01/11/10
Document Management News
US veterans’ health records exchanged electronically with private health sector to aid treatment
More than half of America’s veterans and active duty service members receive some portion of their healthcare outside of VA or government facilities, so interoperability between federal agencies and the private sector is seen as essential to provide the best care for veterans, service members, and their dependents.

01/11/10
Medical Billing Education
A Big Win for Proponents of Electronic Medical Records
Researchers from Harvard have just released a study that could be the first real proof that electronic health records have an advantage over with traditional paper-based systems.

01/10/10
Tulsa World
Medical records damaged after water line break at Hillcrest
Medical records were damaged after a three-inch water line broke Sunday afternoon at Hillcrest Medical Center, officials said.

01/09/10
Yahoo! News
Obama launches new push for healthcare overhaul
President Barack Obama on Saturday renewed his pitch for final congressional passage of a U.S. healthcare overhaul and promised Americans they will begin reaping the benefits soon after he signs a bill into law.

01/07/10
Individual.com
Electronic Medical Records: Extra payments designed to get more doctors on board: Enhanced reimbursements for health records systems part of federal stimulus bill
Beginning next year, physicians will be eligible for extra payments from federal health insurance programs upon implementing an electronic medical record system. The enhanced reimbursements were made possible by the federal stimulus bill signed into law last year by President Barack Obama.

01/07/10
Business Wire
Walgreens Offers Pharmacy Patients Access to Secure Prescription History through Microsoft HealthVault(TM)
Walgreens pharmacy patients now have the ability to securely download their prescription history from Walgreens.com to a personal Microsoft HealthVault(TM) record. The new service allows patients the convenience of linking their Walgreens prescription information to other health and medical records for easy management and the ability to share a complete profile with other health care providers.

01/06/10
Government Health IT
Doctors say their EMRs are ready to show meaningful use
Eighty-five percent of healthcare providers believe their ambulatory electronic medical record software will enable them to meet the 2011 meaningful use deadlines being considered by the federal government, according to a new report from KLAS.

01/06/10
Government Health IT
VA, Kaiser link electronic health record systems
The Veterans Affairs Department and healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente have begun to share electronic health record information of patients who receive care services from both providers in the San Diego, Calif., area.

12/29/09
Gov Health IT
Afghan theater medics push to expand health IT access
Key members of a U.S. military medical task force in Afghanistan are pushing for greater accessibility to electronic health records and telemedicine capabilities in theater.
 
12/28/09
Why News
Palm scanner could replace insurance cards
So instead of having a card that you can lose, or a social security number than someone can steal, what you can do as an option to identify yourself now, is put your palm over a a scan that actually reads the palm veins.

12/26/09
Charleston Gazette
Electronic medical records can make up for costs in good care
Yet, through the adoption and proper integration of Electronic Medical Records, the doctors and support staff in Clay have created an effective health care operation that brilliantly preserves traditional doctor/patient relationships, while at the same time boosting efficiency without sacrificing care.

12/25/09
Health Canal
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC First Pediatric Hospital in Nation to Achieve Most Advanced Electronic Medical Record
Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC is the first pediatric hospital in the United States to achieve a Stage 7 Award from HIMSS Analytics for achieving a virtually paperless patient record environment and the most comprehensive use of electronic medical records (EMRs).

12/10/09
PsychCentral
Use Holidays To Improve Personal Health Records
Obtaining then maintaining an electronic personal health record is a positive step toward improving individual health. An accurate PHR is an essential tool for consumer directed health care and improved medical management in the new health reform environment.

12/08/09
San Francisco Chronicle
Report: Health strategy could save W.Va. $1B
West Virginia’s health care system could save over $1.1 billion by going digital and centralizing patient care, according to a first-of-its-kind report presented to lawmakers Monday. Those savings would be seen not just by government agencies, but by private insurers and policyholders, who could benefit directly in the form of lower premiums.

12/03/09
KRGV
Woman Fears Her Medical Records are in the Hands of Thieves
Grasiela Renteria is pleading to get a lifetime of medical records back. Everything from X-rays to doctors’ letters were stolen from the trunk of her car.

