Category: Healthcare Industry News

• A Consensus on the Need for Collaboration to Implement the Coming "Revolution"

  Date: May 16th, 2013Source: Healthcare InformaticsTopics: Health IT

  In a wide-ranging panel discussion that brought together leaders from a variety of stakeholder groups across healthcare—hospital organizations, physician practices, integrated health systems, organized healthcare, and vendor organizations—industry luminaries agreed on May 16, in the opening panel discussion of the Healthcare Informatics Executive Summit being held in San Francisco, on the urgent need for cross-stakeholder collaboration. The panel discussion followed immediately upon the opening keynote address by Russell Branzell, president and CEO of the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME), and Branzell was a panelist. The coming healthcare “revolution” that Branzell had just spoken of was broadly cited by panelists during the discussion.
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• Communication Skills Key to Exam Room Computing: AMA Report

  Date: May 13th, 2013Source: Modern Healthcare (free registration may be required to view)Topics: EHRs, Health IT, Physician Workflow

  There is no consensus about the best way to incorporate computers into a patient visit, but whether computers are a negative or positive influence in the exam room appears to depend on the communication skills of the physician, according to a report from the American Medical Association board of trustees.
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• Nearly Half of Eligible Professionals Have Received EHR Payments

  Date: May 1st, 2013Source: Modern Healthcare (free registration may be required to view)Topics: EHRs, Meaningful Use

  More than a quarter million physicians and other professionals eligible for the federally funded electronic health-record incentive payment programs have received payments, according to the latest government data.
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• Sharing is Caring: HIE and Turning Data Into Knowledge

  Date: April 26th, 2013Source: Healthcare InformaticsTopics: HIE, EHRs, Care Coordination

  According to a recent discussion paper released by the Institute of Medicine, most people who receive healthcare in the United States recognize that the system is complicated and fragmented. What they are less likely to know is that opportunities to learn from the care provided in hospitals, clinics, and doctors’ offices are most often lost. As healthcare records move to electronic systems, the data routinely collected as part of medical care (such as blood pressure measurements, weight, medications lists, disease diagnoses, and past medical histories) hold the promise to dramatically increase the opportunities for learning and improving care on a national scale. Turning data collected at the time of care into knowledge that can be used in clinical practice is essential if we are to achieve a learning health system—a system that continuously and seamlessly uses healthcare data from across the entire system to answer important questions that matter to patients and their healthcare providers.
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• Hot Horizons: CMIOs Look to the Near Future

  Date: April 24th, 2013Source: Healthcare InformaticsTopics: Meaningful Use, Accountable Care

  The lead medical informaticists in hospitals, medical groups, and health systems are juggling an unprecedented number of "menu" items on their to-do lists these days. Which are the most strategically important? And do the CMIOs in those positions have what it takes to deliver the goods? Healthcare Informatics asked a virtual roundtable of industry-leading CMIOs for their perspectives.
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• New Federal Rules Propose to Extend Program to Donate EHRs to Physicians

  Date: April 9th, 2013Source: Health Data ManagementTopics: EHRs

  Existing exemptions to federal physician self-referral and anti-kickback laws that enable hospitals and other entities to donate electronic health records systems to physicians would be extended under two proposed rules issued on April 9.
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• Final HIPAA Rule Becomes Effective

  Date: March 26th, 2013Source: Health Data ManagementTopics: Data Security, HIPAA

  The final omnibus rule published on Jan. 25, 2013 to modify the HIPAA privacy, security, breach notification and enforcement rules, as well as the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, became effective on March 26. However, the compliance date for the rule is September 23, 2013. Organizations have one year from the compliance date to modify business associate agreements to match new requirements.
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• Medical Device, Health IT Interoperability Could Save $30 Billion Annually

  Date: March 21st, 2013Source: Healthcare Finance NewsTopics: HIE, Health IT, Interoperability

  A new report from the West Health Institute contends that improvements in the ability of medical devices and health IT systems to communicate and exchange data could lead to more than $30 billion a year in savings.
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• Technology Alone Isn't Healthcare's Savior

  Date: March 14th, 2013Source: InformationWeek HealthcareTopics: EHRs, Health IT

  If you believe everything you read and hear, technology is the Holy Grail of our industry. It will "fix" just about everything that's broken in healthcare. That's a presumption fueled by human nature: Gravitate toward simplicity and immediate gratification. Technology is tangible, something we can install, turn on and it works. But what exactly should we expect from this working technology? Have we done a thorough job of defining what we want to accomplish and then addressed all of the components that go into ensuring we succeed?
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• The Case for an HIE: How State's Providers Are Improving Care, Coordination

