Sixty percent of physicians believe healthcare reform will have a negative impact on overall healthcare, according to survey results from The Doctors Company, a physician and surgeon medical liability insurer.

Automated safety surveillance tools, such as one tested by researchers at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, may be able to identify poor performing cardiac devices earlier than the existing postmarket surveillance methods used in clinical practice, according to a study published March 6 in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes. This usage could help expose fewer patients to potentially hazardous devices.

If you missed the 2012 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference held near the end of February in Las Vegas, or you could attend only some sessions, not to fret. We have you covered.

LAS VEGASFor the first time in more than a decade, staffing shortages overtook concerns over lack of adequate financial support as the No. 1 barrier to implementing IT in this years 23rd annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) leadership survey. The results, released Feb. 21 at HIMSS12, include the input of 302 healthcare IT professionals who represent more than 600 U.S. hospitals.

LAS VEGASAs someone co-leading ICD-10 implementation for a huge company, last week was an interesting week, said Rob Alger, vice president, health plan business technology solutions and services, Kaiser Permanente. He was speaking of the announcement that the Department of Health and Human Services will delay the required ICD-10 implementation deadline during the Physician IT Symposium on Feb. 20 at the 2012 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference.

LAS VEGASThe role of the CMIO has grown from a group of self-proclaimed computer geeks of a dozen or so a decade ago to hundreds of health IT leaders motivated by the need for greater data understanding and communication who today lead IT implementation and optimization projects, according to William F. Bria, MD, CMIO of Shriners Hospital for Children in Tampa, Fla., who led a discussion at the Physician IT Symposium on Feb. 21.

LAS VEGASThe change in payment from the government and private payors has already forced thousands of providers to convert to a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model, and providers need to forsake the concept of owning the entire care continuum, said Paul Grundy, MD, MPH, president of the Patient-Centered Primary Care Collaborative, and director of healthcare transformation at IBM, during a Feb. 20 presentation at the 2012 CIO Forum.

LAS VEGASSpeaking on "The Evolution from Transaction-Oriented to Intelligence-Oriented EHRs," John P. Glaser, PhD, CEO of Siemens Health Services business unit, said we are entering an era of profound change,  during his opening keynote at the Physician IT Symposium on Feb. 20, at the 2012 Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference.