News 11/22/16

Top News

The State of New York is in hot water thanks to an OIG audit released today that contends it improperly used up to $150 million in grants to set up its health insurance exchange. Auditors found that the state used inflated population figures to obtain funding, claiming that every New Yorker would benefit from coverage through the exchange, even though a substantial chunk had access via their employers. The office has recommended that the state return the money to CMS; state officials have disputed the audit. Similar problems have been documented in Nevada, Maryland, Vermont, and Washington, DC – though none on as large of a scale.

HIStalk Practice Musings

I had my first telemedicine encounter over the weekend. My health-sharing plan offers free visits with MDLive, so I was quick to set up a phone consult (my preference) when my symptoms first presented themselves. The registration process was painless. I waited less than an hour to receive a call from the first physician available, who was sympathetic to my plight. He answered my questions, advised me on medication, and we said our goodbyes. The call probably lasted less than 10 minutes. I’ll definitely use the service again for routine concerns.

Webinars

December 6 (Tuesday) 1:00 ET. “Get Ready for Blockchain’s Disruption.” Sponsored by PokitDok. Presenter: Theodore Tanner, Jr., co-founder and CTO, PokitDok. EHR-to-EHR data exchange alone can’t support healthcare’s move to value-based care and its increased consumer focus. Blockchain will disrupt the interoperability status quo with its capability to support a seamless healthcare experience by centralizing, securing, and orchestrating disparate information. Attendees of this webinar will be able to confidently describe how blockchain works technically, how it’s being used, and the healthcare opportunities it creates. They will also get a preview of DokChain, the first-ever running implementation of blockchain in healthcare.

December 7 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “Charting a Course to Digital Transformation – Start Your Journey with a Map and Compass.” Sponsored by Sutherland Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Jack Phillips, CEO, International Institute for Analytics; Graham Hughes, MD, CEO, Sutherland Healthcare Solutions. The digital era is disrupting every industry and healthcare is no exception. Emerging technologies will introduce challenges and opportunities to transform operations and raise the bar of consumer experience. Success in this new era requires a new way of thinking, new skills, and new technologies to help your organization embrace digital health. In this webinar, we’ll demonstrate how to measure your organization’s analytics maturity and design a strategy to digital transformation.

Announcements and Implementations

Sutherland Healthcare Solutions introduces the SmartHealthSolutions portfolio, including analytics targeted to predicting consumer preferences and needs; a dashboard that presents clinical, financial, and operational data; an app library; and related advisory services.

OpenMRI of Connecticut implements imaging workflow solutions from ERad, including PACS, RIS, and speech recognition across its four facilities. The practice will soon go live with the RadNet subsidiary’s mammography technology and physician portal.

Regional Cancer Care Associates, an oncology physician network serving patients at 27 sites in Maryland, New Jersey, and Washington DC, expands its value-based care program with UnitedHealthcare, extending beyond the “Garden State” into Maryland. RCCA physicians in the “Old Line State” will now be eligible for incentive payments based on improved quality outcomes and lower costs of care. RCCA is one of five oncology practices that have joined the program since it launched as a pilot program in 2009.

People

Scott Nordlund (Trinity Health) joins Select Medical as executive vice president, partnership growth and innovation.

Telemedicine

In Hand Health develops the Therapist Essentials smartphone app, which gives physical therapists the ability to create and send video-based home exercises to patients, which they can remotely track in between visits. The Overland Park, KS-based company has also created a patient version of the app that allows them to receive the videos and log activity, and pain and recovery levels.

Other

Neurotechnology researchers at Honeywell Aerospace develop a system that controls aircraft through electrical signals in the brain. Integrated with a plane’s autopilot, the brain-computer interface translates certain signals into commands to climb, bank left, or drop in altitude. “The first few maneuvers,” says test pilot/guinea pig Jack Stewart, “I can’t believe it’s actually me in command. And then comes the euphoria. I am swooping through clouds, climbing, diving, flying in circles, all at my whim.”

“I am the President, he is The Boss.” President Obama awards Bruce Springsteen the Presidential Medal of Honor, the country’s highest civilian honor. Technology-related recipients included Melinda Gates of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Grace Hopper (aka as “the first lady of software), and Margaret Hamilton, who created on-board flight software for NASA’s Apollo command modules and lunar modules.

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Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 11/21/16

Top News

With Theranos out of the way, Quest Diagnostics expands into consumer-initiated lab testing. Patients in Colorado and Missouri now have the ability to order certain lab tests without a physician’s order, and then access results through the company’s patient portal. This isn’t the company’s first foray into consumer-facing testing services; it began offering testing services on behalf of AncestryDNA in August.

