EHRs improve New Yorkers' health; AHRQ offers research grants for projects on Meaningful Use Stage 3;

News From Around the Web:

> The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has requested approval of a proposed project to study patient-reported health information on health IT and clinician workflow, according to a notice published in the Feb. 13 Federal Register. The project aims to explore the influence of "sociotechnical factors" in capturing and using patient reported information in ambulatory health IT systems. AHRQ is accepting public comment until April 15. Notice

> Tens of thousands of New Yorkers have benefited from the adoption of electronic health records, according to New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. New York's EHR program has become a "national model" and improved patient outcomes in the areas of high blood pressure management, diabetes, and tobacco control., according to the Mayor's announcement.  The program began in 2005. Announcement

> AHRQ also announced grants to fund demonstration projects that will provide evidence to inform the development of objectives for Stage 3 of the Meaningful Use program. The projects, according to an announcement, must begin by Sept. 2013 and disseminate results before June 2014. Notice

Medical Imaging News

> Undergoing a mammogram every two years has the same benefit as annual mammograms for women over the age of 65, with the added advantage that it leads to fewer false positives, according to a study published online in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Article

> The diagnostic benefits of CT for young adults outweigh the cancer-related risks associated with radiation exposure, according to a study published online in Radiology. Article

Provider News

> How physicians view the causes of obesity can affect the advice they give to their patients, according to a new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, published in the February issue of Preventative Medicine. Physicians who think overconsumption of food is a major contributor to obesity were more likely to encourage patients to modify nutritional habits, including reducing portion sizes and avoiding high-calorie cooking ingredients and sugary drinks, lead study author Sara Bleich said in a Johns Hopkins announcement. Article

> Although practices typically consider the regulatory barriers to telehealth to be about reimbursements or privacy, an overlooked legal area are rules prohibiting the corporate practice of medicine and the grey area of "friendly PC models," Daniel Gottlieb, associate attorney at EpsteinBeckerGreen in Washington, D.C., wrote in a blog post last week. Some state laws (although not in Hawaii, Mississippi and Ohio) require the licensed physician to make the management decisions and bar nonclinical individuals or businesses from influencing the physicians' professional judgment. Article

And Finally...  I think we're all better off that she didn't end up becoming a therapist. Article