Meaningful Use | 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

Leading Healthcare IT Solutions Firm Sees Dramatic Increase in Outsourced Helpdesk Utilization

CareTech Solutions reports 75% spike in use of Service Desk™ in 2012; cites EHR learning curve and diversion of IT resources to strategic initiatives as likely causes

(TROY, Mich., Jan. 31, 2013) CareTech Solutions, an information technology (IT) and Web products and services provider for more than 200 hospitals, today announced that use of its Service Desk service increased by 75% in 2012. This industry-leading clinical help desk solution provides real-time IT support to clinicians and other staff from support analysts that are trained on all major hospital clinical and business information systems.

CareTech added five new Service Desk clients in 2012 with the most recent being Boulder Community Hospital and New York Hospital Queens. The company attributes the increase in utilization to a combination of clinicians coping with a steep learning curve related to the adoption of new electronic health records (EHR) and other clinical systems, and the fact that IT resources are increasingly being deployed to a growing list of strategic initiatives, including implementing and integrating new clinical systems (including EHRs), connecting to community HIEs, security enhancements driven by regulatory changes ICD-10 and more.

“Today’s IT departments are overwhelmed with overseeing implementations of EHRs and other electronic systems; and the demands of initiatives like ICD-10, Meaningful Use and audit compliance only increase their workload,” said Jim Giordano, president and CEO, CareTech Solutions. “This has created a perfect storm where there is more technology being implemented than can be supported by in-house resources, and more demand than ever for support and fewer resources available to provide it. The fact that our teams are up to speed with the latest systems and requirements has driven the demand for our services through the roof in the last year.”

CareTech introduced Service Desk in 2008 in response to an industry need for highly-specialized help desk support. As organizations continue to transition to an increasingly electronic healthcare environment, fostered by government regulations like the HITECH Act and Meaningful Use, seamless IT adoption depends on a high level of rapid, responsive support. CareTech’s trained analysts provide value to clinicians and hospital staff by making it easier to use these technologies in order to provide quality, compliant patient care.

“Clinician support calls have definitely increased and are more involved at our organization since the implementation of our EHR system last year,” said Linda Minghella, CIO, Boulder Community Hospital. “CareTech’s team is familiar with all the systems we use, is well trained as support professionals, and they are getting our clinicians back to treating patients faster and more efficiently than we ever could.”

Features of CareTech Solutions Service Desk include:
• Trained and certified support analysts based in the U.S. and available 24x7x365
• Scalable operation (500 to 20,000 calls per hospital per month)
• Knowledge management
• Comprehensive implementation
• Performance metrics tracking and reporting
• Trend analysis to understand problems and reduce call volumes
• Proactive infrastructure and applications monitoring
• Physician-only hotline

About CareTech Solutions
CareTech Solutions is an information technology (IT) and Web products and services provider for more than 200 U.S. hospitals and health systems, creating value for clients through customized IT solutions that contribute to improving patient care while lowering healthcare costs. From implementing emerging technologies to supporting day-to-day IT operations, CareTech offers clients expert health information technology services earning it the 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 Best in KLAS award for IT Outsourcing (Extensive) and 2012 partial outsourcing as ranked by healthcare executives and professionals in the respective annual Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Services” report.

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February 8, 2013 I Written By John

Filed Under: EMR Healthcare Healthcare IT HIE Hospital IT ICD-10 Meaningful Use

Tags:Boulder Community Hospital CareTech CareTech Solutions EHR Electronic Health Records HIE HITECH Act ICD-10 information technology Jim Giordano Linda Minghella Meaningful Use New York Hospital Queens Service Desk

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

HIMSS13: New Offerings and Programming for Health IT Professionals

Enhancing the In-Person and Virtual Experience, HIMSS Unveils Several New Conference Features Focusing on Industry Trends Including Meaningful Use and Mobile Health

CHICAGO – January 24, 2013 – HIMSS, the cause-based organization devoted to improving healthcare delivery through health IT, today announced new programming and educational offerings that will be part of the 2013 Annual HIMSS Conference &Exhibition (HIMSS13) in New Orleans from March 3-7. This year’s latest offerings will be infused throughout the education sessions, exhibit hall programming and live-streaming sessions to provide attendees with the latest health IT content and enhanced networking opportunities.

