Population Health Management Weekly Wrap Up 8/14/15

Top News

Texas-based Guadalupe Health Network implements population health management technology from Lightbeam Health Solutions across its 100 locations. GHN is hopeful the new solution will help its 230 providers better manage claims data from CMS and 25-plus EHR vendors.

Webinars

August 25 (Tuesday) 1:00 ET. “Cerner’s Takeover of Siemens: An Update (Including the DoD Project).” Sponsored by HIStalk. Presenters: Vince Ciotti, principal, HIS Professionals; Frank Poggio, president and CEO, The Kelzon Group. Vince and Frank delivered HIStalk’s most popular webinar, "Cerner’s Takeover of Siemens, Are You Ready?" which has been viewed nearly 6,000 times. Vince and Frank return with their brutally honest (and often humorous) opinions about what has happened with Cerner since then, including its participation in the successful DoD bid and what that might mean for Cerner’s customers and competitors, based on their having seen it all in their decades of experience.

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

Tweet Chat

Don’t miss the next #HIStalking tweet chat on August 20 at 1pm ET. Amy Gleason (@ThePatientsSide), COO of CareSync and White House Champion of Change for Precision Medicine, will host. Stay tuned for topics.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Vancouver-based Phemi secures $12.2 million in a Series A funding round, just five months after raising $2.8 million in seed financing. The two-year-old company, which initially geared its services toward population health management and clinical research, is now looking to replicate its data-mining success with the finance, insurance, and public sector industries.

Announcements and Implementations

Christus Health expands its partnership with Wellcentive, implementing the company’s value-based care and population health management solutions and services at 10 hospitals across three additional markets in Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana.

Exeter Hospital (NH) implements Invision Market Viewer analytics from IVantage Health Analytics. The community hospital selected the solution through its membership with the Yankee Alliance GPO.

ElderCare Network (ME) selects the Ibis predictive analytics solution from Senscio Systems to optimize healthcare services at its seven home centers.

Physician services company Continuum Health Alliance adds Kryptiq’s cloud-based chronic-care management solution to its telephone-based coaching and call-center support services.

North Shore-LIJ Health System signs a joint venture agreement with population health management system vendor Newport Health Solutions. The new company will complete the installation of Newport’s Health Connect throughout NS-LIJ, then try to sell it commercially.

People

Shelly Peters (Legacy Data Access) joins Huntzinger Management Group as practice director, data analytics.

Research and Innovation

Researchers at AAFP’s Robert Graham Center work to incorporate “community vital signs” – poverty level, health food and water sources, walkable streets and parks, etc. – into the EHRs of physicians in an effort to enhance population health management efforts. Researchers are testing the idea by by adding patient location and social determinant data, along with information about their communities, to each patient’s EHR.

Duke University and Accenture partner to develop an analytics research program that will focus on healthcare management research. Initial projects include applying predictive analytics to the development of patient care and disease management programs, and developing “data marts” that can answer specific clinical care or research questions.

Other

Hearst Health and the Jefferson College of Population Health of Thomas Jefferson University call for submissions for their inaugural Hearst Health Prize, which will recognize achievement in managing or improving a population’s health with a $100,000 prize. The deadline for submissions, which must describe an implemented project with improved outcomes, is October 23.

The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association creates an infographic on the “Working Definition of Population Health.” It’s interesting to note that clinical care accounts for only 20 percent of the given factors.

Heads up to those traveling to North Korea this weekend: The always zany and unpredictable country creates a new “Pyongyang time” zone, setting its clocks back 30 minutes to mark its freedom from Japanese imperialism at the end of World War II. Clocks reset August 15.  

Sponsor Updates

• E-MDs offers a free ICD-10 Survival Kit.
• Greenway Health posts “Electronic Prescribing of Controlled Substances: a Convenient Tool to Improve Patient Care and Safety.”
• Healthwise offers “Engaging Moms on Medicaid.”

Contacts

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

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

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News 8/13/15

Top News

PokitDok secures $34 million in a Series B round led by by Lemhi Ventures, bringing the Silicon Valley-based company’s total funding to $39 million. The company, initially known for its consumer-friendly healthcare marketplace, is now focusing on development of its cloud-based API platform for healthcare transactions.

Tweet Chat

Don’t miss the next #HIStalking tweet chat on August 20 at 1pm ET. Amy Gleason (@ThePatientsSide), COO of CareSync and White House Champion of Change for Precision Medicine, will host. Stay tuned for topics.

