Editor's Note June was the worst month of 2016 for healthcare information security, with 29 breaches that affected more than 11 million patient records, the July 7 Healthcare IT News reports. A total of 24 healthcare providers accounted for 86% of the breaches, with three occurring at health plans and…

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Editor's Note This study finds that physicians who use electronic health records (EHRs) have higher rates of burnout and are more likely to be dissatisfied with their jobs because of the amount of time spent completing computerized medical forms. The findings, based on a survey of 6,375 physicians, found that…

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Editor's Note Hospital readmission app could save billions An award-winning app developed by graduate students at Binghamton University, State University of New York, could help reduce readmission rates and save the healthcare industry billions. The Android-based mobile app called “Post Discharge Treatment and Readmission Predictor,” creates a special messaging service…

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Editor's Note Eligible hospitals, critical access hospitals, and professionals who did not achieve "meaningful use" in the Medicare Electronic Health Record Incentive Program for the 2015 reporting period have until July 1 to apply for a hardship exception from the 2017 payment adjustment.   The streamlined hardship applications reduce the…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission announced May 11 that it will release additional guidance in June regarding the expectations for text orders. The guidance will include the frequency text orders may be used, whether text orders that are directly integrated into the electronic health record are viewed differently than manually…

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Editor's Note An Independent Security Evaluators study of 12 hospitals found that all had vulnerabilites that could lead to patient deaths or harm, according to a May 9 report from WUSA 9. During the study, cybersecurity experts were able to remotely control respirators and patient monitors, trigger false alarms, and…

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Editor's Note The Joint Commission on May 9 announced the Pioneers in Quality Advisory Panel, a group of technical experts who will be informing the Joint Commission on the successes and challenges hospitals are experiencing in their adoption and use of electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs). The panel also will…

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Editor's Note A Black Book survey found that 87% of financially struggling hospitals regret their decision to replace their electronic health records (EHRs) systems, the April 29 Healthcare IT News reports. Of those that changed their original EHRs since 2011, 14% are losing inpatient revenue at a pace that wouldn’t…

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Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on April 27 proposed two rules, scheduled to take effect in January  2017, that will ease physician documentation requirements. One rule makes changes to the “Meaningful Use” program. CMS is proposing to replace meaningful use with a new program that…

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Editor's Note Healthcare was the top target for cyberattacks last year, according to an IBM cybersecurity report. Five of the eight largest healthcare security breaches (more than 1 million records compromised) this decade took place during the first 6 months of 2015. More than 100 million healthcare records were compromised…

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