National Coordinator for Health IT Farzad Mostashari, MD, told one of his predecessors, David J. Brailer, MD, that health IT is on the move and quantitative outcomes are on the way in the U.S. in an interview published in the March issue of Health Affairs.

Although well-intentioned and in response to pressure from healthcare providers, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services decision to delay the implementation deadline could have negative consequences according to a survey of healthcare professionals involved in their organizations ICD-10 initiatives.

Seventy-three percent of respondents to National eHealth Collaboratives 2012 Stakeholder Survey stated that better care coordination is one of the most important benefits of health information exchange (HIE).

LAS VEGASBy next year, I predict that the majority of care delivered in this country will be done on EHRs, not paper, said Farzad Mostashari, MD, national coordinator for health IT, during his keynote address at the 2012 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference on Feb. 23.

LAS VEGASProviders should consider a physician alignment model via health IT instead of an acquisition model, but better methods are needed to improve patient safety and maximize reimbursements, according to a Feb. 22 presentation at the 2012 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference. Regardless, a one-size fits-all strategy is no longer reasonable, the presenter suggested.

As EHR adoption rates tick upwards, sending notes via the EHR is becoming a viable means of communicating clinician-to-clinician. Requiring electronic signatures to prove receipt of notes is becoming a viable means of ensuring communication, but large amounts of additional signature required (ASR) alerts on EHRs could be a burden for providers, according to research published February in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

The U.S. is a leader in health IT use and adoption by physicians, according to a new eight-country study from consulting and technology services company Accenture. The study, which includes Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Singapore, Spain and the U.S., shows that the U.S. is one of the few countries in which health IT penetration is nearly equal among primary physicians and specialists.

Three U.S. Blue health plans are partnering with health IT provider Lumeris to acquire NaviNet, developer of communication networks for physicians, hospitals and health insurers.