Population Health Management Weekly Wrap Up 4/23/17

The University of Vermont Health Network promotes Stephen Leffler, MD as chief population health and quality officer.

HealthPartners rolls out Welltok’s personalized healthcare incentive plan to individual and small group plan members this month. It will offer the technology to its commercial large group markets next year.

Cynthia Yannias (Better Health Network) joins eQHealth as state director, Illinois, government operations.

Allen Kemp, MD (Centura Health Physician Group) joins Erdman’s Board of Directors.

Caradigm announces that it will reduce its workforce as part of a reorganization that it hopes will streamline operations. The company went through similar motions last fall, reorganizing product teams and its Services organization.

Prime Healthcare ACO (CA) implements population health analytics and benchmarking from Persivia to assist its 70 practices with 2016 reporting requirements.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System partners with Independence Blue Cross in a care coordination and data sharing deal – part of the Independence Facilitated Health Networks model – that both hope will decrease costs and improve care quality. The partnership, which begins July 1, includes:

• Shared accountability; for example, PHS will offer Independence members a 30-day no-readmissions guarantee for all inpatient services.
• Real-time exchange of EHR and claims data for better decision-making.
• Collaborative assessments including on-site visitations from Independence clinical teams and quarterly meetings for benchmark analyses.

Sponsor Updates

• Intelligent Medical Objects will exhibit at the European Federation for Medical Informatics meeting April 24-26 in Manchester, England.

Blog Posts

• The role of secure communications in your clinical integration strategy (PerfectServe)
• We Are Not a Bank: Changing the Payment Culture (Aprima Medical Software)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 4/20/17

Top News

HHS Secretary Tom Price, MD announces that HHS will provide $485 million in 21st Century Cures Act-funded grants to all 50 states in an effort to help them combat the opioid epidemic. Distributed through SAMSHA, the funding will help public health officials in each state provide training, invest in technology, support PDMPs, and establish treatment and prevention programs. Price added that a further $500 million will be distributed next year based on the effectiveness of this year’s round of funding.

Webinars

April 26 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “SSM Integrated Health Technologies Clinical Data Migration: Functional and Technical Considerations.” Sponsored by Galen Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Sandy Winklemann, MHA, RHIA, project manager, SSM Integration Health Technologies; Tyler Mawyer, MHA, managing consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions; Kavon Kaboli, MPH, senior consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions. GE Centricity and Meditech to Epic EHR transition. Join us for a complimentary webinar as present the decisions that are important to consider when performing a clinical data migration from the point of view of  the healthcare organization program manager, the clinical analyst, and the technical implementation team. Our expert panel will survey data migration considerations, best practices, and lessons learned. The webinar will present a unique client perspective, offering insight into considerations surrounding staffing, clinical mapping, legacy application support, and validation and testing.

April 28 (Friday) 1:00 ET. “3 Secrets to Leadership Success for Women in Health IT.” Sponsored by HIStalk. Presenters: Nancy Ham, CEO, WebPT; Liz Johnson, MS, FAAN, FCHIME, FHIMSS, CHCIO, RN-BC CIO, Acute Care Hospitals & Applied Clinical Informatics – Tenet Healthcare. Join long-time C-level executives Liz Johnson and Nancy Ham as they share insights from nearly three decades of navigating successful healthcare careers, share strategies for empowering colleagues to pursue leadership opportunities, and discuss building diverse executive teams. This webinar is geared toward female managers and leaders in healthcare IT seeking to further develop their professional careers. It’s also intended for colleagues, executives, and HR personnel who are looking to employ supportive techniques that ensure diversity in the workplace.

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

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Arizona Health-e Connection rebrands to become Health Current. The statewide HIE, which launched in 2007, has seen its participants grow to over 300 organizations, including 80 focused on behavioral health and newer entities representing first responders, ACOs, correction health, and long-term care.

Medical transport and technology startup Circulation opens a new call center to accommodate its continued growth. Since opening last fall, the Uber-partnered company has signed on 700 healthcare facilities in 25 states, and claims a 95-percent rate for on-time appointment arrivals.

People

Nina Antoniotti (Southern Illinois University School of Medicine) joins SnapMD’s clinical advisory board.

The California Academy of Family Physicians elects Michelle Quiogue, MD (Southern California Permanente Medical Group) president.

