Top Story

• ONCHIT names groups to define common health IT terms
  The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology named members for the Records Work Group and the Networks Work Group, which will develop a consensus on the definitions and use of common health IT terms. The groups will work on the following terms: Electronic health record, electronic medical record, personal health record, regional health information organization and health information exchange. Health Data Management (11/30)

The 3rd Annual World Healthcare Innovation and Technology Congress: WHIT 3.0 Innovation to Transform, December 9 - 11, 2007, Washington, DC. WHIT 3.0 is the one meeting you should attend if you need to understand which technologies are optimal for you and exactly how you can most efficiently integrate these tech solutions into your overall strategic plans. Click here for more information.

Hospitals

• Technology answers hospital translation needs
  Hospitals in California are pioneering video conferencing technology that allows nurses and other health care staff to tap into a network of qualified translators online and in real time. Staff at one participating hospital say that the units are easier and quicker to use than telephone systems and that the direct contact with patients improves accuracy and adds a personal touch. Daily News (Los Angeles) (11/30)

• Scripting tool reduces costs, improves care
  Hays Medical Center in Kansas has reported cost savings and improved patient care after implementing a scripting tool from Boston Software Systems. The hospital's CIO and CFO says the tool reduces administrative work for physicians and nurses and also can perform tasks such as billing and scripting down time reports. Healthcare Finance News (12/3)

New report from the IBM Institute for Business Value: The evolving role of biomarkers: Focusing on patients from research to clinical practice. Click here now to download the report.

Providers

• Value of teleradiology "nighthawks" discussed
  Attendees of the Radiology Society of North America conference last week discussed the role of teleradiology "nighthawks," outsourced radiologists based in other countries who are available to read results from U.S. tests during night hours. Proponents of the practice see it as a way to offer lower-cost services to patients, but others say nighthawking emphasizes the bottom line over quality of care and devalues the field. Modern Healthcare (free registration) (11/30)

Technology Trends

• National cardiovascular health research network planned
  The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute is funding a new national cardiovascular research network coordinated by Kaiser Permanente. Researchers from 14 U.S. nonprofit health plans will participate in the network, which will use data resources and population-based research to study the prevention, epidemiology, management and outcomes of cardiovascular diseases. American City Business Journals/Sacramento (11/29)

• Program to promote online communication for diabetics
  The Palo Alto Medical Foundation will implement a pilot program to encourage online communication between health care providers and diabetics to try to boost compliance and reduce complications. The foundation says it will ask for reimbursement from private insurers and Medicare if the program proves successful. American City Business Journals/Silicon Valley/San Jose (11/30)

• Practice Fusion updates Web site to reflect cost of free EMRs
  Practice Fusion has added a notice on its Web site stating its EMR system only requires a nominal support fee for physicians and does not charge for licensing and hosting. The move comes after a physician complained of the company's use of the word "free" in marketing materials. American Medical News (subscription required) (12/10)

Hot Topics

Top five news stories selected by eHealth SmartBrief readers in the past week.

• KLAS publishes report on clinical information systems (Health Data Management)

• IT vendors, provider organizations join CORE (Health Data Management)

• Survey: Majority of doctors support tax credits to pay for EMRs (American Medical News)

• Poll: Confidence in e-health records rises (The Wall Street Journal (free content))

• Survey: Nurses use health IT but want more training, involvement (Health Data Management)

• Results based on number of times each story was clicked by readers.

Regulatory/Legislative

• Senate hearing will air opinions on e-Rx for controlled substances
  A Senate hearing scheduled for Dec. 4 will address electronic prescribing for controlled substances that are currently banned from e-prescribing by the Drug Enforcement Agency. Proponents of e-prescribing for these drugs note that the current rules hinder e-prescribing for all drugs because doctors often handwrite all scripts instead of maintaining separate systems for controlled and noncontrolled therapies. Health Data Management (11/30)

• Army issues request for information for DOD, VA EHR project
  The Army will seek input on how the departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs can implement an EHR system for inpatient care. Among areas covered in the information request are how the proposed system will interoperate with other systems, how long initial deployment and full deployment will take, whether the project should comply with federal and industry standards and what kind of governance would work best with the project. Government Health IT magazine (11/2007)

Health Information Clerk Sutter Health US-CA-Burlingame Health Information Management Coordinator Visiting Nurse & Health Services of Connecticut, Inc. US-CT-Vernon Health Information Management Specialist on call - FHS Franciscan Health System - Regional US-WA-Tacoma Manager - Health Information Management Main Line Health System US-PA-Philadelphia Director Health Information Management The BridgeWay US-AR-North Little Rock Director of Health Information Services Riverside Health System US-VA-Hampton Roads Health Information Technician (Medical Records) PrecyseSolutions US-PA-Philadelphia

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