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Learn more about HHS’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC)
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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From the ONC Desk, Health Innovation Reducing Hospital Readmissions Through Ensuring Safe Transitions
Wil Yu | November 14, 2011
The fact that nearly one in five patients discharged from a hospital will be readmitted within 30 days may be surprising to some, but it’s encouraging to know that many of these readmissions can be prevented simply by improving communication and coordination between patients, caregivers, hospitals, nursing homes, and other care settings at the time of the discharge. Addressing this communications gap is an ideal opportunity for health IT to play a meaningful role in improving the lives and health of patients throughout the country.
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