Category: EHR & EMR

October 19, 2018

By implementing electronic medical record (EMR)-based interventions, Boston Medical Center was able to reduce unnecessary diagnostic testing while increasing the use of postoperative order sets. These actions signal two markers of providing high-value medical care, according to hospital officials. Indeed, […]

October 18, 2018

Electronic health record software costs hospitals and health systems millions and even billions, often eating into their bottoms lines. To give providers a better idea of how the software will affect them financially, vendors should be required to submit maintenance […]

October 17, 2018

Healthcare insurance giant UnitedHealth Group plans to launch an integrated and portable individual health record for its 50 million fully benefited members—as well as providers—by the end of 2019. “We will soon be releasing at scale a first-of-kind, fully integrated […]

October 11, 2018

The Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs have pledged to align their agency’s respective plans to create a common Cerner electronic health record system. Defense Secretary James Mattis and VA Secretary Robert Wilkie have signed a joint statement committing to […]

October 3, 2018

About 70 percent of physicians wouldn’t recommend their profession as a career, with electronic health records systems being a major source of dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction with the profession is so high that more than half of physicians say they are contemplating […]

September 27, 2018

Veterans Integrated Service Network 20 in the Pacific Northwest will serve as the first initial operating capability site to deploy and test the VA’s new Cerner electronic health record system. The planned acquisition calls for aligning the deployment of the […]

September 17, 2018

The lack of electronic health record interoperability and sharing of patient data continue to be major barriers to value-based care in Medicare. That’s the consensus of healthcare stakeholders who testified late last week before the House Energy and Commerce Health […]

September 14, 2018

If the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs are to succeed in creating interoperable electronic health record systems, an Interagency Program Office must clearly define its role and responsibilities. That’s the contention of members of Congress and a Government Accountability […]

August 30, 2018

Responding to the recent departures of senior leaders at the Department of Veterans Affairs, a House subcommittee chairman is worried that the VA office in charge of EHR modernization is floundering. Last month, the VA established the Office of Electronic […]

August 29, 2018

Next Generation ACOs have shown promise to reduce spending without limiting quality, significant health IT challenges may curtail their potential. The new ACO models did well in their first performance year, according to a new evaluation report from the Centers […]

August 20, 2018

When it comes to EHRs, physicians tend to take them as a necessary evil. While health specialists struggle to work with clogged and slow legacy systems, they can’t just quit on using them. EHRs help aggregate patient data, allowing physicians […]

August 17, 2018

The Department of Health and Human Services has awarded $125 million in quality improvement grants throughout the country. The agency says the funds will be used to upgrade the health information technology at 1,352 health centers in all 50 states, […]

July 25, 2018

The Department of Defense is increasing the ceiling for its electronic health record modernization contract with prime contractor Leidos by nearly $1.2 billion. The additional funds are meant to accommodate additional services and capabilities necessary to maintain a standard EHR […]

July 19, 2018

The design, development and implementation of electronic health records must be improved to ensure the usability of EHRs for clinicians and safety for patients. That’s the conclusion of a new EHR usability and safety analysis funded by the American Medical […]

July 16, 2018

With the recent award to Cerner of a $10 billion electronic health record modernization contract by the Department of Veterans Affairs, both the VA and Congress are taking steps to ensure that the implementation of the EHR system receives sufficient […]