Meaningful Use Stage 2 | EMR, EHR and Healthcare IT News

CHIME Calls for Stage 2 Extension in Letter to Senators

CIO organization underscores progress of EHR adoption, highlights importance of standards in Stage 2

ANN ARBOR, MI, May 6, 2013 – Following a request for feedback from Senators in Washington on the status of health IT adoption, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) issued a response declaring that a one-year extension of Meaningful Use Stage 2 would “maximize the opportunity of program success.”

The organization of healthcare CIOs said the additional 12-months for meeting Stage 2 “will give providers the opportunity to optimize their EHR technology and achieve the benefits of Stage 1 and Stage 2; it will give vendors the time needed to prepare, develop and deliver needed technology to correspond with Stage 3; and it will give policymakers time to assess and evaluate programmatic trends needed to craft thoughtful Stage 3 rules.”

In calling for an extension to Stage 2, CHIME defended much of the federal incentive program’s progress to date, arguing that fundamental shifts in health IT adoption and EHR product capabilities have been made possible through the policy of Meaningful Use.

“While we share some of your concerns with the current state of interoperability, we strongly believe that EHR incentive payments under the policy of Meaningful Use have been essential in moving the nation’s healthcare system into the 21st Century,” the CHIME letter said. “Through the EHR Incentive Payments program, CMS and ONC have begun to mitigate a fractured and incompatible state for EHRs.”

The response comes amid concerns levied by six Senators that the current direction of the HITECH program is flawed. The white paper released on April 16, “REBOOT: Re-examining the Strategies Needed to Successfully Adopt Health IT,” outlines several concerns including increased health care costs, lack of momentum toward interoperability, patient privacy, and long-term program sustainability.

“Your report highlights a number of fair and responsible criticisms of the program and it echoes many of the concerns CHIME has voiced over the last three years,” the letter said. “But given the nation’s increased adoption of EHRs, the increased investments in interoperable solutions and the early-stage transformations encountered every day by our members, we remain convinced that the trajectory set by Meaningful Use is the correct one.

“CHIME believes the industry’s guiding principle should be to maximize the opportunity of program success and monitor the timelines needed to do that. For this reason, we formally and strongly recommend a one-year extension to Stage 2 before progressing to Stage 3 of Meaningful Use,” the organization concluded.

CHIME also called upon Congress to request an update from ONC on what technologies, architectures and strategies exist to mitigate patient matching errors; seek feedback from the public via congressional hearing or other formal commenting mechanism; and determine how current work at the S&I Framework could be leveraged to address the foundational challenge of patient data-matching.

Responding to a section of the white paper on audits and program integrity, CHIME said CIOs understand the desire to ensure that incentive payments are going to those who have qualified to receive them, but this intent must not result in unreasonable auditing efforts that are poorly structured, inconsistent or lack uniform criteria. “We ask that Congress ensure CMS audits are efficient and effective without overburdening providers,” the letter stated.

To read the full Senate response, visit the Public Policy section of the CHIME website.

About CHIME
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With more than 1,400 CIO members and over 95 healthcare IT vendors and professional services firms, CHIME provides a highly interactive, trusted environment enabling senior professional and industry leaders to collaborate; exchange best practices; address professional development needs; and advocate the effective use of information management to improve the health and healthcare in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit www.cio-chime.org.

Contact:
Stephanie Fraser
Director of Communications
734-665-0000
sfraser@cio-chime.org

Physician’s Trust Selected by the Orange County Partnership Regional Health Information Organization to Provide HIE Support, Training Services for Physician Practices

Physician’s Trust to implement and support OCUnites HIE

IRVINE, Calif. – (Jan. 23, 2013) – Physician’s Trust, Inc. today announced that it has been selected to provide physician registration, training and support as well as outbound marketing services for OCUnites, the Orange County Partnership Regional Health Information Organization Inc’s (OCPRHIO, Inc) Health Information Exchange (HIE).

Based in Orange, Calif., OCPRHIO is a community health information organization that is working collaboratively with hospitals, physicians and other Orange County healthcare providers to enable secure and convenient access to patient health information when and where it is needed at the point of care. Participating hospitals include Chapman Medical Center, Coastal Communities Hospital, Mission Hospital, St. Joseph Hospital, St. Jude Medical Center, University of California–Irvine Healthcare, Western Medical Center–Anaheim and Western Medical Center–Santa Ana. Additional participants include Monarch HealthCare.

