By Ken Frantz and Mark Newman

Physicians and other healthcare providers are more concerned than ever about how they will implement electronic health record (EHR) systems in their practices by 2011 to qualify for the first phase of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds and ultimately be eligible for the maximum reimbursement. The systems can be complex, the reporting requirements and processes for demonstrating meaningful use are not yet clear, and the resources to help are still emerging.
With the recent release of the Final Rule for “meaningful use” requirements for …

By Alan Lyndon
Physicians News
Telemedicine as a technology is advancing so rapidly that it seems like something you might have seen on Star Trek.
Telemedicine as policy has become an integral part of the law as $27 billion was earmarked for health care information technology as part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) stimulus plan.
But telemedicine as a successful practice or an everyday tool for physicians and patients has remained a mystery.  Until now.
Physicians will ask: How do I squeeze telemedicine in between my daily 35 – 40 patient …

It’s official.  Physicians love the iPhone.  In fact, most smartphone-using-docs use the iPhone as their main mobile communication device.  So says a study published by The Spyglass Consulting Group, a healthcare and technology market research firm.
The study focused on how physicians across the United States are rapidly adopting mobile communications at point of care to improve communications and collaboration, streamline productivity, and enhance patient care and safety.  The purpose of the study was to identify the needs and requirements for mobile communications at point of care through discussions about: Existing workflow inefficiencies in communicating with …

CSC today announced the CSC Meaningful Use Community, the first open and interactive online community for healthcare providers seeking to achieve meaningful use of electronic health records (EHR). The community will provide an open forum for healthcare professionals to learn, connect and share guidance with others who have successfully implemented meaningful use of EHRs. Members also have access to CSC experts and other industry leaders for advice and information about the federal government’s criteria and insights on how to implement meaningful use of EHRs in a timely manner.
Click here to see …

The government released new rules on Tuesday that further define “meaningful use” of electronic medical records for physicians and hospitals.  Earlier this year, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) authorized incentive payments to physicians for the use of EHRs including $44,000 through Medicare and $63,750 through Medicaid.  But achieving meaningful use was confusing to stakeholders.  Until now.
The original proposal was criticized as too restrictive as physicians were required to meet every one of 25 objectives in order to receive their incentive payment.  Under …

Medical publisher Elsevier and video game developer Legacy Interactive have just announced the release of Top Doc, an iPhone app that features medical content and quizzes designed to let medical students, residents and junior faculty practice and improve their visual diagnosis skills.
“Top Doc was built upon a foundation of providing challenging, real-world questions illustrated by high quality medical images,” said Amber Tully, M.D., Assistant Professor of Family Medicine, Jefferson Medical College, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, and the product’s co-author. “With this platform, users are able to experience and react to …

The era of crowded medical waiting rooms came to an end.  As people have come to expect checking the status of their flight prior to leaving for the airport, they can now do the same prior to leaving home for their doctor appointment.
Last month, ten physician practices launched a new service called MedWaitTime (www.MedWaitTime.com). Patients are now able to see via their computers, iPhones, or cell phones the current waiting room status of their doctors. The system, for instance, tells patients if their doctor is running late, and more importantly, …

By Chris Thorman
As we wait for the federal government to finalize important sections of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), there is a lot of talk about the financial incentives for implementing electronic health records (EHR).  Practices that implement an EHR under the federal government’s guidelines stand to gain over $60,000 in incentives over the next five years.
A related topic that has not been as hotly discussed is using information gleaned from EHR software to participate in clinical trials.  Such information should play a larger …

By Mark Newman
At some point in every electronic health record (EHR) implementation, the question is asked, “How do other practices configure their EHR?” It’s natural to want to know what others have done in order to take advantage of what has worked in the past and avoid what hasn’t. While every physician practice is unique, there are common themes that run through almost all EHR implementations. These lessons learned are based on those themes and represent the successes and scars of many practices working through their EHR implementations.
These lessons apply …

By D. Mark Zebley, MD
Natural orifice surgery has been gaining attention lately for its benefits as a minimally invasive approach for some conditions. Yet the concept is not all that new. For more than 10 years, Abington Memorial Hospital has been one of the few institutions in the Delaware Valley performing transanal endoscopic microsurgery—known as a TEM procedure—on patients with large rectal polyps.
While most polyps can be removed during a colonoscopy, some require an operation. TEM allows experienced surgeons to excise polyps that are broader-based or located higher in the …