Jeff Rowe

I read an editorial by a veteran physician assistant based in Pickens, N.C., who is a long-term user of EMRs. He has recognized the clinical and financial benefits of health IT and is definitely a physician champion.

Yesterday morning, I had a bone density test completed. The entire test lasted three minutes, which included the explanation from the technician of what was to be done and how quickly it would go. It took more than 30 minutes, however, of paperwork to be shuffled before I was called for the test.

After reading an article on the five key features of tomorrow's EHR, I wondered how the current EHR products are going to transition to meet the demands of healthcare providers and patients.

A handful of hospitals and physician groups in the Bloomington, Ind., area are in various stages of EMR implementation. Those who are live are relaying the benefits of having patient information at the point of care.

The workforce training program for healthcare professionals on health IT may just be getting off the ground at many community colleges, but at least one group of nurses in rural Maine who were interviewed for a local story are finding value - and a community - in the course.

I've blogged a couple of times about medical scribes in the last couple of months in a tone more disapproving than not. I recently read a testimonial of a senior in college, who is planning to take his medical school admissions test next year.

One of the major goals of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is to stimulate the economy by creating jobs. The HITECH Act has certainly done its part and is the most visible part of ARRA that is creating jobs because of the federal incentives for adopting EHRs.

Physician groups in rural parts of the country have greater challenges in adopting EHRs. The regional extension centers (RECs) are a new resource for them, but RECs serving rural areas, not surprisingly, also have challenges.

Steven Waldren, MD, director of the Center for Health Information Technology for the American Academy of Family Physicians, has helped many small physician practices implement and adopt EHRs.

A Sept. 25th editorial in the Des Moines Register called for the phase-out of the Veterans Affairs' healthcare system. The response in a guest column has given more ammunition, no pun intended, to the side in favor of specialized veterans care.