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Study Shows Personal Health Records (PHRs) Lead to Improved Health and Engagement for Seniors with Coronary Diseases

Fort Wayne, Ind. – April 10, 2013 – Often considered a population “too old” for computer-based communication tools, a recent study found seniors who had undergone cardiac revascularization and used electronic Personal Health Records were more engaged, with improved clinical outcomes.  When Fort Wayne, Ind. – based Parkview Physicians Group Cardiology provided a pre-populated PHR to approximately 200 cardiac patients (most over the age of 55), it found a significant improvement in hemoglobin A1c levels over a six-month period, as well as improved patient activation scores.

“Lifestyle modification and medication adherence are crucial to improving intermediate health outcomes that influence morbidity and mortality among cardiac patients,” said Michael Mirro, MD at Parkview Hospital.  “This study shows that healthcare technology can increase patient engagement which then leads to more positive health outcomes.”

The study was part of an initiative funded by a Challenge Grant awarded by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to Indiana Health Information Technology, Inc. (IHIT) and PHR vendor NoMoreClipboard (NMC) to make health informationexchange (HIE) data available to patients. Working with IHIT and NoMoreClipboard, data from the Parkview EHR was routed through the area HIE to populate patient PHRs.

Study Methodology

Two-hundred patients who had undergone revascularization (stent and/or bypass) were recruited into the study. In addition to serial laboratory tests, surveys measuring patient engagement and technology acceptance were conducted at baseline and six months.

Personnel from the Parkview Research Center (PRC) worked with patients to set up their NoMoreClipboard PHR account and provided training. Parkview’s electronic health record system was configured to support PHR account creation and population. With the patient present, PRC staff was able to send a Continuity of Care Document (CCD) and the patient medical record number to the PHR from the patient chart in the EHR. The CCD was then routed through the Med-Web HIE, which serves Northeast Indiana, and NoMoreClipboard returned a PHR account activation code.

When a PHR account was created, the activation code was entered — establishing a match with the patient’s medical record number at Parkview and releasing discrete data from the CCD to populate the PHR. When new data is available in the Parkview EHR system, the practice can post that data to NMC with a single click.

“This is an example of true HIT integration,” said Jeff Donnell, president of NoMoreClipboard.  “We also worked with Parkview to incorporate a daily health diary into the patient’s PHR so they can self-enter and transmit their blood pressure, heart rate, blood glucose, height, weight and BMI andsend it to their doctors.  Patients could also sign up for daily reminders to complete and submit their diary information.”

“As we look ahead to Meaningful Use Stage Two, many in the provider community are concerned that the requirement to get five percent of patients to use electronic engagement tools is unrealistic,” added Mirro. “Our experience with a senior population indicates otherwise. More importantly, we are seeing that patients who participate in electronic exchange and use these tools are more engaged, more likely to adhere to prescribed therapies and treatment plans, and more likely to enjoy improved outcomes

and quality of life.”

Study Participant Demographics

Of the 184 patients who completed the six-month study, 70 percent were 56-74 years old. About 64 percent were covered by Medicare, and the majority were college educated. There was also a high prevalence of diabetes in the study population (33 percent).

Specific Study Results

  • Active PHR users and super users experienced significant declines in HbA1c percentages. The mean hemoglobin A1c reduced from 6.25 percent to 6 percent.
  • Patients with a history of diabetes showed a significant statistical improvement in glycemic control.
  • Patients with access to a PHR had a greater understanding of their conditions and adopted healthier lifestyle behaviors.
  • Over the duration of the study, data has been imported from Parkview’s EHR to patient PHR accounts more than 600 times, and patients have logged into the PHR more than 2,400 times. On average, patients logged in 8.7 times over a six-month period. Approximately 15 percent of the patients are using the health diary to self-report and share health measures.

“In addition to quantitative results, we also learned several big picture lessons from this study,” said Donnell.  “Clinicians often tell us that tools like PHRs are a great idea for others, but certain patient populations won’t use these tools based on age, income or inability to use technology. Our experience in this study — and with other clients who serve patients on the wrong side of the digital divide — tell a different story.”

AboutNoMoreClipboard
NoMoreClipboard is a leader in electronic patient engagement, connecting consumers and clinicians to improve communication and foster collaboration. NoMoreClipboard gives consumers portable, interoperable personal health records to access, manage and sharehealth information. Provider solutions include branded patient portals designed to integrate with clinical workflow, enhance efficiency and contribute to improved patient outcomes. Visit www.NoMoreClipboard.com for more information.

 

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April 30, 2013 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

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MTBC Introduces Business Intelligence Reporting and Analytics Module to Support Physician Practice Management; Enhance Performance

SOMERSET, NJ, April 10, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) MTBC, a leading electronic health record (EHR), practice and revenue cycle management company, today announced the launch of its business intelligence and reporting module (BI Module) to enhance reporting capabilities for practices of all sizes.  The BI Module is fully integrated with MTBC’s PracticeProTM suite of services and supports in-depth longitudinal and granular analysis of key performance indicators and revenue drivers.

“While powerful business analytics tools are leveraged by many of America’s largest physician groups to support strategic business planning and decision-making, these important tools have, until now, remained out of reach for most small physician groups,” said MTBC President Stephen Snyder. “Our new BI tools are powerful enough to support the largest and most complex physician groups, yet so intuitive and flexible that they can be used by virtually any small practices to better understand its business, improves its bottom line, and mitigate audit risk.”

