Posts Tagged ‘EHR’

A recent RAND Corporation study provides another incentive for physicians to implement electronic health care records (EHRs) — in addition to that really good one that mandates EHR meaningful use by 2014. According to the study, dedicated EHR use improves quality of care for patients and facilitates quality reporting for physicians. This, in turn, ensures eligible professionals (EPs) receive the full Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) incentive. An Ingenix survey, however, says many physicians remain skeptical that the benefits would outweigh the cost of implementing an EHR system. Read more »

About 400 small to medium sized primary care practices have the opportunity to receive incentive payments in an electronic health record (EHR) demonstration meant to encourage adoption and implementation of the much-touted health information technology (HIT). Read more »

Computer hardware giant Dell has joined the fray of electronic health record (EHR) vendors. The Round Rock, Texas-based company announced Sept. 10 its new Affiliated Physician EMR Solution. Read more »

The group responsible for dubbing the terms “electronic health record” (EHR) and “personal health record” (PHR) says it has done all it set out to do. The National Alliance for Health Information Technology (NAHIT) will disband on Sept. 30.

“In a few short years, NAHIT has accomplished its mission: HIT has moved front and center in efforts to reinvent and reinvigorate the U.S. health system,” Jane Horowitz, NAHIT chief operating officer, said in an Aug. 17 press release.

Since its inception in 2002, NAHIT carved out several important milestones. In addition to creating key health information technology (HIT) terms for the Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health IT, the NAHIT helped shape Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations on the use of bar codes for identifying medication. It also co-founded the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) and helped develop the definition of interoperability currently being used in proposed legislation on the meaningful use of EHRs.

But times are changing. “Going forward, the action is shifting from NAHIT’s focus on educating, advocating and building common ground to planning, implementing and using HIT to improving care, safety and efficiency,” says Horowitz. 

“Other organizations are better positioned to help providers with implementation,” says Horowitz. “In particular, the American Hospital Association (AHA) has close ties with hospital chief executive officers while the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is the leading industry association for chief information officers.”

The American Medical Association (AMA) paints a picture slightly less rosy. According to AMNews (Dolan, Aug. 31), the alliance has had financial problems and has undergone organizational changes leading to Horowitz being the last remaining employee.

Not all of the NAHIT’s endeavors were successful, AMNews reports. Security concerns stalled NAHIT efforts to create a unique identifier patient (UPI) system — something the AMA has actively advocated against.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Aug. 17 new results from three of its demonstrations and the start of three additional value based purchasing demonstrations. Read more »

Health care providers hemming and hawing over electronic health record (EHR) implementation and the viability of earning financial incentives for “meaningful EHR use” need not worry. The federal government is putting up $1.2 billion to ensure your success. Read more »

The Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy Committee reviewed at an Aug. 14 meeting in Washington, D.C. its latest recommendations for how physicians and hospital providers will be able to earn incentives for adoption and meaningful use of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology. Read more »

UnitedHealth Group and Cisco Systems, Inc. recently launched a new health initiative promising to bring remote medical care to rural and underserved populations.

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The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released, July 1, Physician Quality Reporting Initiative (PQRI) changes for the Calendar Year (CY) 2010. There are a number of proposed reporting options and reporting periods available. Some options require data submission by Dec. 31, 2010. Data reported through registries, however, is not due to CMS until 2011.

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The Health Information Technology (HIT) Policy Committee met June 16 to begin the process of defining “meaningful use” of electronic health records (EHRs).

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