Category: CORHIO e-Newsletter

• Two Important Health Care Proposals at the Colorado State Legislature

  Date: February 11th, 2015Topics: Healthcare Policy

  CORHIO wants to ensure that we are providing our participants and stakeholders with important information about legislative proposals at the Colorado General Assembly, regulatory changes happening at the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare services (CMS), and proposals in front of Congress. To that end, we will be providing you with a brief policy update in CORHIO Connect every month.
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• Study Reveals Hospital Discharge Summaries Often Delayed and Incomplete

  Date: February 11th, 2015Topics: Care Coordination, Hospital Readmissions

  A study published in January, called Hospital Variation in Quality of Discharge Summaries for Patients Hospitalized With Heart Failure Exacerbation, studied discharge summaries from hospitals to analyze whether they met three criteria. Those criteria included timeliness, transmission to follow-up care provider and inclusion of standard data points. The results showed problems in all three of these areas.
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• Colorado Awarded $65 Million Grant to Improve Physical and Behavioral Health Care Integration

  Date: February 11th, 2015Topics: Care Coordination, Primary Care, Behavioral Health

  The state of Colorado is now fine-tuning plans to implement a set of comprehensive programs that will improve health care for individuals with mental and behavioral health conditions. Last year, the state submitted a plan to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for a SIM award, and in mid-December learned that it was selected to receive funding to carry out its plan.
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• Are you expecting Medicare payment adjustments?

  Date: January 14th, 2015Topics: EHRs, Meaningful Use, PQRS, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Transformation Support Services

  The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) mailed 257,000 notifications to eligible professionals who failed to meet Meaningful Use, informing them about upcoming Medicare payment adjustments. The adjustment includes a 1% reduction in Medicare payments starting January 1, 2015.
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• HealthONE Connects Eight Hospitals to CORHIO Network

  Date: January 14th, 2015Topics: HIE, CORHIO Network, Colorado Hospitals & Health Systems

  HealthONE’s eight Denver-area hospitals have successfully connected to the CORHIO network. The hospitals include The Medical Center of Aurora, North Suburban Medical Center, Presbyterian/St. Luke’s Medical Center, Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children, Rose Medical Center, Sky Ridge Medical Center, Spalding Rehabilitation Hospital and Swedish Medical Center.
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• Avoid the 2% Medicare Quality Reporting Penalty: Get the Facts and Some Tips for Success

  Date: December 10th, 2014Topics: EHRs, Meaningful Use, PQRS, Transformation Support Services

  The Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) is a voluntary pay-for-reporting program where Medicare gives eligible professionals an incentive to report clinical quality measures. Andrew Bienstock, CORHIO’s Transformation Services Manager, demystifies the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) program and offers advice on selecting measures that make the most sense for your practice.
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• CORHIO’s EHR and Meaningful Use Program Reaches Goals, Expands Services

  Date: December 10th, 2014Topics: EHRs, Meaningful Use, Transformation Support Services, Regional Extension Center

  The Colorado Regional Extension Center program completed its goal of helping 2,295 primary care providers and 33 rural and critical access hospitals adopt and meaningfully use electronic health records (EHR) technology. CORHIO will continue with expanded services that will help practices with Medical Home recognition and quality reporting.
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• New Study Reveals Most Accurate Sources for Medication Reconciliation

  Date: November 12th, 2014Topics: Care Coordination, Transitions of Care, Medication Reconciliation

  Trying to get an accurate medication list, particularly for patients with complex conditions or who are unable to provide reliable information can be a puzzle for health care providers. Managing patient medications during transitions of care can be tricky but doing so accurately is crucial in preventing adverse events. A recent study funded found that when combined with an electronic health record and commercial prescription database, medication data from health information exchange improves patient medication safety.
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• Continuity of Care Documents (CCDs) – What Are They and How Are They Useful?

