Healthcare IT News - March 2008 - (Page 20)

20 Healthcare IT News ■ March 2008 PHYSICIAN PRACtICES & AMBULAtORY CARE timetables within our physician network,” said Ponstein. “Only 20 of our PCPs are on an EHR, and they use four different vendors.” Westshore employs a WellCentive registry integrated with an e-prescribing system by Rockville, Md.-based DrFirst. Prescription data is sent from the e-prescribing software to the registry database to identify medication-related care improvement opportunities. The network has also built interfaces with local hospitals, laboratories, the Michigan Care Improvement Registry for immunization data, and a patient portal. Lori Roark, a clinical pharmacist at Westshore, explained how the registry is used to improve care. “We’ve been able to locate patients who www.HealthcareITNews.com on cholesterol medication. We can then create alerts that will pop up in our physicians’ charts, and prompt them with specific recommendations.” All network physicians use a “care summary” inside the registry, which includes vital signs, a list of services each patient needs, and a data “report card” that physicians can print and give to patients. “Providers use the care summary every day and miss it if they don’t have it,” said Dawn Cole, Westshore’s quality management specialist. “We wanted to use the registry to push self-management goals, and that’s how the patient report card can be very helpful.” Ponstein said the ultimate objective is to get all physicians in the network onto an EHR, but a registry was an important step. “The registry and electronic prescribing tools are moving us toward the eventual goal of a community-wide integrated IT solution,” said Ponstein. “We made an intentional decision to go with a modular approach and involved all the physicians in the decision-making.” ■ More at wesTsHoRe Continued from page 17 component of the “Partnering for Value” P4P project launched by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan in 2005. The program was designed to promote innovation in chronic disease management and the expansion of the healthcare IT infrastructure in the state. Paul Ponstein, DO, Westshore’s medical director, said the network developed its IT strategy with the diversity of its physician practices in mind. “We needed an approach that would be amenable to the multiple IT models and “We anticipate our 2007 pay-for-performance reimbursement will INCREASE BY 15 tO 20 PERCENt over 2006.” – Jennifer Bailey have diabetes and high LDL cholesterol,” said Roark. “We pull the pharmacy claim data to determine how many of these patients aren’t introduces HealthcareITNews.com e ●Connect: weStSHore 0308 seMI A new generation of mobility products will revolutionize access to information. MobileHealthWatch.com, brought to you by the editors of Healthcare IT News, enables readers to track the latest trends and developments in mobile healthcare, with particular focus on: w Wireless networks and infrastructure to support mobility w Advances in patient monitoring w Real-time location systems w Wi-Fi telephony w Mobile devices w Privacy and security Every day, the editors of MobileHealthWatch.com scour the Internet to provide you with comprehensive news coverage of the mobile healthcare space, including links to all original sources. MobileHealthWatch.com also offers content-specific e-newsletters so that you can get the news you want delivered to you directly. Continued from page 17 Register free today at www.mobilehealthwatch.com sponsored by prescribing. In fact, 65 percent of the physicians polled said they had changed a prescription at least once in response to the safety alert system. Overall, 70 percent or more of respondents said they are very satisfied with eprescribing technology. “As a participant in SEMI, I experienced firsthand the valuable benefits of e-prescribing, and it is encouraging to see that my fellow physicians are also recognizing this value and embracing the technology,” said Steven D. Grant, MD, president and CEO of United Physicians. Other key findings of the survey included: • for nine out of 10 physicians surveyed, e-prescribing met or exceeded their expectations; • more than 70 percent saw a reduction in communications with pharmacies over prescription questions; for 40 percent, the reduction was substantial; • and more than half strongly agree that e-prescribing saves clinicians time and increases productivity. The survey reported that although there was increased support of e-prescribing benefits, there was less consensus on the cost savings. One in four physicians believed technology might not reduce costs for their patients or their practices. Still, e-prescribing supporters believe the results of the survey will bolster efforts to get more physicians to embrace e-prescribing technology. “Patient safety and cost benefits from SEMI are already well-documented,” said Kate Kohn-Parrott, director of integrated healthcare and disability at Chrysler. “With physicians reporting productivity improvements and their satisfaction with the program, e-prescribing is moving closer to more universal acceptance.” Based on the survey findings, SEMI will extend the initiative and continue to enroll physicians through June 30. More at HealthcareITNews.com e ●Connect: SeMI 0308 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://MobileHealthWatch.com http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8873 http://MobileHealthWatch.com http://MobileHealthWatch.com http://MobileHealthWatch.com http://www.mobilehealthwatch.com http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=8872

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Healthcare IT News - March 2008

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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