As spring sprung to life across the U.S., the healthcare IT world furthered the debate over the recently unveiled Stage 2 of meaningful use. Clearly, interoperability is on the minds of many. Meanwhile, tablets in healthcare continue to generate discussion, as they find their ways into hospitals, whether CIOs like it or not. In addition, HCI’s yearly Top Tech Trends was a popular read, as was an article on clinical alerts, which has become a growing problem for physicians.
Here are the most popular articles from March.
1. Stage 2 MU to Usher in More Vendor Interoperability Collaborations
Stage 2 meaningful use was top of mind this month, as readers couldn’t get enough information on the newly proposed rules. Along with this piece from Associate Editor Jennifer Prestigiacomo about the interoperability implications for vendors, Senior Contributing Editor David Rath’s blog, The Least Popular Thing About Stage 2 of Meaningful Use So Farand Prestigiacomo’s Stage 2 Meaningful Use Challengesare also worth looking at.
2. Top Ten Tech Trends 2012: A Time of Exhilaration and Anxiety
Every March, HCI introduces its yearly top tech trends article. This year, the trends ranged from the rise of the chief information security officerto the use of population health managementto reduce readmissions. As we know, no anthology of articles can fully capture where the healthcare industry is in these complex times, but this series gives a good overview of today’s landscape.
3. Report: With Advanced EMR Systems, Comes Added Benefits
This news item is about a study from HIMSS Analytics and The Advisory Board, which says hospitals with advanced electronic medical records (EMR) systems are reporting a broad range of benefits from their implementations, including clinical quality, patient safety, and operational efficiencies.
4. The Clinical Alerts that Cried Wolf
In this feature for the April issue of HCI, Assistant Editor Gabriel Perna looks at the growing phenomenon of alert fatigue in hospitals. With more providers implementing computerized physician order entry (CPOE) systems, clinical alerts have become so common that physicians are simply ignoring them as not to disrupt their workflow. Meanwhile, some providers are attempting to find a solution to improve patient safety.
5. The Curious Case of iPads in Healthcare
Gabriel Perna attempts to tackle a controversial subject in healthcare IT: the rising use of consumer-based tablets like Apple’s iPad. While physicians are in love with the devices for their clinical usefulness, healthcare IT leaders are worried about how they affect governance rules put in place by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Actof 1996 (HIPAA).
