News Clips

Bridging the Canadian Chasm

Aron Tennant | karoshealth | May 18, 2011

This paper describes a solution based on the open source product Mirth Connect and Karos’ Rialto Toolkit, that publishes patient health information from the HIAL to IHE XDS.
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VA Hospital in Colorado to Share Patient Data with Private Physicians

Pamela Lewis Dolan | amednews.com | May 18, 2011

VA hospital in Colorado to share patient data with private physicians: The Veterans Health Administration hopes this is the first of many projects in the U.S. to help streamline coordination of care. The Veterans Health Administration will begin testing a health information exchange between the Grand Junction (Colo.) VA Medical Center and Moab (Utah) Regional Hospital and surrounding physician practices.

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VA Plan for Upgrading Wi-Fi at Hospitals Hits Concrete

Bob Brewin | NextGov | May 18, 2011

The Veterans Affairs Department literally ran into a wall with an ambitious plan kicked off in 2008 to install upgraded Wi-Fi networks at 236 hospitals and clinics nationwide, according to internal probes, top agency officials and contractors. Read More »

The Many Meaningful Uses of Health Information Technology

Emily Hogin | HealthIT Buzz | May 18, 2011

ONC has several programs and resources to help providers and hospitals that do not happen to be eligible for incentive payments nevertheless use health IT to improve their patients’ care. Read More »

Radiologist Sues Hospital for 'Silencing' His Patient Safety Concerns

Sara Jackson | Fierce Healthcare | May 17, 2011

University of Iowa radiologist Malik Juweid filed a lawsuit earlier this month charging the hospital is trying to silence his complaints that the facility performs unnecessary PET and CT scans, particularly on children. He also seeks unspecified damages for racial discrimination and defamation. Read More »

VA CIO Roger Baker Receives Prestigious John J. Franke Award at 31st Annual Management of Change Conference

Press Release | ACT-IAC | May 17, 2011

Last night, the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council presented Roger Baker, Assistant Secretary for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer for the Department of Veteran Affairs, with the 2011 John J. Franke Award.

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Medic Mobile: An Open Source, mHealth System

Andrew Lala | Medic Mobile | May 17, 2011

In the developing world, lack of infrastructure prevents health workers from delivering efficient healthcare to rural areas...Many gaps and shortcomings of health systems can be addressed using simple, locally appropriate communication technologies. Read More »

Efforts to Streamline Military Records, Services Face Scrutiny

Andrew Theen | Medill News Service | May 17, 2011

The Department of Veterans Affairs and the Defense Department, the two largest federal agencies, have failed to streamline veterans services and share records, wasting hundreds of millions of dollars, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. Read More »

CaBIG: Cancer Research Boon or Bane?

Lisa Grauer | BioTechniques.com | May 17, 2011

The National Cancer Institute’s data-sharing program, CaBIG, received poor marks in a recent review. Read More »

Baker: Federal CIOs Will Embrace a 'Bring-your-own-device' Strategy in Less Than 2 Years

Molly Bernhart Walker | FierceGovernmentIT | May 17, 2011

In less than 2 years, federal agencies will allow workers to use a single, employee-provided mobile device for work with the ability to connect to the network, predicted Veterans Affairs Department Chief Information Officer Roger Baker. Read More »

HRH Global Resource Center Launches New Tutorials

Press Release | HRH Global Resource Center | May 17, 2011

Every month, nearly 48,000 users on average access the HRH Global Resource Center (GRC), CapacityPlus’s digital library of Human Resources for Health (HRH) information with over 2,700 resources. Three new online tutorials introduce new users to the GRC. Read More »

Health Information Exchanges are Vital to Pandemic Responses, Official Says

Joseph Marks | NextGov | May 17, 2011

State health information exchanges, which hold and collate electronic medical records, are vital to the federal government's ability to rapidly respond to a public health emergency, a Health and Human Services Department official told a Senate panel Tuesday. Read More »

VA CIO Roger Baker Receives Prestigious John J. Franke Award at 31st Annual Management of Change Conference

Press Release | ACT-IAC | May 17, 2011

Roger Baker, CIO of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), recognized for long-term contributions to federal service through demonstrated thought leadership, partnerships and collaboration. Read More »

VA Expects to Save $16B by Going Open Source for Health Records

Alice Lipowicz | Federal Computer Week | May 17, 2011

The Veterans Affairs Department is turning to open-source solutions to modernize its electronic health records system partly to avoid the estimated expense of $16 billion to buy a commercial system, said Roger Baker, VA's CIO and assistant secretary for information and technology. Read More »

Cell Phones Can Help Under-Developed Countries Manage Diabetes and Other Diseases

University of Michigan Health System | Newswise | May 17, 2011

A new study by the Veterans Affairs Ann Arbor Healthcare System and University of Michigan suggests that mobile phones could help low-income patients across the globe manage diabetes and other chronic diseases. Read More »