From iHealthBeat

HHS' OIG To Assess Potential Meaningful Use Fraud, Abuse

HHS' Office of Inspector General is surveying hospitals that have attested to meaningful use about their data entry habits and security practices. The survey is part of OIG's effort to identify "fraud and abuse vulnerabilities in electronic health record systems." The survey comes after recent reports found that EHR systems could be contributing to a rise in upcoding. HealthLeaders Media.

NFL Taps Health IT Tools To Improve Treatment of Players

NFL doctors and trainers now have access to a range of health IT tools -- such as video replays, digital X-rays and iPad concussion assessments -- to help them diagnose and treat athletes. The league hopes to implement a cloud-based electronic health record system next season. New York Times.

Most VA Computers Unencrypted, Despite Mandate, Report Finds

A report from the Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of Inspector General finds that only 16% of VA's computers have encryption software. A 2006 data breach prompted agency officials to mandate that encryption software be installed on all VA computers.InformationWeek, FierceGovernmentIT.

Studies Find EHRs Help Cut Medication Errors Among HIV Patients

Three new studies presented at the IDWeek meeting in San Diego find that electronic health records can help reduce medication errors among hospitalized patients with HIV. One study from Michigan finds that EHRs helped cut errors by 93%. Medical News Today, MedPage Today.

Report: Online Pediatric Health Information Searches Unreliable

A new report finds that online pediatric health information often is inaccurate and unreliable. The report -- presented at the American Academy of Pediatrics conference -- urges patients to verify online medical information with physicians. Birmingham Examiner, AAP release.

From Healthcare IT News

OIG includes meaningful use in 2013 reviews

In its investigations into Medicare and Medicaid fraud, the Office of the Inspector General will also undertake Recovery Act reviews, which include probes into the EHR Incentive program.

BCBS Louisiana, Cardinal Health partner for cancer research quality...

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana and Cardinal Health Specialty Solutions have announced the launch of a joint program aimed at improving cancer treatment using clinical pathways.

5 reasons why there's no need to fear ICD-10

ICD-10 educator Rhonda Buckholtz says the industry needs to calm down about ICD-10 so everyone can fully understand what really has to happen and begin to prepare in earnest.

Medication barcoding reduces errors, ushers big savings

A newly implemented medication barcoding system at the Michigan-based Beaumont Health System helped the organization prevent a total of 23,500 possible drug errors within a six-month time period, officials announced Friday.

From Fierce Health IT

Database finds docs actively use Twitter

A new database of physician tweets aims to gain insight into how doctors use Twitter.

Bioinformatics called critical to next-generation DNA sequencing

Laboratories that want to run next-generation sequencing of DNA will need extraordinarily robust bioinformatics infrastructure to fully leverage research and diagnostic opportunities, the Association for Molecular Pathology reports in the November issue of the Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

Study: High-risk teens open to online health records

High-risk teens could benefit from online records and the ability to share their health information, according to a study published at Pediatrics.