Webinars

None scheduled in the next two weeks. Previous webinars are on the YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for webinar services including discounts for signing up by Labor Day.

Announcements and Implementations

San Francisco-based Health Gorilla (formerly known as Informedika) expands its physician portal to include EHR, PM, and patient engagement tools. The new portal is part of a greater clinical network set to launch next month that will offer physicians connectivity to diagnostic labs, radiology centers, and a range of other facilities.

Cancer Care Group (IN) selects the Diagnotes clinical communication system to streamline its documentation and billing processes.

Good Night Pediatrics implements EHR and PM technology from DocuTap across its six walk-in clinics in Las Vegas and Phoenix, AZ.

People

Kevin Lonergan (Grant & Weber Washington) joins GetixHealth as president.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Mobile house-call startup Dispatch Health (formerly True North Health Navigation) secures $3.6 million in seed funding from investors that include EMP Holdings, a previous investor in ITriage. EMP Holdings Chairman Peter Hudson, MD (ITriage’s former founder and CEO) will join the Dispatch Health Board of Directors. In addition to consumer-facing care, Dispatch Health also provides acute care home visits via contracts with local governments, senior care facilities, health systems, and payers.

Government and Politics

Missouri becomes the 50th state to allow e-prescribing of controlled substances after its Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs finally authorizes the practice. The move comes five years after the DEA gave the all clear to all 50 states.

Telemedicine

Senator Al Franken (D-MN) meets with healthcare workers and telecommunications executives in Brainerd, MN to discuss the need for expanded broadband access and telemedicine services in rural parts of the state. Franken, who serves as co-chair of the Senate Rural Health Caucus, is helping to design a corresponding telecommunications bill for introduction this fall.

New research from the National Business Group on Health finds that nearly 75 percent of 140 employers surveyed plan to offer telemedicine services to employees in states where it is legal. The findings serve to reaffirm the fact that telemedicine is on a huge growth trajectory. Time will tell if it is similar in size and scope to the EHR business bubble that ballooned (and is now slowly deflating) as a result of the HITECH Act. 

Research and Innovation

A new Black Book Research study finds that nearly 21 percent of gastroenterology practices surveyed have yet to select and implement their first EHR, while 15 percent are looking to replace their original systems. Top-ranked vendors include GMed (recently acquired by Modernizing Medicine), Greenway Health, Meditab, Cerner, and EClinicalworks.

Other

The privacy of pot-smoking patients is invaded when Alternative Therapies Group – Massachusetts’s new and so far only medical marijuana dispensary – accidentally sends a “Dear Patient” email to 157 patients, with all addresses listed in the CC field. (Insert your own toke joke here.) HIPAA penalties will likely not apply, given the cash-only nature of the business.

Australian artist Stelarc grows an ear on his arm as part of a larger performance project that will include implanting a WiFi-enabled microphone near (or in?) the ear so that people around the world can “tune in” to the artist. He plans to use his own stem cells to develop a proper external ear lobe before implanting the mic.

Contacts

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

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

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News 8/12/15

Top News

Teladoc announces Q2 results: revenue up 78 percent, with combined subscription access and visit fees totaling $18.3 million. Membership increased 48 percent to 11.5 million, while visits increased by 104 percent to 125,322. The news comes on the heels of the company’s Q2 IPO, which raised nearly $160 million; and its decision to hire Julian Cohen (Breakthrough Behavioral) as president and general manager of the behavioral health division. Revenue for the full year 2015 is expected to be near $75 million.

Webinars

None scheduled in the next two weeks. Previous webinars are on the YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for webinar services including discounts for signing up by Labor Day.

Tweet Chat

Don’t miss the next #HIStalking tweet chat on August 20 at 1pm ET. Amy Gleason (@ThePatientsSide), COO of CareSync and White House Champion of Change for Precision Medicine, will host. Stay tuned for topics.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Aledade looks to establish seven ACOs for independent physicians in Tennessee (a first for the state), West Virginia, Virginia, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Pending CMS approval, the new organizations would launch in January 2016. (Aledade CEO Farzad Mostashari, MD alluded to the expansion in our April interview.) The company, which raised $30 million in June, currently has ACOs in 11 states covering over 100 practices and over 80,000 Medicare patients.

