News 6/26/17

Top News

HHS will make $195 million available to community health centers this fall for the expansion of access to substance abuse and mental health services, particularly those focused on opioid addiction treatment. Funding will be used to hire additional staff, and purchase and leverage health IT – presumably the kind that helps physicians access state PDMPs. A separate $3 million grant will be made available to 12 organizations that provide such services in rural communities. Applications for funding are due July 26 and July 21, respectively.

HIStalk Practice Musings

Reading: The Women in the Castle, by Jessica Shattuck. I devoured this historical novel about the widows of German resistors during World War II over a weekend, and am now on the hunt for Shattuck’s other titles at my local library. The book is by no means a beach read, but is surprisingly easy to get through given the heavy subject matter. What’s on your summer reading list? Any health IT-focused fiction I should read? Email me your top titles.

And speaking of libraries, they won’t be going the way of the landline anytime soon. A recent Pew Research Center study found that nearly half of adults in the US have used a public library within the last 12 months, with Millenials reporting the most patronage. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who appreciates the feel of a hardback book in my hands.

Webinars

June 29 (Thursday) 2:00 ET. “Be the First to See New Data on Why Patients Switch Healthcare Providers.” Sponsored by Solutionreach. As patients pay more for their care and have access to more data about cost and quality, their expectations for healthcare are changing. And as their expectations change, they are more likely to switch providers to get them met. In this free webinar, we’ll look at this new data on why patients switch and what makes them stay. Be one of the first to see the latest data on why patients leave and what you can do about it.

July 11 (Tuesday) 1:00 ET.  “Your Data Migration Questions Answered: Ask the Expert Q&A Panel.” Sponsored by Galen Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Julia Snapp, manager of professional services, Galen Healthcare Solutions; Tyler Suacci, principal technical consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions. This webcast will give attendees who are considering or in the process of replacing and/or transitioning EHRs the ability to ask questions of our experts. Our moderators have extensive experience in data migration efforts, having supported over 250+ projects, and migration of 40MM+ patient records and 7K+ providers. They will be available to answer questions surrounding changes in workflows, items to consider when migrating data, knowing what to migrate vs. archive, etc.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information on webinar services.

Announcements and Implementations

Community Based Care (NC) selects documentation software from Therap Services. CBC will use the technology to more easily transmit intellectual and developmental disability services data from its subsidiaries to the North Carolina Health Connex HIE.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

EHR and PM vendor MTBC expects to generate $6.5 million from a $7.4 million public offering of nearly 300,000 shares that will close on June 28. The Somerset, NJ-based company will no doubt use the extra capital to continue roll out of its new WebSoft platform, which went live several weeks ago and is set to replace the company’s legacy system within the next two months.

McKesson Specialty Health will acquire IntraFusion – a practice management company focused on office-based infusion centers – for an undisclosed sum.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nebraska increases its stake in Think Whole Person Healthcare to become a majority owner. The payer has invested nearly $37 million in the physician-led clinic since 2013, nearly two years before it officially opened its doors in Omaha. Founding Think CEO Fergus Hoban left the company last month after a round of layoffs, management changes, and underwhelming use of the clinic’s in-house robotic pharmacy to pursue an unaffiliated, though similarly named venture. Think USA will offer physician practices help in setting up a value-based care model that includes embedded pharmacists, care coordinators and, eventually, new clinics. I interviewed Think’s CMO, John Jacobsen, MD last year. He indicated that while the clinic’s operating model was indeed an experiment, it is one that the company would likely try to replicate at other locations in Nebraska.

Government and Politics

HHS Secretary Tom Price, MD stresses that his team is in listening mode when it comes to restoring trust between physicians and the government after his keynote at the CAPG annual conference. He emphasized the need for MDs to drive healthcare policy, adding that, “You’re the ones that are the true source of ingenuity and innovation that have made our healthcare system the envy of the world in so many, many ways.”

Research and Innovation

A study of 500 FQHCs selected as demonstration sites for the adoption of primary care medical home care models finds that leveraging patient registries, EHRs, and other team-based strategies and services resulted in greater access to care, but did reduce utilization of specialists or acute care. Some quality measures did improve, particularly for diabetic patients. Medicare expenditures – $6 per enrolled beneficiary – were deemed insufficient to cover the cost of additional staff and, presumably, software.

Other

The local paper looks at competing HIE efforts in Connecticut. Both the state and the Connecticut State Medical Society have efforts underway. CSMS, which has already hired an HIT officer, will likely be the first to go live. CSMS has licensed an HIE system developed in Kansas, while the state, still in a discovery phase, is looking at systems developed in Michigan and Maryland. Both will likely compete for subscription revenues.

Fidget spinners are so two months ago: The latest toy craze in China seems to be mini-crossbows that can fire toothpicks, needles, and nails. Parents have called for a nationwide ban. It reminds me of those toys hawked by crooked toy manufacturer Irwin Mainway.

An oldie but goodie. H/T to @KBDeSalvo for the alert.

And they say the booth babe phenomenon is dead: HFMA’s annual conference gets into full swing today in Orlando. I have attended in years past and always found it to be far more pleasant than HIMSS – easier to traverse, easier to manage meetings, and a general sense of laidback-ness that is obviously in full swing. If you’re walking the show floor tomorrow and hear of anything that might interest physician practices, let me know.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 6/22/17

Top News

Senate Republicans release a 142-page draft of their proposed healthcare legislation, known as the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017. (The New York Times has a high-level overview here.) Analysts say it’s similar in nature to the House version that passed last month. Main points of discussion thus far seem to be the bill’s curtailment of Medicaid expansion, elimination of most of the taxes created to pay for coverage expansion, elimination of subsidies for out-of-pocket costs beginning in 2020, restrictions on tax subsidies, and giving payers the right to charge older consumers more than younger ones. It does away with individual and employer mandates, and keeps the pre-existing conditions policy. Senators plan to vote on the bill before the July 4th recess.

Webinars

June 29 (Thursday) 2:00 ET. “Be the First to See New Data on Why Patients Switch Healthcare Providers.” Sponsored by Solutionreach. As patients pay more for their care and have access to more data about cost and quality, their expectations for healthcare are changing. And as their expectations change, they are more likely to switch providers to get them met. In this free webinar, we’ll look at this new data on why patients switch and what makes them stay. Be one of the first to see the latest data on why patients leave and what you can do about it.

July 11 (Tuesday) 1:00 ET.  “Your Data Migration Questions Answered: Ask the Expert Q&A Panel.” Sponsored by Galen Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Julia Snapp, manager of professional services, Galen Healthcare Solutions; Tyler Suacci, principal technical consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions. This webcast will give attendees who are considering or in the process of replacing and/or transitioning EHRs the ability to ask questions of our experts. Our moderators have extensive experience in data migration efforts, having supported over 250+ projects, and migration of 40MM+ patient records and 7K+ providers. They will be available to answer questions surrounding changes in workflows, items to consider when migrating data, knowing what to migrate vs. archive, etc.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information on webinar services.

Announcements and Implementations

MyMipsScore will offer the MIPS100 guarantee program, which offers eligible physicians MIPS scoring tools, guidance, and resources at no cost unless they score 100 and earn a bonus. The Chesterfield, MO-based company will offer vendors the opportunity to integrate its MIPS tools into their EHRs as part of the MIPS100 Certified Vendor Program, launching with help from partner and certification company EMR Advocate.

The Carrell Clinic, an orthopedic medical group in Dallas, selects RCM and analytics software and services from Meridian Medical Management.

Kansas City Urology Care (KS) rolls out patient portal technology from IntrinsiQ.

Orange Care Group’s independent ACOs and IPA in Florida, New York, and New Jersey partner with Memorial Healthcare System (FL) to leverage its Healthy Planet population health management technology via Epic’s Connect program. Orange Care Group also plans to offer Epic’s EHR to its participating physicians.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Opargo, an Irving, TX-based startup focused on optimizing practice management, joins Athenahealth’s More Disruption Please program.

