Update 7/1/10

Vendor News:

eClinicalWorks announced that Arizona Integrated Physicians, a physician-owned organization, has chosen eClinicalWorks unified electronic medical records and practice management system for its approximately 600 physicians.

McKesson Corporation and IASIS Healthcare LLC announced an extension of their strategic relationship as IASIS plans to expand its use of healthcare information technology by completing its suite of McKesson Horizon Clinicals solutions. This latest expansion of IASIS’ healthcare information system includes physician documentation as well as computerized provider order entry (CPOE) and will be deployed across all 16 of the IASIS hospitals over the next 12 months.

Picis announced that Bayonne Medical Center, Bayonne, NJ, has successfully deployed Picis ED PulseCheck, part of its CareSuite family of high-acuity solutions, two months ahead of schedule.

Hoag Memorial Presbyterian Hospital, Newport Beach, California, has selected Medicity, Inc. as its partner to build a secure community-wide health information exchange (HIE). Hoag Hospital will deploy Medicity’s full suite of technology services, including ProAccess Community, MediTrust Cloud Services and the Novo Grid.

In the 6/28/10 Issue of Inside Healthcare Computing:

Physicians Use EMR to Improve Patient Outcomes

After spending the last two decades searching for an EMR, physicians at a small Los Angeles, CA area practice discovered a simple, low-cost solution that not only helps the office run more smoothly, but more importantly, lets them focus on patient outcomes.

Customers Weigh In on Allscripts-Eclipsys Merger

While industry analysts and competitors were weighing in on the recently announced Allscripts-Eclipsys merger, at Inside Healthcare Computing we were interested in hearing opinions from Allscripts and Eclipsys customers. Several end-users gave us their optimistic impressions, as well as expressed concerns over product and company integrations, and worries about possible effects on support and software development.

Regional Extension Centers Begin Efforts to Reach out to Providers

As the government moves slowly but inevitably toward a final definition of Meaningful Use, Regional Extension Centers (REC) across the country are launching plans to support eligible providers in their efforts to meet the criteria, secure incentives, and avoid penalties in 2015.

California Hospitals’ Privacy Penalties Provide Wake-up Call to Other Healthcare Systems Nationwide

Last month five California hospitals learned firsthand the financial consequences of medical privacy violations. On June 10, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) announced administrative penalties and fines totaling $675,000 after determining that the five facilities failed to prevent unauthorized access to confidential patient medical information.

Our Take: Having Your Vendor Acquired Is Rarely Good News

Click to purchase this issue

Update 6/16/10

News:

Apollo Health Street announced a second agreement with Mississippi County Hospital System (MCHS) which comprises two hospitals – SMC Regional Medical Center in Osceola, AR and Great River Medical Center in Blytheville, AR. MCHS will now use Apollo’s Patient Access Partnership to review and correct their patient accounts prior to bill drop.

GE Healthcare announced the launch of Centricity Advance, a Software as a Service EMR solution for small independent clinical practices.

eClinicalWorks announced that the non-profit NYC Regional Electronic Adoption Center for Health (NYC REACH), the federally-recognized Regional Extension Center (REC) for New York City, has selected eClinicalWorks unified electronic medical records (EMR) and practice management (PM) system as an option for providers located in New York City.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today announced a series of new investments worth $250 million to increase the number of health care providers and strengthen the primary care workforce. The new investments were made possible by the Affordable Care Act.

Inside Healthcare Computing’s 5 for ’10 – A Series of Valuable Quick Tips

Here are some excellent tips to keep in mind as you get ready for Meaningful Use — and the Inside Healthcare Computing articles in which they appeared.   1. ”We’re really not in it for the incentives – or to avoid the penalties. We’ve run the numbers and to be honest, we’ll spend more than we get back,” says Guy McAllister, CIO at Tift Regional Medical Center (GA). For McCallister, Meaningful Use is about more than the money.  It’s an opportunity for his hospital to improve outcomes — a point that may resonate with both clinicians and administrators who may be reluctant to invest in new technology.(“Meaningful Use and Patient Safety,” Inside Healthcare Computing , Vol. 20, #11)   2. “One of the mistakes we commonly see in traditional training sessions is that the lessons are focused on the system’s functionality, rather than how the system will help users in their daily work,” says Jon Roberts, a consultant with Rule 4 Consulting (OR). The key to successfully implementing a new HIT system is teaching people to use it in the context of their work. (“Keys to Successful IT Adoption,” Inside Healthcare Computing, Vol. 20, #10)   3. “The doctors realized that a lot of data has to be tracked and reported on and there’s no way you can do that manually. These physicians have started to see EMR as a necessity. They also see huge dollar signs if they’re successful,” says Chris Jordan, COO, Physicians Health (FL)“(“Physician Practice Sees Another Benefit of EHR: Competitive Edge in Recruiting Doctors,” Inside Healthcare Computing, Vol. 20, #9)   4. “The private practice environment cannot be equated to the outpatient environment of a hospital. If you plan to offer an EMR solution to your affiliated physicians, form a true partnership that will allow those practices to develop a flexible solution,” says David Levitt, assistant executive administrator, Cardiology Consultants (NY).  (“Physician Practice Shares EMR Implementation Best Practices,” Inside Healthcare Computing Vol. 20, #8)   5. “The most important thing to ensure [EHR] implementation success is to get the clinicians involved early on. And if you can swing it, hire a dedicated project manager who is able to concentrate all of his or her attention on the project,” says Terri Rini Barber, VP/CIO, Southwest General Health Center. (“CIO Credits Clinician Involvement with EHR Go-Live Success,” Inside Healthcare Computing, Vol 20, #5) Inside Healthcare Computing offers you best practices, in-depth news, and unbiased stories about how hospitals are leveraging technology to improve patient care and safety.

