When word came out that more than 200 patients at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles had been accidentally exposed to extraordinarily high doses of radiation during CT brain scans, it spotlighted an issue that has roiled radiology for several years nowhow much radiation exposure is too much, what is as low as reasonably achievable (ALARA) and how can it be tracked?

A gap exists between policy makers' expectations that current commercial EMRs can improve coordination of patient care and clinicians' real-world experiences with EMRs, according to a study conducted by the Center for Studying Health System Change and published online Dec. 22, 2009, in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

Unity Health System has been awarded $800,000 in federal grants to expand its EMR system and to support computer physician order entry initiatives already in place.

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society believes there is much more to applaud than criticize concerning the release of interim final rules on meaningful use and qualified EHRs from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC). However, the American Hospital Association noted that while health IT holds great promise in improving care, widespread efforts toward adoption will be hindered unless key provisions in these rules are addressed.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has made available two additional grant programs to support the training and development of the skilled workforce required to support adoption and use of health IT.

There is no one financial silver bullet to funding a health information exchange (HIE), according to Keith Hepp, vice president of nonprofit HIE HealthBridge who spoke during a Webinar broadcast Dec. 22, 2009, sponsored by California eHealth Collaborate (CAeHC).

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) has certified EHR technology against proposed federal standards to support providers in qualifying for incentives under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). A total of 14 products have now been certified under its two new programsCCHIT Certified 2011 Comprehensive and Preliminary ARRA 2011launched on Oct. 7, 2009.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicare Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) are encouraging public comment on the two regulations issued Dec. 30 that lay a foundation for meaningful use of certified EHR technology. The regulations will help implement the EHR incentive programs enacted under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.