Weekly Nephrology/Health IT News Roundup: July 29, 2011

Treatment Boosts Survival Rates For Some Kidney Transplant Patients
Doctors at Johns Hopkins are desensitizing patients whose immune systems are primed to attack foreign tissue. A long-term study in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine shows the method works.
 
Top 5 Worst EMR Myths
Rumors about electronic medical records continue to persist, but one vendor is trying to separate the myths from the facts.
 
Struggling With Meaningful Use Requirements? These Experts Help for Free
There is no doubt that selecting and implementing an electronic health record (EHR) can be a daunting task for small physician practices, but local Regional Extension Centers (RECs) are available to help you simplify the process, with no hidden agenda to push.
 
Hospitals Boost IT Spending Plans
The prospect of Meaningful Use dollars has spurred healthcare providers to spend more in tough economic times, according to a HIMSS Analytics report.
 
The Age of the ePatient: Not Quite There Yet
Online health information can be incomplete, biased, lacking for proper context or flat-out inaccurate. And not everyone, especially those without a medical background, can sort through these deficiencies in a way that assures they are properly informed.
 
Could Patients’ Own Kidney Cells Cure Kidney Disease?
Breakthrough research published in the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN) indicates that patients’ own kidney cells can be gathered and reprogrammed. As a result, fewer patients with kidney disease would require complicated, expensive procedures that affect their quality of life.
 
Do-it-Yourself Questionnaire Can Help Derail Major Illnesses
Researchers have developed a simple tool that can help those with albuminuria self-assess their risk at home, get screened by a doctor and begin treatment with medication that can reduce their risks.
 
Shortage of Physicians, APNs and PAs Could Double by 2025
Meeting the patient demand fueled by health system reform would require overhauling medical practice and shifting tasks, a study says.
 
ACOs and the Future of Health Care
For patients, the advantages of accountable care organizations are clear; for providers, it depends on how well they manage the transition.
 
Nation’s Health Care Bill To Nearly Double By 2020
The federal health law, which will expand coverage to 30 million currently uninsured Americans, will have little effect on the nation’s rising health spending in the next decade, according to a government report.