Primary care practice management company VillageMD partners with independent Primary Care Medical Center (KY) to form VillageMD-Kentucky. PCMC physicians will take advantage of VillageMD’s practice model that includes analytics and care coordination technology and support. VillageMD-Kentucky marks the company’s first foray into the Southeast.

People

Consultant Tim Chapman joins Updox’s Board of Directors.

Telemedicine

Huntington’s Disease Society of America will use a grant from Teva Pharmaceuticals to fund free virtual consults from American Well to patients suffering from the genetic disease, which causes a breakdown of nerve cells in the brain.

Other

The American Healthcare Documentation Professionals Group offers a complimentary online medical scribe readiness assessment test to help providers with recruiting and hiring efforts.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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Readers Write: Will Blockchain Survive Healthcare?

Will Blockchain Survive Healthcare?
By Daniel Kivatinos

Blockchain technology is here and thriving, with bitcoin as its primary use case. I expect it will be applied to many industries in the coming years; but the question is, will it work for healthcare? Generally, healthcare has lagged in adopting newer technologies. We have seen the medical industry struggle to move fully off paper, slowly digitizing medical records over the last several decades. The digitalization of healthcare is still happening. Ten years from now, everyone will have easy access to their medical information from around the world via their smartphone. But will blockchain survive the healthcare hype and end up the game-changer some are predicting it will become?

Blockchain Basics

Blockchain’s initial HIT use case began in cryptocurrency along with bitcoin. At the simplest level, blockchain is a distributed ledger. The power of a distributed ledger is that there are many copies, and it creates a new system of checks and balances. As we’ve seen from the headlines, the concept of an encrypted distributed ledger via blockchain is now spreading to other areas like healthcare.

Today, organizations typically have one central administrator that holds the key(s) to the kingdom, one canonical source of truth, one ledger, and one log of transactions. The ledger isn’t spread across a network of different parties. The concept of having multiple digital ledgers from different parties offers a number of security benefits:

• It would be very hard to simultaneously hack all digital ledgers.
• Errors in one ledger can be checked against other ledgers from other parties.

Healthcare Use Cases

Here are several use cases that illustrate how blockchain could work in the healthcare industry:

● Use Case 1: If a physician specialist needs access to a patient’s health history, blockchain would duplicate the medical record and log transactions. One transaction would happen at a physician encounter where a checkup might happen, maybe a radiology image is taken and a prescription refill occurs. After the encounter, a trusted party would validate the transaction with an access key. The blockchain app would timestamp the verified block and add it to the chain of older blocks in sequential order, hence adding a block to the chain. Then the transaction would be distributed to other ledgers, giving other parties copies of the medical record. This would be a great way to keep up to date on a patient’s health if, for example, two providers from different organizations needed to keep track of a patient.

● Use Case 2: Blockchain technology could also be used for medical billing, logging with blocks on a chain and showing all payments from claims from multiple payers. With the United States GDP Health expenditure growing from 13.1 percent in 1995 to 17.1 percent in 2014, according to worldbank.org, having a bit more logging around medical transactions might help identify billing discrepancies and potentially reduce costs.

● Use Case 3: Organizations are also thinking about how they can apply blockchain internally to boost their infrastructure while having multiple parties that, under lock and key, have copies of the ledger. This has the potential to stop hospital ransomware attackers in their tracks.

In summary, healthcare organizations of all sizes are contemplating the ways in which blockchain may benefit their business models. But as we’ve seen with healthcare, its adoption will occur only after its obstacles have been overcome and its value-adds fully realized. Time – and lots of it – will be the barometer of blockchain’s survival in healthcare.

