Phyaura has acquired EHR Live, a West Palm Beach, Fla.-based developer of open source EHR tools. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

As health information exchanges (HIEs) tap data from more sources, personal health records (PHRs) present both compelling potential and a raft of challenges. HIE access to and use of PHR data was a topic of interest at recent a Beacon Community panel discussion. The participants suggested that PHRs could be vehicles for patient accountability in future care delivery models, but were not there yet for a variety of reasons.

The Federal Health Architecture, under management of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, has awarded CGI Federal a $5.7 million contract to build, develop and support FHAs CONNECT Nationwide Health Information Exchange Gateway Solution.

Earlier this year, the Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights list of breaches affecting 500 people or more reached a grim milestone: The tally of breached patient data hit 10 million individuals. With more data resident on more medical devices, IT systems and networks than ever before, privacy and security are imperative, but also ever more complicated.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has updated its meaningful use frequently asked questions website with new information regarding the use of physical media to exchange key clinical information, computerized provider order entry for eligible professionals and more.

Health IT Extension Center for Los Angeles (HITEC-LA) has selected athenahealth as one of its preferred vendors of certified EHR technology to solo, small group and clinic healthcare providers.

CMIO presents a weekly update of the EHR products certified by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT Authorized Testing and Certification Bodies (ONC-ATCBs). The following EHR certifications were announced recently:

Wider use of EMRs could reduce infant mortality in the U.S., according to a forthcoming study in the Journal of Political Economy.