MedWorm provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest medical blog items that have been tagged with 'ehr/emr'. Sat, 03 Sep 2011 02:16:28 +0100 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=5118745&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2Fo3AjHrDVXpM%2F You’ve undoubtedly heard the argument before: EHR certification is about assuring that systems meet minimum requirements for functionality and interoperability, but the certification process falls way short in terms of usability, privacy and security. But have you heard the argument from one of the ONC-authorized certification bodies? This is an excerpt from an e-mail I received today: Meaningful Use criteria have become a massive EHR certification driver for healthcare organizations. Hospitals and other providers rely on the criteria to ensure that their health IT systems meet minimum government-specified functionality and interoperability requirements to support Stage 1 of Meaningful Use.  Achieving Meaningful Use also ensures a health care organization qualifies for reimbursement... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=5118745 Thu, 11 Aug 2011 19:21:33 +0100 5118745 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4953044&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FfDeOPTZnEYY%2F #bbpBox_82695997494530048 a { text-decoration:none; color:#0000ff; }#bbpBox_82695997494530048 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; } Looks like Estonia is the new model for system wide EHR http://bit.ly/liYLwe June 19, 2011 11:27 pm via TweetDeckReplyRetweetFavorite @boltyboy Matthew Holt I’m always fascinated by other countries EHR implementations. So many other countries are interesting to consider since they’re missing so many of the barriers that make EHR adoption and even more specifically health information exchange between EHR software so difficult. Nice to learn more about the success that Estonia has had adopting EHR software. I’d like to learn a lot more about what’s being done with international EHR implementations. #bbpBox_82462900882644992 a { t... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4953044 Mon, 20 Jun 2011 07:02:57 +0100 4953044 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4841661&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2011%2F05%2F15%2Femr-twiter-thoughts-from-emr-answers%2F I found a couple interesting tweets from EMR answers. Some interesting advice for those interested in EMR and EHR. #bbpBox_69798257995431937 a { text-decoration:none; color:#220882; }#bbpBox_69798257995431937 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; } #EMR #EHR Vendors- busy w/ #MU R&D. Demo specific to #physician spec. & work flow. Watch for clicks, alert fatigue and “One size fits all” May 15, 2011 9:16 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite @EMRAnswers Linda Lia Stotsky Some good advice and scary thought that all the EMR and EHR vendors’ R&D is going to meaningful use. #bbpBox_69796911237959680 a { text-decoration:none; color:#220882; }#bbpBox_69796911237959680 a:hover { text-decoration:underline; } #EMR #EHR 101.Vendor Customization.”Fit” syst... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4841661 Mon, 16 May 2011 06:12:16 +0100 4841661 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4545032&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FuAAH2NXokHs%2F Today I’m happy to officially introduce readers of EMR and HIPAA to my latest project: The Healthcare Scene blog network. If you follow me on twitter (@techguy and @ehrandhit), then you’ve probably already come across one or more of the great blogs in this new healthcare IT blog network. I’m really excited with the group of bloggers that I have working on the network and the amazing content they’ve been creating and will create. Before I introduce you to the various websites on the network, here’s a little background in why I decided to do this. As I looked at the various healthcare IT and EMR bloggers producing content, I was disappointed that many of them were creating great content that wasn’t getting nearly as much attention and traffic as the conten... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4545032 Thu, 03 Mar 2011 19:26:26 +0100 4545032 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4517225&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FOtL0fB14zuo%2F Turns out that my previous post about lack of EMR innovation at HIMSS was a little more controversial than I expected it to be. Plus, I’m not sure that I communicated the entire message about EMR innovation and the future of EMR software in healthcare (I’m blaming the late nights and lack of sleep). I’m still suffering the HIMSS hangover and on this too small to type well netbook, but let me try and add some more context to the previous post. One person emailed me about my “disappointment with EMR software.” I’d be careful to characterize it as disappointment with the EMR industry. I’m really optimistic about the future of EMR. I still think they’re a great value proposition and that EVERY (leave a few rural settings aside) doctor should and ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4517225 Thu, 24 Feb 2011 16:04:21 +0100 4517225 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4517226&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FlSgrbbfh6cY%2F One of the most disappointing parts of HIMSS for me is that the really creative and disruptive innovations are missing from HIMSS. There are a few items I saw like the Shareable Ink technology, some of the Nuance NLP/voice recognition work, and a pretty cool biometric kiosk by Fujitsu (which I’ll blog about later). Sadly I wasn’t seeing the really creative innovation coming from the EMR companies (and I talked to a lot of them) at HIMSS. I think there’s two possible things at play in this regard. First, meaningful use is probably largely to blame for much of the lack of innovation that I saw. As someone told me, the regulation of EHR software has damaged and deterred the innovation. I guess you could say I’ve seen some interesting and innovative ways to approach mea... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4517226 Thu, 24 Feb 2011 04:53:45 +0100 4517226 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4507388&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2Fdrgkja0ersI%2F As many of you know, EMR and HIPAA is a big time news company. We have a really fat budget and pay our reporters huge amounts of money to sit and smoke cigars while producing very little content of value. One of our biggest expenses here at HIMSS is in our investigative reporting department. Our motto is that if someone else breaks a story before us, then we spend the money to break them. Yes, we’re very serious about spending outrageous money breaking stories that no one else can break. After 3 years of investigation (and no government stimulus money), we’ve finally cracked the code on who’s behind the famous (and hilarious) Extormity EHR software. They’ve been very good about concealing their identity before their big HIMSS press conference in 312C, West Building.... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4507388 Tue, 22 Feb 2011 14:46:10 +0100 4507388 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4507389&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FERi-Zb6kfGA%2F Hopefully none of you were expecting Meaningful Use Mondays. We’re taking the week off thanks to HIMSS, but there will certainly be some meaningful use discussion in my day 2 experience at HIMSS11. I must admit that my morning was a little disappointing. I’d wanted to see Reich speak, but it ended up being too early for me. So, I followed what he said on Twitter. I’m afraid to say that following it on Twitter might possibly have been better than being there. There’s something really cool about the Twitter back channel conversation at a conference. I was excited to go to the session Dr. No: The Response to HITECH, but it was a dud for me. Maybe it means I’m just too involved with the HITECH act that she didn’t offer me much to chew on. Plus, the presentat... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4507389 Tue, 22 Feb 2011 05:09:33 +0100 4507389 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4507390&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FarM4RGb1n4M%2F Neil already broke the news a few weeks ago that the MTIA (Medical Transcription Industry Association) changed its name to the CDIA (Clinical Documentation Industry Association). I was able to attend the press event that they held to officially announce the change. I’m sure that many might not think this is such a big deal. Ok, the name change isn’t that big of a deal. However, I’d say that this part of the movement that I’ve been talking about for quite a while. Basically the survival of transcription for the forseeable future. I don’t think I talked to any transcription companies at the event that weren’t working on some sort of EMR tied to transcription strategy (MD-IT, FutureNet, and MxSecure to just name a few). In many cases they’re doing the... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4507390 Tue, 22 Feb 2011 04:16:54 +0100 4507390 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4501649&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FhHPAaFVwK7E%2F Today I have a special shirt made just for HIMSS, thanks to the great people at Enterprise Software Deployment. If you see me at HIMSS, check out my shirt. It has the top 10 real reasons I’m at HIMSS listed on the back of the shirt. My favorite is #4 Booth babes. I’ll post the full top 10 later tonight. Also, be sure to check out Enterprise Software Deployment at HIMSS if you need a great EMR consultant or if you’re looking for a position doing EMR consulting. You can find them at Booth #2777. Here’s their HIMSS exhibitor description: At ESD, our goal is to ensure successful implementation of a new EHR system or upgrade from start to finish in healthcare organizations around the globe. Our services include Clinical Transformation, Legacy System Support, Training, Su... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4501649 Mon, 21 Feb 2011 14:13:22 +0100 4501649 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4495277&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2Fp3or7t4HGBo%2F I was going to officially launch my new Healthcare IT blog network today, but got a little bit busy. Plus, it’s Friday, so I think I’ll wait until next week or after HIMSS to officially launch it. It’s going to be really cool and bring out some interesting independent voices in Healthcare IT. Until then, if you want to see the latest news coming out of HIMSS, you should head over to our recently launched EMR and Healthcare IT news site. It’s been hopping and with my wife’s help it will stay well updated during and after HIMSS with the latest news. Also, I came across the idea of using Foursquare at HIMSS. I thought that sounded like a good way to start using Foursquare. Plus, then more people will be able to find me in order to win a Free HD TV at HIMSS. So, i... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4495277 Sat, 19 Feb 2011 01:45:32 +0100 4495277 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489760&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FucJCVg9Q3nE%2F In a recent Healthcare IT News article, they wrote about a KLAS research study that found that the speech recognition market is ready to grow. Here’s a small portion of the article: Providers report a demonstrable return on their speech recognition dollars, according to a new report from KLAS. Participants of the study indicated benefits of speech recognition such as staff reductions, improved report turnaround times and increased physician satisfaction. “The speech recognition market is ripe for healthy growth,” said Ben Brown, author of the report. “Currently, less than one in four hospitals use the technology, however, in light of meaningful use and the benefits providers point out in this study, we expect it will assume a more prominent place in the role of clin... