CMS Says More than Half of US Doctors Have Adopted Electronic Health Records
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has announced that more than half of all doctors and other eligible providers have received Medicare or Medicaid incentive payments for adopting or meaningfully using electronic health records, exceeding the goal they had set for themselves for the end of 2013.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey in 2012, the percentage of physicians using an advanced EHR system has grown from just 17percent in 2008 to over 50 percent today today. For hospitals the increase is even more dramatic. In 2008 only nine percent had adopted EHRs in 2008, but today, more than 80 percent are not only using, but have demonstrated meaningful use of EHRs.
“We have reached a tipping point in adoption of electronic health records,” said Secretary Sebelius. “More than half of eligible professionals and 80 percent of eligible hospitals have adopted these systems, which are critical to modernizing our health care system. Health IT helps providers better coordinate care, which can improve patients’ health and save money at the same time.”
As of the end of April 2013:
- More than 291,000 eligible professionals and over 3,800 eligible hospitals have received incentive [Read More...]
Patient Fusion Launches Free Tool for Consumers to Manage their Health Spending
Ryan Howard – Practice Fusion CEO
Patient Fusion has launched a free tool to help patients track their health spending online. Consumers who book appointments online at PatientFusion.com will also receive access to their online personal health record and can track health spending across all of their medical visits. The beta launch is available to patients covered by national insurance payers including United and Anthem Blue Cross.
Easy to use access to health spending information can help health care consumers avoid surprises as they track their families health care expenses. Patient Fusion’s out-of-pocket expense visualization and deductible tracking can help consumers plan flexible spending account contributions accurately and determine the possible cost for their next doctor’s visit. Insurance claims information is also included, allowing patients to quickly see which claims have been accepted and which rejected claims may need to be disputed. Additionally, it is now easier for patients to stay on top of bills that might otherwise never leave the to-do pile, resulting in more timely payments to doctors.
According to reporting from The New York Times, the average person spends $3,000 a year on out-of-pocket medical [Read More...]
Acquisition Alert: Healthland Acquires American HealthTech
Healthland, the nation's market leader in healthcare information technology solutions for rural hospitals and their affiliated care facilities, has acquired American HealthTech, provider of integrated software and electronic health records (EHR) solutions for post-acute facilities. While each company will continue to operate under its own brand, serving its traditional markets, they have already … [Read More...]
CampDoc.com Releases Electronic Medication Administration Record for Summer Camps
Did you know there was an EHR product whose market was summer camps? Well, neither did I until I saw this news from CampDoc.com earlier today. They company, who claims to be the the leading electronic health record system for camps has announced the release of an Electronic Medication Administration Record (eMAR). This technology will aid summer camps in documenting when medications are given … [Read More...]
EHR and HIT News for May 21st
Today's EHR and HIT news includes customer acquisition updates from M*Modal and Merge Healthcare, as well as news from DocuTrac that they're integrating DrFirst Technology in their EMR Software. … [Read More...]
Acquisition Alert: Net Health Acquires Integritas, EHR and PM Provider for Urgent Care and Occupational Health
Net Health has their acquisition of Integritas, Inc., a provider of integrated clinical EMR and practice management solutions for the growing urgent care, occupational health, and hospital employee health markets. "Strategically, we were drawn to the rapidly growing and underserved Urgent Care and Occupational Health segments of the healthcare delivery continuum," said Anthony Sanzo, Net Health's … [Read More...]
HomecareCRM Launches Integration with PointClickCare EHR
Home healthcare and long term-care customer relationship management solutions provider, HomecareCRM has announced an integration with PointClickCare, the most widely used Electronic Health Record platform for long-term care. Through this standard integration, long-term care providers now have a complete platform that provides both efficient management across the entire resident care lifecycle … [Read More...]
WebPT Launches Functional Limitation Reporting Feature
WebPT has announced the launch of its functional limitation reporting solution, which has been designed to help physical and occupational therapists comply with new functional limitation reporting requirements without compromising workflow efficiency. "While most other EMR systems make functional limitation reporting more of an accessory that appears at the end of a patient note, WebPT offers … [Read More...]
EHR and HIT News for May 20th
Today's EHR and HIT news includes an update from Axion Health on their HIPAA compliant web based services, personnel news from MDI Achieve and news from SA Ignite of the first successful Meaningful Use attestation to the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program with Wisconsin physicians using their MU Assistant. … [Read More...]
Healthcare Innovation Council Calls Out CMS’ EHR Meaningful Use Program
Yet another group of healthcare experts has called upon Congress to reconsider CMS' meaningful use program to finance electronic health records for hospitals and physicians. The Healthcare Innovation Council submitted its commentary entitled "Let's Admit the Emperor Has No Clothes- It's Time to Redesign EHRs to Improve Patient Care" to U.S. Senators Lamar Alexander, Richard Burr, Tom Coburn, Mike … [Read More...]
EHR and HIT News for May 16th
Today's EHR and HIT News includes an update from iMedicor on an upgrade to their SocialHIE for Galaxy Health Network. Personnel news from SOAPware that their President Randall Oates, M.D. is among the first NCQA Certified Patient-Centered Medical Home Content Experts. Today also brings news from gMed on the introduction of a cloud-based version of gGastro Suite … [Read More...]
Panasonic Upgrades Toughbook H2 Rugged Tablet PC for Healthcare Professionals
Panasonic has announced upgrades to the Panasonic Toughbook® H2, the industry’s most rugged handheld tablet PC. With a Healthcare Specific design, the MIL-STD-810G1 and IP651 certified device includes a faster processor, expanded storage and other improvements, while retaining critical features to enhance usability and durability – including the ability to survive a 6-foot drop. Here are a … [Read More...]
