One of the major goals of the federal government’s push for nationwide electronic medical record (EMR) adoption is to create an information network where “health data can flow freely, privately, and securely to the places where they are needed.” More …

When we published our list of the best medical iPhone apps for doctors and students, we had so many requests for a follow up post highlighting medical apps for the Android operating system that we had to do it. We’ve reduced the over 1,200 “Health” apps in the Android Marketplace to 18 categories and 60 apps designed for doctors, nurses and students. We’ve specifically geared the chosen apps towards those professions and away from consumers. More …

Selecting electronic medical records software is notoriously difficult. The EMR market is flooded with several hundred vendors that cover the full spectrum of pricing and functionality, and clinics often have trouble cutting through the marketing noise. All healthcare providers are in a precarious situation, EMR systems are very expensive and can be tough to implement. More …

For nearly four years, the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) has been the lone entity recognized by the federal government to certify electronic health record systems. Since being named a recognized certifying body by Health and Human Services (HHS) in 2006, CCHIT has awarded certifications to nearly 200 EHR software products. More …

Is it possible that the next time you go in for a checkup, your doctor will be lamenting over Microsoft while updating your medical records on Safari? We’re hearing questions about Mac compatibility from physicians interested in electronic medical records (EMR systems). Many providers, notably smaller offices, arechoosing Apple computers over PC-based systems to run their practice. More …

Calculating market share for the electronic health record (EHR) market is no easy task. There are over 300 software vendors, many market segments (consider: size of practice served, specialties services, inpatient/outpatient) and very “fuzzy” sources of data. Nevertheless, the team at Software Advice set out to see what numbers we could pull together. More …

We recently penned a post, “Should You Outsource Your Medical Billing,” which compared outsourcing the revenue cycle management process to managing that function in-house with medical billing systems. Assuming you go for the former option – outsourcing – this post will help you make the right choice of medical billing service companies. More …

Software as a Service (SaaS) presents a classic “disruptive innovation.” Of course, in 2010 that’s not new news. What is remarkable is how closely the SaaS market’s evolution matches the definition of a disruptive technology that was described by Harvard Business School professor Clayton Christensen in The Innovator’s Dilemma. More …

Microsoft Dynamics is largely present in just about every software market but medical. And they’re missing out big time. The United States healthcare IT market is growing at about 13% per year and is expected to reach $35 billion in 20111. The biggest opportunity for growth in the industry is among ambulatory care physician practices, partly due to the Stimulus Bill requiring the use of EHR software. More …

One of the many business questions physicians face is whether to outsource their medical billing to third-party medical billing services or do it in-house with medical billing software. Some physicians would assume outsourcing billing to a medical billing service makes the most sense. After all, they’re the experts with the resources to properly process your claims, right? More …

As we wait for the federal government to finalize important sections of the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), there is a lot of talk about the financial incentives for implementing electronic health records (EHR). And understandably so. Practices that implement an EHR under the government’s guidelines stand to gain ~$50,000 in incentives over the next five years. More …

Last week, during the fever pitch surrounding the announcement of Apple’s iPad tablet, Software Advice surveyed 178 physicians, nurses, medical students and healthcare IT professionals about what the healthcare industry’s ideal tablet would look like. This isn’t our first time talking tablets and healthcare. In April of last year, we wondered if the Apple tablet would become the ideal device to run electronic health record (EHR) More …

Apple is the hottest topic in the tech blogosphere these days. Even if you ignore all news of the “iSlate,” dozens of rumors abound. One we find particularly interesting is a patent for 3D head-tracking. Instead of using a mouse and keyboard, Mac users simply move their head or body to control an image on screen. We think this technology would perfect for healthcare. Here’s a short video to help you visualize More …

On December 30, 2009, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released documents shedding light on what physicians and hospitals must do to qualify for electronic health records (EHR) incentive payments under the HITECH Act. To qualify for incentives, physicians and hospitals must be using “certified EHR technology” in a “meaningful More …

We talk with hundreds of physician practices each month. Their biggest question: “What does the economic stimulus package mean for me?”

Practices understand that up to $45 billion is allocated to provide incentive for physicians to adopt EHRs. However, many questions remain about how and when providers will receive stimulus More …