The American College of Radiology (ACR) is seeking to clarify the Joint Commission's Sentinel Event Alert, related to radiation-based imaging.

The U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey denied the application of MeridianEMR for a preliminary injunction to bar Intuitive Medical Software (IMS), the developer and marketer of UroChartEHR, from using, disclosing, conveying, trading on or disposing of [Meridians] proprietary or confidential information and trade secrets. The N.J. court denied Meridian's application, finding that IMS posed no threat of irreparable harm to Meridian.

Comparative effectiveness research (CER) presents both opportunities and challenges for radiology, according to an article published in the September issue of Academic Radiology. Patient communication, decision support and policy changes are essential to radiologys survival in the comparative effectiveness era.

Healthcare providers need to use diagnostic radiation sparingly and cautiously, implored the Joint Commission in Issue 47 of Sentinel Event Alert. It also implied a recommendation for obtaining information about patients' recent radiation from other providers.

Urology EMR developer meridianEMR has filed a lawsuit against Intuitive Medical Software (UroChart), of Springfield, Mo., in the U.S. District Court of New Jersey, contending that the defendants, including UroChart, obtained access to meridianEMR's data and placed patients in meridianEMR's system at risk. The suit also said that the defendants have had unlawful access to patient information in violation of patient privacy rights.

High rates of alert overrides and low rates of alert adherence can hinder the success of otherwise well-designed clinical decision support (CDS) alerting systems, according to research published online Aug. 17 in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.

Australias Department of Health and Aging will get assistance in the design and implementation of the countrys Personally Controlled Electronic Health Record (PCEHR) system from Accenture.

The Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC) announced that the Electronic Health Records of Rhode Island (EHRRI), a nonprofit comprised of five Rhode Island-based physician groups with the purpose of facilitating the adoption and use of EHRs, has donated activities and operations to MAeHC.