No homeowners willingly allow a burglar to enter their home and steal their most valuable possessions. Instead, people put locks on doors, install alarm systems, build fences, or keep big dogs. The thieves may still get in, but deterrents like these will reduce the risk of a successful burglary. Ambulatory…

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Editor's Note Unplanned admissions of medical-surgical patients to intensive care units (ICUs) dropped after a New Hampshire Medical Center implemented a new early warning score communication bundle, this study finds. The hospital embedded a seven-item modified early-warning score system into the electronic medical record (EMR) for patients in its four…

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Editor's Note A Black Book market survey found that 92% of patients younger than 40 expressed dissatisfaction if their providers did not offer them complete medical records, and 85% wanted more telehealth options, the April 23 Healthcare Informatics reports. A total of 88% of respondents blamed the hospital systems directly…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced that eligible hospitals may submit hardship exception applications until July 1 to avoid 2019 meaningful use payment adjustments under the Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs, and critical access hospitals may submit applications until November 30 to avoid…

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Editor's Note The ECRI Institute and the Partnership for Health IT Patient Safety (ie, a multistakeholder collaborative convened and operated by the ECRI Institute) announced April 10 the new INsight® Culture of Safety Assessment for Health IT Companies. The new program allows health IT developers to assess safety culture with…

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Editor's Note The poor design of electronic health records (EHRs) poses challenges for primary care practices to generate the required reports for federal value-based payment programs, this study finds. An analysis of survey responses from 1,492 practices in 12 states, found that the reports generated for meaningful-use participation, which requires…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is notifying eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals that they now have until March 16 to attest for Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program requirements for CY 2017 and to submit electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) data for the…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on February 14 announced that accredited hospitals should start thinking about electronic clinical quality measure (eCQM) success stories to share in the 2018 Pioneers in Quality Proven Practices Collection. Proven Practices was launched last year and is a peer-to-peer sharing of specific practices that an…

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Editor's Note Physicians are more likely to leave the profession or reduce their hours if they are uncomfortable using electronic health records (EHRs), the January 24 Medical Economics reports. Although EHRs have the potential to enhance quality of care and clinical coordination, they also increase risk of physician burnout, reduce…

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Editor's Note ECRI Institute on December 12 issued its list of Top 10 Health Technology Hazards for 2018. The list, which is available for free (registration required), identifies sources of technology dangers or difficulties and details steps to minimize the occurrence of adverse events. Topping the list is ransomware and…

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