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New Discovery Rules Have Twists

Getting Paid from HSAs Can be Perilous

Sunday at HIMSS: The Show Before the Show

Workshop Teaches Managers Security Basics

CIO: Market I.T. Department Internally

Session Topic: Writing an I.T. Donation Contract

Doctors Worried About Hardware's Infection Risks

The perceived risk of infections from using mobile computing devices is a barrier that must be overcome before more doctors will use the hardware, a new study based on interviews with about 100 physicians concludes.

Foundation Pledges Millions For Quality

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, N.J., has pledged $15.9 million in grants to develop and test a national approach to use I.T. to provide health care quality and cost data to the public. The project will use already available data from private health plans and Medicare to paint a quality and cost picture for patients. The participating organizations will use software to gather the information and normalize data for the project, says John…

GAO, VA Differ on Security Progress

The Department of Veterans Affairs has made little progress improving data security since a laptop holding data on 26.5 million patients was stolen in May 2006, according to the Government Accountability Office. But Robert Howard, assistant secretary for information and technology, and CIO at the VA, contends the agency is making much more progress than reflected by the GAO, a congressional investigatory agency. At the same time, Howard notes that government processes mean that officials…

MS-DRGs Provide Yet Another EHR Incentive

Hospitals looking for another reason to implement an electronic health records system now have one: a new Medicare payment system that requires more detailed documentation of care. The Medicare Severity Diagnosis-Related Groups, which went into effect Oct. 1, replace the original DRG system launched in 1983. To earn maximum reimbursement under the 745 new severity-adjusted MS-DRGs, hospitals must provide detailed evidence of such factors as complications and co-morbidities through appropriate coding, explains Carol Spencer, manager…

Microsoft Targets Health Consumers

Microsoft Corp. has entered the battle to electronically capture the health care consumer. The Redmond, Wash.-based software giant today launched HealthVault, a platform that will act as a Web portal for consumers to access various content and tools, including a free personal health record. Microsoft also is offering a programming interface for software developers to offer the content and tools. The vendor has lined up more than 40 content and software partners. HealthVault will include…

HDM Sponsors New I.T. Awards

Health Data Management will co-sponsor the first annual Editor's Choice Awards at the 3rd Annual World Healthcare Innovation and Technology Congress (WHIT 3.0), Dec. 9-11 in Washington. The award, sponsored in conjunction with WHIT 3.0, recognizes trailblazing hospitals, group practices and payer organizations that are using information technology to provide top-level care and services to patients. Awards will be presented in four categories-large hospitals, medium and small hospitals, group practices, and payers. Nominees were chosen…

How Valuable is Certification?

Sizing up the value of electronic health records certification is an issue provider organizations must consider when selecting new software. A debate on the value proposition at Health Data Management's Clinical Automation Summit reached no consensus. "We want you to make this an important part of your search function, but it doesn't replace due diligence," said Bambi Rose, certification manager at the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology. Organizations, she noted, still need to do…

Are Health Record Banks the Answer?

One of the architects of the national health information infrastructure is pushing local "health records banks" as a sustainable business model for paying for electronic health records systems and exchanging electronic patient data. William Yasnoff, M.D., believes the model would provide financial incentives to office-based physicians for use of electronic health record systems, as well as give patients control over their health information. During the keynote address at Health Data Management's Clinical Automation Summit, he…

Report Details Needs for Pediatric EHRs

A recent report in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, explains the special functionalities necessary in electronic health records systems to support pediatric care. "Child health care providers often find that clinical information systems have limited usefulness in pediatrics because they seem to be designed for adult care," according to the report.

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