Don’t Worry, Doctor, You are Not Being Replaced by a Computer In the last decade, the Internet has evolved into an amazing resource of information on a mind-boggling range of topics, including on health topics. In Feb. ’11 the Pew Internet and American Life Project published the results of a telephone survey about how Americans use the … Continue reading »

I graduated from medical school in 1969. I learned the pathophysiological basis of diseases and their signs and symptoms. I approached the patient through the time-honored process of chief complaint, history and review of systems, physical exam, lab studies, diagnosis, treatment and monitoring.  Now, in my retirement, I have no clinical diseases, but I take … Continue reading »

If you are a healthcare provider or the office manager of a medical practice, you have probably heard that the ARRA legislation passed in 2009 makes incentive funds available from the federal government for the Meaningful Use of a Certified electronic health record (EHR). We covered the background and eligibility for these incentives in our previous … Continue reading »

The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, a component of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides incentive payments to physician practices  adopting  electronic  health  records  (EHR’s).  This  includes  significant  incentives  for physicians who use electronic medical records in “meaningful” ways. Who is eligible for these incentives? Incentives are … Continue reading »

I recently joined the HealthCare Information Technology group on Linkedin. One of the discussions, begun by Stephen Ambrose, was on Return on Investment, particularly related to smaller health provider practices. ROI is a performance measure used to determine the impact of a particular investment on a particular project or rate of income change due to … Continue reading »

We are often asked about how best to secure a computer which houses an Electronic Medical Record or other sensitive patient information. This is not meant to be a complete discussion on the subject but to cover some of the high points of the issue. The Internet is a dangerous place, you can liken it … Continue reading »