The Secretarial Summit on Health Information Technology was the scene in late July for the latest gathering of government and industry, launching the National Healthcare Information Infrastructure (NHII) 2004: Cornerstones for Electronic Healthcare meeting at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center. Not surprisingly, a standing-room-only audience estimated at 2,000-plus paid close attention in the search for the holy grail of current healthcare IT discussions - the EHR market.

Tablet PCs and PDAs are bringing images anywhere they need to be around the healthcare enterprise. See how to make it happen.

Utilizing CPOE to order imaging exams, clinicians are provided with alerts and reminders to determine which imaging exam is appropriate for the patient. And gains are felt across the enterprise.

Cardiology departments tried to follow radiology's lead in digital image and information management, but found unique technological hurdles.

Healthcare reform and the need for information technology (IT) to improve efficiency and lower costs will be important issues during this year's election between President Bush and Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry (Mass.).

The Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise joint activity by HIMSS and RSNA, which defines profiles based on standards such as DICOM and HL7, just released the new PDI (Portable Data for Imaging) integration profile as one of several supplements in their draft for trial implementation.

William Coughlin, Chair of the Laboratory Information Systems and Medical Informatics Division of the American Association of Clinical Chemistry (AACC)

The healthcare IT industry met its new czar in late May at the TEPR show in Ft. Lauderdale. Just days before starting his job as the President's new National Health Information Technology (NHIT) coordinator, Dr. David Brailer said he's focused on prioritizing his plan to accelerate the adoption of electronic medical records over the next decade. While specifics of the plan aren't due out until late July, he provided great clues as to the tack he plans to follow.