In general, healthcare quality is improving across the U.S., but disparities for minority and low-income residents persist, according to the 2010 State Snapshots, released June 1 by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

Medication orders in an EHR can enhance clinicians ability to estimate medication adherence, but identifying definitive medication orders is a challenge, according to a brief published online in the Journal of the American Informatics Association.

Seven Republican members of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee have sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Donald Berwick, voicing their concerns about the regulation of ACOs.

The implementation of multiple quality improvement practices in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) was associated with a 19 percent relative reduction in mortality in extremely premature infants over a four-year period, according to a retrospective study by Pediatrix Medical Group researchers.

There is a widely held expectation that higher numbers of clinicians will lead to patients receiving more effective primary care. However, a May 25 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that the key to better outcomes might be more primary care physicians trained in ambulatory care.

Jorge J. Scheirer, MD, has been named vice president and CMIO at the Reading Hospital and Medical Center, in West Reading, Pa. In this newly created position, he will be responsible for supporting the development of clinical information systems for the 673-bed, nonprofit organization.

The Joint Commission will offer primary care medical home (PCMH) accreditation for ambulatory care organizations beginning in July 2011.

Medical data mining proves helpful for predicting adverse drug events, according to a study in the May edition of Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.