News 1/9/14

From K. Systrom: “Figure 1. This is cool app your readers might be interested in.” Figure 1 is a free Instagram-like app for licensed and verified healthcare professionals. The app facilitates the sharing of de-identified  photos of medical conditions while at the same time creates a crowdsourced image library. Looks quite cool and you have to love the price.

CMS proposes a rule that would ban abusive prescribers from government programs, as well as ban providers whose licenses have been suspended or revoked due to drug-related sanctions.

A report from the HHS Office of the Inspector General criticizes the government for inadequately addressing potential fraud and abuse issues as EHR adoption becomes more widespread. Warning that “certain EHR technology features may be used to mask true authorship of the medical record and distort information to inflate health care claims,” the OIG contends that CMS and its contractors have not changed their program integrity practices and recommends that CMS provide its contractors with guidance on detecting fraud associated with EHRs.

I was amused by this New York Times article about doctors that Google their patients. I guess I had never thought about my doctors caring too much about me beyond my blood pressure, pulse, and current meds. On the other hand, I Google people the time, leading me to wonder whether I (like doctors) should spend more time simply asking others the details I want to know.

AMA President Ardis Dee Hoven, MD includes two HIT-related issues on her list of top federal issues affecting physicians in 2014. Hoven notes that the October 1 implementation deadline for the ICD-10 code set and the September 30 MU attestation deadline for physicians wishing to avoid 2015 Medicare penalties are two significant issues that could have a significant impact on physicians and patients.

The AMA, by the way, offers free educational resources to help physicians prepare for the ICD-10 transition.

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News 1/7/14

McKesson announces the general availability of its Paragon Ambulatory Care Practice Management solution, which is an extension of its single database HIS for inpatient facilities and designed for hospital-owned practices. I understand the PM module was developed internally, as opposed to a bolt-on of one of McKesson’s acquired products and that an EHR module is also in the works. Sounds like McKesson is positioning itself to compete with Epic and Cerner in the IDN space.

A 16-provider dermatology practice in Massachusetts agrees to a $150,000 payment and a corrective action plan after admitting to potential HIPAA violations. In October, 2011 an unencrypted thumb containing the PHI of 2,200 patients was stolen from an employee’s car. The provider promptly reported the breach to HHS and patients; HHS then informed the practice that the Office of Civil Rights would launch a compliance review. The OCR concluded that the practice had not conducted an accurate and thorough analysis of potential risk and vulnerabilities as part of its security management process; failed to have written policies and procedures for in compliance with the Breach Notification Rule; and, had not trained its employees on security processes.  The lesson for practices: encrypt those thumb drives, perform risk assessments, and be in compliance with policy and training requirements.

The majority of patients using a txt4health diabetes awareness app reported the tool made them more likely to make diet-related behavior changes and lose weight, though only 39 percent of the participants completed the 14 week program. Researchers concluded that the text messaging program has “potential to significantly influence people’s health habits,” but admits it “may not be appropriate for everyone.”

In a Kaiser Permanente study also involving diabetics, researchers found patients that refilled their medications using online portals increased their medication adherence and improved their cholesterol levels. Medication non-adherence and poorly controlled cholesterol declined six percent among exclusive users of the online refill function, compared to occasional users or non-users.

University Hospital (GA) reports that 16,000 patients from University and its affiliated practices are accessing their medical records through the health system’s Epic patient portal.

HIMSS Analytics awards 14 ambulatory clinics associated with Cincinnati Children’s Hospital (OH) with Stage 7 Ambulatory Awards for EMR adoption. Children’s also earned Stage 7 for its inpatient setting.

Brightree and athenahealth will coordinate the patient referral process for providers using athenaClinicals and athenaCoordinator services and post-acute providers using Brightree’s clinical and billing platform.

Good news for telehealth providers: as of January 1, a new Montana law requires state-regulated insurance companies to reimburse providers for telehealth services at the same rate as in-person visits.

