Meaningful Use

Chicago health information technology company EMRapproved recently announced a partnership with a new collaboration called HealthITxChange, an online community where healthcare practitioners and health IT professionals can share best practices and lessons learned, or "pearls" on EHR adoption.

Making good on its promise, Health Level Seven International's primary standards and other intellectual property are now available to license at no cost. The decision represents HL7's commitment to the betterment of healthcare worldwide by ensuring that all stakeholders have equal access to its HIT standards, officials said.

A newly proposed bill garnering the support of several medical associations would establish exemptions and amend certain penalties for Medicare providers struggling to attest to meaningful use.

Eighty-two percent of U.S. doctors responding to a recent survey indicate they want patients to actively participate in their own healthcare by updating their electronic health records. However, only 31 percent said they believed a patient should have full access to his or her own record.

In the third of three hearings held by subcommittees of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Farzad Mostashari, MD, reassured a congressional panel that health IT interoperability will take some dramatic leaps forward within the next two years.

At the Healthcare Experience Design conference, which takes place March 24-26 in Boston, designers, technologists, product managers and entrepreneurs will explore the ways healthcare and design intertwine -- looking for ways to improve the digital interactions of patients and providers alike. Healthcare IT News spoke with HxD's founder about about the challenge and promise of user-centered design.

Healthcare IT News has won a Jesse Neal Award for Best Issue of a Newspaper/Tabloid for its November 2012 print publication, awarded by a board of judges composed of more than 100 experienced business editors.

GOP strategist Karl Rove recalls a personal encounter with the power of healthcare IT. Mike Miliard asks Rove what role the government should play in reform, and whether the Bush administration could have infused $27B in stimulus funds.

Achieving meaningful use is no easy feat for small providers, but Blue Mountain Hospital in Utah got it done. CFO Jeremy Lyman tells how, and shares his advice for other small providers.

Hugh Chatham Memorial Hospital was the third hospital in North Carolina to receive payments in return for demonstrating the meaningful use of health IT. CFO Don Trippel explains how the hospital reformed its finances through IT.