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Additional Healthcare Industry and Government Organization Links (click on the logos below) |
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| SEPTEMBER |
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Greenway exec tells government committee IT incentives needed Speaking Wednesday before a government panel on healthcare reform, Justin Barnes, vice president of marketing and government affairs for technology company Greenway Medical Technologies, called for incentives to encourage physicians to convert their records from paper to digital. more |
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Study estimates EMR savings at $42 billion annually The U.S. would save $41.8 billion annually, on average, over a 15-year rollout period if healthcare providers widely adopted a comprehensive and effective electronic medical records system, according to a Rand Corp. more |
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Medical groups' adoption of EMRs tied to group size Some 19.5% of medical groups with more than 20 physicians have implemented EMRs, but the adoption rate falls with group size, according to a survey by the Medical Group Management Association. more |
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CMS seeks proposals for quality demonstration projects The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services will seek proposals for the Medicare Health Care Quality Demonstration, a 5-year project to explore ways to improve patient care through realigned financial incentives that encourage information technology adoption. more |
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Government to help recover missing medical information The federal government will attempt to reconstruct some of the missing or destroyed medical information from Hurricane Katrina evacuees by gathering data from several electronic sources, the nation's healthcare IT coordinator said Friday. more |
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HHS Secretary: Disaster highlights need for healthcare IT The challenge of caring for survivors of Hurricane Katrina underscores the need for the United States to have better public health information systems in place and for medical information to be stored electronically, HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt said last week. more |
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IT deployed in hurricane relief efforts Information technology is playing a role in the medical care for some of the Hurricane Katrina survivors. Companies such as Siemens Medical Solutions are transmitting medical images electronically, while federal agencies are using technology to monitor which hospitals have the capability to treat patients. more |
| AUGUST |
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Government provides boost for nation's healthcare IT leader
The government will formalize the role of the nation's top healthcare information technology leader and create five sub-offices within the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. more |
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HIMSS Reports: Another Patient Safety Bill Introduced by Senator Frist.
S. 1503, the "Healthy America Act of 2005", was introduced by Senators Frist, McConnell, Gregg, Enzi, Murkowski and DeMint on July 26 that proposes to reduce healthcare costs, expand access to affordable healthcare coverage, and improve healthcare and strengthen the healthcare safety net. more |
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HHS Clarifies Claims of Free EHR Software Offering
Officials in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are clarifying claims made in a recent New York Times article that office-based physicians are in line to get free electronic health records systems. more |
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Hill takes a scalpel to VA’s IT budget
After the failure of the Core Financial and Logistics System last year and a critical report on the agency’s next large IT project, HealtheVet, the House Appropriations Committee last week cut $383 million from the administration’s request for a $385.7 million increase. more |
| JULY |
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Most Medicare Outpatient Visits are to Physicians with Limited Clinical Information... "Adoption of clinical information technology (IT) in physicians' practices has the potential to improve quality and reduce the cost of care for people with complex health problems, including many Medicare patients. more |
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Senate Bills Encourage IT Uptake, Pay-For-Performance Incentives
A bipartisan group of senators introduced two separate bills last week that would encourage adoption of information technology in healthcare and take steps toward rewarding providers under Medicare for meeting certain standards of care. more |
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Costs, Standards Issues Hamper Tech Adoption, Experts Tell Congress
Information technology's use in healthcare could save the system billions of dollars and improve patient care, but misaligned financial incentives, the cost of the technology and a lack of agreement on IT standards are holding back adoption, witnesses at a Senate hearing said last week. more |
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Grants Seek To Jump-Start Public Agency Participation In RHIOs
A prestigious charitable foundation will award as much as $2 million to help support public health participation in regional health information organizations. more |
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Keeping Data Locked Down Tops Security Concerns
A roundtable discussion among healthcare executives at Courion Corp.'s recent user conference revealed that keeping information secure is not a one-time fix. more |
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Brailer: Pay-For-Performance Programs Can Increase IT Adoption
Pay-for-performance programs that reward healthcare providers based on certain clinical outcomes have a direct relationship to information technology uptake in healthcare, the nation's healthcare information technology adviser told an HHS advisory panel last week. more |
| JUNE |
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In an otherwise banner year for healthcare IT, last November's decision by Congress not to set aside $50 million for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology was a setback for the industry. But as Caroline Broder reports in this exclusive report, Congress has just decided to recommit most of the lost funding to Dr. David J. Brailer's office. more |
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Congress restores $32.8 million to
healthcare IT czar Congress has decided to provide $32.8 million for the
Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology this
year. The government says most of the money would be used to improve interoperability among systems and to harmonize HIT standards. more |
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Gingrich urges HHS to fund healthcare IT
(Dec. 6, 2004) Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich blasted Congress last
week for its failure to approve $50 million for the Office of the National
Coordinator for Health Information Technology. He urged the administration at the Department of Health and Human Services to use some of its $60 billion in discretionary funds to help finance some planned demonstration projects. more |
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Healthcare IT coordinator urges Congress
to fund office (Feb. 1, 2005) The government's healthcare IT czar spent part of Monday meeting with congressional leaders, who will decide whether to reallocate the $50 million President Bush has requested for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology this year. more |
| MAY |
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HIT Roundtable with HHS Sec. Mike Leavitt - meeting brief After introductions around the table, the Sec. shared his analysis of the HIT situation and potential paths forward, asking for feedback from the group at several points. more |
Welcome
to Greenway Medical Technology’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) Blog,
the only vendor-provided location on the Internet where you can find
electronic health record news, updates and announcements from various
government and healthcare industry organizations. With more and more
news being reported about EHR, we see it as vital to consolidate a lot
of information into one central location – as well as to provide a forum
for expert commentary from industry insiders. Whether you are
considering purchasing an EHR or if you have already implemented EHR in
your practice, our goal is to equip professionals in the healthcare
industry with the most up-to-date information possible regarding the
state of healthcare technology. Thank you for visiting the page and
enjoy the material!