12/02/09
Healthcare Technology Online
Personal Medical Records (‘PHR’): Promise And Pitfall
The Personal Medical Records (”PHR”) movement holds out the promise of providing greater control and knowledge in the hands of individual consumers of health care who can maintain their own records and move them easily from provider to provider as needed or desired. It promises to improve quality by providing a new provider in either an emergent or non-emergent situation with a hopefully complete and accurate history of past diagnosis, treatment, laboratory tests, allergies, medications, family medical history, etc. which can be invaluable in effectively treating the patient. It also ought to eliminate some waste and duplication in avoidance of unnecessary tests and efforts to retrieve past historical information from vague and ill-defined sources.

12/01/09
The Huffington Post Investigative Fund
Can Cleveland Clinic Be a Model for Digital Medicine?
When Albert Giuliani wakes up each morning, he steps on a scale, takes his blood pressure and pricks his finger to test his sugar levels. Though he’s lived with diabetes and hypertension for decades, he no longer has to bother with pen and paper. The results are automatically uploaded to an electronic record that he and his doctor at the Cleveland Clinic can check anytime.

12/01/09
WISN
Wisconsin Takes Steps To Allowing Electronic Access To Medical Records
Wisconsin is taking steps to allow medical professionals to electronically access medical records from anywhere in the state.

12/01/09
Twin Cities Pioneer Press
Blue Cross workers try out health care in a virtual clinic
Dr. Eric Christianson advised Beth Piper on her medication Monday night — something that normally wouldn’t make news. But it was the first doctor-patient exchange of its kind in Minnesota…It was the first real test of Online Care Anywhere, a virtual clinic that Fairview Health Services and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota launched Monday.

12/01/09
Dallas News
Dallas-Fort Worth medical, business and insurance execs meet at summit
North Texas medical, business and insurance executives met for the first time Monday and agreed that they must work together to lower costs and improve quality without waiting for Washington to act.

11/23/09
American Medical News
Digital divide emerges at hospitals serving poor patients
The research finds the digital divide is associated with differences in how well hospitals address racial and ethnic disparities in care and highlights the importance of helping hospitals go electronic.

11/22/09
San Diego Union-Tribune
Federal push to digitize health records
Once the networks are up and running, it should make hospitals, clinics and private practitioners’ offices run more efficiently — and cheaply. A 2005 report by the think tank Rand Corp. estimated that a properly designed network could save the health care system as much as $77 billion per year by providing doctors with the necessary tools to make decisions.

11/20/09
Boulder City Business Report
Health organizations e-link records
The Children’s Hospital, Exempla Healthcare and Kaiser Permanente Colorado are now linked via electronic medical records. By having the independent organizations linked, patients can visit any medical facility in the three networks and have doctors instantly access the patient’s records.

11/19/09
Insurance Networking News
P&C Carriers Face Uphill Battle with Medical Records
Still, medical records processing may be one of the more public—and inscrutable— challenges faced by both health insurers and P&C insurers, especially in light of the scramble to utilize electronic medical records under the Obama Administration’s push for stimulus funds to support improvements.

11/19/09
Jacksonville News
Jacksonville’s Availity, state roll out Medicaid medical record network
Beginning Thursday, no matter where most of Florida’s 2.6 million Medicaid recipients go for health care, their medical records will travel with them. The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration and a Jacksonville firm are launching a Web site that puts their records at doctors’ fingertips. The project is one giant step toward President Barack Obama’s goal of a nationwide health information network and costs the cash-strapped state no money to implement.

11/19/09
Earth Times
Medicare Extends Personal Health Record Pilot
November 19, 2009 — Medicare PHR Choice, a pilot program that provides beneficiaries with direct input of claims data into online personal health records (PHRs), will continue through December 2010 according to officials at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The pilot is available to people with Original Fee-for-Service Medicare who are primary residents of Utah and Arizona.

11/18/09
Federal Computer Week
Medical mapping tool ready for test drive
The National Library of Medicine wants health care organizations and vendors to test drive its new mapping tool that seeks to link a standard medical vocabulary to support applications for electronic health records, officials have announced.

