Healthcare IT News - March 2009 - (Page 1) HImss09: heads to Windy City page 21 Published in partnership with thE nEWs sourcE for hEalthcarE inforMation tEchnoloGy n MarCh 2009 $19B impact Many sessions at HIMSS09 in Chicago will focus on impact of $19B government shot to HIT. PaGE 21 News $19B to fuel healthcare IT By Diana Manos, Senior Editor WASHINGTON rac is back Medicare & Medicaid officials resume hospital audit program to find money CMS is owed. PaGE 3 Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City is one of several hospitals across the country that have taken the lead on IT implementation. CIO Marc Probst says government money can be a good thing, but cautions that it depends on how it is spent. tEPr future TEPR founder is not ready to say what future holds for the conference, but he’s keen on mobile IT. PaGE 3 commeNtary “I think it’s a terrible idea tHe News: by the government to invest in – The $787 bil- ➔ Government to invest healthcare IT – in EMR systems lion economic stimulus package $19B in healthcare IT – without investing in stansigned by president Obama Feb. 17 wHat It meaNs: dards,” said Marc Probst, CIO includes $19 billion toward health ➔ An opportunity to at Intermountain Healthcare in information technology. push healthcare into Salt Lake City. While many healthcare IT automation. Probst and others asserted industry insiders welcomed that without interoperability, the spending as providing a needed impetus to pushing the electronic medical records would offer only a healthcare system into the 21st cen- marginal improvement over paper records. “The end goal isn’t really widespread tury, many also worried about getting stiMulus see page 4 IT done right. Make it work Editor Bernie Monegain banks on industry leaders to make the $19B in stimulus package count. PaGE 8 HosPItaLs & IDNs ‘E’ in in e-prescribing still gives docs pause By Molly MErrill, Associate Editor infection initiative South Carolina mounts campaign against infection that could serve as nationwide model. PaGE 13 PHysIcIaN PractIces & ambuLatory care staying put Telehealth program in Ohio reduces number of hospital transfers for babies. PaGE 17 Payers Decision bonus Health plans save money when decision support in play. PaGE 27 VeNDors – Although incentive and subsidy programs for e-prescribing are becoming more numerous, the cost of e-prescribing systems and physicians’ lack of knowledge about which system to Walt Zywiak invest in continues to hinder adoption, recent studies show. Physicians have two options when it comes to choosing an e-prescribing system. They can use an electronic health records system that is configured with e-prescribing modules or a standFALLS CHURCH, VA alone system. CMS announced in November that computer-generated faxes to pharmacies not equipped to receive true electronically transmitted prescription would qualify as e-prescriptions until 2012. The biggest difference between a computer-generated fax and true e-prescribing, says Gail Fournier, a partner at CSC’s global healthcare sector, is that a fax travels and looks like a document. When it is received at the pharmacy, in most cases the pharmacist will have to enter it into another system. An electronic prescription can be decoded by the receiving pharmacy PrEscriBE see page 18 ‘Big brother’ it New tech, monitoring programs help executives track employees’ moves on the Internet. PaGE 30 Humana sweetens deal for eR docs to share data By Patty EnraDo, Contributing Editor MILWAUKEE More sophisticated threats drive need for greater protection. By Eric WicklunD, Managing Editor BOSTON Hospital security risks worry execs active management of security risk 86 % 370 respondents, 261 unique organizations, representing 700 hospitals. Data collected Nov. 20, 2007-Jan. 20, 2008. Insider threats to data theft are at a record high, especially in the healthcare and financial sectors, say the experts. clinical toolkit Pharmacy it Organizations look to their enterprise IT vendor first. PaGE 34 ManaGEMEnt solutions unplugged Wireless devices and applications free care providers. PaGE 33 www.HealthcareItNews.com MedTech Publishing Company / Vol. 6 No. 3 – Humana is offering financial incentives to 100 emergency-room physicians from three ER groups to access health data through the Wisconsin Health Information Exchange, or WHIE, to treat Humana members. Humana and WHIE expect to see improved coordination of care and a decrease in cost as a result of the 12-month pilot, said Albert Tzeel, MD, market medical officer – Great Lakes Region, Humana Health Plans of Wisconsin and Michigan. Humana expects Albert Tzeel, MD to see decreases in cost per visit, reduction in the redundancy of tests, especially for chronic issues, huMana see page 29 – Every seven seconds, someone tries to hack into the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. It’s not an unusual threat, nor is the Boston-based hospital alone in dealing with cyber attacks. Hospitals and healthcare providers are under constant pressure to maintain the security of their online information, with varying degrees of success. “The faster we innovate, the faster the attackers innovate,” says John Halamka, chief information officer of the Massachusettsbased CareGroup Health System and an expert on healthcare IT. In fact, he said, when his hospital launched its new Web site and 12 % 2% Yes No Don’t know e l connect: gRapHS 0309 Source: 19th AnnuAl hIMSS leAderShIp Survey, SponSored by cISco URL last year, it was attacked within 30 seconds, and more than 600 attacks were recorded on the first day alone. To deal with these threats, sEcurity see page 32 http://www.HealthcareItNews.com
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