A web-based tool that extracts information from the EMR can help primary care physicians improve care and manage their entire panel of patients, according to separate studies published Oct. 1 in the American Journal of Managed Care and Population Health Management.

Susceptibility-weighted MRI can reveal an accumulation of cerebral microhemorrhages or microbleeds and altered iron distribution that may help identify which individuals with mild cognitive impairment will continue to decline and progress to Alzheimers disease, according to research appearing online Oct. 5 in Radiology.  

Researchers at Rhode Island Hospital, along with other organizations, have developed a telemedicine-based depression care protocol in home healthcare. The early findings from their pilot study were presented Oct. 3 at the 29th annual meeting and exposition of the National Association for Home Care and Hospice.

The Center for Plain Language dares to dream and legislate. This week, the group lauded the U.S. Senate for passing the Plain Writing Act of 2010. The bill requires the federal government to write documents, such as tax returns, federal college aid applications and Veterans Administration forms in simple language. The Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives in March; the amended Senate bill now goes back to the House for final approval. Imagine what would happen if plain writing requirements were extended to include federal healthcare initiatives. Would this result in smaller documents and fewer FAQs down the line? It might. Alas, at present, the need for clarifications will continue.

Kaiser Permanente has donated its Convergent Medical Terminology (CMT) translation-enabling technology to the International Healthcare Terminology Standards Development Organisation for U.S. distribution through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Software downloaded during a routine office visit cuts the risk of inappropriate shocks caused by lead fractures by almost 50 percent for patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) compared to conventional impedance monitoring, according to a study published in the Sept. 27 issue of Circulation.

Scribe Healthcare Technologies has unveiled Direct2UScribe, a speech recognition tool that leverages M*Modal technology to allows users to send documents to dictating physicians.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) will conduct a one-year study aimed at ensuring that health IT will achieve its full potential for improving patient safety in healthcare, under a $989,000 contract announced by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC).