The article about Pediatric Associates in CA has a nugget with a potentially outsized impact: the implication that VFC vaccines…
News 12/11/12
About 66 percent of office-based physicians will apply or have applied for MU incentives, according to a CDC survey, though only 27 percent of those have EMRs that can support the Stage 1 objectives of the 15 total. The 27 percent number sounds low to me, so I am wondering if (a) some respondents weren’t sure about the capabilities and certification status of their EMR, and (b) since the survey was done between February and July 2012, some practices may have been on an older release. EMR use by office-based physicians jumped from 48 percent in 2009 to 72 percent in 2012, though only 40 percent report having a system that meets the criteria for a basic system.
The Healthcare Information Xchange of New York recognizes Lansingburgh Family Practice with the Game Changer Award in recognition of its HIE participation, as well as MEDENT for connecting more practices to HIXNY than all other EMR companies combined.
Websites with health-specific content or services for physicians, such as Medscape, reach the highest percentage of physicians (81 percent) compared to other types of health sites. Though only about four percent of physicians visit EHR portals, doctors spend an average of 18 minutes on those sites versus 5.1 minutes on professional health content sites. The same report finds that physicians still use computers for work more than any other type of device, though most would like to use mobile phones and tablets.
Epocrates releases a native app for the iPad and iPad Mini tablets.
Rite Aid pharmacies will send patient immunization records to healthcare providers using The Surescripts Network for Clinical Interoperability.
MacPractice releases the MacPractice Check in App for iPad, a HIPAA-compliant app to automate check-in procedures.
ONC updates its Health IT Dashboard to include summary data on the EHR incentive program. It’s not really new data, but the maps and graphs are interactive and fun to manipulate if you like that kind of stuff.
By the way, EPs have collected about $223 million in EHR incentives from Medicare and Medicaid through the end of November.
e-MDs and eClinicalWorks join Orion Health and ICA to fund the country’s first HIE laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin.
DrFirst announces Akario, a free secure clinical messaging system for providers.
KLAS says it will announce its top-ranked software and service vendors for 2012 on Friday, December 14.
