By:  Elizabeth W. Woodcock

Government’s payment program for qualified EHRs used in meaningful manner begins Jan. 1, 2011
Labor costs for conversion are inexpensive, as affordable, skilled staff are plentiful
Newly-trained [...]

Filed under: EHR, Electronic Health Records on July 1st, 2010 | No Comments »

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius last week announced $83.9 million in grants to help networks of health centers implement electronic health records and other healthcare-related IT systems.
The grants are part of the $2 billion allotted to HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to expand [...]

Filed under: EHR, Electronic Health Records on June 11th, 2010 | No Comments »

Electronic health records can significantly expedite treatment for patients with Chlamydia, according to a study published online Thursday in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections, HealthDay/U.S. News & World Report reports.
For the study, researchers examined the medical records of 100 patients who were treated at a sexual health clinic either before or after it converted to [...]

Filed under: EHR, Electronic Health Records on June 1st, 2010 | No Comments »

The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT is seeking patient perceptions of the delivery of healthcare through the use of an EHR.
“Health IT experts agree that HITECH stimulus funds are likely to improve how physicians practice medicine for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries and, ultimately, for advancing [...]

Filed under: EHR, Electronic Health Records on May 19th, 2010 | No Comments »

By Chelsey Ledue

WASHINGTON – After signing the healthcare reform bill into law on March 23, President Barack Obama traveled to Iowa and Maine to promote his vision, which includes the role of healthcare IT in saving lives and cutting cost.
Obama visited Iowa City, Iowa on March 25 and Portland, Maine on April 1.
At the [...]

Filed under: EHR, Electronic Health Records on May 12th, 2010 | No Comments »

By Neil Versel
Electronic health records (EHRs) have been around in one form or another since the 1960s, but the notion of patient records being stored on computers is only beginning to seep into the public’s consciousness. While pretty much every other industry computerized years ago, the vast majority of Americans’ medical records remain on paper.
The [...]

Filed under: EHR, Electronic Health Records on May 10th, 2010 | No Comments »

On Thursday, National Coordinator for Health IT David Blumenthal discussed national progress on health IT adoption during a speech at a conference hosted by the Massachusetts Health Data Consortium, Computerworld reports.
Blumenthal highlighted the grants his office is distributing for health IT education and training at regional extension centers. He said federal investment in health IT [...]

Filed under: EHR, Electronic Health Records on May 5th, 2010 | No Comments »

Growing adoption of electronic health records is expected to complement and boost the use of telehealth initiatives across the country, InformationWeek reports.
Health care organizations are planning to deploy telehealth programs to increase access:

To certain specialists;
For patients with conditions that prevent them from traveling; and
During patient transport, since some conditions require treatment while patients are in [...]

Filed under: EHR, EHR companies, Electronic Health Records on April 29th, 2010 | 1 Comment »

Gordon D. Schiff, M.D., and David W. Bates, M.D.
The United States is about to invest nearly $50 billion in health information technology (HIT) in an attempt to push the country to a tipping point with respect to the adoption of computerized records, which are expected to improve the quality and reduce the costs of care.1 [...]

Filed under: EHR,

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