News 1/22/15

Top News

A group of 35 industry associations including CHIME, the AMA, AAFP, and MGMA urge ONC National Coordinator Karen DeSalvo, MD to make the following changes to EHR certification in a bid for improved patient safety:

1. Decouple EHR certification from the Meaningful Use program;
2. Re-consider alternative software testing methods;
3. Establish greater transparency and uniformity on UCD testing and process results;
4. Incorporate exception handling into EHR certification;
5. Develop C-CDA guidance and tests to support exchange;
6. Seek further stakeholder feedback; and
7. Increase education on EHR implementation

The authors explain that, “We believe the Meaningful Use certification requirements are contributing to EHR system problems, and we are worried about the downstream effects on patient safety. Physician informaticists and vendors have reported to us that MU certification has become the priority in health information technology design at the expense of meeting physician customers’ needs, patient safety, and product innovation.”

Announcements and Implementations

Missouri Health Connection receives a $375,000 grant from the Healthcare Foundation of Greater Kansas City to connect EHRs at Swope Health Services, Samuel U. Rodgers Health Center, and KC Care Clinic to the Missouri HIE. Additional funding from St. Luke’s Health System (MO and KS) will be used for EHR upgrades, which will affect 68,000 patients at 17 clinics.

Non-profit community healthcare provider ARcare installs i2iTracks, a population health management and analytics product from i2i systems, at 37 facilities. ARcare received the HIMSS Analytics Stage 7 Ambulatory Award last summer. I had the opportunity to interview ARcare CIO Greg Wolverton shortly thereafter.

Akasha Center for Integrative Medicine (CA) selects Open Source Health Inc., which provides digital patient engagement solutions for women, to advise it on the development of a cloud-based EHR for integrative health and personalized medicine. (If you need to take a break from the hustle and bustle of healthcare IT for a few minutes, check out the Akasha website, which plays extremely soothing sounds of nature upon opening.) 

ExamMed launches a healthcare technology platform that includes video, EHR, patient portal, “smart” coding, and physician network and referrals. The new tool also includes MedCoins, which act as forms of credit patients can put towards services or gift to family members.

Custom PC Programming’s DoseTracer inventory and payment tracking software for pharmaceuticals joins the Greenway Health Marketplace.

Zotec Partners introduces ZARi, a new analytical reporting interface for radiologists.

GE Healthcare and NextGen earn EHNAC’s first practice management system accreditation.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Medical diagnostic device company Welch Allyn acquires Hubble Telemedical, which specializes in remote diabetic retinopathy screening and analysis in primary care settings. The deal is the second acquisition in six weeks for Welch Allyn, which acquired remote vital-signs monitoring company HealthInterlink late last year.

Smart jewelry startup Ringly raises $5.1 million in Series A funding led by Adreessen Horowitz, bringing its total funding to $6.1 million. While the investment probably won’t affect product development in time for this Valentine’s Day (it’s still working to fill pre-orders from Christmas), the company does plan to use it to add new features to its collection, build partnerships with fashion brands and designers, and hire additional staff for its New York City office. 

Kaiser Permanente becomes the “Official Health Care Partner” of the NBA, WNBA, NBA D-League, and USA Basketball. It is the provider’s first national partnership with a professional sports league. Through the partnership, Kaiser and the NBA will conduct 14 community health and wellness events in NBA markets, as well as an annual Health and Wellness Forum.

Government and Politics

Media reports suggest that ONC National Coordinator Karen DeSalvo, MD has appointed board certified Ob/Gyn Michael James McCoy, MD as its first chief health information officer, effective January 26. As CHIO, McCoy will develop clinical policy and serve as the department’s leading expert on interoperability. He will report directly to DeSalvo. His ties to Atlanta, Georgia (recently voted by HIStalk readers as the nation’s capital of healthcare IT) run deep. He received his degrees from Georgia State University and the Medical College of Georgia, and worked in various physician leadership roles at healthcare facilities in Gwinnett County. His vendor experience includes executive positions at Allscripts, Xerox, Physician Technology Services, and digiChart.