MTBC’s BI reporting and analytics module was designed to support benchmarking, short-term and long-term planning, together with compensation program development and management.  It is fully integrated with MTBC’s EHR and PM platform.

“This analysis provides an administrator with a holistic view of his or her practice, and can help practices identify opportunities to increase productivity, maximize revenue, reduce expenses and streamline workflows,” explained John Cox, Vice President of Hospital and Consulting Services at MTBC. “Our BI module caters not only to the needs of small practices, but also those of medium to large sized hospital-based and independent groups.”

MTBC’s BI module has an all-inclusive fee of five percent of collections and includes MTBC’s EHR, PM, RCM and mHealth applications. It will enable providers to:

·         Compare provider E&M level utilization to local and national benchmarks to identify and manage audit risk.

·         Analyze payer-level payment trends to support contract negotiations and payer participation decision-making.

·         Examine collections & billing cycle patterns to identify bottlenecks and accelerate reimbursements timeframes.

·         View performance by provider, group, location and more.

·         Create customized reports to support compensation plan development and administration.

·         Optimize the revenue cycle by gaining an insight into performance gaps to improve profit margins.

·         Examine overall patient encounters per provider or practice to identify opportunity for revenue maximization.

·         Improve and accelerate the decision-making process with transparent financial operations.

ABOUT MTBC

Founded in 1999 and based in Somerset, New Jersey, MTBC provides practice and revenue cycle management services and proprietary software solutions to private physician offices and hospital-employed provider groups throughout the United States. It’s integrated and competitively priced premium products, PracticePro™ and ChartsPro™, present a service suite unmatched in the industry in scope and value. MTBC has been consistently recognized as a Deloitte Technology Fast 500 company – 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 – and has also been recognized during each of the last three years as an Inc. 500│5000 company.

To learn more about MTBC, please visit www.mtbc.com.

To learn more about MTBC Business Intelligence module, please visit http://www.mtbc.com/business_intelligence_software.aspx.

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I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

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Health Catalyst Systems Brings Accountable Care to New Jersey’s Largest Health System

Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Created by Hackensack University Medical Center and Its Affiliated Physicians Selects Health Catalyst Systems to Support Participation in Medicare Shared Savings Program

HACKENSACK, NJ–(Marketwire – March 04, 2013) -   Health Catalyst Systems, LLC today announced that the Hackensack Alliance Accountable Care Organization (ACO), an accountable care organization created by the combination of HackensackUMC and its affiliated physicians, has selected its Technology Enabled Active Management (TEAM) of Care model to proactively manage care coordination across the ACO. By implementing the TEAM of Care Solution, the Hackensack Alliance ACO will be able to provide hospital and community clinicians, care coordinators, and patients a coordinated and unified view of the patient’s clinical, financial and administrative data from electronic health records, claims systems, and other data sources. To assure the Hackensack Alliance ACO fully realizes its goals, Health Catalyst will provide advisory consulting, care coordination technology, and it’s TEAM of Care workflow algorithms for best practice care coordination. Providers in the ACO will have an integrated view of patient records, shared care plans, a status tracking system for care plan adherence, and a secure messaging system for communications. Primary care providers, medical specialists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, care coordinators, and home health aides can use the system to designate multidisciplinary care teams that actively manage their patients across multiple EHR platforms in multiple settings and locations.

Morey Menacker, D.O., President and Chief Executive Officer of the Hackensack Alliance ACO, stated that “Health Catalyst provides us with one platform to manage and coordinate the care activities inside and outside our organization, across the entire continuum of care.” “This Active Management of Care model is critical to how the ACO will achieve our goals for improved patient care and reduced costs of care,” said Peter Gross, M.D., Chairman of the Hackensack Alliance ACO Board of Managers. Edward Gold, M.D., Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of the Hackensack Alliance ACO Board of Managers stated that “Because the TEAM of Care model automates our visibility into care coordination activities, our physicians, nurses, care coordinators and patients can take immediate actions that will improve outcomes.” According to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, failure to coordinate care delivery cost the U.S. Health System between $102 and $154 Billion Dollars in 2011. (Source: Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services)

HackensackUMC has remained committed to remaining at the forefront of technology to achieve better patient results. In fact, Dr. Shafiq Rab, Vice President and Chief Information Officer, HackensackUMC, was recently listed among Becker’s Hospital Review’s “100 Hospital and Health System CIOs to Know” based upon his commitment to the pursuit of innovative health technology and IT programs as a means to achieving high-quality coordinated care delivery for HackensackUMC. Dr. Rab’s evangelism is based on his unique clinical, IT and public health experience and this background has enabled his to improve the meaningful use of technology and the clinical delivery of care at the lowest cost at every institution that he has worked. Dr. Rab stated “After an exhaustive search of technology and consulting ACO vendors, Health Catalyst and its Technology Enabled Active Management of Care allows us to leverage the existing hospital and ambulatory technology Electronic Health Record platforms we already have invested in to be able to share community wide agreed up care plans across multiple technology platforms.”

“The most complex patients in our healthcare system are also the highest cost,” said Alan Gilbert, MPA, FHIMSS, Managing Partner at Health Catalyst Systems. “A larger percentage of patients with chronic diseases — diabetes, COPD, CHF, obesity, and cancers — have multiple conditions and require care from a wide variety of providers in a wide variety of settings. Our TEAM of Care approach enables healthcare providers to more effectively monitor and manage a patient’s care. For patients with chronic disease, this process leads to reduced hospitalizations, reduced lengths of stay, fewer readmissions, avoided redundant tests, and improved adherence to treatment therapies.”