When you subscribe, you’ll receive 25 issues of best practices, news, and unbiased information from the industry’s only independent news source. You’ll also have access to the issues referenced above…and more!   Subscribe now and begin receiving Inside Healthcare Computing.

Update 6/7/10

Health Information Technology News:

TELUS Health Solutions and Iatric Systems Inc. announced that pre-built Iatric Systems interface utilities for MEDITECH customers are now available with TELUS’ family of electronic health record (EHR) solutions – Oacis. Both companies see tremendous value in offering the MEDITECH customer base the ability to deploy components of a clinician-friendly, web-based EHR while at the same time leveraging existing investments in their MEDITECH installations.

MEDecision, Inc., announced that it has been awarded a contract by the State of Minnesota to provide the technology for a personal health record (PHR) program being developed for State employees and their dependents. The initiative is designed to give state workers and their families an additional tool to manage their health and help control medical costs.

3M Health Information Systems has released a breach notification tool available with new versions of 3M ChartRelease Software and 3M DisclosureTrac Software. The new functionality provides a template for creating breach notifications, making it possible to generate customized letters into which the patient name, address, and specific information about the breach incident can be inserted. The software records and saves all breach notifications and provides a reporting capability to track specific breach incidents by date or patient.

NextGen Healthcare announced that five critical access hospitals have signed on to implement NextGen Inpatient Clinicals: Caro Community Hospital, Caro, MI; Cedar County Memorial Hospital, El Dorado Springs, MO; St. Croix Regional Medical Center, St. Croix Falls, WI; Salem Township Hospital, Salem, IL; and Washington County Hospital, Nashville, IL. Several of these clients already use NextGen Inpatient Financials.

Five Tips As You Prepare for Meaningful Use

 

Here are some excellent tips to keep in mind as you get ready for Meaningful Use — and the Inside Healthcare Computing articles in which they appeared.

 

1. “It’s key that hospital systems take the time to understand how practices are run,” says Laurie Sicaeros, vice president for physician alignment for MemorialCare Health System (CA).  “It’s also important to identify leaders within the practice, particularly a physician, someone in billing, and someone in the front office who can be the go-to resource on site.”  (“Memorial Care: Connecting Physicians to Improve Patient Care,” Inside Healthcare Computing , Vol. 20, #12, April 19, 2010)
 
2. “It’s important to understand from the beginning what you want to do from a research perspective,” when it comes to selecting and implementing EHRs, says Subra Sripada, VP/CIO, Beaumont Hospitals (MI). “Knowing that can be a huge motivating factor from a physician perspective. They see that in order to do the things they’ve always wanted to do, they have to use the technology.” (“CIO: Our Role is to Help Clinicians See the Benefits of Technology,” Inside Healthcare Computing, Vol. 20, #13, May 3, 2010)
 
3. “Don’t assume anything about the functionality of the [EMR] product,” says Chris Jordan, COO of Physician Associates (FL). “It’s easy to get overly enthusiastic during a demo when you see your pet piece working, but take the time to test as much of the system as you can to make sure the functionality you need is there.” (“Physician Practice Sees Another Benefit of EHR: Competitive Edge in Recruiting Doctors,” Inside Healthcare Computing, Vol. 20, #9, March 8, 2010)
 
4. “We have a team of about 3-4 people which does a 90-day CPOE readiness assessment,” says Phil Smith, MD, VP and CMIO, Adventist Health (FL). “We develop a profile on each hospital, looking at things like whether there is a local business case, adequate infrastructure and physician support. During the process we identify in-house ‘champions’ among the different stakeholder groups.” The entire process, while smoothing the road for CPOE implementation, also builds senior leadership’s investment in the outcome. (“Adventist Health System’s Key to CPOE Success: Secure Senior Leadership’s Buy-In,” Inside Healthcare Computing Vol. 20, #6, January 25, 2010)
 
5. When implementing its EMR, “being able to make a case for patient safety was important,” says Marty Fattig, CEO of Nemaha County Hospital (NE). “I’ve always said that installing technology for technology’s sake is doomed to failure. If you’re doing it to improve patient care, to help you take care of a patient more quickly and more effectively, then you can work through whatever problems crop up.”  (“Rural Hospital’s EHR Implementation Provides Lessons for Larger Counterparts,” Inside Healthcare Computing, Vol 20, #3, December 14, 2009)

 

When you subscribe, you’ll receive 25 issues of best practices, news, and unbiased information from the industry’s only independent news source. You’ll also have access to the issues referenced above…and more!

 

Subscribe now at a special low price and begin receiving Inside Healthcare Computing.