The recent announcement of the proposed rule for meaningful use (MU) Stage 2 finally came last month after much speculation about both the latest meaningful use regulations and when the new rule would emerge.

Diffuse excessive high signal intensity (DEHSI) is often detected on MRI of premature infants. Although there has been debate about whether it represents a true white matter abnormality, DEHSI is not associated with adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes, according to a study published online March 8 in Radiology.

Patients treated at higher-spending hospitals in Canada saw better overall outcomes, according to a study published in the March 14 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The researchers concluded that despite Canada having fewer specialized healthcare resources compared with the U.S., Canadians may be using resources and medical technology more efficiently.

Agfa Healthcare has signed a new agreement with DataFirst, a software engineering firm based in Raleigh, N.C., to provide data migration service capabilities and archival storage technologies for healthcare facilities.

Femoral antetorsion, or in-toeing, can be measured rapidly and with good reproducibility with MRI, and information from this scan can be useful in treatment planning for patients experiencing joint friction, according to a study published online March 8 in Radiology.

Research firm Health Research Institute surveyed more than 600 provider, health insurer and pharmaceutical/life science professionals to produce its white paper on the state of clinical informatics, Needles in a Haystack: Seeking Knowledge with Clinical Informatics.

To reap the rewards of both new data sources created by meaningful use regulations, and new integrated systems that offer greater capabilities, public health systems must revamp their IT capabilities, according to an article published in the March edition of the American Journal of Public Health.

Small medical offices with one or two physicians in the practice are the fastest-growing segment for adoption of EHR software, according to the latest results of an ongoing study by SK&A, of Cegedim, a healthcare information and research firm.