OpenNotes Project: Where does mental health fit in?

On Monday of this week, Seth asked me if I had a topic for my current blog. As I had none at hand, he pointed me to last week’s episode of the podcast/NPR show, Science Friday. Seth is a regular subscriber to this series and I listen when I find the time. That effort is [...]

Information Overload: TMI

Almost two months passed between my post last week and the last one before that. The combination of family illnesses followed by vacation and recovery from travel put me in a position of being so far behind in the reading I usually do that I could not possibly catch up. My personal inclination was to [...]

Behavioral Health EMR Systems Learn to Cooperate: A sneak peek at interoperability

I am on my way back from two and a half days in Phoenix where approximately 40 SATVA (Software and Technology Vendor Association) member representatives, EMR users, and industry IT experts met to find a way for behavioral healthcare providers to exchange patient information using the electronic Continuity of Care Document (CCD). The CCD is [...]

Hot, Flat, and Crowded: E.C.E. 101

Last night we had the pleasure of meeting with the members of the book club to which we belong. This is a group of lively, energetic, intelligent, articulate folks who manage to bring varied and wonderful perspectives to everything we read and discuss. This time, we read Thomas L. Friedman’s Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need [...]

Meaningful Use & Behavioral Health Providers

I have been avoiding writing about the second draft of the Meaningful Use of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) definition released by the federal Health IT Policy Committee on July 16. I had been hoping I would hear something that would make me believe the definition would in some significant way benefit our customers. I am [...]

Wal-Mart and Mental Health EMR: Unlikely

For the past week the health IT news world (NYTimes; Chicago Sun Times; MSN; ) and blogosphere (FierceHealthIT; Healthcare Informatics) have been abuzz with Wal-Mart’s announcement that they will begin selling electronic health record (EHR) software to doctor’s offices starting this Spring. They will do so in partnership with eClinicalWorks and Dell through their Sam’s Club [...]

ARRA’s New Privacy and Security Requirements

I was all set to write an article Monday morning on the expanded privacy and security requirements in the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) when I remembered that I was registered for a webinar presented by FairWarning (a privacy surveillance company) Monday afternoon on just that subject. I am really glad I waited to write, because [...]

Behavioral Health EHR: Dream or Reality, Obstacle or Asset

Last month I wrote an article about movement toward Electronic Health Records (EHR) in the behavioral health community. I was stunned by your silence on the issue. So much of my energy for the past two years has been focused on EHRs, their use in general medicine and in mental health, that I was very [...]