OptimizeRx announces Q2 results: a 20-percent increase over Q2 2014 and a 15-percent increase over Q1 2015. The company, which plans to expand operations and sales, seems to be riding high after last week’s announcement that Allscripts will integrate its SampleMD savings technology into Touchworks EHRs. CEO David Harrell made sure to note that, “With our expanded partnership with Allscripts, we are now the exclusive eCoupon delivery platform of over 200 EHRs, which represents two-thirds of our network.”

It’s a good time to be a healthcare technology company in the Midwest: BioEnterprise reports that healthcare software and service companies in that region received $155 million in equity funding during the first half of 2015. Their medical device and biopharma counterparts garnered $227 million and $126 million, respectively.

People

Mark Price (ChenMed) joins DaVita HealthCare Partners as president of its HealthCare Partners Colorado market.

Telemedicine

Computerized Screening Inc. will roll out Doctor on Demand telemedicine services in its screening kiosks for work sites, retail outlets, and clinics.

Twenty Minnesota legislators pen their support for Medicare reimbursement for telemedicine services in a letter to members of the state’s congressional delegation. “The Minnesota Legislature passed bipartisan legislation this year to expand this technology,” explained Ron Kresha and it’s our hope that Congress will follow and make sure every Minnesotan can take advantage of this technology and help improve our healthcare system by decreasing costs and giving more people access to quality care.”

Announcements and Implementations

SecurityMetrics develops a HIPAA dashboard to help physician practices simplify the HIPAA compliance process. The solution features risk analysis and management planning tools, workforce training tracking and assessments, security policies and procedures, BA agreements, and reports for audit preparation.

The New England Healthcare Exchange Network selects Cognizant and its Trizetto subsidiary to manage its HIE infrastructure. The NEHEN consortium, made up of payers and providers, hopes the combined services of the two companies will enable it to process up to 8 million transactions a month.

Office Practicum integrates ClearTriage’s Web-based decision support system for pediatric triage nurses into its EHR.

Government and Politics

HIMSS Innovator-in-Residence Adam Culbertson announces the HIMSS Patient Matching Testing event on August 14 at the HIMSS Innovation Center in Cleveland. Goals for the event, which will offer two testing scenarios, include building consensus on how to best leverage FHIR, interface matching algorithms with FHIR, benchmarking different matching approaches, and best leveraging incentives to encourage collaboration. Attendees will have the opportunity to work with FHIR architect and interoperability consultant Graham Grieve. You can read Mr. H’s recent interview with him about the future of FHIR here.

Research and Innovation

A KPMG study predicts that healthcare IT devices and applications, mobile, and data and analytics will be the biggest revenue drivers for tech businesses in 2015. Twenty-two percent of survey respondents believe that healthcare IT in particular (especially preventative care, patient-monitoring systems, and medical imaging and scanning) will drive the bulk of their revenue over the next two years. Given the consistent consolidation of the healthcare IT industry over the last 18 months, it’s also interesting to note that respondents feel access to new customers, and new technology and products are the biggest drivers for tech’s current M&A activity.

Other

It’s hard to believe registration for HIMSS16 is already open, given that I am still wrangling with United over its failure to reimburse me for an unexpected overnight stay at an absolutely quaint HoJo in the suburbs of Chicago during my trek to HIMSS15 in April. HIMSS is switching things up a bit by holding the opening keynote and reception on Monday rather than the typical Sunday. Registration will set HIMSS members back $795 with the early bird discount.

Sponsor Updates

• Versus Technology publishes “5 Myths and Misunderstandings About RTLS.”
• AdvancedMD offers “Level the financial data playing field.”
• Billian’s HealthDATA offers “Trends in Healthcare Finance.”

Contacts

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

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

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Readers Write: Leveraging Technology to Ensure Reliable Hazardous Drug Disposal at Physician Practices

Leveraging Technology to Ensure Reliable Hazardous Drug Disposal
By Kathryn Evans

Hazardous drugs abound in healthcare. Consequently, well-defined disposal procedures for the resulting waste — such as remaining medication or packaging — are essential to prevent negative patient safety and environmental impacts, as well as penalties for noncompliance.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) established the rules that govern hazardous drug disposal back in 1976, yet adherence remains a challenge today. The law’s sheer size and scope makes it especially difficult for smaller practices with limited resources. Moreover, organizations also are responsible for complying with any additional, stricter state regulations on the books. As new hazardous drugs emerge that existing RCRA rules do not address, the compliance challenges are only intensified.

