Dear AuntMinnie Member,
In the world of healthcare IT, "meaningful use" is something everyone seems to want, but few have been quite sure how to get. Finally some clarity is starting to emerge following the U.S. government's issuance of new guidance on how healthcare providers can show meaningful use of healthcare IT to qualify for federal stimulus funds.
You'll find the information in an article we're featuring in our Healthcare IT Digital Community this week by associate editor Cynthia E. Keen. The story explains a new frequently asked questions (FAQs) document issued last week by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology that addresses 20 of what the agency sees as the most common queries regarding meaningful use.
Unfortunately, the FAQs raise almost as many questions as they answer. See what some of the confusion is all about by clicking here, or visit our Healthcare IT Digital Community at healthcareit.auntminnie.com.
U.K. PACS preferences
In other news, U.K. researchers wanted to find out what clinicians thought about PACS, which has been implemented extensively in the country as part of a national healthcare IT initiative.
In general, respondents to the researchers' survey were happy with PACS. But physicians did express some frustrations, according to an article by senior editor Erik L. Ridley in our PACS Digital Community. Find out what some of the biggest beefs were by clicking here, or visit the community at pacs.auntminnie.com.
VC and adnexal masses
Finally, hot off the press in the October issue of Radiology, a new study by researchers from the University of Wisconsin in Madison addresses the issue of incidental adnexal masses found on screening virtual colonoscopy studies.
A research team that included Perry Pickhardt, MD, examined whether VC's ability to uncover some adnexal masses contributed to earlier detection of ovarian cancer. Learn the answer by clicking here for an article by international editor Eric Barnes in our Virtual Colonoscopy Digital Community.
