Practices are finding innovative approaches to boost their referral base, including the use of sophisticated modules within their EMR, while others are using conventional approaches like consultants and event hosting. But there are many other untapped ways that practices can employ to generate new revenue.

ORLANDO, Fla.--Questions about political and cultural challenges as well as optimal governance dominated the HIMSS roundtable discussion Practical Pearls for Improving Outcomes with Clinical Decision Support (CDS), held Feb. 22 at the annual meeting of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS).

ORLANDO, Fla.--The message of the HIMSS11 Physician IT Symposium panel discussion about meaningful use requirements was that EHR adoption is worthwhile--eventually. And when it comes to measuring quality, "trying to do this is a lot harder than it seems," said Dean F. Sittig, PhD, of the University of Texas Memorial Hermanns Center for Healthcare Quality and Safety in Houston. The only way to improve quality is to measure it, but its really hard to measure quality, he said.

Medical device recalls occur at comparable rates in Europe and the U.S., despite a typically lengthier review process in the U.S., according to a report released by the Advanced Medical Technology Association.

All medical procedures and personnel performances are being scrutinized to ensure minimal waste and maximal outcomes and output. A study last month about non-evidence-based implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) procedures received a lot of press. And rightly so.

The promise of EMRs to improve the efficiency and quality of care makes their universal adoption a matter of when, rather than if.

Some practitioners, such as the PARTNER investigators, are advocating that transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) become the new standard of care for patients with aortic stenosis who are not suitable surgical candidates. However, others question whether the quality of life, practice management, cost effectiveness and ethical considerations of treating such sick patients have been answered definitively before it becomes routine clinical practice in the U.S.

While a cardiovascular information system (CVIS) can help practices achieve meaningful use and improve outcomes, due diligence is required to adopt one.