A recent report shows that despite the big push for health IT adoption, only 2 percent of hospitals in the U.S. can meet the federal government's criteria for meaningful use of EHRs. Are you surprised? Read »

All the attention of late has been on the final rule for meaningful use of EHRs, but the health IT training made possible by funding under the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA) has a far-reaching impact beyond the healthcare industry. Read »

The concept of linking payment to higher quality, more efficient healthcare may finally be turning the corner. The success of this payment model requires buy-in from payers and the application of the model across all providers. Read »

This is the third installment of the interview conducted with Heather Haugen and Jeffrey Woodside, MD, whose book, Beyond Implementation: A Prescription for Lasting EMR Adoption, was published in May. Read »

There are quite a number of hospitals that have embarked on health IT projects years ago, and they have a big advantage over those hospitals that are just now building their roadmap for the implementation and adoption of EMRs and EHRs. Read »

Billians HealthData and Porter Research conducted two surveys providing a snapshot of provider perceptions of ARRA and meaningful use. Read »

A new KLAS report reveals that physicians who are choosing an EMR system within the next two years are considering a larger pool of software vendors. That’s made possible because the market has grown so much. Read »

The Commonwealth Fund released a report on the usage of EMRs in Denmark. All primary care physicians (PCPs) use EMRs and 98 percent can manage their patients electronically. Usage went from 15 percent in the early 1990s to more than 90 percent by 2000. The keys to success are a coherent national policy, financial incentives to adopt health IT and technical support for providers, according to the report. Read »

In the last two years, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has received 260 reports of health IT malfunctions, some of which resulted in 44 reported injuries and six deaths. These numbers are prompting FDA officials to call for a federal framework and oversight to ensure patient safety. Read »

Amidst a still-faltering economy, the bright spot has been healthcare IT, thanks to ARRA and its HITECH Act. Just as there is a lot of hope and energy invested in moving the healthcare industry into the 21st century, there are equal parts of anxiety and pessimism that billions of dollars will be spent without transforming the industry in the form of increased quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery, and reduction of medical errors and cost. Read »