Health Care Buzz Today

Surge in EHR Purchases Predicted. Half of more than 1,300 physician group practices said they expect to buy an electronic health records system during 2011, according to a survey by CapSite.

Surge in EHR Purchases Predicted. Half of more than 1,300 physician group practices said they expect to buy an electronic health records system during 2011, according to a survey by CapSite.

FDA Finds Silicone Breast Implants Safe, But Prone To Fail With Age. Although they are safe when used as intended and do not cause autoimmune disease, breast cancer or reproductive problems, as some previous reports had suggested, women frequently have problems with them, the FDA said. Oftentimes these problems require  removal or replacement of the implants.

Coffee May Protect Against Alzheimer’s Disease, Study Finds. Scientists at University of South Florida are reporting that a mystery ingredient in coffee protected mice that had been bred specifically to develop symptoms consistent with the memory-robbing disease.

Vendor To Oversee VA’s Open-Source EHR Efforts. The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded a $5 million contract to the Informatics Applications Group to act as a custodial agent for an open-source software development community aimed at modernizing VistA.

Potato Chips a Top Culprit in Gradual Weight Gain. Roughly half of the average 3.35 pounds a healthy, nonobese American gains over 4 years can be attributed to eating potato chips, researhers at  Brigham and Women’s Hospital said.