Elaine Comeau,RN (Philips Healthcare) joins virtual nursing care company PointNurse as CEO. Consultant Nannette Spurrier has joined the company’s advisory board.

Announcements and Implementations

Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Center implements ERAD’s RIS, PACS, and speech-recognition technology. The Orangeburg, SC-based center plans to implement the company’s patient and physician portals within the next few weeks.

Resurgens Orthopaedics (GA) will replace its EHR with Athenahealth technology. It is the largest medical group of its kind in Georgia, with 100 physicians across 21 locations.

Telemedicine

MobilDrTech launches an online store for telemedicine equipment.

A Utah-based resident files a $5 million class-action lawsuit in a Florida court against MDLive for violating patient privacy. The lawsuit contends that the company captured screenshots of virtual consults without telling patients, and then transmitted them to a third-party IT company tasked with maintaining the company’s mobile app. The suit also claims MDLive places no restrictions on who can access the images.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

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News 4/19/17

Top News

The State of Michigan successfully updates the Michigan Automated Prescription System, which enables prescribers to see which controlled substances have been prescribed to patients. New PDMP features include data-sharing between states, a decrease in look-up time from 10 minutes to a few seconds, and real-time data uploads. The upgrade is the result of a deal the state made with Appriss Health last fall that called for an overhaul of the MAP system. Implementation of the new technology took six months.

Webinars

April 26 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “SSM Integrated Health Technologies Clinical Data Migration: Functional and Technical Considerations.” Sponsored by Galen Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Sandy Winklemann, MHA, RHIA, project manager, SSM Integration Health Technologies; Tyler Mawyer, MHA, managing consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions; Kavon Kaboli, MPH, senior consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions. GE Centricity and Meditech to Epic EHR transition. Join us for a complimentary webinar as present the decisions that are important to consider when performing a clinical data migration from the point of view of  the healthcare organization program manager, the clinical analyst, and the technical implementation team. Our expert panel will survey data migration considerations, best practices, and lessons learned. The webinar will present a unique client perspective, offering insight into considerations surrounding staffing, clinical mapping, legacy application support, and validation and testing.

April 28 (Friday) 1:00 ET. “3 Secrets to Leadership Success for Women in Health IT.” Sponsored by HIStalk. Presenters: Nancy Ham, CEO, WebPT; Liz Johnson, MS, FAAN, FCHIME, FHIMSS, CHCIO, RN-BC CIO, Acute Care Hospitals & Applied Clinical Informatics – Tenet Healthcare. Join long-time C-level executives Liz Johnson and Nancy Ham as they share insights from nearly three decades of navigating successful healthcare careers, share strategies for empowering colleagues to pursue leadership opportunities, and discuss building diverse executive teams. This webinar is geared toward female managers and leaders in healthcare IT seeking to further develop their professional careers. It’s also intended for colleagues, executives, and HR personnel who are looking to employ supportive techniques that ensure diversity in the workplace.

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

Announcements and Implementations

Practice EHR announces e-prescribing capabilities for controlled substances.

Melville, NY-based Sequel Systems, developer of the SequelMed EHR, makes a similar announcement.

Outcome Health will serve up educational patient content from the American Urological Association to AUA-member practices via its digital content technologies, which include anatomy boards, educational tablets, and mobile connectivity.

Integrated Medical Services, a multispecialty group with 50 locations across Phoenix, AZ, signs on for RCM software and services from Zotec Partners.

In an effort to better serve home healthcare providers, CareTime adds EHR and PM capabilities from InSync Healthcare Solutions to its electronic visit verification software.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Patient-provider matching tech company Grand Rounds opens its first office on the East Coast. The San Francisco-based business, which targets its solution to employers, expects to bring 150 jobs to the new 22,000 square-feet facility in Lewiston, ME over the next five years. Local employer Dead River Co. has signed up for its services.

People

Amazing Charts founder Jon Bertman, MD joins MTBC to lead the final development and launch of the company’s new AI-powered TalkEHR. Bertman also seems to still be involved with AfraidtoAsk.com, a website he launched in 1996 that promises to provide “detailed and personal information on topics that most other healthcare websites are afraid to show.”

