Medical Electronic Record "Vulnerable," Says Report

"The conversion to electronic medical records — a critical piece of the Obama administration’s plan for health care reform — is “vulnerable” to fraud and abuse because of the failure of Medicare officials to develop appropriate safeguards, according to a sharply critical report to be issued Thursday by federal investigators," according to a New York Times post. "The use of electronic medical records has been central to the aim of overhauling health care in America. Advocates contend that electronic records systems will improve patient care and lower costs through better coordination of medical services, and the Obama administration is spending billions of dollars to encourage doctors and hospitals to switch to electronic records to track patient care." Read more.

Medicare Giving EHR Practitioners in HPSA's Additional Bonus

Qualified EHR (Electronic Health Records) practitioners who practiced last year in federally recognized Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) will be getting an additional bonus payment for their participation in the program – if they haven’t received it already, according to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Read more.

ODs Earn Millions in Bonuses from EHR

Optometrists reportedly earned more than $21 million in top-level bonuses during the first year of the Medicare Electronic Health Records (EHR) Incentive Program, according to the latest in a series of monthly reports from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Read more.

Pediatric Ophthalmology Struggles with EHR

"In adopting electronic health records, there are challenges for pediatric ophthalmology that other subspecialties do not face, a speaker said ...at the American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus meeting," according to an OSNSuperSite post. "For pediatric ophthalmologists, one of the challenges is that the workflow is complex and there is no standardized electronic pediatric ophthalmology exam form. Without such a standardized form, it is difficult to exchange data. Furthermore, ophthalmology in general relies heavily on photography, and pediatric ophthalmology in particular relies further on drawings and annotations." Read more.