The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) has cut the ribbon on a new initiative to query EHRs for population health data.

Innovation Exchanges for Health IT, an initiative from the White House Startup America Initiative in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has announced its several upcoming events.

A web-based event reporting system may erase some of the shortcomings associated with older safety reporting models in large radiology departments, noted researchers in a study published in the September issue of American Journal of Roentgenology.

Since the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) with changes to the 2012 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, organizations including the American College of Radiology, the Medical Group Management Association and the American Academy of Family Physicians have responded with criticism. Healthcare Billing & Management Association (HBMA) has joined the list of those organizations unhappy with the CMS' NPRM.

People who receive medical care in an integrated healthcare system with EHRs linked to its own pharmacy system more often filled and collected new medication prescriptions for diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure medications than do people who receive care in a non-integrated system, according to a study published online in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

The Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) and the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) have sent separate letters asking the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to revise its proposed Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule for 2012 to lessen administrative burdens related to IT and adjust the value of primary care services.

Researchers have found an inverse relationship between hospital volume and inhospital adverse events, according to a study published Aug. 30 in Health Services Research.

As the broad adoption of EHRs accelerates, the challenge of ensuring that meaningful use actually leads to meaningful benefits, such as improvements in safety and quality of care, remains a serious concern, according to an article published Aug. 31 in the New England Journal of Medicine.