News
When word got out this past summer that Google and Verizon had negotiated a "secret pact" (as one alarmist account put it) to essentially bypass the concept of net neutrality – which holds that all online data should be conveyed at the same speed, regardless of whose content it is – the reaction from bloggers and journalists was immediate and impassioned.
This past May, EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson delivered a speech on the subject electronic waste (e-waste), which she called one of the most pressing global environmental priorities for the U.S. Too often, she said, America's e-waste "ends up illegally overseas in developing countries - India, Africa - where labor is cheaper...and workers are often less safe," she said.
The U.S. ambulatory EHR market, which was at $1.3 billion in 2009, is forecast to reach $2.6 billion in 2012, according to new analysis from research firm Frost & Sullivan.
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) and the Drummond Group have been named the first two bodies designated by the ONC to test and certify EHRs, with expectations that there are more Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies (ONC-ATCBs) to come. Now what?
With its acquisition of Ronkonkoma, N.Y.-based Quantum Medical Imaging, a privately-held manufacturer of X-ray systems used by hospitals, imaging centers and health clinics, Carestream Health has bolstered itself with a substantial portfolio of conventional and digital X-ray technologies, and better-positioned itself to penetrate the small and mid-sized hospital market.
Indicators are that sales of ambulatory electronic health records are sizzling, driven mostly by the prospect of federal incentives for the adoption and meaningful use of the technology.
It's not all IT all the time, but Medical Group Management Association leaders say there's probably more information technology on tap at the MGMA 2010 Annual Conference than ever before.
Not-for-profit HealthInfoNet, the state of Maine’s health information exchange, and the designated Regional Extension Center for the state, has received a $4.7 million federal grant to help providers adopt electronic health records and achieve meaningful use.
MEDS-ED Link, a project of the Northern Virginia Regional Health Information Organization (NoVaRHIOsm) in conjunction with Inova Health System and GE Healthcare, recently launched to provide emergency docs at the hospital with access to patient medication histories.
Christiana Care Health System a private, not-for-profit tertiary-care hospital system with locations in Wilmington and Newark, Del., has launched two major initiatives that aim to drive healthcare IT adoption among community physicians.