Welcome to the Health IT Buzz Blog, a service of HHS’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). This blog was created to answer your questions about the nation’s transition to electronic health records and to create a conversation about the challenges and successes health care providers, physicians, practices, and organizations are experiencing as they transition from paper to electronic health records.
Latest Blog Posts
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Bridging the Gap Between Behavioral Health and EHRs in New Jersey
The need for electronic health records (EHRs) designed specifically for those suffering from mental health and substance abuse issues has never been greater. Patients living with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases are twice as likely to suffer from depression than the general population.1Hurricane Sandy, last year’s Nor’easter, foreclosures, unemployment, and the economy are just a few of the many external stressors and life traumas that may contribute to increased incidence of behavioral health conditions. And that doesn’t take into consideration personal stressors.
The burden of behavioral health disorders is compounded by the prevalence of multiple conditions among those who are already chronically ill.
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New Developer Contest – Create a Cancer Survivor Tool
ONC and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) are challenging app developers to create new tools to help cancer survivors. The new Crowds Care for Cancer: Supporting Survivors Challenge is asking app developers to create new tools meant to help survivors manage their care after they have completed cancer treatment.
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Managing My Personal Health Record: My Story of Living with Lupus
When I was 15 years old I was diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erthamatosis (Lupus). My parents and I didn’t really know or understand what Lupus was, but we knew that people died from it and that I needed to be extremely careful with my health. I remember how scared I was, along with being in extreme pain, barely able to walk. In addition I was puffy and losing my hair as a side effect of my medications. For me, the Lupus subsequently caused multiple other chronic illnesses, including Rheumatoid Arthritis, Fibromyalgia, and Depression. I remember going from doctor to doctor, getting test after test and then, one day, somehow, someone lost my entire set of medical records from birth until age 15!
