Researchers implementing a clinical alerting system using inference rules to notify providers of undocumented problems found that clinics using such a system added nearly three times as many problem documentation notes to EHRs than clinics that did not, according to a report published Jan. 3 by the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.

As radiology grapples with the seemingly endless details of meaningful use (MU), many questions remain. The only certainty, according to an article appearing in the February issue of Academic Radiology, is that MU is real and will affect radiology for many years to come."

EMRs, robotic surgery and transcatheter heart valve implantation rank among the technologies that ECRI Institute is urging hospital executives to keep an eye on in 2012.

Increasing use of EMRs, along with the policies relating to the associated interoperability and devices, has kept the EHR-EMR community busy. Some of our top stories this month indicate the need that hospitals and other healthcare organizations have for ongoing and more detailed guidance and instructions when implementing and using electronic record systems.

To comply with the Privacy Act of 1974, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) is developing a new record keeping system, the ONC Health IT Dashboard, to assess, improve and publicize the effectiveness of federal grants administered for health IT implementation, according to a notice published by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) in the Federal Register on Dec. 22, 2011.

Although many health information exchanges (HIEs) are in a state of flux as they continue to fine tune logistics and mechanisms to create the most efficient and effective resources, studies continue to prove that electronic systems and the ability of clinicians to exchange and access patient information is improving outcomes and saving money.

A legislative proposal developed by the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) to expand the use of telemedicine for Medicaid beneficiaries with neonatal healthcare needs could save the federal government approximately $186 million over 10 years, according to an analysis of the proposal conducted by healthcare consulting firm Avalere Health.

The ramp-up in proportions of information functions done electronically could make elusive targets even further out of range for many specialty practices, leaving them unable to tap the HITECH Act incentives in Stage 2 and position themselves for the baseline computer capacity to participate in the care coordination that will be an essential part of performance-based payment models, said Thomas C. Barber, MD, chair of a group within the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons that advocates for the adoption of EMRs by its membership.