The Pew Charitable Trusts, Geisinger Health System (PA), Intermountain Healthcare (UT), The Leapfrog Group, and seven other industry organizations write to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell strongly urging the government to mandate a field for unique identification numbers of medical devices in EHRs so that they can be better tracked and recalled. They believe this objective will support Meaningful Use Stage 3 priorities including better clinical decision support, care coordination, and patient engagement.

The local paper covers the Texas Department of Criminal Justice’s use of telemedicine within its prison system to curb healthcare costs, which have climbed steeply in the last several years due to the state’s aging inmate population. While telemedicine has saved the department $780 million from 1994 to 2008, it does have its detractors. “I see the potential for danger where, for example, psychiatric care is not given in person and a doctor doesn’t see the cuts on the person’s arm and the next day they commit suicide,” says Wayne Yang with the Texas Civil Rights Project. “Telehealth could save money, but it could hurt health care.”

The White House releases details on the new precision medicine program President Obama announced during his State of the Union Address. The program will work to individualize treatment plans through advances in genetic research, medical imaging, and health information technology.

Research and Innovation

Mobile health service HealthTap releases its first report ranking apps by physician recommendations. The report includes apps in 30 health categories such as pregnancy, heart health, and weight loss. Top apps include Fooducate (I can vouch for this as being great if you are just starting to pay attention to nutrition labels.), Glucose Buddy, First Aid – American Red Cross, Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock, and Stroke Riskometer.

An American Well survey conducted by Harris Corp. finds that 64 percent of respondents are willing to have virtual visits via telemedicine, with slightly fewer indicating virtual visits should cost less than in-office visits. The majority of the 2,019 consumers surveyed chose video as their preferred method of telemedicine. While these sorts of surveys tend to be fairly self-serving, it’s worth noting that 70 percent would rather have an online video visit than an in-office visit to obtain primary care prescriptions – yet another indication that the primary care business model will have to change to meet consumer demands for convenience, access, and affordability.

Other

The American Telemedicine Association seeks nominations for its annual President’s Awards for the Advancement of Telemedicine. Nominations are due February 15. Winners in three categories – Health Delivery Quality and Innovation, Leadership, and Remote Health Care – will be presented at ATA’s annual meeting in May.

Cerner will co-host a virtual career fair with the VFW February 18 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. CT. to connect service members and their family members with job openings at the company. Veterans can qualify for such positions as system engineer, technical support analyst, implementation consultant, nurse, and a variety of operational roles. They can even use the online military decoder tool at Cerner’s website to match their enlisted position with suggested roles within the company. Cerner is also working to help modernize the VFW’s IT infrastructure, and evaluate the creation of a patient portal for VFW members.

A North Carolina OB-GYN says physicians should use computers and not vice-versa, urging his peers to look at the patient instead of the screen. “The folks who sold us these systems talked about all the wonderful things EMR can do … One might assume the EMR would excise the tumor, lower the blood glucose and stop the hallucinations. The problem is that the EMR really should not ‘do’ anything. Patients tell us their concerns. Practitioners do their best to listen and perform the appropriate evaluation, with or without technology … everything we need to know about our patients is in their face, in their voice, and in their eyes.”

Sponsor Updates

• ADP AdvancedMD offers tips on leveraging practice data to view key performance indicators in a new blog.
• ABCNews.com lists Clockwise.md amongst other companies making a name for themselves developing online booking software.

Contacts

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

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News 1/20/15

Top News

CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner, most known for her key role in the botched rollout of Healthcare.gov and for miscounting its enrollees, resigns. Former Optum executive Andy Slavitt will take the role as interim. The current enrollment period seems to be back on track, with HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell making the final rounds of photo ops as the February 15 deadline for sign ups draws near. Nearly 6.6 million consumers have enrolled for coverage via Healthcare.gov as of earlier this month. The administration is hoping that 9 million will enroll through federal and state exchanges.

HIStalk Practice Announcements and Requests

Thanks to the following sponsors, new and renewing, that recently supported HIStalk Practice. Click a logo for more information.

