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. 

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Method extracts EHR data for improved psychiatric care

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School have developed a method of extracting symptom information from electronic health records (EHRs) to allow physicians to identify psychiatric disorders missed in traditional sources of clinical data. Findings were presented in Biological Psychiatry.

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AAFP: 7 recommendations to reduce physician EHR burden

The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) has written a letter to CMS and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) with recommendations to reduce clinician burden.

Electronic signatures top 4 EHR compliance-related issues

Electronic signatures, self-populating entries, retrospective self-populating entries and customization are the four most common compliance issues for organizations utilizing electronic health record (EHR) software.

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Machine learning predicts hypertension onset from EHR data

Researchers have used data collected from patient electronic health records (EHRs) to train a machine learning algorithm to predict the onset of hypertension in individuals in the next year, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

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Allscripts integrates with Luma Health engagement system

Allscripts has certified Luma Health’s patient communication platform as a part of the Allscripts Developer Program, enabling Allscripts electronic health record (EHR) users to automate patient-provider communication with text-first action.

Is your cloud service provider HIPAA ready?

Cloud service vendors like Amazon, Google and Microsoft hold valuable patient information, but are they HIPAA compliant?

EHR comorbidity information lacking in accuracy

Electronic health record (EHR) problem lists do not accurately portray a patient's comorbidities, according to a study published in The American Journal of Managed Care.

Natural language processing system defines medical jargon in EHRs

A natural language processing system that defines medical jargon for patients viewing electronic health record (EHR) notes through portals could improve care outcomes, according to a study published in Journal of Medical Internet Research.

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.