IT guru says some e-vendor contracts violate privacy
"There are certainly large and small vendors that I have seen contracts of that do" that, Tang said. "Some people (vendors) say they have ownership to data. There are contracts that say they will have real-time access to the database, that they will have exclusive access to the data, that they can resell the data. I think it would be unlawful that covered entities abide by that." PHR vendors are even more problematic, because many are not covered organizations, and if HIPAA applies to them at all, it is only indirectly through "business associate" agreements with the covered groups who hired them.

American Health Information Community Successor
Historically, there has been a competitive and growing market for health IT. There is a market emerging, to a lesser degree, for regional and specialty HIEs. The dynamics and forces at work in these markets are producing health information network elements but are not yet converging into an interoperable nationwide network-of-networks on their own. These regional and specialty markets need a catalyst to leverage existing economic market influences.

A Pilot Study to Document the Return on Investment for Implementing an Ambulatory Electronic Health Record at an Academic Medical Center
An EHR can rapidly demonstrate a positive return on investment when implemented in ambulatory offices associated with a university medical center, with a neutral impact on efficiency and billing. Total annual savings were $393,662 ($14,055 per provider). Total capital cost was $484,577. First-year operating expenses were $24,539. Total expenses for the first year were $509,539 ($18,182 per provider). Ongoing annual cost for subsequent years is $114,016 ($4,072 per provider). So, initial costs were recaptured within 16 months, with ongoing annual savings of $9,983 per provider.

Printing Still Common After EHR
83 EHR-using hospital respondents to the June survey by The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, reported the continued printing of laboratory reports at their organizations. 54 percent said their organization still prints imaging reports and 55% print reports from the medical records department as requested by physician offices. Further, 79% of respondents said nurses still can print information from the EHR.

Clinical decision support systems use in Wisconsin
CDSS are used in limited capacity in Wisconsin and existing systems are not likely to be computer-based. Despite physicians expressing a generally favorable interest in CDSS, a knowledge gap persists.

Evaluation of outpatient computerized physician medication order entry systems: a systematic review
The relatively small number of evaluation studies published to date do not provide adequate evidence that CPOE systems enhance safety and reduce cost in the outpatient settings. There is however evidence for (a) increasing adherence to guidelines, (b) increasing total prescribing time, and (c) high frequency of ignored alerts.

Framework for securing personal health data in clinical decision support systems
If appropriate security mechanisms aren't in place, individuals and groups can get unauthorized access to personal health data residing in clinical decision support systems (CDSS). These concerns are well founded; there has been a dramatic increase in reports of security incidents. The paper provides a framework for securing personal health data in CDSS. Using the framework, project managers and architects can assess the potential risk of unauthorized data access in their decision support system. Moreover they can design systems and procedures to effectively secure personal health data.

Health Care Opinion Leaders' Views on the Quality and Safety of Health Care in the United States
Favored strategies for improvement include accelerating the adoption of health information technology, public reporting of providers' performance on quality-of-care measures, financial incentives for improved care, and stronger regulatory oversight.

Intensive care unit telemedicine: review and consensus recommendations
This article reviews the technology's background, status, significance, clinical literature, financial effect, implementation issues, and future developments. Recommendations from a University HealthSystem Consortium task force are also presented.