Quality and Safety
Cottage Hospital, a critical access hospital in Woodsville, N.H., has saved more than $100,000 over three years since it rolled out interface engine technology.
More than half of people with chronic conditions say the ability to get their electronic medical records online outweighs the potential privacy risks, according to a new survey by Accenture.
New guidelines issued by the Federation of State Medical Boards could have a chilling effect on the growth of telemedicine -- especially in rural areas and among low-income patients, say some patient advocates, healthcare providers and healthcare companies.
The hits keep on coming for the new EHR certification criteria, as the American Medical Association and Telecommunications Industry Association send their complaints to ONC on the heels of similar criticism submitted earlier by the EHR Association.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services said late Thursday it expects the Department of Health and Human Services to "release an interim final rule in the near future that will include a new compliance date that would require the use of ICD-10 beginning October 1, 2015."
Pushing off testing is only one of the unintended consequences triggered by delaying ICD-10. Organizations now have to reassess the project and redefine their requirements, and many will have to find resources to do that.
Texas Health Resources, a 25-hospital health system, is going public with its reporting of patient safety and quality measures, making what was once an internal report open for all to see -- "warts and all," as Texas Resources Chief Clinical Officer Daniel Varga, MD, put it.
An Atlanta-based health system has just given a little bit more power to the consumer after announcing last week it was publishing uncensored patient reviews of its physicians.
One of the biggest challenges American hospitals face right now is adopting electronic medical records systems. It's costing tens of billions of dollars, eating up tons of staff time and it's especially tough for the country's 2,000 rural and small town hospitals.
The American Health Information Management Association's 2014 ICD-10 and Computer Assisted Coding Summit featured the latest industry reaction to the ICD-10 delay. It was one of frustration and disappointment.