OCUnites seamlessly interfaces with EHRs to enable the secure exchange of patient information. In addition to secure messaging, providers can access lab and pathology results, Continuity of Care Documents (CCD), ADT information and public health events and notifications. They can also manage health event notification reporting and immunization registry updates and querying.

Under the agreement, Physician’s Trust will provide registration and comprehensive web-based training to OCUnites participants, including development of user manuals and other materials designed to support adoption of the HIE. It will also manage inbound Help Desk support calls and troubleshooting.

“Physician’s Trust has amassed an impressive track record of providing physicians with the technology and workflow tools, training and support they need to leverage their existing EHRs to take patient care to the next level,” said Paul Budilo, CEO, OCPRHIO. “That track record, combined with their reputation for excellent customer service, made Physician’s Trust the natural choice for supporting the HIE needs of our physicians.”

“HIE is an important step toward improving physician collaboration and quality of care, and for achieving Stage 2 Meaningful Use, which focuses on the adoption of analytics as a critical part of patient care,” said Stephen D. Rhodes, president, Physician’s Trust. “OCPRHIO understands that implementing an HIE can only be successful if the right support and outbound marketing programs are in place to ensure long-term adoption. That is what Physician’s Trust brings to the table.”

About Physician’s Trust, Inc.

Based in Irvine, Calif., Physician’s Trust provides physician-centric health IT services that enable hospitals, IPAs, ACOs and small and mid-sized practices to overcome the challenges of EHR adoption and utilization. It leverages industry best practices to accelerate EHR implementation and meaningful use, as well as a propriety application that captures practice analytics to guide deployment and manage the ongoing workflow modifications necessary for full clinical adoption. A top eClinicalWorks GOLD Partner and powered by Healthcare Technology Leaders, Physician’s Trust has implemented EHR solutions for over a 1000 providers. For more information contact Physician’s Trust at www.physicianstrust.netor 866‐493‐0952.

About Orange County Partnership Regional Health Information Organization, Inc (OCPRHIO, Inc)
OCPRHIO, headquartered in Orange, Calif., is a community collaboration of healthcare providers whose mission is dedicated to improving the quality, safety, and efficiency of health care in Orange County by enhancing the ability of the health care delivery system to capture and share health innovation, improve efficiency, and securely protect patient privacy. For more information about OCPRHIO, Inc visit http://www.ocprhio.org.

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February 7, 2013 I Written By John

Filed Under: EHR Electronic Health Record Electronic Medical Record EMR Healthcare IT HIE Meaningful Use Meaningful Use Stage 2

EHR Association Responds to HIT Policy Committee Request for Comments on Stage 3 Meaningful Use

The EHR Association has responded to the HIT Policy Committee’s Request for Comments on Stage 3 meaningful use requirements through their usual workgroup-led collaborative effort, with representatives from 24 of our 41 member companies working on this effort.

The Association’s comments call for a more pragmatic and focused approach to Stage 3 requirements, building on the substantial capabilities established in Stage 1 and especially Stage 2. As part of this alternate approach, the Association also calls for policymakers to takes into consideration the time and resources required for developers and providers to get all the information needed to effectively develop, test, and adopt new functionality. As we’ve stated in the past, and aligned with comments from other stakeholder groups, we suggest that ONC and CMS should not start Stage 3 until at least three years after the start of Stage 2.

Specific recommendations include that ONC and CMS invest time and attention to the maturity and alignment of quality measures across regulatory organizations, without adding a significant number of new quality measures, and enhancing infrastructure and standards based on the foundational work begun in Stage 2 to advance interoperability,

The EHR Association also notes that the public and private sectors are shifting to accountable care and value-based payment models, which are creating a business case for providers to adopt and use EHRs and other health IT. Such market-based demand will drive additional customer-requested functionality and EHR use patterns for those who have already adopted and demonstrated sophisticated use by attesting for Stages 1 and 2. We believe the needs of such experienced and often sophisticated users will best be met by market innovation, while extensive and detailed standardized requirements dictated by the federal government may actually interfere with the pace and direction of needed innovations.

Go to http://www.himssehra.org/docs/20130115_EHRARespondstoMU3RFC.pdf for the full response

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February 6, 2013 I Written By John

Filed Under: Electronic Medical Record EMR Healthcare Healthcare IT Meaningful Use Meaningful Use Stage 2

Tags:CMS EHR EHR Association Health IT HIT Policy Committee ONC Stage 3 meaningful use requirements

ICSA Labs Set to Begin Testing EHRs for Stage 2 Meaningful Use Requirements

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. – ICSA Labs, an independent division of Verizon, is now officially authorized and accredited to begin certifying electronic health records for the next stage of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Meaningful Use requirements.

