Health News

DoD, VA establish office to improve EHR coordination

The Department of Defense and the Veterans Affairs department announced the creation of a special office to help centralize decision-making as the VA makes a multi-billion dollar electronic health records upgrade. WHAT HAPPENED The Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization (FEHRM) office will replace the current Interagency Program Office, headed by Lauren Thompson. WHY IT MATTERS […]

Health News

How to ensure interoperable data is usable by caregivers

Everyone knows that interoperability is key to realizing the improved outcomes that technology and data can produce. But once a healthcare provider organization has some interoperable systems in place, how usable is that data to the clinical end users? With more data available, and from various sources, what happens to ease of use? Three physician […]

Health News

HIMSS writes new definition of interoperability

HIMSS has crafted a new definition for interoperability and is seeking public feedback on it. HIMSS, the owner of Healthcare IT News, described the new concept as one specifically fit for the larger healthcare ecosystem. Mari Greenberger, senior director of informatics at HIMSS, explained that there are now four layers to the proposed interoperability definition: […]

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SA Health performs major upgrades to its EMR system following review

SA Health, the public health agency of South Australia, has made improvements to its troubled electronic medical record (EMR) system, in an attempt to lay the foundation for progressive implementation of new features and functionality. The move is an upgrade from the version the healthcare organisation was using since 2014, and follows an independent review […]

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Why home healthcare workers need access to hospital EHRs

Major gaps in communication exist between hospital and home health care (HHC) clinicians, which could lead to potentially deadly medical errors, a University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus study found. WHY IT MATTERS The study that concluded providing electronic health record access for HHC clinicians would be a promising solution to improve the quality of […]

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The evolution of Health IT at Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority

Dr NT Cheung has been the Chief Medical Informatics Officer (CMIO) of Hong Kong’s Hospital Authority (HA) for the past 26 years. The HA is a statutory body established under the Hospital Authority Ordinance in 1990 and has been responsible for managing Hong Kong’s public hospitals’ services since December 1991. As the CMIO, Dr Cheung […]