At first glance most long time windows users will ooh and aah at the new metro interface in Windows 8. But when those same long time Windows users sit down and start using Windows 8, you suddenly feel really stupid. Like what happened to my Start menu? How can I get to a command prompt if I need to? How do I display printers or the control panel? All excellent questions for the Windows 8 newbie. After all the Start menu has been around in Windows since the Windows 95 days. Seems that the folks in Redmond decided to turn up the heat on the user interface and human factors team who designed the latest and greatest Windows 8. Windows 8 is definitely a better experience with a touch screen as its new “metro” interface screams to be touched by hand. For those with only a mouse and keyboard, you’d better get used to the new start button, metro interface, and charms.

By default Windows 8 starts on the Metro tiles interface. If you wish to get to the dekstop, you click the button labeled desktop. To get a familiar command, start typing the command. For example to find the control panel, from the metro interface start typing control panel and your match will appear for selection to start the control panel. To get to printers, type printer, and you will see the printers selection,etc. The desktop is still similar in Windows 8 to its older Windows 7 brethren with one exception. No start menu. The start menu is now a start button. But it is hidden. To find it simply move the mouse to the lower left corner of the screen until the Start image appears and then click the start image. This will launch the metro interface again, not a start menu as you may have expected.

The Metro interface can be customized to suit your needs. For example you can re-arrange the metro tiles in any order or category you desire. For example you can arrange all of your games in one section, your business stuff in another section and your commonly used productivity apps in another section. You can move your mouse to the left side to review open application windows and move from one application to another quickly. Some of the tiles called live tiles can update dynamically with new information. For example the weather tile can flash the latest local weather or a facebook tile can flash the latest activity from your facebook account or twitter account. These dynamic tiles give you a quick preview or dashboard of information you may deem important or relevant to you without having to launch separate applications.

Everyone’s experience with Windows 8 will vary depending on how adaptable you are with new technology. While we don’t think the designers in Redmond, WA will bring back the Start menu any time soon, we do think that manufacturers will begin shipping more touch screen enabled Windows 8 devices to make the transition easier for users.

Share your experience with Windows 8 and post your questions and we will try our best to find an answer for you.

-Richard Young

There’s a big gap between what physicians thought they could do, and what they were eligible to do, to collect meaningful use incentives last year, according to a new study, which appears in the May issue of Health Affairs.

The study shows that 91 percent of physicians nationwide were eligible for federal electronic medical record (EMR) incentives in 2011. However, only 10 percent intended to apply for the program.

That number was on the low side of what the federal government had anticipated. The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services had estimated that 10 percent to 36 percent of Medicare-eligible professionals and 15 percent to 47 percent of Medicaid-eligible professionals would demonstrate meaningful use in 2011.

According to the authors, among physicians intending to apply for meaningful use, about 21 percent were ready with the 10 core capabilities. Even in the state with the highest degree of readiness - Wisconsin - only 32 percent of physicians were ready with the 10 core capabilities.

The authors say the low level of readiness illustrates the challenges in meeting the federal schedule for financial incentives. Healthcare practices have support options, however. Your IT provider can help you if you need assistance preparing your meaningful use.

Tech is always changing and evolving; devices seen as futuristic only a few years ago are now mainstream and in everyday use. And one of the more outlandish tech devices of the past year has been Google's augmented reality project Google Glass. This device has had some impressive media coverage, with many wondering how exactly it will work. Now that the first, limited edition has been released, we can finally answer that question...kind of.

Google recently posted a video on YouTube giving a quick run-through of how to use Glass. Before we go over how users will interact with this new tech, here's a brief overview of the project.

What is Glass? Project Glass was introduced by Google in early 2012, and is essentially a wearable computer (running a version of Android) you wear on your head like glasses. Indeed, the shape of the device at first glance resembles a pair of spectacles: there are the usual two arms along with nose grips. However, instead of glass, there is a mini screen or HUD (Head Up Display) that sits just above your right eye. The HUD displays information much like a smartphone screen, and you can interact with the computer and the Internet using voice commands.

Currently, wearer's with prescription glasses can't actually use the device, but Google has confirmed that the device, if you can call it that, will eventually have lenses much like a normal pair of glasses.

So, how does it work? The video (watch it here), uploaded by Google, sheds a little light on how a user will interact with this device. For example there is a touch-sensitive area on the arm of the device which extends from your temple to just above your right ear. Tapping this will wake it from sleep mode, and display a clock on the screen which sits just above your right eye.