About Hackensack University Medical Center

HackensackUMC, a nonprofit teaching and research hospital located in Bergen County, New Jersey, is the largest provider of inpatient and outpatient services in the state. This 775-bed facility has created an entire campus of care, including: the Heart & Vascular Hospital, the John Theurer Cancer Center, the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital, and the Donna A. Sanzari Women’s Hospital. HackensackUMC was listed as the number one hospital in New Jersey and one of the top four New York metro area hospitals by the U.S. News & World Report, and has received nine national rankings in: Cancer; Cardiology & Heart Surgery; Ear, Nose & Throat; Gastroenterology; Geriatrics; Neurology & Neurosurgery; Orthopedics; Urology; and the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital ranked as one of the Top 25 Best Children’s Hospitals for Neurology and Neurosurgery in the 2012-13 Best Children’s Hospitals list. HackensackUMC is among Healthgrades® America’s Best 100 Hospitals in 10 different areas — more than any other hospital in the nation, and received the Healthgrades Distinguished Hospital Award for Clinical Excellence™ 11 years in a row. The medical center has also been named one of the Truven Health Analytics 100 Top Hospitals®, a Leapfrog Top Hospital, and one of America’s 50 Best Hospitals by Healthgrades® for seven years in a row. HackensackUMC received 19 Gold Seals of Approval™ by the Joint Commission — more than any other hospital in the country. It was the first hospital in New Jersey and second in the nation to become a Magnet® recognized hospital for nursing excellence. HackensackUMC is the Hometown Hospital of the New York Giants and the New York Red Bulls, and remains committed to its community through fundraising and community events. To learn more about one of the nation’s 50 best hospitals, visit: www.HackensackUMC.org.

About The Hackensack Alliance Accountable Care Organization (ACO)

The Hackensack Alliance Accountable Care Organization (ACO) was established to participate in the Medicare Shared Savings Program (MSSP), which is designed to reduce the growth in Medicare expenditures through the development of a patient centered care model that focuses on providing high quality services and medical care. Our mission is to provide patients with high quality service and medical care while reducing the growth in care expenditures through enhanced care coordination, preventive care, patient empowerment and best practices supported by medical research. In order for our patients to receive quality care that makes a positive difference, Hackensack Physician-Hospital Alliance ACO physicians must work closely with patients, family members and other providers to coordinate care across medical specialties and care settings. Patient centered care requires Hackensack physicians to transform and improve all aspects of the healthcare experience for the individual patient as well as the population. In the interest of our patients, HackensackUMC physicians are dedicated to providing patients with quality medical care that includes: patient and family education, better access to care, efficient processes, and evidence based care management. To learn more about The Hackensack Physician-Hospital Alliance Accountable Care Organization, visit www.hackensackumc.org/our-services/medical-services/aco/about-us/

About Health Catalyst Systems, LLC 

Health Catalyst Systems, LLC has developed a unique and innovative care coordination solution called Technology Enabled Active Management (TEAM) of Care. This solution creates proactive care management activities through plans of care, work flow rules, and triggers for active follow up. Health Catalyst automates this process by configuring these rules into care coordination software that includes a work flow decision engine, Health Information Exchange, communication platform, and analytics tools. The TEAM of Care model converts data into action through work lists, phase dashboards, secure messages, and reports for immediate care follow up and active management. Health Catalyst assures delivery and value realization from every project by combining best practices for care coordination with world-class consulting and implementation expertise. Our combined solutions deliver an unmatched foundation for clinical integration, care coordination, and associated reimbursement models tied to quality outcomes. To learn more about the TEAM of Care, please visit www.teamofcare.com

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March 8, 2013 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

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Health IT Leaders Partner to Launch imPatient Movement

A call to action in pursuit of improved electronic health record sharing and open communication between patients and medical professionals
 
NEW ORLEANS – March 4, 2013 – To promote improved electronic health information exchange between consumers and clinicians, key health IT leaders have partnered to launch the imPatient Movement. The movement was introduced today at HIMSS13 in New Orleans and will work to empower patients, healthcare providers and health IT organizations to collaborate and advocate for swift and meaningful action in making electronic health information accessible, interoperable and actionable. The movement also supports meaningful use stage two criteria that will require health care providers to more actively engage patients by providing them with the capability to electronically view, download, and transmit relevant information from their provider’s electronic health records to a designated holding place.
The imPatient Movement was formed by an independent coalition of health information technology providers, healthcare professionals and organizations, including NoMoreClipboard, Microsoft HealthVault and Indiana Health Information Technology, Inc.
“We’re excited to see these organizations teaming up to fulfill their Blue Button Pledge through outreach and engagement. The imPatient campaign recognizes what we firmly believe — that both patient and provider attitudes must change in order to achieve the full potential of eHealth, and that both parties will benefit from having greater access to and use of electronic health data,” said Farzad Mostashari, National Coordinator, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, part of the Department of Health and Human Services.
“The genesis of the imPatient Movement was feedback from frustrated consumers who took the time to create a personal health record, only to be handed an old-fashioned clipboard and directed to fill out the registration forms,” said NoMoreClipboard president Jeff Donnell. “At the same time, those on the provider side have questions and concerns about electronic patient engagement.
The imPatient Movement was created to help consumers and clinicians engage in meaningful dialog about the value of sharing data electronically.”
 