Speaking of telehealth, the California-based Telecure is waiving its $25 telemedicine visit fee for patients who share details of the experience on Twitter or Facebook. The company’s CEO says Telecure is wanting to raise “awareness of alternative ways of receiving quality healthcare.” Am I the only person who is more leery of  taking advantage of medical care that is discounted to “free” versus?

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City estimates that 55 percent of area physicians are now employed by hospitals, including virtually all cardiologists and most cancer specialists. Dr. Gregg, by the way, provides some insight on why many physicians are choosing to ignore the trend and remain independent.

Almost three-fourths of physicians using EHRs in 2011 reported clinical benefits, according to a Health Services Research report. The majority of physicians said the EHR alerted them of a potential medication error or critical lab value, while one-third claimed the EHR helped identify needed tests or communicate with patients.

The School of Business at the University of Miami and CareCloud launch CareCloud Scholars, a program to engage graduate students with South Florida’s healthcare community and promote healthcare innovation.

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DOCtalk by Dr. Gregg 1/6/14

Why Does Simon Practice?

Simon – Dr. Simon Princewalleter – is a small practice, primary care provider who works diligently every day, often seven days a week. He keeps his own books, but has an accountant advisor and an outside billing company. He has three staff members who he loves and who seem to appreciate him. (He loses sleep on numerous payday eves worrying that he won’t have enough to meet their payroll.) He efforts to keep current on standards of care and evidence-based guidelines. He takes his own after-hours calls, tries to offer quality online tools for his patients including a nice website and an attractive patient portal, and uses a good electronic medical tool for all his patient records. He tries to keep up with governmental and insurance company rules and regs, maintains HIPAA watchfulness, and protects his digital patient data. He spends many hours doing things for which he was never trained.

He is going into debt to stay afloat.

Why does Simon continue this struggle? Why not sell out to an ACO or join a group? Why does Simon practice?

Simon, it appears, is part of a dwindling breed. He loves his practice, his staff, and his patients. He thinks he provides a value and services that are unique. He likes being entrepreneurial despite the challenges and mounting pressures. He likes being a small practice doctor, with all that entails. He isn’t convinced that a regular paycheck and institutional guidelines would ever provide the warm sense of satisfaction he gleans on his own.

But, he knows that he cannot continue to watch debt mount. He struggles to find new resource avenues. He provides some consulting services which, while detracting from his family time, help keep the lights on and the family fed. He looks for ways to see more patients that don’t entail cutting value and patient care quality. He considers innovative options for increasing practice revenues through digital services offerings. He trims staff benefits though he despises the necessity.

Why does Simon continue to struggle when the “security” of a group might be so much cozier?

Simon loves being innovative. He loves seeing what needs to be done and then defining creative ways to accomplish the job. He loves making decisions and seeing where they lead. He doesn’t mind when his decisions are wrong; he just decides on what needs to be done next to make it better. He likes his mom-and-pop shop ways.

As witnessed all over the country, though, he knows moms and pops are fading from the landscape. Corporate conglomerates have the clout and the monies to push moms and pops aside or, all too often, just steamroll them into oblivion.

He sees the conglomerate writing on the healthcare wall. Simon knows he may not be able to avoid the centralization of healthcare. It may be inevitable that he will one day become subsumed by the healthcare Borg.

Why does Simon continue to buck the trend and keep his individualist ways?

Simon isn’t arrogant or excessively proud. He’s just trying to do a good job and provide the best he can for those for whom he cares, whether patients or staff or family. He also knows that something deep down inside him would probably get lost if he sold out to a corporate structure. He believes strongly in the American ethos of the pioneer spirit upon which his country stands so proud. He thinks innovation, even micro-innovation on a micro-scale such as his little practice, has a value and an intrinsic worth that can never be replicated in an institutional setting. He believes he can make a difference – perhaps a small difference, but nonetheless an important difference – by being true to the values he holds dear. He believes his best is brought forth in his entrepreneurial realm.

Why does Simon practice?

Simon loves what he does, he loves those for whom he cares, and he thinks he has found the best way to repay all that he has been given by being the best “him” that he can be: a small practice doc trying to do what’s right, delivering personal care the best way he can – for as long as he can.