The clock is your home screen, and looks similar to the clock on the lock screen of almost every Android device. You can scroll to the left (by touching the pad near your ear and moving it towards your ear. This will display upcoming information like the weather, flights, or events.

Touching the pad and swiping towards your eye will display information from previous uses like messages, pictures and videos. Tapping on the screen will activate that relevant information. For example, if you are looking at a brief overview of an event, you can tap the device to bring up more information.

One of Google's previous videos showed how you can also interact with Glass by using voice commands. Saying, "Ok glass, take a picture." Will take bring up the camera and take a picture of what you're looking at. You can also ask questions to have glass search Google Now by saying something like, "Ok Glass, What is the traffic like?" To bring up a Google Map with the latest traffic highlighted.

Will it be useful for business? While this is undoubtedly one of the coolest products of the past couple of years, the actual usefulness of the device for business remains to be seen. For now, this device will likely be the domain of app developers and extreme early adopters. But this device, like the smartphone, will likely be incredibly disruptive when it's launched for the masses.

What do you think of Google Glass? Would you buy one if you had the opportunity? Let us know.

Most medical practices that implement Electronic Medical Records (EMRs) see a significant financial return on investment (ROI). Here are five ways that happens: You can see more patients; you'll reduce missed appointments; your claims processing will be more efficient; you'll spend less on hard technology costs; and you'll improve reimbursements. Below we discuss each in more detail.

1. You can see more patients. Once you've implemented an EMR and established good work flows, you'll spend less time documenting, allowing you more time to see more patients.

2. You'll reduce missed appointments. Cancelations and no-shows are key performance indicators. An EMR can reduce them by issuing appointment reminders, and a reduction in missed appointments can improve your bottom line.

3. Your claims processing will be more efficient. Once you've implemented an EMR, you'll spend less time filing, faxing, and retrieving charts and moving documents, which will allow claims to be processed faster.

4. You'll spend less on hard technology costs. Once you've implemented an EMR, your technology will be centralized, so you’ll make fewer ad hoc purchases. Moreover, if your EMR is cloud-based, you'll spend less on equipment overall.

5. You’ll improve reimbursements. Many EMRs have alerts that make sure you're using the correct document to satisfy reimbursement requirements—and improved legibility is a bonus.
   

   Published with permission from TechAdvisory.org. Source.

Wondering what the most-discussed health care IT topics were in 2011—and what they'll likely be in 2012? ID Experts compiled expert opinions and found them to be much the same: mobile devices, patient privacy rights, and data breaches. Below are several of the items from ID Experts’ top 10 list, and additional items and details are available here.

• Mobile devices could create problems due to data breach risks—because while 81 percent of health care providers use mobile devices to collect, store, and transmit secure information, only 49 percent secure the devices.
• Class-action lawsuits will rise as patients sue health care providers for failing to secure their personal information, creating significant risks and increasing costs for organizations affected by these lawsuits.
• As more health care providers use social media, the exposure of personal information will increase, forcing health care providers to develop social media plans to prevent employees exposing patient information through personal social networking sites.
• Economic realities will force health care providers to outsource many functions including billing to third parties and business associates, and that will create weak links in data privacy and security.
• The use of mobile devices—tablets and smartphones—will continue to grow in the industry, meaning health care providers will need to balance usability with security.

Electronic medical record (EMR) implementations aren't always simple—especially for small physician groups, which may lack dedicated information technology resources. However, following a few best practices regarding your constituents can help ensure that the process proceeds smoothly. Here are three.

Personalize for physicians. No two physicians are exactly like, so no two physicians should have to do things the same way. And that applies to functions both large and small. People approach even the simplest of technologies, such as email and word processing, differently. A good EMR will provide several ways to accomplish the same task, so be sure you offer physicians the option to choose which will best fit their practice styles.

Include nurses. With that said, an EMR isn't all about the physician. While physicians may be leaders and key decision-makers, they are not the exclusive users of an EMR. According to some reports, nurses account for almost 75 percent of chart use, and physicians just 25 percent. As a result, one of the greatest mistakes of EMR implementation is forgetting about nurses. When you create an EMR committee, be sure to have nursing representatives on it.

Round on users. Just as physicians and nurses "round" on patients at a hospital, you should round on everyone in the practice to gauge their comfort with the EMR. Thirty days and then again six months after you go live, visit each user to observe how he or she uses the EMR, take suggestions, and offer tips about how to best use the EMR within your workflows.

