CompTIA Report Finds Strong Mobile Adoption, Weak Cloud Use in Health Care

Physician practices are eager to adopt smartphones and tablets but lag behind in cloud computing and EHR training, according to a study by IT association CompTIA. eWeek

Social Media and Nurses: Promising or Perilous?

Medscape News Nurses

• The Pre-Facebook Era
• Social Media Emerges
• Nursing and Social Media
• New Territory, New Rules 

More Doctors Engaging With Patients Through Social Media Platforms

Physicians increasingly are using social media websites such as Facebook and Twitter to post medical information or engage patients in discussions about their health. However, some doctors are concerned that using social media sites could lead to violations of patient privacy. U.S. News World & Report.

Game-Changing Model Spreads Medical Knowledge, Expands Health Care Capacity

ECHO builds knowledge networks between specialists and primary care teams for sharing the best available medical practices, so that, across the health care system, doctors, nurses and other health professionals can provide better care to more people right in their own communities. RWJF

E-prescribing Is Safe and Efficient, but Barriers Remain

Physician practices and pharmacies generally view electronic prescribing as an important tool to improve patient safety and save time, but both groups face barriers to realizing the technology's full benefit, according to a study funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)

Joint Commission: Text Messages Should Not Be Used in Patient Orders

The Joint Commission has issued a statement declaring that physicians and other medical practitioners should not use text messages for patient care orders. Experts say the commission's stance reflects concerns about the privacy and security of patient data. Fierce Mobile Healthcare.

Doctors make the rounds with tablets, smartphones

A new survey finds that half of all doctors will be using tablets and smartphones within the next year. The gadgets will access electronic medical records and help doctors improve patient treatment. Read more

Nearly 1 in 10 outpatient computerized prescriptions contains errors.

A new study, posted by AHRQ, found that about 1 in 10 computer-generated prescriptions had at least 1 error. In addition, a third of these errors had the potential for harm.  Read more

Study: Clinical Decision Support Tools Improve Hospital Care Quality

A new study published in the Journal of Hospital Medicine finds that hospitals using the clinical decision support software UpToDate had higher care quality scores, shorter lengths of patient hospital stays and lower mortality rates than hospitals that were not using the system. Wall Street Journal's "Health Blog." Click Here

The Meaningful Use Attestation Calculator

The Meaningful Use Attestation Calculator Meeting the Requirements for Meaningful Use This online tool allows providers to test whether or not they would successfully demonstrate meaningful use for the EHR Incentive Programs....

Mixed views on video conferencing

A survey of healthcare professionals has uncovered mixed views on the benefits of video conferencing. The survey was carried out by research firm Vision Critical for supplier Cisco and asked 125 healthcare professionals, ranging from doctors and nurses to medical assistants, their views on video conferencing and its benefits for their organisation and for patients.  (EHealth Media)

Innovations using Algorithm-Based Treatment Decision Support in Patient Care

AHRQ’s Health Care Innovations Exchange highlights the innovations at two different hospitals that are using algorithms to improve patient care.  Also featured are QualityTools that present several algorithms that support decision-making in the prevention, treatment, and evaluation of various health conditions and diseases.  More innovations and tools related to the use of algorithms in patient care are available on AHRQ’s Health Care Innovations Exchange Web site

Medical Privacy Secured on Smartphones

This approach locks data to a specific mobile device by using the device's serial number to generate a unique encryption key. Check it out.

Between-Session Access to Mobile Cognitive Behavioral Self-Assessment and Exercises Improves Self-Awareness and Ability to Manage Strong Emotions

As an adjunct to weekly face-to-face sessions, individuals in cognitive behavioral therapy receive as-needed support by accessing mobile phone applications that mirror cognitive behavioral therapy techniques. Click here for more from AHRQ

10 Reasons to Give Your Nursing Career a Digital Media Makeover

In recent years, the growth of digital and social media have come to influence many aspects of day-to-day life, including our experience in the workplace. Nurses savvy in these new media can take advantage of the new tools that are available and use them for professional growth and development  (Johnson and Johnson Discovernursing.com)

1. Mobile Apps as Workplace Tools : Cell phone dependence is becoming increasingly practical for nurses, with convenient apps that serve as drug references, medical dictionaries, calculation tools, medical news feeds and much more.

2. Professional Networking Online: Career-oriented social networking site, connects more than 75 million     professionals with members of their network. Users can create a profile, upload a virtual résumé, connect with past and present colleagues and join interactive professional groups.

3. Real-time Nurse Chatter: #RNchat was started on Twitter by Phil Bauman to allow nurses to openly discuss topics that run the gamut of industry news to general questions to advice and tips for success!

