3 Advantages of Using Web-Based EMR Software

1) Security is one of the most important benefits of web-based EMR software.  This software meets the requirements of the HIPAA while also offering more security than many small clinics can provide themselves.Data protection is vital in today’s society and the vendor of the software system is responsible for ensuring data is protected at all levels from hardware malfunctions to software issues.  All data is backed-up by a sophisticated software program as well.

2) Hassle-free: Provided server maintenance is also a huge benefit to web-based software.  The provider of the software program takes care of server maintenance so that you can focus on what you do best, take care of your patients.You also do not have to worry about installing the program or upgrading your system yourself.  This and their associated tasks are handled by the vendor of the web-based EMR software program.

3) The initial investment for web-based EMR software is much lower compared to other systems.  This is because you do not have to purchase hardware, servers, or software that can be very expensive.  The initial investment is very low and the monthly fee incurred to utilize the system can be written off as a monthly operating cost.

via emrguy.com

 

 

The Evolution of Use of Physician-Patient Emails

Improved communication from physician- patient emailing is an important element of patient centeredness.This study looks at the evolution of email usage between physicians and patients.

Methods: Our pooled time-series design used results from a 2005 survey (targeting 14,921 physicians) and a separate 2008 survey (targeting 7003 different physicians). In both years, physicians practicing in the outpatient setting were targeted with proportionally identical sampling strategies. Combined data from questions focusing on email use were analyzed using chi-square analysis, Fisher exact test, and logistic regression.

 
Conclusions: Email use between physicians and patients has changed little between 2005 and 2008. However, future physician interest in using email with patients has decreased. More troubling is the decrease in adherence to best practices designed to protect physicians and patients when using email. Policy makers wanting to harness the potential benefits of physician-patient email should devise plans to encourage adherence to best practices. These plans should also educate physicians on the existence of best practices and methods to incorporate these guidelines into routine workflows.

(J Med Internet Res 2011;13(1):e23)
doi:10.2196/jmir.1578

via jmir.org

 

 

The Life and Times of Steve Jobs – Video

After being treated for rare Pancreatic Cancer, wrongfully declared dead by Bloomberg and now another medical leave of absense in January 2011, this is a good time to look at all the amazing things Steve Jobs has done over the years.

http://cdn.gotraffic.net/v/20110225_112159/flash/BloombergMediaPlayer.swf

via bloomberg.com

Through interviews with friends, former colleagues and business associates, GAME CHANGERS reveals the many layers of the intensely private Steve Jobs – his style of leadership, management and creative process. Interviews include Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, former Apple CEO John Scully, journalist turned Venture Capitalist Michael Moritz, Dreamworks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, former Apple “Mac Evangelist” and Silicon Valley Entrepreneur, Guy Kawasaki and Robert X.Cringely, technology journalist and former Apple employee. (Source: Bloomberg)

 

What Do You Regret in Your Training, Doctor?

 

* Regretting a Choice of Specialty

More than a few doctors regretted their choice of specialty; pathologists in particular seemed most likely to want a do-over.

* Wanting More Business Training

The most commonly cited gap in training was the lack of instruction in the business of medicine.

* Harassment and Other Horrors

Harassment was also mentioned frequently as an unwelcome aspect of training.”I wish I did not tolerate the bullying from overbearing academics who felt they could do what they wanted to a resident and fellow and get away with it,” griped one pain management specialist.

* Call for Rotating Internship

A call for a year of rotating internship after graduation was met with broad support. This practice, which was once nearly universal in the United States, all but disappeared in the 1970s. Many doctors felt that this kind of program is precisely what is needed to reduce the number of doctors who are unhappy with their choice of specialty.

Via Medscape.Com

 

How Indians Use the Internet

via eyedealab.com

 

Understanding the Cancer Process

 Another Interesting TEDMED 2010 Video.

Danny Hillis is an inventor, scientist, author and engineer. While completing his doctorate at MIT, he pioneered the concept of parallel computers that is now the basis for most supercomputers, as well as the RAID disk array technology used to store large databases. He holds over 100 U.S. patents, covering parallel computers, disk arrays, forgery prevention methods, and various electronic and mechanical devices

http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf

Related articles

• Understanding Disk I/O – when should you be worried? (scoutapp.com)
• Video: Optimized Tools for Parallel Development (insidehpc.com)

 

Using Social Media in Healthcare : Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media

http://youtube.com/v/_91qGiCCayo 

via socialmedia.mayoclinic.org

Wendy Swanson, also known as Seattle Mama Doc, writes a blog for Seattle Children’s Hospital. At the Social Media Summit 2010, she led a panel discussion, asking questions that got at the cost of social media: time. However, in this video she also discusses the importance of social media for connecting with patients.

 

Diagnosis resulting from DTC inspired visits to Physicians

via worldofdtcmarketing.com

In an age when people are becoming consumers DTC advertising reaches million of people who are not being adequately treated for health conditions like depression, high blood pressure or diabetes. According to the Bureau of Consumer Protection at the US Federal Trade Commission, “Studies of the impact of DTC advertising on demand do not support the conclusion that it has led to the increased use of inappropriate drugs or increased drug prices.” (Source: Comments of the Staff of the Bureau of Consumer Protection, the Bureau of Economics, and the Office of Policy Planning of the Federal Trade Commission to the FDA on Consumer-Directed Promotion, December 1, 2003. http://www.ftc.gov/be/v040002text.pdf. Accessed July 11, 2010.)

 

The GNU Image-Finding Tool: Open Source softwares in Medical Imaging

The GIFT (the GNU Image-Finding Tool) is a Content Based Image Retrieval System (CBIRS: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CBIR). It enables you to do Query By Example (QBE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QBE) on images, giving you the opportunity to improve query results by relevance feedback. For processing your queries the program relies entirely on the content of the images, freeing you from the need to annotate all images before querying the collection.

The GIFT is an open framework for content-based image retrieval. We explicitly have taken into account the possibility of adding new ways of querying to the framework. Our communication protocol for client-server communication, MRML, is XML based and fully documented (http://www.mrml.net). This aims at promoting code reuse among researchers and application developers. Inquiries about APIs and how to integrate new clients/servers into the framework are welcome (send questions to http://mail.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/help-gift or the maintainer mailto:Wolfgang.Mueller@wiai.uni-bamberg.de).

via gnu.org

Also, see this review article on Query Based Image Retrieval in Medical Sciences

 

Ranking Top 3 EHRs based on customer experience

A recent survey, which was conducted over four-months polled over 30,000 healthcare records professionals, physician practice administrators, and hospital leaders in the information technology arenas, asking them to name their preferred EHRs.. The survey employs eighteen key performance indicators targeted at ensuring high product and service performance through comparing vendors from the customer experience.

]The top three customer-experience ranked EHR vendors for hospitals under 100 beds:

• CPSI
• HMS
• Healthland Clinicals

Top three ranked EHR vendors for community hospitals 101-249 beds:

• Dell
• Cerner
• Quadramed

Top three ranked EHR vendors for academic teaching hospitals and major medical centers 250+ beds:

• Dell
• Epic
• Siemens

via healthcareitnews.com