Google Health accused of inaccuracy

Google Health, Google's healthcare IT solution, has been taken to task by physicians who say the billing information it uses for some patients' electronic medical records is inaccurate, states WIS Technology.

Kidney cancer survivor Dave deBronkart transferred his medical records from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to Google Health, only to find that Google had incorrectly stated that he had chronic lung disease and other conditions.

Since rolling out in February 2008, the Google Health beta Web site has been positioned as competition for Microsoft's healthcare IT offerings, as well as sites such as WebMD.

While only 1.5% of US hospitals have fully computerised records, the state of West Virginia has created a paperless records system for its state-run hospitals and nursing homes, which serve the elderly and mentally ill, reports The Boston Globe.

West Virginia is using an electronic medical records system built by the Veterans Administration with taxpayer dollars, saving millions in software licensing fees charged by commercial software vendors.

The open source software, known as Vista, includes features such as a bar coding system which tracks drug dispensations, to help improve patient safety.

ZirMed, a specialist in revenue cycle management solutions for healthcare providers, and Hands On Technology, have signed a partnership deal in payment management solutions, says Earth Times.

The joint solution aims to improve workflows, reduce billing errors, and reduce accounts receivable days, among other benefits.

Dan Morrill, CEO of Hands On Technology, says: "The combined technologies offered by Hands On Technology and ZirMed will greatly enhance the electronic billing features in the TheraOffice family. It will offer our user facilities a higher degree of control over their entire revenue cycle management functions."