The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued guidance regarding the recently announced hardship exceptions they will consider for those eligible professionals and hospitals struggling to meet Meaningful Use Stage 2.

Black Book Market Research, well known globally for accurate, impartial customer satisfaction surveys in the managed services and software industries, conducted a sweeping five month user poll to determine the highest ranked inpatient electronic health and medical record vendors for 2014. As part of a major research focus on the current replacement market, Black Book announced those vendors with the highest scores in recent client experience in the areas of certification-required EHR functionalities, administrative & documentation functionalities, clinical workflow functionalities, add-on modules, accountable care data requirements, and connectivity capabilities.

Los Angeles County medical facilities are notifying about 168,500 patients that their information is at risk following the theft of computer equipment from the offices of the county’s contractor, Sutherland Healthcare Solutions, according to the Los Angeles Times and the official notice sent to patients.

Skagit County in Washington state faces a $215,000 fine for violating several HIPAA rules relating to privacy, security and breach notification.

The Army is upgrading its EMR system so wounded soldiers on the battlefield will have detailed permanent accounts of the scenario and treatment received. The new version of the Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care (MC4 system) is being fielded through April, according to an announcement.

Meaningful Use could help reduce health disparities among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, according to California legislators.

HIMSS14 was a whirlwind of activity amid the relaxing setting of warm breezes and palm trees. The buzz was all about meeting the requirements of federal mandates, optimizing EHR systems and continuing to innovate to improve healthcare and reduce costs.

MinuteClinic, a division of CVS Caremark Corporation and the largest and fastest growing retail clinic provider in the United States, announced today that it will switch to the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) called EpicCare. MinuteClinic currently uses its own proprietary EMR.