Telemedicine

San Francisco-based PlushCare rolls out a homegrown EHR to its 50 physicians providing direct-to-consumer telemedicine services in 16 states. The new Lemur EHR includes features powered by Surescripts, Eligible, and Elsevier.

Other

Phys.org profiles the ways in which disabled gamers are creating special controllers to help them overcome the challenges that many video games present, including the need to quickly and repeatedly press buttons, and the need to keep up with a game’s overall pace. One gamer – paralyzed from the neck down – has invented an on-screen keyboard that he controls with head motions via a specially designed “headmouse.” Disabled gamers interviewed for the article emphasize that games are a reminder that “you need to fight to succeed, especially us with difficult diagnoses.”

Sponsor Updates

• EClinicalWorks will exhibit at the MPCA Spring Symposium April 19-20 in Helena, MT.

Blog Posts

• Consulting-Life Balance (Culbert Healthcare Solutions)
• Extend Your Reach: Care Coordination for Chronic Care Patients (Healthwise)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

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News 4/18/17

Top News

CMS rolls a number of Meaningful Use-related reporting changes for EPs into its proposed rule for the 2018 Medicare hospital inpatient and long-term acute care hospital prospective payment systems. Comments on the proposed rule, which includes the EP-related items below, are due June 13:

• A modified clinical quality measure reporting period of at least 90 continuous days.
• Better aligning MU and MIPS quality measures.
• Certain exemptions for ambulatory surgical centers.
• Exemptions for meaningful EP users whose EHRs have been decertified.

Webinars

April 26 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “SSM Integrated Health Technologies Clinical Data Migration: Functional and Technical Considerations.” Sponsored by Galen Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Sandy Winklemann, MHA, RHIA, project manager, SSM Integration Health Technologies; Tyler Mawyer, MHA, managing consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions; Kavon Kaboli, MPH, senior consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions. GE Centricity and Meditech to Epic EHR transition. Join us for a complimentary webinar as present the decisions that are important to consider when performing a clinical data migration from the point of view of  the healthcare organization program manager, the clinical analyst, and the technical implementation team. Our expert panel will survey data migration considerations, best practices, and lessons learned. The webinar will present a unique client perspective, offering insight into considerations surrounding staffing, clinical mapping, legacy application support, and validation and testing.

April 28 (Friday) 1:00 ET. “3 Secrets to Leadership Success for Women in Health IT.” Sponsored by HIStalk. Presenters: Nancy Ham, CEO, WebPT; Liz Johnson, MS, FAAN, FCHIME, FHIMSS, CHCIO, RN-BC CIO, Acute Care Hospitals & Applied Clinical Informatics – Tenet Healthcare. Join long-time C-level executives Liz Johnson and Nancy Ham as they share insights from nearly three decades of navigating successful healthcare careers, share strategies for empowering colleagues to pursue leadership opportunities, and discuss building diverse executive teams. This webinar is geared toward female managers and leaders in healthcare IT seeking to further develop their professional careers. It’s also intended for colleagues, executives, and HR personnel who are looking to employ supportive techniques that ensure diversity in the workplace.

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

Announcements and Implementations

Sales support company Rep Network offers physicians access to EPatientFinder’s Clinical Trial Exchange, which helps providers use EHR data to identify and enroll patients in relevant clinical trials.

Alvin Abaqueta, MD and William Long, MD enlist the aid of concierge practice management company MDVIP to open a new primary care practice in Charlotte, NC. Patients will have access to MDVIP’s health and wellness portal, and PHR. Over 800 physicians in 43 states have signed up for the company’s services since it launched in 2001.

OptimizeRx adds prior authorization services from PARx Solutions to its digital prescription savings software for EHRs.

People

Brad Logan (Sheridan Healthcare) joins Northwell Health practice management spinoff business Formativ Health as chief revenue cycle officer.

Telemedicine

EWellness will debut new physical therapy technology within the next three months. Solutions on deck include app-based therapeutic exercise regimens, white-label telemedicine services, and a telehealth educational certification program. It will also open its first sales and marketing office within the next several weeks.

Signature Home Health Bellingham (WA) implements remote monitoring, virtual consult, and patient engagement technology from Health Recovery Solutions.

MobilDrTech becomes a value-added reseller of the Concierge Telemedicine System from Telemedicine Web Services.