Announcements and Implementations

Yavapai County Community Health Services (AZ) launches a patient portal from NextGen.

The Auburn University Medical Clinic (AL) plans to go live on a Med-Pass electronic immunization record-keeping system this spring. The system will be fully functional for student use just in time for the new school year this fall. Medical Director Fred Kam, MD notes that, “The majority of universities are currently not using a system like this. The new system not only will decrease errors but will also allow students to log on to their online account to access their records should they need a copy at any time.”

Wake Emergency Physicians P.A. (NC) develops and launches telemedicine service RelyMD. Co-founder Bobby Park, MD attributes the service’s growing popularity to a decision by the North Carolina Medical Board to allow prescriptions through telemedicine visits.

Practice Fusion adds an online check-in module that collects patient information via practice-customizable online forms, then sends it to its EHR.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Chicago-based Matter, a hub for medtech and healthcare entrepreneurs set to launch next month, partners with healthcare investment bank Healthios. The partnership will give Matter members free access to the HealthiosXchange platform, a crowdsourcing marketplace for private equity in the healthcare industry.

Qualcomm Ventures plans to launch an investment firm with Novartis Pharmaceuticals that will invest up to $100 million in early stage digital health companies. Qualcomm, which has 18 startups in its global healthcare portfolio, plans to focus heavily on ventures that go “beyond the pill” to benefit patients and physicians.

Government and Politics

The Defense Health Agency announces that military pharmacies now can accept e-prescriptions from civilian physicians. The transition to the new eRx system began early last year, and is now available at clinic pharmacies in the U.S., Guam, and Puerto Rico.

Alberta Health Services leaders are at odds over the expected go-live date of the Canadian province’s anticipated digital health records system. Spokesman Steve Buick anticipates some parts of the system will be up and running by the end of 2015, while Health Minister Stephen Mandel won’t commit to a timeline until he hears back from an internal task force looking into the feasibility of building it. “I’m not prepared to comment on what we will or won’t have at any time until I get the report,” Mandel says. “I am just cautious. You end up getting into trouble with these computer IT plans because they end up materializing in many different ways.”

A House Committee on Energy and Commerce work group creates a draft policy that would require HHS to pay for telehealth services at the same rate as in-person visits within four years.

The AAFP submits comments on the ONC’s draft Federal Health IT Strategic Plan 2015-2020, expressing frustration over the burden physician practices are having to bear as a result of ONC initiatives, and frustration that its proposed goals of collecting and sharing health information were "indistinguishable" from the goals and objectives that should have been met during the previous decade. AAFP Board Chair Reid Blackwelder, MD said that, “Given the breadth and depth of the work that could be initiated around health IT, we are concerned that resources may be spread so thin that no significant achievements are made toward the goals laid out in the Federal Health IT Strategic Plan.”

Research and Innovation

A Kaiser study uses statistical software to match EHRs to home addresses of California Kaiser patients who are unvaccinated, enabling Kaiser physicians to better target vaccination efforts and prevent disease outbreaks more quickly. Lead investigator Tracy A. Lieu, MD says that, “Anecdotally, doctors have reported that a lot of parents in a particular neighborhood or county have hesitations about vaccines. This is the first time we’ve used computers to actually find these clusters.”

An AAFP survey finds widespread discontent among physicians who have switched EHRs in the last several years. Given that the AAFP requires a subscription to read the full survey results, I had to rely on a slightly skewed press release from Praxis EMR to glean further information. The PR uses questionable wording like “physician coercion,” “forced to switch,” and “traumatizing transitions” to convey the emotions the 305 physicians felt over the issue. EpicCare Ambulatory and Praxis had the most net gains in customers. Praxis took home the best user experience ratings.

A new study reveals that a higher percentage of office-based physicians using healthcare IT received patient data necessary for care coordination than non-users, and that over a third did not regularly receive the needed patient data at all via electronic means. Given that the study analyzed data from physicians who responded to a 2012 survey on the use of EHRs and electronic information sharing, I have to wonder if the results are even valid anymore.