11/18/09
PR Newswire
Registration in the Palm of Your Hand
When patients were admitted to the new El Camino Hospital in Mountain View for the first time on Monday, November 16, the registration process included something most people associate with sci-fi thrillers — a cutting edge biometric registration system that “reads” patients’ identities by scanning the unique vein structures in their palms… When someone else uses your medical identity, their medical records can be combined with yours, resulting in your physician having inaccurate information about you. This can lead to improper medical treatment. From allergies to pre-existing conditions, any misinformation contained in your medical record could be dangerous or life threatening.

11/17/09
AHIP
Continuance Health Solutions: Medicare Advantage and Part D plans prepare for additional CMS compliance reporting and external data validation requirements
The new rules require plans to gather, review and submit additional data from across their entire organization. Many of these requirements will need to be reported at the plan level thus increasing, exponentially, the number of reports to be gathered and submitted. In order to comply with increased monitoring and reporting, plans will benefit from utilizing formal workflow processes which are sustainable and easily transferable, and an ability to monitor every aspect of the reporting requirement workflow across all contracts and plans within the organization.

11/17/09
New York Times
A Genetics Company Fails, Its Research Too Complex
After the human genome sequence was achieved in 2003, Dr. Stefansson quickly realized that Iceland’s excellent medical records, combined with the genealogical information available on its close-knit population, provided a fine test bed for seeking the roots of genetically complex diseases like cancer, diabetes and schizophrenia.

11/16/09
BBC News 
London medical records go online
Millions of patient records are to go online in London after long delays to an NHS IT upgrade in the city.

11/14/09
CBS4  Florida
Fla. Medicaid May Put Some Medical Records Online
The state of Florida is beginning to take steps that when completed will make the medical histories of one million Medicaid patients available to doctors, clinics, and hospitals around the state. The program was outlined by the director of the state Center for Health Information and Policy analysis during a Miami conference on Medicaid.

11/14/09
Wisconsin State Journal
Epic hopes to keep thriving in a crowded records market
In the past several years, as adoption of electronic medical records has become part of the national agenda, Epic’s revenues have ballooned from $370 million in 2005 to about $500 million in 2007 to $600 million last year….Earlier this year, Dell came out with its own software for physicians affiliated with hospitals, as well as a joint product with Sam’s Club and eClinicalWorks aimed at small physician practices.

11/14/09
MedCity News
A crucial cure for health care: Six steps to curb raging inflation
Create electronic personal medical records. Patients’ medical records must be digitized and consolidated around the patient, not the physician or hospital.  These records should be delivered directly to physicians at the point of care to improve medical decision-making and eliminate redundant tests. This could produce savings of $500 billion over 10 years.

11/13/09
Washington Times-Herald
Destruction of Winona Memorial Hospital medical records
Former patients who want their records must request their medical records by 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 1, 2009, and must also pick them up from Iron Mountain in Indianapolis, Indiana, by 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, December 15, 2009. Copy and retrieval fees may apply.

11/12/09
Valley Central (TX)
Call 4 Action: Medical Records Locked Up
Delia from San Benito is not a happy patient at Valley Diagnostic Clinic in Harlingen.
The upset clinical patient says she only wants to be referred to as only Delia. You see the clinic closed down and her vital medical records have been locked away.

11/12/09
PRNewswire 
Verizon Business Identifies Top Technology Trends That Will Support Business Expansion as Economy Recovers
As companies around the globe position themselves for economic recovery, Verizon Business has identified 10 business technology trends that will help companies grow their business in 2010. ‘As economic conditions continue to improve, we are ready to help our client partners take advantage of pent-up growth opportunities,’ said Kerry Bailey, chief marketing officer for Verizon Business. ‘Whether it’s enabling digital medical records, supporting smart grid energy-conservation initiatives, helping retailers secure transactions, or creating new opportunities for global financial trading, our global solutions can provide a solid foundation for business innovation and success in the coming year.’

11/12/09
AMR Research
The AMR Research Healthcare Top 25 for 2009
The Bottom Line: Johnson & Johnson, one of the world’s foremost healthcare companies, is No. 1 in the AMR Research Healthcare Top 25 for 2009, followed by Sisters of Mercy, a hospital system that is leading the way for supply chain transformation at the patient level.

11/11/09
Montgomery News
Voice recognition system saves time and money
As more physicians and medical facilities move toward electronic rather than paper medical records, systems to streamline that process are evolving as well. Speech recognition technology can now save time and money by cutting out the medical transcription middleman.