  Date: March 6th, 2013Source: Physicians PracticeTopics: HIE, Meaningful Use, Care Coordination

  Health information exchanges (HIE) can improve care coordination. They're also helping providers meet challenging Stage 2 requirements for CMS' meaningful use program. But still, the lion's share of practices still aren't connected to one. Click here to find out more! That's less so the case in Kansas, one of a growing number of states that' s recognized for establishing a successful HIE that providers are adopting. And though there are still those reticent doctors who prefer paper, more and more of them are opting to connect to HIE networks for purposes of sharing and exchanging data.
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• How One Doctor Uses His Mobile EHR to Coordinate Care

  Date: March 5th, 2013Source: Physicians PracticeTopics: EHRs, Mobile Health, Care Coordination

  Coordinating care with other providers is becoming more important in the digital age. And a growing number of mobile devices are making it much easier. In this podcast, recorded live from the HIMSS13 conference in New Orleans, Michael Jordan, founder and practicing physician at East Lake Pediatrics in Trinity, Fla., shares his experience with implementing an mobile EHR and using it to coordinate care.
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• Getting Patients Engaged in Care and in Meeting Meaningful Use

  Date: March 5th, 2013Source: Physicians PracticeTopics: Meaningful Use, Patient Engagement

  In the Stage 1 rules to meaningful use of their EHRs, physicians and their practices had to step up the way they collected and shared patient data. Now in Stage 2, they will have to continue those efforts, but also be prepared to get patients more involved with their own health information, beginning in 2014.
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• ACO Success Requires Taking Health IT to Next Level

  Date: March 5th, 2013Source: Physicians PracticeTopics: Health IT, Accountable Care

  Health IT can help physicians improve the quality of care they provide patients; it can also help physicians identify and prevent potential patient health problems from occurring; it can even help them do these things while reducing healthcare spending. The trick, however, is that to do all of these things, providers need to leverage technology in the right ways. That’s according to internal medicine physician Charles Kennedy, CEO of Aetna Accountable Care Solutions, which collaborates with and assists providers with transitioning to accountable care organizations (ACOs). ACOs are groups of providers (practices, medical groups, hospitals) that partner up to improve care quality while reducing care costs. If successful, providers share in the cost savings.
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• Achieving EHR Optimization at Your Medical Practice

  Date: March 4th, 2013Source: Physicians PracticeTopics: EHRs, Physician Workflow, Patient Care

  EHR optimization is not just about getting the most out of the technology solution your practice has invested in. Instead, notes Trenor Williams, MD, CEO and co-founder of health IT firm Clinovations, it is about how you utilize your EHR as just one tool to improve the care of individuals and populations. "At the end of the day," notes Williams, "all of us as physicians, as providers, as practices, we want to take better care of our patients. …I believe access to data, access to information, will allow us to do that more efficiently and more effectively."
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• Computerized Provider Order Entry Cuts Medication Errors, Study Shows

  Date: February 22nd, 2013Source: Healthcare IT NewsTopics: Physician Workflow, Medication Reconciliation

  A new report, supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), demonstrates that processing prescriptions through computerized provider order entry can cut drug errors in half, and could avoid more than 17 million adverse incidents annually.
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• Numbers, Numbers and More Numbers

  Date: February 14th, 2013Source: The Wall Street JournalTopics: Data Analytics

  Under pressure to do more with less, insurers, pharmacy benefit managers and health care providers are all pushing data analysis to new heights. Insurers have been crunching numbers for years to figure out which patients are most likely to generate high costs. Now other groups are gauging probabilities of relapses, and the likelihood of a patient's not taking his or her medicine. Using models that draw on massive troves of medical and other data, some are also focusing on seemingly healthy individuals, trying to prevent problems before they occur.
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• ONC Calls on EHR Vendors to Play Fair, Or Face Regulation

  Date: February 7th, 2013Source: Healthcare IT NewsTopics: HIE, EHRs, Meaningful Use, Health IT

  At a Feb. 6 meeting of the Health IT Policy Committee, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology Farzad Mostashari, MD, said that, by and large, electronic health record vendors have their customers’ best interests at heart. But to the few who don’t, he gave a stern warning: Abide by what is "moral and right," or face more regulation. Mostashari’s comments came by way of clarification to opening remarks he gave at last month's HIT Policy Committee meeting. He wanted to make sure that the vendors who are doing right by providers and society’s interest do not mistake him for coming down on them. He was speaking to the few exceptions, when he made remarks at the Jan. 8 meeting.
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• Three Ways Health IT Helps Combat the Flu