Other

Evans develops a set of emergency preparedness protocols to help large physician practices, mental health centers, long-term care facilities, and residential psychiatric treatment centers comply with CMS requirements that will take effect November 15.

Paging, er, texting Dr. Jayne: Vera Bradley will launch a line of apparel and accessories for healthcare professionals next Spring. Initial items will include uniforms, tote bags, and ID badge holders. It’s a new and presumably lucrative market for the company given that close to 20 percent of Vera Bradley’s customers work in healthcare.

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

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News 4/17/17

Top News

GAO releases a 72-page, MACRA-mandated report on utilization of telemedicine in Medicare programs, highlighting provider-reported factors that influence its use, and nascent payment and delivery models that could affect its future. There’s definitely room for increased adoption: The report notes that a small percentage of beneficiaries received care via telemedicine – “from less than 1 percent of beneficiaries in Medicare and DOD to 12 percent in VA.” Top barriers include inadequate payment, coverage restrictions, and lack of infrastructure. Top benefits include convenience, coverage, and its ability to alleviate physician shortages. The report is likely not the last of its kind, given the fact that government officials are still trying to determine if telemedicine services will reduce Medicare spending if used in place of in-person visits, or increase spending if used in addition to such visits.

Webinars

April 26 (Wednesday) 1:00 ET. “SSM Integrated Health Technologies Clinical Data Migration: Functional and Technical Considerations.” Sponsored by Galen Healthcare Solutions. Presenters: Sandy Winklemann, MHA, RHIA, project manager, SSM Integration Health Technologies; Tyler Mawyer, MHA, managing consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions; Kavon Kaboli, MPH, senior consultant, Galen Healthcare Solutions. GE Centricity and Meditech to Epic EHR transition. Join us for a complimentary webinar as present the decisions that are important to consider when performing a clinical data migration from the point of view of  the healthcare organization program manager, the clinical analyst, and the technical implementation team. Our expert panel will survey data migration considerations, best practices, and lessons learned. The webinar will present a unique client perspective, offering insight into considerations surrounding staffing, clinical mapping, legacy application support, and validation and testing.

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

Telemedicine

Providence Medical Group (OH) pilots telemedicine services from Chiron Health at its Beavercreek Commons Family Practice. The group intends to roll out the service across its 14 other practices in the near future.

Huron Valley Physicians Association (MI) will implement telemedicine services from My EPhysicians at three of its clinics. “Our plan is to begin this all around behavioral health integration with two psychiatric offices doing collaborative care with primary care physicians,” says Alicia Majcher, quality and operations director at HVPA. Should all go well, HVPA will add virtual consult capabilities at its 15 other clinics.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Physician practice marketing firm MedLaunch Solutions opens for business in Lincoln, NE. Founder and cardiothoracic surgeon Rick Thompson, MD is no stranger to startups. He launched the app-based CCM and remote patient monitoring company Together Clinic several years ago with fellow Bryan Health physician Ryan Whitney, MD.

People

Scott Schrader joins Access Healthcare as chief commercial officer.

Government and Politics

Now’s your chance: Whitehouse.gov offers citizens a chance to weigh in on what agency they’d like to reform and eliminate as part of a broader effort to make the federal government more efficient and effective. Input and reform ideas are due June 12. It will be interesting to see (if it’s publicized) how many health-related departments receive votes, and what ideas for reform entail. ONC, in particular, seems to be in the crosshairs of the initiative, with a continued hiring freeze and rumors of downsizing.

HHS reminds consumers that it never makes unsolicited phone calls after a woman in Jacksonville, FL receives one from a purported OIG fraud hotline rep asking for her name, address, and other personal information that could be used in future identity theft activities – all under the guise that she had won a $9,000 grant from the government. The caller has targeted thousands of unsuspecting people by “spoofing” the hotline number (making it appear on their caller IDs).

Sponsor Updates

• STAT profiles GE Healthcare CEO John Flannery.
• NVoq will exhibit at the TORCH Annual Conference & Tradeshow April 18-20 in Dallas.

Blog Posts

• Is your Cloud-based Speech Recognition HIPAA Compliant? (NVoq)

Contacts

Jenn, Mr. H, Lorre

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

Get HIStalk Practice updates.
Contact us online.
Become a sponsor.