MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'emrs'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:22:41 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5057721&cid=t_160918_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fone-physician-learns-to-efficiently-manage-her-electronic-medical-records%2F2011.07.23 My practice has been using the EPIC electronic medical record for 5 years now, and it’s taken about that long for me to figure out how to tweak the system to make myself more efficient, and for the system to evolve to a place where I could tweak it myself. Case in point – Quick Actions. EPIC’s most recent upgrade includes little self-made macros called “quick actions” that turn repetitive tasks into a mouse click. I’m using quick actions to manage my results in basket in much the same way you may be using Rules in Outlook to manage your email. Some of my macros are actually little work-arounds for a system that is not yet entirely integrated and a patient population that has not yet embraced online results communication. About half of my patients sign up for online results – ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5057721 Sat, 23 Jul 2011 19:00:03 +0100 5057721 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4709203&cid=t_160918_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fphysicians-wary-of-healthcare-reform-models-intended-to-save-primary-care%2F2011.04.13 When I talk to internal medicine audiences around the country about the latest health policy flavor of the day – accountable care organizations (ACOs) – a typical reaction is skepticism trending toward cynicism. Many don’t quite get what ACOs are all about and certainly don’t want to be lectured about how they need to re-invent their practices. And they don’t buy the idea that ACOs will somehow save internal medicine primary care. The same can be said, perhaps to a lesser extent, about their reactions to PCMHs (Patient-Centered Medical Homes), P4P ( pay-for-performance), HIT (health information technology), MU (meaningful use), and the whole alphabet soup of other reforms being proposed to reform health care delivery and payment systems. And who can blame them? Older inte... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4709203 Wed, 13 Apr 2011 23:00:00 +0100 4709203 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4349515&cid=t_160918_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Freferral-communication-what-happens-to-handoffs-between-primary-care-physicians-and-specialists%2F2011.01.14 Far more primary care doctors report detailed referrals than do specialists report receiving them. The same applies in reverse. Specialists report returning quality consultations, while primary care physicians report receiving them far less often. Researchers reported in Archives of Internal Medicine that perceptions of communication regarding referrals and consultations differed widely. While 69.3 percent of primary care physicians reported “always” or “most of the time” sending a patient’s history and the reason for the consultation to specialists, only 34.8 percent of specialists said they “always” or “most of the time” received the information. And, while 80.6 percent of specialists said they “always” or “most o... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4349515 Fri, 14 Jan 2011 18:00:00 +0100 4349515 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4302125&cid=t_160918_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Ftest-results-delivered-to-your-cellphone-via-a-disposable-test-strip%2F2010.12.31 GENTAG, Inc. has announced a new diagnostic platform which uses near field communication (NFC) technology to transmit test results from a disposable test strip to a patient’s cellphone. Once results have been sent to a phone, they can then be uploaded to internet-connected EMR systems. The company claims their platform can test for pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, pathogens, and a number of different cancers, and monitor glucose, fever, as well as deliver drugs. From the press release: GENTAG started with well-established immunoassay technology and made it wireless and compatible with Near Field Communication (NFC) technology, which enables consumers to use their cell phones as diagnostic tools to instantly test for pathogens, allergens or common medical conditions at any time, no matter where ... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4302125 Fri, 31 Dec 2010 16:10:57 +0100 4302125 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4294628&cid=t_160918_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fstick-to-one-er-avoid-unnecessary-tests%2F2010.12.28 Via Kaiser Health News: On a recent Friday night at the Boston Children’s Hospital ER, Dr. Fabienne Bourgeois was having difficulty treating a 17-year-old boy with a heart problem. The teen had transferred in  from another hospital, where he had already had an initial work-up — including a chest X-ray and an EKG to check the heart’s electrical activity. But by the time he reached pediatrician Bourgeois, she had no access to those records so she gave him another EKG and chest X-ray. He was on multiple medications, and gave her a list of them. But his list differed from the one his mother gave doctors, neither of which matched the list his previous hospital had sent along. This is excellent advice. Every ED has seen a patient, probably today, with “they saw me at the ER across t... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4294628 Tue, 28 Dec 2010 18:00:10 +0100 4294628 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4097941&cid=t_160918_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fhealthcares-facebook%2F2010.10.22 [Recently] the Wall Street Journal‘s front page story exposed a significant privacy breech of online personal information via the world’s most popular social networking site, Facebook: Many of the most popular applications, or “apps,” on the social-networking site Facebook Inc. have been transmitting identifying information—in effect, providing access to people’s names and, in some cases, their friends’ names—to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies, a Wall Street Journal investigation has found. The issue affects tens of millions of Facebook app users, including people who set their profiles to Facebook’s strictest privacy settings. The practice breaks Facebook’s rules, and renews questions about its ability to keep ident... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4097941 Fri, 22 Oct 2010 16:00:00 +0100 4097941 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3876648&cid=t_160918_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fdoctors-and-alarm-fatigue-potential-for-patient-harm%2F2010.08.17 The hospital is never a quiet place. Walk through the wards on a typical day and you’ll hear a cacophony of alarms, bells, and other tones coming from both computers and medical equipment. American Medical News recently discussed so-called “alarm fatigue.” They cite a study showing find that “16,934 alarms sounded in [a medical] unit during an 18-day period.” That’s astounding, and for those who are wondering, that’s about 40 alarms an hour. It’s not surprising that doctors become desensitized to these alarms, and that has potential to harm patients, as physicians may miss legitimate, emergent findings. (more…) *This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3876648 Wed, 18 Aug 2010 01:00:48 +0100 3876648 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3665973&cid=t_160918_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Felectronic-medical-records-what-is-meaningful-use%2F2010.06.15 Quiz:  What does the term “meaningful use” mean? A.  Using something in a way that gives life purpose and leads to carefree days of glee. B.  It depends on your definition of the word “term.” C.  It’s not mean. It’s really nice. D.  A large number of rules created by the government to assess a practice’s use of electronic medical records (EMRs) so that they can spur adoption, give criteria for incentive rewards, and have physicians in a place where care can be measured. E.  Job security for those making money off of health IT. The answer, of course, is D and E. (more…) *This blog post was originally published at Musings of a Distractible Mind* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3665973 Tue, 15 Jun 2010 22:00:07 +0100 3665973 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3592209&cid=t_160918_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fpatient-tests-ehrs-and-medical-homes-the-price-isnt-right%2F2010.05.24 Healthcare reform is forcing medical students to learn about the financial costs of the tests they order, as well as their clinical importance. Once a taboo topic, it’s being openly taught to students to prepare them for practice. At Harvard, one physician in training duplicated television’s “The Price is Right” to keep his peers guessing at the costs of tests on a patient’s bill. Molly Cooke, FACP, a Regent of the College, encourages doctors to consider the value of the tests they order as they deliver care. (Kaiser Health News, New England Journal of Medicine) The price isn’t right for electronic medical records. Even $44,000 in stimulus money isn’t enough to make doctors jump into using computers. (more…) *This blog post was origin... Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3592209 Mon, 24 May 2010 14:00:00 +0100 3592209 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3529788&cid=t_160918_87_f&fid=39187&url=http%3A%2F%2Fgetbetterhealth.com%2Fa-not-so-unforseen-complication-of-electronic-health-records%2F2010.05.03 [Here's a] good article [from] the New York Times written by a doctor [Pauline Chen, M.D.] about intrusive aspects of electronic health records (EHRs) on doctor-patient communication. An excerpt: “…just because EMR improves information sharing and retrieval, it doesn’t necessarily follow that our communication with patients and colleagues will also be better.” Read the rest of the article here. *This blog post was originally published at a few thoughts from a tumor surgeon* (Source: Better Health) Better Health blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3529788 Mon, 03 May 2010 18:00:03 +0100 3529788 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2719784&cid=t_160918_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2009%2F08%2F19%2Femr-backlog%2F I’ve gotten a couple emails from people suggesting that I should write about the current and potential EMR backlog that is happening in the healthcare IT industry. It’s something I’ve discussed tangentially when talking about EMR and the ARRA EMR stimulus money. Basically, some EMR companies have been making the case that doctors and clinics need to make there EMR selection now in order to avoid the EMR backlog that will occur for an EMR vendor once we know the full details of “certified EHR” and “meaningful use.” Dr. Jeff at EMR and EHR pointed me to a section of the newsletter by XLEMR that provides another perspective on the EMR backlog. Once preliminary certification begins in October, EHR demand should surge. Although the market is currently s... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2719784 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:00:25 +0100 2719784 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2239786&cid=t_160918_86_f&fid=34464&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidrothmannet%2F%7E3%2FJBIZYUGgf3k%2F I’m not sure what to make of WebPax.com…but at first glance, it seems really cool to have a Web-based service for viewing images in DICOM format. I know at least a couple of physicians who will want to try it out right away for sharing the occasional scan with a colleague from a distance. I *do* like that DICOM files are anonymized as they are uploaded. DICOM tags are cleared and… • The year and month are not modified • The day is set to the first of the month • The time is set to midnight The patient’s birth date is set to January 1, 1970 I’ll say this much: If I kept a digital personal health record in an online service, I’d want to be able to view DICOMs in it with this kind of tool. Google needs to buy these guys or build a comparable tool... davidrothman.net blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2239786 Wed, 11 Feb 2009 05:29:29 +0100 2239786 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2163795&cid=t_160918_113_f&fid=35746&url=http%3A%2F%2Fblog.criticalmassconsulting.com%2F%3Fp%3D10 On Feb. 2nd and 3rd I schlepped down to DC for the annual National Health Policy Conference sponsored by AcademyHealth and Health Affairs.  We 700-odd people in the audience (up a bit from 2008, organizers tell me) heard from Members of the House and Senate, their staff people, and Jeanne Lambrew, now Deputy Director of President Obama’s White House Office of Health Reform.  Much of the talk was guarded, even cryptic – some combination of hold-your-cards-close-to-the-vest and haven’t-a-clue-how-this-will-turn-out.  Still, the meeting was useful, not to mention just full – bigger than last year’s.  I came away with a better sense of the players and the likely nature and timing of some Obama Administration initiatives:  ·    Lambrew is a sophisticated thinker about health ... Critical blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2163795 Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:46:44 +0100 2163795 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1873168&cid=t_160918_113_f&fid=35744&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2Fe-CareManagement%2F%7E3%2F418756540%2F by David C. Kibbe, MD MBA The basic premise of the medical home concept is continuous, uninterrupted care that is managed and coordinated by a personal provider with the right tools that will lead to better health outcomes. In 2007, the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, and American Osteopathic Association, released the Joint Principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home. In this document they state the characteristics of the Patient Centered Medical Home: Personal Relationship Team Approach Comprehensive Coordination Quality and Safety Expanded Access Added Value While these characteristics, in theory, may be achieved without the use of health information technology (health IT), it is also true that their realization... e-CareManagement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1873168 Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:16:59 +0100 1873168 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2580321&cid=t_160918_113_f&fid=35744&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fe-CareManagement%2F%7E3%2FwctpJr0gkPs%2F by David C. Kibbe, MD MBA The basic premise of the medical home concept is continuous, uninterrupted care that is managed and coordinated by a personal provider with the right tools that will lead to better health outcomes. In 2007, the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, and American Osteopathic Association, released the Joint Principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home. In this document they state the characteristics of the Patient Centered Medical Home: Personal Relationship Team Approach Comprehensive Coordination Quality and Safety Expanded Access Added Value While these characteristics, in theory, may be achieved without the use of health information technology (health IT), it is also true that their realization... e-CareManagement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2580321 Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:07:53 +0100 2580321 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=2511437&cid=t_160918_113_f&fid=35744&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2Fe-CareManagement%2F%7E3%2FwctpJr0gkPs%2F by David C. Kibbe, MD MBA The basic premise of the medical home concept is continuous, uninterrupted care that is managed and coordinated by a personal provider with the right tools that will lead to better health outcomes. In 2007, the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Physicians, and American Osteopathic Association, released the Joint Principles of the Patient-Centered Medical Home. In this document they state the characteristics of the Patient Centered Medical Home: Personal Relationship Team Approach Comprehensive Coordination Quality and Safety Expanded Access Added Value While these characteristics, in theory, may be achieved without the use of health information technology (health IT), it is also true that their realization... e-CareManagement blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2511437 Sun, 12 Oct 2008 18:07:53 +0100 2511437 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=1094507&cid=t_160918_113_f&fid=36671&url=http%3A%2F%2Fopen.medicdrive.org%2Fblog%2F2007%2F12%2F14%2Fpersonal-health-record-documents-that-make-difference-in-life-and-death%2F Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll. In a recent article in Chicago tribune about Personal Health record By Deborah L. Shelton |Tribune staff reporter writes about how personal health records can have an impact on your life. Last week there were about 5 such articles in major news papers online and offline discussing about benefits of Personal health record.Does this mean that we have reached the tipping point in Personal health record implementation?  