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HITECH says covered entities must be able to monitor and record every time that patient data is accessed, enabling the entity to comply with the new notification requirements should unauthorized access occur. Will the new rules end up restricting the efficient exchange of data that is crucial to providing high-quality healthcare?

As EHRs are widely adopted and the quantity of information about a patient expands dramatically, does provider liability increase even if the quality of care is vastly improved?

Large organizations with mobile workers, such as hospitals, face diminished productivity when communication is inefficient and its employees are unable to locate their coworkers in a timely manner.

Bravo. The government finally has its healthcare IT priorities straight. Unfortunately, it won't be able to achieve them.

In "Managing Opioid-Induced Constipation in Ambulatory-Care Patients," Clyde R. Goodheart, MD, MBA, MS, and Stewart B. Leavitt, MA, PhD, note that constipation is a frequent side effect of treatment with opioid medications.

Below are select statistics on the prevalence, incidence, and mortality rates associated with angina pectoris in the US.

For those interested in health information technology, there is now an excellent, new, powerful website about this topic called the Huffington Post Investigative Fund. In their most recent report, "Can Cleveland Clinic Be a Model for Digital Medicine?" they discuss how this hospital system has failed to recoup their $100 million investment to date.

Education focuses on a range of topics including disease process, nutritional management, and psychological adjustments to preventing diabetic complications, detecting changes, monitoring levels and participating in physical activities.

Individuals with mild to moderate coronary heart disease, treated with intensive medical therapy alone, were no more likely to die from a heart problem after five years than those who also had an angioplasty procedure.

Researchers from Imperial College London have found the trigger that causes inflammation and artery damage in patients with atherosclerosis.

Insulin resistance may affect long-term cardiovascular outcomes in type 1 diabetes and results indicate that insulin resistance is directly related to decreased heart and vessel function and appears to impair capacity to exercise.

Glucose intolerance during pregnancy predicts an increased likelihood of postpartum metabolic syndrome. In turn, cardiovascular risk factors at three months postpartum indicates that risk factors may be longstanding and contribute to long-term risk of cardiovascular disease.

Some pundits have written that health insurance mandates are well beyond the constitutional authority of the federal government to tax, spend, and regulate interstate commerce. Others have picked up on these arguments and applied them to the EHR-implementation incentives under the HITECH Act as well. The bottom line is that these arguments fail, for four reasons.

There has been much discussion about the HITECH Act and the effects it will have on healthcare in this country. The health IT industry and the federal government claim that EHR use will lead to a decrease in costs and an overall improvement in patient care. Skeptics like me disagree with these claims and feel that the push to adopt complex EHRs will be a bad deal for physicians.

As you're recovering from Thanksgiving, here are just a few reminders about some events this week.

Lately, I've been thinking about how fast everything moves these days. This is true in technology, medicine, business, and other important areas of our lives. Keeping up with changes in healthcare is a real challenge; just reading monthly print medical journals won't cut it anymore in the digital age. Now, practically every day I find myself looking something up on Wikipedia.

A new treatment has been developed for GERD that does not require an incision into the skin, an option that may shorten recovery time and reduce possible side affects.

Fusobacterium necrophorum may cause up to 10 percent of sore throats in those 15-24 years of age and is associated with Lemierre syndrome, a rare but life-threatening complication.

Women who have been diagnosed recently with cancer or multiple sclerosis are six times more likely to be separated or divorced than their recently diagnosed male counterparts, according to a study in Cancer.

According to results from the National Institutes of Health Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigation in Type 2 Diabetes (BARI 2D) study, many patients with diabetes and heart disease may achieve better results with drug therapy instead of angioplasty.

The results of two recent studies show that plasma can be used effectively in the making of devices for wound healing and disinfection.

If there's one thing that pediatricians and parents can agree on, it's that raising an autistic child can be extremely challenging. With that in mind, it's no surprise that parents are willing to try almost anything to improve the life of their child.

New research indicates that the number of Americans living with diabetes will top 44 million by 2034, more than three times the number predicted in a 1991 study.

As I wrote in a previous blog post, the approaching fire storm over the patient-centered medical home model reminds me of the destructive powers seen before in HMOs.

Recently, two groups released new guidelines that may affect breast cancer and cervical screening in women.

New recommendations elicit emotionally-charged responses.

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine researchers have identified cells in the atria of the heart and pulmonary veins of humans and mice that may be a possible cause of atrial fibrillation.

Is rheumatology not as hip as other medical specialties? Is the average rheumatologist older and resistant to new technology?

Results from the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study indicate that women who suffer sudden cardiac arrest are significantly less likely than men to exhibit common symptoms and have an established diagnosis of coronary artery disease.

I'd like to send warm wishes out to everyone at the beginning of this holiday season. Enjoy a warm meal, savor a bit of time at home with loved ones, and trade hugs with children outside of the pediatric office, where they are actually happy to see you.