News 4/5/12

CMS extends the deadline to April 30th for Eligible Professionals to submit eligibility appeals under Medicare’s EHR incentive program for the 2011 payment year. The eligibility appeal allows a provider to show that all the requirements for the Medicare EHR incentive program were met and that the provider should have received a payment but could not because of circumstances outside of the provider’s control.

Kokua Kalihi Valley Comprehensive Family Services (HI), a 16-provider FQHC, names e-MDs its vendor of choice for EHR and PM.

Billing and PM service provider Asterino & Associates merges with billing and EMR company Doctor Solutions. The combined entity will be called Asterino & Associates.

The 330 physician DuPage Medical Group (IL) selects Humedica MinedShare to provide clinical benchmarking and analytics from its Epic EMR.

The National Quality Forum endorses new measures associated with care costs for asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hip/knee replacement, and pneumonia, as well as 14 quality measures on perinatal care and 12 on renal care.

The HITR nursing technology blog is running a Bodacious Scrubs contest through April 25. Winner receives a $100 AMEX gift card (and at least 15 minute of fashion fame.)

Professional services firm Syndicus forms a strategic alliance with SOAPware to promote and sell SOAPware’s hosted EHR solution.

EHR and RCM provider MTBC acquires billing company GlobalNet Solutions.

The Miami Herald talks with CareCloud CEO Albert Santalo about the potential impact of the soon-to-be-passed JOBS Act, which aims to reduce bureaucracy and make it easier for private companies to find investors early and go public.  Santalo says that an IPO is a “realistic possibility” for CareCloud and the new legislation, which includes looser regulatory provisions for for “emerging growth” companies, would allow CareCloud to go public sooner than later. Our interview with Santalo can be found here.

SuccessEHS becomes the first ambulatory EHR vendor to demonstrate successful connection with South Carolina’s Health Information Exchange.

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News 4/3/12

From Santiago: “Re: EMR and merging practices. I read more details about the former Northwestern Memorial Physician who resigned and blames the practice’s computer system for inefficiencies. Apparently he had been in solo practice for 12 years and used a different EMR before joining Northwestern. I think people need to realize that we will have more issues with physicians who are forced to change EMRs when practices merge. If one is used to a certain EMR, it’s not an easy task to change, nor is it inexpensive. And, the older the doc, the harder it is to get them to change.” Santiago is referring to the Chicago physician who is now in the midst of a law suit with his former practice. He’s right: more mergers and acquisitions means physicians will face the challenge of switching EMRs.

The AMA’s online newsletter points out some of the missed opportunities for practices that have not created an online presence. One consultant notes that even practices that don’t need to attract new patients should develop a Web presence since information about physicians and practices is already out there, just not under the control of the practice.

CMS paid $391.6 million in PQRS incentives for 2010, a 65% increase over 2009. A total of 268,968 healthcare professionals participated in the program and were paid an average of $2,157 per individual and $20,364 per practice. Payments for the e-prescribing program jumped 83%, with CMS distributing $270.9 million to 65,857 individuals and 18,713 practices.

The administrator of a six-physician primary care group details her practice’s management of paper records in preparation for the group’s EHR go-live. After weighing several options, the practice opted to scan patients’ charts as they came in for appointments starting two months before the go-live. Eventually the practice was able to convert space once used for medical records storage into three exam rooms.

The AMA, MGMA, AAFP, and multiple other professional organizations send CMS a letter expressing their “profound concern about the imminent storm” of overlapping regulations affecting physicians, including e-prescribing penalties, the MU program, and the transition to ICD-10:

We urge CMS to re-evaluate the penalty timelines associated with these programs and examine the administrative and financial burdens and intersection of these various federal regulatory programs. We also urge CMS to use its discretionary authority provided by Congress under these programs to develop solutions for synchronizing these programs to minimize burdens to physician practices, and propose these solutions in the physician fee schedule proposed rule for calendar year 2013.

The Washington Post looks at initiatives in place at Stanford and Georgetown Universities that strive to teach medical students to maintain human connections with patients while using technology. Stanford advises students to face their patient, excuse themselves to check the computer screen, and put away gadgets when not needed. Meanwhile, Georgetown hires actors to portray patients during simulated exams that involve students accessing EMRs and explaining test results to their actor-patients.

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