Population Health Management Weekly Wrap Up 9/4/15

Top News

Essentia Health is one of 11 Minnesota-based providers that will use State Innovation Model grant funding to ramp up data analytics efforts. The health system will use $313,000 to hire a data analyst who will focus solely on population health. The funds will also pay for Epic’s Healthy Planet software, which the new analyst will use to identify needs and trends found in Essentia’s Epic EHR.

Webinars

September 9 (Wednesday) 2:00 ET. “Need to cleanse, unify and manage the provider data in your EMR master file and other IT systems?” Phynd’s Unified Provider Management platform allows healthcare organizations to maintain a single, verified, customized profile for each provider across legacy IT systems. This 30-minute presentation will explain how Phynd’s system can help synchronize internal provider information in real time; create provider interoperability among systems; and manage, update, and analyze provider information with workflow tools to improve revenue cycle and clinical communication.

September 22 (Thursday) 12:00 ET. "Just Step on the Scale: Measure Ongoing EHR Success and Focus Improvements Using Simple but Predictive Adoption Metrics." Gene Thomas, CIO of Memorial Hospital of Gulfport, will share how his organization used an EHR adoption assessment to quickly target priorities in gaining value from its large Cerner implementation. Thomas and Heather Haugen, CEO of the Breakaway Group, will also share real-life results that prove the need for a disciplined approach to setting and measuring key success factors. Commit to taking that scary first step and step onto the scale, knowing that it will get measurably better every day.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Dexter, MI-based consulting firm Tactical Strategies expands its healthcare IT services to include clinical analytics, and risk management and measures for population health management initiatives.

Analytics vendor MedeAnalytics sells a majority interest in the company to Thoma Bravo, a private equity firm that includes GHX, Hyland Software, SRS Software among its healthcare investments.

Announcements and Implementations

Western Connecticut Health Network chooses Cerner’s Millennium EHR, will upgrade its Soarian revenue cycle applications, and implement Cerner’s HealtheIntent population health management system.

ZeOmega announces that a managed Medicaid plan has expanded its use of the company’s Jiva population health management tool as part of its roll out of a new dual-eligibles program for its underserved members in 16 states and Washington, D.C.

People

Medecision promotes Kathy D’Amario to SVP/CTO.

Government and Politics

The Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association develops the Community Health Dashboard to give users insight into key population and health statistics for each of the state’s 40 Senate districts or 100 House of Delegates districts. “Starting in September, we are meeting with all the delegates, senators and challengers,” explains Riverside Health System spokesman Peter Glagola. Riverside is one of six hospitals represented in the dashboard. “Our goal is to educate the legislators about Riverside Health System and what we do to keep our communities healthy and how legislation influences our business. We will be using the dashboards in our meetings with the legislators.”

Research and Innovation

The Institute for Family Health and HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley partner to create the Kingston, NY-based Center for Health Information Technology Research to Promote Population Health in Primary Care. The new center will use a two-year, $1.26 million grant from the Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program to train six primary care-focused researchers in identifying effective methods for using healthcare IT to improve outcomes and reduce health disparities.

I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to think that Epic has been in the population health management business for some time. CEO Judy Faulkner sustained the idea when she told attendees at this year’s Epic UGM that customers had exchanged 18 million patient records in July alone. Faulkner stressed the importance of “huge” data in announcing Epic’s new Cosmos Research Network, which will enable users to contribute de-identified patient data for research purposes.

Black Book Rankings notes in its latest study that 84 percent of primary care practices in the midst of replacing their EHR are giving preference to vendors with population health tools and analytics.

Other

Fun Friday Fact (just in time for game-day weekend): Googling “fun fact” will result in just that, with a link to the original content.

Sponsor Updates

• AdvancedMD announces the six winners of its video contest.
• Nordic brews up an EHR IPA to raise funds for veterans and the unemployed during Epic’s UGM in Madison.
• PerfectServe releases a new case study featuring IPC Healthcare’s Memorial City practice.

