News 1/17/13

A study published in Annals of Family Medicine finds that EHR adoption by family physicians has doubled since 2005 and will exceed 80 percent by the end of 2013. Researchers also found family physician adoption rates were higher than those of other office-based physicians as a group, but say the reason is “unknown.” My theories: EHRs are better suited to the workflow of FPs; FPs are more motivated than higher-paid specialists to adopt EHRs and take advantage of MU incentives; and more low-cost EHR options exist for primary care physicians than specialists. Any other theories?

White Plume Technologies will offer its charge capture and coding solutions customers Wellcentive’s AccelaPQRS, a registry-based alternative to claims-based PQRS reporting.

GE Centricity resellers Alliance Healthcare Solutions and Final Support merge to form Quatris Health and become the largest VAR for GE Centricity practice solutions.

ACPE finds that only 12 percent of physicians find online physician ratings helpful. More than a quarter say the rating sites are a nuisance and over half don’t believe their patients have used one. However, 81 percent of the physicians who check their profiles think the ratings are at least partially accurate.

AMA submits comments to ONC urging that Meaningful Use Stages 1 and 2 be evaluated before committing to a Stage 3. It says its members most often express five concerns: (a) passing requires a 100 percent score; (b) the core measures are inflexible with regard to practice patterns and specialties; (c) the program needs to be independently evaluated; (d) EHR certification needs to place more emphasis on software usability; and (e) healthcare IT infrastructure barriers prevent data sharing. AMA wants three years between stages to give EHR vendors time to prepare – one year for making the rules, one for product development, and one for implementation.

The AAFP also submits comments that call for a delay of Stage 3 until at least 2017 and an elimination of all penalty provisions. It says HHS should (a) focus on problems that require coordination rather than wasting resources on criteria such as CPOE, demographics, lab results, and counting and verifying electronic prescriptions; (b) promote simplicity over complexity; and (c) require the implementation of measures that have broad, clinically-proven impact rather than experimental measures that may not be mature enough for the MU program.

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News 1/15/13

From Maple Man: “Re: EHR petition. Dr. William Zurhellen is a solo pediatrician who believes EHR certification should focus on improving care and that anything else is a waste of time. He has now started a petition of the Obama administration to change the direction of EHR technology so it is focused on healthcare outcomes and controlling costs.” The petition notes that current technology is designed to enhance payment rather than clinical outcomes, adding, “Elements needed are episodes of care, continuous quality improvement, statements of relative outcome, and full integration with practice management tools.” The petition will be delivered to the White House for review if it gets 25,000 signatures, so exercise your First Amendment right if you are inclined.

Speaking of free speech, SRS CEO Evan Steele posts a note to National Coordinator Farzad Mostashari expressing concerns about the future of the EHR incentive program, which he believes is “plagued by rampant dissatisfaction among physicians.” Steele believes the program is too complex and may fail unless it is simplified to focus on e-prescribing, quality reporting, and interoperability. I am not disagreeing, but I wonder if provider perceptions would improve  if the industry offered more user-friendly technologies that handled more of the minutiae in the background.

The FACES Foundation, which provides cleft lip/palate care for indigent and medically isolated patients, buys SOAPware EHR .

Almost 21 percent of primary care physicians report that their personal income fell more than 10 percent in 2012, while an additional 16 percent say their income dropped 10 percent or less. Almost 40 percent of primary care physicians and most pediatricians reported incomes of less than $150,000 a year.

Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY) introduces a bill that would provide SBA loan guarantees of up to $350,000 for single practitioners and $2 million for group practices for the purchase EHRs and other clinical HIT systems.

HIT lawyer Howard Burde offers advice for physicians contracting with a cloud-based EHR vendor, including recommendations that the contract spell out when and how a practice has access to data; how security is assured; how often backups are made and where they’re stored; how frequently services are upgraded; and how often the system is unavailable.

Lincoln Orthopaedic Center (NE) selects the SRS EHR, PACS, and Patient Portal for its 14 providers.

CMS publishes an EHR MU tip sheet to help specialty providers meet MU requirements, including clarification on required core, menu, and clinical quality measures; using data entered by other providers; defining office visits; and applying for hardship exemptions.

Analysis published in Health Affairs suggests that the projected primary care physician shortage could be eliminated if small practices shifted as little as 20 percent of their patients to non-physician providers and used an EHR. The authors’ conclusions are in part based on the assumption that greater use of EHRs improves a practice’s efficiency and allows more patient to be seen. Obviously not all providers concur with that assumption.

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News 1/10/13

A mere 16 percent of providers met PQRS requirements in 2010, with those using registry reporting systems more likely to receive bonuses than those using claims-based reporting. Researchers from the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute say more physicians will need to improve their documentation and reporting practices in order to meet PQRS requirements and avoid lower Medicare reimbursements in 2015.

Prospira PainCare selects athenahealth’s PM/EHR as the standard platform for its network of pain management physicians and rehab specialists.

The Family Health Care Clinic, an FQHC in Pearl, MS, selects McKesson Revenue Management Solutions for billing and A/R management services.

Demand for CRNAs, midwives, NPs, and PAs continues to rise, with medical groups reporting a 17 percent increase in these positions over the last 12 months.Two-thirds of organizations say salaries for advanced practice clinicians (APCs)have risen over the last year and 53 percent intend to increase their APC workforce in 2013.