11/11/09
Health Blog
Shocker: Doctor Visits are Getting Longer
Another possible driver, they suggest, is an increased focus on having patients participate in making decisions about their care — it takes a longer to explain things to patients and seek their input than simply to tell them what to do.

11/11/09
Cleveland.com
Cleveland company developing Google-like service to quickly analyze electronic medical records
Explorys Inc., led by two veterans of the data-management industry, said Wednesday it has raised $1 million to develop its “Population Explorer” search engine. The service would allow quick analysis of massive databases of patient records.

11/11/09
Internetnews.com
Kerry backing bill to boost electronic medical records
“Electronic medical records and prescriptions are the common sense solution to restricting costs, reducing errors and reforming a broken system,” Kerry said in a statement. “Doctors don’t need convincing — they’ve seen the results.”

11/05/09
The Huffington Post Investigative Fund
http://huffpostfund.org/stories/2009/11/stimulus-fuels-gold-rush-electronic-health-systems
The government’s $45 billion plan to jump-start a national shift to electronic medical records has touched off a gold rush among scores of technology firms – even as many experts question whether the benefits of the products are being oversold. Federal officials won’t decide until early next year which types of systems to certify. But some of the world’s largest companies, including General Electric, Microsoft, Dell and German-based Siemens Corp., already are working hard to sign up doctors and hospitals.

11/05/09
WBNG.com
How to Organize Your Medical Records
The first step towards keeping accurate medical information is to capture the critical particulars for every member in your family. Basic information should include at a minimum the following: Family doctor name and contact numbers, insurance information including copy of insurance card, medications currently being taken on a regular basis as well as dosage, allergies to medications or anything else, blood type, any current or recent medical conditions (e.g. diabetes, asthma) , and pharmacy name and phone number.

11/04/09
Healthcare IT News
Closing VCE Keynote: Don’t underestimate EMR usability
If you think electronic medical record usability means user satisfaction, guess again. Or better yet, listen to the closing HIMSS Virtual Conference keynote this afternoon at 1:30pm CT. While meaningful use criteria dont address measures of usability, usability affects adoption rates, efficiency, training and support costs, said Jeffrey Belden, MD. In his session, Understanding the Landscape of EMR Usability: Implications for ARRA and Beyond, Belden defines usability and the 10 principles of usability.

11/04/09
TradingMarkets.com
Ingenix Survey Finds Physicians Have Limited Understanding of new Government Stimulus Incentives for EHRs
A recent survey found that cost is the top concern among physicians considering electronic health records (EHRs) for their practices. Also, survey respondents had limited understanding of the financial assistance for implementing an EHR system now available to physicians through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

11/03/09
Health Affairs
Evidence Of An Emerging Digital Divide Among Hospitals That Care For The Poor
Some hospitals that disproportionately care for poor patients are falling behind in adopting electronic health records (EHRs). Data from a national survey indicate early evidence of an emerging digital divide: U.S. hospitals that provide care to large numbers of poor patients also had minimal use of EHRs. These same hospitals lagged others in quality performance as well, but those with EHR systems seemed to have eliminated the quality gap. These findings suggest that adopting EHRs should be a major policy goal of health reform measures targeting hospitals that serve large populations of poor patients.

11/03/09
Yahoo! Canada
Medical Services Company Gets Booster Shot From Swine Flu Vaccine
First, San Francisco-based McKesson (NYSE:MCK - News), the largest health care services company in the U.S., has the contract to distribute swine flu vaccine. Add to that the government incentive for development of health care electronic records, and the company is in good shape to outrun some 2008 setbacks.

11/02/09
CPB News
Top Court Opens Access to Medical Records
On Monday the state’s top court opened up Georgians’ access to a deceased spouse’s medical records.

11/02/09
Health Care Law Blog
HIPAA Enforcement Meets HITECH: HIPAA Administrative Simplification: Enforcement Rule
On October 30, 2009, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued the HIPAA Administrative Simplification: Enforcement Interim Final Rule, 45 CFR Part 160 (74 Federal Register 56123, October 30, 2009). This new rule was developed and adopted by HHS to conform the enforcement regulations under HIPAA to the revisions made to HIPAA under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), which was part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).

