"EHR" Posts

Portrait of Parmeeth M.S. Atwal

Nurse Administrator Discusses How EHRs Helped Patients in Joplin

Parmeeth M.S. Atwal | June 29, 2011

Dottie Bringle, R.N.,  was on her way to Ireland when the tornado hit Joplin, MO, the town where she has worked as the Chief Operating and Chief Nursing Officer at St. John’s Mercy Hospital for 24 years.  Standing in line at the Atlanta airport waiting to catch her connecting flight to Dublin, she heard the news that a storm had struck Joplin, and that it was bad. Dottie rushed back to Joplin, and when she arrived,

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Portrait of Parmeeth M.S. Atwal

Ready for Meaningful Use Attestation

Parmeeth M.S. Atwal | June 15, 2011

When the clock struck midnight on April 18, 2011, Jennifer Brull, MD, was ready. She had already registered for the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program. She had her certified EHR system firmly in place, and working with the Kansas Foundation for Medical Care , the Regional Extension Center for Kansas, she had confirmation that her practice met meaningful use criteria. Dr. Brull was ready to complete her online submission to the Attestation System and qualify for Medicare/Medicaid EHR incentives.

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Portrait of Dr. Doug Fridsma

E-Prescribing and Standards for E-Prior Authorization

Dr. Doug Fridsma | May 2, 2011

Recently, colleagues have raised questions about pending state legislation related to electronic prescribing (e-prescribing) and in particular the concept of electronic prior authorization (ePA) for medications. We thought it would be helpful to discuss what we know about the current state of e-prescribing and ePA. E-prescribing provides significant advantages in contrast to its paper analog. Coupled with other complementary technologies, such as drug-drug interaction checking, e-prescribing can improve patient safety, increase prescribing accuracy and efficiency, and lower costs by notifying providers of generic or preferred drug list alternatives. 

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Portrait of Theresa Walunas

Finding a Personal Meaning in Meaningful Use

Theresa Walunas | March 16, 2011

At the Chicago Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center (CHITREC) we’ve had many discussions about what Meaningful Use means. We’ve discussed core sets, menu sets, quality measurements, numerators, denominators, eligibility thresholds, attestation, electronic health record (EHR) certification and reporting tools. On the surface, Meaningful Use looks to be a very complicated thing. Why else would we need 62 Regional Extension Centers, a national outreach program, and a small army of talented clinical and technical people across the country to help our health care providers achieve it?

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Portrait of Dr. David Blumenthal

Important New Evidence on the Journey to HIT-Assisted Health Care

Dr. David Blumenthal | March 8, 2011

When Christopher Columbus set sail from Palos in the Gulf of Cadiz, he knew he had theory and experience on his side. The theoretical conception of the Earth as an orb was as solid as it could be. And Columbus had experience of the trade winds that could speed him both westward and eastward. Yet the final evidence was his to provide.

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