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489760 Thu, 17 Feb 2011 18:44:23 +0100 4489760 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4489761&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FmOy-3ebZ7bs%2F The other night I was thinking (I tried not to hurt myself in the process) about the various EMR voices that are found online. There’s a number of really interesting people that need to be heard more than they are now. Tomorrow I’m going to have a post that talks about my efforts to help give more exposure to some of these voices, but one thing I realized yesterday was that the doctors that love their EMR aren’t generally found online. It makes sense why many of the doctors who love their EMR don’t come online to discuss their EMR. They don’t really care. They’re happy with what they have and so they’re not online looking to find an EMR or to complain about the EMR that they have. I guess part of it might be that the EMR has become natural and so t... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4489761 Wed, 16 Feb 2011 18:04:05 +0100 4489761 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4472994&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FBXEpZ4gF-zM%2F There are a lot of ways to stay updated with the latest items posted on EMR and HIPAA. I know that many of you are signed up for what amounts to basically a daily EMR and HIPAA email update. I’m always amazed by the thousands of people that are signed up for that email list and the amazing people on the list. They come from all over the healthcare IT industry. I always love to hear how grateful people are to get those updates. Also, I haven’t promoted it much, but many of you have become fans of the EMR and HIPAA Facebook page. It always feels good to see the number of people that like EMR and HIPAA on Facebook increase. So, if you’re on Facebook, click over and like EMR and HIPAA. Quite a few more of you have followed the @ehrandhit twitter account (7500+). It’s a ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4472994 Mon, 14 Feb 2011 05:41:25 +0100 4472994 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4464573&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2Fz2h8jD9Cm2E%2F I’ll admit that I’ve been a little slow to grab onto the ACO movement that’s happening. As most who read this blog know, I’m a tech person by training and experience and so some of the hospital dynamics generally aren’t as interesting to me when they don’t relate in some way to technology. When I first heard the discussion about ACO’s I kind of put it in that general hospital workings box and didn’t care to talk about it much. However, the ACO terminology keeps coming up over and over again. Plus, I’ve seen a number of headlines in passing that talk about the potential need for EHR software to make an ACO possible. Not to mention, I’m almost certain that someone at HIMSS is going to ask me what I think about ACO’s and I like... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4464573 Fri, 11 Feb 2011 15:29:22 +0100 4464573 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4460025&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FoH1H9Y-vFJg%2F Natalie Hodge MD posted an interesting list on Quora of what she considers a strong EMR system: I am a pediatrician. Here is what I must have in 2011. 1. Usability. When I say usability, I mean I decide the definition of usability. 2. Patient Health Record. nuf said. 3. Lab interfaces that help my patients get convenient and timely blood draws that flow directly into their medical record. 4. Eprescriber that is easy to use and hosted within the same platform so I don’t have to worry about a third parties server being slow. 5. Secure messaging. a. I need to be able to email patients in a secure fashion, and they need to be able to email me. b. Text. I need to have secure text messaging visits with patients. c. Video. I need to be able to do video visits with patients at times. d. ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4460025 Thu, 10 Feb 2011 21:12:32 +0100 4460025 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4455327&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F5kzcqXGTCIE%2F Some very interesting commentary from an EMRUpdate thread: Six-plus years ago, I started my own office and my husband insisted on an EMR – mainly because the real estate prices were so high that he did not want to pay for file storage. I have posted on this site over the years: early on, I was told I was crazy for picking an Application Service Provider (I think it’s now called “cloud computing”), and the site had a smartest-guy-in-the-room vibe. But my EMR worked so I didn’t need help or a tech consult. So I went on my merry way and grew my practice – and downloaded quite a few babies, too! EMR was a big deal for me back in 2004; but now I never really think about it. Maybe the reason is that I was never searching for “THE PERFECT EMR” &#82... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4455327 Wed, 09 Feb 2011 18:40:40 +0100 4455327 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4450354&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F8CGEut-_62E%2F My last post on EMR companies holding practice data for ransom was very popular and had some very interesting discussion in the comments. Honestly, every EMR vendor should be considering the impact of the choice to not liberate the data in the EMR. No, I’m not talking about being loose with the data. HIPAA will come back to bite you if you do that. Plus, no doctor will want to use your system. What I’m talking about is making the data in the EMR available to the doctor. In fact, if your a doctor or practice manager reading this post, you should make this a requirement of the EMR vendor you select. If you already have an EMR vendor, you should work to have them incorporate this feature in their EMR ASAP. Lest you think that I’m just being pro doctor and not considering the... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4450354 Tue, 08 Feb 2011 20:34:03 +0100 4450354 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4436820&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FiqMLHlPF7dM%2F It’s been about 3 months since I posted about healthcare IT advertising and the advertisers that keep EMR and HIPAA running. However, I’ve been talking to a lot of people lately about healthcare IT advertising since before HIMSS I’m planning: 1. A New Premium Advertising Package Announcement 2. Launch of a New Healthcare Blog Network In those discussions (and certainly influenced by the crazy money spent by vendors for HIMSS), I like to give this comparison: “Compare what you spend at a conference like HIMSS with the 1 million ad impressions a 6 month ad run (Currently $2100) on EMRandHIPAA.com will provide.” Yep, it costs vendors more to fly people out to a conference than it does to advertise on a very targeted EMR site. I’m currently working on a medi... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4436820 Fri, 04 Feb 2011 20:09:51 +0100 4436820 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4433151&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2Fixc6zW-_Npo%2F As many of you know, I get a lot of interesting emails. I generally try to respond to all the emails I get. In many cases, the topics work great for a post on this blog and will extend the discussion beyond the email. This is one such case. The following is an email from a student in one of the HITECH funded healthcare IT education programs and my response to them (published with permission). I’ll be interested to hear what others think about the topics we discussed and if you have any other suggestions for Jojo. I would like to ask your opinion about what will the graduates of the HIT education grant do after fiishing the 6 month course ? I am one of these students and I want to freelance after. I have 13 years of IT experience and none of heallthcare (except for my medical appointm... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4433151 Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:20:43 +0100 4433151 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4429077&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F6vmklARfllI%2F As many of you probably know, I’m a big fan of social media. Certainly it’s been a great way for me to market the content I create on my websites, but it is much more than that for me. Social media (like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc) are a great way for me to connect and interact with other people. I’ve heard so many people tell me they don’t understand Twitter. I like to explain that Twitter is about being able to connect with people related to almost any topic imaginable. It gives you a way to follow them and to communicate with them in a passive and interesting way. It’s incredibly powerful. Plus, Twitter and other social media is fun. You get the chance to learn a lot from those around you. Not to mention those connections can do some powerful things. ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4429077 Wed, 02 Feb 2011 23:36:12 +0100 4429077 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4405851&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FbSmL06XLkKI%2F I’ve been meaning to do a survey of my readers for a long time now. Today I finally decided to make it happen. No doubt many of you have provided feedback to me in the comments and by email, but I thought that a simple 12 question anonymous survey would be a great way to solicit more feedback from the readers of EMR and HIPAA. I’m sincerely interested in seeing your responses on how I can make EMR and HIPAA better. So I appreciate you taking the time to fill out the survey. No questions are required so just answer the ones you feel comfortable with. The survey is embedded below, but if you’re getting this by email then here’s a link to fill out the EMR and HIPAA Survey. Loading… Related posts:Providing Meaningful Use Feedback Difficult I’m finding the ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4405851 Wed, 26 Jan 2011 19:26:34 +0100 4405851 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4399647&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FCzR0gStvBd8%2F I’ve now had two people send me links to a study coming out of Stanford University that says that EHR software doesn’t improve patient care in the US (Here’s one story about it from Reuters). So I figure that it must be a topic that my readers would enjoy me discussing. Here’s a portion of their summary: A team from Stanford University in California analyzed nationwide survey data from more than 250,000 visits to physicians’ offices and other outpatient settings between 2005 and 2007. They found electronic health records did little to improve quality, even when there was “decision support” software that gives doctors tips on how best to treat individual patients. I’ve always found it a bit off to talk about EMR software as a means to improve ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4399647 Tue, 25 Jan 2011 19:49:41 +0100 4399647 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4382819&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FCtpY--HKMtA%2F A comment on my somewhat controversial thought post about imagining an EMR without billing reminded me that I wanted to ask the question of my readers about what could replace E&M coding. Seriously, I can’t think of anyone I know that actually likes E&M coding. I know some people that are good at it and so they like that they have a skill in that area. However, I don’t remember anyone being a proponent of E&M coding because it provides better patient care or makes life easier for doctors. Am I just missing these reports? So, this leads to the important question… What could replace E&M coding that would improve healthcare and still handle billing? Plus, after you read the comment below, you’ll understand why improving billing could also improve ma... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4382819 Fri, 21 Jan 2011 17:48:38 +0100 4382819 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4377636&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FSHVmBIBNzAU%2F The following is an interesting comment that’s kind of an extension to my previous post about a visit to an EMR using Doctor’s office. I think many of you will enjoy it. Can you imagine this in a manufacturing environment? If GM, Ford, etc were legislated (incented?) to implement automation and safety changes that caused them to cut production in half…and cause the workers to be a bit distracted from what they were doing on the other 50% (then maybe tax them higher if they don’t put the changes in place within 3 years)….how healthy would that be for GM? And for the cost and quality of the cars being built? Of course, not all EMR software causes you to cut production in half. EMR also doesn’t have to mean you’re distracted the other 50% of the time.... