By Amanda Patanow on 3/30/2009

Healthcare reform, as proposed under the Obama administration, will bring some 'real changes' for small physician practices, according to Nydia Velázquez, chairman of the House Committee on Small Business.

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By Amanda Patanow on 3/23/2009

PaperFree Tampa has the ambitious goal of digitizing every prescription and patient history written not only in the 10-county area surrounding Tampa and St. Petersburg, but also, eventually, in the rest of the country. 

The PaperFree Tampa project stands on the shoulders of the regional leadership that succeeded in beating out 90 other markets in the country for a $3M grant from the Center for Community Health Leadership in 2007.

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By Amanda Patanow on 3/16/2009

Thirty-three percent of physicians said reduced liability and medical errors were the primary reasons for using or planning to use health care IT, according to the survey. 

Twenty-eight percent of physicians said accurate record-keeping was the primary reason for using or planning to use health IT, while 21% cited efforts to stay current. About 4% of respondents said the primary reason for using or planning to use health IT was the high return on investment.

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By Amanda Patanow on 3/9/2009

Garets expects that healthcare organizations will adopt healthcare IT "with a vengeance" in 2009. He and other members of the Healthcare Information and Management and Systems Society are concerned there are "precious few" change management experts to help providers make the complicated transition to healthcare IT by 2011.

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By Amanda Patanow on 3/2/2009

Sebelius Would Play Key Role In Health-Care Reform Plans

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius yesterday accepted President Obama's request to become his secretary of health and human services, stepping into a central role in the new administration's ambitious effort to overhaul the nation's health-care system.

Sebelius's nomination comes just days before the White House is scheduled to convene a summit on health reform, an early step in the president's bold plan to vastly expand the reach of the health-care system. A formal announcement of her nomination is scheduled for tomorrow.

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By Amanda Patanow on 2/23/2009

Frequently Asked Questions regarding the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the HITECH Act:

What are the different incentive options? How is meaningful use of EMR defined?  What bonus payments are available to physicians?  ...and more.

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