New certification will provide assurance for EHR users

00hitbcc — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 15:54:14 +0000

The Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology published today in the federal register a final rule that will establish a permanent certification program for health information technology applications, particularly electronic health records systems and modules. ONC expects the permanent certification program will begin on Jan. 1, 2012.

Google has launched a medical category for Android.

00hitbcc — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 19:55:11 +0000

Great news for medical providers…iMedicalApps is reporting that Google has finally launched a medical category for apps in the Android Marketplace. One year after Apple launched its iPhone, it added a medical category for healthcare professionals to its app store. Google’s Android Marketplace, on the other hand, has been much slower to segment the healthcare category into consumer health apps and healthcare provider medical apps. The apps in Google’s new medical category appear to be categorized correctly.

Physicians steadily increase EHR adoption

00hitbcc — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 19:36:24 +0000

Results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s annual survey of provider practices show that 50.7% of the physicians who responded use at least partial EHRs in their offices, only slightly higher than the 2009 figure of 48.3% even as the Health and Human Services Department dangles the prospect of paying out billions in incentive payments starting in 2011 to healthcare providers who become meaningful users of certified EHRs.

Commercial electronics in the military?

00hitbcc — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 17:30:39 +0000

The military, spearheaded by the U.S. Army, is currently planning to issue Android and Windows-based phones to its troops and is also examining the possibility of connecting these devices into combat networks in the field via the Joint Tactical Radio System. The exact nature and tactical use of smartphones remains in question and some are questioning the applicability of using commercial grade devices in the field without considerable ruggedization and security modifications.

Even still, the service is moving forward issuing smartphones to its personnel in garrison through its Go Mobile program and related efforts.

Surgeons at Georgetown are using the iPad to access real time patient data and radiographic images during surgery.

00hitbcc — Fri, 10 Dec 2010 19:54:29 +0000

Integrating the iPad into the clinical setting virtually eliminates guesswork by busy doctors because laboratory data and other key patient information are immediately accessible both on wards and in the operating room. Important data can even be captured during surgery and shared with the patient afterward.

The iPad is “a powerful and flexible computing device [that] will almost certainly play some role in our future everyday practices,” says Dr. Felasfa Wodajo, an orthopedic surgeon at Georgetown University.

By decreasing the barriers to integrating technology with clinical care, the outcome can be improved patient safety, higher patient satisfaction, and decreased health care costs.

In the January 2011 issue of the Journal of Surgical Radiology, Dr. Wodajo details how he has integrated the iPad into his clinical practice.