Q: Physicians are afraid of EMR (Electronic Medical Record) project failure, so why should their practice go through the headache of integrating EMR now?
A: Murphy’s law states that if anything can go wrong, it will, and EMR integration is no stranger to this rule. However, project failure is certainly avoidable if the practice takes the [...]

Q: Most physicians don’t understand the technology world, so how do physicians who view technology as something that is foreign to them even begin to understand which EMR/HIT vendor to choose?
A: It is important to choose an EMR/HIT vendor that caters to the needs of their practice, as different vendors offer slightly different things. It’s [...]

Q:How does my clinical practice get the best price for EMR?
A:When you receive a proposal for new EMR, be sure to look at license fees, service fees, interface fees, and all other aspects of the proposal. Although the cost for EMR may appear competitive, there are often hidden costs in these sections. Most vendors have [...]

Q: Since physicians don’t like change and are not often interested in changing the way they practice, why should they purchase electronic medical records (EMR) for their group practice?
A: Physicians interested in EMR for their practice should not view this as an all or nothing shift in the way they will practice medicine. MDs should [...]

I read an article on the MEDITECH website regarding Parkview Adventist Medical Center and their approach to EHR (Electronic Health Record), “Small Hospital is Big News.” The article states, “The facility and its CIO Bill McQuaid have been making regional and national headlines for undertaking a secure, cost-effective, and meaningful approach to EHR use.” [...]

This past week I had the opportunity to speak with about 30 CFOs. Some were from community hospitals and others were from critical access hospitals. All were there for the same reason: to learn about the federal EHR Incentive Program. But before I went into the details of Stage 1 of “Meaningful Use” I took [...]

By now I think most of us in healthcare IT have either spent time reading the requirements for Stage 1 of meaningful use. Others have listened to the many webinars that are helping hospitals and physicians understand “42 CFR Parts 412, et al” and “45 CFR Part 170”– the fancy name on the Federal Register [...]

I read an article in Healthcare Financial News dated October 26, 2009 titled “Americans waste up to $850 billion a year in healthcare”. According to his study the biggest causes of waste are:
* $250-$325 billion in unnecessary care defined as over use of antibiotics and diagnostic lab tests to protect against malpractice exposure.
* [...]

If you’ve been attending the numerous seminars covering ARRA and HITECH stimulus money you know the vendors are trying to sell electronic health/medical records. And that is justifiably so. Without the technology there will be no way to achieve the meaningful use requirements. But the ultimate goal isn’t to have an EMR in every physician [...]

So last week at the Health2.0 Conference in San Francisco, Google announces they are adding telehealth to the services provided via the Google Health personal health record (PHR). Great stuff if people are actually using a PHR. I know what they are, and I’m not. I don’t see the point yet. None of my providers [...]