“We are at the pivotal moment in healthcare we’ve all been waiting for,” said Carla Smith, Executive Vice President, HIMSS. “Technology mandates and quality healthcare have finally come together in a way that we’ve never seen before, and in response, we’ve created specific content around the coming trends in 2013, with a particular focus on meaningful use, mobile health and consumer engagement.”

For example, the Meaningful Use Experience is a special interactive area on the exhibit floor for providers to view demonstrations of certified EHR solutions – including complete EHR and EHR modules for acute and ambulatory settings. Providers will have the unique opportunity to view these solutions side-by-side, listen to vendor presentations and evaluate products based on their specific needs in a credible setting.

Additional new programming for HIMSS13 includes:

· Expanded Workshop Program – As part of educational offerings, HIMSS has added hands-on sessions around the mHIMSS Roadmap, Clinical Workflow Analysis, Health IT Adoption and Mobile App Development
· HIMSS13 Online – Registered attendees can access six on-demand sessions and 12 e-sessions; interviews with top speakers, broadcast live
· The Patient Experience through HIT Forum – Features three new sessions dedicated to the value of enhancing the patient experience
· Top 25 Education Sessions Roundtable Forum
· Clinical & Business Intelligence Symposium
· Extended Learning Webinars and Events
· Global Health Forum
· Public Policy Events and Educational Sessions

HIMSS13 keynote speakers will include President Bill Clinton, Warner L. Thomas, Eric J. Topol, M.D., Karl Rove and James Carville.

With over 300-plus general education sessions and networking events, attendees will also have many, outstanding opportunities to earn continuing education credit at HIMSS13. This year, the Certified Associate in Health Information and Management Systems (CAHIMS) has been added to the certification list. HIMSS13 will also be expanding ways to access these materials as well via its new virtual offering: HIMSS13 Online.

“Quality education comprises a majority of the conference agenda, and to make that programming more accessible, we are offering HIMSS13 Online,” said JoAnn Klinedinst, vice president, professional development, HIMSS. “Due to budget and staffing realities, we understand that many health IT professionals cannot join us in New Orleans. For them, HIMSS13 Online offers conference access – anywhere, anytime – allowing registered attendees to participate virtually in on-demand learning, interact with exhibitors in the virtual setting, and attend selected live simulcast sessions.”

For more information regarding the conference and for a full description of all the latest updates, please the conference website at www.himssconference.org.

About HIMSS

HIMSS is a cause-based, not-for-profit organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded 52 years ago, HIMSS and its related organizations are headquartered in Chicago with additional offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. HIMSS represents nearly 50,000 individual members, of which more than two thirds work in healthcare provider, governmental and not-for-profit organizations. HIMSS also includes over 570 corporate members and more than 225 not-for-profit partner organizations that share our mission of transforming healthcare through the effective use of information technology and management systems. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare practices and public policy through its content expertise, professional development, research initiatives, and media vehicles designed to promote information and management systems’ contributions to improving the quality, safety, access, and cost-effectiveness of patient care. To learn more about HIMSS and to find out how to join us and our members in advancing our cause, please visit our website at www.himss.org.

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I Written By John

Filed Under: EHR Electronic Health Record Electronic Medical Record EMR Healthcare Healthcare Communication Healthcare Conferences Healthcare IT HIE Hospital IT Meaningful Use mHealth Mobile Health

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

CalHIPSO Partners with CleraDATA to Provide HIPAA-Compliant Cloud Hosting & Security Services to its Members

Phoenix, AZ, January 10, 2012 – - ClearDATA Networks, Inc., the leading healthcare cloud computing platform and service provider, today announced that it has signed an agreement with CalHIPSO, the largest federally designated Regional Extension Center in the United States. Under the agreement, ClearDATA will offer HIPAA-compliant cloud hosting, offsite backup, disaster recovery, and HIPAA privacy and security services to health care providers in California, including CalHIPSO’s membership of over 8,500 providers in 56 counties throughout California.

