Meaningful Use
Karen DeSalvo, MD, talks with Healthcare IT News Editor Bernie Monegain about the work ahead and what has influenced her on her way to becoming the national coordinator for health information technology. DeSalvo is the fifth coordinator and the first woman to serve in the post since it was established by President George W. Bush in 2004.
Hard numbers for return on investment in health IT aren't always measurable, at least in a direct way. Instead, healthcare organizations need to look at both "hard" and "soft" savings when considering a system's ROI.
As the electronic health record becomes "just another app," more and more providers are setting their sights on an array of complex future needs. An IDC Health Insights report sees big changes coming for care delivery in 2014 and beyond.
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology will stop offering ONC testing and certification services. Instead, CCHIT will work toward increased IT interoperability by counseling providers and developers on certified EHR requirements, the group announced Jan. 29.
Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and The Commonwealth Fund have concluded that electronic health record systems and other digital tools are likely to curb the demand for physicians in the future.
The Stage 2 numbers for eligible docs are what some might call a little bit scary. Most office-based physicians are not prepared for the October 2014 beginning attestation date. In fact, many aren't even close.
To say that John Glaser has had a front-row seat in the health IT arena over the past 10 years -- and the 10 years before that -- would be wrong. He's been in the trenches, sleeves rolled up. Glaser contemplates not only the past, but also what to expect going forward.
The healthcare IT industry just marked the 10-year anniversary of then President George W. Bush's call to action -- in his 2004 State of the Union address -- to finally transform a paper-mired healthcare system into a digital-age industry. CIOs and other industry insiders speak to the progress and look to the future of health IT.
As far as Patrick Soon-Shiong, MD, is concerned, the $34 billion health IT and electronic medical record incentive program was a grave misstep for the healthcare industry -- but not necessarily for the reasons one might think.
Meaningful use -- it's not just for healthcare providers anymore. Patients are paying attention to meaningful use of electronic health data; they're understanding, and now they want it.