This week we celebrate National Health IT Week. I have the honor of working with some of the best health IT professionals in the country. As part of the HIMSS eConnecting with Consumers Committee commitment to equip front line clinicians and providers with information and resources on HIT the volunteer Committee is releasing a new white paper, “The…

In an eight-country survey conducted by Accenture, U.S. doctors were most strongly in support of patients updating the majority of their information in their health record in comparison to other international countries surveyed (Australia, Canada, England, France, Germany, Singapore, Spain, and the United States) According to the survey, U.S. physicians felt that patients should be…

A February 12 iHealthbeat article highlighted the explosive growth in the implementation of patient portals by physicians who are using EHRs, driven by the Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements. Dr. Michael Barr also recently reviewed the Stage 2 Meaningful Use Requirements, including the fact that practices will be dependent on 5% of their patients to view/download/transmit…

By establishing requirements for electronic interaction, the Meaningful Use program is driving the development of EHR features that enable information sharing and communication between physicians and patients. It is still too early to determine whether benefits will be realized in terms of increased efficiency, higher satisfaction, and lowered costs. While it may ultimately be good…

What is the difference between Patient Portals and Personal Health Records (PHRs)? Traditionally, a Patient Portal is an extension of an EHR, EMR, or Hospital system. Data from one of these systems is published to the portal. The patient is provided with a secure login and can view results or clinical information and interact with…

In the July issue of the JAMIA, Peggy Wagner et al provide an interesting report on the use of personal health records (PHR) in an effort to improve hypertension control. In this well-designed study, 446 patients were randomized to either receive access to a PHR connected to the patient’s electronic medical record or usual care…

There are few opportunities that excite healthcare administrators more than the ability to lower costs and reduce utilization of services. Remote patient monitoring (RPM) is a group of technologies that minimizes costs while at the same time improves the care of patients suffering from chronic diseases. In addition, RPM has the ability to improve quality…

Guest Editorial David W. Bates, MD, MSC is the Chief Quality Officer, and Chief, Division of General Internal Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA. The Medical Home is one of the most exciting developments in care redesign in some time. Although the concept was initially developed many years ago in pediatrics, it is just…

The Annals of Internal Medicine published two articles and an editorial this week about the desire of patients to have access to (and share access to) a personal health record (PHR) — and have access to and share notes from the clinical record. The first article, entitled, “Patient Interest in Sharing Personal Health Record Information:…

If your front office does not operate efficiently, it has a negative ripple effect throughout your entire practice. The Meaningful Use program, mandatory E-Prescribing, and health system reform initiatives at the state level are taking their toll on many practices. The transition towards Electronic Health Records and adaptation to new workflow processes is creating significant…

In order to meet the requirements for Meaningful Use, eligible providers will be required to share information with a patient as defined by either Core or Optional Measures. For more detail on what is required for patient communication under Meaningful Use, click here. Over the past week, there has been a lot of coverage of…