Contacts

Jennifer,  Mr. H, Lorre, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan

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News 9/3/15

Top News

CMS announces $67 million in ACA funding to help consumers sign up for health plan coverage at Healthcare.gov and state partnership exchanges during the 2016 open enrollment period. The agency will allocate the Marketplace Navigator funds to 100 organizations in 34 states. The chosen organizations will use the funds to hire and better equip trained specialists in assisting consumers with health plan selection, financing options, and the application process.

Webinars

September 9 (Wednesday) 2:00 ET. “Need to cleanse, unify and manage the provider data in your EMR master file and other IT systems?” Phynd’s Unified Provider Management platform allows healthcare organizations to maintain a single, verified, customized profile for each provider across legacy IT systems. This 30-minute presentation will explain how Phynd’s system can help synchronize internal provider information in real time; create provider interoperability among systems; and manage, update, and analyze provider information with workflow tools to improve revenue cycle and clinical communication.

September 22 (Thursday) 12:00 ET. "Just Step on the Scale: Measure Ongoing EHR Success and Focus Improvements Using Simple but Predictive Adoption Metrics." Gene Thomas, CIO of Memorial Hospital of Gulfport, will share how his organization used an EHR adoption assessment to quickly target priorities in gaining value from its large Cerner implementation. Thomas and Heather Haugen, CEO of the Breakaway Group, will also share real-life results that prove the need for a disciplined approach to setting and measuring key success factors. Commit to taking that scary first step and step onto the scale, knowing that it will get measurably better every day.

Announcements and Implementations

Smart-thermometer company Kinsa launches a wireless in-ear thermometer that connects to a companion smartphone app via Bluetooth. The app includes the new Guidance feature, which looks at historical data, current temperature, and symptoms to provide recommended actions.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Nashville-based Shareable Ink rebrands to Shareable as part of a shift by somewhat new CEO Hal Andrews to refocus the company’s strategy around its clinical documentation solution. Andrews explains the technology behind the company’s initial product, a pen that could convert handwritten notes into digital files, has evolved into a larger platform with EHR integration capabilities.

The local business paper profiles Mango Medical, a Hawaii-based company that helps physicians set up cloud-based practices across the islands. The company has helped ease many of the business burdens physicians face when opening up a new practice, such as establishing them on Drchrono, the company’s EHR of choice. CEO Timothy Duerler is also considering outsourcing coding to India. ““If that goes well …” he explains, “I think that’s what makes or breaks private practices, because if you’re seeing the patient but not getting them to insurance companies and getting them paid for, then it’s such a narrow margin in private practice. If you’re not efficient you can’t pay your bills.”

People

William Winkenwerder Jr., MD (Winkenwerder Strategies) joins the Cureatr Board of Directors.

Julian Cohen (Breakthrough) joins Teladoc in the new position of general manager and president of Teladoc Behavioral Health.

Telemedicine

DocChat officially launches its telemedicine app and platform, touting a pilot study in rural nursing homes that reduced trips to the ER by 95 percent. The company is similar to its more mainstream competitors, targeting services to employers and individuals. Founder Steve Okhravi, MD is perhaps best known for founding the New York City-based chain of Emergency Medical Care clinics, which naturally offer DocChat services.

Other

Spanish researchers develop an algorithm that enables a smartphone to detect boredom based on a user’s mobile activity, including time between calls and texts, time of day, and number of apps used. Researchers even sent bored smartphone users alerts with links to Buzzfeed articles, which they clicked on more often than people who found more constructive ways to use their time. All kidding aside, the study points out the potential for smartphones to eventually send “smarter” alerts – those received by users at times they’re more likely to act on them. I imagine such a development could prove useful in mental health apps that track anxiety or depression. 

