News 12/1/11

CMS extends the deadline for meeting Stage 2 Meaningful Use for hospitals and EPs that qualify for Stage 1 MU in 2011. In order to “make it easier to adopt health IT,” CMS says it will give all providers – those qualifying for Stage 1 in 2011 and in 2012 – until 2014 to achieve Stage 2 requirements. In the same press release, CMS also mentions a recent CDC report that estimates that  the percentage of physicians who have adopted EHR in their practices has grown from 17% to 34% between 2008 and 2011. In addition, 50,000 HIT jobs have been created since the enactment of the HITECH act.

Other key findings from the above-mentioned CDC report, based on the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey:

• 57% of office-based physicians use EMRs of any type.
• Provider usage rates range from 40% in Louisiana to 84% in North Dakota
• 52% of physicians surveyed in 2011 say they will apply for MU incentives, which is up from 41% in 2010.

Mountain Medical Physician Specialists (UT) chooses the Medicalis Enterprise Worklist platform to balance imaging volume across its 65 physicians and 15 reading sites.

The Detroit Medical Center PHO teams with the AMA’s Amgine subsidiary to give physician members access to AMA ePrescribe and the DocSite registry.

Cardiology Associates of North Mississippi adopts Emerge Clinical Solutions’ decision cardiology software, which is integrated with the practice’s GE Centricity PM system.

Navicure adds the 60-physician Family Health Services Minnesota and Pine Rest Christian Mental Health (MI) to its client roster. Navicure was also included on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 list for the fifth consecutive year.

The 30-radiologist Physicians Imaging Center of Florida contracts with Atlantic Health Management Solutions for billing services.

Medical Transcription eXpress signs with MD-IT to resell the MD-IT platform and EMR.

Memorial Healthcare System (FL) selects Meditab/SuiteMed as a vendor option for its EHR Donation Program. Affiliated MHS physicians will have the option to implement the Intelligent Medical Software EHR in connection with the Atlantic Coast HIE.

HealthSaaS and DocLogic collaborate to deliver health monitoring directly into live online encounters between physicians and patients. The companies will integrate HealthSaaS’s biometric and mobile applications with DocLogic’s telemedicine technology to improve remote patient monitoring. Captured data can then be sent electronically to physicians’ EHRs.

West Bay Orthopaedic Medical Group (CA) contracts for the ChartLogic EHR suite.  In the same press release, ChartLogic says that more than 25 of its clients have qualified for Meaningful Use. I am not sure what percentage of ChartLogic’s total client base that represents, although the ChartLogic Website says “thousands” of practices use their EHR.

St. Jude Heritage Medical Group (CA) selects MediRevv to provide insurance backlog liquidation support and resolution services for its 150-doctor organization.

E-mail Inga.

News 11/29/11

An Illinois Congressman introduces legislation that would make the country’s 4,000 rural health clinics eligible for Meaningful Use incentives.

DOCtalk by Dr. Gregg 11/27/11

An Audience with the King and Queen

Ohio’s been doing pretty well with this whole "get the providers signed up to go digital" thing. So much so, in fact, that we’re getting a visit from Her and His Royal Highnesses, Kathleen Sebelius and Dr. Farzad Mostashari, to discuss our successes thus far as well as what’s to come with Stage 2 MU and more.

Between the Ohio Health Information Partnership and HealthBridge, Ohio leads the country in total number of providers signed up for REC services/Meaningful Use commitment. In fact, we account for over 6% of the current U.S. total of providers signed, nearly double our population stats relative to the country’s census as a whole.

Having a big bunch of commitments is a far cry from meaningfully mingling our medical data, but "steps is steps." That’s what the whole "sign ’em up" thing is for: getting more folks headed down the digital trail. Get electronic and one day we may actually be able to share electrically… so, first steps first.

I’ve had my doubts about MU, but with what I’ve seen here in Ohio — and especially with what I see coming as we charge up our statewide HIE for rollout — I think most of my reservations have been pretty much squelched.

Since I’m feeling less the skeptic these days and as I was lucky enough to receive an engraved invitation to meet with their Royal Highnesses this Wednesday, I’ll admit to being a bit excited about hearing what they have to say and seeing to what they seem to respond. Having an audience with the current King and Queen of HIT is a chance to see into the eyes of HITECH royalty and, as the eyes are the windows into their digital souls, maybe I’ll glean some insight into our conjoined Meaningful futures.

