Technology

Health information technology presents an exciting opportunity for researchers interested in applied work, according to Karen B. DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

As part of National Health IT Week, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, outlined its 10-year vision to achieve interoperability for health IT.

This is the first empirical evidence to demonstrate increased competition and innovation in the EHR industry as a result of the HITECH program.

Anthem Blue Cross is partnering with 7 rival hospital systems in California to create a new integrated health system in the Los Angeles and Orange counties. The members will share financial risk and gain.

Although baby boomers are expected to place a large burden on healthcare resources, consumer health technologies could help stem increasing needs and costs, according to a new study in the Journal of Medical Internet Research.

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT released a final rule for electronic health record certification that offers more flexibility for health information technology developers, providers, and consumers.

Numbers for Stage 2 meaningful use attestation remain very low, according to the latest numbers from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The White House named former Google executive Megan Smith as its new chief technology officer to succeed Athenahealth co-founder and HHS veteran Todd Park, who is credited with helping rescue HealthCare.gov.

Karen B. DeSalvo, MD, MPH, MSc, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology said the promise and power of health information technology in the world of public health is vast and growing.

Reports that information on 4.5 million patients from 26 states had been hacked from more than 200 hospitals stunned consumers and the health care community yesterday, even though experts in health information technology have warned of this possibility for some time. News of the hacking incident within Community Health Systems comes as the top US official charged with overseeing the nation's health information technology (HIT) is trying to educate patients about what to expect about the use of their healthcare information.

Karen DeSalvo, MD, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, said that while patients expect their medical records to be confidential, they are open to information sharing so long as it leads to improvements in their health or the health of others. Moreover, as Dr DeSalvo reveals, many patients expect their medical records to be digitized.

With the speed at which technology advances, it can be surprising that the majority of US medical records are not yet available electronically - but the nation is gradually making the transition to great electronic health record (EHR) use.

Health technology and electronic health-record powerhouse Cerner Corp. is spending $1.3 billion to purchase Siemens Health Services, Siemens' health information technology business, Cerner announced Tuesday.

Two of California's largest health insurers are partnering to create a massive database of patient medical records.

Len Nichols, PhD, director of the Center for Health Policy Research and Ethics (CHPRE) and a professor of Health Policy at George Mason University, says that transparency in healthcare is an important concept.

Text messaging might just be the next best thing in patient engagement-at least according to the results of 1 organization's pilot program.

The University of Buffalo is working to limit patient readmissions to hospitals and ERs via use of dashboard technology.

Dr. Vojta emphasized the importance of analyzing existing good patient data to improve care outcomes.

Information technology will be crucial to pushing disease prevention efforts in healthcare.

It's easy to get swept up in the swelling enthusiasm for using the explosion in electronic health and claims records to improve every aspect of healthcare. But the era of "big data" isn't going to happen without better federal rules for stimulating its uses and preventing abuses.

Operations and maintenance, plus services segments lead growth.

The authors examine the association between advanced electronic health record (EHR) use and cost in hospitals. Patients treated in hospitals with advanced EHRs cost 9.66% less.

Adherence is important to improving the health outcomes of patients with diabetes. Health technology and digital tools are just on way providers are encouraging patients to remain consistent with the treatment regimens.

Smart watches, mHealth apps, and Bluetooth scales may just be edging into the social consciousness as a viable way to monitor personal health and manage chronic diseases, but EHR developers have been eyeing these technologies for some time, seeing them as valuable tools in the struggle to engage patients, prevent unnecessary readmissions, reduce costs, and promote long-term health.

Despite reform and shifts in health policy, the United States healthcare system ranked last in quality compared with 10 other industrialized counties-just as it did in 2010, 2007, 2006, and 2004.

The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) outlined a 10-year plan that will strengthen the nation's health IT infrastructure by 2024. This interoperable system would promote a "continuous learning" environment that would enforce higher-quality data standards, improve population health, better engage patients, and lower care delivery costs.