4. Blogger Connection: Have you ever wanted to hear the stories of other nurses? Check out blogs like Lost on the Floor or codeblog, which share tales from the frontline! These sites and other nurse blogs also have blogrolls, which link related bloggers together and direct readers to other blogs they might like.

5. The Online Conversation: Nurses are using online outlets like AllNurses.com, NurseConnect.com and Facebook to engage in discussions with other nurses worldwide.

6. Industry News at Your Fingertips: Nursing and healthcare news sources are plentiful online, with outlets like MedPage Today, Nurse.com and WebMD delivering daily industry news for free.

7. Interactive Educational Resources: Several online sources provide access to tools that allow nursing students to enhance their education and current nurses to refresh their knowledge! Nurses can participate in webinar CE courses like these from Nurse.com and a new career-focused series called Career RN, sponsored by the Johnson & Johnson Campaign for Nursing’s Future. Students can also check out these free online quizzes from LearningNurse.com.

8. Downloadable Nursing Podcasts: Podcast series deliver audio content with regular episodes that are available to download. Several medical and nursing podcasts are available online and through iTunes.

9. Nursing Video Feeds: YouTube, the home of many popular viral videos, also hosts several healthcare- and nursing-focused channels like JNJhealth, MedicCast and nursesblog to which viewers can subscribe. YouTube’s landscape of user-generated videos ranges from educational to investigative to purely entertaining and allows all users to broadcast uploaded videos!

10. It’s the digital age!: As digital and social media evolve, they continue to influence the way we communicate, receive news and how we share information. Digital media literacy can complement well-rounded nursing professionals and key them into the changing landscape of the nursing industry.

Nurses Embrace Social and Digital Media Resources

Recent studies and research indicate seasoned nurses and new nursing students are finding practical uses for social and digital media in schools and workplaces.  Read more

New! HIMSS Nursing Informatics Position Statement Resources

It is through the collective wisdom, expertise and strategizing of individuals and groups that the recommendations of the Future of Nursing Report will be achieved. Collaboration and unified messaging among all stakeholders are keys to success. Click the following links to:
Download the position statement >>
Download the Talking Points >>
Download the Marketing Slide Set (ppt) >>
Request hard copies/more information >>
Visit the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action website >>

In Which Types of Communities Do Individuals Who Have Downloaded a Health App Live?

	Thirty-three percent of individuals who have downloaded an application to track or manage their health live in urban communities, 29% live in suburban neighborhoods and 20% live in rural areas, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project.Read more

Primary Care, Everywhere: Connecting the Dots Across the Emerging Health Landscape

In response to unmet needs, some innovative providers have begun to extend their services, delivering primary care more broadly across their communities... Read more

Social media sites providing health info need greater transparency

Although social networking sites can be useful tools to disseminate healthcare information, some sites fall short of providing patient-centered resources and even provide misleading data, according to two studies  Read more

Docs turn to Google, Yahoo for health info, survey finds

Google and Yahoo were cited by 46 percent of physicians in a recent survey as a frequent source of information used to diagnose, treat and care for patients.  The Wolters Kluwer Health 2011 Point-of-Care Survey found that another 32 percent of physicians used these general browsers as an occasional resource. Sixty-three percent of physicians also reported they have changed an initial diagnosis based on new information accessed via online resources/support tools.

 Read more

Mobile app from Numera allows patients to send their vital signs to their electronic health records

These vital signs are transmitted via the Apple device through Numera's FDA-cleared gateway, which links with EHRs such as EPIC as well as personal health records from HealthVault and HealthTrio. Read More

75 percent of nurses own smartphones or tablets

74.6 percent of nurses in the US use smartphones or tablets. Of those smartphone owners, 43.7 percent own an iPhone or iPod Touch, 29.8 percent an Android phone, and 22 percent an iPad. The survey was conducted in September 2011. Read more

ONC Seeks Opinions on Mobile Devices as Health Information Tools

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology’s (ONC) Office of the Chief Privacy Officer plans to perform a project using a qualitative data collection approach to obtain in-depth information from mHealth users regarding privacy and security concerns with this technology and perspectives on potential safeguards.

mHealth refers to the use of mobile devices to communicate health information, and includes text messaging, email accessibility on the device, Skype, or the use of applications downloaded to the device.

A series of focus groups will be held in a variety of geographic regions to look at the attitudes and perspectives of individuals across different populations. For more information on this and other mHealth initiatives at HHS, please visit http://www.hhs.gov/open/initiatives/mhealth/projects.htmlhttp://www.hhs.gov/open/initiatives/mhealth/projects.html

IBM's Watson to diagnose and treat cancer patients

IBM's Jeopardy-playing supercomputer, Watson, will soon be helping human doctors diagnose and treat cancer patients. This first commercial application for Watson is a partnership between IBM and Blue Cross, Blue Shield  Read more