Molly Merrill

Seventy-four percent of healthcare IT professionals reported that their existing information on meaningful use and electronic health record certification was "adequate" and that their technical implementation questions have been answered, according to a new survey.

The Most Wired Survey and Benchmarking study, conducted annually by Hospitals and Health Networks, has named the "Most Wired Hospitals and Health Systems" for 2010. The survey included new questions about meaningful use.

The electronic prescribing rate in upstate New York increased from 12 percent in 2009 to 17 percent in the first quarter of 2010, representing 3.6 million new and renewed prescriptions on an annual basis, according to a new report. The report suggests that this number will grow significantly as the result of the technology becoming more affordable, due in part to the government's incentives for health IT adoption.

Researchers from the University of Missouri are developing an electronic health record system aimed at meeting the needs of a population of older adults that's expected to almost double in the next 20 years.

The increasing adoption of EHRs and other digital technologies by primary care physicians and specialists points to trends expected to create "dramatic upswings in doctors' case loads," according to a new survey by research company Knowledge Networks.

E-mail use between patients with diabetes and hypertension and their doctors resulted in improved quality of care scores, according to a study of patients in Kaiser Permanente's Southern California region.

Just one year after its launch, officials at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center report that 57 percent of patients and 40 percent of referring community physicians are using its Web-based portal for personal health information.

Six healthcare organizations have been named as finalist for the 2010 HIMSS Davies Ambulatory Care and HIMSS Davies Public Health Awards of Excellence, recognizing their use of electronic health records.

Although nearly half of all Americans are ready to toss the paper and believe electronic health records will enable more efficient healthcare, they are largely in the dark about what it actually means for them as a patient, says a new survey.

Less than one in 10 American adults use electronic medical records or e-mail their doctor, according to a new Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll.