MASSDEVICE ON CALL — As certain provisions of Massachusetts healthcare reform prepare to roll out in 2015, some doctors are taking issue with the slippery language of the electronic health record mandate, which asks physicians to move away from paper-based records at care centers.
While proponents of the electronic health record’s "meaningful use" provisions say that that an incentive program is not the same as a mandate, opponents say financial motivates are strong enough to remove any real choice, according HealthITExchange.com.
Vagaries in the language of the law have left some doctors wondering whether savviness with electronic medical record systems will save them from having to actually adopt them. Either way, the illusion of choice may be leaving a bad taste in their mouths, Burns wrote.
Senator Toomey calls organ transplant rules "flawed"
Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) argued that laws governing organ transplants are "flawed" because they bars children from qualifying for the adult organ donor list. Appealing to Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to change the policy, Toomey relayed the story of a 10-year old struggling to find a lung donor because she is 2 years shy of the cutoff range for an adult donor organ. Read more
Online activity may signal PTSD
Data analytics company SentiMetrix is diagnosing post traumatic stress disorder with a computer algorithm that hunts for clues in a person’s blogs and other online activity. The company is touting an 80% success rate in its studies of soldiers’ online behavior, the same success rate seen when an actual clinician diagnoses the disease. Read more
ACA critics still sought ACA funds
Even those who opposed healthcare reform were not too shy to submit grant applications for the new law’s funds, according to reporting by The Nation, which revealed that 11 GOP critics sought cash from ACA. Most of the lawmakers requested funds to help uninsured people in their districts. Read more
Depression meds might also alleviate stress-induced heart problems
For a condition called mental stress-induced myocardial ischemia (MSIMI), a heart condition triggered by a worked-up brain, the answer might be in antidepressants. A study from Duke University found that, when compared to a placebo, the depression medication Lexapro reduced likelihood of MSIMI 2½ times. Read more
