Molly Merrill

Virtua, the largest comprehensive healthcare system in Southern New Jersey, announced Wednesday it is offering a free online personal health record – one that its founder calls a "hybrid PHR" – to consumers living in the three counties that it serves.

A recent study shows that third party mistakes account for 39 percent of data breaches – which is why one security expert says it's so important that healthcare organizations take a good look at who they hire to handle personal health information.

A two-day summit in Philadelphia that brought physicians, EHR vendors, pharmaceutical executives and the Food and Drug Administration together shed light on the role of EHRs in drug regulatory and marketing issues.

As radiologists struggle with whether meaningful use is relevant to them or worth the IT investment, experts are working to educate them on why it matters.

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital and Western Connecticut Health Network’s Danbury Hospital were recently recognized for their use of IT to bring meaningful data to their physicians, leading to a boost in hospital efficiency and millions in savings without compromising patient care.

With hospitals "raising the bar" to meet meaningful use requirements, new positions are being created within IT departments that have a focus on quality and data, says one consultant.

Foursquare, a location-based mobile platform, is the place to be for medical practices looking to "gain an online social edge" says one social media expert. Without it, he says, you won't be found.

Data breaches have become the new healthcare "epidemic," says one expert.

Using social media as a physician isn't about filling your office with new patients, as one expert will tell you, but is more about the "moral obligation" that physicians have to provide their patients with accurate health information.

While it is "critical that doctors, who have the best healthcare information to share, be part of the online healthcare conversation," says one expert, "there are definite precautions that should be taken to lessen the risk of social media missteps."