The Consequences of Noncompliance
Unfortunately, many healthcare organizations — especially physician practices and other smaller facilities — find themselves out of compliance with RCRA regulations. These entities often fail to accurately and reliably identify the hazardous drugs used in their facilities. As a result, staff might inadvertently place drug waste in the wrong receptacles.

RCRA waste must be treated in compliance with local, state, and federal requirements. When RCRA waste is disposed of as regulated medical waste (RMW), the generator is no longer in compliance and waste is not treated in a manner that protects the environment. If pharmaceutical material is placed in regular medical waste, the hazardous drug elements will not be treated appropriately and harmful chemicals may be released — leading to potential environmental impact.

In addition to harmful ecological impacts, failure to meet RCRA requirements has financial ramifications. Not only are there some fairly steep fines at the local, state, and federal levels, but a compliance issue can lead to negative public perceptions that can tarnish an organization’s reputation. If the compliance shortfall is severe or recurring, it may even lead to staff and patient retention issues.

The Role of Technology in Elevating Compliance
In the past, navigating RCRA standards often involved sifting through pages of legislation to figure out whether an organization was in compliance. However, with the advent of technology, meeting RCRA requirements has become much more straightforward and efficient.

For example, a key compliance step involves conducting a thorough assessment of the hazardous drugs that may be generated as waste. To assist with this effort, a facility can turn to comprehensive technology solutions that simplify drug identification. These tools may offer a checklist that staff members can easily work through to identify the pertinent pharmaceuticals. In addition to enabling a more efficient process, the tool also supports a comprehensive review and limits the possibility of potential hazards slipping through the cracks.

Similarly, practices can leverage technology to help with staff training. Once a practice determines which pharmaceuticals it administers, all staff members must be familiar with how to appropriately dispose of the relevant waste. By leveraging Web-based training, practices can offer detailed and convenient education options, encouraging employees to take the training whenever and wherever it is most convenient for them. Those individuals tasked with organization compliance can access the technology to see which team members have successfully completed the training and follow up with those who haven’t. This type of tool can even point out areas where the knowledge of staff members is weak, highlighting further training opportunities.

Technology can also enable better compliance tracking. Using an automated solution, organizations can go online to request a pickup from their waste disposal provider, and track that material throughout the entire disposal process. This helps practices keep related and comprehensive documentation and tracking information in one place. By shifting away from paper and embracing technology, organizations can not only reduce their reliance on antiquated processes and free up space, but also engage in more robust tracking, reporting, and compliance assessment.

Managing RCRA Compliance Through Technology
Ensuring proper drug disposal is an essential activity for healthcare organizations and practices. Technology can make the process go much more smoothly, promoting efficiency and effectiveness. Technology can help practices remain in compliance at all times by supporting thorough identification, training, and tracking of RCRA regulations and standards.

Kathryn Evans is a national director at Stericycle Inc.

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 8/11/15

Top News

Google co-founder Larry Page announces the formation of Alphabet, a “collection of companies” containing businesses that are “pretty far afield of our main Internet products,” such as Google, X labs, Calico, and Life Sciences. Google will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alphabet, which will replace Google Inc. as the publicly-traded entity. Page stresses that, “[W]e are not intending for this to be a big consumer brand with related products—the whole point is that Alphabet companies should have independence and develop their own brands.” Page and co-founder Sergey Bring will head Alphabet, while Sundar Pichai will take over as CEO of Google.

Webinars

None scheduled in the next two weeks. Previous webinars are on the YouTube channel. Contact Lorre for webinar services including discounts for signing up by Labor Day.

Tweet Chat

Don’t miss the next #HIStalking tweet chat on August 20 at 1pm ET. Amy Gleason (@ThePatientsSide), COO of CareSync and White House Champion of Change for Precision Medicine, will host. Stay tuned for topics.

Announcements and Implementations

Aprima Medical Software launches Now cross-platform technology to enhance interface consistency across devices. The company will also use Now to launch new product enhancements, including Aprima Mobile for Apple and Android.

