The government needs to play a stronger role in establishing a firm foundation for meaningful use for commercial interests to flourish, according to John D. Halamka, MD, CIO at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, in an opinion article in the April edition of Health Affairs.

Loss of lean mass--the weight of an individuals bones, muscles and organs without body fat--is accelerated in patients with Alzheimers disease (AD) and is associated with brain atrophy and cognitive performance, according to a study published in the April issue of the Archives of Neurology.

In addition to the currently proposed measures for clinical quality, meaningful use measures for EHRs should include assessment of a patients experiences, according to an article in the April edition of HealthAffairs.

The RHIO Health Advancement Collaborative of Central New York has signed a multi-year agreement with Axolotl to deploy its Elysium Exchange suite to build a clinical health information exchange network to connect central New Yorks healthcare providers.

GE Healthcare has upgraded its Centricity EMR platform at Providence Health & Services to link to three Oregon-based clinics for the exchange of medication and allergy data.

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) has appointed Karen M. Bell, MD, as chair of CCHIT, effective April 26.

Hospitals and health systems leaders need to identify and understand the aspects of the healthcare reform legislation that will not only have immediate, significant impact but also long-term effects on their business, said Ed Giniat, KPMG's U.S. leader for healthcare and pharmaceuticals, during a webinar April 9 hosted by KPMG Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals.

In a letter to the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, a workgroup for the HIT Policy Committee recommended the creation of a web site that names EHR vendors and vendor product versions that have received certification, and shows which meaningful use stage has been tested and certified.