Usability improvements that could enhance patient safety are occurring in electronic health record systems, but not at an acceptable pace and not necessarily for the expected reasons or even the right ones, some industry gurus and researchers report.

A federal judge sentenced the former CFO of a Texas hospital chain to 23 months in prison for his involvement in an effort to defraud the meaningful use program, Healthcare IT News reports (Monegain, Healthcare IT News, 6/18).

During a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Tuesday, senators and stakeholders discussed how providers and HHS could improve the user experience of electronic health records,

The ONC Certified Health IT Product List (CHPL) was recently updated to version 4.0. The new release includes a completely refined user interface. You will find improved search functions, better filtering options and new product selection processes. The new site can be accessed via http://healthit.gov/chpl.

Four Health IT Policy Committee work groups shared feedback on CMS' proposed rule for Stage 3 of the meaningful use program,

ONC invites you to hear from the experts about the proposed 2015 Edition Health IT Certification Criteria rule. At 2:00 p.m. EDT Thursday, May 7, ONC will host a detailed session on the proposed 2015 Edition rule.

During this webinar you will get an overview of the components of the 2015 Edition proposed rule; a summary of the differences between previous editions of certification criteria and certification policies and the 2015 Edition proposed rule; and important milestones and timelines related to the proposed rule.

The increased adoption of electronic health records and other health IT has improved patient safety, according to an issue brief by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, Health IT Analytics reports (Bresnick, Health IT Analytics, 4/28).

While the recent push to adopt health IT systems has helped to improve care and reduce costs, issues with usability and interoperability require further federal attention, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, FierceHealthIT rep

In late February, Thomas Mason took over as CMO at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. In his new role, Mason oversees ONC programs and clinical coordination within the agency.

Click here for Update: The Final Rule for the 2015 edition certification has been released.

Senate and House lawmakers introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation (HR 1470) to permanently replace Medicare's sustainable growth rate formula that includes several health IT provisions, Modern Healthcare reports (Tahir, Moder

While the meaningful use program has spurred adoption of electronic health records, significant gaps in interoperability remain, according to a data brief released by the Brookings Institution, Clinical Innovation & Technolog

In a Health Affairs blog post, a group of Republican senators write, "There is inconclusive evidence that the [HITECH ACT] has achieved its goals of increasing efficiency, reducing costs and improving the quality of care."

While the adoption of electronic health records among emergency and outpatient departments increased between 2006 and 2011, physicians in such departments largely struggled to use the EHR systems to achieve meaningful use objectives, according to a new report released by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, Medscape reports.

Just 15% of meaningful use Stage 2-eligible professionals have attested to the program's requirements, according to the latest data from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT, Becker's Health IT & CIO Review reports (Jayanthi, Becker's Health IT & CIO Review, 2/4).

CMS announced plans to issue a rule that would update the meaningful use program to give eligible providers and eligible hospitals more flexibility in meeting program requirements, Healthcare Informatics reports.

A coalition of 35 medical societies led by the American Medical Association sent a letter to National Coordinator for Health IT Karen DeSalvo calling for major changes to the meaningful use electronic health record certification program, The Hill reports.

Meaningful Use Stage 3 Webinar

AHRQ is hosting a webinar January 28 from 12:30 to 2pm (EST) on meeting Stage 3 Meaningful Use Objectives. This presentation will outline findings from research on meaningful use of clinical decision support, care coordination and electronic health records in primary care settings. Determination of continuing medical education credit with the American Academy of Family Physicians is pending.

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/751882952
Register now!