In the age of Twitter, the blogosphere, iPhones and Androids, it is often difficult for people in more developed nations to imagine what it is like to have no voice. Yet for populations not served by broadband Internet and WiFi connections, exclusion from national dialogue and debate continues, leaving many communities and people out of the conversation on social and political issues. Read More »

South African government has what it takes to improve service delivery using social networks, says Government IT Officers Council chairperson Julius Segole. Speaking at the annual GovTech conference, in Durban, this morning, Segole said Gartner predicts that by 2015, almost 50% of government services and outcomes will possibly be delivered using social networks and smart technology. Read More »

AUSTIN, TX – Texas is poised to launch a statewide health information exchange with the completion of an assessment and plan to support implementation and interoperability standards. Consulting firm Accenture completed the work for the Texas Health Services Authority (THSA). Read More »

Social media such as Facebook, Twitter and foursquare may be important keys to improving the public health system's ability to prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters, according to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine. Read More »

There are several factors inhibiting EMR adoption, but the concept of usability is often at the root, and rightfully so. Although effective training and implementation methods affect user adoption rates as well, poor usability has a strong impact on productivity, error rate, and user satisfaction. Read More »

...The goal is for healthcare providers to be able to ask the data questions about population and public health, quality and research and learn from the information, said Dr. Farzad Mostashari, the national health IT coordinator, in announcing the project on Sept. Read More »

WASHINGTON – Perhaps this is to be taken as a sign that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will not, as some healthcare IT pros no doubt are still hoping, push back the compliance deadline for ICD-10. Read More »

At some point, all of us are likely to owe our lives--or our quality of life--to a medical device. Yesterday I had the chance to attend the third annual Medical Device Connectivity conference, where manufacturers, doctors, and administrators discussed how to get all these monitors, pumps, and imaging machines to work together for better patient care. Read More »

Researchers at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston showed that when CDs of radiology images were imported from outside emergency departments into the hospital's picture archiving and communications system (PACS), fewer repetitive studies were performed on patients transferred into the hospital. Read More »

At Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y., physicians often review medical images of referred patients who aren't yet official patients of the institution--a review that helps them determine if the case warrants their clinical expertise. Read More »