Healthcare IT News - March 2008 - (Page 18)

18 Healthcare IT News ■ March 2008 PHYSICIAN PRACtICES & AMBULAtORY CARE www.HealthcareITNews.com California healthcare system offers EMR to docs By RICHaRd PIzzI, Associate Editor HHs Continued from page 17 - The San Mateo Medical Center plans to offer unified electronic medical record and practice management software to more than 160 affiliated providers across 10 locations throughout San Mateo County. The Northern California healthcare system has signed a deal with Westborough, Mass.-based vendor SAN MATEO, CA eClinicalWorks to acquire licenses for the latter’s EMR/PM system. San Mateo Medical Center officials said an interface with the Medical Center’s hospital information system and e-prescribing functionality would further automate physicians. “Part of our goal for implementing an ambulatory electronic medical records system is to track chronic care measures, including hypertension and diabetes,” said CJ Kunnappilly, vice president and medical director of quality management at San Mateo Medical Center. This initiative is grantfunded with support coming from sources including Kaiser, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, Safety Net Institute, San Mateo Medical Center Foundation and the Sequoia Healthcare District Foundation. San Mateo Medical Center is an integrated healthcare system providing care through a 509-bed acute care hospital, skilled nursing facility and 11 clinics located across San Mateo County. More at HealthcareITNews.com e ●Connect: SaN Mateo 0308 [ cynergy ] The advantageous combination of uniquedesign, power and elements. Cynergy by CompuCaddy. A lightweight cart that's heavy on power. Designed for effortless mobility and equipped with the most advanced power system in the industry. CompuCaddy 800.264.4734 www.compucaddy.com e ● Connect: CoMPuCaddY 0308 accepting applications for the demonstration project in April, and the window for applying would remain open until May 13. He said HHS hopes to announce the winners in June. “This demonstration project is an attempt to get smaller practices to be early adopters of healthcare information technology,” said Troy. “The real benefits of healthcare IT can be found at the individual practice level. It has tremendous potential and can transform the practice of medicine.” The CMS pilot will provide financial incentives to practices that use CCHIT-certified EHRs to boost quality, as measured by performance on specific clinical quality measures. Additional bonus payments will be available to participants, based on a standardized survey measuring the number of EHR functionalities a physician group has incorporated into its practice. He stressed that the demonstration project was not providing grants to practices for the purchase of EHRs, but incentives for adoption and use to boost quality. Each participating physician could earn $58,000 in incentives over the project’s five-year time span, while practices can earn a maximum of $290,000. Incentives in year one will be based on EHR implementation and use. Payments in year two will come after practices achieve certain quality measures, and bonuses in years three through five will depend on advanced use of EHR functionalities. Josh Cutler, MD, director of the Maine Quality Forum, will serve as his state’s convener to encourage physician groups to organize and apply for participation in the CMS project. Cutler said he is excited about the project because EHRs could provide information essential to improving the practice of medicine in Maine. “We need this data in order to improve quality of care and to better understand what’s really happening in our state’s healthcare sector,” Cutler said. In a meeting with Tennessee healthcare officials earlier this year, U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt suggested Michael Leavitt the demonstration project is only the first step in the P4P trend. “We’re rewarding use of EHRs right now, but at some time, it will become a condition of doing business with CMS,” said Leavitt. “We’re very close to the time when some part of physician reimbursement will be conditioned upon having an EHR.” ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e ●Connect: HHS 0308 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8878 http://www.compucaddy.com http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8915 http://www.compucaddy.com

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Healthcare IT News - March 2008 Contents No. 1 E-prescribing ‘Quite Bright’ Bill Frist on IT Google Connection Poised for P4P ‘Smashing Success’ Tough On Fraud It's Analytics Getting Rid of the Pain Stuck In Neutral

Healthcare IT News - March 2008

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