LAS VEGASClinical decision support (CDS) offers benefits such as improved outcomes, reduced costs and more but there are also unintended consequences that must be managed effectively. Donald L. Levick, MD, MBA, CMIO, and David R. Pucklavage, RN, BSN, manager, information services at Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN) in Allentown, Pa., presented Feb. 22 during the 2012 Healthcare Information Management and Systems Society (HIMSS) conference.

LAS VEGASAlmost 70 percent of health IT projects fail. As a result, Jonathan A. Leviss, MD, vice president of physician solutions at Dearborn Advisors and Larry Ozeran, MD, president of Clinical Informatics, urged their colleagues to share IT failure stories for their educational value and to shed the stigma during a Feb. 22 presentation at the annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference.

 LAS VEGASUsing a protocol-based remote monitoring program did not help to control the blood pressure or blood sugar of hypertensive and diabetic patients in the primary care setting, based on an e-session study at the annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference. In addition to patient outcomes, the researchers found that the lack of integration and reimbursement caused a greater workload and cost burden.

LAS VEGASPatients want rapid access to laboratory results online, but they prefer providers to view results prior to them, and many, but not all, want providers, rather than a portal, to communicate radiology and pathology results, according to a survey conducted at Mayo Clinic, Florida and presented during an e-session at the annual meeting of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).

LAS VEGASMobile systems can allow for on-the-go availability, instant log-in, no required desk space or less time spent waiting for a shared computer, off-site use and the ability of physicians to use their own mobile devices, as well as greater acceptance of EHRs, Afzal ur Rehman, MD, PhD, CMIO, and Rebecca Kennis, clinical systems analyst at United Health Services, explained to a packed house Feb. 21 at the 2012 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference.

LAS VEGASThe latest report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) is the 2011, health IT version of the 1999 IOM medical errors report called "To Err Is Human," said David Classen, MD, associate professor of medicine at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and CMIO of Pascal Metrics in Washington, D.C. Classen discussed the report, "Health IT and Patient Safety: Building Safer Systems for Better Care," during a presentation at the 2012 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference.

Every second countsat least in emergency medicine. This year, HealthGrades has reported 263 hospitals performed in the top 5 percent nationwide in terms of superior emergency care.

Texas Regional Medical Center has chosen Iron Mountain's vendor neutral archive (VNA) and cloud storage system to manage its imaging data.