Contacts

Jennifer,  Mr. H, Lorre, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan

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News 9/2/15

Top News

ONC decertifies two versions of the SkyCare 4.2 EHR from Platinum Health Information System for failing to respond to routine surveillance requests from certifying body InfoGard Laboratories. The 48 EPs that attested to MU Stage 1 using the now-decertified products will have to undergo the onerous task of applying for a hardship exception should they choose to continue MU participation, not to mention selecting new technology. A quick Google search finds volumes of rants from dissatisfied SkyCare customers, many pointing to back-and-forth lawsuits that are likely still in litigation. ONC has pulled certification only once before, decertifying EHRMagic’s Ambulatory and Inpatient solutions in 2013 as a result of failing certification retests prompted presumably by end-user notification that the EHRs were not living up to their claims.

Webinars

September 9 (Wednesday) 2:00 ET. “Need to cleanse, unify and manage the provider data in your EMR master file and other IT systems?” Phynd’s Unified Provider Management platform allows healthcare organizations to maintain a single, verified, customized profile for each provider across legacy IT systems. This 30-minute presentation will explain how Phynd’s system can help synchronize internal provider information in real time; create provider interoperability among systems; and manage, update, and analyze provider information with workflow tools to improve revenue cycle and clinical communication.

We’re doing a September 22 webinar with The Breakaway Group, who filmed a commercial for “Just Step on the Scale: Measure Ongoing EHR Success and Focus Improvements using Simple but Predictive Adoption Metrics.”

Previous webinars are on the YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for webinar services including discounts for signing up by Labor Day.

Announcements and Implementations

PatientPay integrates TransFirst payment processing solutions into its PM and billing solution.

Health and wellness technology company OffTheScale incorporates Garmin’s Vivofit II wearable into its 12-week obesity and chronic-disease prevention program, which includes an accompanying smartphone app to help users track and share their progress. 

CRM juggernaut Salesforce launches Health Cloud, a patient relationship management tool that aggregates health data from EHRs and medical devices into one comprehensive view for providers and patients. The company is working with software vendors like Accenture and MuleSoft to integrate outside data into its platform, and plans to play nice with EHRs from Epic, Cerner, and GE. Demos begin today, with an official launch scheduled for February (just in time for HIMSS). The tool seems enterprise in nature, so it will be interesting to see if larger medical groups sign up. (Mr. H interviewed Joshua Newman, MD CMO and GM of healthcare and life sciences at Salesforce, earlier this week.)

SurveyVitals joins Athenahealth’s More Disruption Please Marketplace.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Silicon Valley-based Eko Devices receives FDA approval for its Eko Core digital stethoscope, the first of its kind to feature a HIPAA-compliant smartphone app and EHR integration. The company, which sees potential for the new device in telemedicine, will begin selling directly to physicians this week. It’s also working to develop an algorithm that can detect the presence of heart disease.

The local business paper profiles NotoVox, a Chandler, AZ-based startup that has developed an app to help physicians easily translate diagnoses and procedures into ICD-10 codes. Co-founder and pediatrician Alex Tanase, MD seems to have launched the company just a few months ago, given that its website is basically a holding page. The clock is definitely ticking for companies – young or old – to cash in on the rush to October 1.

People

Bill Lewis, MD (WellMedCare) joins GlobalMed as CMO.

Government and Politics

Cancer Care Group, a radiation oncology private practice based in Indiana, settles up with HHS to the tune of $750,000 for HIPAA violations stemming from an August 2012 incident in which an employee’s laptop was stolen, containing the unsecured data of 55,000 patients. HHS seems to want to make a strong example out of CCG, explaining in its announcement of the settlement that the group’s lack of an enterprise-wide risk analysis and device and media control policy were the main culprits.

Other

The Pennsylvania-based Independence Blue Cross Foundation announces $1.5 million in grants over the next three years for the improvement of primary care across its Blue Safety Net network of 42 nonprofit health centers. The Foundation’s funds will mainly be used to implement new care-coordination models and improve access to care through technology including mobile, telemedicine, and HIE connectivity.

