Healthcare & Technology

Public Broadcasts on definition of "meaningful use" for Health IT?

Link: Healthcare Informatics News Release

The National Committee on Vital and Health Statistics will be holding open hearings April 28-29 in Washington, DC on the term "meaningful use" of Health Information Technology.  Public meetings will be broadcasted live on the Internet.

• Links to live broadcasts are available from NCVHS.
• Recordings of previous broadcasts can be accessed at VA Virtual Conference Archive.

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Looking for a best of breed HIPAA Compliance Tracking System?

To stay current on the HITECH Act and its quickly changing regulatory scheme visit the HITECH Survival Guide website and/or sign up for our free monthly compliance newsletter. Also, check out our FREE EHR Checklist.

If you need tools that will help with your compliance initiatives then check out the HSG Store.

 

Survey of EHR use in U.S. Hospitals

Link: New England Journal of Medicine

A survey published in the New England Journal of Medicine reported that of the approximately 3000 US hospitals, only 2% had a fully functional EHR. A fully functional EHR was defined as clinical documentation, lab, imaging, CPOE, and clinical decision support capabilities. The survey included acute care hospitals that are members of the American Hospital Association. Access to the publication is available at the link above.

The survey concluded that the very low levels of adoption of electronic health records in U.S. hospitals suggest

that policymakers face substantial obstacles to the achievement of health care performance goals that depend on health information technology. A policy strategy focused on financial support, interoperability, and training of technical support staff may be necessary to spur adoption of electronic-records systems in U.S. hospitals.

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Looking for a best of breed HIPAA Compliance Tracking System?

To stay current on the HITECH Act and its quickly changing regulatory scheme visit the HITECH Survival Guide website and/or sign up for our free monthly compliance newsletter. Also, check out our FREE EHR Checklist.

If you need tools that will help with your compliance initiatives then check out the HSG Store.

 

EHR Adoption Under the ARRA HITECH Stimulus Act

Link: Complimentary Webinar on EHR Adoption

As one of the Healthcare Informatics Webinars, this complimentary Webcast on EHR Adoption will be held on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 - 1 pm Eastern, Noon Central, 11 am Mountain, and 10 am Pacific. The Webcast is sponsored by Med3000.

You can register at the link above.

According to their proposed agenda, the webinar will address the following topics:

• Understanding the effect the HITECH stimulus package will have on your practice
• What you need to do to qualify for incentives
• Learn how a SaaS/ASP EHR model can quickly benefit your practice to secure a meaningful adoption for qualification
• Find out how PQRI incentives based on demonstrated proactive outcomes may eventually impact the overall incentive program

Often, if you're unable to make the planned webinar time, some vendors provide post-broadcast availability of the webinar at later dates.

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Looking for a best of breed HIPAA Compliance Tracking System?

To stay current on the HITECH Act and its quickly changing regulatory scheme visit the HITECH Survival Guide website and/or sign up for our free monthly compliance newsletter. Also, check out our FREE EHR Checklist.

If you need tools that will help with your compliance initiatives then check out the HSG Store.

 

Online Videos about EHR/PHRs

Link: EHR/PHR Educational Videos

I just came across this website (at the link above) from a Twitter follower that contains online educational videos about various aspects of Health Information Technology. According to their website, the videos will cover these topics:

•  How the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 can assist you in financing an EHR
•  How to select the proper EHR technology for your office
•  Negotiating with your vendor
•  Implementation of an EHR
•  E-Prescribing
•  Interviews
•  Workflow
•  Interoperability
•  Specialty Specific information
•  Input Devices such as Dragon Medical
•  Template Production and usage
•  Hardware
•  Networks
•  Scanning
•  Security
•  Mobility and EHRs
•  Billing / Practice Management / Revenue Cycle Management
•  Ambulatory and Hospital based systems
•  Personal Health Records
•  Demonstrations from various EHR vendors
•  The Politics of Health Information Technology

I think it is very interesting that this firm is providing information online in the form of videos! I haven't had the opportunity to watch any of the videos, yet, but I will take a look this weekend and perhaps provide some guidance or commentary on ones that are especially useful for those practices or facilities looking to adopt electronic health records.

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Looking for a best of breed HIPAA Compliance Tracking System?

To stay current on the HITECH Act and its quickly changing regulatory scheme visit the HITECH Survival Guide website and/or sign up for our free monthly compliance newsletter. Also, check out our FREE EHR Checklist.

If you need tools that will help with your compliance initiatives then check out the HSG Store.