Explorations in the Design and Implementation of Clinical Information Systems
Backups are important. However, when things really go wrong, they alone are not enough. “Disaster” may sound overly dramatic, but, in fact, catastrophic data losses are not rare. Depending on where you live, floods, tornados, hurricanes or earthquakes are a fact of life. Of course, man-made misery (e.g., viruses, tampering, sabotage) accounts for its share [...]
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Dealing with abnormal test results was one of the main misery points during my years in practice. It was too easy for things to fall through the cracks. When clinicians receive an abnormal result, the usual steps are: review the patient’s chart, decide what to do, and take action. Proper management may require additional tests, [...]
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Increasingly, data breaches are in the news. Reports of stolen desktops, lost jump drives, and misplaced laptops seem to show up constantly. If it seems that you are now hearing more about breaches than in years past, you are correct, and the HITECH Act is probably the major reason. One component of the privacy/security provisions [...]
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Decreased productivity is one of the most often complained-about side effects of EHR adoption. Documentation time usually leads the pack in terms of complaints. One way to avoid “buyer’s remorse” when choosing an EHR is to conduct extensive product testing before signing a contract. Of course, for busy clinicians, this is easier said than done. [...]
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The hubbub over meaningful use and Medicare incentives has been so distracting that the advantages of the Medicaid EHR incentive program seem to have been lost in the noise. It also doesn’t help that seven states still have not launched their programs. Here are a few important differences between the programs. Eligibility Medicare Medicaid Doctors [...]
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Each of the three previous posts in this series addressed a different aspect of security: information security principles, HIPAA changes in the HITECH Act, and the components of the HIPAA security rule. The subject of this post is meaningful use objective 15, which states: Objective: Protect electronic health information created or maintained by the certified [...]
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The security rule was one of four provisions of the HIPAA law passed in 1996. The final compliance date for all covered entities was April 20, 2006. Unlike the privacy rule provision of HIPAA, the security rule applies only to protected health information in electronic form (ePHI). The security rule is independent of the EHR [...]
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Site visits are a staple of the EHR selection/evaluation process. Unfortunately, I regularly hear complaints from doctors who have purchased EHRs after seeing them working wonderfully during a site visit, but who later have difficulties in their practices. Site visits can be a helpful component of EHR selection, but only when used appropriately. When used [...]
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Enacted in 1996, HIPAA has long been a source of irritation for healthcare organizations, but not much of a threat. In fact, until recently, being hit by lightning was far more likely than being punished for violating any of the rule’s privacy or security provisions. Naturally, many began to view HIPAA as a paper tiger. [...]
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The EHR Science Blog presents the musings of Jerome H. Carter, MD, CEO of NTM Informatics, Inc. He is also the editor of Electronic Health Records, Second Edition, published by the American College of Physicians.
Posts on this blog are the personal views of Dr. Carter and do not reflect the official policies or positions of the American College of Physicians.