Daniel Kivatinos is co-founder and COO of Drchrono in Mountain View, CA.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 6/21/17

Top News

Physicians at small and/or independent practices are likely breathing sighs of relief as they wade through the 1,000-plus page 2018 Quality Payment Program Proposed Rule released yesterday afternoon. CMS seems to have kept its ears open to the plight of overburdened and under-reimbursed MDs unsure as to how they would keep up with the federal government’s attempts to move everyone over to value-based Medicare programs. Highlights of the rule include:

• Increased opportunity for exemption from MIPS thanks to an increased threshold requirement of 200 patients or $90,000 in payments, as well as a hardship exemption for small practices for advancing care information data-reporting.
• Allowing for the continued use of 2014-edition CEHRT (but bonus points for using 2015 technology).
• Continued offering of pick-your-pace MIPS data-reporting options.
• Ability to participate in MIPS via cost-saving Virtual Groups.

“We’ve heard the concerns that too many quality programs, technology requirements, and measures get between the doctor and the patient,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma said in an announcement. “That’s why we’re taking a hard look at reducing burdens. By proposing this rule, we aim to improve Medicare by helping doctors and clinicians concentrate on caring for their patients rather than filling out paperwork.”

Health IT advisor Justin Barnes, who sat in on CMS listening sessions related to the proposed rule, believes the second-year QPP proposal is a solid step in the right direction. “CMS does care. They are listening,” he explains. “Giving small practices and rural providers more flexibility is the right step, but it’s also important that these types of providers don’t use this as an easy way to opt out of exploring new payment models. Even if you’re exempt or don’t quality, you should still consider how your practice can adopt some of these value-based strategies. There’s no going back to full fee for service. You don’t want to get left behind.”

Comments on the proposed rule are due August 21. CMS will host an overview webinar of the proposed rule on June 26 at 1pm ET.

Webinars

June 22 (Thursday) 1:00 ET. “Social Determinants of Health.” Sponsored by Philips Wellcentive. Presenter: David Nash, MD, MBA, dean, Jefferson College of Population Health. One of the nation’s foremost experts on social determinants of health will explain the importance of these factors and how to make the best use of them.

June 29 (Thursday) 2:00 ET. “Be the First to See New Data on Why Patients Switch Healthcare Providers.” Sponsored by Solutionreach. As patients pay more for their care and have access to more data about cost and quality, their expectations for healthcare are changing. And as their expectations change, they are more likely to switch providers to get them met. In this free webinar, we’ll look at this new data on why patients switch and what makes them stay. Be one of the first to see the latest data on why patients leave and what you can do about it.

July 11 (Tuesday) 1:00 ET.  “Your Data Migration Questions Answered: Ask the Expert Q&A Panel.” Sponsored by Galen Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Julia Snapp, manager of professional services, Galen Healthcare Solutions; Tyler Suacci, principal technical consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions. This webcast will give attendees who are considering or in the process of replacing and/or transitioning EHRs the ability to ask questions of our experts. Our moderators have extensive experience in data migration efforts, having supported over 250+ projects, and migration of 40MM+ patient records and 7K+ providers. They will be available to answer questions surrounding changes in workflows, items to consider when migrating data, knowing what to migrate vs. archive, etc.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information on webinar services

Announcements and Implementations

Raintree Systems will offer Physitrack’s virtual physical therapy technology to its EHR and PM end users. The news comes less than a week after Raintree announced it will incorporate MedBridge’s Educational Ecosystem resources (which includes online continuing education, home exercise programming, and outcomes tracking) into its TherapyRehab Plus and PediatricTherapy Plus software.

Atlanta-based digital health startup WonderHealth develops the Mina app, which allows users to store and share their healthcare data via QR code. EHR integration seems to be in the works.

Inland Imaging Business Associates (WA) renews its RCM agreement with Zotec Partners.

People

Navicure hires Andrea Maizes (Tradestation Group) as chief human resources offer and Robert Hendricks (McKesson) as chief product officer.

Government and Politics

The White House launches a website dedicated to its ACA repeal and replacement efforts one day ahead of when Senate Republicans have said they will release their proposed AHCA legislation. A vote is expected in the Senate next week.

CMS publishes a tip sheet to help providers prepare for the removal of Social Security Numbers from Medicare ID cards. For physicians looking for all the advice they can get, I highly recommend Dr. Jayne’s recent Curbside Consult on the subject.