HIStalk Practice Musings

Listening: Anything by amazing soul shakers Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. Jones died Friday of pancreatic cancer at the age of 60.

Webinars

December 6 (Tuesday) 1:00 ET. “Get Ready for Blockchain’s Disruption.” Sponsored by PokitDok. Presenter: Theodore Tanner, Jr., co-founder and CTO, PokitDok. EHR-to-EHR data exchange alone can’t support healthcare’s move to value-based care and its increased consumer focus. Blockchain will disrupt the interoperability status quo with its capability to support a seamless healthcare experience by centralizing, securing, and orchestrating disparate information. Attendees of this webinar will be able to confidently describe how blockchain works technically, how it’s being used, and the healthcare opportunities it creates. They will also get a preview of DokChain, the first-ever running implementation of blockchain in healthcare.

December 7 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “Charting a Course to Digital Transformation – Start Your Journey with a Map and Compass.” Sponsored by Sutherland Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Jack Phillips, CEO, International Institute for Analytics; Graham Hughes, MD, CEO, Sutherland Healthcare Solutions. The digital era is disrupting every industry and healthcare is no exception. Emerging technologies will introduce challenges and opportunities to transform operations and raise the bar of consumer experience. Success in this new era requires a new way of thinking, new skills, and new technologies to help your organization embrace digital health. In this webinar, we’ll demonstrate how to measure your organization’s analytics maturity and design a strategy to digital transformation.

Announcements and Implementations

EyeMD EMR Healthcare Systems adds patient feedback/survey capabilities from Testimonial Tree, including automated requests at various points of care, to its EHR for ophthalmologists.

CTS Healthcare Services adds RightPatient’s photo biometric patient ID system to its line of Patient Passport Express self-service kiosks.

AMA works with LexisNexis Risk Solutions to develop a tool for maintaining accurate directories of provider networks. LexisNexis VerifyHCP will enable physicians to update practice information with multiple payers in nearly real time, helping all parties to comply with increasingly tighter state and federal directory accuracy mandates.

Consulting and IT services company AllUrData works with technology vendor Eccovia Solutions to develop care coordination software for Medicaid programs, ACOs, and managed care organizations that combines clinical data with social determinants of health.

The Washington State Dept. of Health taps Qualis Health to support its Practice Transformation Support Hub, a collection of tools, resources, and coaching opportunities created to help small and mid-sized primary care and behavioral health practices better integrate care. Qualis Health will focus on coaching 

Government and Politics

The Economist uses data to tell the sad health story of states that, against pollster predictions, clinched the win for Trump. It appears that the unhealthier a community, the more likely it was to swing for the larger-than-life businessman. “[Geographic numbers … show … that the specific subset of Mr. Trump’s voters that won him the election — those in counties where he outperformed Mr. Romney by large margins — live in communities that are literally dying,” write the publication’s self-professed data nerds. “Even if Mr. Trump’s policies are unlikely to alleviate their plight, it is not hard to understand why they voted for change.”

Research and Innovation

Scientists develop a temporary tattoo-like electronic sensor that can monitor a person’s heartbeat by recording sound waves as they move through body tissue and fluids. The “mini-stethoscope” will soon be able to connect to a smartphone via bluetooth, and may also have applications in the field of speech recognition when applied to the throat.

Other

Lindsay Norris, RN writes a moving letter to her past, present, and future oncology patients in which she asks for forgiveness for not truly understanding their plight – one that she now finds herself in as she faces her own cancer diagnosis. While the entire letter is worthy of reading multiple times, her opinions on Google struck a chord with me:

“I didn’t get how much you googled. I told you not to do it. You did it, a lot- and so did I. Searching for information, hope, stories like yours, reassurance. It was impossible not to. My new stance is to just know what a good source is when you google. I’ll help you learn to filter the information. And I promise to give you more information, because I know how much you crave it. It’s not realistic to think you will have the willpower to not search at all (at least it wasn’t for me). I’m sorry. I didn’t get it.”

I knew it: A Danish study claims that abstaining from Facebook for one week will make you happier. The study of just over 1,000 Danes found that those that avoided the social network (including uninstalling the app from their phones) reported “significantly higher ‘life satisfaction’ and more positive emotions” than those that remained in the rut of their typical social media routines. “People’s emotional life improves significantly when they quit Facebook for one week,” writes lead author Morten Tromholt. “Millions of hours are spent on Facebook each day. We are surely better connected now than ever before, but is this new connectedness doing any good to our well-being? According to the present study, the answer is no.”

