News 1/6/11

Allina Hospitals & Clinics endorse Greenway’s PrimeSUITE EHR/PM solutions for affiliated regional providers. Key was Greenway’s ability to interface PrimeSUITE with Allina’s Epic acute care and ambulatory EMR.

The six-provider Cancer Centers of North Carolina–Asheville implements iKnowMed’s oncology-specific EMR. iKnowMed is a division of US Oncology, which is now owned by McKesson.

American Medical Group Association adds four new members to its board of directors.

More doctors are embracing Web-camera visits using services such as Skype. It’s unlikely to replace in-person visits, but providers are increasingly comfortable with the technology as an alternative for short follow-up visits or initial consults with long-distance patients. A big question mark is how patients can and should be billed for video appointments, which tend to be shorter than in-office visits, but longer than e-mail or text interactions. I suspect concierge practices might be the among the early adopters since most of those providers charge patients a flat monthly fee for all visits.

AT&T adds MedApps’ products to its ForHealth portfolio of offerings. AT&T will provide 3G connectivity to the MedApps remote monitoring solution suite and will co-sell MedApps’ remote care monitoring hub and enterprise back-end solutions.

Providers participating in the CentraState Healthcare System (PA) HIE will have an option to use the MobileMD’s EMR Light offering. CentraState is deploying MobileMD products across its medical community and will configure, manage, and support CentraState’s HIE technologies.

MedicalEdge Healthcare Group becomes part of Texas Health Resources in what is thought to be the second largest transaction of its kind. MedicalEdge includes 420 physicians and 2,300 employees. In a side deal, THR also acquires PhysServe, MedicalEdge’s MSO, and plans to sell PhysServe to THR’s joint venture partner, MedSynergies. Despite predictions that the acquisition will improve patient care, you can be assured the primary objective is to increase THR’s healthcare footprint and align physicians for a future ACO.

Other recent deals involving hospitals purchasing practices:

• Mount Nittany Medical Center (PA) absorbs the 51-physician Centre Medical and Surgical Associates
• The Tampa Bay Heart Institute at Northside Hospital acquires the 16-physician Heart and Vascular Institute of Florida South
• Saint Joseph Mercy Health System buys Michigan Heart, a practice with 33 cardiologists and 10 nurse practitioners and physician assistants
• WakeMed Health & Hospitals (NC) adds three practice and a total of 13 physicians.

In doing a bit of Web surfing today, I noticed that HIStalk sponsor Kareo is offering a couple of free webinars this month on how physicians can make medical billing easier and increase profitability. Details here.

I also see Navicure has a free guide for physicians preparing for the 5010 transition. Yikes. The 5010 deadline is officially less than a year away. Navicure is also hosting a webinar January 13th to discuss 2011 reimbursement and the challenges and opportunities for medical practices.

An internal medicine physician completes a review of Motion J3500 tablet, which he was considering for his practice. He seems to know his stuff, having  previously used other Motion devices, as well as the Fujitsu Lifebook, Lenova X61, and HP TouchSmart tm2. His bottom line: the unit is powerful and “has no competition” if you want to use a tablet that can serve as a desktop replacement. However, a fully loaded unit runs over $4,000, is a bit heavy at nearly four pounds, lacks a forward-facing camera, and needs more external control options. In addition, the doctor found he only got 2:45 of use on two fully charged batteries. He concludes by saying he’ll wait for the introduction of other Windows 7 touch screen slates before making a purchase.

E-mail Inga.

News 1/4/11

Day One of registration for EHR incentive money is now over. I wonder if the ONC’s new portal is  bustling, or, if Blumenthal will need to invest a few dollars to better inform providers of the specifics for the attestation process? If you are an Eligible Professional and ready to register, make sure you have on hand your NPI, NPPES user ID and password, and tax ID number if you are reassigning benefits.

Medicity receives modular ONC-ATCB certification for its iNexx platform technology for ambulatory care providers. Aetna, by the way, announces that its $500 million purchase of Medicity is complete.

Sutter Health (CA) patients can access their personal medical records using Epic’s MyChart for the iPhone. The app also allows patients to message their doctors, check lab and test results, view appointments, and receive health reminders.

Happy New Year, by the way. I’ve reinstated a few of my regular resolutions for 2011, such as making time for regular exercise and losing a few pounds. I’ve also decided to step away from the computer a bit more and make time for things like have lunch with friends every once in awhile. I already get up pretty darned early and rarely watch TV, so I don’t exactly know how I am going to “make” this extra time. But what the heck, I’ll give it a whirl for a few weeks.

With the new year, HIStalk Practice is adding some new sponsors. A big welcome to 3M Health Information Systems, which is already a supporter of HIStalk Mobile. The 3M HIS division offers a variety of software and consulting services for clinical documentation and improving financial performance, including computer-assisted coding technology, ambulatory revenue management software, mobile transcription, and an assortment of charting tools. Click on their ad to the left or the link to your right to learn about some of their many offerings. A big thank you to 3M HIS for their support of HIStalk Practice!

Also lending their support to HIStalk Practice: Nuesoft. The great folks at Nuesoft are spreading their Platinum love across by HIStalk and HIStalk Practice, which makes Mr. H and me most appreciative. Some of Nuesoft’s products include NueMD PM and billing software, NueMD EHR, and the Nuetopia medical billing service. In addition, they offer a suite of clinic billing and management products for student health clinics and college health billing services. They are also the creators of the very fun Lady Gaga video that we’ve posted on HIStalkTV. Thanks, Nuesoft, for your support!

If you are not already signed up to receive automatic e-mail updates for HIStalk Practice, the new year is a great time to take care of such housekeeping details. Take two seconds to sign up at the top right hand corner of the page. I promise you will instantly feel the calm that comes with knowing you will never miss a post. It’s also a great time to share your love with our sponsors. Take a moment to click on their ads and see what offerings might make your life more complete, or at least might address some of the pesky HIT problems in your life. And thanks for reading.

CMS launches its new Physician Compare Web page, which provides online tools to help patients locate area health professionals. A later phase of the project will specify which providers participate in e-prescribing and will eventually include quality of care profiles.

Two aspects of last year’s healthcare reform package may be a boon for house call providers. The Independence at Home initiative will launch in 2012 and include incentives for primary care teams providing house calls. There may also be a place for house call providers in emerging ACOs. Proponents believe that incorporating house calls into care programs can increase quality and reduce costs. And here is an interesting statistic: 2.3 million house calls were paid for by Medicare in 2009, up from 1.5 million in 1995.

The use of online appointment scheduling services is growing, with 16% of family doctors now allowing patients to schedule appointments online. As doctors incorporate more technology into their practices, providers are warming up to online tools and realizing the potential to reduce overhead costs and attract new patients. Pricing for online scheduling models vary: ZocDoc charges doctors $250 a month to be listed in an online directory; Health in Reach charges providers only when a doctor gets an appointment.

Neurological Services of Orlando selects Waiting Room Solutions’ EHR and PM system.

We are looking for a few physicians willing to share their insights into the technology in use in their practices. If you are a physician using an ambulatory EMR or some other cool technology, and willing to share your impressions, send me a note.

Ingenious Med wins a 2010 Mobile Star Award in the Healthcare Management category. The category recognizes vendors providing “breakthrough mobile application enhancing quality of care and practice management.”

E-mail Inga.