More about the article… (Source: Constructive Medicine 2.0) Constructive Medicine 2.0 blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1094507 Fri, 14 Dec 2007 03:28:10 +0100 1094507 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=927635&cid=t_160918_86_f&fid=34464&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidrothmannet%2F%7E3%2F165255120%2F HealthVault appears to be Microsoft’s offering in the field of patient-created personal health records. When it’s your job to protect your family’s health, you need every advantage. Imagine if you had a way to collect, store, and share the health information critical to your family’s well-being. HealthVault is the new and FREE way to do just that. Imagine controlling the flow of your health information. Whether you need to search the Web for the most up-to-date treatments, catalog existing health records, receive test results, or monitor current physical readings — HealthVault gives you the control you need. I like that they put a short version of their privacy policy on the front page: Our Health Privacy Commitment 1. The Microsoft HealthVault record you create ... davidrothman.net blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=927635 Thu, 04 Oct 2007 15:39:28 +0100 927635 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=811781&cid=t_160918_86_f&fid=34464&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidrothmannet%2F%7E3%2F146349838%2F The article from the New York Times and leaked screen captures of Google Health were just the start of what is certain to be a huge ongoing discussion of internet personal health records maintained by patients. Adding to the conversation is this recent article: Benjamin Fry, Jim Warren. Navigation in internet-based personal healthcare records: for consumers who think. electronic Journal of Health Informatics, 2007; 2(2): e7. Full text PDF (requires free registration) Abstract Internet-based personal healthcare records (PHRs) are designed to be created and maintained by individual healthcare consumers, based on their own understanding of their health conditions. Based on historical hypertext systems and working from a series of consumer use cases, we examine the options for end-user naviga... davidrothman.net blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=811781 Tue, 21 Aug 2007 03:06:04 +0100 811781 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=798862&cid=t_160918_86_f&fid=34464&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidrothmannet%2F%7E3%2F144109443%2F Google Blogoscoped has ‘em. Hard to tell a whole lot from these little snippets…but it looks and sounds kinda’ cool, doesn’ t it? (Source: davidrothman.net) davidrothman.net blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=798862 Tue, 14 Aug 2007 18:27:13 +0100 798862 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=714647&cid=t_160918_86_f&fid=34464&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidrothmannet%2F%7E3%2F130613970%2F I saw some interesting comments on MEDLIB-L not too long ago: “I do not think MLA, HLS, its officers, certainly not academic medical center librarians, understand that hospital libraries have ten years of life left,” writes the anonymous commenter. The commenter appears to hear the Joint Commission and others saying, “Let technology provide us with the information we need,” instead of relying on librarians. The commenter continues: How many IT people you know who use libraries? I know one PhD student who is excited that some paper she has written has been asked to be published in some obscure “journal” in the IT field. Frightening! Down right scary. I am old enough to be leaving the work where the techie future picture is not a pretty one for me. Where i... davidrothman.net blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=714647 Thu, 05 Jul 2007 01:47:50 +0100 714647 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=567163&cid=t_160918_86_f&fid=34464&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeeds.feedburner.com%2F%7Er%2FDavidrothmannet%2F%7E3%2F111727328%2F The Wall Street Journal Health blog mentions that Google VP Adam Bosworth (whose interest in health information I’ve previously posted about here, here and here) spoke today at the World Health Care Congress in Washington D.C. Bosworth…said patients should have online access to all of the electronic health information that exists about them, whether it’s contained in doctors’ files, billing databases or prescription record. … David Williams, a blogger and health-care consultant who was there….speculates that Google wants to be the one to offer consumers this information, in the form of an electronic health record. But Bosworth didn’t spill any specifics. Williams told the Health Blog this afternoon that the exec would only say that Google’s health project is... davidrothman.net blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=567163 Wed, 25 Apr 2007 01:48:37 +0100 567163