Four years after publication by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), voluntary guidelines designed to increase the safety of e-health records have yet to be implemented fully, according to a new survey. The findings appeared recently in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association. “Less than 20 percent of… Continue reading How Safe Are Electronic Health Records?
Tag: electronic health records
Electronic Health Records Need Social-Media Upgrade
Although electronic health record (EHR) systems were once seen as a technological advance, an analysis shows they have increased rather than decreased physicians’ workload, contributed to physicians’ burnout and resulted in little improvement to health care quality. To remedy those failings, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine called for a basic change:… Continue reading Electronic Health Records Need Social-Media Upgrade
Ophthalmologists and Electronic Health Records
Although ophthalmologists’ use of electronic health records (EHR) systems for storing and accessing patients’ medical histories more than doubled between 2006 and 2016, their perceptions of financial and clinical productivity following EHR implementation declined, according to new research. The study was published in JAMA Ophthalmology. “Our findings highlight the fact that companies that design EHR… Continue reading Ophthalmologists and Electronic Health Records
Tracking a Common Hospital-Related Infection
Electronic health records (EHRs) in hospitals are helping researchers track down the source of a common infection often acquired in the facilities. In its investigation, the UC San Francisco Health Informatics team traced the movements of more than 85,000 patients over a three-year period. A bacterium known as Clostridium difficile (colloquially called “C. diff”) is… Continue reading Tracking a Common Hospital-Related Infection
A Little Nudge May Provide a Big Boost to Flu Vaccination Rates
Currently, only 44 percent of adults in the United States receive an annual flu vaccination. Though the rate has increased in recent years, the change has been slow and marginal. However, a study done at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and published online in March 2017 in the Journal of… Continue reading A Little Nudge May Provide a Big Boost to Flu Vaccination Rates
What Electronic Health Records Can Tell Researchers
Researchers who studied eectronic medical records have been able to identify two genetic variations linked to age-related hearing impairment. The discovery, by researchers at UC San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente Northern California, was published in PLOS Genetics. “This is one of the first studies that has found and replicated genes linked with age-related hearing impairment,”said … Continue reading What Electronic Health Records Can Tell Researchers
Electronic Health Records Should Meet the Needs of Physicians
When physicians prepare for patient visits, one of their first steps is to review clinic notes or health records that recap their patients’ medical history. Since the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009, approximately 78 percent of office-based physicians have adopted electronic health records (EHR). However, previous research found… Continue reading Electronic Health Records Should Meet the Needs of Physicians
Patients Don’t Want Their Doctors to Know Everything About Their Health
Many patients withhold sensitive health information from their doctors, according to the first real-world trial of the impact of patient-controlled access to electronic medical records. Researchers from Clemson University, the Regenstrief Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine and Eskenazi Health published their finding in in the Journal of General Internal Medicine. Kelly Caine, assistant professor… Continue reading Patients Don’t Want Their Doctors to Know Everything About Their Health
“Health Literacy” and the Internet
Internet “health literacy”, including electronic health records, may not be as helpful for senior citizens as was first thought. Instead, people who are 65 and older and who aren’t familiar with, or regular users of, the Internet, may not be able to put electronic health records to full use. Researchers from the University of Michigan… Continue reading “Health Literacy” and the Internet
Many Hospitals Missed E-health Deadline
Many of the nation’s hospitals struggled to meet a federally mandated electronic health records deadline, and as a result could collectively face millions of dollars in reduced Medicare payments, according to a study done at the University of Michigan published online August 7th 2014 and slated to be published in the September print issue of the journal Health Affairs.