I’m imPatient.  My health depends on IT

“In our state, we are hearing from residents who are growing impatient with their inability to access, manage and share their health information with a tool of their choosing,” added Andrew VanZee, Indiana’s statewide Health IT Director. “Providers are also impatient with the lack of patient engagement solutions that will help them satisfy meaningful use requirements and foster patient loyalty without disrupting workflow. We see the imPatient Movement as a way to create meaningful, electronic relationships and avoid adversarial ones.”
“The imPatient Movement is committed to providing platforms and tools that will empower patients to take a more active role in their health and also make healthcare providers comfortable with patients being at the center of their own care,” Donnell continued.

Join the Movement
All patients, caregivers, family members, healthcare organizations, vendors and providers are invited to “find your voice and join us in telling others that you’re ‘imPatiently’ in pursuit of improved communication and better health.”  Visit imPatient at www.impatientmovement.org.
The imPatient website invites visitors to join the Movement and take action in one (or all) of the following ways:
·       Share personal experiences and opinions via the movement’s online blog community
·       Read about experiences, aspirations and ideas from other members – including consumers and clinicians who are working to connect electronically
·       Sign up for e-mail alerts and receive ongoing updates about patient engagement, personal stories from patients and providers, as well as opinion pieces surrounding healthcare IT policies and standards
·       Follow the movement on Facebook and Twitter social media channels
·       Help influence and empower others to take a more active role in their health by sharing information from the site via pre-formatted emails to family and friends, and downloadable letters to educate doctors and other healthcare providers
·       Sign up for a personal health record or patient engagement platform and get started on an improved path to health
“HealthVault is all about empowering real people with the information and tools they need to become active participants in their care,” said Sean Nolan, Chief Architect of Microsoft HealthVault.  “We’re excited to be part of the imPatient Movement to help foster a dialogue between patients and their healthcare providers about the importance of working together — because true collaboration is the real key to improving outcomes and reducing costs.”
To find us at HIMSS13 to learn more or to become part of the movement, visit us at Booth #1340.  Or visit us online at www.impatientmovement.org.
About the impatient Movement
The imPatient Movement was formed by an independent coalition of health information technology providers, healthcare professionals and patients dedicated to improving patient / provider communication through the use of portable electronic information exchange.  It is a call to call to action for patients and medical professionals who support open communication and electronic medical health record sharing.
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March 5, 2013 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

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Virginia Dept. of Behavioral Health & Developmental Services selects Siemens Soarian

• Enterprise-wide delivery includes using Soarian® Clinicals and Financials to support complex behavioral health needs, MobileMD® HIE to help providers securely share behavioral health records, and Healthcare Intelligence to enable population health management
• Embedded workflow technology drives timely, interdisciplinary treatment plans

Today, Siemens Healthcare announced that the company will provide the Soarian enterprise electronic health record (EHR) to the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS), Richmond, Va., a non-acute, specialty care provider. The purchase delivers Soarian functionality across 14 facilities, replacing a disparate array of healthcare IT solutions and semi-manual paper-centric processes for orders. The decision was based on Soarian’s adaptable, workflow-driven architecture; the ability for Siemens MobileMD Health Information Exchange (HIE) to help providers access mental health records, securely, among different care settings such as the hospital or their main practice locations; and by the potential to influence population health management with Healthcare Intelligence, a new solution from Siemens that collects both clinical and financial data as well as structured and unstructured data for analysis. As part of Agenda 2013, a two-year global initiative in the Siemens Healthcare Sector, the company is identifying new ways to address the unique needs of customers in a variety of settings.

“Soarian allows us to document and manage information in a way that can improve the safety and effectiveness of treatment,” said Jack Barber, MD, Chief Medical Of-ficer. “Our providers appreciated the streamlined capabilities to not only view and document patient care but to manage a longitudinal interdisciplinary treatment plan across departments and settings.”

The Virginia DBHDS purchased a comprehensive suite of Soarian Clinicals, Soarian Financials, Healthcare Intelligence, Siemens Pharmacy and Med Administration Check™, and Siemens MobileMD HIE. Pilot implementations are planned for mid 2013 at three sites: Western State Hospital and Commonwealth Center for Children & Adolescents in Staunton, and Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg, Va. Siemens has selected Quammen Healthcare Consultants, Murfreesboro, Tenn., to lead the implementation efforts.

“Our clinical leadership and staff were closely involved throughout the entire vendor/product selection process,” said Russell Sarbora, CIO, Virginia DBHDS. “Siemens heard our need and responded in a manner that engendered confidence in both the company and its solution suite.”

Available to citizens statewide, Virginia’s public mental health, intellectual disability and substance abuse services system is comprised of 16 state-operated facilities and 40 locally-run community services boards (CSBs). The CSBs and facilities serve children and adults who have – or who are at risk of – mental illness, serious emotional disturbance, intellectual disabilities, or substance abuse disorders. Virginia’s state-run facilities provide highly-structured, intensive services and consist of: seven adult inpatient mental health facilities, five training centers for individuals with intellectual disability, an inpatient psychiatric facility for children and adolescents, a medical center, an inpatient psychiatric geriatric hospital, and a center for behavioral rehabilitation.