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Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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Population Health Management Weekly Wrap Up 11/20/16

GoMo Health makes its Concierge Care population health management and mobile care coordination technology available to cities, states, and government organizations under the Healthy Cities brand name. Targeted to long-term care and FQHCs, the software includes programs for pre-admission, discharge, and managed long-term care for prevention, and quality-of-life improvement.

Group Health Cooperative renews its contract with ZeOmega and upgrades to the company’s Jiva 6.1 population health management platform. GHC is a managed care organization that serves 630,000 consumers in Washington.

A University of Pennsylvania and Free Library of Pennsylvania study finds that librarians frequently fill the role of community health specialist to patrons in underserved areas, often helping them to find housing, food, employment, and healthcare. “Public libraries are a critically needed and trusted lifeline for many vulnerable citizens,” says researcher Carolyn Cannuscio. “Our analysis found that library staff already serve as catalysts in addressing the needs of many immigrants, people experiencing mental illness or homelessness, and others seeking assistance. And they have the capacity to do even more.” A subsequent pilot program at the new Community Health and Literacy Center is training librarians to integrate evidence-based public health programming into a library setting.

Researchers discover that, like librarians, ACOs are well-poised to fulfill the nonmedical needs of their patients, with many of them already doing so. A study of 32 ACOs found that 16 were addressing needs related to housing stability, transportation, and food insecurity. While the majority of those were doing so in an uncoordinated manner due to lack of resources and strategy, analysts were encouraged by their efforts. “The intersection between patient medical outcomes and social service programs is complex, but it’s very important we study it further to determine which activities are effective at addressing patient needs while reducing costs and improving the quality of care,” explains lead author Taressa Fraze.

Banner Health Network (AZ) selects technology and resources from Evolent Health, including its Identifi HIE solution, to help its physicians better care for its Medicare Advantage patient population. Evolent will work with The Advisory Board to provide BHN with implementation and operational support.

Eastern Washington University works with Skagit County’s Population Health Trust to develop a website that offers 165 data sets on community indicators (which, in my mind, should now be referred to as social determinants of health) including health, education, public safety, and economic vitality. “Our hope is that this will stimulate conversations about the state of our community, and spur people to action,” says county health analyst David Jefferson.

A 16-year University of Kentucky College of Public Health study of 300 communities finds that deaths from preventable causes were 20-percent lower in areas that put in place a wide variety of population health activities through multilayered networks of partnering organizations. The key, researchers found, was the power of the “network effect.” “These results give us the clearest picture yet of the health benefits that accrue to communities when they build broad, multi-sector networks to improve population health,” says lead author Glen Mays. “It’s not simply a matter of implementing widely-recommended activities involving assessment, planning, and improvement – it’s about engaging a full range of partners in these activities.”

The local paper highlights LifeWallet, one of nine winners of GE’s HealthyCities Leadership Academy’s Open Innovation Challenge. Partnering with West Kendall Baptist Hospital and Healthy West Kendall, the health risk assessment technology vendor has already installed its Encounter kiosk in West Kendall’s Healthy Hub, which the hospital deems a “one-stop-shop” for risk assessments and resources. Patients with questionable scores and/or considered high-risk are then connected to the local care they need to improve their outcomes.

Sponsor Updates

Blog Posts

• Medicomp University Asia 2016 a Success (Medicomp Systems)
• CMS Lowers Meaningful Use Reporting Period to 90 Days (E-MDs)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 11/17/16

Top News

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD releases the first Surgeon General’s report on substance abuse disorders. The report highlights the increasingly sad stats related to addiction in the US:

• Twenty-one million Americans deal with substance abuse disorders – more than the number of people who have all cancers combined. 
• One in seven people will likely develop a substance use disorder at some point in their lives.
• Just one in 10 receives treatment.

The Surgeon General writes that the “[u]se of Health IT is expanding to support greater communication and collaboration among providers, fostering better integrated and collaborative care, while at the same time protecting patient privacy. It also has the potential for expanding access to care, extending the workforce, improving care coordination, reaching individuals who are resistant to engaging in traditional treatment settings, and providing outcomes and recovery monitoring.” Along those same lines, he also advocates for greater integration of primary healthcare and behavioral health providers, and better use of patient portals, HIEs, and technology-delivered treatments.

Webinars

None scheduled in the coming weeks. Contact Lorre for webinar services. View previous webinars on our HIStalk webinars YouTube channel.

Announcements and Implementations

Concordia Systems adds automated telephone check-in calls to its line of SentinelCare technologies for post-acute, physical therapy/rehabilitation, and homecare patients. The messaging, intended to increase patient engagement and medication adherence, determines if medications have been taken, asks how the respondent is feeling and if anything is needed, and if the patient would like to have a follow-up call from a nurse or physician.