Zobreus Medical Corp. officially launches the Patient-Oriented Electronic Medical Record after raising over $50,000 via Kickstarter earlier this year. The POEM Record is an automated app that retrieves and processes a patient’s medical record from anywhere onto a mobile device. The company plans to launch a physician-friendly version of POEM in the near future. CEO L. Okey Onyejekwe Jr., MD has an interesting background, including stints as a U.S. Air Force flight surgeon, attending physician at the VA Palo Alto Medical Center, and as an attorney.

NueMD launches an ICD-10 Training Lab to help small practices prepare for the October 1 compliance date. The complimentary tool features training games, code search, and common codes organized by specialty.

Fresenius Health Partners implements Medhok’s risk, care, and quality software to streamline care management for patients with end-stage renal disease and Medicare Advantage Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

The Wall Street Journal looks at the increasingly competitive field of startups looking to bring back house calls via mobile apps. (It also shows a lack of editorial prowess in coming up with a headline that includes the words “Uber” and “healthcare.”) The growing consumer bases of companies such as True Health Navigation, Heal, Pager, ReTraceHealth, and MedZed have yet to truly give physician practices a run for their money, though trade associations like the Urgent Care Association of America seem to already by on the defensive.

People

Somnoware Healthcare Systems appoints Jinesh Jain (Caldwell Labs) director of clinical technology and John Robinson (ResMed Corp.) director of sales and marketing.

Government and Politics

Booz Allen Hamilton will replace Optum as the next lead contractor to maintain Healthcare.gov, winning a five-year contract worth $202 million. Optum will continue on in its role as quality tester while protests from losing bidders for that segment of work are resolved.

A leaked document uncovered by Huffington Post finds that over 35,000 combat veterans have been denied healthcare coverage by the VA because it’s computer system mistakenly flagged their applications for lack of financial data, despite the fact that combat vets are eligible for five years of free care post discharge. Close to 16,000 applications have been pending for over five years.

ONC is soliciting applications through September 11 to fill a variety of volunteer positions on its Health IT Policy Committee and Health IT Standards Committee panels. Selected applicants will serve on the panels for three years.

The Health IT Policy Committee’s Privacy and Security Workgroup meets to discuss recommendations related to big data analytics. Draft recommendations include:

• Continue focusing on identifying gaps in legal protections against what are likely to be an evolving set of harms from big data analytics.
• Adopt measures that could increase transparency about actual health information uses.
• Explore how to increase transparency around use of the algorithms used in big health analytics, perhaps with an approach similar to that used in the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
• Modify rules around research uses of data to incentivize entities to use more privacy protecting architectures.
• Support an individual’s right to access their health information.
• Educate stakeholders about cybersecurity risks and recommended precautions.

HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell announces $169 million in ACA funding for the opening of 266 health centers. The new funding, which will provide care access to over 1.2 million patients, follows the department’s announcement in May of $101 million to open 164 health centers.

Telemedicine

Kenyan First Lady Margaret Kenyatta unveils the Sema-Doc telemedicine app as part of an effort to increase healthcare access for the nation’s 30 million mobile-phone users. Subscribers to the app, also known as Hello Doctor, have 24-hour access to medical professionals, plus access to health and wellness content.

Research and Innovation

A survey gauging physician sentiment around HIPAA compliance and interoperability finds that just 17 percent of surveyed professionals are confident the industry will meet the 10-year goal for nationwide interoperability. It also reveals human error to be the biggest concern when it comes to potential HIPAA breaches, despite the fact that nearly 100 percent of respondents have policies in place to inform practice staff of changes in HIPAA compliance.

An AmericanEHR/AMA survey finds that physicians are, in fact, dissatisfied with their EHRs. I’ll save you the $100-$200 purchase price of the report and offer several key findings: Nearly half of surveyed physicians though their EHR’s ability to improve efficiency was difficult or very difficult, while 72 percent thought their EHR’s ability to decrease workload was of similar difficulty. Nearly half have found their EHR has increased total operating costs.  

Other

Good news for physicians looking to retire rather than face Meaningful Use Stage 3 regulations: Hawaii is one of the cheapest states for retiree healthcare, according to a study by cost projection software designer HealthView Services. (The bad news is that Hawaii is one of the most expensive places to live.) Vermont and Maine also received high marks for affordable, golden-years healthcare.

Fast Company offers an amusing take on “How to Act at a Business Lunch.” My favorite tip: Don’t keep checking your phone, as it will prompt your fellow diners to stare into space contemplating the end of their existence.

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.