EHR

The United States Armed Forces spent some significant money with three big vendors this October, adding to and improving its healthcare IT capabilities.

Peter Christensen Health Center, an Indian health center that is part of the Lac du Flambeau Reservation in north central Wisconsin, has seen a 35 percent jump in revenue over five years, thanks in part to efficiencies brought out by its EHR and billing system.

Nimble, a new comprehensive EMR application designed and developed specifically for the iPad, hit the market last month with the aim of allowing docs to provide meaningful care – at the point of care.

"The future physician of America" is a tech savvy one – one who reaches for an iPhone to choose clinical references, and who expects to use an EHR when he or she begins practicing, according to a recent survey of medical students.

At RSNA 2010, Siemens will showcase its two newest groundbreaking Imaging IT solutions, syngo.via and syngo.plaza, representing the next generation of advanced visualization and agile PACS technologies that deliver what Siemens calls “cutting-edge” functionalities to the clinical routine.

RSNA 10, the 96th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, convenes Nov.30-Dec. 3 at McCormick Place in Chicago. The 2010 theme is “Personalized Medicine: In Pursuit of Excellence.”

The Regional Extension Center (REC) program was designed to assist priority primary care providers in small practices, small and rural hospitals, and public health clinics. Some industry groups, however, worry that rural communities and communities of color will still be left behind the digital transformation.

After receiving concerns from stakeholders, EHR technology developers and ONC-ATCBs about public health surveillance specifications for certified EHRs, the ONC issued an interim final rule requesting to remove the specs.


Since the passage of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) in 2009, Congress has been ever-watchful of the progress being made on electronic health record adoption.

In West Texas, where unemployment is at 2 percent, the popular chain Chili's had to close some of its restaurants because there were not enough employees to fill the jobs. Imagine what it's like for a healthcare system in that part of the country to recruit IT staff, says Gary L. Barnes, CIO of Medical Center Health System in Odessa, Texas.