Contacts

Jennifer,  Mr. H, Lorre, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

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News 9/1/15

Top News

In light of the continued absence of a final Meaningful Use rule from CMS (not to mention a need to drum up discussion topics in time for its  conference next month) MGMA calls on the agency to extend the reporting period for medical groups into 2016, and to move to a 90-day reporting period thereafter. For those still keeping track, CMS issued its proposed final rule back in April. (I’m currently taking bets CMS will publish the final rule at 5 pm ET this Friday as everyone heads off for the long Labor Day weekend.) In making the announcement, MGMA President and CEO Halee Fischer-Wright, MD emphasized what physicians and vendors alike have been grumbling about for months: “Without having a definitive set of program measures, and sufficient time to incorporate them into EHR software and practice workflow, medical groups simply cannot responsibly transition to the modified Stage 2 requirements without a massive drop-off in participation. Providing this flexibility will permit groups additional time to upgrade their EHRs to the revised Stage 2 specifications and test these systems to ensure that they are able to conform to program requirements while meeting the practical needs of clinicians and their patients. An extension of the 2015 reporting year is absolutely vital to continued program success.”

HIStalk Practice Announcements and Requests

I don’t typically give much thought to my home office aside from being grateful that I don’t have to spend an obscene amount of time in traffic twice a day. This article, however, has prompted me to reconsider the space I spend so much time in. I do have a shed out back that could easily be converted into a small but chic workspace. Perhaps I should go the “She Shed” route. I’d love to hear how HIStalk Practice readers have jazzed up their home office spaces. Inspire me with your ideas and pictures.

I suppose I should also be grateful that I don’t have to worry about co-working thieves stealing my lunch from a communal kitchen. Jars of Nutella are apparently such a hot commodity that German furniture designer Daniel Schobloch invented a lock to keep thieving hands away and self-control in place (at least for the amount of time it takes to find the key). “[T]he idea started out as a joke,” he says. “One of my friends was always getting worked up because his children were stealing his Nutella.” Schobloch’s funny idea has turned into a sold-out line available for pre-order on Ebay for about $11.

Webinars

September 9 (Wednesday) 2:00 ET. “Need to cleanse, unify and manage the provider data in your EMR master file and other IT systems?” Phynd’s Unified Provider Management platform allows healthcare organizations to maintain a single, verified, customized profile for each provider across legacy IT systems. This 30-minute presentation will explain how Phynd’s system can help synchronize internal provider information in real time; create provider interoperability among systems; and manage, update, and analyze provider information with workflow tools to improve revenue cycle and clinical communication.

Previous webinars are on the YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for webinar services including discounts for signing up by Labor Day.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Cary, NC-based Medfusion, which launched patient payment and RCM tools in July, announces a $3 million investment from Bull City Venture Partners and Hatteras Venture Partners. John Crumpler, general partner at Hatteras, and David Jones, general partner at Bull City, will join the Medfusion board.

Medical dictation startup Skywriter MD looks to raise $1.5 million as part of a $2 million round it will use to fund a planned expansion this December. The company, which currently employs 34 including 20 scribes, optimistically plans to hire up to 35 scribes per month for the next several years if financing falls into place.

Announcements and Implementations

IDC names RelayHealth a leader in clinical data exchange in its latest MarketScape report. The company, which manages 2.8 billion transactions annually, was tapped by CommonWell earlier this year to manage its data access services, record locator, and identity and consent management.

ITelagen launches a series of PainCare templates for use with pain-management specialty EHRs or as a stand-alone application.

Security and privacy compliance software vendor HIPAA One joins Athenahealth’s More Disruption Please Marketplace.

People

Patrick Everett (ProStat Anesthesia Advisors) joins Zotec Partners to assist with business development of its anesthesiology division.

Askesis Development Group promotes Neal Ryan, MD from board member to president.

Telemedicine

Over 20 Minnesota lawmakers write to members of Congress urging them to pass legislation that would expand Medicare coverage to include telemedicine services. Co-author Rep. Joe Schomacker was instrumental in passing legislation earlier this year requiring Minnesota’s private payers to reimburse providers for care via telemedicine.

In related news, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota selects Doctor on Demand as its preferred telemedicine provider beginning in 2016. BCBS is the largest private payer in the state, giving Doctor on Demand a distinct advantage over its CVS Health partners, Teladoc and American Well.

Research and Innovation

Navicure releases the results of its fourth ICD-10 readiness survey, noting that a greater percentage of practice administrators and billing managers are prepared for ICD-10 than the last time the survey was conducted. The majority this time around are still optimistic they’ll be ready by October 1, yet 57 percent believe they aren’t on track with preparations for the transition. Though contradictory, the findings line up with the fact that 35 percent of respondents didn’t participate in end-to-end testing. Seems to me like unprepared physician practices are relying on sheer optimism to see them through the switch.

Other

On an ICD-10 side note, a friend tells me AHIMA, taking place September 26-30 in New Orleans, will likely be a ghost town this year thanks to the October 1 deadline. She’s says it’s a safe bet that most providers and many vendors will skip the show to hunker down and prepare for the 1st. I assume any providers that do attend work for organizations that have had their ducks in a row for quite awhile. I’d love reader commentary and pictures proving or disproving her theory.

Mayo Clinic (MN) and Hootsuite partner to offer medial professionals social media training and certification. No doubt it’s a timely move for EPs given how much I’ve seen “Why Your Doctor Won’t Friend You on Facebook” circulating over the last two weeks. I believe that the average independent PCP will likely see little value. (I’d love to know how much the course costs, but the link to registration details is dead.) I imagine they’re too busy preparing for ICD-10 and making assumptions about the Meaningful Use schedule to set aside time for a course on how to tweet in a HIPAA-friendly manner. Feel free to chime in via the comments below on the value your practice or group derives from social networking, and whether you’d benefit from formal training. 

Contacts

Jennifer,  Mr. H, Lorre, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

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

News 8/31/15

Top News

Monroe, LA-based telecommunications company CenturyLink receives $500 million from the FCC’s Connect America Fund to bring broadband to 1.2 million rural households across 33 states. “The Connect America Fund, along with our significant capital investments over the years, help make deploying rural broadband more cost effective,” says John Jones, CenturyLink senior vice president for public policy and government relations. “We believe the high-speed connectivity we will provide will bring many benefits to rural communities, including economic development and better access to education and healthcare services such as distance learning and telemedicine.” The company extended telemedicine coverage to its employees via MDLive early last year.

HIStalk Practice Announcements and Requests

It’s hard to believe HIMSS16 is less than six months away. The time crunch due to an April conference followed by one in February means the talented Lorre has been busy for some time with HIStalkapalooza planning. We’ve booked nearly all of the available sponsorship spots for the big event (once again featuring Party on the Moon) except the top one. The “Rock Star CEO” package includes a bunch of invitations, an on-stage role, all-access passes, and a swanky private lounge in the House of Blues Las Vegas for entertaining prospects and guests. Contact Lorre.

Thanks to the following sponsors, new and renewing, that recently supported HIStalk Practice. Click a logo for more information. Email Lorre if your company is interested in benefiting from one of our sponsorship packages.

Webinars

September 9 (Wednesday) 2:00 ET. “Need to cleanse, unify and manage the provider data in your EMR master file and other IT systems?” Phynd’s Unified Provider Management platform allows healthcare organizations to maintain a single, verified, customized profile for each provider across legacy IT systems. This 30-minute presentation will explain how Phynd’s system can help synchronize internal provider information in real time; create provider interoperability among systems; and manage, update, and analyze provider information with workflow tools to improve revenue cycle and clinical communication.

Previous webinars are on the YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for webinar services including discounts for signing up by Labor Day.

Announcements and Implementations

Updox debuts Direct email, patient surveys, digital faxing, appointment reminders, and a patient portal for Greenway Health’s Prime Suite and Intergy solutions.

