Organizations on the leading edge of health IT are reaping impressive results from their efforts in clincial decision support through the installation of electronic records, computerized physician order entry and other systems. Better use of data is resulting in measurable improvements in outcomes, utilization and more.

I hope the staff and readers of CMIO had a safe and restful holiday. I spent New Years in Riviera Maya, Mexico, with my family (wife and three college-aged children). The decision on where to go was based on input from my children: somewhere warm, with a beach and outside the U.S.

Most of us make New Years resolutions to lose weight, improve our diet, spend more time with our families and other good deeds. More often than not, we start out doing well, but then our efforts taper off after a few weeks.

Health IT leaders discuss what could and should appear in the new and future meaningful use regulations. Despite the delay of implementation of stage 2, various thought leaders suggest that the choice is pain now or pain later.

Busy emergency departments are finding the use of medical scribes helpful in alleviating the pains of the ever-changing relationship between the physician and the computer. More robust notes and physician satisfaction are driving the use of scribes into more areas of healthcare.

KLAS published its 2011 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Professional Services report, an annual report ranking the best-performing healthcare IT vendors in more than 100 market segments based on ratings from over 18,000 interviews with healthcare providers.

Cloud computing is set to become the latest rage. Reduced costs and maximized efficiencies are two main benefits but is cloud computing ready for prime time?

To err is human...to provide safe, cost effective quality care; divine.