The American Medical Association (AMA) is taking an active role in persuading physicians to use information technology (IT), including electronic medical records (EMRs), in their practices—which shouldn't come as a surprise, given that the AMA has been working with a number of leading health care IT organizations, such as the EHR Collaborative, e-Health Initiative, and the National Alliance for Health Information Technology, for some time.

Physicians have clearly expressed concern about the cost of converting to an EMR, and some think it's unfair for the AMA to think that physicians can foot the bill themselves. But the AMA has pledged to work with Congress and insurers to align incentives for physician adoption of health care IT.

To make health care IT adoption easier for physicians, the AMA also made November 2011 "Heal that Claim," month, launching its annual campaign with new resources to help physicians automate administrative tasks for checking insurance eligibility, submitting and tracking claims, and obtaining payments.

This year, the AMA campaign features free tools, such as webinars, that offer step-by-step instructions for conducting electronic health care transactions. It is also supported by a new online forum for asking questions, getting answers, and accessing resources about automating a medical practice.

The tool kit is available here.

When your medical practice makes the transition to an electronic medical record (EMR), which is inevitable, careful planning can help the change go smoothly—and careful planning, in the context of EMR implementation, can be referred to as “change management”.

Change management consists of up-front assessment and planning—but there's much more involved than simply creating a project plan for your new IT implementation. You'll need to select the appropriate technology, choose your implementation team carefully, and assign responsibilities. Change management also involves looking at your existing processes and determining what's working and what's not.

The reason: You don't want to carry forward ineffective processes. If a prescription-related workflow is ineffective when handled manually, for example, it isn't going to become effective when handled electronically—and the transition to an EMR, which is supposed to make your practice more efficient, is the perfect time to address such problems.

If not managed properly, the transition to an EMR can exact a high price on a medical practice. Careful consideration of implementation issues as well as process issues in advance will facilitate effective change management. And that, in turn, will help you minimize the overall impact of change on your practice—decreasing disruptions and reducing costs.

Government's incentives for electronic medical record (EMR) adoption could pay off in improved quality of care, according to a new study. It found that patients in physician practices that used EMRs got better care and had better outcomes than those in physician practices that used paper records.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, looked at 500 primary care physicians treating 27,000 adults with diabetes.

According to the study, those patients in physician practices that used EMRs were significantly more likely to have care that met certain standards as well as positive outcomes than those in physician practices that used paper records.

Standards included timely measurements of blood sugar, management of kidney problems, eye examinations, and vaccinations for pneumonia. Positive outcomes included meeting national benchmarks for blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol control, as well as achieving a non-obese body mass index and avoidance of tobacco use.

Almost 51 percent of patients at EMR-based practices received care that met all of the endorsed standards—compared to only 7 percent of patients at paper-based practices. And almost 44 percent of patients in EMR-based practices met at least four of five outcome standards—compared to just 16 percent of patients at paper-based practices.

According to the study, these findings were consistent regardless of insurance type (Medicare, Medicaid and commercial payers) as well as for the uninsured.

David Blumenthal, MD, former National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, says these results support the expectation that federal support of EMRs will generate quality-related returns on investment (ROI).

Related articles: EHR Incentives Can Generate "Quality-Related" ROI, Study Says

Lack of usability is often at the root of slow electronic medical record (EMR) adoption—but usability refers to more than user satisfaction. It's not about the screens and the number of clicks used to navigate them; it's about the functionality of the system. Below are five ways to ensure your EMR won't cause headaches.

Ease. Your EMR cannot be burdensome. To ensure it isn't, you may want to look at how physicians interact with nurses (both in the office and on the phone) when using the demo EMR.

Supportiveness. Your EMR should support your office workflows. To ensure it does, you may want to present EMR vendors you're considering with three clinical scenarios: one that's common, one that's challenging, and one that involves many staff interactions.

Efficiency. A good EMR will ultimately save you time – and this can be accomplished in many ways, big and small. For example, keeping an electronic chart open on the desktop can help workflows, because if a provider is often in one patient’s chart when a phone call interrupts his work, he may want to open another chart but keep the first one open. To ensure efficiency, you'll want to watch providers using an EMR in real-life scenarios.

Flexibility. A good EMR will adapt to your changing needs. Ensure that it can evolve as providers become comfortable with improvements in workflow and operational efficiencies as new technologies are developed.

Effectiveness. Finally, your EMR has to work. In other words, does it help you achieve current results, which are based on volume of patients and procedures? Will it help you achieve future results, which many health care analysts believe will be value-driven, and for which clinical data is used to measure quality?

Related articles: Five Keys to EMR Usability