Centro de Salud Medico Duarte (PR) implements IPatientCare’s EHR at its family medicine practice in Puerto Rico.

Greenway Health adds ViiMed, developer of the Surgical Coordinator Console for surgery provider groups, to its Marketplace of partner products.

Government and Politics

Wisconsin State Assemblyman Warren Petryk pens his support for the state’s likely ratification of the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, making it the 12th state to join after Iowa. Petryk, who helped draft the legislation, sees the compact as vital to the state’s ability to more easily attract qualified physicians to its rural areas including his own district.

Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) tours Chicago-based healthcare tech incubator Matter in an effort to better understand the role up-and-coming entrepreneurs are playing in healthcare’s shift to value-based care. As a member of the Senate HELP Committee, Kirk has been working to draft the Healthier Innovations for America Bill, the Senate’s counterpart to the House’s 21st Century Cures Act. Kirk had the opportunity to chat with Matter CEO Steven Collens and the founders of MedMatch, a new technology for hiring medical professionals, and mental health app SuperBetter.

Vermont joins the rest of the nation in allowing the electronic prescription of controlled substances, a move seen by many as key to fighting opioid abuse. Surescripts CEO Tom Skelton was quick to follow up the news with a call for physicians to visit www.getEPCS.com, a resource developed by the company that aims to educate MDs on how to leverage healthcare technology for EPCS.

The DoD will partner with private industry and academia to fund a new Silicon Valley-based innovation center focused on developing “flexible hybrid electronics,” including advanced sensors for use in new wearable devices and health-monitoring technologies.

People

Renowned neurologist and author Oliver Sacks passes away at the age of 82 after battling cancer. Sacks is perhaps best known (at least for those of my generation) for his 1973 book Awakenings, which was then turned into a 1990 movie starring Robin Williams. Sacks seems to have been one of the first physicians to turn his expertise towards the intellectual limelight, a role his peers (and his father) were not entirely comfortable with, and which undoubtedly paved the way for media-friendly physicians like Dr. Oz and Eric Topol, MD.

Former Green Bay Packer and 1997 Super Bowl champ John Michels, MD joins Physician Partners of America affiliate Texas Pain Relief Group.

Research and Innovation

Just in time for Greenway Health’s Engage UGM comes new Black Book Research findings that put the company’s EHR at the top of the rankings for primary care EHRs, as well as customer satisfaction for the subsets of general practice and family practice. PCC ranked first in pediatrics, while AmazingCharts took top marks for geriatric primary care. Another interesting finding from the study: 70 percent of PCPs who implemented their first EHR before 2012 are more satisfied than those who implemented within the last two years. Perhaps vendors have felt compelled by market forces and government regulations to soup up their solutions with too many click-inducing bells and whistles, leading to lower customer satisfaction stats.

Telemedicine

ATA is accepting presentation abstracts for its 2016 meeting and tradeshow, happening May 14-17 in Minneapolis. Submissions are due September 14.

The Alabama Medical Board suspends its telemedicine rules requiring initial visits between a patient and physician to be in-person. The ATA, which notes Alabama, Arkansas, and Texas have the strictest telemedicine delivery regulations, attributes the move to the state’s fear of violating antitrust laws.

UnitedHealthcare rolls out dermatology telemedicine services to its Medicaid members in Hawaii.

Other

USA Today points to the progress the City of New Orleans has made in digitizing and increasing access to its healthcare system in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, paying special attention to the progress made by community clinics. The city went from 18 pop-up clinics in its most underserved neighborhoods immediately after Katrina to investing a $100 million federal grant into building a network of 70 community clinics that handle 100,000 patients annually – all equipped with EHRs and computerized billing and patient-tracking systems. "[We’re] still growing,” notes Charlotte Parent, director of the New Orleans Health Department. “No one wants to have a disaster to make changes. But we took advantage and we’re really proud of where we are after 10 years.”

Contacts

Jennifer,  Mr. H, Lorre, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

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