  Date: November 12th, 2014Topics: Care Coordination, Transitions of Care, Care Summaries

  With the rise of electronic health record usage, the need for a standardized way to exchange comprehensive clinical documents between providers -- beyond individual results and reports -- became clear. Continuity of Care Documents (CCDs) were developed to meet this need and their usage is being bolstered by Meaningful Use. Here are some frequently asked questions on CCDs, and the C-CDA framework those documents are a part of, to help you understand them better.
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• New Video Explores How Health Information Exchange Is Improving Patient Care in Colorado

  Date: October 15th, 2014Topics: Care Coordination, Physician Workflow, CORHIO Network

  Colorado’s health care community has pulled together to make our state a leader in health information exchange (HIE). Our health systems, hospitals, laboratories, physician groups, solo practitioners, emergency services, and payers are adopting HIE technology in record numbers to share vital patient information and improve care. A new video from CORHIO highlights the improvements happening right now as a result of secure sharing of patient information among community providers.
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• CORHIO Welcomes Four New Members to Board of Directors

  Date: October 15th, 2014Topics: CORHIO Governance & Leadership

  Starting this month, four new CORHIO Board of Director members begin their terms of service to help guide our organization’s mission to improve health information exchange in Colorado. Patrick Gillies of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Jason Greer of Colorado Community Managed Care Network, Michelle Mills of Colorado Rural Health Center, and Alexis Sgouros of Kaiser Permanente have joined CORHIO’s Board of Directors, effective October 1st.
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• Are We Close to Having Bidirectional Behavioral Health Data Exchange in Colorado?

  Date: October 15th, 2014Topics: HIE, CORHIO Network, Behavioral Health

  Exchanging behavioral health data is imperative to improving care coordination for these vulnerable patients – but doing so carefully within current boundaries of the regulations will take some time and a concerted effort. Here’s an update on progress so far. Since early 2014, CORHIO has been convening a Behavioral Health Information Exchange Work Group with participations from state health officials, behavioral health centers, private physician practices, and other relevant membership organizations.
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• Meaningful Use Final Rule Summary for Eligible Providers

  Date: September 17th, 2014Topics: EHRs, Meaningful Use

  On August 29th, The Department of Health and Human Services published modifications to the EHR Incentive Programs and the timing of Stage 2. The final rule acknowledged that some providers are having a difficult time attesting due to EHR 2014 product delays and shortcomings and provides a new timeline and options to help providers with this issue. Here's what you need to know.
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• Critical Access Hospital Connects to HIE

  Date: September 17th, 2014Topics: CORHIO Network, Colorado Hospitals & Health Systems, Critical Access Hospitals

  Estes Park Medical Center (EPMC) is a 25-bed critical access hospital in a picturesque town at the foot of Rocky Mountain National Park. The town of Estes Park is more than 30 miles of twisting canyon road away from the nearest large, full-service hospital. It could take nearly an hour — or more in bad weather — to reach the closest facility. So for emergency care, the town’s 6,000 residents and three million annual visitors depend heavily on EPMC. But the hospital is more than just an urgent care clinic or a small CAH with limited services, it’s one of the most sophisticated CAHs in the state.
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• Direct Messaging DOs and DON’Ts

  Date: September 17th, 2014Topics: Meaningful Use, Direct Messaging

  Direct messaging is a secure way to send protected health information electronically from provider to provider. Mainly due to Meaningful Use, Direct messaging usage is on a sharp rise. In Colorado, there are a few different ways you can get a Direct messaging address. Two main ways are through CORHIO (free for participants) or through your electronic health record company (ideal if you want to use Direct to meet Meaningful Use). Regardless of how you obtain your Direct messaging address, here are some recommendations for using it to improve patient care.
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• City of Longmont Aims to Reduce Unnecessary ER Visits Through Primary Care Intervention and HIE

  Date: August 20th, 2014Topics: Population Health, Primary Care, Emergency Services

  The recently formed Longmont Community Health Network will help patients with complex medical conditions better manage their care with the help of medical history from the CORHIO network. Many of the patients referred to the Longmont Community Health Network haven’t seen their primary care physician in years, but have been to the emergency department, potentially anywhere in the state. The Longmont Community Health Network plans to utilize the CORHIO network to investigate what’s been happening with their patients to better inform their care interventions.
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• CORHIO Exec. Director Calls on ONC to Address Barriers to HIE

  Date: August 20th, 2014Topics: HIE, EHRs

  Morgan Honea testified at an ONC listening session about the industry’s slower than anticipated progress on HIE and interoperability. During the hearing, Honea suggested that the ONC consider monitoring for-profit EHR vendors because some appear to be employing tactics that intentionally slow the growth of HIE as part of their overall business strategy. For example, inflated costs for HIE interfaces charged by EHR vendors have resulted in slower adoption of HIE.
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• Schryver Medical Lab Now Sending Test Results Into the Community Health Record