Other

DataBreach.net reports that The Dark Overlord has struck again, this time dumping the contact information of nine celebrities who endorsed Dougherty Laser Vision (CA) on Twitter. TDO’s account seems to have been suspended, and the vision center has not posted anything publicly about a data breach.

Sponsor Updates

• EClinicalWorks will exhibit at the HFMA ANI conference June 25-28 in Orlando.

Blog Posts

• Integrity and Commitment (Aprima)
• Chronic Care Management and Aging (EClinicalWorks)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

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News 6/20/17

Top News

San Diego-based InteliScript rebrands to InteliSys Health in an effort to expand beyond its prescription pricing and benefits roots into a more comprehensive e-prescribing transparency platform that includes analytics and medication adherence tools. It’s a somewhat quick change, given the company formally introduced its flagship product, Rx Stream , at HIMSS17 earlier this year.

Webinars

June 22 (Thursday) 1:00 ET. “Social Determinants of Health.” Sponsored by Philips Wellcentive. Presenter: David Nash, MD, MBA, dean, Jefferson College of Population Health. One of the nation’s foremost experts on social determinants of health will explain the importance of these factors and how to make the best use of them.

June 29 (Thursday) 2:00 ET. “Be the First to See New Data on Why Patients Switch Healthcare Providers.” Sponsored by Solutionreach. As patients pay more for their care and have access to more data about cost and quality, their expectations for healthcare are changing. And as their expectations change, they are more likely to switch providers to get them met. In this free webinar, we’ll look at this new data on why patients switch and what makes them stay. Be one of the first to see the latest data on why patients leave and what you can do about it.

July 11 (Tuesday) 1:00 ET.  “Your Data Migration Questions Answered: Ask the Expert Q&A Panel.” Sponsored by Galen Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Julia Snapp, manager of professional services, Galen Healthcare Solutions; Tyler Suacci, principal technical consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions. This webcast will give attendees who are considering or in the process of replacing and/or transitioning EHRs the ability to ask questions of our experts. Our moderators have extensive experience in data migration efforts, having supported over 250+ projects, and migration of 40MM+ patient records and 7K+ providers. They will be available to answer questions surrounding changes in workflows, items to consider when migrating data, knowing what to migrate vs. archive, etc.

Previous webinars are on our YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for information on webinar services.

Announcements and Implementations

Primary care management company Tandigm Health selects Tabula Rasa Healthcare’s MedWise Advisor medication risk management tool to help its network physicians better care for geriatric patients after discharge from the hospital.

EHR vendor ClinicTracker develops billing services tailored for behavioral health agencies.

Eagle Physicians and Associates (NC) implements the Carequality Interoperability Framework through its EClinicalWorks EHR in an effort to share data more efficiently with local health systems using Epic.

Modernizing Medicine adds electronic prior authorization capabilities from CoverMyMeds to its EMA specialty-focused EHR.

People

Leah Binder (Leapfrog Group) joins Knowledge to Practice’s Board of Directors.

Research and Innovation

A Solutionreach survey of 2,100 patients across four specialties finds that 43 percent of Millenials, 44 percent of GenXers, and 20 percent of Baby Boomers are likely to look for new physicians within the next two to three years. Patients of all ages cite frustration with practice wait times, communication methods (or lack thereof), convenience, and the inability to easily make appointments as the top reasons for their desire to switch.

Telemedicine

The Fulton County Public Health Department in New York will kick off a three- to five-month pilot telemedicine program next month at three affiliated locations to determine how effective virtual consults are in helping rural patients access care, and reducing ER visits and hospital readmissions. FCPHD will set up a network of telemedicine health stations across the county if its goal of a 25-percent reduction in such events is met.

An Advisory Board survey of nearly 5,000 consumers reveals that 19 percent have seen a physician virtually, and that 77 percent would consider doing so. Concerns that may be holding some consumers back include the quality of care, and the chance a virtual visit would need to be followed up with an in-person visit (likely leaving the patient feeling the virtual consult was a waste of time and money).

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

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