 

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March 4, 2013 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

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CCHIT UNVEILS NEW HIE INTEROPERABILITY TESTING AT HIMSS13

Will Introduce Programs and Demonstrate Tools to Test Connectivity 

CHICAGO – March 4, 2013 – Today, the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology is announcing the opening of the pilot phase of a new health information exchange compliance testing program at the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2013 Annual Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans; it also will reveal the program seals designed to help healthcare providers identify health information exchange (HIE) certified technology, and demonstrate its automated testing tool for vendors.

At completion, the HIE compliance testing and certification program components include the following:

1)    HIE Certified Community™, for electronic health records (EHRs) and other health IT systems, that will enable state-wide patient data inquiry allowing clinicians to query an HIE for information on specific patients

2)    HIE Certified Direct™ that provides a simple way for providers to send secure health information directly to trusted recipients, including patients, over the Internet

3)    HIE Certified Network™ for HIE-to-HIE connectivity and for connection to the eHealth Exchange

Certification will be specific to each technology and its version, and include testing of commercially available products, healthcare provider participants and health information exchanges.

“For the first time providers and purchasers of EHRs and HIE will have a simple way of assuring their system has all the capabilities required for plug and play interoperability,” said Dave Whitlinger, Executive Director of the New York eHealth Collaborative. “In New York, vendors will be required to pass the compliance testing program in order to connect to the SHIN-NY (the Statewide Health Information of New York).”

The planned pilot testing – for HIE Certified Network – is  the first offering of a collaboration of states, public agencies, federally funded HIEs and HIT companies covering more than 50 percent of the U.S. population. Healtheway, the public-private partnership of the eHealth Exchange, and the EHR/HIE Interoperability Workgroup, a consortium of states and vendors, established the program to test and certify EHRs and other health IT to enable reliable transfer of data within and across organizational and state boundaries. CCHIT was selected as the compliance testing body by the partnership. The pilot will begin soon after the HIMSS meeting, and the launch of the certification program is planned for late in the spring.

“We’re creating a robust, highly automated testing program using an open source version of the AEGIS Developers Integration Lab (DIL) tool that relies on a set of specifications created by the partnership. Our aim is to enable true plug and play connectivity to simplify HIT development and reduce the cost of interface development,” said Alisa Ray, Executive Director and CEO, CCHIT.  “This will help health IT developers get their technology to market quickly and prepare provider and HIE participants share information more efficiently.”

EHR developers and others can view a demonstration of CCHIT’s testing software at the HIMSS Interoperability Showcase (Kiosk 17-7, La Nouvelle Ballroom–Level 2).

“The certification program also will support a recently announced collaboration between Healtheway and the Care Connectivity Consortium (CCC), combining Healtheway’s robust network services expertise with the advanced patient-centered care technology and commitment to health IT innovation of CCC,” said Mariann Yeager, Healtheway’s Executive Director.  “The collaboration will support IT interoperability among more than 40 health provider organizations across the nation, including founders Geisinger Health System (PA), Group Health Cooperative (WA), Intermountain Healthcare (UT), Kaiser Permanente (CA), and Mayo Clinic (MN).”

Additional HIMSS13 Demonstrations

CCHIT experts also will be on hand during the HIMSS meeting at The Meaningful Use Experience, Booth 149 in the Exhibit Hall. The Meaningful Use Experience is a special demonstration area that puts visitors in the middle of certified EHR solutions including complete EHR and EHR modules. Visitors to this interactive event will be able to connect with vendors, hear presentations and see demonstrations side-by-side.

About CCHIT

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®) is an independent, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with the public mission of accelerating the adoption of robust, interoperable health information technology. The Commission has been certifying electronic health record technology since 2006 and is authorized by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as a certification body (ONC-ACB).  CCHIT is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as a certification body for the ONC HIT Certification Program for  electronic health record (EHR) technology and accredited by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as an Accredited Testing Laboratory (ATL) to test EHRs. More information on CCHIT and its programs is available athttp://cchit.org and http://source.cchit.org.

“CCHIT®” and “CCHIT Certified®” are registered trademarks of the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology.

About EHR/HIE Interoperability Workgroup

The EHR | HIE Interoperability Workgroup is a New York eHealth Collaborative-led coalition of 19 States (representing over 50% of the U.S. population), 20 electronic health record (EHR) vendors, and 23 health information exchange (HIE vendors). The workgroup was launched in February 2011 to leverage existing standards and develop consistent implementation guides for interoperability between HIE software platforms, and the applications that interface with them. For more information about the Workgroup, visit www.interopwg.org.

About Healtheway
Healtheway is a non-profit organization chartered to operationally support the eHealth Exchange, a rapidly growing community of exchange partners, who share information under a common trust framework and a common set of rules. Currently, 38 participants include four federal agencies, six states, eight beacon communities and more than a dozen Health Information Organizations (HIOs) and health systems, which represent hundreds of hospitals, thousands of providers and millions of patients. Healtheway leads in cross-industry collaboration to develop implementation strategies that enable secure, interoperable nationwide exchange of health information. For more information about Healtheway and the eHealth Exchange: www.healthewayinc.org.

About AEGIS

AEGIS.net, Inc. is a CMMI® for Development (v1.3) Maturity Level 3, CMMI® for Services (v1.3) + Service System Development (SSD) Maturity Level 3 rated, ISO 9001:2008 certified small business  and premier provider of information technology consulting services to federal civilian, defense and

commercial sector clients. AEGIS’s services, delivered by practitioners averaging more than 15 years of experience, include Project Management, Software Functional and Performance Testing, Application Design/Development, Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V), and Organizational Performance/Process Improvement. Our domains of expertise include health IT and interoperability, regulatory compliance, finance, human resources, and logistics. AEGIS offers the patent-pending Developers Integration Lab (DIL) testing solution for health information exchange gateway, interoperability, and compatibility testing.