The new 2014 Edition, Stage 2 certification program of HHS’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology provides more transparency and elevates the overall testing and certification process by mandating additional requirements for organizations providing EHR services. These requirements include a strengthening of security, enhanced interoperability for facilitating health information exchange, better protection of private patient information and new ways for providers to become “meaningful users.”

Last September, ICSA Labs received authorization from the Office of the National Coordinator for the preliminary Stage 2 of the certification program.

To test and validate the ONC 2014 Edition methods and test tools, ICSA Labs successfully conducted a week-long pilot program in December with four vendors that offer EHR-related solutions supporting the more rigorous Stage 2 Meaningful Use Requirements. These included Dynamic Health IT and Glenwood Systems.

“The latest round of federal requirements will enable us to help companies strengthen the security and privacy of their EHR offerings, ultimately benefiting both patient and health care provider,” said Amit Trivedi, health care program manager for ICSA Labs. “Now that we are fully authorized and accredited to certify and test technology meeting the permanent Meaningful Use requirements, we are officially open for business.”

EHR vendors also must have their products tested by laboratories accredited by the National Voluntary Lab Accreditation Program and certified by bodies authorized by the ONC and accredited by the American National Standards Institute. ICSA Labs is accredited by both NVLAP and ANSI.

The ONC’s Health Information Technology Certification program, which provides authorization for the certification of electronic health care records, was established in January 2011. The recently published Stage 2 Standards, Implementation Specifications and Certification Criteria Final Rule is administered nationally by the ONC.

ICSA Labs is NVLAP- accredited as a Health IT Test Lab and is also an ONC-Authorized Certification Body (ONC-ACB) accredited by ANSI to ISO/IEC Guide 65.

About ICSA Labs

ICSA Labs, an independent division of Verizon, offers third-party testing and certification of security and health IT products, as well as network-connected devices, to measure product compliance, reliability and performance for many of the world’s top security vendors. ICSA Labs is an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited and 9001:2008 registered organization. Visit http://www.icsalabs.com and http://www.icsalabs.com/blogs for more information.

About Verizon

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to consumer, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America’s most reliable wireless network, with nearly 96 million retail customers nationwide. Verizon also provides converged communications, information and entertainment services over America’s most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers in more than 150 countries, including all of the Fortune 500. A Dow 30 company with $111 billion in 2011 revenues, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of 184,500. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

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January 16, 2013 I Written By John

Filed Under: ARRA Certified EHR EHR Electronic Health Record Electronic Medical Record EMR Healthcare IT Meaningful Use Meaningful Use Stage 2

Tags:ANSI EHR Certification HHS ICSA Meaningful Use Stage 2 NVLAP ONC ONC-ACB Verizon

National eHealth Collaborative’s HIE Learning Network Makes Significant Progress in Finding Solutions to Some of the Toughest Issues Faced By Industry Today

Workgroups recommend a formula for HIE sustainability, a framework for measuring interoperability, bundles of high value/low cost HIE services and critical success factors for supporting new payment and delivery models

Washington, DC (November 28, 2012) – The National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) Health Information Exchange (HIE) Learning Network today presented a groundbreaking set of suggested solutions for some of the most challenging HIE issues at the inaugural Technology Crossroads Conference. These recommendations are the culmination of five months of work by a group of over 450 stakeholders.

“Health information exchange can improve healthcare quality and help to contain costs – something our health system is under enormous pressure to achieve. Progress is being made to bring successful widespread HIE and all of its benefits to providers and patients nationwide, but challenges remain. The NeHC HIE Learning Network has worked collaboratively to tackle tough issues and develop solutions that we hope will continue to advance HIE,” said NeHC CEO Kate Berry.

Created as a result of feedback from contributors to NeHC’s HIE Roadmap: The Landscape and a Path Forward, the NeHC HIE Learning Network launched in July 2012 by convening four workgroups: addressing variations in interoperability standards, phasing and prioritizing implementation of HIE services, HIE functions to support new payment and delivery models, and business models for sustainability. An expert team of co-chairs led each of the workgroups, with overall strategic direction provided by an extraordinary group of national and regional health IT thought leaders.

“It has been eye-opening to serve on the NeHC HIE Learning Network Leadership Council and to see the dialogue and workgroups progress,” said Laura Adams, CEO, Rhode Island Quality Institute and member of the NeHC HIE Learning Network Leadership Council. “HIE is an important function to enable improvements in healthcare outcomes and this work will help us continue to make progress in the right direction.”