A survey finds that over half of 396 healthcare managers expect to recoup their investments in population health management programs within three to four years (no doubt good news to firms like Aledade.) Twenty percent believe that their investments in healthcare IT, and data and analytics tools will pay off in as little as one to two years. PHM-solution vendors will also be happy to know that only 24 percent of respondents consider their PHM capabilities as mature; 38 percent describe themselves as in the “elementary stages.”

People

Eugene Borukhovich (SoftServe) joins the HealthXL network of advisors.

Other

Berkeley, CA-based startup Eko Devices announces the $200 Core 1, which clips onto a standard stethoscope to record its sounds to any smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth, allowing doctors to share the sound file in consulting with a remote specialist.

The local paper highlights the sleeping giant/economic driver Athenahealth has become in Belfast, ME. The company opened its first office there in 2008 with 12 staff, and now employs over 800 in the area to handle all of the company’s insurance claims and physician bills. (I had to chuckle when I saw the copious amounts of paper in the picture above.) The company is also getting ready to move its 70 employees in Austin, TX to bigger offices in the renovated Seaholm Power Plant. That facility will enable Athena to employ over 600 in the next 10 years.

Northern Kentucky Medical Society board member Mark Schroer, MD makes the case in an op/ed for greater physician/retail clinic collaboration, asking some pretty pointed questions:

“Physicians have criticized the retail clinic model. But we also need to examine ourselves, which is part of our great tradition. We need to ask why these models of care are successful in the first place. What does it tell us about our own practices? Doctors often project an image of being too busy. We are too busy to listen, too busy to look and sometimes, too busy to care. In short, do we project empathy? Not important? Ask the Cleveland Clinic. It now has an entire training program on empathy for all employees including physicians. As a result, patients perceived their care was better. Perhaps, if we did a better job letting patients know "we are there for you" they would never leave home in the first place. Obviously, there are many questions that need to be answered. Maybe retail clinics are not such a bad thing after all.”

Security Divas Scrutinize the Current State of Cyber Threats

Mr. H’s decision to create a section for healthcare privacy and security news over at HIStalk.com makes perfect sense considering the growing number of facility breaches meriting media attention these days. It’s perhaps even more timely given President Obama’s push to revive cybersecurity legislation that has stalled over the past few years. If enacted, the updated proposal would promote better cybersecurity information sharing between the private sector and government, and enhance collaboration and information sharing amongst the private sector. While organizations like the Health Information Trust Alliance (HITRUST) applaud the proposal, it remains to be seen just how effective this type of increased information sharing would be to smaller physician practices that are already dealing with declining reimbursements, burdensome Meaningful Use criteria, and a shrinking pool of physicians looking to work independently.

Do physician practices even have time to worry about potential breaches, much less pony up money to prevent them? Former ONC chief safety officer Joy Pritts told Politico that, “The health sector is just beginning to realize what a potential threat cybercrimes can be. As people realize how valuable health information is, and also realize how it’s not protected by many organizations, they’re going to wake up."

Other industries are already waking up to the threat (and potential financial straits) security breaches pose to their organizations. The ATP “Divas of Security” event offered first-hand insight into how the financial, utility, banking, and manufacturing industries are dealing with cybersecurity. Aside from the fact that I thought it would be fun to be in a room with other divas, I went hoping to glean a few security tips for healthcare. I came away with the realization that the outside world doesn’t have as great an understanding of the threats healthcare faces as they probably should. When polled, the majority of the audience chose “retail” as the sector most likely to see breaches over the next 12 months, perhaps because they noted in an earlier poll that they had recently experienced a personal or professional breach. Moderator Becky Blalock of Advisory Capital quickly put that assumption to rest when she stated that it will in fact be healthcare.

When asked what top things their firms are doing to deal with cybersecurity threats, panelists noted that they are getting more serious about scrutinizing their vendors, and are becoming increasingly interested in information sharing, which is reflected in the President’s new proposal. Big data and analytics were mentioned, as was the fact that IT companies too often work in siloes (where have I heard that before?).

