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5 Definite Reasons To Integrate Transcription With EMR System

Medical transcription business has reached a new milestone with the integration of eMR. In this article; we look at different reasons to integrate transcription services with eMR system. With the emergence of Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system; there was a big question mark over the medical transcription industry. But with the synchronization of both these processes medical practitioners have been able to save lot of time, increase productivity and get [...]

 

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Dispelling myths about EHR and up-to $44,000 ARRA incentive

As you likely know, 2011 was the first pay-out year for doctors choosing to implement EHR (electronic health records) and choosing to take advantage of up to $44,000 in ARRA incentives. Over $2 billion has already been paid to providers and hospitals for achieving meaningful use in 2011. That includes chiropractors. I’ve been fortunate to be involved in the entire process, including interacting and meeting at HHS with many of [...]

 

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'Meaningful use' readiness drops among hospital CIOs

Hospital CIOs are rapidly losing confidence in their organization’s ability to qualify early for federal subsidies for “meaningful use” of EMRs, according to an updated survey from the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives. In a November survey, results of which were released last week, just 15 percent of the 191 CHIME members queried said they expected to qualify for the Medicare and Medicaid bonus payments in the first half [...]

 

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5 mobile trends for 2012

At the third annual mHealth Summit in Washington D.C., major players in the mobile arena noted the impact mobile phones and other devices have and will continue to have both in the US and across the globe. Paul Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Qualcomm, the closing keynote speaker at the mHealth Summit, predicted nearly 4 billion smart phones would be sold between now and 2014. “The mobile device in your hand gives you [...]

 

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5 reasons EHRs need to 'grow up'

With Medicare’s push toward shared savings and accountable care organizations, healthcare business models are getting more complex, said Shahid Shah, software IT analyst and author of the blog The Healthcare IT Guy. The industry needs software to implement these new models. “Due to the new intricacies of organizational connections between different providers, standardization of workflows on existing EHRs won’t really be possible,” Shah says. “Most EHRs are not up to the [...]

 

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Communitywide HIE a 'foundational element' in health system's ACO strategy

Eastern Connecticut Health Network (ECHN), a not-for-profit healthcare system, has contracted with MobileMD, a Yardley, Pa.-based vendor, to help it build a communitywide health information exchange. The HIE not only will provide connectivity among ECHN’s two hospitals and five ambulatory-care sites, but also will reach out to non-ECHN providers, including competing healthcare systems in the Manchester, Conn., area. The HIE will be available to community physicians, as well as a [...]

 

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Can Healthcare Do Security Successfully?

I’m going to answer this question with what I believe to be the correct answer: Yes, the healthcare industry is capable of doing security successfully. I base that belief not only on my experience over the last 20 plus years, but also because of the many examples of organizations that are getting it right, and the many industry leaders who have proven that security can be implemented successfully. So why [...]

 

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Commentary: Why RECs and HIEs need each other

Regional Extension Centers (RECs) and health information exchange (HIE) initiatives share a common purpose: enabling the exchange of patient information to improve health outcomes and care quality. Their individual goals and objectives are also complementary. RECs support physicians in the selection, implementation and use of electronic health records (EHRs), while HIEs provide the infrastructure across which the information collected by those EHRs can be exchanged. Yet in our work with [...]

 

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6 tips for HIE sustainability

The widespread development of health information exchange is happening quickly, and with it comes worries about confidentiality, privacy and security. But its benefits far outweigh potential concerns and include improved quality of care and reduced healthcare costs. Despite HIE’s reserved reception among hospitals and practices nationwide, many have said it will play a significant part in meaningful use stages down the road. And since there’s no time like the present [...]

 

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Health America, Preferred Primary Care Physicians partner on patient-centered care

HealthAmerica and Preferred Primary Care Physicians have launched a new pilot program aimed at providing more coordinated and patient-centered primary care and improved communications among patients, physicians and care teams. Preferred consists of 32 board-certified physicians and five physician extenders specializing in internal medicine and family practice. It has 14 practice locations in the South Hills and three locations in Uniontown in Fayette County. In addition, Preferred offers state-of-the-art outpatient [...]

 

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Regulatory compliance officers need not fear open source software in medical devices or mission-critical healthcare IT systems

I spent the past few days in Boston at the Harvard Medical School Conference Center speaking audiences at the Medical Device Connectivity Conference (I presented lectures on how to design next-generation medical devices and gateways). Many people that attended my lectures showed a great deal of trepidation when I brought up the fact that they should use open source software (OSS) to reduce cost and potentially increase the quality of [...]

 

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Top 5 green health IT trends

If properly executed, green IT can mean healthcare organizations see fewer bills, contribute lower levels of carbon emissions, and enjoy an easier transition into mandated practices. But it has to be done right. Noble and potentially cost-efficient, but embracing the “go green” trend isn’t simple. Jerry Buchanan, account director Healthcare Technology and Services at eMids Technologies, shares five powerful green IT practices for healthcare. 1. EMR: Paper trails have met their match with [...]

 

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HIPAA at 15: HITECH Tightens Health Care Data Privacy Laws

Fifteen years after Congress enacted the HIPAA data privacy laws, health care IT is adapting to guidelines made more stringent by the 2009 HITECH Act. With 2011 marking the 15th anniversary of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, health care providers and IT companies continue to evaluate how to keep electronic health data secure. On Aug. 21, 1996, President Clinton signed into law a set of rules detailing who [...]

 

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Government task force aims to expand health IT to rural areas

The Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture have signed a memorandum of understanding linking rural hospitals and clinicians to capital loan programs to help them purchase software and hardware needed to implement health IT. On Aug. 16, the White House publicly announced the Administration’s commitment to this agreement. [See Obama's new rural jobs initiative includes health IT.] HHS’  Rural Health Information Technology Task Force, has been working with the [...]

 

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Scenarios: Deficit panel talks loom for Medicare, Medicaid

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The government’s soaring healthcare bill will be high on the agenda of Congress’s new deficit-cutting “super committee,” which has been assigned the task of finding by November 23 at least $1.2 trillion in savings. Few major structural changes are expected for the Medicare and Medicaid health insurance programs given the time constraints. The 12 committee members — six Democrats and six Republicans — also are unlikely to [...]