Stacy Lawrence

Editor’s Note: This story is part of a new series of stories from the reporters and editors of Ziff Davis Internet. Instead of the usual mile-high viewpoint, these articles examine a particular technology or market in transition and tell you what’s in store for the year ahead. In early 2004, health IT became a national […]

Late last week the Senate approved a bill designed to encourage the adoption of information technologies in health care with the intent of improving patient care, reducing medical errors and contributing to cost savings for health care providers. Entitled the “Wired for Health Care Quality Act,” the bi-partisan effort was originally introduced this summer by […]

The Food and Drug Administration recently began requiring drug manufacturers to submit prescription drug label information in a new electronic format that will allow health care providers and the general public to more easily access the product information found in the package inserts for all approved medicines in the United States. These new electronic product […]

With rapidly evolving health care information technology, mounting evidence of quality, safety and efficiency benefits, and a presidential political imperative, the market for health care IT in the United States is on track to grow by two-thirds by 2009. That’s according to a newly released study by market research firm Kalorma Information. Although largely untapped […]

Almost three-quarters of Americans surveyed in a study sponsored by the health care-oriented non-profit Markle Foundation say they favor the establishment of a nationwide electronic information exchange that would allow a patient’s health information to be shared with authorized individuals via the Internet. However, ensuring patient privacy and control over their records is perceived as […]

America Online Inc. co-founder Steve Case has a new project: a consumer-oriented health care company called the Revolution Health Group. The board of directors of the new company, originally announced in July, includes several heavyweights, including former Secretary of State Colin Powell, former Netscape CEO Jim Barksdale and former Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Carly Fiorina. In […]

Just as Hurricane Rita threatens the Gulf Coast, a health-care site has been launched today to allow medical professionals access to the prescription medical records of some of the Hurricane Katrina evacuees now scattered throughout the nation. Located at KatrinaHealth.org, the online site will give authorized health professionals and pharmacies access to evacuees’ medication and […]

Instituting electronic health records is an expensive proposition, especially for small physician practices. And few of these practices are adopting EMRs, hindered by costs and concerns about the technology. But one of a series of new studies in the September/October issue of the journal Health Affairs addressing the adoption of health information technology suggests that […]

Although more health care organizations are becoming enabled to transmit records electronically internally and within a regional network, a recent survey indicates that not many have the capability up and running. Less than one-quarter of health information professionals surveyed identified their organizations as having a fully functional health information exchange system, according to a recent […]

Health insurers have driven much of the automation currently existing in the health care system, motivated by the need to ensure profitability and to be in compliance with HIPAA, or the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act. For most insurers, claims, customer service and enrollment information are already largely automated. Still, many of these executives […]

In a landmark paper released in the August issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine, a panel of experts determined a model for a national health information network in the United States and created a cost estimate for the project. The estimate aims for a five-year time frame, an even more aggressive timeline than the […]

A recent study by industry consultancy Accenture found that about two-thirds of doctors and one-third of consumers have become more concerned about the safety of prescription medications since the recent removal from the market of popular pain relievers known as COX-2 inhibitors. The survey also found that the vast majority of physicians and consumers believe […]