A group of states and vendors focused on eliminating the barriers to sharing electronic health records (EHRs) have issued a set of technical specifications to standardize connections between healthcare providers, health information exchanges (HIEs) and other data-sharing partners.

CureMD Healthcare, a provider of web-based EMR, PM, Portal and Revenue Cycle Management recently launched “Smart Cloud,” which  offers an all-in-one solution that includes  software, hosting, training, support, maintenance, updates, security and business continuity without the cost and responsibility of in-practice maintenance, backup and support.

MedData, Inc., a leading provider of medical billing services, said it has acquired Data Management, Inc. (DMI), a provider of physician billing services to pathologists and emergency departments based in Peoria, Ill.

Voalté, a clinical communications technology firm, recently announced a new reseller partnership with Kansas City-based All Systems. The partnership allows All Systems to provide the Voalté One smart phone solution to hospitals in Kansas and Missouri.

Patients are losing patience. Every day, thousands of people try to call their doctors to request medical appointments, ask clinician questions, renew prescriptions and receive important information. The Intuit Health Patient Engagement Study, conducted in April, found 95% of doctors want their patients to fill out medical and registration forms online before their appointment. When patients were asked about filling out forms and the registration process, 81% said they’d like to move that task online too. Intuit surveyed 556 practices across the United States in April.