I found it fairly telling that Blalock had to pull a few teeth to get the panel to offer up best practices. I wonder if a panel of healthcare IT experts would respond any differently? When the crickets finally stopped chirping, Robbie Hudec from Novelis said it’s imperative to get the C-suite on board, and that it’s absolutely necessary to help your employees understand the risk.

Security firms in the audience were probably happy to hear that hackers and breaches aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Jill Knesek with BT, told us that hackers will always be one step ahead: “They have to be right only once. We have to be right all the time.”

Sponsor Updates

• ADP AdvancedMD offers “4 surefire signs you need a new EHR for MU2 and beyond” in its latest blog.
• Versus client Dan Chambers, MBA, COE, of Key-Whitman Eye Center writes in the January issue of Ophthalmic Professional magazine about RTLS and how the technology improves patient flow.
• Healthwise SVP Molly Mettler reflects on the opening of Healthwise 40 years ago in a new blog.
• NVoq shares the top three things providers should know about its SayIt speech-recognition technology.
• NextGen offers a new e-book, “5 Fast Fixes for Painless Productivity Challenges.”

Contacts

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

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

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Contact us online.
Become a sponsor.

DOCtalk with Dr. Gregg 1/15/15

The 2037 Advanced Health Information Technology Conclave

The following is a verbatim transcript from the 2037 worldwide conclave for Advanced Health Information Technology in London (purveyed from the future by my old pal and favorite spirit guide, Madam Blavatsky):

Moderator: Welcome, all, to the twenty-first annual Advanced Health Information Technology Conclave. We’re excited to have such a wonderful attendance. This shows that HIT is now truly, as our acronym says, “A HIT.” Today, we’re honored to have the grandfather of all advanced HIT with us to give the conclave’s Grand Keynote address … Dr. Harry Schmeed!

(Applause, applause, applause)

Moderator: As you all know, Dr. Schmeed was talking health information technology before most of you were born. Thanks to the recent progress in genomics and bioengineering, he’s still with us today, and still a powerhouse in the industry at the wonderful age of 114! It’s quite the honor to have him here, so, without further ado … ladies and gentlemen, please welcome … DOCTOR HARRY SCHMEED!!!

(Applause, applause, applause … standing applause)

Dr. Schmeed: Thank you, thank you. That’s so very kind of y’all. Please … be seated, everyone. I haven’t had such a warm reception since my cheapo replacement smart-pants battery ignited my back pocket.

(Chuckles, chuckles)

Dr. Schmeed: It’s so very gratifying to look out on this sea of geeky faces – so pale and so wonderfully nerdy in your old-style Google Glasses, mud-styled hairdos, and sharp line ups. Isn’t it amazing how geekdom has taken control of the world?!

(Cheers, cheers)

Dr. Schmeed: Just a little background to start. When I first began studying ways to make healthcare smarter, I noted one very important thing: so much of what healthcare providers do is repetitive. They see the same type problems again and again, they document the same things time after time, and they calculate the same equations repeatedly, like a dog chasin’ its tail. This was when very few people had even heard of a personal computer – and when most of you were just chocolate bars in your daddy’s back pockets.

(Little chuckles, little looks of “Huh?”)

Dr. Schmeed: My early undergrad experience at MIT gave me insight into computer systems far beyond what most anyone else in healthcare – at the time – had experienced. Now it seems that computer nerds are as common in healthcare as V.D. in a bordello …

(Scattered snickering, scattered slight gasps)

Dr. Schmeed: You’ll have to pardon my somewhat colorful, sorta euphemistic style. I‘m from Texas and we were raised with some real timbre to our tongues. My mama taught me well; she was a serious chin musician. She could turn out more weasel word turns of phrase in one sentence …  enough to make any Washington politician go frog-green with envy. I’ll try to keep my tongue toned down for all you youngsters who were raised on concrete, but you’ll pardon me if some country coinage comes through the chow slot now and again.

Anyway, back to the early days. It sure seemed to me that all this repetitious work docs and nurses were doing back then was just beef gravy for computer capabilities. Why couldn’t all those laborious chores that didn’t really contribute directly to diagnostic inquiries and medical decision-making be shunted off to the ones and zeroes of computers allowing providers to focus more cleanly on care?