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4377636 Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:05:33 +0100 4377636 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4372105&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FTQ5ADWHyE9c%2F JamesNT wrote a really interesting forum post recently about how a number of EMR vendors are holding doctor’s patient information “ransom” (his word) from them. Here’s his whole description and he even names a few EMR vendors and the challenges related to getting the EMR data out of their systems: To many EMR’s lock up the practice’s data and hold it for ransom. The data entered into an EMR belongs to the practice, not the EMR. It is not fair for EMR’s to not provide ways to interface or export data from the database. If a doctor wants to hire an IT person or developer such as myself to write custom reports or export data from the EMR, then it should be possible. Consider the following examples: Amazing Charts: They use SQL Server 2005 Express as t... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4372105 Wed, 19 Jan 2011 17:33:48 +0100 4372105 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4361098&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FgtANvSnJi0Q%2F REGISTER NOW!! I’m really excited to announce the second annual New Media Meetup at HIMSS 2011. Last year’s event was pretty amazing in Atlanta and I expect this year’s will be just as good and with a whole bunch of interesting new and old faces. It’s one of the most interesting networking events that I did at HIMSS. Everyone is welcome at the event. Maybe you participate in New Media (Blogger, Tweeter, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc) or maybe you just enjoy consuming other people’s media (like this blog) or maybe you’re interested in using New Media for yourself or your company. Everyone is welcome to attend and network with others interested in New Media. If that isn’t enough reason to attend, I’m really happy to have teamed up with MEDecision aga... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4361098 Tue, 18 Jan 2011 17:10:58 +0100 4361098 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4343224&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FZZlCOmAUG3M%2F I have often found doctors talking about the 2014 mandate for adoption of EHR software. In fact, this post was inspired by a bunch of people searching online for the term “2014 EHR Mandate.” I think that they found my site because I previously did this post about Obama’s goal of Full EHR adoption by 2014. If I’m remembering right, this was actually just an extension of Bush’s goal of having 100% EHR adoption by 2014. Obama took Bush’s original EMR aspiration and kept it going. Although, I do have a real problem with people who like to call it an EHR mandate. It’s really not a mandate. A mandate for me implies that you are required to do it or there’s some grave consequence to it. It’s not like you’re going to be thrown in jail for... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4343224 Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:00:37 +0100 4343224 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4338064&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FylTLrL6wBdI%2F Yesterday I was attending a conference that had almost nothing to do with EMR. However, in one of my conversations a young girl told me that her dad was a doctor. She went on to tell me how it is all that her dad can talk about her.  He was trying to convince himself why he should ignore the stimulus money and not do EMR. Of course, this part isn’t that interesting since I think we all know many doctors who are doing something similar. What was very interesting was that the daughter of this doctor explained how she was trying to convince her dad why he should do EMR. In fact, she suggested that she might have read my EMR site before because she’d done searches to learn more about EMR so that she could convince her doctor father to use an EMR. This discussion of why you shoul... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4338064 Tue, 11 Jan 2011 18:41:02 +0100 4338064 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4322568&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2Fn_aBTJhXj8w%2F A source just told me that an insurance company that does only professional liability insurance for doctors is providing a 5% discount to all doctors who implement EHR and use it in a meaningful manner. This is really interesting news for me since I’ve seen a number of really interesting debates about whether use of an EHR would actually raise liability insurance for doctors or lower it. This is the first confirmed company I’ve found that has actually acted on a doctors use of an EMR in their liability insurance premiums (of course, maybe there are more I don’t know about). Of course, there are a lot of details missing in the statement posted above. For example, how does the liability insurance company plan to measure if the doctor is using an EMR in a “meaningful m... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4322568 Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:27:57 +0100 4322568 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4322569&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FC4O43-BoHwc%2F I recently got a message from Jerry Theis of MyCrisisRecords. He sent me a story that I thought was a great way to start off the new year. It talks about the value of health care data interoperability and in this case a device and PHR with a person’s health information. Enjoy the story! Yesterday, one of my members called me to tell me she was taken to the emergency room suffering combinations of complications caused by a rare condition, Polymorphous along with a flare up of fibromyalgia which caused to her go into cardiac arrest. The ER doctors were able to effectively treat her because she had her digital device which provided them all of her medications, conditions, allergies (she is allergic to latex). Because of this rare condition and her acute distress she was told by the doct... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4322569 Thu, 06 Jan 2011 18:22:08 +0100 4322569 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4318395&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2011%2F01%2F04%2F2011-emr-prognostications-and-predictions%2F While I admit that I’m much more suited to comment on other people’s prognostications and predictions for EMR and health care IT in 2011, I decided to throw caution to the wind and try and make some predictions for the EMR world in 2011. Few EMR Vendor Acquisitions – I predict that acquisitions of EMR vendors will actually slow down in 2011. Certainly there needs to be some EMR company consolidation with 300+ EMR companies out there right now (and it seems more coming every day). However, I think 2011 will be a wait and see period where companies want to see how the various EMR companies perform for their clients interested in getting the EMR incentive money. The only thing that might ruin this prediction is that if many of the 300+ EMR companies have issues selling produ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4318395 Tue, 04 Jan 2011 19:07:37 +0100 4318395 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4304955&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F12%2F29%2Fhipaa-lawsuit-phi-by-un-encrypted-email%2F In kind of ironic timing, the news was recently reported of a patient talking to lawyers about a possible lawsuit against a doctor who sent her protected health information (PHI) to his home email in an un-encrypted format. The irony is that for the past week, my post on Email not being HIPAA secure has been having a really good discussion happening in the comments about these very issues (you should go read through the comments, they’re very interesting). One interesting part of the above news story is that it didn’t even include the most common personal information used for identity theft. Certainly a person’s name and medical information should be kept private as well and could have consequences related to its release on the internet. However, it definitely doesn&#8217... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4304955 Wed, 29 Dec 2010 20:17:20 +0100 4304955 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4298690&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F4nU1UKL-1Y0%2F This week I finally got my flight and hotel all lined up for my trip to HIMSS. Thanks to Practice Fusion for sponsoring that part of my trip to HIMSS. It’s greatly appreciated. I think Orlando is going to be a great destination for HIMSS and the energy and excitement is going to be something else thanks to the EMR stimulus money. It should be a pretty exciting event with far too many people, sessions and vendors to take in. I’m still considering throwing together a New Media Meetup at HIMSS like I did last year. It was a lot of fun and worked out well since we just partnered with MEDecision to pull it off. If you’re interested in helping put something like that together or attending an event like that, let me know and I’ll be sure to let you know the details. I pers... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4298690 Mon, 27 Dec 2010 08:10:32 +0100 4298690 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4294778&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F12%2F24%2Fmerry-christmas%2F I just finished our family tradition of a Christmas Eve mini dinner. My wife executed it to perfection. It was absolutely fantastic. We somehow got the kids in bed despite their excitement over the visit from Santa Clause. Shortly, I’ll go and eat the cookies and drink the milk the kids left out for Santa (man I love being Santa). I’ll leave the reindeer’s carrots for my wife. This Christmas shopping season has been interesting for me. I see and hear so many people talk about the stress of shopping for Christmas. So many people want to “get it over” and get all worked up doing the Christmas shopping. Personally, I decided to forget all of those people who try to give the impression that Christmas shopping is a terrible experience and just enjoy it. Turns out,... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4294778 Sat, 25 Dec 2010 07:59:54 +0100 4294778 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4294779&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F12%2F23%2Femail-is-not-hipaa-secure%2F An interesting discussion happened in the comments about HIPAA secure fax services in regards to the security of email. Being a tech person who formerly managed a few different corporate email systems, sometimes I forget that many people don’t understand some of the details about the security (or lack of security) that’s provided by email. The short story is: Email is NOT HIPAA Secure (at least in 99% of cases) There is a way to encrypt email sent between 2 email systems, but so far a standard and mechanism for encryption between all the vast number of email providers has not been established. I won’t go into the details of why this is the case (cost of encryption, standards for encryption, etc), but suffice it to say that almost none of the email systems send encrypted e... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4294779 Thu, 23 Dec 2010 17:54:14 +0100 4294779 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4294780&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F12%2F22%2Fguest-cpa-post-year-end-tax-considerations-for-emr-equipment-and-software-purchases%2F 2010 Year End Tax Considerations for EMR Equipment & Software Purchases Good Timing Can Help Practice Bottom-Lines Sooner Than Later As many of us are in the throws of holiday preparation and party participation (say that 3 times with some eggnog ), attention still needs to be paid by medical practice owners and administrators to 2010 year end business purchases. Reason being ?  