11/02/09
Fort Worth Business Press
Electronic medical records critical to better health care
When Dr. Henry Plummer developed the concept of the “unit record” nearly 100 years ago, his idea was to place all of a patient’s records in a single file that traveled with the patient and could be stored in a central repository. His concept of medical care continuity quickly became the standard for medical record keeping worldwide.

11/02/09
Press & Guide
Electronic records put your medical information right at doctor’s fingertips
An electronic medical record is a computerized version of that file. Health systems are concerned about maintaining the confidentiality of all patient records and have instituted safeguards to ensure that only authorized personnel can access those files.

11/01/09
PCMagazine
The Web offers an answer to the conundrum of digitizing medical records
Everything about healthcare these days has become a hot-button issue, even down to digitizing medical records. This was one of Barack Obama’s top technology talking points on the campaign trail. But so far, progress on this front has been slow. According to a report co-authored by University of Virginia economics professor Amalia Miller, a big hindrance to getting medical records digitized is privacy protection, such as HIPAA and state regulations. So while doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies are dragging their feet, the Web has stepped up as a way for individuals to take matters into their own hands. Specifically, companies such as Google and Microsoft are creating ways to put your chart in the cloud.

10/30/09
The-Review.com
House Democrats unveil health care bill; vote may be next week
Cheered by President Barack Obama, House Democrats rolled out landmark legislation Thursday to extend health care to tens of millions who lack coverage, impose sweeping new restrictions on the insurance industry and create a government-run option to compete with private insurers.

10/30/09
Earthtimes.org
Fifteen Vendors Seek NCQA Software Certification(SM) for 2010
The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) announced today that 15 vendors will seek certification for software related to the Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS®) and Integrated Healthcare Association’s (IHA) California Pay for Performance (P4P) measurement sets. Such software programs collect relevant data from health plan databases and calculate rates for health care measures that assess the quality of service and care.

10/28/09
For the Record
A Coding Balancing Act
The industry wide initiative to implement new HIT has added to the pressure facing coders who are learning new systems or working at facilities where records are partially electronic and partially on paper. During these transitions, they are still expected to uphold the primary directive of “do it all, do it fast, and do it right.” “I describe it as standing between a rock and a hard place with both sides beating on me,” Sturgeon says.

10/28/09
JournalTimes.com
Medical screening: Health care providers see savings, quality in switch to electronic medical records
The age of medicine on paper is not over, but it is passing and will pass more quickly because of the incentives which came along earlier this year in the federal stimulus bill. Simply put, medical providers must have electronic records systems in place by 2015. There are financial incentives to meet the deadline, and penalties for those who don’t.

10/28/09
NetworkWorld
Disaster Can Inspire Quick Move to Desktop Virtualization
Most companies that launch or rapidly increase their use of virtual desktops do it to cut their support costs or increase security. Many are now also considering virtual desktops as a way to migrate to Windows 7 with a minimum of cost and hassle, according to analysts. But sometimes, Mother Nature provides her own impetus for virtualization. A major disaster led the University of Texas Medical Branch-a sprawling campus of hospital and office buildings in Galveston plus a spray of clinics and smaller facilities all over Texas-to shift virtual desktops from a fringe technology to its main platform.

10/28/09
Reuters
Wellness Program Popularity Shakes Up U.S. Healthcare Markets
MarketResearch.com has announced the addition of Kalorama Information’s
new report, “The Market for Wellness Programs and Their Impact on
Pharmaceutical, Diagnostic and Device Product Markets,” to their
collection of Healthcare market reports.

10/28/09
The Sun
Kaiser Permanente has a long history in computerized patient records
Quick, accurate, thorough are hallmarks of the HealthConnect electronic record system, said Ku, a family medical practice doctor who also teaches other Kaiser Permanente doctors from Chino to Redlands and Victorville the finer points of the world’s largest civilian electronic health record system. HealthConnect allows Kaiser Permanente’s 14,000-plus physicians to electronically access the medical records of the health care system’s 8.6 million members nationwide.

10/23/09
Washington Technology
VA and industry join to develop health record strategy
VistA provides each military veteran with a digital medical record. The VA began developing and managing the system 25 years ago and uses it at its 153 hospitals and 768 outpatient clinics. The Indian Health Service also uses VistA. The task force will not be involved in deciding whether VA should deploy the system more broadly; that is beyond its purview, according to IAC. It will consider whether any wider deployment would best be performed with open-source code, cloud computing or some other business model, and will try to determine the effects of deploying VistA on private industry, the health care community and other key groups.