“Reducing IT costs, improving system reliability, and ensuring security and privacy of patient information is critically important to all healthcare providers and organizations,” said Speranza Avram, CalHIPSO CEO. “Partnering with ClearDATA for its cloud computing solutions and HIPAA security services provides an excellent resource for our members to increase their operational efficiency and meet regulatory compliance requirements.”

“CalHIPSO is generating impressive results helping its members achieve Meaningful Use via the adoption of Electronic Health Record software and improved HIPAA security practices,” said Darin Brannan, president and CEO of ClearDATA Networks, Inc. “ClearDATA is proud to partner with a national leader such as CalHIPSO, and to offer its members a full selection of HIPAA-compliant solutions and services.”

ClearDATA is 100% focused on providing healthcare cloud computing services to the healthcare industry, and no other industry. Its team of cloud computing and healthcare IT experts help providers in small, medium, and large healthcare organizations to achieve Meaningful Use, reduce IT costs, improve productivity, and ensure regulatory compliance.

About CalHIPSO

CalHIPSO is a not-for-profit organization founded by the California Primary Care Association (CPCA), the California Medical Association (CMA) and the California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems (CAPH). As one of 62 federally designated Regional Extension Centers (REC), CalHIPSO helps California clinicians navigate the complicated world of electronic health record adoption and meaningful use by providing technical services at no cost to eligible providers and competitively priced Health eServices to specialists and other clinicians. CalHIPSO is the largest regional extension center in the country, with more than 8,500 provider members working in community clinics, rural hospitals and clinics, small and solo private practices and public hospitals. Visit www.calhipso.org for more information

About ClearDATA Networks, Inc.
ClearDATA Networks, Inc. is the market leader for cloud computing and information security services for healthcare providers, software vendors and VARs, and 100% dedicated to the healthcare field. ClearDATA’s services enable providers to fully automate and securely manage healthcare medical records, applications, IT infrastructure and digital storage. The company provides HITECH HIPAA-compliant cloud infrastructure and managed cloud services, offsite backup and disaster recovery, medical image archiving, healthcare information security and world-class support. The company also offers HIPAA Security Risk and Remediation services to hospitals and providers in order to ensure that they meet the rigorous standards of HIPAA security required for protected health information to demonstrate Meaningful Use and to ensure a highly secure environment prior to enabling a HealthDATA Cloud platform installation. For more information, call 602-635-4000, email: sales@)cleardata.net or visit: http://www.cleardata.net.

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February 1, 2013 I Written By John

Filed Under: EHR EMR Healthcare Healthcare IT Meaningful Use

Tags:CalHIPSO California Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems California Medical Association California Primary Care Association CAPH CleraDATA CMA CPCA Darin Brannan Electronic Health Record software Healthcare Cloud Computing Platform and Service Provider HIPAA HIPAA-Compliant Cloud Hosting Meaningful Use REC Regional Extension Centers Security Services software vendors Speranza Avram

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

Presenting the New NeHC CeRT- the Consumer eHealth Readiness Tool

In partnership with HealthCAWS, National eHealth Collaborative launches online assessment to measure progress in consumer engagement

Washington, DC (November 27, 2012) – Last week, National eHealth Collaborative (NeHC) released its NeHC Patient Engagement Framework to great fanfare. Today, NeHC announces the launch of an affiliated online assessment tool that truly brings the Framework to life. The NeHC Consumer eHealth Readiness Tool (CeRT) offers an extensive organizational evaluation tool, real-time progress reports and a comprehensive resource library designed to gauge the strength of organizations’ patient engagement activities and help them prioritize their improvement strategies.

“The NeHC CeRT is a concrete resource created to help healthcare organizations measure and grow their patient engagement strategies,” said NeHC CEO Kate Berry. “We hope the Patient Engagement Framework in combination with the NeHC CeRT will raise visibility and build awareness for the importance of consumer engagement and help the industry make progress in this direction. We are pleased to work with HealthCAWS to bring this tool to the market.”

The NeHC CeRT is a cost-effective business intelligence solution for organizations seeking help to accelerate their consumer engagement efforts. The NeHC CeRT provides a structure and support for organizations to measure their progress over time and its helpful resource library will stimulate the development of creative new initiatives. This tool will benefit a wide variety of stakeholder organizations, including health systems, provider groups, hospitals, health plans, health information exchanges, regional extension centers and others interested in using eHealth to improve their connection with patients.

