Morning Headlines 1/27/14
Athenahealth Seaholm deal faces tough questions at City Council
Several Austin (TX) City Council members are questioning the decision to offer athenahealth incentives to open a new office in its busy downtown business district. The council members hold the opinion that the city is capable of attracting new jobs and filling office space in the business district without offering perks.
The International Journal of Medical Informatics publishes a study that correlates EHR use with a drop in doctor-patient eye contact when compared to practices that use paper charts.
UK ministers cap government IT contracts at £100m
In England, new rules published Friday limit government IT contracts to $165 million unless there is an "exceptional reason", eliminates automatic contract renewals, caps hosting contracts at two-years, and requires that software be implemented by a company other than the software or hardware vendor.
Researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center receive a $5.3 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation of California to develop an IT system that will help monitor for, and reduce, preventable harm in ICU patients.
Sounds reasonable, until you look at the Silicon Valley experience. Silicon Valley grew like a weed precisely because employees could…