The Business Models for Financial Sustainability workgroup conducted an in-depth study of the financial performance of HIE initiatives to identify and recommend strategies that can lead to financial sustainability. The workgroup gathered detailed financial information from HIE initiatives serving 38 million people, produced an income statement representing the current financial position of the HIE community and compared a group of HIE initiatives that are currently profitable to those that are currently unprofitable. The average profitable HIE realized a higher revenue from operations per capita due to a more aggressive pricing strategy, greater market share/penetration, and higher investment in product development. The workgroup was able to define the magnitude of the “sustainability gap” and develop recommendations for how to address it.

“We read and hear frequently that HIEs lack a sustainable business model and are failing. The Sustainability workgroup collected and analyzed HIE financial information and can state with confidence that it is premature to conclude that health information exchange is ultimately doomed. Based on this groundbreaking work, we know the level of revenue and investment at which HIE sustainability should be achievable. Further, it is clear that some HIEs are progressing toward sustainability,” said Jeff Rose, Venture Partner, ICG Group, Inc. and Co-Chair, NeHC HIE Learning Network workgroup on Business Models for Financial Sustainability.

Achieving interoperability between inter-related software systems in a way that does not require steep technical interface costs is also a major challenge. The NeHC HIE Learning Network workgroup on Addressing Variations in Implementation of Interoperability Standards reviewed current interoperability efforts, identified gaps, and recommends that the industry come together to develop consensus on a method for defining and measuring interoperability. The key conclusion was that doing so would ultimately lead to better coordinated efforts and accelerated progress in reaching the ideal state of interoperability.

“With the increased focus on HIE in Meaningful Use Stage 2 and potentially more in Stage 3, and an ever-increasing need to ‘do more with less,’ it is time to determine whether the standards and tools we have developed thus far are actually meeting interoperability objectives. There is much work being done in this area, but as an industry, we have yet to measure progress. If we do not start to measure, how will we know that we are truly moving forward in making a difference for our patients and providers?” said Richard Wang, Director, Product Marketing, RelayHealth and Co-Chair, NeHC HIE Learning Network workgroup on Addressing Variations in Implementation of Interoperability Standards.

The NeHC HIE Learning Network workgroup on Best Practices for Prioritizing and Phasing Implementation of HIE Services worked to identify options for how HIEs should prioritize and phase implementation of technology infrastructure and exchange services. The workgroup recommends that HIE organizations first clearly understand the needs of their community and consider whether a comprehensive set of HIE services is required. In communities that need a full set of HIE services, the workgroup recommends implementing a series of high value bundles of services built on the lightest possible technology infrastructure. In communities that may not need comprehensive services, the workgroup recommends possible niche strategies that fulfill a specific need, such as offering HIE services to support meaningful use, respond to a specific government or market requirement such as Social Security disability determinations or Veterans Administration benefits determinations, or support transitions of care.

“Depending on the needs of community stakeholders, HIE initiatives can do a lot or a little. But regardless of the strategy that best serves the community, offering high value, low cost services is critical to success. The recommendations of the workgroup on Prioritizing and Phasing Implementation of HIE Services are on point with WHIE’s philosophy to start simple, demonstrate value and then move forward,” said Kim Pemble, Executive Director, Wisconsin HIE (WHIE) and Co-Chair, NeHC HIE Learning Network workgroup on Best Practices for Prioritizing and Phasing Implementation of HIE Services.

Economic pressures, health reform, and a healthcare system that is transitioning from “pay for volume” to “pay for value” are driving the establishment of new payment and delivery models and HIE will be a critical foundation of these new models. The NeHC HIE Learning Network workgroup on HIE Functions to Support New Payment and Delivery Models recommends that in addition to providing basic, but critical, care coordination services (e.g. results delivery, continuity of care summaries, immunization reporting), HIEs should be prepared to provide analytic tools, including business intelligence and comparative analytics, and to develop the infrastructure necessary to perform quality reporting and referral processing. The workgroup has also outlined a set of characteristics and actions that are necessary for HIEs seeking to support new models. Some of these characteristics include a focus on providing timely, usable and valuable data that can drive decision making and behavior change; open, transparent and trustworthy governance that encourages competitors to share data; services that are patient-centered and easy for providers; and serving as a collaborator to bring together broad stakeholder groups involved in exchanging both clinical and non-clinical data to support whole patient care.

“HIE is a critical component to transform healthcare. New payment and delivery models are still evolving, as is the role of HIEs in supporting them. That said, the New Models workgroup believes HIEs can be an important enabler of healthcare transformation,” said Jeri Kirschner, Federal Health Liaison, Orion Health and Co-Chair, NeHC HIE Learning Network workgroup on HIE Functions to Support New Payment and Delivery Models.

