BEI HIT Blog
Healthcare IT News, April 8, 2013
BEI Commentary: Here are the latest statistics on Meaningful Use payments. Almost one out of every two physicians are participating.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reports it has paid out nearly $12.7 billion in meaningful use incentive payments through February 2013, according to the latest figures available.
The electronic health record adoption incentive program, launched under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, has now drawn 264,292 Medicare eligible providers (EPs) to date, including 120,002 Medicaid registrants and 4,299 hospitals, according to CMS. Read More
Healthcare IT News, October 25, 2012
BEI Commentary: CMS has announced the CQMs for 2014 – a change compared to what is being reported today.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has published the final 2014 clinical quality measures (CQMs) for eligible professionals and eligible hospitals seeking to attest for meaningful use.
Beginning in 2014, the reporting of clinical quality measures will change for all providers. Electronic health record (EHR) technology that has been certified to the 2014 standards and capabilities will contain new CQM criteria. Read More
EHR Watch, May 15, 2012
BEI Commentary: If you have an EHR you need an IT support company, or you need internal staff to support your network and hardware. Most ambulatory practices will either partially or totally outsource their IT. It is a good idea to work with a company that understands the healthcare vertical and its rules and regulations (shameless plug: BEI is one such company). Business Associates Agreements are one of the reasons why.
So you’ve been working hard to firm up your IT security protocols and systems, and you’re feeling good about the progress you’ve made.
Now, how about your myriad partners who also have access to your patients’ health information?
As this observer points out, for many providers that’s a different story altogether. He says that “while the HIPAA rules have been around for a while — the Security Rule’s compliance date goes back to 2005 — hospitals and other health care providers have not consistently devoted a significant amount of time to business associate security.” Read More
Healthcare IT News, April 10, 2012
BEI Commentary: The big takeaway here is this health systems commitment to interoperability for its images. This is the theme of Stage 2 Meaningful Use, and we will see many more implementations of this type in the future.
For policymakers, the goal is the NHIN, the National Health Information Network that will enable healthcare providers to share patient information anywhere across the country.
While that goal is still a few years away, to put it mildly, it’s possible to get a sense of the implications of that breadth of connectivity when the switch gets thrown on a significantly smaller network, for just one type of information, at the local or regional level. Read More
Healthcare IT News, January 10, 2012
BEI Commentary: We have seen lots of data on the number of physicians signed up for Meaningful Use incentives. Here is the latest of information. Of note is that in 2011 approximately 1/3 of all eligible Medicare providers signed registered. If this rate keeps up, the vast majority of Medicare providers will be participating in this program before it is over.
The Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record program has paid more than $2.5 billion to physicians and hospitals in incentive payments for all of 2011, with December contributing to the steep growth curve. The final 2011 data won’t be in until early March because physicians can register and attest in the Medicare program until the end of February to receive payment for what is considered calendar 2011, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. States also can take weeks to submit their final Medicaid incentive data.
Medicare incentives for demonstrating meaningful use of EHRs reached $1.38 billion for the year, while Medicaid payments for providers to adopt, implement and upgrade their EHRs were estimated at $1.15 billion, for a total of $2.53 billion. In November, payments amounted to $1.8 billion. Read More
Healthcare IT News, September 15, 2011
BEI Commentary: If you are thinking of hiring a new doctor out of medical school, you will be getting someone who is trained on using technology and EHRs at the point of care. Another important reason for your practice to adopt an EHR: your future staffing needs.
First- and second-year students at Weill Cornell Medical College are being provided with new iPads, which will be synched with EMRs for training during their clerkships.
The iPad 2 will serve to replace students’ printed course notes and texts allowing them to download course materials, see video or hear audio recordings of lectures, submit electronic course evaluations, access their grades and collaborate with other students. Read More
Healthcare IT News, August 5, 2011
BEI Commentary: Don’t listen to us – here is some good practical information about EHRs and Meaningful Use from a solo practioner.
A 24-year veteran, Patrick Golden, MD, practices medicine in Fresno, Calif. Recently, he successfully steered his solo practice through Stage 1 meaningful use attestation. In the following interview with EHRWatch, he offers guidance to other physicians hoping to receive federal incentives through meaningful use.
EHRWatch: What was your initial reaction to meaningful use?
Dr. Golden: From the very day I heard of the program, I knew we — our practice — were going to do this. Absolutely, there was no doubt. We had purchased the Sage Intergy EHR in 2009, and it has been a wonderful asset to the practice. A robust system is vital to your success. We’ve greatly benefited from the dashboard measuring meaningful use progress and the analytics program used to collate and track data. Those two tools made the entire process so much simpler than it would have otherwise been. Read More
From: Healthcare IT News, July 5, 2011
BEI Commentary: Finally! Rules being implemented to standardize claims processing. This should be a big help to everyone (except maybe the insurance companies).
The Department of Health and Human Services has issued an interim final rule aimed at cutting red tape for providers transmitting information electronically.
The “Administrative Simplification: Adoption of Operating Rules for Eligibility for a Health Plan and Health Care Claim Status Transactions” is expected to save doctors, patients and insurers $12 billion, according to HHS officials. The rule is part of a plan to reduce administrative costs mandated under the Affordable Care Act.
According to HHS officials, savings will come from the improved use of electronic standards that will help eliminate inefficient manual processes. Read More
BEI Commentary: Since physicians are the primary users of the EHR, and their productivity is key for the success of the practice (not to mention the fact that they pay the bills!), EHR usablility is perhaps the single most important feature in an EHR. This article reinforces that point.
From: Healthcare IT News, May 18, 2011
Font size, frame size, number of keystrokes for entry are not the types of issues that would seem at first glance to impact a multi-billion dollar market such as the one for electronic medical record systems. But according to healthcare market research publisher Kalorama Information, these annoyances will add up to a large difference in how many hospitals and physicians convert to EMR systems.
Kalorama Information’s latest report, EMR 2011: The Market for Electronic Medical Record Systems, expects the market for EMR systems to grow at 15.1% annually for the next five years, but that growth could hinge upon the creation of more user-friendly systems. Read More
From: Healthcare IT News, May 3, 2011
NEW YORK – The Institute for Health Technology Transformation has released a report that compiles what key health IT experts from across the United States view as the best ways to engage patients in the digital age.
“Top Ten Things You Need to Know About Engaging Patients” was prepared by: Donna Scott, executive director of marketing strategy, RelayHealth; Howard Rosen, CEO, Life:Wire; Brad Tritle, president and CEO, eHealth Trust Arizona; Shadaab Kanwal, director of clinical informatics, UCLA Health Sciences; Michael Brown, MD, chief information officer, Harvard University Health Services; Adam Clark, director of scientific and federal affairs, FasterCures, and member, ONC HIT Policy Committee; Pamela Law, MD, David Geffen School of Medicine ’09, affiliated with Health 2.0; and Waco Hoover, CEO, Institute for Health Technology Transformation. Read More
