Morning Headlines 10/21/13

The sad state of EMRs: How they are doing more harm than good

Val Jones, MD, a blogger and advocate for digital health, writes that EHRs have come to the point that they are doing more harm than good. She cites the “enormous time suck” that charting into an EHR has caused for physicians.

CMS planned for paper processing before Obamacare launch

Just days before the launch of Healthcare.gov, CMS extended its contract with UK-based Serco, who had been managing its paper insurance application process, leading many to speculate that CMS knew the insurance exchange enrollment site was going to fail.

Medical Identity Theft: Recommendations for the Age of Electronic Medical Records

The California Attorney General’s office publishes a report on medical identity theft and recommendations for health systems in the age of EHRs, adding that nearly half of medical identity theft cases are actually incidents in which someone loans their insurance card to an uninsured friend or relative to obtain treatment under their insurance.

AMC and VUmc conclude contract with Epic for new joint EPD

Two Amsterdam hospitals, American Medical Center and VUmc, sign up to implement Epic.