  Date: July 16th, 2014Topics: Long-Term Care, CORHIO Network

  Now that Schryver Medical is sending laboratory test results into the health information exchange (HIE), long-term and post-acute care providers will have access to that information via the secure PatientCare 360 portal. Having a complete picture of the patient’s care helps to smooth the “patient handoff” that can often be stressful and rushed for both the patient and provider.
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• More Than 250 Providers in Northern Colorado Join the Health Information Exchange

  Date: July 16th, 2014Topics: CORHIO Network

  Care providers working at one of Banner Medical Group’s 70 locations will soon have access to expanded patient medical information in the Community Health Record available through CORHIO. So when a patient visits another hospital or medical laboratory in almost any part of the state, the Banner physicians can access the details of that visit, including lab and pathology results, radiology reports, and hospital discharge summaries.
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• Your Feedback Requested: Proposed Changes to Meaningful Use from CMS

  Date: June 18th, 2014Topics: EHRs, Meaningful Use, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services

  CORHIO is collecting your feedback on the proposed modifications to the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs for 2014 including certification options and the delay of stage 3. The proposed rule would provide options for Meaningful Use (MU) Eligible Professionals (EP), Eligible Hospitals (EH) and Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) to use earlier editions of certified EHR technology (CEHRT) for 2014 MU reporting in addition to finalizing the delay of Stage 3.
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• Health Information Exchange Helps Drive Accountable Care in Colorado

  Date: June 18th, 2014Topics: Patient Engagement, Care Coordination, Hospital Readmissions, Accountable Care

  True innovation is happening all over Colorado in our health systems and communities. Throughout the state, there are many examples of people coming together in a community to tackle lowering health care costs and improving patient outcomes. One such group is Community Health Partnership, a coalition of health care providers working together to coordinate care for approximately 89,000 patients in the central geographical area of the state, many of whom have multiple conditions requiring care by multiple doctors.
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• SCL Health System Now Connected to CORHIO HIE

  Date: May 14th, 2014Topics: HIE, CORHIO Network, Colorado Hospitals & Health Systems

  Good Samaritan Medical Center, Lutheran Medical Center and Saint Joseph Hospital have joined 32 other hospitals across Colorado to improve care coordination. SCL Health System is currently sending admit, discharge and transfer (ADT) information and radiology and transcription data to CORHIO. In a few weeks pathology information will be added, and later this fall, lab results will be transmitted into the CORHIO network.
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• Direct Messaging Update: CORHIO Successfully Connects With Out-of-State and National HISPs

  Date: May 14th, 2014Topics: HIE, CORHIO Network, Direct Messaging

  Imagine this scenario: one of your long-time patients with chronic heart disease travels to Kansas to visit family. During that visit, he is rushed to an emergency room with chest pains and admitted for observation. After he returns home, he calls your office to make an appointment for follow-up care. He does not have paperwork from the hospital to share with you. How can you quickly get a summary of the Kansas hospitalization?
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• CORHIO Participants Exceed 40,000 Immunizations Reported to CIIS Using HIE

  Date: May 14th, 2014Topics: EHRs, Meaningful Use, Public Health Reporting

  The public health Meaningful Use immunization reporting objective is required under Stage 2 for all eligible professionals (EPs) and eligible hospitals (EHs) that administer immunizations in their facilities. The immunization registry measure has also changed under Stage 2; instead of submitting a test file to CIIS, EPs and EHs must achieve ongoing submission of electronic immunization data from their EHR systems to CIIS. Another option is for providers to send data to CIIS through the secure CORHIO network.
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• Reminder: 9Health Fair Results Available in Community Health Record

  Date: April 16th, 2014Topics: HIE, PatientCare 360, Patient Engagement, Care Coordination, CORHIO Network

  This is the second year 9Health Fair has partnered with CORHIO to make their lab results available in the CORHIO Community Health Record via Quest Diagnostics. Providers participating in the CORHIO network can now check the Community Health Record in PatientCare 360 to see if patient results are available in the system.
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