Health and Community Services

Louisiana Creates Electronic Health Records Loan Program

July 10, 2009 - Health care facilities and physicians that use electronic health records will be eligible for enhanced Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, and those that fail to implement will be penalized with lower reimbursements.

Telemedicine Addressed by European Commission

July 8, 2009 - Includes examples of telemedicine deployment and its effects on patients and society.

$1.16 Billion Indiana Welfare Outsourcing Contract in Jeopardy

July 8, 2009 - Twenty percent of food stamp cases are allegedly being mishandled, among other complaints.

Washington Counties to Launch Video Voter Guides

July 7, 2009 - Voters will also be able to click on any of the candidates appearing on the ballot to watch, listen and read a statement directly from the participating candidates.

New York City Health Department Helps Doctors Adopt Electronic Health Records

June 30, 2009 - New York City's Primary Care Information Project pays some costs of deploying EHR systems.

Economic Stimulus: Government CIOs Have a Role in Health IT Stimulus Spending (Opinion)

June 29, 2009 - Electronic health records are vital to health care's future.

Web Site Helps Coordinate National United We Serve Initiative

June 21, 2009 - The United We Serve Web site will help volunteers find projects in their communities and exchange stories about projects that make a difference in their communities.

Prepare for Second Wave of H1N1 Virus, Says World Health Organization

June 11, 2009 - "The world is now at the start of the 2009 influenza pandemic."

Preparation Only Adequate for Mild H1N1 Outbreak, Says Report

June 5, 2009 - "The nation's core public health capacity would be overwhelmed if an outbreak were more severe or widespread."

H1N1 Flu Forgotten, but Not Gone

June 2, 2009 - Seasonal flu results in about 36,000 deaths nationwide and approximately 1,000 die in Virginia from influenza and pneumonia.

In Case You Missed It: Iran Blocks Facebook, University Health Care Hacked and Other Security News

June 2, 2009 - More than 160,000 current and former Berkeley and Mills College student health records may have been compromised due to a data breach.

ID You Can Eat

May 27, 2009 - An alternative to RFID?

Galveston, Texas, Newspaper Kept Printing Despite Hurricane Ike's Wrath

May 22, 2009 - Galveston County Reports used Twitter and text messaging to obtain the news.

County Program Management Provides "Actionable Data"

May 20, 2009 - "It's not just looking back and reporting, it's about looking forward and projecting, seeing how you are doing and making adjustments."

Walking the Emergency Preparedness Talk (Opinion)

May 19, 2009 - Earthquake experience persuades others to action.

Budget Deficits Put Government's Sacred Programs Under Scrutiny

May 18, 2009 - Web 2.0 tool could be useful idea generators, says panel at Conference on California's Future.

Albert Hawkins to Retire From Texas Health and Human Services Agency

May 14, 2009 - Oversees the state's five health and human services agencies, which have combined budgets of $25 billion a year and more than 50,000 employees.

Telework Advocate: Swine Flu a Wake-Up Call for States and Locals

May 13, 2009 - Swine flu exposed strengths and weaknesses of governments' continuity of operations plans, according to the Telework Exchange.

Truants Wear Ankle Bracelets, Smart Appliances: GT News Wrap

May 11, 2009 - Health cost comparisons, thermal imagers for airport, online tracking of public records requests.

Cyber-Criminal Demands $10 Million Ransom After Breaching Virginia Medical Records

May 7, 2009 - The FBI is searching for a malicious hacker who infiltrated the Virginia Prescription Monitoring Program and is threatening to sell medical information to the highest bidder.