Health IT & Quality
Health IT & Quality
Regulate HIT Tools as Medical Devices? Yes and No
The Food and Drug Administration recently announced it is reconsidering its previous decision to exclude health information technology (HIT) tools from regulation as medical devices. When last evaluated in the late 1990s, this decision made common sense. At that time HIT consisted of rudimentary clinical documentation systems, electronic reference materials, and administrative applications.
Editor’s Notebook: The unTechnology Conference
Editor’s Notebook
The unTechnology Conference
Many sports fans are familiar with the quip, “Last night I went to a fight, and a hockey game broke out.” Well, in early May, I went to a technology conference, and a patient safety meeting broke out. I didn’t expect the conference to be run-of-the-mill; the unSummit, by its name, signals that it offers an alternative conference experience and claims to offer high-quality, practical advice.
EXTENSION, Inc. Announces EXTENSION 2.0
EXTENSION, INC. announced that EXTENSION version 2.0 is now available
for integration. Version 2.0 – replacing EXTENSION version 1.4 – offers
features and functionality that further enhance clinical and
operational workflows and overall communications among clinicians,
healthcare staff, and patients.
IntelliDose and eClinicalWorks Partner for End-to-End Oncology Practice Management
IntelliDose®, IntrinsiQ’s chemotherapy management solution, with the
eClinicalWorks unified Electronic Medical Record (EMR) and Practice
Management (PM) solution to give oncology practices a complete,
best-of-breed health information system.
NQF Forms New Health IT Advisory Committee
National Quality Forum (NQF) has formed a new Health Information
Technology Advisory Committee (HITAC). Members of the new advisory
committee represent a wide range of healthcare stakeholders, including
consumers, providers, clinicians, purchasers, suppliers, and public and
community healthcare.
Vice President Biden, HHS Secretary Sebelius Announce Selection of 15 Health IT Pilot Communities through Recovery Act Beacon Community Program
Vice President Biden and U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary
Kathleen Sebelius announced the selection of 15 communities across the
country to serve as pilot communities for eventual wide-scale use of
health information technology through the Beacon Community program.
Medical Simulation Corporation Announces Stroke Quality Initiative Program in Support of National Stroke Awareness Month
affects 700,000 Americans and accounts for over 143,000 deaths
annually. With timely treatment, the risk of death and disability from
stroke can be substantially lowered. Released earlier this year,
Medical Simulation Corporation’s (MSC) SimSuite Stroke Program enhances
the competence and confidence® of healthcare providers in early
recognition of stroke and initial treatment of stroke patients to
improve patient outcomes.
Mercy Health System Expands Its Use of NextGen Technology to Enhance Care Coordination
NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary
of Quality Systems, Inc. and a leading provider of healthcare
information systems and connectivity solutions, announced an agreement
with Mercy Health System (MHS) to deployNextGen® EHR (Electronic Health
Record) and NextGen Health Information Exchange (HIE).
AHRQ Releases Common Formats Version 1.1 for Reporting Patient Safety Data
Common Formats Version 1.1 is now available and replaces Version 1.0.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center Selects Accelarad’s SeeMyRadiology.com Service
SeeMyRadiology.com, Accelarad’s new online medical image cloud
computing service, announced its launch with Vanderbilt
University Medical Center (VUMC), bringing new medical image exchange
technology to VUMC, a leader in the Southeast’s medical education,
research and patient care.