Telemedicine shows ROI at ATA
Ironically, Andrew Watson's first telemedicine procedure was with a rural patient who was a Mennonite. At first, the patient and physician looked at each other warily.
"He didn't have a TV," said Watson, a colorectal surgeon and vice president at Pittsburgh-based UPMC, with a wry laugh. "And I'd never done this."
AMA: EHRs create 'appalling Catch-22'
As the healthcare industry moves to EHRs, the medical record has essentially been reduced to a tool for billing, compliance and litigation that also has a sustained negative impact on doctors' productivity, according to Steven J. Stack, MD, chair of the American Medical Association’s board of trustees.
EHR part of MaineHealth's financial woes
In a memo to its employees last week, Maine Medical Center, part of the MaineHealth system, said it has suffered an operating loss of $13.4 million in the first half of its fiscal year. The rollout of MaineHealth's estimated $160 million electronic health record system, which has resulted in charge capture issues that are being fixed, was among several reasons Maine Med's CEO cited for the shortfall.
Burnout rampant in healthcare
Heavy patient loads, smaller staffs and higher stress levels may be causing burnout among healthcare workers, according to a new survey by recruiting firm CareerBuilder. Harris Interactive conducted the online survey for CareerBuilder between February 11 and March 6, 2013, among more than 500 U.S. healthcare workers and more than 240 U.S. healthcare employers.
EHRs fail tests, certifications revoked
This story has been updated.
Fax mishap leads to HIPAA breach
This story has been updated.
Faxing confidential patient health data has its own set of privacy issues, as the Oakland, Calif.-based WestCoast Children's Clinic can attest. The clinic has notified patients of a HIPAA breach after it faxed a patient's protected health information to an incorrect fax number.