The results of a study conducted by Abhay Mishra, an assistant professor of health administration at Georgia State University, and research assistant Shuang Liu, a Ph.D. student in applied mathematics at UC Davis raise some interesting questions about specialty-specific work flow and the effect that EHRs have on productivity. The researchers collected data on productivity pre/post EHR…

Writing in the New York Times last week (December 13), Milt Freudenheim reported that errors generated from electronic health records are of sufficient concern that the Institute of Medicine created the Committee on Patient Safety and Health Information to examine the issue. According to the article, the Food and Drug Administration has received over 250 voluntary reports…

On December 10th, Dr. Blumenthal, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, posted a letter to the ONC site summarizing the activities of the past year.   Whether you are a full supporter of the direction that the Federal Government is taking with respect to the promotion of health IT or not, it has been a…

How are clinicians using social media? As Facebook, Blogs and Twitter become more prevalent, clinicians are faced with multiple challenges. Is it appropriate to use these tools in order to communicate with patients or colleagues? What are the risks or benefits of social media? In a busy practice setting, do these communication tools add value…

AmericanEHR has been working closely with a number of professional societies to collect more comprehensive real-time EHR product satisfaction ratings. Working in conjunction with the American Academy of Allergy Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) and the American Osteopathic Association of Medical Informatics and American Osteopathic Association (AOAMI/AOA) we are currently in the process of surveying large…

Electronic prescribing is the term used to describe the electronic exchange of prescription and medication history information, computer-to-computer, between prescribers, pharmacies and insurance payers/pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Prescriptions are prepared using certified E-Prescribing software run through a computer, EHR, or mobile device (such as a handheld mobile device) and then electronically transmitted through a secure…

Many eligible physicians may not be aware that in order to apply for incentive payments, they must be enrolled in PECOS, the Medicare Provider Enrollment, Chain, and Ownership System. Separate enrollment processes exist for individual practitioners vs. provider/supplier organizations. A similar process will apply for those applying under Medicaid; however, states may add additional steps….