Healthcare IT News - January 2008 - (Page 32) 32 Healthcare IT News ■ January 2008 Medicare providers,” said Charles Kennedy, MD, vice president of healthcare IT. Kennedy said all-electronic physician offices reap maximum value from healthcare IT and e-prescribing is a “lower-cost, highvalue step” toward Steve Fox full healthcare IT deployment. A mandate for Medicare providers can help bring about significant adoption sooner, he said. payERS Additional work should continue to be performed to optimize e-prescribing workflows in physician offices and to improve receptivity of this technology among physicians. With WellPoint supporting the National ePrescribing Patient Safety Initiative, or NEPSI, Kennedy said the payer has a solution available now that would allow all of its network physicians to be compliant with a mandate with little cost to them. Furthermore, a mandate is “achievable today,” he said, because the tools exist. With Cigna’s numerous e-prescribing partnerships, spokesperson Dan Carmody said the payer is “well positioned to embrace” federal requirements that payers with Charles Kennedy, MD Medicare Part D plans accept e-prescriptions. e-prescribing is still quite early in the evolution of the concept and www.HealthcareITNews.com technology, and is not yet widespread enough to make this realistic, he admitted. Before any mandates are issued there needs to be a full vetting of each party’s role in the e-prescription process so that there is accountability, including a sustainable business model. Terry Shea, director of BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee’s pharmacy services, added, “We believe strongly with the IOM (Institute of Medicine) and Secretary Leavitt that e-prescribing is one small step towards the elimination of medical errors. And we will continue to encourage its use among our network providers. ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: MaNDateS 0108 maNdaTEs Continued from page 1 practice workflow and to revise deployment and training methods. “We have compiled an extensive ‘lessons learned’ document and can use that as a blueprint to a wider deployment within the provider network,” said Fox. “Because e-prescribing is so important for improving patient safety and quality of care, WellPoint supports the AHIC recommendation to mandate e-prescribing for ● Select from more than 20 accelerated bachelor’s degrees and 12 master’s degrees online including these for healthcare professionals: Healthcare Management, Management of Health Informatics, and Coming Soon, Long-Term Care Administration BPo I use it every day. Continued from page 31 The Nation’s Largest Master’s of Healthcare Administration Degree Program relationships are key to our success. BPO will help us provide better and timely access to reporting data for our providers.” The anticipated trend for the last 10 years has been BPO’s emergence in the payer market to address the increasing complexity in healthcare overall and in new products and services, said Janice Young, program director at Health Industry Insights, an IDC company. Young said 2008 might be the year adoption takes off with increased market demand and competition. Especially for small payers, BPO delivers value by automating back-end infrastructure to execute new products and expand into new markets in real time, she said. More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: BPo 0108 ● Of all the tools I use to make a difference in healthcare today, the one I use the most is what I learned through Bellevue University. My degree gave me the knowledge and confidence to take the lead in my facility, making a difference every day. BCBS of Montana offers online invoicing to group customers By rICHard PIzzI, Associate Editor HELENA, MT - Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana has inked an agreement with Benefitfocus eBilling to provide its group clients with online access to invoice information and improved payment and reporting services. Serving more than 100,000 subscribers and approximately 5,000 groups, BCBSMT and Benefitfocus will roll out the eBilling functionality in phases throughout 2008. “We are working toward enhancing the availability of online tools which will give our customers access information 24x7 and streamline the billing process,.” said Sheila Shapiro, BCBSMT senior vice president and COO. Benefitfocus offers software and services for the healthcare benefits market, providing “Quote to Claim” technology for both enterprise and consumer applications. ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: MoNtaNa 0108 Call 800-756-7920 to enroll today. e Ask about th ence in Sci Bachelor of f Health nagement o Ma Informatics R l Learning f R l Lif Real L i for Real Life e ● Connect: BeLLeVUe 0108 www.bellevue.edu Accredited by The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools. The Bellevue University College of Business degree programs also are accredited by the International Assembly for Collegiate Business Education (IACBE). Bellevue University does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or disability in the educational programs and activities it operates. Modern Healthcare ranking in 2006 and 2007 based on data from the Association of University Programs in Health Administration. ● http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8397 http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8427 http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8430 http://www.bellevue.edu http://www.bellevue.edu http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/eConnect.cms?id=8475 http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8430
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