From the trenches…

“We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds.” – Aristotle Onassis

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 (OHIP).

News 12/26/13

Good news for physicians: CMS adopts final rules extending the Stark exception sunset date from December 31, 2013 to December 31, 2021. The amendment allows healthcare entities to continue subsidizing physician purchases of EHRs and addresses additional rule modifications, including:

• The exclusion of lab companies from donating EHR items and services
• The elimination of the e-prescribing capability requirement
• Updates to the interoperable provision
• Clarification of the requirement prohibiting any action that limits or restricts the use, compatibility, or interoperability of donated items or services.

Ownership of an e-prescribing system jumped from 30 percent in 2007 to more than 56 percent in 2010, according to data from the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey. Of those practices with e-prescribing capabilities, 85 percent of the providers actually sent prescriptions electronically in 2010. Family medicine providers had the highest ownership rate at 68 percent; psychiatrists had the lowest rate with less than 32 percent.

The Mercy health system (MO) says that use of its e-visits service has quadrupled over the last few months. More than 400,000 Mercy patients have signed up for MyMercy, which also allows patients to schedule appointments, email providers, track medical histories, and pay bills.

Greenway Medical Technologies wins the 2013 Intel Innovation Award for its PrimeMOBILE app for Windows 8.

This week tends to be one of the slowest of the year for HIT news, even though most providers don’t get too much of a holiday break. If you are in the trenches providing care, thanks for your dedication.

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DOCtalk by Dr. Gregg 12/23/13

Dear Digital Santa

Dear Digital Santa,

First, thank you so much for all the digital presents last year. They were really fun and most of them lasted several months before the next version or a completely updated model was released.

For 2013, I have a rather different wish list. I know you told me when I sat on your lap last Saturday at the mega-mall that you didn’t think you’d be able to deliver on most of these, but I still want to put in my official request. (Anything you can do might make up for that weird tukas fondle you tried to say was an accident. Didn’t know what to make of that, Santa, but if you deliver on these, I’m willing to forego consideration of any formal charges.)

That said, I’ve formalized my list. I’d like:

· Tablet and smartphone firmware and software that can upgrade for as long as the hardware still works

· A smartphone app that makes calls from people on otherwise great smartphones sound good so you don’t have to keep straining to hear through muffled mush

· An EHR app that can take excessively long, typically templated EHR reports sent from other systems and extract the truly relevant material (often one third to one tenth the length of the original)

· A way to get EHR vendors back to developing based upon intuitive creativity, not just dictated criteria that may or may not actually make a difference in healthcare outcomes someday

· An HIT governmental hierarchy that doesn’t keep edging toward where almost all government hierarchies end up: excessive bureaucracy piled so high on top of initial good intentions that it smothers the very systems it was designed to assist

· Healthcare IT people and healthcare delivery people speaking a mutually recognizable language where neither is so acronym-heavy that it makes the other feel stupid

· Promises and delivery – neither too big or too small, but juuuust right – as the cornerstones of HIT

· Interoperability that’s about true interoperable interactivity, not buzzwords and sales hype

· A year without buzzwords and sales hype – and maybe a year without sound bites, too

· Throughout HIT-dom, less flash and sizzle, more real and worthy

· Healthcare folks, either HIT-related or just in general, with more fondness for getting work done than fondness for their own egos

· A pocket version of Watson

· Key software, like word processing, email, and such, with real support from a real company that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, that doesn’t keep costing me ad infinitum, and that can reside on my computer instead of an NSA-accessed cloud server somewhere

· A special app for all my devices that sends a fatal – or at least momentarily heart-stopping – shock to any hacker or identity thief who tries to access with my digital world

· Peace on earth

I’d probably take the last one as a substitute for all of the others, though I might have to think about it for a while.

I know you’ll do your best, Santa.

With holiday love, from the trenches…

“The season wouldn’t feel the same without people going out of their way to be offended by nothing.” – Jon Stewart

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 (OHIP).