The National Governors Association’s State Alliance for e-Health isseeking nominations for two task forces which will focus on ways forstates to cooperate on health IT issues.

Handheld computers in a variety of sizes and configurations have become vital to gathering and viewing information at the point of care as well as educating patients.

The Health and Human Services Department (HHS) has formally recognizeda set of health IT standards it received a year ago, capping a processestablished by the Bush administration to create a single set oftechnical standards for interoperability.

Governor Timothy M. Kaine of Virginia has awarded two $150,000 healthIT grants to projects designed to expand the use of EHRs in the state.

The Task Force to Study Electronic Health Systems, convened byMaryland’s general assembly, has identified barriers that stand in theway of a single statewide EMR system but said the potential to savemoney and time to improve the quality of care is enticing, according toa report released by the group.

Radiology benefit management (RBM) firms have sprung into existence thepast few years to address the over utilization of high-end (typicallydefined as CT or MR) imaging procedures in the United States. Thesecompanies act as a mediator to insure that an ordered diagnosticimaging procedure meets American College of Radiology (ACR)Appropriateness Guidelines and/or criteria set by the payor to whom theexam will be billed.

According to Benjamin Franklin, time is money and an ounce ofprevention is worth a pound of cure. Diagnostic imaging practices inthe United States are acutely aware of how little time can be wasted inthe course of day-to-day operations to efficiently manage study volumesand remain profitable. They’re also cognizant that navigating aroundroadblocks is more effective than coming up against them and searchingfor detours.

A patient comes into a facility for a diagnostic imaging exam, theinterpreting physician reads the study and notes abnormal findings inthe report, staff contacts the referring clinician directly with theresults, and then waits for the referrer to follow-up. The vastmajority of the time these recommendations are acted upon and theappropriate imaging procedures are ordered.