Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Health Informatics News

Health Informatics News

Detroit Docs Deploy RCM Solution

Posted: 17 Mar 2010 07:21 AM PDT

Wayne State University Physician Group (WSUPG, Detroit) is implementing a revenue cycle management solution from Horsham, Pa.-based NextGen Healthcare Information Systems, Inc. , a subsidiary of Quality Systems Inc. (Irvine, Calif.). According to the company, NextGenSM Practice Solutions is designed to help users increase collections, reduce A/R days, and improve efficiency in billing, scheduling, reporting, and other critical practice functions. WSUPG is a non-profit, multi-specialty group providing primary and specialty medical services to more than 670,000 patients annually throughout metropolitan Detroit. Its 546 physicians are faculty members of the Wayne State University School of Medicine.

Meridian Adopts Connect Care Model

Posted: 17 Mar 2010 07:18 AM PDT

Meridian Health , a not-for-profit health system located in Neptune, N.J., will utilize Nashville, Tenn.-based Informatics Corporation of America ’s (ICA) CareAlign solution to connect internal and external care participants across its hospitals and affiliated companies and providers. By implementing CareAlign, the health system can make integrated patient records available to clinicians at any time, enabling them to deliver optimized care, says the company. Through its five hospitals — Jersey Shore University Medical Center, K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital, Ocean Medical Center, Riverview Medical Center, and Southern Ocean Community Hospital — Meridian health serves patients across central and southern New Jersey. The system also offers home care and hospice agencies, skilled nursing and sub-acute care facilities, physician practices, rehabilitation and fitness centers, occupational health services, and outpatient laboratory, imaging, and surgery centers.  

KLAS: Smart Pumps Leading to Buyers Remorse for Some

Posted: 16 Mar 2010 08:59 AM PDT

Nearly one in five smart pump customers say they would not buy their current pump again, with one notable exception, according to a new report from Orem, Utah-based KLAS . The report, for which KLAS interviewed 348 providers, looks at smart pump adoption trends and the customer satisfaction gap among some products. It found that roughly 20 percent of customers who purchased the B. Braun Outlook or the new Hospira Symbiq pump say that they would not buy the same device again, nor would 17 percent of those using the small, user-friendly Baxter Sigma pump. On the other hand, 99 percent of interviewed customers who purchased the CareFusion Alaris pump would repeat the decision. The Alaris pump, however, was not the highest-rated product in the large-volume pump (LVP) category. The B. Braun Outlook has been the top-rated pump in KLAS’ watch for three years running, earning a reputation as a solid, functional device delivered by a good company, it says. Authors of the report also found that despite continued hopes of greater connectivity, smart pump integration with EMRs remains an unreachable goal for most providers. Hospira is the only vendor that has achieved integration with an EMR, having done auto programming with the Plum A+/MedNet pump and Cerner’s EMR at two hospitals, says KLAS. For more information or to purchase the report — entitled, Smart Pumps: Avoiding Buyer’s Remorse — healthcare providers and vendors can visit www.KLASresearch.com/reports .   

CHIME: Certification Shouldn’t Be a Burden

Posted: 16 Mar 2010 08:56 AM PDT

The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) filed comments with the Office of the National Coordinator on the Interim Final Rule regarding the initial set of standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria for EHR technology. In its comments, CHIME stresses the importance of certification for supporting providers’ efforts to achieve meaningful use, saying it gives “healthcare providers a degree of assurance that the products they purchase will perform as promised,” adding that “certification is meant to support providers, not pose an additional burden.” The organization places most of the responsibility on vendors that develop IT products, and is urging ONC to provide more lead time as it creates future certification criteria. CHIME is also asking for further clarification on ONC’s interim final rule, particularly in how certification will apply to organizations that use multiple clinical systems. CHIME also wants ONC to support a single standard for patient summary records. For reporting quality data, CHIME advises against using the CMS Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) 2008 Registry XML Specification, and instead suggests the continued development of quality data reporting standards, which are in process by HL7. CHIME seeks a standards-based approach for submitting data to public health agencies, and addresses the critical privacy and security issues, particularly in the areas of encryption and data verification. To view the organization’s comments on the IFR, please click here .  

Hospital Sisters Names New CIO

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 08:22 AM PDT

William Montgomery has been appointed chief information officer for Springfield, Ill.-based Hospital Sisters Health System . Montgomery is currently president of Cedar Brook Consulting in Gainesville, Fla. Prior to that, he served as vice president, healthcare, for Sprint Nextel, of Reston, Va., and was responsible for all strategic planning and the definition and development of markets and products for the healthcare field.  Montgomery holds a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from Syracuse University and a master’s degree in health systems management from Union College of Schenectady, N.Y. Hospital Sisters Health System includes St. John’s Hospital and hospitals in Belleville, Breese, Decatur, Effingham, Highland, Litchfield, Springfield and Streator and in Wisconsin: Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, Sheboygan and two in Green Bay.

Maryland System Implements Labor Management

Posted: 15 Mar 2010 08:12 AM PDT

Frederick Memorial Healthcare System (Md.) saved more than $5 million with its use of Charlotte, N.C.-headquartered Premier Inc. ’s product, the company says. According to Premier, by utilizing its LaborConnect tool, the healthcare system realized cost savings through onsite performance improvement and labor benchmarking. As a part of the program, a Premier Performance Partner provided six days per month of consulting services and helped install OperationsAdvisor, its Web-based labor benchmarking solution. In addition, the Performance Partner also trained managers and directors to new products and reports; monitored “watch lists” to help underperformers develop action plans; and incorporated FY2009 labor benchmarks into the FY2010 labor budget process using OA, it says. Frederick Memorial Hospital is a flagship of the Frederick Memorial Healthcare System. It includes 20 other facilities, physician practices, immediate care and a wellness center.

Alzheimer's waiver to expire

Posted:

3/16/2010 © The News Service of Florida A Medicaid waiver that provides community support so that Alzheimer's Disease patients can remain out of a nursing home is set to expire the end of April, unless the Legislature acts.
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