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I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

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HIMSS13: athenahealth Issues HIT Industry ‘Code of Conduct’

Code Lays Out Five Basic Principles to Move Industry Forward

WATERTOWN, MA, and NEW ORLEANS, LA — March 4, 2013— athenahealth, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATHN), a leading provider of cloud-based electronic health record (EHR), practice management, and care coordination services to medical groups and health systems, today proposed a Health Information Technology (HIT) ‘Code of Conduct’ that calls upon the health information industry, particularly electronic health record (EHR) vendors, to abide by five principles related to data portability, patient safety, provider freedom of choice, and Meaningful Use.

The HIT Code of Conduct responds to recent statements by National Coordinator for Health IT, Dr. Farzad Mostashari, who has challenged the industry (HIT vendors) to “step up” and agree to a Code of Conduct that sets forth principles to protect patients, guard against fraud, and empower HIT to finally realize its potential to revolutionize health care. Motivated by the challenge, athenahealth has outlined a framework that its peer vendors can sign on to, and other industry stakeholders can sign up in support of, and today launched an online portal to gather online “signatures.” The five principles HIT vendors are being challenged to adhere to are:

  • Empower Data Portability and Provider Choice
  • Build a True Nationwide Information Backbone
  • Protect Patients
  • Prevent Fraud
  • Drive Meaningful Use

“The HIT Code of Conduct is a call to the industry to abide by a uniform set of high standards that providers should expect and demand as they invest in technology and services as a means to improve care delivery,” said Jonathan Bush, CEO and Chairman of athenahealth. “These are things we’ve committed to do for our clients—things that we believe our industry must do if HIT is going to join the 21st century and finally realize its potential to transform healthcare.”

“These are simple propositions that we think can have a significant impact—if we get broad buy-in from our peer companies and the providers we all serve,” said Dan Haley, VP of Government Affairs, athenahealth.

Added Haley, “The principles in the Code squarely address some of the central policy issues facing the HIT industry, providing not only a push to move the industry forward, but also a strong signal to our providers and to government that our industry understands its responsibility to proactively address those issues.”

HIT vendors, industry stakeholders, and policymakers interested in reviewing the full Code of Conduct are encouraged to visit it here: http://www.athenahealth.com/codeofconduct, where vendors can sign on to the Code in full, or just to the provisions that apply to their businesses, and other stakeholders can sign on to publicly show their support.

About athenahealth

athenahealth, Inc. is a leading provider of cloud-based Best in KLAS electronic health record (EHR), practice management, and care coordination services to medical groups and health systems. athenahealth’s mission is to be the most trusted service to medical care givers, helping them do well by doing the right thing. For more information, please visit www.athenahealth.com or call 888-652-8200.

 

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John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

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North American Connectathon 2013 Provides Testing Ground for Meaningful Use Stage 2 Requirements

CHICAGO – (February 27, 2013) In an effort to advance interoperability in the U.S., IHE USA and the Health Story Project offered  Health Level Seven’s (HL7) Consolidated Clinical Document Architecture® (C-CDA) standard as part of the testing process at the IHE North American (NA) Connectathon 2013. When implemented into electronic health records (EHRs) and health information exchanges (HIEs), HL7’s C-CDA contributes a critical component of a patient’s medical record, including the physician’s progress notes, discharge summaries, and other clinical documents. U.S. physicians create over a billion clinical notes each year. These notes contain most of a patient’s clinical records, and most EHRs are not capable of integrating this type of data into their systems.

“Eighteen vendors registered to test 27 systems for C-CDA – including, a diverse group of EHR, document imaging and HIE vendors. After years of working with EHR and HIE vendors and encouraging acceptance of C-CDA document types, Health Story members are thrilled about the potential uptake of C-CDA and its role in contributing to comprehensive electronic patient stories,” said Joy Kuhl, Executive Director of the Health Story Project.

IHE USA and Health Story Project are excited to announce that 18 companies earned a passing test score for C-CDA testing at the NA Connectathon 2013, gaining a competitive advantage in meeting Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements for adoption of C-CDA.

Successful Consolidated CDA Test Participants:

Allscripts

athenahealth

CareEvolution, Inc.

Certify Data Systems

Corepoint Health

Epic

GE Healthcare

Greenway Medical Technologies

Iatric Systems, Inc.

ICT Health

InterSystems

Notable Solutions, Inc.

Nuance Communications

Mirth Corporation

Nextgen Healthcare

Oracle America

VitalHealth Software

Vitera Healthcare Solutions

Please visit IHE USA to learn more about Consolidated CDA, the NA Connectathon, and Consolidated CDA test participants.

About IHE USA

IHE USA (www.iheusa.org) is a not-for-profit organization established in 2010 that operates as a deployment committee of IHE International®. The mission of IHE USA is to drive adoption of standards-based interoperability to improve patient care through innovation, standards profiling, testing, education and collaboration. IHE USA improves the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare delivery by supporting the deployment of standards-based electronic health record systems, facilitating the exchange of health information among care providers, both within the enterprise and across care settings, and enabling local, regional and nationwide health information networks in the United States, all in a manner consistent with participation in IHE International, Inc.

