Dear AuntMinnie Member,
LAS VEGAS - The halls are buzzing this week at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) meeting after U.S. government officials announced that imaging would be added to stage 2 of the government's meaningful use (MU) healthcare IT stimulus program.
The good news was delivered to HIMSS attendees on Wednesday in a talk by Dr. Farzad Mostashari, national coordinator for health IT. Senior editor Erik L. Ridley was on hand to report on the development for our Healthcare IT Digital Community.
The addition of imaging to stage 2 of meaningful use addresses what's become a sore point for radiology professionals: Despite radiology's longstanding investments in digital technologies such as PACS, the specialty has been largely ignored by the meaningful use program.
But the news also comes with some caveats. For one thing, images will need to be accessed through a certified electronic health record to qualify for MU payments. Find out what else you'll need to qualify by clicking here.
Our coverage of HIMSS also includes the following stories:
- How the rise of mobile devices in healthcare is creating security challenges for the facilities that use them
- A profile on the Cleveland Clinic, which has embarked on an aggressive project to centralize management and access to medical images
- Results of a new HIMSS survey suggesting that IT staffing is now one of the biggest challenges reported by hospitals ramping up their investments in healthcare IT
Check back on our site for more coverage of this week's HIMSS meeting.
Virtual colonoscopy and Medicare
Finally, a new analysis of the large, multicenter 2008 National CT Colonography Trial has found that virtual colonoscopy is just as effective for screening Medicare-aged patients as it is in younger adults. Will the news prompt a new look at coverage by the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services? Get the rest of the story by clicking here.
