> Anxious to ride the iPad wave, GE Healthcare demoed two new iPad versions of its primary health software, Centricity Advance and Centricity Practice Solution, at HIMSS11 in Orlando last week. The applications already are available for use on smartphones and other mobile devices, but company statements indicate the iPad may actually be better suited to the software, given its ability to flick quickly through multiple pages of documents, and zooming in on certain parts of the screen. FierceMobileHealthcare
> By the end of January, more than 21,000 providers initiated registration for the Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record incentive programs, Centers for Medicare and Medicare Services (CMS) officials announced at HIMSS11 in Orlando, Fla., last week. FierceEMR
> More and more hospitals are developing the capability to show meaningful use of electronic health records. HIMSS Analytics defines 44 percent of respondents to its continuing survey as "likely" or "most likely" to meet Stage 1 Meaningful Use criteria. Of the 999 hospitals that have responded to the survey since May 2010, 25 percent already can meet 10 of the 14 core measures and at least five of the menu items required for meaningful use. FierceHealthIT
> What Extormity CEO Brantley Whittington lacks in couth, NoMoreClipboard's Jeff Donnell makes up for with humor. By now, it's no secret that the two are one in the same, and that NoMoreClipboard--created by Indiana-based electronic health record vendor Medical Informatics Engineering--formed the phony EHR vendor known for its lampooning of the industry. What's more of a mystery, though, is how the unveiling of Extormity will affect the very real prospects for its "parent" companies. FierceEMR
> Doctors soon will be able to look at medical records whenever and wherever they need to--and email or video chat with other doctors about those records--thanks to a mobile application created by Southern California-based innovation leader Palomar Pomerado Health being unveiled last week at HIMSS11 in Orlando, Fla. FierceMobileHealthcare
> What does a healthcare system with seven hospitals on an electronic health record and an eighth about to go online do with all that data? In the case of Sentara Health System in Norfolk, Va., they analyze it, put the results on a dashboard that is always current, and use it to change how care is delivered. FierceHealthIT
> athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush is never one to mince words, especially when it comes to his love--or lack thereof--for software based systems, as well as the government's efforts to oversee (or as he puts it, "ghettoize") innovation in healthcare. FierceHealthIT caught up with Bush at HIMSS11 in Orlando to talk about those issues, as well as his company's new announced collaboration with Microsoft. FierceHealthIT