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All eight facilities in West Virginia's network of acute, psychiatric and long-term care hospitals have now rolled out barcode technology for medication administration.

The Illinois State Medical Society is set to offer practice management services to its more than 12,000 physician members.

Patients at Texas hospitals that have automated some of their health information systems appear to have fewer complications, lower death rates and reduced costs, according to a report in the Jan. 26 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.

Intel Chairman Craig Barrett, a staunch advocate of healthcare IT, says he'll retire from active management and his role as chairman and member of the board of directors in May.

Saint Joseph's Health System, a 410-bed, acute-care hospital in Atlanta, has launched the International College of Robotic Surgery to train surgeons around the world.

The National Institutes of Health, a branch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research, has awarded three contracts for pilot projects to improve informatics support for researchers conducting small-to medium-sized clinical studies.

Incentives for healthcare IT are among 11 healthcare reform priorities being advocated by the American Medical Group Association as the new administration and Congress consider an economic stimulus package that includes $20 billion for healthcare IT.

The "capital crunch" and the recession are severely restricting U.S. hospitals in obtaining funds to upgrade their facilities and invest in new clinical and information technologies, according to the American Hospital Association.

The House Committee on Ways and Means voted Thursday in support of a comprehensive economic recovery package that includes healthcare IT measures.

Don't overemphasize traditional electronic medical records as the answer to transforming healthcare, cautions the head of the Center for Connected Health.