10/23/09
Web Newswire
American Hospital Association (AHA) names OnBase “RACTrac Compatible”
Lacking information about how RACs will impact hospitals, the AHA responded by creating RACTrac. Using RACTrac Compatible solutions, the program will collect RAC data quarterly. This will allow the AHA to evaluate why claims are being denied across regions and nationally. With this information, providers will be educated on what areas they should look at more closely and where specifically they need to improve. Also, the data will serve as evidence to propose RAC program changes to Congress.

10/21/09
Yahoo! Canada
Belluck & Fox Obtains $1.5 Million Mesothelioma Verdict And Punitive Damages Against Fisher Controls International
Belluck & Fox represented the family of Ronald Drabczyk, a factory worker at a chemical plant in Niagara Falls, NY. Drabczyk died from mesothelioma, a form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos.

10/21/09
Yahoo! Finance – News & Opinion
Reportlinker Adds Global Healthcare Information Technology (2009 - 2014)
Reportlinker.com announces that a new market research report is available in its catalogue. The market research report analyses the key trends in global the healthcare information technology market, and segments it into various submarkets as per their sizes in various geographies. It also analyzes the key market drivers, restraints, and opportunities of the global healthcare IT market.
The global healthcare information technology market is estimated to be $53.8 billion in 2014. The market is expected to grow at a high CAGR of 16.1% (from 2009 to 2014) because of government initiatives to reduce healthcare costs; and the tremendous demand for healthcare IT applications such as electronic medical records, electronic health records, computerized physician order entry systems, and non-clinical systems.

10/21/09
Advance for Health Information Executives
Getting Connected
Integration of clinical systems has always been challenging. As the number of physician practices deploying electronic medical record (EMR) systems increases, so does the demand for electronically exchanging orders and results between the hospital system and the practice EMR. Without an interface, practices must manually enter results into the EMR, which is both labor-intensive and error-prone.

10/21/09
Newsblaze
VeriChip Corporation Enters Into Strategic Partnership with Diabetes Research Institute
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. & MIAMI - (BUSINESS WIRE) - VeriChip Corporation (”VeriChip”) (NASDAQ: CHIP) announced today that it has entered into a strategic partnership with the Diabetes Research Institute (”DRI”) to combine efforts on the further development of the glucose-sensing radio frequency identification (RFID) microchip in conjunction with VeriChip’s development partner, RECEPTORS LLC. VeriChip and DRI also intend to create a prospective, randomized, comparative clinical study that will seek to address the lack of appropriate, concise, and up-to-date patient health information available to both practitioners caring for diabetic patients and the patients themselves through the utilization of VeriChip’s interoperable personal health record, Health Link, and an electronic medical record system.

10/21/09
Health Management Technology
e-Telmed, Inc., Provides Insurers, Patients and Physicians with Viable Options for Healthcare Savings and Healthcare Reform
Based on data gathered from the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey (MEPS) and the New England Journal office, where 60,000 patients were surveyed, key savings and efficiency options were identified. e-Telmed’s built-in EMR/PHR (Electronic Medical Record/Personal Health Record) software allows physicians to analyze and amend patient’s medical records securely over the internet and allows patients to view their medical records at any given time or place. e-Telmed also provides the most comprehensive video conferencing program for physicians and patients, which helps to reduce or completely eliminate out-of-pocket costs like transportation and prescription renewal.

10/20/09
Review of Ophthamology
How Coding Changes Will Change Your Practice
Like just about all ophthalmologists, Michael Repka, MD, can rattle off the ICD-9-CM code for posterior subcapsular cataract, 366.14, without pausing to think. He knows in a few years it wont be so easy. Hell have to learn an entirely new code set as the United States catches up to the rest of the world and shifts to the ICD-10-CM code set.

10/20/09
The Denver Business Journal
S.F.’s Practice Fusion identifies 300K high-risk H1N1 patients
Practice Fusion Inc., which makes free electronic medical record and practice management software for physicians nationwide, said Tuesday it’s implemented a new software tool that allows its 21,000 physician-users to quickly identify all “Tier 1 candidates” for H1N1 vaccination.