In addition to the presentation of findings and recommendations at the HIE Learning Network symposium at the Technology Crossroads Conference, each NeHC HIE Learning Network workgroup has prepared a detailed whitepaper documenting their work, including the process, landscape, survey analysis, conclusions, recommendations and case study examples that bring the recommendations to life. These whitepapers will be released in conjunction with a deep dive webinar on the findings of the workgroups during the week of December 3, 2012. Additional information on this webinar will be available soon.

Specific information on each workgroup’s project scope, work plan, leadership and stakeholder participation is available on the NeHC website at http://www.nationalehealth.org/hie-learning-network/#workgroups.

About National eHealth Collaborative

National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) is a public-private partnership that accelerates secure and meaningful use of health IT through education and stakeholder engagement to advance health and transform healthcare. Through its NeHC University online education program, its Consumer Consortium on eHealth patient engagement initiative, and its ongoing study of critical success factors for health information exchange through the HIE Learning Network, NeHC works to educate, connect and encourage healthcare stakeholders in efforts to promote the successful deployment of health IT and health information exchange nationwide.

NeHC is a cooperative agreement partner with the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC).

About the NeHC HIE Learning Network

The NeHC Health Information Exchange (HIE) Learning Network is a group convened by National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) to collaboratively develop and recommend solutions for some of the biggest challenges faced by those implementing electronic health information exchange. Born out of feedback from expert contributors to NeHC’s HIE Roadmap: The Landscape and a Path Forward (released in April 2012), NeHC kicked off the HIE Learning Network in July 2012.

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December 20, 2012 I Written By David

Filed Under: Healthcare Healthcare Interoperability Healthcare IT Healthcare IT Consulting Meaningful Use Stage 2

Tags:Business Models for Financial Sustainability Health Information Exchange Learning Network HIE Sustainability Meaningful Use Stage 2 National eHealth Collaborative Technology Crossroads Conference

National eHealth Collaborative Releases the Patient Engagement Framework

Culmination of a collaborative project of the Consumer Consortium on eHealth

Washington, DC (November 19, 2012) – National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) today hosted a webinar to release the much-anticipated Patient Engagement Framework, a model created to guide healthcare organizations in developing and strengthening their patient engagement strategies through the use of eHealth tools and resources. The Framework is the result of several months of collaboration and iteration with many interested stakeholders.

“We hope this Patient Engagement Framework will be a useful resource for healthcare organizations,” said NeHC CEO Kate Berry. “We are at a critical moment when patient engagement is becoming increasingly important given the movement toward meaningful use and accountable care. We as individuals should be more engaged in managing and improving our own health. This Framework is intended as a guide organizations can aspire to as they move in this direction.”

The Patient Engagement Framework outlines several attributes of organizations that successfully engage and support patients, and ultimately their communities, in their care. The Framework provides a series of phases to show the progression from a provider-centric model to one that is truly patient-centered. The phases of the Framework include inform me, engage me, empower me, partner with me, and support my community. Within these phases, the Framework is organized to build on an organization’s capabilities including information and way-finding, e-tools, forms and patient education, patient access to their information, patient role in generating their information, and patient role in the care team.

“The patient is the point of health information, and a framework for systematically keeping the patient’s interests at the center of health information technology helps us move toward higher-performance, higher-value healthcare,” said Dr. Jon Perlin, CMO and President of Clinical Services at the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA). “This is a great way for healthcare to measure how prepared they are for patient engagement.”

The Framework took into consideration several existing resources and patient engagement measures, including those required by meaningful use Stage 1 and Stage 2. More than 100 individuals from across the healthcare, patient engagement, and behavioral science fields reviewed and provided input on the Framework. Since January, the Framework has circulated among several groups, including the Partnership for Women and Families, The Foundation for Informed Decision Making, Healthwise employees and advisors, the Long Term Post Acute Care Association, members of HL7, members of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) Health IT Standards and Policy Committees, and members of the Consumer Consortium on eHealth. NeHC thanks Leslie Kelly Hall, Senior Vice President of Policy at Healthwise and a member of the Consumer Consortium Steering Committee for her extraordinary leadership in this effort.

“It was important that we create a tool that could be adapted to a variety of care settings and be a practical guide for organizations really trying to strengthen their patient engagement strategies,” said Leslie Kelly Hall, SVP of Policy for Healthwise and NeHC Board member. “Each time we reviewed the Framework with a group we incorporated feedback and refined our final product. The entire process was a great learning experience and brought us closer to understanding the needs of many communities in trying to effectively engage patients by using health IT. We recognize that the Framework will continue to be refined.”