About Health Story

The Health Story Project was founded five years ago by the Association for Healthcare Documentation Integrity (AHDI), the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA), the Clinical Documentation Industry Association, Lantana Consulting Group, and M*Modal. It is now a collaborative of over two dozen healthcare vendors, providers and associations. Health Story accelerated development of HL7 Clinical Document Architecture (CDA) Implementation Guides for common types of clinical documents, bringing them through the HL7 ballot process and promoting their adoption within the industry. Over the previous five years, the initiative produced the first set of national data standards for clinical documents – use of which supports requirements for Meaningful Use of EHRs. The Health Story vision is for complete patient stories to be available in electronic medical records.  You can see Health Story in action at HIMSS13 in the Interoperability Showcase.

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February 27, 2013 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

Filed Under: EMR
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DataMotion Developers Toolkit Facilitates Quick Integration with Direct Messaging, Enabling Providers to Qualify for Meaningful Use Stage 2 Incentives

Toolkit Offers Lucrative Market Opportunities to EHR, HIE and IDN Vendors by Helping
Healthcare Providers Overcome Complexities and Qualify for Potential Subsidies

MORRISTOWN, N.J. – February 27, 2013 – DataMotion (www.datamotion.com), a health information service provider (HISP) offering secure data delivery services, today introduced the DataMotion Direct Toolkit. The Toolkit enables Health Information Systems (HIS) vendors who develop electronic health record (EHR), health information exchange (HIE) and integrated delivery network (IDN) solutions to qualify their systems’ interoperability capabilities as required for Meaningful Use Stage 2 incentive payments.

Often times, secure messaging and PKI encryption are not core competencies of HIS vendors. Rather than build a solution in-house, vendors can now quickly add required Direct functionality by leveraging the DataMotion Direct Toolkit. This shortens time to market for HIS vendors and helps them quickly seize lucrative new market opportunities.

“As we were looking for an expert in the development of Direct messaging functionality, DataMotion came out as the clear choice,” said Mark Pilarski, vice president, product generation for T-System, Inc., the industry leader in clinical, financial and operational solutions for emergency medicine. “After researching prospective HISPs it was clear that DataMotion had the most robust offering. Since engaging their team, we’ve been impressed with the strength and simplicity of the application programming interface (API) and their knowledgeable and responsive tech support. Best of all, we’ve found them to be flexible and easy to do business with. We look forward to offering an integrated Direct solution to our user base.”

Through the Toolkit, HIS vendors’ customers can take advantage of DataMotion Direct, a cloud-based secure data transfer service that enables healthcare organizations of all sizes to meet compliance demands and real-world communications needs. The Toolkit’s ease-of-use allows rapid integration -  usually in less than a month. The turnkey solution is regularly updated to meet new industry requirements. Designed to interoperate with disparate systems, provider organizations can also avoid vendor lock-in to ensure the greatest return on technology investments and the ability to take advantage of new developments in the future.

The DataMotion Direct Toolkit includes:

  • ·         A robust suite of APIs to facilitate integration of Direct messaging into any EHR/EMR, HIE or IDN application
  • ·         An easy-to-follow implementation guide
  • ·         Pre-integration consulting
  • ·         Integration engineering support
  • ·         Tier-1 technical support during third-party certification testing
  • ·         One year membership in the DataMotion Direct Developers Consortium

“Our Toolkit offers vendors a tremendous opportunity to quickly meet Meaningful Use Stage 2 requirements,” said Bob Janacek, co-founder and chief technology officer for DataMotion. “Whether you want DataMotion to provide the entire messaging interface inside of your solution, or simply need your existing messaging interface to communicate through Direct protocols, the DataMotion Direct Toolkit provides a rapid and easy way to accomplish this.”

The DataMotion Direct Toolkit is available immediately. For more information, vendors should visit http://www.datamotion.com/DirectProject/HealthcareDirectvendor.aspx, email sales@datamotion.com or call (800) 672-7233.

About DataMotion

DataMotion enables organizations to dramatically reduce the cost and complexity of delivering electronic information to employees, customers and partners in a secure and compliant way. The company’s core DataMotion Platform solves a broad range of business issues by providing a secure data delivery hub. DataMotion’s easy-to-use solutions for secure email, file transfer, forms processing and customer contact leverage the DataMotion Platform for unified data delivery. Millions of users worldwide rely on DataMotion to transparently improve business processes and reduce costs, while mitigating security and compliance risk. DataMotion is privately held and based in Morristown, N.J.

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I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

Filed Under: EHR
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ENCORE HEALTH RESOURCES LAUNCHES VALUE-BASED PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT™ SOLUTIONS SUITE POWERED BY CoreANALYTICS™

New lifecycle of services and software tools developed in partnership with CHI

HOUSTON – February 26, 2013 – Encore Health Resources, an award-winning health-information technology (HIT) services company, announced today the launch of its new Value-based Performance Improvement™ (VPI) suite of services and software. VPI features CoreANALYTICS™, a set of integrated analytical tools that helps drive continuous health-system performance improvement. In an industry moving rapidly from volume- to value-based reimbursement, VPI and CoreANALYTICS comprise a uniquely comprehensive solution that transforms data generated by electronic health record (EHR), financial, and operational systems into actionable intelligence for proactive management of patient populations, quality, and costs.