Perhaps having the royalty of HIT stop by for an afternoon chat isn’t the biggest news in town. After all, a big part of their current professional raison d’être is to spread the gospel of all things HIT and to spot the winners from the amongst all those rolling dice in this giant REC crapshoot. Still, they have a couple of wicked good titles and peons like me are always impressed by cool titles. (Peasantry in the trenches doesn’t get cool titles.)

Since I’m heading off to this nexus with nobility and as I’m just one grunt with one grunt’s ideas, I thought it might be helpful if I asked you, the good readers of HIStalk Practice, if you might have any good questions or ideas you’d like me to messenger. Please help me sound smart by giving me some intellectual ammunition with which to bolster my value to their regalnesses.

If you have any useful queries or any brilliant insights you’d like share, please leave a Comment on this post or send me an e-mail directly. (Please keep them relatively curse-free in case my son looks over my shoulder when I’m reading your replies!) I’ll do my best to represent and report back on any responses from the Secretary or the Coordinator.

I’ll check back for any submissions in a while. Right now, I have to go practice bowing.

From the trenches…

(OK, the royal invite wasn’t really engraved, but it was a real invitation – hard copy, envelope, and everything. And, yes, it did get sent digitally, too. Can you imagine how snarky the commentary would get if they didn’t send the invitation in electronic form?!?)

“Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown.” – William Shakespeare

Dr. Gregg Alexander, a grunt in the trenches pediatrician at Madison Pediatrics, is Chief Medical Officer for Health Nuts Media, directs the Pediatric Office of the Future exhibit for the American Academy of Pediatrics, and sits on the board of directors of the Ohio Health Information Partnership (OHIP).

News 11/22/11

EHR adoption for midsize and large ambulatory practices will exceed 80% by 2016, according to IDC Health Insights. IDC provides an assessment of 10 EHR products from eight vendors, based on their current successes and predicted performance over the next three years. eClinicalWorks earns the top scores based on customer perceptions of value and functionality and the likelihood  of the company executing sound business strategies that align with customer needs. IDC also names Cerner, Sage, and NextGen “Major Players.”  The inclusion of Cerner surprised me a bit, but IDC says Cerner stood out because it offers its product on a fully SaaS basis with strong technical support. Moreover, Cerner stood out “based on its strengths as a business.” Epic wasn’t named a Major Player, which IDC calls out for its high cost and training requirements and its limited availability as a SaaS offering.

The ONC’s Farzad Mostashari announces that over 100,000 primary care providers (or one-third of all the nation’s PCPs) have signed up with their local RECs for EHR adoption assistance. While that sounds like a tremendous accomplishment, only 1,000 have actually attained Meaningful Use. The goal for REC’s is for at least 20% to achieve MU, so RECs as a whole are a bit behind. Some of the challenges facing RECs: staff recruiting and retention and obtaining current software upgrades on behalf of clients.

Health Revenue Assurance Associates appoints Peggy Hapner, RHIA, CSC, CASCC, as director of ambulatory services. She previously served as a manager for Medical Learning, Inc.

The AMA’s Amagine subsidiary and Michigan Association of Health Plans team up to provide Michigan physicians access to insurance eligibility data using online portals administered through their organizations.

Vitera Healthcare Solutions (formerly known as Sage Healthcare, in case you missed it) announces the addition of six clients using its cloud-based Vitera Intergy On-Demand PM and EHR solutions. The new practices include the 14 physicians Heart Center of Nevada and the five-physician Texoma Heart Group (TX).

Clinica Family Health Services (CO) and College Park Family Care (KS) select Ultimate Software’s UltiPro Workplace to automate and manage HR-related processes.

Culbert Healthcare Solutions is now an AMGA Executive Corporate Partner.

OhioHealth selects the athenaCommunicator patient communication service from athenahealth.

I’d like to call your attention to the top right hand  corner of the page where you will find MED3OOO’s text ad for their upcoming Quippe Webinars. If you haven’t seen Quippe yet, it’s worth a peek. I’d also like to plug the nifty text ads in general, which are an inexpensive alternative for anyone seeking a bit of self-promotion. And if you haven’t done so in awhile (or ever!) do me and our sponsors a favor and click on their ads to the left. You might just discover something special you never knew existed.

Transcription Unlimited (MO) signs a partnership agreement with MD-IT to offer the MD-IT platform and EMR to its physician clients.

DrFirst achieves approved vendor status with the Arizona REC for its Rcopia-MU product. The Arizona REC also names SuiteMed a preferred, Tier-2 vendor.

E-mail Inga.

