Morning Headlines 6/7/13

Ambulatory Physician Leadership Reports a 30-Point Usability Gap between EMR Vendors

A new KLAS report looks at ambulatory EMR usability by measuring performance across various common tasks such as e-prescribing, physician documentation, and medication reconciliation. Athenahealth come out on top, followed by Epic.

China’s PLA Among Eight State-Sponsored Groups to Hack VA, Ex Official Says

Former VA chief information security officer Jerry Davis reports that eight different state-sponsored organizations have been hacking into VA networks and databases that contain millions of veterans patient information. The continued breaches are due to weak user authentication and a lack of encryption of VA databases.

Cleveland Clinic Making Electronic Medical Records More Transparent To Patients Online

Cleveland Clinic will add physician notes, images, and results to its MyChart patient portal. A recent Robert Wood Johnston trial concluded that giving patients unrestricted access to physician notes led to increased patient engagement rates.

Dozens of health groups to create massive gene database

More than 70 medical, research, and advocacy groups are joining forces to create a massive databases of genetic and clinical data that will be accessible to doctors and researchers worldwide.