Increasing consumer engagement is a strategic move that cultivates consumer loyalty and increases an organization’s competitive advantage in addition to improving health outcomes. It can also be profitable. On top of being mapped to the phases of the NeHC Patient Engagement Framework, the NeHC CeRT is also aligned with Meaningful Use consumer engagement criteria and several accountable care incentive programs.

“It has been exciting to work with the NeHC team and their many colleagues to advance consumer engagement in eHealth,” said Rose Maljanian, founder and CEO of HealthCAWS. “Dr. Farzad Mostashari, National Coordinator for Health IT, said it best when he commented at a recent meeting that ‘consumer engagement is the blockbuster drug of the century.’ As an industry, we need to focus our resources on programs and tools that encourage our patients to maintain their personal best health, avoid unnecessary care and partner closely with their providers to achieve the best possible outcomes.”

NeHC and HealthCAWS thanks the many industry experts who provided feedback on the tool during the validation process:

Kelly Faley, Vice President, Web Strategies, Sharp HealthCare
Randy Farmer, Provider Relations Director, Delaware Health Information Network
Elizabeth McKnight, Health Informatics Specialist, Alliance of Chicago
Dexter Shurney, MD, MBA, MPH, Medical Director, Employee Health Plan, Vanderbilt University

The NeHC Consumer eHealth Readiness Tool will debut at the Technology Crossroads Conference this week in Washington, DC. For more information about the NeHC CeRT, please visit www.nationalehealth.org/CeRT or 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.

About HealthCAWS

HealthCAWS is a health care services company focused exclusively on helping payer, population health and delivery system clients improve health and reduce health care costs. By Combining Accountability With Support in an adaptable technology Platform, HealthCAWS mobilizes consumers and providers in a unified effort to achieve the common goal of high quality, affordable care – “the CAWS™.”

About the NeHC Consumer eHealth Readiness Tool (CeRT)

The NeHC Consumer eHealth Readiness Tool (CeRT) is an online business intelligence service that measures a healthcare organization’s consumer engagement capabilities and practices through a survey that addresses four Progressive Consumer Engagement Dimensions, as well as technology, infrastructure, culture and outcomes measurement. The CeRT provides real-time progress reports and customized feedback that ties to a comprehensive resource center. The CeRT is mapped to Meaningful Use criteria and the NeHC Patient Engagement Framework.

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December 5, 2012 I Written By David

Filed Under: Healthcare Healthcare Interoperability Healthcare IT Meaningful Use

Tags:Consumer eHealth Readiness Tool Consumer Engagement HealthCAWS Meaningful Use National eHealth Collaborative NeHC CeRT NeHC Patient Engagement Framework

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

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 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

Merge to Unveil Mobile and Internet Platform for Patients at RSNA

Solutions to Demonstrate How Enterprise Imaging Solutions Support Achieving Meaningful Use Objectives

CHICAGO, Nov. 15, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Merge Healthcare Incorporated (Nasdaq:MRGE), a leading provider of clinical systems and innovations that seek to transform healthcare, will unveil a national mobile and internet platform for consumers and demonstrate how enterprise imaging solutions support achieving Meaningful Use objectives at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in booth #4845.

Merge is showcasing a new mobile and Internet platform for consumers to select a radiologist, schedule an appointment and receive results electronically. The platform will also feature:

A mobile app for referring physicians to send patients to recommended imaging centers
A website for consumers to complete pre-work and schedule appointments
A cloud-based portal for imaging centers to share results with referring physicians and patients
Analytics for practices to maximize throughput

“We are proud of the fact that in 2011, 82 million imaging procedures were referred to current Merge customers,” said Jeff Surges, CEO of Merge Healthcare. “Our goal with this new platform is to help close the loop between a referral and a patient receiving results while at the same time enabling our customers to grow their businesses to deliver the best patient care.”

This mobile and Internet platform will be available in early 2013 and will become the new merge.com. Users will be able to sign up at RSNA and will be notified once the portal is live.

