EMR/EHR

Electronic medical records (EMR) are a digital version of a patient’s chart that store their personal information, medical history and links to prior exams, texts and reports. The goal of these systems is to enable immediate access to the patient's data electronically, rather than needing to request paper file folders that might be stored in fragment files at numerous locations where a patient is seen or treated. EMRs (also called electronic health records, or EHR) improve clinician and health system efficiency by making all this data immediately available. This helps reduce repeat tests, repeat prescriptions and repeat imaging exams because reports, imaging or other patient data is not not immediately available. 

AMDIS announces medical informatics awards

Four physician informaticists and the leader of a health information exchange (HIE) are the winners of the 2013 annual awards for outstanding achievement in applied medical informatics given by the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems (AMDIS).

Survey: Health IT adoption problematic for some physicians

Health IT adoption in medical practices remains problematic for many U.S. physicians, according to a Deloitte Center for Health Solutions survey published on May 13.

Video: Physicians sing ‘Ode to EMRs’

The times they are a changin’--most notably when it comes to health IT.

Report examines impact of EHRs on physician-patient encounter

How computers in the exam room affect patient-physician interactions largely hinges on a physician's communication skills, according to a recent American Medical Association board of trustees report.

CMS timeline details quality reporting alignment expectations

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a timeline for eligible professionals and eligible hospitals detailing quality reporting alignment across eHealth initiative programs.

McKesson Announces Nationwide Expansion of its Million Dollar EHR Software Give-Away Program, McKesson Gives Back

ATLANTA -- McKesson announced today the expanded, nationwide roll-out of its McKesson Gives Back program, a philanthropic initiative designed to recognize and reward physician practices that provide unreimbursed healthcare to America’s neediest citizens. Initially launched in November 2012 in select cities, the program is now available to physicians and clinics across the United States to support providers delivering care to underserved and uninsured communities.

EHNAC to Host Industry Forum for Health Information Service Providers focusing on Direct Protocol, Meaningful Use Stage 2

FARMINGTON, Conn. -- The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC), a non-profit standards development organization and accrediting body, will host a free webinar to discuss the impact of the Direct Protocol on health information service providers (HISP), certificate authorities (CA) and registration authorities (RA) and the need for compliance to achieve Meaningful Use Stage 2 measures. The webinar, “A Closer Look at Direct Protocol: Exploring the Impact and Connection to Meaningful Use Stage 2 Implementation,” is scheduled for 1-2:30 p.m. EDT Thursday, May 30, 2013.

Health IT Summit: Focus on end game to get most out of EHRs

CAMBRIDGE, MASS.--Focus on the end game to get quality, safety and efficiency improvements from your EHR, said Larry Garber, MD, medical director for informatics, Reliant Medical Group, based in Worcester, Mass. Garber spoke during the Institute for Health Technology Transformation’s Health IT Summit on May 7.

Around the web

U.S. health systems are increasingly leveraging digital health to conduct their operations, but how health systems are using digital health in their strategies can vary widely.

When human counselors are unavailable to provide work-based wellness coaching, robots can substitute—as long as the workers are comfortable with emerging technologies and the machines aren’t overly humanlike.

A vendor that supplies EHR software to public health agencies is partnering with a health-tech startup in the cloud-communications space to equip state and local governments for managing their response to the COVID-19 crisis.