The article about Pediatric Associates in CA has a nugget with a potentially outsized impact: the implication that VFC vaccines…
News 4/2/09
From EHR Guy: “Re: Rumors are flying. I’m hearing that (Unnamed Company) laid off their entire ambulatory HIT sales team. Are you guys hearing anything like that?” This note came from one of Unnamed Company’s competitors. We asked Unnamed for an official response and didn’t hear back. However, given the HITECH money headed towards this industry, why would a company pull out now?
From Procter Parkland: Re: Rumor. Not exactly a rumor per se but more a question that could become relevant in next few months: with the stimulus money coming and vendors positioning themselves for a piece of the pie, any idea how much pricing has come down? It makes sense that the early adopters over the past few years have selected the more expensive vendors, but if you essentially tell everyone they have to adopt in the next few years, I would think that the majority would be drawn to lowest-common-denominator solutions that help them check the box and get the money(and avoid the penalty), without breaking their wallets (especially in this environment). This would require more expensive vendors to price down to compete with the cheaper guys. I’ve heard of MDRX and others offering ‘stimulus pricing’ that is 25% or more below where they used to sell – any other anecdotes of this happening?” We will defer to our readers to share their experiences.
Summit Medical Group(NJ) names Karen Graham COO for its 140 physician group. Graham previously served as CIO for Cooper University Medical Center.
McKesson announces that Pamela J. Pure, executive vice president and president of McKesson Technology Solutions, left the company as of March 30th. No reason given or replacement named.
Digital Healthcare announces that during Q1, primary care physicians utilized Digital’s eye health assessment technology to test over half a million diabetic patients.
March was HIStalkPractice’s second full month and we were pleased by the 45% increase in views over the previous month. Thanks for reading and be sure to sign up for regular email updates so you don’t miss the scoop.
iMedica is now a member benefit partner of the Colorado Medical Society. The Society’s 7,000 member physician will be eligible for preferred pricing for all iMedica products.
A group of leading doctors and researchers are calling on their peers to sharply limit the funding they receive from the drug and device companies, the latest sign of the growing push to limit industry’s influence on how medicine is practiced. The medical associations recommend physicians refuse general budget support from the industry, though are okay with advertising in medical journals and allowing industry to sponsor booths at doctors’ conferences. The pharma companies are complaining, even though the measures would surely save them a bundle.
Greenway Medical Technologies announces its PrimeResearch solution is now integrated into Greenway’s PrimeSuite EHR/PM solution.
Jewson Enterprises, one of the original companies offering research and analysis on physician office software solutions, is now offering its services online. The 36-year old company headed by Vinson Hudson is offering a service named Y.O.U.R. S Online, which provides updated information on PM/EHR software and industry vendors.
Here’s another new on-line tool for technology-seeking physicians. The AMA launches a learning center to provide doctors information about e-prescribing alternatives. The site includes details on vendor prices and features, calculators to estimate time savings and Medicare e-prescribing incentives, and information on other federal and state incentive programs.
At the same time more baby boomers are reaching retirement age, more and more doctors are opting out of Medicare.
Walgreen stores offer free clinic visits to the unemployed and uninsured for the rest of the year. Patients will still be responsible for the cost of prescriptions. Walgreen runs 341 clinics across 35 markets.
New HIStech Reports posted: McKesson and its top-rated Paragon HIS, plus a spotlight on Wolters Kluwer clinical solutions. Both good reads.
Our next news post will be coming direct from HIMSS in blustery Chicago. Inga will be twittering if you care to follow. (IngaHIStalk.)
I don’t know about you, but in my micro-economics classes in college, we learned that flooding the purchasers with resources didn’t lead to lower prices.
Does anyone actually think that docs simply aren’t going to be conduits through which the stimulus money passes on the way from the taxpayers to the EHR vendors? Does anyone actually think that the vendors aren’t going to “find” an extra $60K/doc of things that the practices will have tp spend on?
I seriously doubt that this stimulus money will provide much real purchasing power.