressive, but the timeline may be too compressed for many, said Steven Stack, MD, member of the board of trustees at the American Medical Association (AMA), last week, during the eHealth Initiative's second Webinar on meaningful use. “Also, to digitize 20 percent of the U.S. economy in a three- to five-year period, there’s not enough workforce to do that,” Stack said.

E-prescribing could help improve coordination of patient care, although barriers including cost and lack of standards need to be worked out, said speakers at a Webinar hosted by the Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit eHealth Initiative.

The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) proposed rules for incentive payments to eligible healthcare professionals and hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid programs that adopt and meaningfully use certified EHR technology is the result of unprecedented collaboration among leaders from all areas of healthcare. However, the 556-page document, released Dec. 30, 2009, is raising questions and concerns in the healthcare community--some of which were raised by two CIOs in a
CMIO interview.