HIE San Diego Health Connect selects medical imaging technology from Ambra Health to better enable participants to view and share digital images.

Practice development company Unified Physician Management will roll out enterprise software and IT services from IDS, including radiology applications and clinical reporting, to 1,000 Ob/Gyn end users in five states.

The Southwest Diagnostic Imaging Center (TX) implements payment software from Royal Solutions Group.

Patient satisfaction data acquisition and analytics vendor MedStatix joins Greenway Health’s online marketplace of PM tools.

New West Physicians (CO) selects text messaging technology from PMD across its 18 offices in the greater Denver area.

People

Urgent care center company American Family Care promotes Jeremy Allen, MD to medical director, Birmingham region.

MedZed appoints Jeffery LeBenger, MD (Summit Medical Group), Rishi Manchanda, MD (The Wonderful Company), Christine Ritchie, MD (University of California San Francisco), Mark Smith, MD (Health Care Payment Learning & Action Network), and Bart Wald, MD (Providence Health & Services) to its new clinical advisory board.

Telemedicine

Athenahealth adds eVisit virtual consult technology to its EHR. The integration affords end users automated patient record verification, insurance collection, visit documentation, and scheduling between the two systems.

Research and Innovation

Carolina Partners in Mental Healthcare (NC) teams with Mynd Analytics to offer the SMART-MD clinical trial to service members, veterans, and family members. The trial, geared towards patients suffering from depression, will use Mynd’s predictive technology to help physicians determine what medication is best for treatment based on brain function and access to long-term outcomes registry data.

Government and Politics

CMS develops an API to help providers automatically share digital data for the Medicare Quality Payment Program. Using the new tool, software developers can retrieve and maintain the QPP’s measures, and build applications for clinicians and their practices.

Local news highlights the Alabama Medical Board’s efforts to make sure physicians check the state’s prescription drug-monitoring program before prescribing controlled substances. No such mandate currently exists, though the state Alabama leads the country in the volume of prescriptions written. “For those doctors who believe their patients are not doctor shopping, and that their patients are doing everything that they’re supposed to be doing and that they don’t need to check the PDMP, just try it on a few,” suggests internal medicine specialist Darlene Traffanstedt, MD. “They may be really surprised by what they see. I think to not use it as a tool to improve patient care is not ideal.” 

Other

The popular Disney show “Doc McStuffins” will be renewed for a fifth season – news that will no doubt thrill folks like Myiesha Taylor, MD who helped found the “We Are Doc McStuffins” movement right after the show launched in 2013. Taylor went on to create the Artemis Medical Society, a global group that supports female physicians of color worldwide.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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5 Questions with Richard Morel, MD Co-Medical Director, Westmed Medical Group

Richard Morel, MD is co-medical director of Westmed Medical Group, a large multispecialty practice that employs 350 physicians across 14 locations in New York and Connecticut. Westmed, which uses GE Centricity and has attested for Meaningful Use annually since its inception, is working with Bridge Portal to develop a new patient portal that will directly communicate with its EHR. The group hopes to gain a better patient interface and add mobility functions, including a branded app. 

Why did Westmed decide the time was right to implement new mobile-friendly portal technology?
Most people access technology through their phones; even though GE’s portal is not compatible with handheld devices, we noted that the majority of our patients were still using their phones to access the website and portal. Our goal is to provide a better patient experience. The new portal will launch in March.

How is the medical group helping its practices prepare for MACRA?
Westmed is well positioned to succeed under MACRA. We have been involved in quality metric reporting for years and have some of the highest quality scores in the nation (for example, we were number three nationally for the MSSP diabetes composite score for 2015, and were one of 18 practices to receive the 2015 Million Hearts award from the CDC for hypertension control). We have also been focused on cost by trying to provide the right care at the right time and in the right place.

I understand that Westmed has an ACO. What kind is it, and how has it utilized health IT to achieve savings?
We are a track 1 MSSP and have multiple other ACO-like contracts with commercial insurers. We have used IT to automate the closure of many gaps in care. A few examples: Four weeks prior to a scheduled appointment, we automatically scan for patients who are overdue for mammograms or diabetic eye exams. We then reach out to them by text, email, or phone (based on their preference) and offer to schedule the test one hour before or after their upcoming appointment. We also have customized the EHR to automatically scan for all gaps in care including flu shots, pneumonia shots, diabetic measures, and cancer screenings. The orders can automatically be entered and then reviewed by the provider when they enter the room.

Aside from MACRA, what other projects and programs is Westmed looking at?
We had wanted to apply for the CPC+ program, but unfortunately our region was not included.

The holidays are coming! What is on your health IT wish list?
For our app development to go well and be completed on time.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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