Google Health could drive EHRs

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Anthony

With two large players, Microsoft and Google, entering the health IT marketplace, it would make sense that the two would drive standards for information exchange between applications and their PHR systems.

Microsoft and Google are notorious for innovation and driving development towards their own ends yet neither seems too vocal on electronic health records and the inevitable leap in innovation the industry will experience over the next five years.

Both Microsoft and Google have electronic health portals for use by patients to create and store a patient health record (PHR) yet neither has been very vocal to drive interoperability and consistent formatting. For an industry we literally entrust our lives to, patient records have the least governance for standardization.

It makes sense that the national health exchange would dictate standards for formatting to both share doctor driven EHRs and patient driven PHRs, but with the states gaining control of the backbone of data exchange, it seems unlikely that all 50 states will agree upon a standard format. Where does the industry turn? HITSP? HHS? Industry leaders?

In the past, the health care industry seems happy to invent their own cryptic standards such as HL7, but with the aggressive time table for implementation it seems fruitless to spend time reinventing the wheel. There are many options available, but why not use XML? With XML accelerators available on the market to process large quantities of data, a structure easy to customize and modify as requirements change, and the perfect way for disparate software platforms to communicate to each other. It seems XML would be a perfect solution for vendors to use to export data from practice to national health data exchange and then again to PHR systems for the patient to view their data. XML data exporters can be effectively optimized for speed, security and integrity.

Close to any modifications and upgrades to the health IT infrastructure in use within the United States must always be the security of the patient’s health information. HIPAA security requirements are weak at the best of times, but generally are open for any knowledgeable hacker to obtain from the average health care provider. It is imperative to treat the security of patient health information with the care we treat our financial information.

Meaningful Use 2.0

Posted on August 3, 2009 by Anthony

Summary
If you ask a doctor what is most important to them concerning the ARRA stimulus money, most of them will tell you “meaningful use.” Multiple iterations of what this means have been issued, reviewed and regurgitated, but what does this mean to the recipient of the ARRA funds? This IT guy does not believe the doctor or health care provider should worry too much unless you already have an EHR implemented.

Transfer of Responsibility
More than likely, if a health care provider is using a CCHIT certified EHR system, they will be in compliance with meaningful use. Most of the requirements that have come out of the definition will be part of the development and implementation of the EHR. Simply implementing and using the appropriate EHR will qualify a provider for stimulus funds.

ONC Definition

Most recently, the ONC recommended a definition of meaningful use that includes seven different electronic exchanges to be required. It is important to note that this is only for the 2011 requirements. Going forward, there will be additional capabilities and exchanges required.

ePrescribing
Lab Results
Clinical Data Summaries from provider to provider
Bio-surveillance
Immunization Registries
Public Health
Quality Measurement

What does it all mean?
If you are health care provider waiting for ARRA stimulus funds, it means wait to buy your EHR. Most large companies will be updating their software to fit government requirements, but there is no guarantee the upgrade process will be any less painful than the initial implementation. Start looking at an EHR now and find out which one fits your needs best, but since funding will not be available until 2011, there is still some time.

Medicare Stimulus Calculator

Posted on July 16, 2009 by Anthony

What do you want in your EHR (Survey)

Posted on July 13, 2009 by Anthony

[SURVEYS 1]

What does Meaningful Use mean?

Posted on July 11, 2009 by Anthony

One of the more confusing requirements for stimulus funding under the HITECH Act is the definition of “meaningful use.” The goal of this requirement is to encourage not inly implementation of an EHR, but utilization as well. Understanding how meaningful use is defined is important when determining your stimulus incentives for implementation of an EHR system. This is the first in a series of many documents to begin helping the physician understand “meaningful use” requirements and insuring stimulus funds will not be denied.

As of today, meaningful use is still very broadly defined and has a ways to go before a clear understanding emerges. The initial broad scope requirements outlined in the HITECH Act have undergone a 1st iteration by the Health IT Policy Committee and this iteration is simply a recommendation of the definition for meaningful use. On July 16, 2009, a second iteration will be released before CMS begins work on the final requirements for compliance with meaningful use.

It is important to not disregard initial iterations of the meaningful use definition. The 2011 deadline to have an EHR system in place and demonstrating meaningful use is just around the corner. Implementation and training will likely need to occur before the start of 2011 to qualify for the first incentive payments available to health care providers. Most likely a certain % of patients will be

Look for a breakdown of the 2nd iteration of the meaningful use definition on this site after the July 16th release date and expect a final publication by CMS before the end of September 2009.

Subscribe to eHRTech.info to stay updated with the latest information and resources for your eHR system.

Benefits an EHR Should Provide

Posted on July 11, 2009 by Anthony

Benefits of EHR For Small Practices

When looking for an EHR system to implement for a small practice with less than 20 providers, there are key factors everyone should weight before choosing an application. Although there will be new requirements out in late 2009 for all software developers to comply with, providers can begin searching for an EHR solution now.

Key benefits of an EHR system should:
Improve clinical process or work flow efficiency
Increase quality of care
Improve clinical documentation to support appropriate billing service levels
Share patient information among other health care providers
Reduce opportunity for medical errors
Provide remote access to patient records
Improve clinical data capture
Contain or reduce health care delivery costs
Meet the requirements of new standards set forth in late 2009 (not available yet)
Facilitate clinical decision support

A checklist to begin your evaluation of EHR systems might include the following items:

Administrative/management reporting
Audit trails
Claims processing
Clinical documentation
Clinically driven billing
Coding support
Contract management
Decision support
Outcomes management
Patient access
Patient disease registry
Patient education
Physician order entry
Referral tracking
Registration eligibility referral
Scheduling
Specialty clinical software
Speech-based capabilities
Supports simultaneous users
Supports wireless
Touch screen
Transcription
Utilization management
Web-based
Web-enabled
Work group tools