Something called Section 179 depreciation. The IRS avails small businesses a great opportunity to maximize their purchasing power, especially with the increase to a maximum annual deduction of $500,000 for equipment and software purchased and placed in service in 2010 – 2012. The Small Business Jobs & Credit Act of 2010 increased the annual Section 179 depreciation deduction from $250,000 to $500,000... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4294780 Wed, 22 Dec 2010 17:47:18 +0100 4294780 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4294781&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F12%2F21%2Fwatch-for-emr-company-consolidation-but-not-emr-software-consolidation%2F I’ve regularly talked about my belief that there isn’t just one major EMR market. Instead, I firmly believe that there are a number of EMR markets that are divided by clinic size, medical specialty, and possibly even location. In fact, there’s likely even other factors. There are just far too many EHR companies for this to not be the case. I think this was also well illustrated in this blog post on Kevin MD about the “Perfect EMR Traits.” Here’s the perfect EMR trait #1: Perfect EMR Trait #1: The ideal medical record would be tailored to the specific needs of a clinician, only exposing them to portions of the record which are relevant to their work. Knowledge within healthcare is rapidly changing. Possibly more so than another other industry. Techniques ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4294781 Tue, 21 Dec 2010 19:24:58 +0100 4294781 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4294782&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F12%2F20%2Fdifferent-methods-to-become-a-top-emr-company%2F A few months ago, the blogger over at Health Finch wrote blog post which analyzes 3 of the top health care IT companies and how they were started. It is very interesting to see the evolution of the large health care IT companies. Here’s the summary of the 3 companies Health Finch looked at: Epic Systems – Started with Scheduling and Billing Cerner – Started as a Laboratory Information System McKesson – Started dong Rx Management As a PS to the post, they point out Epocrates working on the same model with their Epocrates EMR. That is one of the most interesting things I’ve noted when attending the various EMR related conferences that I attend. There’s a whole variety of ways that EMR companies are approaching the market. Another example of this trend is t... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4294782 Mon, 20 Dec 2010 18:31:09 +0100 4294782 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4294784&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F12%2F16%2Fsecure-fax-services-and-emr%2F I’ve tried every way imaginable to get away from having to fax things and as hard as I try, it’s just really hard to replicate the beauty of a simple fax to someone. We could talk about the reasons that faxes are so effective and successful (like everyone has a unique identifier…a phone number), but suffice it say that we’re going to be stuck using faxes for a long time to come. Of course, if you read this and you’re in healthcare then you know the love hate relationship with faxing and how faxing is an essential part of every clinic. Previously, I’ve talked about the value of a fax server in a clinic that uses an EMR. Many EMR companies are even integrating some sort of fax service into their EMR offering. This is beautiful and any EMR company that does... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4294784 Thu, 16 Dec 2010 18:15:27 +0100 4294784 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265914&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FfFyyf5rn0Fg%2F A reader of EMR and HIPAA asked the following interesting question: I was wondering if you had or heard of anyone coming up with a way to measure if the EHR implementation was successful. Other than “its in!”. Im trying to help some clients define this but cant seem to find anyone who has done this. Im thinking something like: Were all staff trained prior to go live? Were project goals achieved? etc Here’s my response that I hope you’ll find useful as well: It’s an interesting question. I’d suggest you download my free EMR Selection e-Book. In the book, I cover the various areas where a practice can get benefit from implementing an EMR. I suggest that each practice evaluate which of the benefits they are looking to achieve with their EMR implementation. ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265914 Tue, 14 Dec 2010 16:45:58 +0100 4265914 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4265915&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F2vWy6L-H1x4%2F I still have a hard time calling myself a writer or even press (although it’s convenient for getting into conferences). Plus, I think I reach, influence and interact with as many or more people than the traditional healthcare journalist. However, there’s something liberating about being called a blogger instead of a journalist because the standard and approach is different. At least I thought that was the case until I read this article on Forbes.com which declares Allscripts new API as “Open Source’s Debut in Healthcare.” Ok, to be fair, it was written written on a Forbes healthcare blog and not their magazine, but as a blogger I’m embarrassed that a Forbes blogger would write such a terrible article. Let me set the record straight. Allscripts launched a... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4265915 Mon, 13 Dec 2010 19:24:38 +0100 4265915 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4251162&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F12%2F09%2Femr-and-older-doctors%2F Dr. Michael Koriwchak recently did a great post about implementing an EMR in a practice with an older physician. He does a great job analyzing the challenge that a group practice faces when one of the older physicians (I prefer mature physicians, but he said older) is the “lone hold-out.” Here’s his suggestion which is really valuable: So the older doc who claims to be ready to retire may not retire as soon as he thinks. So do you let him opt out of EMR or not? I would be happy to let him opt out of EMR…provided he commits in writing to a retirement date and allows the practice to begin making plans to recruit a replacement physician. The date would be fairly soon, no more than 18 months in the future. If he fails to retire by that date he would begin incurring costs re... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4251162 Thu, 09 Dec 2010 21:06:36 +0100 4251162 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4251166&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F12%2F05%2Ftop-emr-ads-and-emr-epic-jobs%2F I’m pretty pumped right now since this weekend is probably the best weekend (traffic wise) that EMR and HIPAA has ever had. I’m not sure the difference, but thanks to all of you who have been reading over the weekend. The weekend is usually pretty dead around EMR and HIPAA and so it’s awesome to get some great traffic to the site on the weekend. Plus, I just checked and it’s pretty cool that EMR and HIPAA (this site) just passed 3.5 million pageviews and EMR and EHR just passed half a Million. Not bad. Top EMR and HIPAA Ads Tomorrow or the next day I’m planning to send out the details on the top ads on EMR and HIPAA. As I did 6 months ago, I’ll be opening up the bidding for the top 2 ads on the site. So many people have been interested in the top ads tha... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4251166 Mon, 06 Dec 2010 07:28:29 +0100 4251166 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4251168&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F12%2F02%2Femr-stimulus-question-and-answer-what-if-my-emr-vendor-doesnt-certify%2F Pamela sent me the following EMR stimulus question in response to my post about Doctor’s having no choice with meaningful use: Can we show meaningful use without a certified EMR or would we still be penalized since our EMR vendor has no intention on becoming certified? The current HITECH law requires meaningful use of a certified EHR. So, you have to use a certified EHR to get the EMR stimulus money and to avoid the Medicare penalties. They have been looking at doing site certifications so you could show that you’ve put together everything to satisfy the certified EHR portion. However, so far I’ve only seen the site certification really apply to hospitals. I haven’t seen a site certification for smaller doctors offices (yet?). Just be aware that some are suggesting ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4251168 Thu, 02 Dec 2010 17:10:22 +0100 4251168 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4219838&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2010%2F12%2F01%2Fsecondary-use-of-emr-data%2F Part of the value of EMRs is the secondary use of the rich clinical data. Quality studies are an obvious win. This week, a new article by Kaiser Permanente Medical Group used this data in one of several registries to analyze 80,000 Total Joint and 5000 ACL Reconstruction Procedures in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. The data was collected “through standardized documentation at the point of care” and “supplemented with existing administrative data from our electronic health records and other independent databases.” See the registry database structure here. Also published this week is a second article from the Cleveland Clinic Chronic Kidney Disease Registry regarding the eGFR definition. This is another example utilizing these registries with secondary data f... eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4219838 Thu, 02 Dec 2010 02:45:47 +0100 4219838 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4251169&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F12%2F01%2Femr-safety-event-reporting%2F The PDR Network in partnership with the iHealth Alliance has launched a new reporting system for adverse EHR events called EHREvent.org. Some of these adverse EMR events might include: software problems, inadequate user training, security breaches and near-misses. Here’s a short quote from the press release about the new website: Using a standardized online format, EHRevent will collect reports from physicians and other health care providers who use EHRs, and create reports that medical societies, professional liability carriers and government agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will use to help educate providers on the potential challenges that EHR systems may bring. The form breaks out the EHR safety events into 4 categories: Incident: An EHR event that re... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4251169 Wed, 01 Dec 2010 17:21:10 +0100 4251169 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4214262&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FX6JFkQ_2Hy0%2F When I attended the Practice Fusion Connect conference in San Francisco, I had the opportunity to do a couple interviews for a segment on the XM radio station ReachMD. They’ve posted the segment I did on EMR and meaningful use on their website (Free registration required). In the radio segment I interviewed: -Camille Williams, practice manager from ENT Associates of South Atlanta in Marietta, Georgia -Ken Harrington, practice manager from Washington Endocrine Clinic in Washington, DC -Robert Rowley, MD, chief medical officer of Practice Fusion It was a fun experience recording something for radio. I learned a bit about radio production and enjoyed interviewing people. If you’re pretty familiar with EMR, meaningful use and healthcare IT, then the segment probably won’t be ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4214262 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 17:56:16 +0100 4214262 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4207355&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FSx3vS8Oj9d4%2F It’s the weekend and I have this cool new Twitter plugin, so I decided it would be fun to do a twitter roundup. I’ll post some of the tweets I find and add some short commentary. I’ll admit that I haven’t necessarily read all of the links, but the concepts I found interesting. As a side note, you can find me on @ehrandhit and @techguy (although this one has all sorts of tweets). #bbpBox_7150331586682880{background:#C0DEED url(http://a3.twimg.com/profile_background_images/64872789/HealthITExchange_eye.jpg) !important;padding:20px;}#bbpBox_7150331586682880 p.bbpTweet{background:#fff;padding:10px 12px 10px 12px !important;margin:0 !important;min-height:48px;color:#333333 !important;font-size:18px !important;line-height:22px;-moz-border-radius:5px;-webkit-border-radius... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4207355 Mon, 29 Nov 2010 05:40:48 +0100 4207355 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4203200&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F11%2F24%2Fcomplaints-of-emr-documentation-arent-completely-the-emr-vendors-fault%2F One of the biggest complaints surrounding the implementation of an EMR is the way the EMR software handles the documentation method. Beyond just the learning curve, there are plenty of EMR software that have a terrible user experience. While I don’t want to totally let EMR vendors off the hook, I do think it’s worth noting that EMR vendors aren’t completely to blame for the unwieldy interfaces. I believe one of the biggest reasons that the EMR documentation interfaces are so terrible is thanks to the crazy insurance billing and documentation requirements. Seriously, it’s a total mess. Everyone that’s involved with insurance billing in healthcare knows what I’m talking about. Trying to code an application that’s easy to use, works well for the docto... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4203200 Wed, 24 Nov 2010 23:28:28 +0100 4203200 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4203202&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F11%2F22%2Fis-cut-and-paste-in-ehr-software-really-such-a-bad-thing%2F The following is a guest blog post by Dr. Michael West. I recently met Dr. West and was really impressed with his approach to EHR. After reading a few of his comments on the site, I asked if he was interested in doing some guest blog posts. This is the first of what I hope will be many more blog posts by Dr. West. Dr. West is an endocrinologist in private practice in Washington, DC. He completed fellowship training in Endocrinology and Metabolism at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. West opened The Washington Endocrine Clinic, PLLC, as a solo practice in 2009. When, I was in residency at a large health system in Pennsylvania, several of the residents and interns got into the habit of templating hospital notes on their home computers the night before they would go in to s... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4203202 Mon, 22 Nov 2010 18:15:06 +0100 4203202 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4203203&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F11%2F22%2Fa-few-emr-and-healthcare-it-blog-recommendations%2F As you know on the weekend, I try to do my simple posts since most of you are enjoying the weekend like you should. Today I thought it might be interesting to point to a few different EMR and healthcare IT blog recommendations. This is far from an inclusive list. In fact, I could probably do this every weekend and not repeat the same blog recommendations. Maybe I will! Especially since then as I read various other blogs I can remember to make note of it. So, for this post I’ll start with some popular ones that many people know about. Fierce EMR – I really like the work that Neil Versel does and Fierce is lucky to have him working on their EMR content. HIStalk – This is often a bit too hospital focused for my tastes. They do have HIStalk Practice which is more ambulatory ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4203203 Mon, 22 Nov 2010 08:30:33 +0100 4203203 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4203204&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F11%2F20%2Fthought-provoking-emr-comment-simple-emr-but-apped-silly%2F This weekend’s thought provoking EMR comment comes from Dr. Gregg Alexander, a grunt in the trenches pediatrician, in a post he did on HIStalk Practice (which seems to be a duplicate from his blog): “I want a beautiful [EMR] system that works as easily as my iPad and as intelligently as WebOS, one that I can start using as simply as I need and which can then be “apped” silly at my discretion” I must admit that I LOVED the description of a simple EMR system that could be “apped” silly at his discretion. Makes you think! Related posts:CCHIT EHR Certification 2009 Public Comment Period I’ve posted a lot of my comments and feelings about... CPA Comment on EMR Pricing In response to my previous post about possibly creating an... Simple Patient I... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4203204 Sun, 21 Nov 2010 06:41:39 +0100 4203204 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4203207&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F11%2F17%2Fnew-online-market-place-for-emr-transcription-services%2F Having this blog has given me the opportunity to talk with a number of different transcription companies over the years. I think one thing has become pretty clear. The face of transcription is certainly changing quickly, but the need for transcription is still going to be there for a long while to come. Although, it won’t be the same process of transcription as we know today. Transcription and EMR will start to come together more and more. Many of us (including myself) were quick to use transcription cost savings as a way to justify the purchase of an EMR. What I think we’ve seen over the 5 or so years I’ve been writing about EMR is that transcription can still be a fantastic compliment to an EMR system. EMR cost justification will often have to come from some of the othe... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4203207 Wed, 17 Nov 2010 19:15:35 +0100 4203207 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4172150&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F11%2F15%2Fpoll-are-you-planning-to-attend-himss-2011%2F I’ve got my registration for HIMSS 2011 all squared away and now I’m looking for the right hotel. If you have any secrets for Orlando, let me know. Plus, if any companies want to sponsor my coverage of HIMSS, drop me a note on my Contact Us page. I know it’s early, but it looks like I’ll be holding another New Media – Blogger Meetup at HIMSS Orlando. So, watch for more details on that. It was a GREAT event last year at the Georgia Acquarium (Sponsored by MEDecision). Great people. Great food (with full dinnerware, tables and chairs unlike the small plastic plates the rest of the attendees had while they stood). A bunch of prizes (so many people wanted to see Colbie Caillat). Anyway, more details later and let me know if you’d like to help organize it. No... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4172150 Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:16:39 +0100 4172150 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4172151&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F11%2F11%2Fthe-impossible-day-issue-with-emr-software%2F In continuation of my posts about RAC auditors and other audit issues that EMR software can help or hurt, the following comment was sent to me by an EMR and HIPAA reader. Maybe all of you have heard of “The Impossible Day” but I found the concept interesting and it seems like EMR software could be well positioned to control this issue. Is this a major problem or only a problem for a few people that like to code too high? The RAC audits are an interesting and mindful subject. Some practices have been getting into trouble with the “impossible day” which their EMR’s seem to help perpetuate. Some seem to end up with more documentation in files, but when RAC auditors do the math on how long the docs are supposed to be legitemately spending, its not adding up… Thereby “The ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4172151 Thu, 11 Nov 2010 18:28:13 +0100 4172151 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4155280&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F8ZdcNl953ZM%2F New EMR Doctor Blog I’m really excited to let you all know about a new EMR Doctor blog called Wired EMR Practice. It’s a blog that I’m doing in partnership with a practicing doctor. I do the hosting, marketing and management of the website and he creates the content. It’s still a very new blog, but check out his post on Physicians vs. Health IT: The EMR Culture War and this post on the ROI of EMR to get a flavor of the content he will be creating. If you like it, you can subscribe by email to the Wired EMR Practice. The Wired EMR Practice has already landed its first founding advertiser and we’re interested in talking with other people interested in advertising on the site. Those interested can just let us know on our Contact Us page. Premium EMR and Healthcar... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4155280 Wed, 10 Nov 2010 17:27:15 +0100 4155280 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4151942&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F11%2F06%2Funconventional-emr-software%2F This weekend I was thinking about some of the unconventional EMR software that exists out there. One that came to mind was SRSsoft and its hybrid EMR which from what I can tell mixes document management with some of the other essential EMR features like ePrescribing. What other EMR vendors do things like this in their EMR software? I think another example of this is the XLEMR which is built on top of the Microsoft Office software package. Definitely a unique way to address the issue of EMR. This is just a few examples to get you thinking. I’m sure there are many more! Do you know of other EMR vendors that offer similar EMR packages to those listed above? Or do you know of other EMR software that takes an unconventional approach to EMR use? If you know of one or represent an EMR that ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4151942 Sat, 06 Nov 2010 18:01:22 +0100 4151942 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4151943&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F11%2F05%2Ffull-disk-encryption-for-hipaa-protected-computers%2F In all of the various HIPAA violations I’ve read about, they almost always blame some lack of encryption on the violation. In most of those cases it’s a laptop or other mobile device that should have had disk encryption that didn’t. The problem I have with disk encryption is that I’m not familiar with any really easy to implement, but effective solutions for doing full disk encryption on a device. I’m not talking about enterprise encryption. I’m talking about encryption that can work in the small or even solo medical practice. Not to mention at the small clinic price point too. If you know of a solution, I’d love to hear about it. Related posts:Obama Wants Full EHR by 2014 Obama has held very strong on his commitment of $10... Full CCHIT Certifi... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4151943 Fri, 05 Nov 2010 13:58:27 +0100 4151943 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4139323&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FCEL6VHuwfZE%2F It must have been a couple years ago when I first heard about a Free EMR called Practice Fusion. Shortly after hearing about this Free EMR, I got a note saying that Practice Fusion had a Live in Five program that would get a practice live on the Practice Fusion EMR in 5 minutes. Check out my initial reaction to the Practice Fusion Live in Five program from early 2009. Since that point, I’d wanted to try out this Live in Five challenge to see really how much I could get started in Five minutes with Practice Fusion. I still have the email from 9/15/09 when I first wanted to try this. Suffice it to say that I’ve been sufficiently busy with all the talk of the EMR stimulus that I hadn’t taken the chance to try it out myself. Plus, when I did it, I wanted to do a good job. Esp... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4139323 Thu, 04 Nov 2010 21:25:23 +0100 4139323 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133600&cid=t_366055_87_f&fid=34470&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehealthcareblog.com%2Fthe_health_care_blog%2F2010%2F11%2Fthe-emr-cage-match-results.html By JONATHAN BUSH It turns out, there was no cage at the experimental debate earlier in October between me and Girish Kumar Navani of eClinicalWorks. And Girish was wearing a shirt…and no mask. These, plus other anticlimaxes, sent our PR... (Source: The Health Care Blog) The Health Care Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133600 Thu, 04 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4133600 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4139324&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F3ceG_A95hzE%2F I think it was at the Mobile Health Expo that I heard someone talk about the idea of Infrastructure Independence as the new model for healthcare. I thought it was a really interesting idea. They described the current model of healthcare as follows: *Low frequency visits *Acute care focused *Appointment driven *Location centric *High cost Then they described what the considered to be the future of healthcare: *High touch *Right treatment *When they need it *Where they are *Lower cost Of course, this was all said in the context of infrastructure independence and mobile healthcare. I found the list and concept very thought provoking. It also prompted a lot of questions like: What will this mean for doctors? What will it take to move to that type of healthcare? I remember writing about an iPho... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4139324 Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:57:09 +0100 4139324 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4139325&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2Fl7WxzQwECrY%2F Yesterday I addressed the possible caustic demeanor of insurance companies towards template based EMR documentation methods. Definitely something worth considering when you choose an EMR. How they document and the type of note that it creates matters to the insurance company, matters to you reading the note later, and to some extent the doctors who receive your notes on a referral. Today let’s look at another possible problem with the ugly template note that many EMR systems like to employ (Note: The Jabba the Hut EMR vendors LOVE this type of note). This was sent to me by another reader (Yes, I have the best readers). I know that Medicare RAC auditors apparently love the EMR systems as practices seem to be hanging themselves with poorly maintained patient notes; (ie. “sutures heal... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4139325 Tue, 02 Nov 2010 16:29:07 +0100 4139325 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133607&cid=t_366055_87_f&fid=34470&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehealthcareblog.com%2Fthe_health_care_blog%2F2010%2F11%2Fmike-barber-ge-healthymagination.html By Matthew Holt Last week thanks to the munificence of the RWJ Pioneer Fund (thanks Steve, Paul & team!), I spent a few days at the TEDMED conference in the Hotel Del Coronado near San Diego (famous for its role... (Source: The Health Care Blog) The Health Care Blog blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133607 Tue, 02 Nov 2010 00:00:00 +0100 4133607 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133902&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F11%2F01%2Finsurance-payers-caustic-demeanor-towards-emr%2F I recently got an email from someone who told of a practice manager that was concerned with the insurance companies demeanor when it came to EMR. Here’s a short description of their concern: He [A practice manager] mentioned he’s noticed and heard from many physician colleagues that the insurance payers really seem to be getting more of a caustic demeanor and approach with their subscribers. In particular, they don’t seem to care that an EMR is being used. If anything, they seem to challenge the notes saying the physicians are just using a template and not doing what they say. My caller wanted to know if we were seeing more of this. I think some payers are changing demeanor in preparation for upcoming cuts due to health reform. This type of reaction is something to definitely be ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133902 Mon, 01 Nov 2010 15:31:42 +0100 4133902 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133903&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F10%2F29%2Frequest-an-appointment-and-send-your-record-using-a-phr%2F I recently sat down with Jeff Donnell from NoMoreClipboard. We had a fascinating all around conversation, but one of the most fascinating things he told me was the story of his last visit to his doctor’s office. I’ll do my best to recount what he told me. When he decided he needed to go see the doctor for a visit his wife suggested that he call the doctor to make an appointment. Of course, Jeff “eats his own dog food” and decided that instead of calling for an appointment, he’d request an appointment through NoMoreClipboard. So, he logged into his account and sent off the request for an appointment with his PHR attached. Pretty interesting idea no? Don’t ask me why, but when possible I’d much rather request something through my computer. Maybe it&#... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133903 Fri, 29 Oct 2010 15:44:00 +0100 4133903 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133905&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F10%2F27%2Fhospital-breach-by-job-applicant%2F During a bond hearing Thursday in Superior Court, Wheeler’s Macon attorney Reza Sedghi described his client’s actions as a job application gone awry with “no criminal intent or compromise of sensitive patient information.” Sedghi said Wheeler had obtained access to the database with a password and access codes obtained while working on a Macon physician’s connectivity problems with the hospital. The attorney said Wheeler uncovered seven flaws in the hospital’s system and sought to use the discovery to land a job with the countywide medical complex, spending several hours with Rhodes and David Griffin, the hospital’s security chief. “They asked for and received a copy of his resume and a written report of his findings,” Sedghi reported in court. “Then they walked out of ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133905 Wed, 27 Oct 2010 16:59:53 +0100 4133905 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133906&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F10%2F26%2Fcookie-cutter-vs-customizable-emr%2F Honestly, this is one of my favorite discussions to have about an EMR system. The only hard part is that it’s an endless debate with no clear resolution. However, the choices that an EMR vendor makes in regards to their cookie cutter vs. customizable approach is really important. For those who aren’t as familiar with the issue, the challenge lies mainly in out of the box utility vs. ongoing improvement. The first part of that challenge is that most doctors think that when they spend their hard earned money on an EMR software, that it should be able to just work out of the box. I think many of the other software programs and other things we buy have created this culture of things just working. For example, it’s amazing how few things you have to do to setup a new computer ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133906 Tue, 26 Oct 2010 16:18:54 +0100 4133906 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4133907&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F10%2F25%2Fpaying-doctors-for-quality%2F I recently was listening to a doctor about the reimbursement movement that’s happening in healthcare towards paying for quality instead of procedures (pay for performance or other names). He said, “It’s the right direction, but we need more research on how to measure the quality of a doctor.” Then another doctor colleague said, “In fact, in many cases the outcome that you want is that NOTHING happens. It’s harder to measure and pay nothing.” I must admit that I’m far from an expert on pay for performance and other possible changes to physician reimbursement, but I found these two comments really insightful. I think they do a good job of describing the challenge of paying doctors based on performance is going to have in the future. One of the ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4133907 Mon, 25 Oct 2010 14:59:55 +0100 4133907 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4098113&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FrXAasmOrgSc%2F One of the really interesting things that I’ve heard at the Mobile Health Expo has been the use of text messages to assist with patient compliance. I think this is at least the third time at this conference that I’ve been hearing about the use of text messages in healthcare as a way to remind patients of their need to comply with the doctors instructions. In one case, NoMoreClipboard is working with a hospital to use medical minutes (basically subsidizing their cell phone plan) for participants in a diabetes program. In this program, users would access the NoMoreClipboard PHR through their cell phone where they can update their blood glucose levels or other information as designed by their hospital. This is pretty cool, but the interesting part is the way they’re using te... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4098113 Wed, 20 Oct 2010 17:08:18 +0100 4098113 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082160&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F10%2F18%2Ffree-emr-selection-e-book%2F I think that many of you have heard of my e-Book on EMR selection. I’d been selling the e-Book for a while now with some ok results. However, as I thought about it, I wanted to get the information contained in the e-Book out to A LOT more people than were getting it as of now. On that note, I just made downloading of my e-Book on EMR selection called “Selecting the Right EMR” a free download. You can read more about it and download it on my EMR Selection e-Book page or click the book image at the bottom of this post and it will download a PDF file. Feel free to distribute the PDF file to all of your friends, colleagues etc. I want to get the information on selecting the right EMR out to as many people as possible. I just ask that you link back to EMRandHIPAA.com if you pr... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082160 Mon, 18 Oct 2010 16:20:15 +0100 4082160 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082161&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F10%2F15%2Femr-vendor-extortion-for-renewal-fees%2F A reader of EMR and HIPAA recently emailed me about the title of this post. The way they saw it, the software renewals fees for an existing EMR user amounted to EMR vendor extortion. This person felt like providers had little options when it came to the renewal fees that EMR vendors would charge them. The fact of the matter is that it’s not actually extortion (from what I’ve seen), but it certainly can feel that way if you’re a provider that’s getting charge a train load of money to renew or update your license with your EMR vendor. Unfortunately, once you’re in that position you really don’t have many options. Plus, your options are always very specific to the contract you signed with the EMR vendor. Instead of focusing on those who are stuck with littl... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082161 Fri, 15 Oct 2010 15:52:45 +0100 4082161 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082163&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F10%2F13%2Femr-vanity-metrics%2F I’m still mulling over my post on EMR and EHR about EMR market share. Add in my mulling over my post about creating an EMR pricing comparison website and my mind is kind of overwhelmed with ways to try and get providers better information. One of my hobbies is learning about internet startup companies. In fact, I’m starting one of my own. In my reading about internet startup companies I found this really provocative post by Eric Ries about entrepreneur speakers lying on stage. Here’s the money quote for me: This is the same issue we see with vanity metrics: companies are giving the appearance of sharing information while actually engaging in spin or outright deception. I call this the vanity ratio: the amount of apparently interesting information given divided by the amou... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082163 Wed, 13 Oct 2010 14:52:55 +0100 4082163 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082165&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F10%2F11%2Ftax-implications-of-emr-stimulus%2F One of the questions that was asked at the AAFP conference I attended was, “Is the EMR stimulus money taxable income?” The short answer is: Yes. I think the better answer is that it’s a bonus on your Medicare or Medicaid reimbursement, so it will be taxed in the same way that your Medicare reimbursement is taxed. Would Uncle Sam have it any other way? One person commented that it’s essentially money in and money out and so that means it’s not really taxed. This is mostly true. If you spend $44,000 on an EMR (which you are very likely to do) and you get $44,000 in EMR stimulus money, then that would essentially mean you aren’t paying taxes on the stimulus money. This calculation of course doesn’t work for someone who already has an EMR, because they... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082165 Mon, 11 Oct 2010 16:03:43 +0100 4082165 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082166&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F10%2F10%2Fcpa-comment-on-emr-pricing%2F In response to my previous post about possibly creating an EMR pricing comparison website, I got a really interesting set of comments from a CPA who’s been assisting their clients in their EMR selection process. You might laugh at the idea of a CPA participating in the EMR selection process. Interestingly, the CPA that I use has also been asked by their clients about the EMR stimulus money and so they were grateful they could ask me some questions. This aside, I found this person’s comments interesting. I think they also illustrate some of the challenges in EMR pricing and some of the thirst for EMR pricing also. I removed some identifying information and some other comments about EMR and HIPAA. Otherwise, the comments are in tact. I have been pondering trying to do some sort o... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082166 Mon, 11 Oct 2010 05:45:54 +0100 4082166 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082167&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F10%2F09%2Fonline-emr-resource-linkedin%2F There are a ton of EMR resources online these days. I remember when I started this blog, there really was only a small handful of people talking about EMR. Now, it’s kind of exploded and there’s conversations happening all over the internet about EMR. That’s why I’m particularly grateful for those who read this blog, participate in the comments and find value from it. One of my more recent finds is the group forums on LinkedIn. They’re definitely not perfect and sometimes get too much spam, but they are an interesting place to discuss EMR. Here’s an example of a group about Small Medical Practice EMR and PM Solutions. Pretty much a perfect match for this blog right? One of the key things I like about the groups on LinkedIn is that people’s comments... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082167 Sat, 09 Oct 2010 14:10:42 +0100 4082167 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4082168&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F10%2F08%2Femr-pricing-comparison-website%2F In a number of my recent posts and conversations the idea that providers need a way to filter through the plethora of EHR vendors that exist out there (Between 300-600 EHR vendors) has become a really compelling theme. I think some of the challenges with filtering EHR vendors include: 1. Getting truthful information about an EHR vendor. This is especially true when it comes to pricing. There’s just a lot of bad information out there. On top of that, there’s a lot of partial information that doesn’t tell the full story of how much an EHR costs. 2. Having a way to compare the pricing of various EHR vendors. Let’s be honest, price is ALWAYS a part of the EMR selection process. However, it’s definitely a challenge for providers to try and compare prices across EHR... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4082168 Fri, 08 Oct 2010 16:49:32 +0100 4082168 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4045173&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F7jaGlWwZpjs%2F Mobile Healthcare Expo I recently signed up to be a media partner for the Mobile Health Expo in Las Vegas. It’s happening October 19,20, and 21st and it looks to be a really interesting conference with some really power players in the mobile healthcare market. I’ll be “moderating” a couple sessions on Wednesday, but that’s just misuse of a term. I’m going to be introducing the speakers and opening it up for question and answers as needed. I of course will be doing the HITECH and mHealth session by Vince Kuraitis and then I also was asked to do the session titled “The Role of Mobile in Professional Marketing Programs” by Robert Kadar. I must admit that I’ve gone pretty light on the mobile healthcare and mHealth coverage on this site. Hop... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4045173 Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:10:38 +0100 4045173 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4045174&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FnFDx5RhqYO0%2F While at the AAFP conference recently, I saw a company called PhoneTree that I found interesting. They essentially take care of all the automated calling for the doctors office. I was a bit surprised that a company like this is still around. Is there still a market for narrowly focused products like this? I know that many EHR vendors have integrated these types of features into their PMS and EMR software. The other problem I had with this company was that they only have a one way interface for calling. Basically, you dump a csv file out from your scheduling system and they make the calls. However, there’s no method of getting the data back to the EHR software so you can know who confirmed and who didn’t in your EHR. Seems like a no brainer feature to me, but seemed to barely be... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4045174 Thu, 07 Oct 2010 07:26:24 +0100 4045174 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4045175&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FJVN8UNCY2hs%2F One of my more interesting meetings at AAFP was with a company called SLI Global Solutions. The meeting was so interesting, because SLI Global Solutions plans to apply to become an ONC-ATCB organization very soon. This coming after the announcement of the first ONC-ATCB certified EHR from Drummond Group and CCHIT along with the announcement of InfoGard as an ONC-ATCB and Weno Healthcare’s plans to become an ONC-ATCB. We obviously had a long conversation about the EHR certification, but suffice it to say that SLI Global Solutions is going full steam ahead to become an ONC-ATCB. It sounds like they’ve been doing a number of other certifications previously. They’ve even done some consulting work in healthcare. When I asked SLI Global Solutions what they thought would help th... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4045175 Tue, 05 Oct 2010 17:06:18 +0100 4045175 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4036755&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F10%2F04%2Ffuture-emr-differentiation-will-be-usability-and-not-features%2F This week I saw a product demo of EMR vendor, SOAPware. Now that SOAPware has their fully integrated practice management system, they have a great demo and all the features you could want in an EMR system. In fact, as I was watching the demo and asking questions about different features they might have or not have I came to an interesting realization. SOAPware, and most EMR vendors that have been around for any reasonable amount of time, have all of the features covered. They all have ePrescribing. They all have CPOE, and Clinical Decision Support. They all have allergy and drug interaction checking, etc etc etc. Basically, it seems like the EMR market has matured to the point that we’ve covered all the base features that a doctor could use for their clinic. The real challenge now is... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4036755 Mon, 04 Oct 2010 17:01:08 +0100 4036755 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4027231&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2Fz4lg7AMFsVQ%2F This week when I was at the AAFP conference in Denver, I had a doctor say “Will an EMR system help me to provide better patient care than my current paper charts?” I’ll save his personal feeling and my thoughts on the question for a follow up post later this week. For now, I’ll leave it open for discussion in the comments. I think this will be a lively comment section. I’ll preview my answer by saying that I think the question is partially framed the wrong way. What do you think? Related posts:Electronic Health Records Don’t Aid Patient Care From MSNBC: Electronic health records don’t aid patient care �... Obama’s Assumptions Related to Health Care IT Investment I’ve been thinking a lot about the legislation that’s about... Th... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4027231 Mon, 04 Oct 2010 08:02:05 +0100 4027231 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4025675&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FnRNX4nRO6Qw%2F Today, CCHIT announced their first ONC-ATCB certified EHR a day later than Drummond Group’s ONC-ATCB announcement. Although, CCHIT is announcing 33 EHR vendors (21 complete ONC-ATCB certified EHR and 12 module certified). No real surprises on this list. They were the previously CCHIT certified EHR companies. That gives us 36 total ONC-ATCB EHR right now (or 24 if we’re talking complete EHR certification). Here’s the list of Complete ONC-ATCB certified EHR: ABEL Medical Software Inc. ABELMed EHR – EMR / PM Allscripts Allscripts Professional EHR Aprima Medical Software, Inc Aprima athenahealth, Inc athenaClinicals CureMD Corporation CureMD EHR The DocPatientNetwork.com Doctations eClinicalWorks LLC eClinicalWorks Epic Systems Corporation EpicCare Inpatient – Cor... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4025675 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 19:58:31 +0100 4025675 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4025676&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FQy4sk24YgVs%2F In case you might have missed this detail, meaningful use stage 1 is going to be applied in 2011 and 2012 with meaningful use stage 2 not taking effect until 2013. What does this mean and how does this affect someone who’s looking to adopt an EHR? I and others have talked about the idea that there’s no need to rush into an EHR since the EHR stimulus if you implement in 2011 or 2012 is the same amount ($44k – for Medicare). This is good thinking and I still don’t think you should rush an EHR implementation based on stimulus money. However, you should consider as part of your calculation that if you wait to show meaningful use of your EHR until 2012, then you will only be showing meaningful use stage 1 (which is likely to be MUCH easier than stage 2) for 1 year. Where... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4025676 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 17:03:59 +0100 4025676 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4025677&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FLfE2rFKa5MI%2F Drummond Group just posted the news of the first 3 EHR vendors which have been officially certified EHR for the ARRA EHR stimulus money. Looks like Drummond Group won the race to be the first to certify an EHR. The interesting thing for me is the list of 3 EHR vendors that became the first certified EHR: PARADIGM (QRS Inc.) ifa EMR (ifa united i-tech Inc.) ChartLogic EMR (ChartLogic, Inc.) I consider myself pretty well informed about EMR vendors, but I only realy knew 1 of the 3 and I’d maybe heard of one other, but just by name. As all the ONC-ATCB certified vendors start completing their EHR certification, I think we’re going to learn about a WHOLE lot of EMR vendors that very few people knew about previously. I also find it interesting that all 3 EHR vendors have already upd... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4025677 Fri, 01 Oct 2010 06:59:41 +0100 4025677 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4022978&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F09%2F30%2Fi-use-emr-and-so-i-am-my-own-transcriptionist-doc-at-aafp%2F I’m currently in Denver attending the AAFP conference. So far I’m really glad that I’ve come to the conference. It’s really fantastic to be surrounded by providers. It’s a stark contrast to HIMSS where you’re mostly surrounded by industry insiders and not that many providers. The practical questions the doctors ask are fascinating. Of course, the comments they make are also fascinating. The title of this post is a comment one lady made in the David Kibbe session on Meaningful Use: “I use EMR and so I am MY OWN transcriptionist.” The problem with this comment is that it just doesn’t have to be true. It could be true depending on which EMR software you selected and how you implemented the EMR. However, that’s a choice you make when ... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4022978 Thu, 30 Sep 2010 16:58:38 +0100 4022978 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4013288&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FzYhWW6s3TUM%2F The good people over at >HITECH Answers must have more time on their hands than I do. They got on the CCHIT conference call where they talked about their newest ONC ATCB certified EHR program. Here’s a portion of the HITECH Answers summary which includes some CCHIT pricing details: The ONC-ATCB Certified 2011/2012 Toolkit will help prepare health IT companies and EHR developers for testing. You can purchase the toolkit for $1000. Pricing will be in tier levels and range from $8K to $34,300K. They want to do the testing in a single day. There can be an accumulative approach where modules can be certified and added to the current certification without having to retest previously certified criteria. It still feels wrong that they charge you $1000 for the toolkit you’ll need to use... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4013288 Tue, 28 Sep 2010 17:46:15 +0100 4013288 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=4003314&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2F6SwvbPeOqc8%2F I previously posted an EMR Stimulus poll asking about people’s plans for the EMR stimulus. Well, that was more than a year ago and before we really knew what the words meaningful use and certified EHR meant. Now that we know more about those two important terms and the EMR stimulus in general, let’s do the poll again and see how things might have changed. Related posts:EMR Stimulus Incentive Poll The details of the EMR stimulus incentive are really starting... ARRA EHR Stimulus Money Poll Time for another poll about the topic on everyone’s mind:... Plans for EMR Stimulus Money Poll I posted an EHR stimulus poll a week ago and... (Source: EMR and HIPAA) EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=4003314 Mon, 27 Sep 2010 15:22:50 +0100 4003314 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3999073&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FcRQU6XOSjhA%2F The Physicians’ Reciprocal Insurers (PRI) recently posted the results of a survey they did of 500 physicians regarding Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software and the EMR stimulus money and penalties. Here’s one of their most interesting findings about EMR implementation: One significant finding was awareness of financial incentives and penalties for implementing EMR systems. While 85 percent of physicians were aware of the financial incentives for implementing the systems, more than 35 percent did not know that they face government-assessed financial penalties for not complying. The penalties are equal to a one percent reduction of the physician’s annual Medicare payments per year up to five percent. However, those penalties do not seem to be having the intended effect, as mor... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3999073 Fri, 24 Sep 2010 17:10:01 +0100 3999073 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3999074&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2Fkv2gKUn5zI4%2F I was recently sent an Information Week article on the “Steady Bleed: State of HealthCare Data Breaches.” The article basically tries to list out all of the data breaches that are happening in healthcare and how healthcare companies aren’t doing what they need to do to protect patient data. Now, I’ll be the first to acknowledge that more can always be done. I even agree that more can and needs to be done to protect patient information. However, I don’t agree with the article’s assertion that the use of an electronic health record (EHR) is the reason why health care providers are so poorly securing patient information. Many of you might remember my post on EMR and EHR about HIPAA Breaches related to EMR. In that post, I discuss how it’s unfair for s... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3999074 Thu, 23 Sep 2010 17:19:53 +0100 3999074 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3994057&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2Fgt-kkNfI74Q%2F I knew that my previous post about the cost to update an EMR would bring out the people who like to back the SaaS EMR model versus those who like to back the Client Server EMR. As I’ve said before, it’s one of the most heated debates you can have in the EMR space. I realized in the comments of that post why it’s such a heated topic. It’s because once an EMR software chooses to go down one path or the other, it’s nearly impossible to be able to switch paths. Why? Cause if you do choose to switch you basically have to just code a new application all over. Basically, the switching costs are enormous. So, only a few software companies (let alone EMR software companies) ever change from one to the other. Considering the high switching costs, that basically means th... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3994057 Wed, 22 Sep 2010 16:51:37 +0100 3994057 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3994058&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2FCwRQlewpid0%2F Shahid, The Healthcare Guy, recently added a guest post from Nick van Terheyden, MD, Chief Medical Information Officer (Clinical Language Understanding) from Nuance Healthcare (Yes, they make Dragon Naturally Speaking – DNS) about making the most of speech recognition with an EMR. Here are the major points that Nick made: Have the right hardware installed. Intelligent application Coexistence. Use good quality microphones and sound recording equipment. Environmental Considerations. Create a Standard and Replicate. Anticipate Resistance. Expect resistance. Quick Portable Guides. Preparation. Horses for Courses. Identify champion(s). I think that voice recognition is fascinating. Personally, I haven’t used it all that much. I certainly write a lot and so you’d think it wou... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3994058 Tue, 21 Sep 2010 16:52:19 +0100 3994058 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3987121&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Ffeedproxy.google.com%2F%7Er%2FEmrAndHipaa%2F%7E3%2Frs9JvQUG4gg%2F In my previous post about the EHR certification costs, a reader emailed me that I’d missed an important downstream cost. It’s not as much a cost for the EHR company as it is for the current user of an EHR system. It’s the cost for a current EHR user to upgrade their software to the latest and greatest version of the EHR software. You know, the one that is certified and allows you to show meaningful use of that EHR. All EHR Will Need to Update Lest you don’t think this is going to happen, I can pretty much guarantee that EVERY EHR company will need to upgrade their software to become a certified EHR and meet all the meaningful use requirements. The good thing is that most EHR users have a contract that provides them with all the upgrades free. Although, there might b... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3987121 Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:10:36 +0100 3987121 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3983447&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F09%2F17%2Fto-see-emr-stimulus-money-or-not-to-see-emr-stimulus-money%2F In this study it talks about the costs of implementing an EMR being more than the stimulus money. Of course, I like to take studies with a grain of salt. I think you can generally manipulate the numbers any way you want them to appear. However, these findings should wake healthcare up to the idea that all is not rosy when it comes to free government handouts. However, one thing that I think they did miss in the above articles was the fact that in meaningful use stage 1 it’s basically all based upon self attestation of results. That’s right. I assume you’ll have some login to a portal where you’ll attest that you indeed have implemented and followed all of the meaningful use stage one guidelines. Seriously, you just tell them that you’ve done it and they give y... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3983447 Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:16:32 +0100 3983447 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3976553&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34631&url=http%3A%2F%2Fehealth.johnwsharp.com%2F2010%2F09%2F16%2Fconnected-for-health-the-kp-healthconnect-story%2F In a new book edited by Louse Laing, the story of the comprehensive implementation of the EHR at Kaiser Permanent. The story begins in 2002 when George Halvorson, the new CEO, saw the need to implement the EHR  not as a cost savings initiative but as a market differentiator.  He laid down the challenge to accomplish this national implementation in 3 years.  What this represented was not just a software implementation but an organizational change from 9 relatively independent regions to a single practice model centered around this technology. They developed the Blue Sky Vision with consumer centric focus including these themes: home as the hub, integration and leveraging, secure and seamless transition, and customization (perhaps better stated as patient-provider partnership). The bo... eHealth blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3976553 Fri, 17 Sep 2010 01:56:21 +0100 3976553 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3983448&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F09%2F16%2Ffull-cchit-certification-estimates%2F I’ve written previously about the cost of EHR certification with Drummond Group and CCHIT. However, this just addresses the hard cost of certification that’s paid to the certifying bodies. This cost doesn’t take into account a lot of other costs associated with becoming a certified EHR like the cost to develop and test the features that certification requires. Keith Boone on his blog Healthcare Standards has done a great blog post that evaluates the other costs associated with certifying an EHR software beyond the fee you pay to the certifying body. If you’re an EMR vendor, this is an article that you definitely want to look at and consider. Plus, I’d love your feedback on things he missed or where he might have missed costs or estimated to high on costs. Here... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3983448 Thu, 16 Sep 2010 16:26:22 +0100 3983448 http://www.medworm.com/index.php?rid=3983449&cid=t_366055_113_f&fid=34634&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.emrandhipaa.com%2Femr-and-hipaa%2F2010%2F09%2F15%2Fno-sign-for-healthcare%2F I recently heard Arien Malec from ONC summarize the biggest challenge of Healthcare Information Exchange (HIE) in one simple phrase: There’s no @ sign for healthcare It’s a really basic idea, but sadly cuts straight to one of the core reasons HIE isn’t happening. We don’t have a great way to authenticate, verify and address health information to another provider. Twitter has created this interesting concept of using @ to specify people. For example, you can find me @techguy and @ehrandhit. It’s amazing how quickly Twitter has created a whole new set of addresses where we can communicate with other people. Certainly it’s not designed for healthcare, but it’s amazing that they could create this whole new address system for people and organizations. A... EMR and HIPAA blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=3983449 Wed, 15 Sep 2010 16:11:26 +0100 3983449