EHRs

Most patients consider patient portals as the engagement technology that best simplifies their experience and helps them participate in their care, according to a recent KLAS Research report.

The Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs' inspectors general will begin a joint audit this month to assess the agencies' progress achieving interoperability between their Cerner-built EHR systems, according to a Feb. 24 letter.

Four of the top vendors hospitals use to participate in the Medicare EHR Incentive Program are Allscripts, Cerner, Epic and Meditech, according to 2018 ONC data.

Columbia, Md.-based MedStar Health on Feb. 26 launched an interactive tool within its EHR system that can automatically calculate a patient's risk of having a heart attack or stroke.

Implementing a new EHR can generate big time costs for hospitals and health systems, with some spending hundreds of millions to even more than a billion dollars on rollouts.

The American Medical Association on Feb. 25 announced the release of a new online resource to help physician practices navigate legal and operational challenges associated with providing patients access to their digital health information.

Allscripts on Feb. 25 announced the release of a new version of its web-based TouchWorks EHR for large ambulatory practices.

Atlanta-based Grady Health System researchers analyzed whether providers' IV fluid prescribing habits changed after EHR alerts were implemented, according to a Feb. 22 study published in the American Journal of Health System Pharmacy.

Boston Medical Center's EHR-based screening tool for patients' social determinants of health needs identified only a fraction of patients who were at risk of having their utilities shut off, according to a Feb. 24 news release.

CMS and ONC on Feb. 21 released a report with strategic plan recommendations to combat regulatory and administrative burden associated with the use of health IT, including EHRs.