The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has launched itsDOQ-IT (Doctor’s Office Quality Information Technology) University, orDOQ-IT U, to support health IT adoption in physicians’ offices.

Most healthcare providers view the primary benefit of health IT as ameans to reduce medical errors and increase patient safety, accordingto the 18th Annual HIMSS Leadership Survey results released this week.

The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) and theMedical Group Management Association (MGMA) both recently testifiedbefore the American Health Information Community (AHIC) QualityWorkgroup on specific “challenges that need to be addressed in theindustry-wide drive to advance quality patient care.”

Due to low adoption rates across many healthcare sections, as well asthe federal government pushing adoption of EHRs through financialincentives and standards adoption, the U.S. market is ripe forsignificant health IT market grown, according to a new Frost &Sullivan industry overview.

A new report confirms the long held belief that health IT can improvehospital business performance and can eventually pay for itself,according to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

These innovators are virtual catalysts whose efforts are advancing theclinical-IT link, serving as new business models and helping provideless invasive testing and treatment. By proactively addressing clinicaland technological needs now, their work betters healthcare for all ofus. For that, we salute them.

The question facilities are asking is how can teleradiology improve or maintain workflow regardless of the time of day?

Health IT can be deployed to improve patient safety in acute careenvironments — the key is interoperability among thedisparate modern and legacy systems that crowd the OR, said Julian Goldman, MD, director, CIMIT (Center for Integration of Medicineand Innovative Technology) at Massachusetts General Hospital, speakingrecently at the HIMSS07 in New Orleans.