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Self-managing blood pressure measurements via telemonitoring can help reduce systolic blood pressure levels and could be a viable care option for hypertensive patients, according to the TASMINH2 trial published online July 8 in the Lancet.
Written by Lisa Fratt
During an HIT Clinical Quality Workgroup update this week, Janet Corrigan, chair of the HIT Standards Committee, and Floyd Eisenberg, workgroup member, provided updates on three initiatives: re-tooling of 2011 meaningful use measures, results of an environmental scan of leading healthcare systems and an NQF Fast Track project.
Patients with suspected obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) may no longer have to spend an expensive and uncomfortable night at a sleep center to monitor their sleep-disordered breathing. Researchers at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center have shown that patients fare just as well using portable home monitors to detect OSA, according to a study presented at the recent American Thoracic Society (ATS) annual meeting in New Orleans.
The pen-and-paper workarounds employed by healthcare providers who use an EMR system may help make EMRs even more useful, according to research in the September issue of the International Journal of Medical Informatics.
Physicians who treat patients with multiple, co-existing, chronic health problems will fare well under pay-for-performance (P4P) initiatives, according to a report in the June 2 issue of Circulation.
A simple, automated feedback system made hypertension patients more aware of their potentially fatal or disabling disease and helped them significantly lower their high blood pressure, according to a report published May 5 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.
A group of health policy experts is calling on Congress and the Obama administration to support the development of a rapid learning network that would share clinical information on Medicare and Medicaid patients to learn what medical treatments work best.
Friday, July 30 2010
Friday, July 30 2010
Friday, July 30 2010
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“We’re beginning a revolution the way information is collected, managed, used and purposed for patients in the U.S. healthcare system,” said David Blumenthal, MD, chair of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, in opening remarks at an audioconference training session on meaningful use and EHR certification last week.
In Part 1 of our closer look at the final rules for meaningful use and EHR certification standards, CMIO’s Jeff Byers spoke with David Blumenthal, MD, chair of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. In Part 2, CMIOs weigh in with mixed reviews.
The framework for meaningful use is “something that had to be done and has been started intelligently,” John P. Glaser, PhD, vice president and CIO of Partners HealthCare System told CMIO. However, the challenges of becoming meaningful users and optimizing health information exchange will require unprecedented levels of communication within organizations and among healthcare systems, he said.
The contractual obligations in the notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) on modifications to the HIPAA privacy, security and enforcement rules under the HITECH Act for business associates and downstream entities are game changers, according to Amy S. Leopard, JD, from Walter and Haverfield, during a webinar sponsored by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).
Standardizing performance measures, with the help of health IT, will make it possible to collect the right data at the right time to support performance measurement, clinical decision support, clinical research and quality improvement, said Janet M. Corrigan, PhD, president and CEO of the National Quality Forum (NQF) during a webinar hosted by the forum on June 17.