Equity Firm to Buy Health Grades

July 29, 2010 - New York-based private equity firm Vestar Capital Partners will acquire consumer health care content vendor Health Grades Inc. for $294 million.

Good Numbers for Cerner

July 29, 2010 - The stock price of Cerner Corp. rose about three percent on July 29 after the Kansas City-based vendor reported second quarter financial results that exceeded investment analysts' expectations.

Private HIE Market Growing

July 29, 2010 - The federal government may be pouring $548 million of stimulus funding into state-level health information exchanges, but there are a growing number of private HIEs emerging, where an integrated delivery system may link its owned and affiliated providers, or, in some cases, local competitors, to cooperate on data exchange.

European Firm Buys U.S. Market Share

July 29, 2010 - Cegedim, a software vendor serving 119,000 physicians and 16,000 pharmacies in seven European nations, has entered the U.S. market by acquiring Pulse Systems Inc., which sells ambulatory practice management and electronic health records software. Paris-based Cegedim expects to benefit from a rapidly growing U.S. market because of meaningful use incentive funds.

Rite Aid to Pay $1 Million to Settle HIPAA Privacy Case

July 28, 2010 - Rite Aid Corporation and its 40 affiliated entities have agreed to pay $1 million to settle potential violations of the HIPAA Privacy Rule, HHS announced.

Doc’s Plea: Keep Tabs on Incentive Program

July 28, 2010 - The federal government’s meaningful use incentives are achievable, but will require significant effort by physicians to attain, says the president of the American Academy of Family Physicians.

Sheridan is AHIMA President-Elect

July 28, 2010 - Patty Thierry Sheridan has been elected president-elect of the Chicago-based American Health Information Management Association.

IBM to Market UPMC ‘Smart Room’ Technology

July 28, 2010 - IBM will market and implement “smart room” technology developed by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.

NCQA Cites Practices as Medical Homes

July 28, 2010 - A group of primary care practices in New York’s Hudson Valley has been granted status as Level 3 patient-centered medical homes by the National Committee for Quality Assurance.

Is Meaningful Use Really Meaningful?

July 28, 2010 - Quality improvement initiatives in provider organizations often go bad when they are mandated from the top down, and not integrated into clinical workflow and compete with other priorities, asserts Chris Wood, M.D., a family physician and medical director for information services at Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City.

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