From 2004 to 2008, total procedures performed in angio labs grew 20 percent, from four million in 2004 to 4.8 million procedures in 2008 for hospitals with 150 beds or more, resulting in an average annual growth rate of 4 to 5 percent, according to a report from market research firm IMV.

The State of Maine is planning to go live this week with a statewide EHR network, HealthInfoNet, which will connect 15 hospitals, three health clinics and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The University of Wisconsin Cancer Center Riverview became the first medical facility to treat skin cancer patients using Xoft's electronic brachytherapy system, Axxent, in early July.

Konica Minolta Medical Imaging has introduced its FlexDR, an upright, flat-panel digital radiography system. The FDA-cleared FlexDR features an amorphous silicon and cesium iodide digital receptor for images with minimum x-ray exposure.

Healthcare professionals must first gain control of the number of records, forms and files flowing through their organization before implementing an EMR system, according to research published by Xerox.

The interventional radiology department of Kent Hospital in Warwick, R.I., has been put on probation for at least six months due to pervasive problems identified by the Rhode Island Department of Health (HEALTH). Also, each of Kent's interventional radiologists is being referred to the Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline to determine if any disciplinary action should be taken.

Linda Kloss, CEO of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) for the past 15 years, has decided to retire from that role on March 31, 2010.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) health IT policy committee met this week and approved revised recommendations from its workgroup for defining "meaningful use" of EHRs.