Seemed as natural a concept to me then as having snap in your garters. What I didn’t know was how much trouble it might muster to digitize all these processes and make them work within the confines of the world of healthcare – a world with more rules than a Saturday night dance and more silos than all the granaries from Odessa to Omaha.

We couldn’t just take computers – what we all now call “information technology” – and tie them into healthcare with a simple running stitch; it was far too messy and convoluted. It needed some fancy cross stiches and even some embroidery. We needed to make it smart, so that it worked within the fences of the healthcare barnyard without getting the neighbor’s tail all up. Thus was born the concept of “health information technology.”

To say the least, we’ve been straining from the get go. We had to pass some pretty large … um, hurdles … before we got on track, but once we did the value of what we started was pretty danged apparent. Back then, and into the early part of this century, we all though our HIT was pretty smart. Looking back, I’d say most of it was [using little air quotes for emphasis] “Smart HIT” – if you get my little acronymic drift.

(Scattered chuckles and guffaws)

Dr. Schmeed: We’ve moved on, from smart HIT to today’s truly advanced HIT. And I can tell you, it’s been a helluva ride on this bucking bronc, but well worth the backache. We’ve learned a lot. But there’s one thing that’s always rung true, one concept that helped me, and all of us, keep things in perspective as we’ve ambled – and often stumbled – along this long HIT path. My mama used to say it best: “You can’t expect a cat to bark or a whale to walk.” In other words, you shouldn’t expect things to be or act differently than what they are, or than what they’re designed to be. You need to design for real needs, for real people, in ways that don’t force unrealistic change. Design in ways that take into account the true nature of things … and especially of people.

My one prayer, my one wish for you all, is that you learn and respect the most important lesson that has consistently helped us as we eked along from “smart HIT” to “advanced HIT” – from that less pretty acronym to today’s more mixed-company-acceptable version. And that lesson is: “Don’t expect a cat to bark or a whale to walk, but if you do it right, you can expect HIT to be A HIT.” Thank you.

(Resounding applause, feet-stomping, and cheers)

From the trenches…

“Don’t expect a cat to bark.” – Soda Pop Man

Dr. Gregg Alexander, a grunt in the trenches pediatrician at Madison Pediatrics, is Chief Medical Officer for Health Nuts Media, an HIT and marketing consultant, and sits on the board of directors of the Ohio Health Information Partnership.

Contacts

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

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

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Contact us online.
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News 1/15/15

Top News

ONC reports that 56 percent of eligible providers and 77 percent of eligible hospitals scheduled to attest to Stage 2 Meaningful Use have done so. As Mr. H pointed out in his assessment, “Those aren’t great numbers, but they’re a heck of a lot better than you might think.” Providers have three months left to attest, while hospitals have just one.

HIStalk Practice Announcements and Requests

Welcome to new HIStalk Practice Platinum Sponsor Versus Technology. Over 700 hospitals, as well as clinics and and senior living facilities, use its RTLS and RFID solutions for optimizing and automating workflows using location information for patients, staff, and assets. I highly recommend you watch the recent HIStalk webinar Versus sponsored featuring John Olmstead of The Community Hospital (IN) to hear just how successful it has been in improving patient satisfaction, reducing staff overtime and turnover, and fighting a potential MERS outbreak using Versus solutions. Check out the Twitter recap if you’re pressed for time. Thanks to Versus Technology for sponsoring HIStalk Practice.

Just in time for #TBT, Sony re-introduces the Walkman as a flash memory based digital audio player great for audiophiles who enjoy the larger DAP file format. Needless to say, the new Walkman looks nothing like the one I sported in the mid-80s. While the first cassette I ever bought was one by the Moody Blues, I distinctly remember donning my Walkman’s headphones to listen to Paula Abdul. Don’t judge.

