This year's National Health IT week runs Sept. 26-30. President Barack Obama said the week is a chance to recommit to improving healthcare using technologies and pursuing innovation. To celebrate the accomplishments, and acknowledge the remaining hardships, here is a look back on health IT this year.
Here are 10 of the most-read health IT stories on Becker's Hospital Review of the year so far.
1. Hackers shut down Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center IT systems, demand $3.6M ransom
Hollywood (Calif.) Presbyterian Medical Center staff declared an internal emergency in February after hackers forced the hospital's IT systems offline, according to a statement from CEO Allen Stefanek. An anonymous physician from the hospital told NBC Los Angeles that the systems had been having trouble for a week, leaving departments to communicate via fax machine. Read more
2. 8 Epic EHR implementations with the biggest price tags in 2015
Investments in EHR systems are undoubtedly costly, but some implementations appear to carry more costs than others. Here are eight of the most costly Epic implementations in 2015. These are working numbers, with some systems having allotted the indicated amounts to implementation projects and others that have already completed installations. Read more
3. Loyalty rankings: Epic, MEDITECH clients feel 'trapped'; Cerner, athenahealth clients 'most loyal'
Epic and MEDITECH clients appear less satisfied with their vendor relationships than Cerner clients do, according to the 2016 Black Book Inpatient EHR Surveys. The surveys gathered responses between the second quarter of 2015 through the first quarter of 2016 from EHR users nationwide on their experience and satisfaction with their service providers. Read more
4. 25 quotes that show just how fed up physicians are with EHRs
More than half of the physicians who bill Medicare in the U.S. are currently being penalized 1 percent of their 2015 payments as a result of the meaningful use program, according to Steven J. Stack, MD, president of the American Medical Association. And many physicians are vocal about their grievances with EHRs. Read more
5. Mayo Clinic sells data center to Epic
Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic and Epic Systems entered a $46 million sale-leaseback deal for the health system's 62,000 square-foot data center. Read more
6. US Coast guard terminates Epic contract
The U.S. Coast Guard terminated its EHR implementation contract with Verona, Wis.-based Epic Systems and reverted to using paper records. Read more
7. HIPAA confusion in Orlando
In the aftermath of the June 12 shooting in a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., that left 49 dead and 53 wounded, area hospitals were filled with victims. Given the influx of patients, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer asked the White House to waive HIPAA regulations to allow hospitals to communicate with families of the victims. While HIPAA can be suspended during national emergencies, what Orlando officials sought in a HIPAA waiver — communicating with families — is already permitted under the privacy law. Read more
8. Down the rabbit hole at Epic: 9 key points from the Users Group Meeting
Close to 18,000 people gathered at Epic Systems' headquarters in Verona, Wis., the week of Sept. 19 for the vendor's annual Users Group Meeting. Hospital and health system leaders shared their experiences with Epic's platform, and Epic leaders discussed new developments and offerings in its software suite. This idea of collaborating to build on successes, and doing so with a humanitarian mindset, was the underlying theme of the executive address, delivered by Epic founder and CEO Judy Faulkner. Read more
9. Hours before NYC Health + Hospitals rolls out new EHR, CEO Dr. Ram Raju sets the record straight
Days before New York City Health + Hospitals' scheduled go-live on its Epic EHR, Ramanathan Raju, MD, president and CEO of the public health system, spoke with Becker's Hospital Review about the implementation process and addressed rumors circulating about the project. Read more
10. 40 hospitals with innovation centers
As healthcare continues along its perpetual evolution, those in the industry are continually trying to get ahead of the curve and find solutions to the biggest issues facing patient care and delivery today. Increasingly, hospitals and health systems are making a commitment to innovation by establishing their own centers and institutes for innovation. Read more
More articles on health IT:
Boston Children's 2014 hacker explains why he did it
The best, worst states for EHR adoption, HIE, interoperability: 4 findings from ONC
FBI urges ransomware victims to report attacks to federal law enforcement