Internet searching for health info growing, but not dominant

The Hill:  People still prefer to gather information related to personal health from sources other than the Internet, according to a survey by the Pew Internet Project in association with the California HealthCare Foundation. Those sources include friends, family members, and health professionals. "Still, mobile apps have a growing role in helping people find health information, particularly among young people, the report said. … Seventeen percent of cell phone owners have used their phone to look up health or medical information." In addition, health-related mobile apps can "calculate disease risks, provide health tips, keep track of workouts, or count calories," according to the report (Jerome, 10/19).

Medscape: The new federal health IT agenda "will greatly change the way most of the health care industry approaches electronic health record (EHR) technology," a family physician writes. The Medicare and Medicaid HER incentive programs, at the crux of the agenda, have billions of dollars to distribute. "A complex set of rules and regulations … govern how physicians and hospitals may start to receive incentive payments beginning in 2011 for the 'meaningful use of certified EHR technology. …  Physicians are eligible for the Medicaid incentive if their caseload includes at least 30 percent Medicaid patients (or at least 20 percent Medicaid patients for pediatricians). … Unlike the Medicaid incentive program, the Medicare program incorporates penalties. The Medicare fee schedule for physicians who are not  'meaningful EHR users' will be reduced by 1 percent in 2015, by 2 percent in 2016 and by 3 percent in 2017" (Kibbe, 10/20).