Improving the usability of the computerized provider order entry (CPOE) interface and integrating it with workflow may reduce the patient-safety risk of inconsistent communication, according to a prospective study published in the May 25 edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Ingenix, a health IT and consulting company, has acquired AIM Healthcare Services and its affiliated companies Netwerkes and Ingram & Associates.

With heightened interest and incentives for EMR and image and information sharing as part of a health information exchange--healthcare executives are focusing on coordinating their financial, clinical and technical resources on building and integrating a healthcare image and information archive that leverages their current IT investments while providing the foundation for imaging exchange workflow and EMR integration.

IBM has teamed with University of North Carolina Health Care (UNCHC) to develop new treatments for diseases, such as diabetes, cystic fibrosis and cancer, using IBM software and hardware to support the Carolina Data Warehouse for Health.

Although federal agencies reported increased compliance in implementing key information security control activities for fiscal year 2008, inspectors general are still noting shortcomings with implementation of information security requirements, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

IBM has released InfoSphere Streams, a computing system that analyzes massive volumes of information-in-motion from a multitude of real-time sources.

Liana Watson, DM, RT, has joined the staff of the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) as its director of governance and affiliate relations.

It was only just a few short months ago that health IT proponents were basking in the glow of the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which included nearly $20 billion for the development and delivery of healthcare IT. The bill delivered on President Barack Obamas inaugural address promise to wield technologys wonders to raise healthcares quality and lower its cost. The halcyon honeymoon of IT providing a fix for U.S. healthcares woes look to be coming to an end. Recent articles in the Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe and Forbes magazine (among others) have cast a skeptical eye on the capability of health IT to live up to its billing. Critics are concerned that the health IT funding provisions of the ARRA will amount to little more than a tax-payer-funded giveaway to IT developers. In addition, they raise legitimate concerns about privacy as well as apprehensions about computer errors endangering patient safety.