Google is, of course, a leader in innovation. And it’s been doing some major jockeying in the healthcare race, including the beta site, Google Health, the start of what the Seattle-based company hopes is a next-generation health system, empowering consumers to create their own personal health records (PHR). Read more...

Dr. John Halamka leads the powerful HITSPA (Healthcare Information Technology Standards Panel), which is working on specs for electronic health records and interoperability, which is much easier said than done. In an interview that I did with Halamka not long ago, the healthcare leader (he’s CIO of CareGroup Healthcare System) emphasized the importance of having a business case for technology. Read more...

If you’re a small physician practice struggling with implementing the bells and whistles – or is it wires and widgets – of electronic health records (EHR), take heart: last week, David Blumenthal, national Health IT coordinator, pledged to pay special attention to individual physicians and small group practices as the stimulus package takes effect. Although almost a quarter of physicians currently use EHRs, only 13 percent of small practices use the technology.
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