Image via Wikipedia In New Jersey, and around the country, most doctors still rely on paper records for everything from writing prescriptions to keeping track of their patients’ allergies. Only about 1.5 percent of U.S. hospitals have switched to an electronic records systems, and less than 8 percent have even a basic system, according to [...]
Will EHR Adoption need to be decentralized?
May 28, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Image via Wikipedia The following is an analysis of a previous article questioning the premise that EHR is the correct prescription for healthcare automation. The healthcare industry overspends on administration, relative to other industries. Automation through IT systems is clearly one of the solutions, but a centralized or uniform health records platform is increasingly not [...]
IT Executive Panel Discussion on EMR in Wisconsin
May 27, 2009 By Leave a Comment
At the Digital Healthcare Conference 2009 in Madison, several healthcare executives from University of Wisconsin Hospitals & Clinics along with venture capital investor John Byrnes of Mason Wells answered questions and discussed the role that technology will play in improving the quality of health care delivery. Panelists included John Byrnes, Executive Managing Director, Mason Wells, [...]
Forbes interview with Citizens Memorial Hospital CIO
May 26, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Image via Wikipedia Shifting health care from paper to electronic records could be one of the most important efficiency gains in our lifetimes, affecting everything from how quickly we can check into a clinic or hospital to how many specialists are available to monitor patients. Yet this presents some complex questions: What exactly is involved [...]
The slow process of transfering health records to the digital world
May 18, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Image via Wikipedia Walk though a typical Kaiser Permanente doctor’s office or hospital, and you won’t find a paper chart lying around. Kaiser, with 450 hospitals and offices around the country, is almost entirely paperless. But as the rest of the health care industry rushes to follow in Kaiser’s digital footsteps, Kaiser’s paperless success story–a [...]
PWC study outlines the “carrot and stick” aspect of stimulus based EMR adoption
May 14, 2009 By 5 Comments
Image by The Library of Congress via Flickr A report recently issued by the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) Health Research Institute concludes that government incentives intended to spur the use of health information technology are a “small carrot” when compared with the amount of money it will cost hospitals and physician practices to implement and maintain electronic health [...]
Interesting study results on physician productivity increases with EMR
May 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Image by Rogers Memorial Hospital via Flickr From an editorial in the Wisconsin State Journal. Health care is the next big debate in Congress. How do we control costs? How do we insure more people? How do we improve medical care? There are few easy answers. But one answer cannot be dismissed or delayed any [...]
Is EMR being forced on physicians before it’s ready?
May 11, 2009 By 4 Comments
Image by benuski via Flickr CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Health care providers across the country are moving to replace their old paper records with sleek new electronic systems, a process the Obama administration wants to speed along with more than $19 billion in stimulus money. That’s a tall order for doctors and hospitals, because an estimated [...]
Push is on to put medical records online in the Northwest
May 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Image via Wikipedia Those who grew up in the pre-Internet world can remember having little access to their credit reports. Today, consumers easily can check and understand their credit scores online. Similarly, access to health records has been shrouded in mystery. But Microsoft, Google and Inland Northwest Health Services in Spokane want to change that, [...]