The Choose Your Own Adventure series seems to be making a comeback too, as evidenced by a new way to enjoy it on Twitter and the above tome, which I picked up at the Palo Alto Networks table at a recent cyber security event. Choices in the data-center thriller include, “If you decide to make your firewalls presentation to Patel right now, turn to page 48” and “If you decide to reschedule with Patel so you can focus on the possible data breach in front of you, turn to page 23.” Apparently, choosing the data breach results in all hell breaking loose at your data center and the subsequent loss of your job. The upside? You end up in Nashville opening for the Zac Brown Band. 

Announcements and Implementations

Optimizerx Corp. integrates its SampleMD patient savings and support system into Practice Fusion’s EHR, enabling physicians that e-prescribe to provide coupons for patient co-pays and free sample vouchers for medications.

PokitDok introduces the Enterprise Scheduler system for group practices, telehealth providers, and hospitals to centralize scheduling and make open appointment times available on intranets, websites, and mobile apps. The company has also partnered with Healthiest You to incorporate its physician search engine, and pricing and scheduling tools into HY’s telehealth membership plans.

Zwanger-Pesiri Radiology (NY) chooses the Visage 7 Enterprise Imaging Platform for its 58 Long Island radiologists, integrated with the practice’s vendor-neutral archive and enterprise workflow engine.

HealthLoop releases an iPhone app that sends push notifications to a physician when a patient triggers a clinical alert or when another physician sends a triage handoff. It’s part of the company’s package that costs $199 per physician per month.

Government and Politics

HHS breaks down its internal e-mail silos by moving to a cloud-based Microsoft system developed specifically for the federal government. HHS anticipates the move will better enable collaboration amongst departments, which have thus far been unable to communicate with each other due to security issues and firewalls. HHS CIO Frank Baitman seems optimistic about outsourcing the new e-mail service: “I’m a big, big, big supporter of cloud. I’m a big supporter of as-a-service offerings. I think that the way the federal government develops applications, systems is unbelievably inefficient and ineffective, and we have large-scale systems across the federal government that we spend hundreds of millions, sometimes billions, of dollars on that are never delivered.” Cue the taxpayer warm fuzzies.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Apple, Google, Intel, and Adobe agree to settle a 2011 antitrust class action lawsuit by tech workers who accused the businesses of conspiring to avoid poaching one another’s employees, specifically prized engineers. Plaintiffs accused the Silicon Valley companies of limiting job mobility and salary increases.

Cary, NC-based SmartLink Mobile, a spinoff of referral coordination software vendor Infina Connect,  raises $2.5 million in funding for its secure patient-doctor texting platform.

Athenahealth acquires inpatient EHR vendor RazorInsights for an undisclosed sum. RazorInsights primarily serves rural, critical access, and small community hospitals. I debated whether or not to include this news, given that it’s related more to hospitals than physicians, but ultimately felt it was worth mentioning since ambulatory-centric Athena is obviously intent on making a play for the hospital market despite doom and gloom stock predictions that don’t seem to be weighing it down. The announcement also makes me wonder if Athena will merge RazorInsight’s north-of-Atlanta offices into its fairly new Ponce City Market digs.

Research and Innovation

Researchers from Weill Cornell Medical College find that physicians who use HIE to share reports on imaging tests are 25-percent less likely than their peers to perform duplicate tests. The study evaluated the Rochester RHIO (CT), which works with 70 healthcare organizations in 13 counties.

Practice Fusion’s population health collaboration with Merck results in an increase in recorded vaccinations among  eligible patients on Practice Fusion’s EHR. Over 20,000 physicians participated in the four-month test period, which resulted in a 73-percent increase in recorded vaccinations compared to pre- and post-program.

People

John King (Standard Register) joins the Azalea Health Board of Directors.

John Glaser (Siemens Healthcare) joins the American Telemedicine Association’s Board of Directors.

Other

Teletherapy vendor eTherapi cashes in on the Kaiser mental health employee strike going on in California, alerting Kaiser patients that they can access one of their therapists for a discounted rate of $40 per appointment during the strike and for 30 days after.

