The doctor is making house calls again, but you will not find anyone in scrubs on your doorstep. These days, physicians get a little help from technology. Several members of the medical community met Friday as part of a project to bring telemedicine to Hancock County. The sound of a heartbeat thumps loud and clear through the monitor. With telemedicine, someone can have a doctor's exam, without setting foot in a waiting room. "The physician is at a different site, whether it be the emergency room or his office," explained Associate Dean of Rural Medicine at Mercer, Dr. Jean Sumner. "He can completely examine the patient using this equipment."
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is giving physicians an extra three weeks to attest they have made "Meaningful Use" of electronic health records, the agency announced Wednesday. "Eligible professionals now have until 11:59 p.m. ET on March 20, 2015, to attest to meaningful use for the Medicare Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program 2014 reporting year," CMS said in a press release. "CMS extended the deadline to allow providers extra time to submit their meaningful use data. CMS continues to urge providers to begin attesting for 2014 as soon as they can." The original deadline for attestation was Feb. 28.
Mississippi has a sickly reputation. The Magnolia State ranks at or near the bottom in most health rankings: worst infant mortality and most kids born with low birth weight; second-to-highest rate of obesity and cancer deaths; second from the last in diabetes outcomes. But the state is a leader in one aspect of health care: telemedicine. The state's only academic hospital has remote connections with 165 sites, providing specialized services to some of the state's most far-flung, medically deprived cities and towns. Mississippi's telemedicine program, ranked among the seven best in the country, has inspired neighboring Arkansas to take bigger steps in some areas of the field, and the impact of its success is making waves in Washington as well.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is giving physicians an extra 3 weeks to attest they have made "Meaningful Use" of electronic health records, the agency announced Wednesday.
When Stacey Whiteman was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis two years ago, she didn't realize the toughest challenge would be its impact on her brain. The 53-year-old from Massachusetts was forced to quit work as an executive assistant after becoming easily confused and prone to forget, even about priorities like doctor appointments. When her physician suggested OpenNotes, an electronic portal allowing patients full access to their medical records, including doctors' notes, Whiteman was eager to log on. "For somebody like me who has a hard time processing things, I need this convenience," she said. Whiteman now refers to OpenNotes daily, to review what happened during appointments, be reminded of future ones and check lab results.
In today's interconnected world it seems intuitively true that instant access to comprehensive medical patient histories will help physicians to provide better care at a lower cost. This simple argument was persuasive enough for the federal government to spend $26 billion to incent medical providers to adopt electronic health records (EHR) systems so that they can electronically share medical records. The initial investment appeared to be large, but it was an economically sound solution to control the rising healthcare expenditure. The resulting HITECH act is one of the few healthcare laws that maintains bipartisan support.