The Patient Engagement Framework is available for download at www.nationalehealth.org/patient-engagement-framework. To view the slides or download the recording from the release webinar, visit www.nationalehealth.org/frameworkrelease (recording will be posted within 24 hours of this release).

To provide a concrete tool for organizations to assess their status of consumer engagement efforts and to make progress on implementing the Patient Engagement Framework, NeHC in partnership with HealthCAWS® will soon be releasing an online assessment and supporting tools. The NeHC eHealth Consumer Engagement Organizational Assessment is a business intelligence tool mapped to the concepts and recommendations of the Framework. The Consumer Engagement Organizational Assessment is designed to provide customized progress reports and guidance for improving consumer engagement strategies. In addition to progress reports to help organizations assess where they are along the Framework and opportunities for improvement, the online tool provides a directory of consumer engagement resources and eHealth solutions.

To learn more about the NeHC eHealth Consumer Engagement Organizational Assessment, please contact Jenna Bramble at jbramble@nationalehealth.org.

About National eHealth Collaborative

National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) is a public-private partnership focused on accelerating progress toward widespread, secure and interoperable nationwide health information exchange to improve health and healthcare. NeHC’s neutrality and diverse multi-stakeholder participation provides a unique platform for collaboration. NeHC educates, connects, and encourages healthcare stakeholders to advance health information technology and health information exchange (HIE) nationwide through its NeHC University web-based education program, its Consumer Consortium on eHealth and its HIE Learning Network.

National eHealth Collaborative is a cooperative agreement partner of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

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November 27, 2012 I Written By David

Filed Under: Healthcare Healthcare Executives Healthcare IT Meaningful Use Stage 2

Tags:Consumer Consortium on eHealth eHealth Tools Meaningful Use Stage 2 National eHealth Collaborative Patient Engagement Patient Engagement Framework

Huntington Memorial Hospital Selects iConnect(R) for Community-Wide Image Interoperability

Solutions Provide Anywhere, Any Time Access to Images and Enterprise-Wide Image Archive

CHICAGO, Nov. 19, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Merge Healthcare Incorporated (Nasdaq:MRGE), a leading provider of clinical systems and innovations that seek to transform healthcare, today announced that Huntington Memorial Hospital, a 625-bed, not-for-profit community-focused regional medical center, has selected Merge PACS™ and the entire iConnect® Enterprise Clinical Platform to image-enable both their hospital inpatient EHR as well as their community health information exchange, Huntington Health eConnect.

“Our mission Right Care, Right Place, Right Time requires getting the right information in the right hands and on the right device including patient images,” explained Rebecca Armato, Executive Director, Physician and Interoperability Services at Huntington Hospital. “This is just another example of our continued investment to improve the health of our community and continues our vision of creating a connected, collaborative community of care by providing a consolidated, comprehensive view of patient care to their caregivers regardless of technology or EHR. Merge’s iConnect Enterprise Clinical Platform and Merge PACS solutions will act as the foundation for viewing images and will have a positive impact on patient care.”

“The goal of our Imaging Department is to become a fully clinically integrated program with our community of providers. This system is one of the first of many steps that will help us to archive and we are very excited,” explained Donna Townsend, Executive Director Cardiovascular, Gastroenterology and Imaging Services, Huntington Hospital.

“In addition, our enterprise-wide approach will ensure a seamless workflow and immediate access via a single viewer to all prior exams for our partners, The Hill Medical Corporation, where nineteen radiologists provide comprehensive outpatient radiology services in three state-of-the-art imaging centers,” Armato added.

“Now that Meaningful Use Stage 2 rules include image-enabling the EHR as a menu set measure, leading organizations like Huntington Hospital are looking to quickly and easily image-enable their enterprises for compliance,” added Jeff Surges, CEO, Merge Healthcare. “Now the 2,000+ physicians and caregivers in the San Gabriel Valley who connect to Huntington Health eConnect will be able to access images regardless of EMR or technology they utilize.”

Merge’s iConnect Enterprise Clinical Platform is the industry’s only comprehensive solution for collecting, archiving, viewing, sharing and exchanging any type of image, anywhere, any time. It includes iConnect® Access*, a zero-download DICOM image and XDS server, iConnect® Share, a gateway for image sharing across the enterprise and iConnect® Enterprise Archive, a vendor-neutral archive to create an enterprise imaging strategy. It works with existing applications, leveraging widely-used web and healthcare technology standards, to provide a vendor neutral interoperable environment.

