The eHealth Initiative announced plans to create a 2020 Roadmap that will examine the transformation of the health care industry in recent years and propose recommendations for continued innovation, Clinical Innovation and Technology reports (Pedulli, Clinical Innovation and Technology, 3/26).
On Tuesday, March 27, 2014 the FDA published a proposed rule in the Federal Register that would update how the agency classifies medical devices, including mobile health technologies, Health Data Management reports (Slabodkin, Health Data Management, 3/25).
The Access Board's free monthly series took place April 3 2014 from 2:30 – 4:00 (ET) and covered evaluation and testing for compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act which requires access to electronic and information technology in the federal sector.
Federal agencies are responsible for accurately evaluating information and communication technology, including web and software applications, for Section 508 compliance. This webinar reviewed the standards-based approach to Section 508 evaluation and testing implemented by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Some medical schools are incorporating training on electronic health records into their curricula because exposure to the IT systems is increasingly considered a crucial element of the medical education experience, Politico Pro reports.
Solo physician practices' adoption of electronic health records increased significantly over the last year, according to a survey by SK&A, Health Data Management reports (Slabodkin, Health Data Management, 3/24).
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT launched a Clinical Quality Framework initiative that will work to integrate guidelines for clinical decision support and electronic clinical quality measurement, according to a "Health IT Buzz" blog post by
Quality ratings on CMS' Hospital Compare website lack the data variation needed to adequately help patients distinguish the quality and performance of different providers, according to a study published in the journal Health Services Research,
On Friday, HHS released its fiscal years 2014-2018 strategic plan, which highlights the meaningful use of health IT as a way to improve population health and health care outcomes, Clinical Innovation & Technology reports.
The HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT have launched a new initiative designed to help spur the use of health IT in emergency medical services, EHR Intelligence reports.
About the Initiative
On Feb. 26, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT released a Notice of Proposed Rule Making to develop a Voluntary 2015 Edition Electronic Health Record Certification Program and update its previous certification criteria and rules.
An article supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) examines gaps in current electronic health record (EHR) functionality and needed enhancements to better support primary care. “Electronic health record functionality needed to better support primary care” recently appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.
From the executive summary, “These recommendations provide a first step in moving from a billing-centered perspective (i.e., focusing
on ensuring maximum and timely reimbursement) to a clinician-centered perspective where the EHR design supports clinical cognitive work,
such as moving from an initial working diagnosis to a formal diagnosis for a complex patient. These recommendations point the way towards a “patient visit
management system,” which incorporates broader notions of supporting workload management, and supporting the flexible flow of patients and tasks.”
A new National Institute of Standards and Technology report offers recommendations on how electronic health record developers and ambulatory care centers can better integrate EHR systems into clinical workflow, FierceHealthIT reports.
Update: Now 23 Vendors...
Seventeen electronic health record developers have adopted an industry trade group's EHR Developer Code of Conduct, Modern Healthcare reports (Conn, Modern Healthcare, 3/10).
Preliminary recommendations for stage 3 of the “meaningful use” EHR Incentive Program were released by an Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) workgroup.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services issued guidance for eligible professionals, eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals that are unable to implement the 2014 Edition of Certified Electronic Health Record technology in time to successfully demonstrate meaningful use for the 2014 reporting year.
Visit the EHR Incentive Program webpage (http://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Legislation/EHRIncentiveProg... ) for the:
The U.S. Access Board is in the process of jointly updating its Section 508 Standards for Electronic and Information Technology and its Telecommunications Act (Section 255) Accessibility Guidelines. On February 23, the Board submitted a proposed rule to update these standards and guidelines to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review. OMB has 90 days to review the rule under Executive Order 12866. Once cleared by OMB, the proposed rule will be published in the Federal Register and will be available for public comment for a specified period of time.
Prescription drug developers are increasingly using social media to interact with consumers and distribute information about medications, according to a recent analysis by the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development, Medical News Today reports.
The study also found that:
Janet Freeman-Daily writes a blog about lung cancer. As a former aerospace systems engineer with a degree from MIT, Freeman-Daily uses her blog, "Gray Connections," to describe scientific information in less technical terms for patients with lung cancer. It's also a forum in which she can share her personal experiences as someone who had been diagnosed (in 2011) with stage 4 lung cancer. She describes the purpose of her blog this way: