Privacy is the biggest issue when it comes to crafting a federal law to promote health information technology (HIT) according to speakers during last month’s House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Health Subcommittee hearing. It was the first hearing on the Health IT Promotion Act of 2005, which Rep. Nancy Johnson (R-Conn.) introduced last October.

A recent report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) evaluated the progress of the U.S. Health and Human Services (HSS) which since mid-2005 has sought to develop a national health IT strategy. The GAO report indicates that the HHS’ efforts towards this goal are well on their way and look to continue for the foreseeable future.

Now that disaster recovery plans are a HIPAA requirement, many healthcare facilities are giving priority to its implementation.

Vishal Wanchoo, president and CEO of GE Healthcare’s Integrated IT Solutions business, sat down with Health Imaging & IT to discuss the recent acquisition of IDX.

In an effort to promote itself as a radiology information system (RIS)-only company, Swearingen Software has an offer for hospitals in which it will provide its RMS RIS software free of charge if you’ll cover the install and yearly service charge.

A new study to be conducted by the Foundation of Research and Education (FORE) of the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) will develop best practices and successful model(s) for state-level regional health information organizations (RHIOs) in the areas of governance, structure, financing and health information exchange policies.

Half of all medical mistakes in the U.S. are reported as misdiagnosis, according to a study released this week by Isabel Healthcare, a developer of web-based diagnosis decision support systems.