(Posted 10/1/09) Reports Consumers’ Perceptions of Electronic Health Information Systems 

AHRQ’s National Resource Center for Health Information Technology has released a new resource on consumers’ opinions of electronic health information systems.  The report, titled Consumer Engagement in Developing Electronic Health Information Systems, provides an in-depth understanding of consumers' health care awareness, beliefs, perceptions, and fears concerning health IT.  Results of the focus groups suggest that participants were optimistic that health IT would benefit health care quality.  Privacy and security were the main concern of a large majority of participants.  Participants also thought that computers may add efficiency to health care and reduce medical errors, such as those associated with illegible handwriting.  However, some participants were concerned that health IT might make providers more impersonal, devoting more attention to the computer screen and less to the patient. Click here to download and view the new resource. 

(Posted 6/30/09) Medicare's E-Prescribing Incentive for NPs 
A new law offers financial incentives for implementing e-prescribing. Click here to read the article published in ADVANCE for Nurse Practitioners on June 22, 2009.  

(Posted 4/17/09) 2009 Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program Made Simple 
This Fact Sheet provides detailed information on how to participate in the 2009 Electronic Prescribing (E-Prescribing) Incentive Program by reporting the E-Prescribing measure. To access this new, and all, available E-Prescribing educational resources, visit http://www.cms.hhs.gov/ERXIncentive on the CMS website and click on the Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program tab. Once on the E-Prescribing page, scroll down to the “Downloads” section and click on the “2009 Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program Made Simple” link.