Simply providing patients with a method to access their healthcare information will not ensure changes in patient outcomes, according to a recent study whose findings may warrant some additional thinking about the patient engagement and empowerment elements of Stage 2 Meaningful Use.  However, the study also suggests that providing educational and clinical intervention tools to
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Characterizing December as an “exceptional” month for Meaningful Use registration, attestation, and payments, Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) officials recently announced that $2.5 billion in Meaningful Use incentive payments had been distributed as of December 2011. Additionally, Robert Tagalicod from CMS reported to the HIT Policy Committee at its meeting earlier this month
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Size makes a difference when it comes to successfully attesting to Meaningful Use Stage 1, says the IT director of a Critical Access Hospital. “Bigger hospitals may have started before we did but they’re still working on meeting Meaningful Use,” says Craig Wells, IT director at George C. Grape Community Hospital in Hamburg, Iowa.  “In
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Health information systems are being implemented fast and furiously, driven by the prospect of Meaningful Use incentives. However, a growing concern among industry watchers is that when the HITECH dust settles, the outcome may be less than ideal.

With the rush to implement health information technology, it’s no wonder that everyone in healthcare feels overwhelmed.  Change, even in a less manic environment than today’s, is difficult and while pushback from users is something to be expected, there are strategies that CIOs can use to effectively manage change. 1.  Take a walk in a
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The odds are pretty small that your healthcare organization will be unlucky enough to be one of the approximately 150 selected for the first HIPAA privacy and security audits under the HITECH Act.  But despite the odds, here’s what you need to know if the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights
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Not everyone is unconditionally embracing the Stage 2 Meaningful Use delay announcement issued last month by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

While much of the reaction has been positive, one industry watcher believes that the delay, while good for implementers and some vendors, puts the brakes on market forces that would otherwise snuff out some of the Johnny-come-lately EMR products that have emerged, particularly in the ambulatory market.

Hospitals and hospital systems are the primary backers of ACOs, according to a recent study from Leavitt Partners’ Center for ACO Intelligence. The report, released November 29, says that nearly two-thirds of the 164 ACOs identified were started by hospitals or hospital systems. According to the report, Growth and Dispersion of Accountable Care Organizations,  insurers
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“Innovation” is the buzzword in the halls of the Department of Health and Human Services these days as the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) tout programs to spur new efforts to support local health reform initiatives. The Health Care Innovation Challenge program was announced on
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Convincing rural healthcare providers to invest their time and money in EHR adoption has traditionally been an uphill battle. But that’s beginning to change, says the director of a Regional Extension Center that works closely with rural providers.