Patient Web site unveiled for Duke health system
A new Web site available to the nearly half a million people using the extensive Duke University Health System allows patients to make appointments and pay bills online and soon may make clinical information available as well, including prescriptions and lab results. The goal of the estimated $1 million site is to give patients more control over their personal health information. The Washington Post/Associated Press (2/22) 
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Survey: Private sector ahead of states in EMR adoption
A recent survey of state and private health care IT executives found that public-sector health care organizations worked with regional health information organizations significantly more than did private-sector organizations, but were behind when it came to using electronic medical records. Lack of funding, difficulties with technology and cultural resistance were cited as slowing the process of EMR adoption. Government Health IT (2/19)
Commentary: Why EMRs are the way to go: HIPAA was meant to ease the exchange of medical information, but subsequent patient privacy rules have many believing they need signed consent from the patient to release information -- even to another doctor treating the patient, writes Dr. Benjamin Brewer in The Wall Street Journal. As a result, the free flow of information is still hampered. The use of electronic medical records can limit access to and track who sees a patient's chart -- which can be shared with another treating physician. The Wall Street Journal (free content) (2/20)
Hampered access to online records affects treatment for soldiers
Doctors in the Department of Veterans Affairs rely heavily on the Pentagon's Joint Patient Tracking Application to access digital health records in order to better treat severely wounded soldiers returning to the U.S. from Iraq and Afghanistan. Recently, their access to the system has been cut off because the Pentagon says, "It is illegal for them to have access without data use agreements and access controls in place by federal regulations and public law." VA and Pentagon officials have been meeting about the situation. The Washington Post (2/15)
Health CEO discusses technologies to prevent errors
Kerry Clark, CEO of Cardinal Health, in an interview discusses how new technologies should be employed to prevent hospital deaths from drug errors and hospital-acquired infections. Clark says Cardinal already works with some solutions, including a medication dispensing system, which verifies that when the medication is drawn at the nursing station, it is checked against the patient record, confirming time and dose. The New York Times (2/17)
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California hospital, others test mobile data entry device for nurses
The University of California, San Francisco, is among several sites testing a mobile data-entry device designed to reduce human error and save nurses time. The device, called the C5, was developed by Intel and Motion Computing, and features a 10.4-inch display screen on which nurses can enter data. InformationWeek (2/20)
Chicago hospital connects young patients with outside world
Hospitals increasingly are offering services including wireless Internet access, patient information portals and even patient blogs as a new generation of computer users checks in for health care. The University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital is a pioneer in these efforts, tailoring many of its e-offerings to young patients it serves. Chicago Tribune (2/18)
Commentary: IT can improve health care for Texans
Texans are optimistic that information technology can help improve many of the nation's health care woes, writes James Coffin, an executive with Dell's health care unit, in the Houston Chronicle. Coffin says three guidelines can simplify the transformation of the health care system: staying close to the patient, having government and industry work together, and focusing on streamlining processes. Houston Chronicle (2/17)
Other News
Georgia doctors consider e-prescriptions
American City Business Journals/Atlanta (2/16)
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Privacy warning issued over Australian smart card
Health officials are warning patients of possible privacy breaches in the government's proposed Access card. They say cardholders who choose to load their health information should be aware that they are putting sensitive personal information into what officials say is the public domain. The Australian (2/22)
RFID tags used to manage U.K. patients' data, minimize errors
Some patients at England's Birmingham Heartlands Hospital are testing out new high-tech bracelets that should help increase safety and decrease errors. The common-looking wristbands are embedded with electronic tags that contain personal information, including a digital photo of the patient and details of their care, which can be read using a PDA. BBC (2/16)
Other News
Israeli HMO selected to offer health care IT to Bulgaria
Healthcare IT News (2/21)
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eHi third annual survey of HIE initiatives report released!
Improving quality is the primary driver for health information exchange efforts. eHI survey shows maturation of efforts at the state and community levels, and increased delivery of services to hospitals, clinicians, plans and purchasers, that will significantly improve the quality of health care. Read the release and obtain a copy of the report.
AVAILABLE NOW! The next generation of tools for communities
eHI's Connecting Communities Toolkit is a how-to synthesis of principles and tools designed to equip states, regions and local communities with the information and expertise to begin or advance local initiatives. Read timely insight into areas crucial to start-up and survival such as organizational structure, value creation, financing, practice transformation, quality, information-sharing policies, technical aspects and public policy and advocacy. FREE but registration required. Read more.
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 | We must get information technology into the hands of health care providers."
--Newt Gingrich and Bob Galvin, M.D. Read the complete commentary.
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