The 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act aims to promote the use of electronic health records by providing over $27 billion in financial incentives for eligible health care providers who become “meaningful users” of them. The goal of increased “meaningful” electronic health record adoption is to create a more efficient, patient‐centered health care system by lowering providers’ administrative costs, improving coordination of care among multiple providers, and increasing patients’ participation in and responsibility for their own care. Recently published data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics indicate that the HITECH Act's passage has led to a significant increase in electronic health record use among physicians. However, everyone involved in the conversations surrounding the HITECH Act—health care analysts, policy‐makers, and providers alike—must recognize that “meaningful use” of electronic health records can only be authentically meaningful to both clinicians and patients when certain structural issues are also addressed.
The internal and external websites provided the most effective means for sharing research-related information to community members. While cost-effective, social media outreach was very limited and did not foster communication with community members.
Social media are becoming increasingly integrated into both the clinical and the research dimensions of emergency medicine. They can provide methods for sharing crucial information to targeted individuals or groups in a rapid fashion. As a result, investigators conducting emergency research under the exception from prospective informed consent requirements are beginning to turn to social media platforms as they engage in required community consultation and public disclosure activities before their research begins. At present, there are limited data regarding how effectively social media have been used for performing those consultation and disclosure activities. This article offers investigators four specific areas to consider before using social media in consultation and outreach efforts. First, understand the forms of outreach social media platforms can provide. Second, recognize how those outreach methods relate to the specific goals of community consultation and public disclosure. Third, consider whether or not the intended audiences of community consultation and public disclosure will be available via social media. Finally, think about how social media outreach efforts will be measured and assessed before consultation and disclosure activities are under way.
Research misconduct is a serious violation of a scientific community's ethical standards. Scientists who commit research misconduct typically face corrective actions from employers and funding agencies, as well as significant professional stigma. Unfortunately, there is little systematic data about the post-misconduct career of these guilty parties. Through a review of Office of Research Integrity (ORI) case summaries, I identified a pool of 284 researchers who engaged in research misconduct and were subject to ORI corrective actions. To assess the prevalence of post-misconduct research activities for these scientists, I searched publicly available databases and online resources for evidence of post-misconduct research activities (such as publications and federal research support). The data demonstrate that researchers often receive second chances as researchers, with indicators of post-misconduct research activities identified for 134 (47.18%) of the offending researchers. In addition, those researchers have received more than US$123 million in federal support for their post-misconduct research efforts.
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