DOCtalk by Dr. Gregg 11/18/11

Out of the Mouth of Blavatsky

About two and a half years ago, I wrote about one of my weekly channeling visits with my local psychic, Madame Blavatsky. Now lest anyone think that I have relinquished my spirit guides and abandoned my spiritualism swami, I am here to tell you that the voices from the other side are just as strong as ever and I am listening with ears wide open to every ectoplasmic-associated, ethereal echo.

Why just this week I heard the voice of none other than the granddaddy of all modern day medicos, Hippocrates. (Well, it was still Madame Blavatsky’s vocal cords he used, but he assured me it was “Hip” – as he likes to be called these days – himself.)

Who’d guess that, even though he’s no longer in mortal form, Hip had joined the techno-geek reform movement in medicine and has been following all things HIT? He admits that his current state of being limits his direct involvement in furthering the goals of healthcare reform (remember: he was truly the first healthcare reformer!) and that he can now only influence through the likes of Mme. B. Still, he has kept in touch, so to speak, with the world of medicine and he was just dying, so to speak, to offer his insights into the future of the world of HIT – specifically, the world of HIT vendors.

I was entranced.

A spirit horn sounded off in the distance as Hip began to prognosticate on the future of health IT vendors. The table rose ever so slightly as cold breezes brushed the hair standing up on the back of my neck in the dark, windowless room. Hip spoke…

“The realm of HIT as you know it will change quite dramatically over the foreseeable next few years. Many of the companies you have come to know will become quite different or will completely disappear.”

Well, duh. Who didn’t know that? Feeling just a smidge of nonbeliever skepticism sneaking in, I asked if he could just a bit more specific.

“It is hard from this side to see clearly all that is written and sometimes the names may be blurred, but I will do my best to tell you of the fate that awaits some of your dear HIT corporate world.”

His (her?) voice trembled as the next words wafted out.

“The pink Dolte will grow as a bolt. The pink gloves dance, penetrating the world of medicine, is actually a very clever marketing scheme devised to subliminally further their pink propaganda while appearing to promote a very worthy cause. Pure marketing genius.

“Can you spare a dime, mista, for my down and out WistA? Not sure what it means, but I see cataracts ahead instead of clear vision.

“Epoch will shudder without their rudder. Doody Hawkmer will be seen running off, barebreasted, on a banana boat to Bolivia, oodles and boodles of beer money in hand.

“Just as with TWA, Allchirographies will go away. The ‘all marketing and sales approach’ will implode upon itself revealing the dearth of substance and support below.

“Luddites will hate as Siri and Watson mate. Not sure who they are, but their vile progeny will eventually bring about the decline and fall of the entire transcriptionist world, libraries, and every ‘minute clinic’.

“minervahealth shall grow in wealth. There is some perturbation in the future energies, though; a possible dimensional shift may occur in which minerva’s leader is seen boarding the banana boat with Ms. Hawkmer. It appears that heavy doses of Stella Artois will be involved. minerva’s status if their leader heads to La Paz is unclear.

“A Quip in time saves nine. Not sure who’s making the ‘quip’ we’re seeing here, but it appears that Virginia and Pittsburgh are somehow in cahoots for a major disruptive force in HIT.

“A man with no name and his Scandinavian dame. This partial phrase came through the ethers as important, though I’ve no clue as to their relationship to future of HIT…other than it is clear they will be instrumental. Something was there, too, about a Jay or a J, but it was all just so foggy”

Suddenly, my cell phone buzzed which, even though muted, was apparently enough to break our cosmic connection. With another cold blow of wind across my neck, Hip was suddenly gone and all I could hear was what sounded like a dial tone coming from Madame B’s mouth.

I wasn’t certain to exactly whom good old Hip referred with each reference, but I did appreciate his weird little rhymes as they helped me to remember his prognostications long enough to get home and get them written down for posterity. I just know they’ll be important somehow. After all, who’s going to doubt the words of the Father of Medicine? (OK, except that bothersome spirit of Imhotep who kept trying to break through my connection with Hip to reclaim his initial role as medicine’s “real” father. Geez, dude…get a life, so to speak.)

From the trenches…

“Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we shall die.” – Imhotep

Dr. Gregg Alexander, a grunt in the trenches pediatrician at Madison Pediatrics, is Chief Medical Officer for Health Nuts Media, directs the Pediatric Office of the Future exhibit for the American Academy of Pediatrics, and sits on the board of directors of the Ohio Health Information Partnership (OHIP).