Despite challenges in data transmission, continued use of EHRs to track population health is important in demonstrating the value of health IT adoption and improving the quality of care in the primary care setting, based on a commentary published in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, posted online Aug. 19.

As hospitals attempt to realign both costs and care, they also must adopt physician leaders who will pave the way for the future of healthcare reform and help the hospital and staff thrive during the cultural change. Developing mentorship programs can help facilitate this. However, a recent survey by the National Center for Healthcare Leadership (NCHL) has shown that these types of initiatives may be more feasible in larger hospitals and healthcare systems.

Applying a collaborative filtering methodology to medication reconciliation lists can better predict drugs that patients could take, but may miss complete patient medication lists which can negatively affect patient outcomes, researchers found.

Implementing health IT in the community setting is a national priority designed to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of healthcare. However, community-based organizations who are implementing health IT often lack the expertise to effectively evaluate the systems, according to a perspective published Aug. 1 in the Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association.

McKesson has reported a 4 percent dip in net income, despite a 9 percent increase in revenues for the fiscal first quarter of 2011, compared with the year-prior results.

Evaluating hemoglobin A1c levels in diabetic patients can help improve the risk prediction for cardiovascular disease, according to a study published online July 25 in the Archives of Internal Medicine. These results may lead to a more accurate diagnosis for patients in certain risk categories.

The FDA has released, for comment purposes, draft guidance on mobile medical applications. The 29-page draft, issued July 21, contains nonbinding recommendations to inform manufacturers, distributors, and other entities about how the FDA intends to apply its regulatory authorities to select software applications intended for use on mobile platforms, the draft stated.

Recently many have questioned whether industry relationships between societies and physicians may be detrimental to healthcare due to their potential to cause conflicts of interest (COIs). In Julys issue of HeartRhythm, the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS) deemed industry relationships necessary, but said that it is also imperative that professional societies put forth safeguards to help hinder these types of biases and keep relationships transparent.