health information technology (HIT)

Amidst so much political talk of budget deficits and the role of government, the greater science community is wondering what a Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan budget would mean for federal research funding. Read More »

There is growing concern that far fewer software developers have certified electronic health-record systems for use by healthcare providers under federal Stage 2 meaningful-use requirements than under Stage 1. Read More »

A telemedicine bill aimed at expanding remote patient monitoring technology in rural and underserved communities was re-introduced in the Senate this week, making it the fifth time the bill has been proposed since 2005. Read More »

Although Meaningful Use payments will dry up when the incentive program ends, the benefits of electronic health records systems--including quality and efficiency gains--will mitigate the loss, according to global ratings agency Fitch. But the fact that the funds are non-recurring makes makes it tricky to predict the financial impact of EHRs. Read More »

It being the beginning of National Health IT Week, it seems appropriate to spend a couple days considering some of the health IT predictions being offered by observers around the country. Read More »

Four former national coordinators for health information technology have penned a perspective on achievements made in using electronic health records under the HITECH Act and where providers and the HIT industry still must go to continue past progress. The law spurred rapid progress toward digitizing the industry, which now is at an inflection point, say the authors, who include Vindell Washington, MD, Karen DeSalvo, MD, Farzad Mostashari, MD, and David Blumenthal, MD. EHRs have primed the industry to now achieve several positive results, including improving clinical guidelines, and sharing patient data seamlessly and securely...

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Standard APIs are beginning to remove the barriers to effective Personal Health Record systems. Read More »