Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act

See the following -

10 Things DoD Wants In Its Next EHR

Staff Writer | Government Health IT | September 2, 2014

Ending months of anticipation, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) released its official request for proposals to modernize its Electronic Health Records (EHR) system and enable the DoD to share health data with the private sector and the Department of Veterans Affairs...

Read More »

2014 Health IT Venture Funds Fly High

Bernie Monegain | Healthcare IT News | January 19, 2015

Six companies attracted millions from top venture investors...

Read More »

Behavioral Health's EHR Conundrum

Tom Sullivan | Healthcare IT News | March 12, 2014

March 12, 2014-Behavioral health and long-term post-acute care are perhaps the two most significant areas left out of the meaningful use program. “When we look at the big circle of care, there’s a huge hole -- behavioral health,” said Mark Caron, CIO of Capital Blue. “Behavioral health is a mess.” And at least similar words could be used to describe the status of EHR implementation in many long-term and post-acute care settings.

Read More »

Bigger Medical Applications Will Require Increased Network Capacity

Jeff Rowe | Government Health IT | March 6, 2012

...at the recent HIMSS12 conference, BridgeWave Communications showcased a number of its wireless backhaul solutions. But in promoting its presentation, it offered a some food for thought for healthcare IT managers tasked with supporting the growing network needs of their healthcare facilities. Read More »

CCHIT Demise Should Herald Demise Of EHR Certification

Neil Versel | Forbes | October 29, 2014

In my very first post for Forbes.com, written back in May, I argued that certification of electronic health records had run its course and was no longer needed in health IT.  This week, that position got a boost with some news that in one sense was shocking and in another was not surprising at all: the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) is closing its doors on Nov. 14...

Read More »

Cerner CEO Makes An Emotional Plea For Interoperability Among Health Care Technology Providers

Diane Stafford | The Kansas City Star | November 4, 2014

...A rapt audience of about 11,000 Tuesday morning at the annual Cerner Health Conference heard Patterson emotionally invoke personal experience to illustrate his passion for what his company does.  The North Kansas City-based company is an industry leader in digitizing patient health records and working with other providers to make that information “interoperable” across health care information technology providers...

Read More »

Congressman Offers 3-Point MU Fix

Tom Sullivan, | Healthcare IT News | June 23, 2014

With $23 billion already spent on incentivizing providers to adopt electronic health records, many in government and industry are wondering whether taxpayers and patients got what they paid for...

Read More »

eHealth Initiative 2020 Roadmap Seeks To Address ‘Government Gridlock’

Greg Slabodkin | Health Data Management | November 14, 2014

With interoperability challenges continuing to plague the healthcare industry and impatience growing among consumers and providers, the eHealth Initiative on Thursday announced the first set of priorities for its 2020 Roadmap designed to “enable coordinated efforts by public and private sector organizations to transform care delivery through data exchange and health information technology.”...

Read More »

EHR Usability Gaps -- ONC and AHRQ Identify Serious Shortcomings of Certified EHRs

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act provided providers with a significant financial incentive to increase the adoption and use of EHRs. EHR vendors were required to conduct and report on a summative usability evaluation of their system as part of the Stage 2 Meaningful Use program (The ONC 2014 Edition Certification). However, a recent report funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), identified several “issues” with the certified EHR vendors in the processes, practices and use of standards and best practices with regard to usability and human factors.

EHR Use Hindered by Revenue Loss, Lack of Interoperability

Sara Heath | EHR Intelligence | August 31, 2015

EHR use has been on the rise since the 2009 passing of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act provided financial incentives for EHR implementation. However, do the gains of EHR adoption outweigh the substantial costs? A recent study written by Tara O’Neill of the American Action Forum takes a look at these questions and states that although there are considerable benefits to EHR adoption, these come with costs that can only be resolved with changes in healthcare policy...

Read More »

Fast Could Lead To Furious Over EHR Meaningful Use

Editorial | American Medical News | February 18, 2013

CMS’ schedule for physicians to show electronic health record proficiency is too ambitious given system limitations and issues that haven’t been addressed from stage 1. Read More »

FBI Issues Healthcare Cyber-Alerts

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee | Gov Info Security | April 23, 2014

The FBI recently issued two alerts to the healthcare sector warning of increased risk of cyber-intrusions against systems and medical devices, especially as healthcare providers transition to electronic health records.  The two "private industry notices," or PINs, were issued on April 8 and April 17, with the latter being an update to the earlier alert, an FBI spokeswoman tells Information Security Media Group.

Read More »

Former ONC Leaders Cite Challenges in Maximizing EHR Benefits

Joseph Goedert | Health Data Management | September 12, 2017

Four former national coordinators for health information technology have penned a perspective on achievements made in using electronic health records under the HITECH Act and where providers and the HIT industry still must go to continue past progress. The law spurred rapid progress toward digitizing the industry, which now is at an inflection point, say the authors, who include Vindell Washington, MD, Karen DeSalvo, MD, Farzad Mostashari, MD, and David Blumenthal, MD. EHRs have primed the industry to now achieve several positive results, including improving clinical guidelines, and sharing patient data seamlessly and securely...

Read More »

Glaser: Healthcare Is Amid Fifth IT Revolution

Tom Sullivan | Government Health IT | June 12, 2013

When Siemens Health Services CEO John Glaser’s daughter graduated from medical school this past weekend, it was a proud day for her and for him. [...] Read More »

Hawaii and Health Care: A Small State Takes a Giant Step Forward

Ann Waldo | O'Reilly Radar | August 21, 2012

In an era characterized by political polarization and legislative stalemate, the tiny state of Hawaii has just demonstrated extraordinary leadership. The rest of the country should now recognize, applaud, and most of all, learn from Hawaii’s accomplishment. Read More »