  Date: February 6th, 2013Source: http://www.physbiztech.com/best-practices/3-ways-health-it-helps-combat-flu?email=cbaker@corhio.org&GroupID=116654Topics: Health IT, Patient Care

  The news has been abuzz about the recent explosion of influenza across the country. It becomes more alarming with every flu-related death, and its spread doesn’t seem to be slowing down. As a physician or office manager, it’s important to ensure your patients – particularly those in high-risk groups – are protected against any risks. But since you’re a veteran, you know accomplishing this is often a logistical nightmare. Can health IT help? Yes!
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• Study: EHRs Boost Quality of Care at Federal Health Centers

  Date: February 4th, 2013Source: Healthcare IT NewsTopics: EHRs, Health IT, Patient Care

  Health IT adoption at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) has yielded significant quality of care improvements, a new study has found, even as the health centers are still coming up to speed with meaningful use. A study in the journal BMC Health Services Research examined 776 FQHCs using data from the Commonwealth Fund’s 2009 National Survey of Federally Qualified Health Centers, measuring the extent of electronic health record and health information exchange use and associated quality of care across several functions.
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• Value of Structured Data to Interoperability, Meaningful Use

  Date: February 4th, 2013Source: EHR IntelligenceTopics: Meaningful Use, Interoperability

  In order for all the data capture taking place in the earliest stages of the EHR Incentive Programs to prove valuable to not only coordinated care but also population health and clinical research, the information flowing in and out of EHR and health IT systems need structure. Although data appear in two forms — structured and unstructured — the former will be more a catalyst for change than the latter as a result of how effectively it can support both primary and secondary and tertiary objectives.
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• Report: Adoption of EHRs by Family Physicans to Exceed 80% in 2013

  Date: February 4th, 2013Source: Annals of Family MedicineTopics: EHRs, Meaningful Use, Primary Care

  Two independent data sets yielded convergent results, showing that adoption of EHRs by family physicians has doubled since 2005, exceeding other office-based physicians as a group, and is likely to surpass 80% by 2013. Adoption varies at a state level. Further monitoring of trends in EHR adoption and characterizing their capacities are important to achieve comprehensive data exchange necessary for better, affordable health care.
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• The Truth Behind "Free" EHRs

  Date: January 25th, 2013Source: Healthcare Technology Online Topics: EHRs

  Everyone loves free stuff. There’s just something so intoxicating about receiving a product or service without having to shell out your hard-earned dollars in return. Doctors aren’t immune to this sensation. This is one of the reasons several “free” ambulatory EHR platforms have become so popular with physician practices — particularly independent practitioners. However, for this demographic, a free EHR can mean more than a sense of euphoria. In many cases, the ability to sidestep the often substantial upfront costs necessary to implement an EHR can keep a practice from shutting its doors or physicians from taking an early retirement.
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• EHR Adoption Pitfalls, Strategies to Overcome Problems Are Focus of White Paper

  Date: January 23rd, 2013Source: AAFP News Now Topics: EHRs, Primary Care

  The ability of primary care practices to successfully adopt and use electronic health records (EHRs) is driven, in large part, by how well they integrate EHRs into six major practice areas. That's according to a white paper recently issued by Qualis Health, a nonprofit health care consulting company that manages the Washington and Idaho Regional Extension Center (WIREC).
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• Growing Pains As Doctors' Offices Adopt Electronic Records

  Date: January 22nd, 2013Source: National Public RadioTopics: EHRs, Physician Workflow

  Information technology has transformed much of the American economy, but its use in health care still lags, especially when it comes to electronic medical records. Here's an example: The state of Colorado runs a computerized registry where any provider who gives a child a vaccine can report that information. The system should help kids stay current with their immunizations. But the state's computer system isn't compatible with most of the ones doctors use, so many practices don't update the central database because it's just too much extra data entry, says Dr. Allison Kempe, director of the Children's Outcomes Research Program at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
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• EHR Adoption Could Exceed 80% by 2013, New Study Finds

  Date: January 15th, 2013Source: Healthcare IT NewsTopics: EHRs, Meaningful Use, Primary Care

  Family physicians are adopting electronic health records (EHRs) at a much faster rate than previous data suggested, reaching a nearly 70% adoption rate nationwide, new study findings reveal. The study, published in the January/February issue of the Annals of Family Medicine, shows EHR adoption by family physicians has doubled since 2005, with researchers estimating that the adoption rate will exceed 80% by 2013.
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