Merge Accelerates Move to the Cloud with Merge Honeycomb™

Introduced last year at RSNA, Merge Honeycomb has seen rapid adoption with more than 3.3 million studies under contract in the cloud-based archive. Merge Honeycomb cloud-based applications are designed to help healthcare stakeholders collaborate and improve the delivery of care while reducing costs. The applications currently available via Merge Honeycomb include:

Merge Honeycomb™ Archive: Store medical images securely in the cloud and access them from anywhere, any time
Merge Honeycomb™ Image Sharing: Free application that enables any user to upload, download, view and share medical images

“Image management in healthcare is very much in a state of reform, with HIPAA requiring providers to keep retrievable exact copies of health information including images and Meaningful Use requiring that information is sharable,” said Surges. “With our expertise developed from more than 20 years of managing medical images and leading technology, Merge is uniquely positioned to deliver a secure, efficient and accessible solution for archiving images in the cloud.”

Merge Showcases the Latest in Enterprise-Wide Image Interoperability with iConnect®

Merge’s iConnect® Enterprise Clinical Platform is a suite of image interoperability solutions that improve workflow, reduce care delays and lower costs by enabling access to any image, anywhere, at any time, on any device. iConnect supports an enterprise-wide imaging strategy by providing access to medical images from any approved web-enabled device and facilitates the sharing of images between referring centers without the need for additional equipment or software. Components include:

iConnect® Access: A zero-download image viewer
iConnect® Share: An Internet-gateway capable of receiving and morphing studies from outside the enterprise, allowing for prompt electronic transfer of images
iConnect® Enterprise Archive: A vendor-neutral archive (VNA) to create a patient-centric record of images across all sites and modalities, enabling physicians to manage content from disparate storage solutions

“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,” continued Surges. “We’ve listened closely to clients such as Children’s Memorial, Ascension Health and Dignity Health, and have incorporated features that will significantly improve ease of use, reduce storage costs and streamline operational workflow.”

Merge Radiology Clients to Receive More than $14 Million in Incentive Funds in 2012

To date, more than 50 clients have already attested or are in the attestation process using the web-based, feature-rich Merge RIS^™ solution. Merge RIS is used by hundreds of ambulatory care practices, imaging centers and radiology group practices to improve profitability and provide radiologists with the capability to capture and report on the metrics required to demonstrate “meaningful use” of electronic health records.

“With more than 90% of radiologists able to qualify for Meaningful Use incentives, it is essential that they develop a strategy to meet criteria, earn incentive funds and more importantly, avoid future penalties,” said Surges. “In fact, Merge clients have already received $3.1 million in Meaningful Use incentive dollars with an additional $10.9 million expected by the end of the year. This is powerful proof that Meaningful Use is relevant to radiology and that Merge solutions can help them successfully navigate the attestation process.”

Merge RIS provides the functionality needed to achieve Meaningful Use requirements, including:

Data collection: Gather mandated patient data intuitively within your preferred workflow
Reporting: Access pre-configured, easy-to-use reports to assist with Meaningful Use data submission
Patient portal: Provide patients with clinical summaries, electronic copies of their health information, educational information, reminders and more
ePrescribing: Qualify for reimbursement and deliver added value to patients

Merge Highlights Best in KLAS Cardiology Solutions

Merge Hemo™, a real-time documentation tool for the cardiac cath lab, was ranked #1 in KLAS in 2011. Merge Cardio™ provides a single view of a patient’s complete record across all cardiology modalities. Combined, these solutions allow access to simplified reporting tools and integration with the industry’s largest health information systems and EHRs for interoperable image exchange.

“Busy healthcare professionals don’t have time to jump between systems to locate critical patient data and images,” continued Surges. “Merge cardiology solutions allow for a single point of access from any web-enabled location to create reports more efficiently, improve workflow and help build referral business.”

Merge Demonstrates Latest Version of Merge PACS™

At RSNA Merge will be showcasing the most recent version of Merge PACS, a real-time picture archiving communication system that 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.

“With Merge PACS, radiologists can accelerate workflow, enabling them to operate with fewer resources,” said Surges. “And the ability to quickly and easily communicate and document results with referring physicians improves treatment time and helps expand referral networks.”

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