10/19/09
WhatTheyThink.com
Xerox holds thought leadership workshop for healthcare professionals
Healthcare companies around the country are preparing for electronic medical record reform. Xerox is prepared to help the healthcare industry navigate the digital divide. The company is hosting a Healthcare Thought Leadership Workshop on Nov. 3-4, 2009 to give healthcare organizations a competitive edge and learn from best practices and tactics.

10/17/09
The Boston Globe
Federal grant helps move to electronic health data
Sen. Patrick Leahy, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, says the money will help the Montpelier-based Vermont Information Technology Leaders work with both doctors and pharmacists to expand the electronic prescription network. The money will be used to provide technology and technical assistance as well as financial assistance for independent retail pharmacies to join the network. Leahy calls the program a good step toward a fully electronic medical record system.

10/08/09
Sun Tribune
Cerner in the spotlight
The fact is, there is no system, Patterson said of the current health care industry. The value of having a digital medical record is very considerable. In comments that Patterson admitted were politically past the line, he took the health insurance industry to task for failing to make any real investment in the kinds of disruptive innovations he thinks are needed.

10/12/09
healthcarefinancenews.com
First National Merchant speeds up payment
First National Merchant Solutions, based in Omaha, Neb., has launched First Paid Healthcare Solutions, a suite of products designed to help speed up the payment process, eliminate confusion and pare and cut costs for healthcare providers.

10/14/09
TickerTech.com
The National Association for Home Care & Hospice Announces the Completion of The BlackBerry Report - a Comprehensive Study on Technology and Home Care
Just over 65% of all agencies now have Electronic Medical Record Systems. Eighty-three percent of these agencies report that the use of these systems has led to improvement in quality of care coordination. — Nearly 40% of all agencies now use some form of POS system in the field. — Handhelds account for 6.3% of hardware presently being used and 36.8% of those agencies seeking to purchase new hardware report that they are interested in handhelds. — Twenty three percent of agencies report using telehealth systems.

10/14/09
Hi-Wire
UnitedHealthcare in Indiana Joins Groundbreaking Quality Healthcare Reporting and Disease Management Program From Indiana Health Information Exchange
Indiana Health Information Exchange (IHIE) today announced UnitedHealthcare in Indiana, which insures more than 500,000 people throughout the state, recently joined IHIE’s Quality Health First (QHF) program. The QHF program is designed to deliver better health outcomes for physicians and their patients, and will serve as UnitedHealthcare’s quality reporting tool for primary-care physicians in Indiana, helping them better manage patients’ health conditions and preventive care efforts.

10/14/09
Hi-Wire
Sharing Medical Records to Improve Care
If you need flu shots and live in the Adirondacks, by this time next year you might be receiving an e-mail reminder from your doctor to stop by the office. If you have a child running a 103-degree temperature at 5 a.m., you could have a number to call of a personal physician who would advise you whether to go to the emergency room.These are among the features of a new regional health care project announced Tuesday at a summit meeting at the Warren County Municipal Center in Queensbury.

10/14/2009
VisionCareProductNews
Navigating the Paperless-Practice Maze
Many questions arise when trying to decide whether or not to go paperless and which software program to choose.

10/14/09
GCN.com
Army’s MC4 comprehensive electronic medical records help improve care for the wounded
By implementing a battlefield electronic medical record system, the MC4 program is putting an end to the delay and confusion that can come with paper records, and as a result, the program is improving care for wounded warriors. “Now hospital staff knows who’s coming, what their wounds are, who the surgeons and specialists are who’ve already worked on them,” Geesey said.

10/15/09
SF Gate
Ellison touts new products at Oracle OpenWorld
So confident was Ellison that he promised $10 million to any customer who could find an application that didn’t run at least twice as fast on an Exadata Version 2 server than an IBM machine. IBM, “if you’d like to take us on, make our day,” said Ellison. “Anyone need $10 million? That’s all you need to do to get it.”Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger interrupted Ellison’s speech to give a pep talk to the California technology industry, which he said has been leading the world and will be looked to for solutions to a host of challenges, everything from global warming and stem cell research to smart grid systems and digital medical records.