ADVANCE Perspective: HIM : Health Information Technology

Giving Health Care a Workout

Cheryl McEvoy — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 16:13:00 GMT

Ouch. That's about all I can say (and really, all I can think) after overexerting myself this weekend. A few of my friends have been doing P90 X, an extreme workout plan that includes several videos, each of which features a different routine, i.e. abs,...(read more)

Veterans Health Care

Cheryl McEvoy — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:51:00 GMT

No matter your stance on war, it's only right to honor and thank veterans who put their lives on the line for our country. Military personnel witness firsthand what most of us find too hard to watch through a camera lens, and it's bound to have an impact....(read more)

Movies and Medical Records

Lisa Algeo — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:47:00 GMT

(Editor's note: The following blog was written by Mark McGraw, an associate editor on staff at ADVANCE .) It's movie night, and you're not interested in subtitles or surrealism. Maybe next week you'll go for the one with the "Winner: Best Foreign Language...(read more)

PHRs Go Overseas

Cheryl McEvoy — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 13:26:00 GMT

If you've been following Jay's blog, " XY Files in and MT World ," recently, you know there have been some frightening reports of medical records being sold overseas. It's enough to make you hunker down in the States and demand your records stay local....(read more)

H1N1: After the Vaccine

Cheryl McEvoy — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:13:00 GMT

Everyone's sick of swine flu (pun not intended, I swear), so apologies in advance for striking up yet another conversation about it, but I couldn't help posting when I heard about post-vaccine monitoring . What? What's that you say? Monitoring? As in...(read more)

AHIMA 2009: Busy Day for All

Lisa Algeo — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 03:06:00 GMT

Well, my feet hurt, my brain hurts and I can barely keep my eyes open at this point, but it was all well worth it. My first day at the AHIMA 2009 conference did not disappoint. Busy is an understatement, and I even got a bit of a cardio workout in-with...(read more)

On the Record

Cheryl McEvoy — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:24:00 GMT

With all the prep for next week's American Health Information Management Association Convention and Exhibit and our HIM Team of the Year coverage (Yes, we have a winner!), I've been neglecting my Google Alerts. Well, I found some time this morning to...(read more)

“Cash for Clunkers” Hits Health Care

Cheryl McEvoy — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:04:00 GMT

The government's "Cash for Clunkers" program was a clever idea--and a pretty successful one to boot. Dealerships swelled with drivers ready to trade in their rag-tag autos for a sleek new ride. Salespeople moved inventory, the environment got some smog...(read more)

More Options for EHR Approval?

Cheryl McEvoy — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 13:50:00 GMT

Ever since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) was signed into law, members of the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) have been crossing their fingers in hopes of being named the official EHR certification...(read more)

EHRs Unprepared for Genetic Information

Cheryl McEvoy — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 14:13:00 GMT

[Guest post by Kelly Graham, from the ADVANCE for Administrators of the Laboratory blog, " ADVANCE Discourse: Lab "] Challenges for the use and implementation of electronic health records (EHRs) are well documented, but this study in the journal Genetics...(read more)

A "Meaningful" Move

Cheryl McEvoy — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:43:00 GMT

Yesterday, the HIT Policy Committee gathered for a second round of discussion about "meaningful use," a key criterion in determining eligibility for EHR incentives. Last month's meeting yielded a proposed definition, but the Policy Committee sent the...(read more)

Investigators Probe Nuance

Cheryl McEvoy — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:43:00 GMT

Nuance Communications is under investigation for possible antitrust activity, according to Bloomberg.com . Investigators are trying to determine whether the company's acquisition of Phillips speech recognition (SR) software last year reduced competition...(read more)

Retail Clinic Check-up

Lynn Jusinski — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:30:00 GMT

I'm what you might call "doctor phobic." I haven't had a check up since 2001, and that was required to get into college. After high school, I moved to the Philadelphia suburbs from quiet nook upstate in a rural area lovingly referred to as the "Polish...(read more)

Doctors Face Patient Scrutiny

Cheryl McEvoy — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 17:42:00 GMT

For the past few weeks, I've had Michael Jackson's "Somebody's Watching Me" stuck in my head. I blame Geico for making it the theme song for its ubiquitous ad campaign. (Seriously, that bug-eyed bundle of money is everywhere .) But today, the ditty popped...(read more)

CCHIT Opens Up

Cheryl McEvoy — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 14:47:00 GMT

During an online "Town Call" yesterday, the Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) revealed its new strategy for certifying EHRs that meet "meaningful use" requirements under the stimulus act. Speaking to open source developers...(read more)