Encore’s Value-based Performance Improvement with CoreANALYTICS is poised to assist health systems meet and exceed thresholds for the quality and performance measures required to qualify for U.S. Government EHR Meaningful-Use incentive payments and avoid associated penalties—as well as manage emerging, at-risk government and commercial payment models.  This new solution suite converts relevant data into intelligent, practical ways to help key stakeholders – including hospitals, physicians, and their patients – successfully navigate through and beyond challenges posed by the healthcare industry’s rapid shift from fee-for-service to fee-for-value.

Key VPI and CoreANALYTICS differentiators include a unique blend of Encore’s seasoned consultants with in-depth understanding of clinical data, proven methodologies and vendor-neutral analytical tools. These new tools help healthcare organizations focus on relevant quality and performance data while leveraging existing business-intelligence investments. This new, focused approach accelerates a client’s reimbursement transformation at a competitively low cost of entry through all stages of EHR Meaningful Use and also prepares them for evolving reimbursement models. VPI supports Value-Based Purchasing, Patient Centered Medical Homes, Clinical Integration Networking, and Accountable Care Organizations.

Another key differentiator is that CoreANALYTICS’ architecture allows for full or modular deployment.  A full deployment includes the Data Acquisition Engine (extract, translate, and load); the Integrated Information Platform, including our Analytics Engine (creates a “smart, skinny” data warehouse); and the Quality and Performance Modules (building dynamic dashboards), which together provide a comprehensive data-to-information transformation solution.   At the heart of the suite is Encore’s exclusive Analytics Engine, which enriches information through proven data derivation and measure calculations. These modular components can also be layered with an organization’s established data warehouse or reporting capability for a comprehensive, cost-effective solution.

Encore built its new solutions suite with development partner Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI).  Today, CHI is successfully testing VPI and CoreANALYTICS to optimize its OneCare Program, a $2 billion, enterprise-wide initiative to advance patient care through the power of information. Using VPI and CoreANALYTICS, CHI’s goals are to leverage OneCare to create a powerful, information-based system that will drive significant improvements in patient care throughout its 70 hospitals across the U.S.

“Our partnership with Encore has significantly extended the power of OneCare to provide ‘in-time’ information that will help CHI understand how we are performing against our goals,” said Evon Holladay, MGA, Vice President, Enterprise Intelligence, Catholic Health Initiatives.

As the centerpiece of the VPI lifecycle of performance improvement services, CoreANALYTICS is focused on measures targeted at specific quality and performance data from source systems. It dynamically updates measures calculations to meet the demands of a rapidly transforming industry. Encore’s CoreGPS® Data Tool informs the Analytics Engine and eliminates the need for custom coding for new measures and calculations, thereby creating a lower-cost analytics solution.

The CoreANALYTICS Quality and Reporting Modules provide integrated views of actionable information and insight into quality and performance across patient populations.  These modules include:

  • Meaningful Use Compliance and Reporting Module: Focused on analysis and reporting for successful participation in the CMS EHR Incentive Program and subsequent stages. 
  • At-Risk Population Module:  Analysis and reporting focused on high-cost, at-risk populations including analysis for care processes and utilization and performance against specific measures. 
  • Clinical Analytics for Care Coordination Module: Provides physicians “in time” information using dashboards and reports to manage patients with preventive guidelines stratified by disease state.
  • Financial Analytics: Analyzes cost savings achieved through clinical integration efforts and new care processes calculated within specific treatment patterns, clinical focus areas, populations, or globally.

“Encore’s partnership with CHI created a demanding laboratory that presented real-world challenges in dozens of hospitals with multiple EHR systems and a unified goal for improved care delivery in an unprecedented environment of change,” said Dana Sellers, CEO, Encore Health Resources. “The result is our Value-based Performance Improvement lifecycle of services, featuring the CoreANALYTICS road-tested software tools, which are now ready to help clients across our industry gain new insights that drive increasing value throughout their organizations and a future of intelligent health performance.”

About Catholic Health Initiatives

Catholic Health Initiatives is a national nonprofit health system with headquarters in Englewood, Colo.  The faith-based system operates in 19 states and includes 81 hospitals; 40 long-term care, assisted- and residential-living facilities; two community health-services organizations; two accredited nursing colleges; and home health agencies.  In fiscal year 2012, CHI provided more than $715 million in charity care and community benefit, including services for the poor, free clinics, education and research. With total annual revenues of more than $10.7 billion and approximately 86,000 employees, CHI ranks as the nation’s second-largest faith-based health system.

About Encore Health Resources (Encore)

Founded by healthcare veterans Ivo Nelson and Dana Sellers, Encore provides information technology consulting services and solutions to assist healthcare organizations with a wide range of strategy, advisory, implementation, process-redesign, and optimization activities.  Encore focuses on capturing data and establishing the analytical capabilities to meet the evolving information and reporting needs for health care providers to improve and document clinical and operational performance.

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February 26, 2013 I Written By

John Lynn is the Founder of the HealthcareScene.com blog network which currently consists of 15 blogs containing almost 5000 articles with John having written over 2000 of the articles himself. These EMR and Healthcare IT related articles have been viewed over 9.3 million times. John also recently launched two new companies: InfluentialNetworks.com and Physia.com, and is an advisor to docBeat. John is highly involved in social media, and in addition to his blogs can also be found on Twitter: @techguy and @ehrandhit.

Filed Under: EHR  Electronic Health Record  Healthcare
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