A recent InMedica study reported iConnect Enterprise Archive as the world’s #1 vendor-neutral archive. As the industry’s first true standalone vendor-neutral archive, it has been successfully integrated with over seventy-five PACS vendors and specialty workstations at over 350 sites across the United States. In over half of the implementations, Merge’s customers have integrated third-party PACS systems with iConnect Enterprise Archive.

Merge PACS, a real-time picture archiving communication system, enhances clinical, operational and administrative functions with an approach that emphasizes workflow efficiency and customer satisfaction. Its modular design allows for easy integration with a broad range of third-party systems.

*iConnect Access is not FDA-cleared for diagnostic use on mobile devices.

About Merge Healthcare

Merge is a leading provider of clinical systems and innovations that seek to transform healthcare. Merge’s enterprise and cloud-based solutions for image intensive specialties provide access to any image, anywhere, any time. Merge also provides health stations, clinical trials software and other health data and analytics solutions that engage consumers in their personal health. With solutions that are used by providers and consumers and include more than 20 years of innovation, Merge is helping to reduce costs and improve the quality of healthcare worldwide. For more information, visit merge.com.

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November 26, 2012 I Written By David

Filed Under: Healthcare Healthcare IT Meaningful Use Stage 2 PACS

Tags:Enterprise-Wide Image Archive Huntington Health eConnect Huntington Memorial Hospital iConnect Enterprise Clinical Platform Image Enabled EHR Meaningful Use Stage 2 Rules Merge Healthcare Merge PACS

Summit Radiology Associates Selects Merge for End-to-End Radiology Solutions

Full Suite of Applications Provides Scalability and Path to Meaningful Use

CHICAGO, Nov. 8, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Merge Healthcare Incorporated (Nasdaq:MRGE), a leading provider of clinical systems and innovations that seek to transform healthcare, today announced that Summit Radiology Associates, a multi-site practice, will implement Merge’s end-to-end suite of Radiology Solutions to improve workflow and achieve Meaningful Use.

“Summit Radiology Associates interprets studies for three sites: a busy hospital, a large multi-specialty practice, and a free-standing imaging center in Westfield, New Jersey,” explained Dr. Amir Salomon, President, Summit Radiology Associates. “With the growing complexity of healthcare, we sought a system that would increase our efficiency and enhance our workflow. We needed a vendor whose solutions could quickly and easily scale to fit our growing needs. In Merge, we found an innovative partner at the forefront of the field offering a comprehensive suite of solutions.”

“Additionally, by selecting the latest version of Merge’s end-to-end Radiology Solutions, we will be well positioned to pursue Meaningful Use for many of our radiologists,” added Marisol Ortiz, Business Manager, Summit Radiology Associates. “This will enable us to receive Meaningful Use incentive payments over the next four years and avoid future penalties.”

“Meaningful Use is the basis for health information exchange in the U.S. and our goal at Merge is to help make it easy for specialists to qualify for incentives and realize the true benefits of the program,” said Jeff Surges, CEO of Merge Healthcare. “With the recently announced Stage Two requirements that focus heavily on the viewing of diagnostic images, it’s clear that specialties like radiology are very much included in Meaningful Use. Now is the time for specialty physicians to adopt a Meaningful Use strategy so they can qualify for Stage One funding, while preparing for Stage Two.”

Merge Radiology Solutions include Merge RIS^TM, a web-based radiology information system that streamlines workflow and enables providers to meet Meaningful Use criteria; Merge PACS^TM, a real-time picture archiving communication system that provides storage and access to images from any enterprise web-based location; Merge Financials^TM, a comprehensive billing system; Merge Documents^TM, a paperless office solution to store and manage documents electronically; Merge Referral Portal^TM, a web-based portal to engage referring physicians; and Merge Dashboards^TM, an on-demand business intelligence solution.

About Merge

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November 21, 2012 I Written By David

Filed Under: Healthcare Healthcare IT HIE Meaningful Use Meaningful Use Stage 2 Medical Imaging Radiology

Tags:Health Information Exchange Meaningful Use Merge Healthcare Radiology Solutions Stage Two Requirements Summit Radiology Associates

Erie County Medical Center Selects iCONNECT(R) for Enterprise-Wide Image Interoperabilty

Solutions Provide Anywhere, Any Time Access to Images and Enterprise-Wide Image Archive

CHICAGO, Nov. 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Merge Healthcare Incorporated (Nasdaq:MRGE), a leading provider of clinical systems and innovations that seek to transform healthcare, today announced that Erie Country Medical Center (ECMC) has selected Merge Healthcare’s iConnect® Enterprise Archive and iConnect® Access to provide real-time access to images and information.

