Government & Policy
It's a chilling reality -- one often overlooked in annual mortality statistics: Preventable medical errors persist as the No. 3 killer in the U.S. -- third only to heart disease and cancer -- claiming the lives of some 400,000 people each year. At a Congressional hearing July 17, patient safety officials put their best ideas forward on how to solve the crisis, with IT often at the center of discussions.
Jonathan Bush, former ambulance driver, founder of birthing centers in San Diego and co-founder and CEO of athenahealth, a public company valued at nearly $5 billion, can add author to his list of achievements.
There has been no increase in new patient visits since the Affordable Care Act took effect. This, according to ACAView, a report from cloud-based EHR company athenahealth and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The report, released today, is the first of quarterly reports to come gauging the various metrics associated with healthcare reform.
Few healthcare IT policies these days are as delicate, sensitive and potentially emotionally explosive as efforts to restrict or regulate employee social media activity. And yet hospital hierarchies are routinely stepping on these political minefields as providers try to protect their reputations.
The EHR Association, which is made up of nearly 40 EHR companies, urged the Office of the National Coordinator and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to provide the meaningful use final rule ASAP.
CMS and ONC revealed the latest statistics on Tuesday morning, showing that 1 percent of eligible providers and 3 percent of eligible hospitals have attested to Stage 2 to date.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention does not routinely get involved in telling hospitals how to run operations, but with increasing reports of EHR deployment problems, the Atlanta-based operation now sees the need to act.
As director of health information technology policy and programs for the National Partnership for Women and Families, Mark Savage keeps a close watch on healthcare information technology, along with all other aspects of patient care.
Rush University Medical Center in Chicago has created a public community to support its EN-Abled Veteran Program, which helps military veterans transition to successful healthcare IT careers.
Jocelyn Samuels will come to the Office for Civil Rights from the Department of Justice, where she was acting assistant attorney general.