A majority of physicians reported that EHRs are safer than their paper record counterparts, citing accessibility of data as the top safety benefit, according to a study conducted by GfK Roper for the web-based EHR community Practice Fusion.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) has issued a notice of extension for the temporary certification program for health IT.

athenahealth has entered into a collaboration agreement with Medley Health, a provider of membership practice marketing and communications services for independent primary care physicians. 

Accountable care organization (ACO) principles have captured the interest of health plans and providers that are under pressure to moderate the costs of care and the premiums they are charging employers and individuals, according to a recently published white paper from Integrated Healthcare Association (IHA).

The number of hospitals ready to meet Stage 1 of meaningful use jumped 16 percent from February to September, according to a HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) Analytics Report, Summary of Meaningful Use Readiness. In those seven months, U.S. hospitals went from 25 to 41 percent being well positioned. The report also indicated that more eligible hospitals are likely to succeed in meeting the criteria for this first stage.

SAN ANTONIOSpending on meaningful use efforts equals about $100 from every American, said Travis Broome, MPH, MBA, health insurance specialist for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). He discussed the meaningful use timeline during a session at CHIME11, the Fall CIO Forum, Oct. 27. There is a lot of belief, he said, that with that spending, we really will end up with improved outcomes.

A revision in the U.S. EHR Incentive Program has allowed radiologists to partake in the financial incentives for meaningful use of a certified EHR. However, now that radiologists can attest to meaningful use, there is now a process to better understand what is included in Stage 1, which involves more patient data. Also, there are discussions on how radiology as a specialty can be better represented in Stage 2.

The consideration of radiologists as eligible providers under the provisions of the federal HITECH Act has been the subject of much consideration given the availability of an estimated $1.5 billion in potential incentive payments to radiologists. However, the potential transformation of radiology into a specialty that utilizes an EHR as a core clinical application has much greater clinical implications both for the CMIOs, as well as radiologists.