November 2011 Posts

We Can’t Wait: New Steps Encourage Doctors and Hospitals to Use Health IT to Lower Costs, Improve Quality, Create Jobs

Nancy-Ann DeParle | November 30, 2011

When doctors and hospitals use health information technology (health IT), patients get better care and we can all save money. This results in less paperwork for billing, medical records, and prescribing; easier coordination of care among doctors, nurses, and pharmacists in hospitals and outpatient settings; and better reporting on quality of care. Thanks to President Obama’s leadership, the number of physicians using this important technology to help patients get better care and save money has more than doubled,

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Beacon Communities

Reflections Along the Journey of Health Care Improvement

Aaron McKethan | November 29, 2011

Time flies when you’re having fun. As my tenure as the Director of the Beacon Community program draws to a close, I have reflected on some of the early lessons that the Beacon Community innovators and implementers around the nation have taught me in the last couple of years.

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Regional Extension Centers

ONC’s Regional Extension Centers Sign Up 100,000 Primary Care Providers

Mat Kendall | November 17, 2011

Today, we’d like to acknowledge an important milestone in our journey toward national electronic health record (EHR) adoption: ONC’s Regional Extension Centers (RECs) have signed up more than 100,000 primary care providers! This means that roughly one third of the nation’s primary care providers have committed to meaningfully using EHRs by partnering with their local REC. Momentum is building!

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Health Innovation

Public Data for Cancer Prevention and Control Challenge Moving to Phase II!

Wil Yu | November 16, 2011

This summer, ONC’s Investing in Innovation program (i2), in partnership with National Cancer Institute, launched the “Using Public Data for Cancer Prevention and Control: From Innovation to Impact” challenge, and we were very pleased with the quality of the entries that were submitted.

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EHR Case Studies

Providing Quality Health Care for Patients: Dr. Chris Tashjian’s Perspective on EHRs and Meaningful Use

Parmeeth M.S. Atwal | November 15, 2011

A specialist in family medicine, Dr. Christopher Tashjian, practices in rural Ellsworth, WI. In the year since his practice switched to electronic health records (EHRs), he’s seen a number of benefits, thanks to printed visit summaries, e-prescribing, and remote, electronic access to health records. Dr.Tashjian is a Meaningful Use Vanguard (a “MUVer”) and believes achieving meaningful use of EHRs and health information technology (health IT) is the roadmap to providing quality health care and improving efficiency.

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