“Hospitals that treat large numbers of poor patients utilize electronic health records (EHRs) less frequently and provide care of lower quality, according to a study by Harvard scientists. However, the scientists also found that when such hospitals do use EHRs, the quality gap disappears. Ashish Jha and colleagues used the Medicare disproportionate-share hospital (DSH) index as […]

“Kevin Clifford and I were chatting about his experiences in taking a Michigan-area free clinic live on an open source EMR and I was very interested to share it with others. Kevin said he volunteered at the free clinic because he wanted to serve his community and said that there are many other such free […]

“NPR’s Morning Edition story, “Patients Turn to Online Buddies for Help Healing,” combined research and real-life examples, participatory medicine and health data rights. Much of what I said during my interview with Joseph Shapiro is based on what I’ve written and read here on e-patients.net, so, first, thank you. I’ve already started answering questions on Twitter about […]

“There is growing tension within the Obama administration’s health team over who will control health data exchange: everyone (including consumers and their doctors), or just large provider organizations. The public debate will be framed in terms of privacy, security, and the adequacy of current exchange standards. But what really matters is who gets to make […]

“As the United States launches “an ambitious program, backed by $19 billion in government incentives, to accelerate the adoption of computerized patient records in doctors’ offices and hospitals,” a new study of 3,000 hospitals “has found little difference in the cost and quality of care,” The New York Times reports. “Dr. Karen Bell, a former […]

“The Department of Health has announced that the Summary Care Record is to be rolled out across London from this week. The Princess Street Group Practice in Southwark will be the first GP practice in the capital to upload SCRs, with this scheduled to happen on 19 November.” Article Fiona Barr, e-Health Insider, 16 November 2009

“Neighborhood Healthcare, which serves communities in Riverside and San Diego counties, will automate both the clinical and business sides of its health centers for its 115 providers across 11 locations. The 40-year-old organization has selected technology from Westborough, Mass.-based eClinicalWorks. Neighborhood Healthcare will deploy both the unified electronic medical records system and the practice management solution […]

“The biggest barrier to electronic health record (EHR) adoption has always been the upfront cost of implementing the system and the productivity lost during the learning curve. The rapidly changing healthcare landscape, however, may make cost the reason why physicians adopt health IT. Come again? The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently announced a […]

“When Americans go looking for information on health, they turn to the Internet as one of their first sources. According to a recent survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 61 percent of adults say they look online for health information. There’s a term for them: e-patients. Most e-patients go online to read about […]

“GeckoSystems Intl. Corp. announced today that they are starting limited in home evaluation trials for their first product, a personal companion home care robot, the CareBot(TM). GeckoSystems is a dynamic leader in the emerging Mobile Service Robot (MSR) industry revolutionizing their development and usage with “Mobile Robot Solutions for Safety, Security and Service(TM).” “Practical, cost effective […]