Electronic Health Records (EHR, EMR)

Barry Blumenfeld, MD, MS, CIO of MaineHealth and Maine Medical Center, discusses rollout of the Epic EMR, the slow adoption of voice recognition, and his relief over the recent presidential election for the state of healthcare IT.

Some 1,500 patients at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) are being notified of a medical data breach involving a resident physician whose employment was terminated in 2010. The incident's validity, however, remains contentious and unclear, as it involves an earlier lawsuit against UAMS, filed by the physician who has cited allegations of gender discrimination.

Sixty-nine percent of U.S. primary care physicians reported using electronic medical records in 2012 -- up from 46 percent in 2009, according to findings from the 2012 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey. But in the U.S., just 11 percent of physicians said they had referral information available when it was needed.

Allscripts CEO Glen Tullman made it official Thursday: His firm is indeed looking at what it calls "strategic alternatives" amidst recent speculation about a sale of the company. Tullman also announced falling sales in Q3, with net income for the quarter nearly $10 million less than a year ago -- $9.4 million, compared with $19.1 million.

"Patient engagement" has become one of healthcare's many new buzz phrases. But as the framers of meaningful use might say, it's more than buzz. It's a critical piece of improving care.

Kaiser Permanente named Bernard J. Tyson as its new CEO and chairman. Tyson will take the reins from CEO and chairman George Halvorson when Halvorson retires in December 2013.

Critical access hospitals across rural California are poised to benefit from $20 million in investments from UnitedHealthcare aimed at boosting electronic health records and other health information technology.

The October 4 letter four House leaders to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius calling for a halt to the government's EHR Incentive Program seems to have come out of the blue.

The U.S. is making strong and fast headway on the adoption of electronic health records, said National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Farzad Mostashari, MD, at a recent event in Washington, D.C.

The Statewide Health Information Network of New York sees itself as a "public utility" as much as an HIE. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, as patients bounce between hospitals (and as other public utilities, such as electricity and transportation, are compromised), it has enabled critical continuity of care.