The Chicago HIT-REC selects SA Ignite’s MU Assistant to automate MU reporting and achieve one-click attestation.

More evidence that practices should not skimp on training: a Health Affairs-published study finds that primary care physicians receiving sustained and extensive technical assistance were more likely to demonstrate improvement on measures of care.

Advanced Data Systems and EyeMD EMR Health Systems integrate the MedicsPremier PM system with EyeMD EMR.

MTBC announces an upgrade program for Allscripts MyWay users and resellers that includes free data migration, implementation, and training costs for practices adopting MTBC’s ChartsPro EHR or the Practice Pro EHR/PM/RCM platform.

Something new to your right: a Tweet box that includes live Twitter updates from HIStalk Practice sponsors. The feed  includes links to a plethora of interesting and relevant HIT information so a big thank you to sponsors for providing the great content. Speaking of sponsors, when is the last time you checked out details on a new product and service? By click on a few of our sponsors’ ads you will be instantly linked to a vast world of HIT offerings. Who knows, you might happen upon something you really need. If nothing else, you are bound to impress uninformed co-workers with your vast industry knowledge.

The former owners of a billing service and physicians from four pathology groups agree to pay the Massachusetts Attorney General’s office $140,000 to settle allegations that they improperly disposed of thousands of medical records found in a public dump.

MDLIVE adds 2,300 ER, internal medicine, and pediatric specialists to its telemedicine network as part of a new partnership with ECI Healthcare Partners Telehealth.

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News 1/8/13

Athenahealth announces plants to buy Epocrates for $293 million in cash, which represents a 22 percent premium over the January 4 closing price.  Athenahealth views the acquisition an opportunity to increase its name recognition among the 340,000 physician users of Epocrates. CEO Jonathan Bush took to the airwaves Monday to discuss the purchase.

Passport Health Communications acquires California-based Data Systems Group, a provider of revenue cycle software solutions.

The 25-provider Orthopedic Associates of Dutchess County (NY) implements Sectra’s PACS.

Physician recruiters say job opportunities for physicians will be more plentiful and varied in 2013 and hospitals and groups will offer bigger incentives to entice prospective candidates. One reason for the increased demand: physicians are seeing 17 percent fewer patients than they were five years ago and working about six percent fewer hours.

The AMA and about 40 national physician organizations urge CMS to stop the implementation of the ICD-10 code set for outpatient diagnosis coding, saying the burden of the transition “will force many physicians in small practices out of business.” AMA estimates the move to ICD-10 will cost physicians between $83,290 and more than $2.7 million, depending on practice size.

Medline’s 1,100-member sales force will co-market NextGen Healthcare solutions to Medline’s customer base of physician practices and hospitals.

The Office of the Actuary at CMS estimates 2011 healthcare spending grew at 3.9 percent in 2011, which is identical to the spending growth rates for 2009 and 2010. The growth in personal healthcare spending was largely driven by increased utilization of healthcare goods and services.

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News 1/3/13

PE firm Thoma Bravo, LLC, which holds equity in Hyland Software and Mediware, invests an undisclosed sum in SRS Software.

Athenahealth reports that it will deliver 30 percent revenue growth for 2012, also stating that it added as many providers to its network in Q3 than in all of 2011.

Pain Clinic of Northwest Florida files a lawsuit against Allscripts, claiming the company misled it about the quality and functionality of MyWay. The complaint sounds a bit over the top at times, saying that MyWay “never worked well” and that instead of confessing its “shortcomings and inherent defects,” Allscripts “concocted a story that it decided to discontinue MyWay” to encourage customers to upgrade to the more complicated Allscripts Professional. The clinic seeks to have its suit certified for class action.

Providers are feeling increased pressure to engage patients at deeper levels because of the urgency surrounding Meaningful Use and accountable care, according to a KLAS report on patient portals. Provides most often select patient portals based on convenience and vendor relationships. Third-party portal vendors earning strong satisfaction scores include Jardogs, RelayHealth, and Intuit.

Galen Healthcare Solutions releases eNotify, a plug-in for Allscripts Enterprise EHR that sends providers EHR task updates directly to any PC or smartphone.

The eight-provider Family Practice Care (MI) chooses iPatientCare EHR.

Congress averts the fiscal cliff and a 26.5 percent Medicare pay cut for physicians, though several professional healthcare organizations chastise Congress for not enacting a permanent fix. AMA President Jeremy A. Lazarus, MD notes that the patch “alleviates the problem,” but urges Congress to fix the problem permanently:

“This last-minute action on the part of Congress is a clear example of how the Medicare program is increasingly unreliable for physicians and patients. This instability stalls progress in moving Medicare toward new health care delivery models that can improve value for patients through better care coordination. Physicians want to work with Congress to move past this ongoing crisis and toward a Medicare program that ensures access to care and the best health outcomes for patients and a stable, rewarding practice environment for physicians.”

Nuesoft publishes a parody video highlighting the ICD-10 code set and some of the more interesting new codes.

We are accepting nominations for the annual HISsie Awards, so take a moment to let us know who and what should be on the ballot. Some of my favorite categories include the industry figure with whom you’d most like to share a beer; smartest and stupidest vendor moves; and industry figure most deserving of a pie in the face. Nominations accepted here.

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