Robot nurses? Virtual doctor’s visits? Face recognition sign-on? Tablet computers with Clinical Decision Support? These concepts have existed in science fiction for decades. And unlike flying cars, they’re quickly becoming a reality in the healthcare sector.

Measuring quality of care in hospitals is undergoing change. Two interrelated factors are fueling this change: changes from the Joint Commission as they accredit hospitals, and changes in what is expected from hospital Electronic Health Records(EHRs) for Meaningful Use.

Health information technology (health IT) is seen as central to improving healthcare delivery, and is the focus of the HITECH section of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 (which sets up and funds bonuses for Meaningful Use of Certified EHR technology). A...

The way we have all become accustomed to encoding diagnoses in health care will be changing quite dramatically in 2013. Since 1977, healthcare has captured structured diagnosis documentation using the ICD-9 system – in the U.S. the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) expanded on...

Involving patients as active participants in their own care is an important goal of improving American healthcare. The national priorities called out by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), as it has elaborated rules for the Meaningful Use of Electronic Health...