“Our enterprise-wide imaging strategy builds on our longtime relationship with Merge and will extend our image sharing and interoperability capabilities across our entire health system,” said Leslie Feidt, CIO, ECMC. “We believe this approach will deliver real return as we eliminate departmental silos, improve workflow for our physicians and, ultimately, enhance patient care with anywhere, any time access to images.”

“Now that Meaningful Use Stage 2 rules include image-enabling the EHR as a menu set measure, customers like ECMC are looking to quickly and easily image-enable their EHR and entire enterprise,” added Jeff Surges, CEO, Merge Healthcare. “Now ECMC physicians, regardless of specialty and affiliation, will have access to images for enhanced patient care directly via their MEDITECH electronic health record.”

Merge’s iConnect® Enterprise Clinical Platform is the industry’s only comprehensive solution for collecting, archiving, viewing, sharing and exchanging any type of image, anywhere, any time. It includes iConnect Access*, a zero-download DICOM image and XDS server, iConnect Share, a gateway for image sharing across the enterprise and iConnect Enterprise Archive, a vendor-neutral archive to create an enterprise imaging strategy. It works with existing applications, leveraging widely-used web and healthcare technology standards, to provide a vendor neutral interoperable environment.

Merge’s iConnect Enterprise Archive is the number one vendor neutral archive in the world and has been successfully integrated with over seventy-five PACS vendors and specialty workstations at over 350 sites across the United States. In over half of iConnect Enterprise Archive implementations, Merge’s customers have integrated third-party PACS systems.

*iConnect Access is not FDA-cleared for diagnostic use on mobile devices.

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November 20, 2012 I Written By David

Filed Under: EHR Healthcare Healthcare IT Meaningful Use Stage 2 Medical Imaging

Tags:EHR Image Enabling Erie Country Medical Center iConnect Access iConnect Enterprise Archive Meaningful Use Stage 2 Meditech Merge Healthcare Merge iConnect Enterprise Archive

Coosa Valley Medical Center Selects Merge’s iConnect(R) Enterprise Clinical Platform

Also Upgrades to Merge PACS to Improve Workflow

CHICAGO, Nov. 6, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Merge Healthcare Incorporated (Nasdaq:MRGE), a leading provider of clinical systems and innovations that seek to transform healthcare, today announced Coosa Valley Medical Center(CVMC), an independent, community, non-profit medical center that serves five counties in Alabama, has selected Merge PACS^TM to upgrade their existing PACS, iConnect® Access to provide real-time access to images and iConnect® Enterprise Archive to further expand their enterprise imaging strategy.

“As a long-time Merge client, we were excited to move forward with the latest versions of both Merge PACS and iConnect Enterprise Archive,” explained Amy Price, COO, CVMC. “We not only upgraded to the latest releases of those two products, but also added iConnect Access to provide referring physicians with access to patients’ images anywhere, any time. We believe this approach to an enterprise-wide imaging strategy will deliver substantial workflow efficiencies for our physicians.”

“Additionally, by upgrading to Merge PACS, radiologists will now be able to access a full suite of mammography tools from one workstation,” noted Andy Gill, Director of Imaging and CV Services, CVMC. “This will allow us to consolidate workstations and ultimately allow for faster diagnoses.”

“With Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements focusing heavily on the viewing of diagnostic images, health systems of every size need to look at how to image-enable their enterprise,” said Jeff Surges, CEO of Merge Healthcare. “By implementing an enterprise-wide imaging strategy, CVMC will be well-positioned to address information exchange, changing payment models and future regulatory requirements as they relate to the sharing of images.”

iConnect Enterprise Archive and iConnect Access are part of the iConnect® Enterprise Clinical Platform, Merge’s comprehensive offering for viewing, sharing and archiving any type of image, anywhere, any time. It also includes iConnect® Share, an internet-based gateway for image sharing between enterprises. With current trends in patient safety and healthcare reform as well as competition for referring physicians, the need for image sharing across the enterprise is more critical than ever.

A recent InMedica study reported iConnect Enterprise Archive as the world’s #1 market share vendor-neutral archive. As the industry’s first true standalone vendor-neutral archive, it has been successfully integrated with over seventy-five PACS vendors and specialty workstations at over 350 sites across the United States. In over half of the implementations, Merge’s customers have integrated third-party PACS systems with iConnect Enterprise Archive.

About Merge