This article highlights the growing pains healthcare appointment-booking startup ZocDoc has experienced as it has scaled to availability in all 50 states. “[T]here are some obvious challenges that are presented in growing from a company of less than 20 people to now a company with millions of patients using it each month,” explains Anna Elwood, VP of operations. “For one, you need to develop systems where you can actually track the experiences of users. And yet, at the same time, you need to make sure that those systems aren’t the ones controlling the experience.”

Sponsor Updates

• SRSsoft offers four key ways to make and keep resolutions in the new year.
• NextGen’s ViaTracks Solutions clearinghouse will participate in CMS ICD-10 end-to-end testing with seven Medicare payers from January 26-30.

Contacts

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

More news: HIStalk, HIStalk Connect.

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

Do Third-Party Patient Portals Offer Any Advantages Over Vendor-Specific Options?

Of all the new healthcare technology providers are admonished to adopt, patient portals are perhaps the most popular. A 2013 Frost and Sullivan report predicted a 221-percent growth for patient portals by 2017 – a tremendous prediction certainly influenced by providers scrambling to meet Meaningful Use criteria. The prediction begs the question, how should providers actually choose a patient portal? A 2012 KLAS survey highlighted an existing relationship with a vendor as the primary factor in selecting a product. Essentially, this means going with whatever your EHR vendor supplies.

That might not be the best method for selecting such an important piece of medical software. It’s reported that nearly two in every three patients will switch providers for better access to their health information. Surely that places a bit more weight on the patient portal decision.

Simplicity derived from a decreased number of vendor relationships will always have its appeal, but the KLAS report highlights that physicians make such a selection despite third-party options offering more intuitive interfaces (important for engagement), better patient education tools, and perhaps even better data exchange.

The inauspicious number of Stage 2 attestations to date perhaps signifies Meaningful Use’s waning influence – or at least it’s misunderstanding of physician priorities. Either way, it’s best to think of a patient portal outside of simply how it can help you with Meaningful Use.

Though the business case for this type of software hasn’t always been the simplest to make, a systematic review suggested measurable success with these systems (namely in improving health outcomes for patients with common chronic diseases) was best achieved with a strong coupling between the patient portal and case management. This indicates the importance of data exchange in deriving value from patient portals.

And here we find a clear advantage third-party systems can claim over vendor-specific platforms. Vendor-provided platforms have less incentive to communicate with disparate products, while third-party systems clearly see this as an advantage: The more systems a patient portal communicates with, the more scenarios in which it can thrive.

For example, third-party software Updox acts as the Health Information Service Provider for Direct messaging for over 40 EHRs. That’s in addition to its patient portal’s features such as online bill pay, appointment scheduling, and so on.

There’s also a strong case to be made for thinking of patient portals as more than websites where patients perform certain standalone tasks and instead consider them as part of a patient relationship management program. Yes, another industry/technology term is certainly the last thing providers need, but the distinction here is noteworthy.

Customer relationship management has become standard practice for nearly all service providers in other industries, and it’s critical to begin building similar systems in healthcare. In a nutshell, CRM automates many of the administrative tasks that keep effective communication channels open with customers. Healthcare could surely benefit from the same set of principles and technologies.

Solutionreach is an excellent example. Beyond patient portal capabilities, this software also supplies practices with the ability to automate appointment reminders, sending quick email reminders to patients about upcoming office visits. If your office hours are booked and you have patients on a waiting list for appointments, this software can send e-mails to these patients once you have a cancellation, which lets you cover open appointment slots.

Solutionreach can also integrate with various social media channels, which makes posting educational information or answering patient questions much easier than working with three or four separate accounts. An increasing number of patients are using social media to find information and choose providers, so this feature is more than just a marketing tool.

Similarly, so is this type of automated communication. That’s why it’s quickly becoming standard for communicating with customers in a number of other industries, and while the term “automation” may engender thoughts of robotic interactions, it’s actually a quite targeted strategy.

While the convenience of deploying vendor-specific patient portals holds undoubted appeal, the expanded functionality and increased data exchange capabilities of third-party software may be wiser investments for producing continued value from this increasingly common software.

Zach Watson is the content manager at TechnologyAdvice.

Contacts

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

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