Healthcare IT News - September 2008 - (Page 22) 22 Healthcare IT News September 2008 ■ www.HealthcareITNews.com NEWSBRIEFS PhySIcIaNS to uSE oNlINE RESouRcES FoR RESEaRch A recent study finds physicians are set to shift their professional research to online resources. The study was conducted by Manhattan Research, a healthcare market research and advisory services firm, and surveyed 1,681 physicians on their use of online information. Currently, physicians conduct 41 percent of their research online. Online journals and virtual conferences are two professional resources that should see spikes in physician traffic in the coming years, the survey found. Digital registry improves diabetes care IT yields results at Carolina group practice. of the physician’s arsenal. DUAP’s registry, for instance, has led to a doubling of “perfect care” rates for diabetic patients at the practice since July 2007. The perfect care rate is a comBy RICHaRd PIzzI, Associate Editor posite measure demonstrating DURHAM, NC – Duke University Affiliated Physicians, a primary achievement of all quality metcare outpatient network owned rics for diabetes. “Because there are increasby the Duke University Health System, has used an electronic ing demands on primary care registry since mid-2007 to providers, and limited staffing improve the care of patients resources, we need to learn how to take full advantage of with diabetes. tools like registries,” said As an increasing John Andersen, MD, number of practices chief medical officer at like DUAP use inforDUAP. “The current mation technology to reimbursement environmanage patients with ment makes it especially chronic diseases, digichallenging to manage tal registries that can John Andersen, a population of patients interface with electron- MD ic medical records and practice with chronic disease.” DUAP participates in the management systems are likely to become a critical component 2008 Medicare Physician Doubling Perfect Diabetes Care Results at 8 months after registry install Improvement Percent Baseline July 2007 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Foot Exam LDL <100 A1c <7 Perfect Care alaBama oRthoPEdIStS dIgItIzE REcoRdS Alabama Orthopaedic Specialists, a sevenphysician orthopedic surgery practice in central Alabama, has implemented hybrid electronic medical record software. The physicians at AOS are part of the sports medicine program at Jackson Hospital in Montgomery, Ala. AOS administrator Ron O’Neal said the practice chose technology from Montvale, N.J.-based vendor SRSoft. The SRSoft Clinical Manager is an EMR based on a document management foundation, according to company officials. e ● Connect: GraPHS 0908 SOURCE: DUkE UNIvERSITy AffILIATED PHySICIANS Quality Reporting Initiative, as well as local pay-for-performance projects, and an electronic registry is almost essential in producing the required reports. But Andersen said the most important contribu- tion a digital registry makes is improved patient care. “The registry facilitates the planning for our whole ‘team approach’ to delivering care,” said Andersen. “We intend to duaP see page 26 utah clINIc to adoPt ElEctRoNIc hEalth REcoRdS Park City Healthcare, a 10-physician practice in one of Utah’s premier ski resort areas, has decided to implement electronic health record and practice management software. Park City Healthcare will use EHR/PM software from Dallas-based iMedica Corp. The technology includes integrated PQRI reporting, medication and vaccine management functions, reimbursement maximization tools and a collections module. According to Bill Pidwell, MD, the practice sees a surge of urgent-care patients during ski season equal to what a practice of 20-25 physicians would treat. Group practices earn CMS incentives By RICHaRd PIzzI, Associate Editor – The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently revealed that all physician groups participating in the Physician Group Practice Demonstration have earned a total of $16.7 million in incentive payments for improving the quality of care delivered to chronic disease patients. The 10 groups earned the incentive payments under the CMS demonstration that WASHINGTON rewards healthcare providers for second performance year of the improving health outcomes and project, covering April 1, 2006, coordinating the overall health- through March 31, 2007. The care needs of initial three-year thE NEWS: Physician Medicare patients ➔ demonstration groups participating in CMS with congestive was extended for demo earn incentive payments heart failure, cora fourth perforWhat It mEaNS: Pay for onary artery dis- ➔ mance year, which performance can boost quality ease, and diabetes continues through of care and physician income mellitus. Much of March 2009. the groups’ suc“We are paycess owes to the use of health- ing for better outcomes and we care information technology. are getting higher quality and The payments were for the more value for the Medicare dol- lar,” said Kerry Weems, acting administrator of CMS. “These results show that by working in collaboration with the physician groups on new and innovative ways to reimburse for high quality care, we are on the right track to find a better way to pay physicians.” Weems said the PGP groups achieved outstanding levels of performance by having “clinical champions,” redesigning cliniPGP see page 24 uSc PhySIcIaN gRouP INStallS BuSINESS SoFtWaRE USC Care Medical Group, Inc., an academic physicians group affiliated with the University of Southern California, has licensed a unified business software system to support an organization-wide initiative to improve internal processes. The group, known as the Doctors of USC, has inked a deal with St. Paul, Minn.-based Lawson Software. Lawson will provide a technology package containing human resource management, financial management, supply chain management, and performance management software. More at By RICHaRd PIzzI, Associate Editor New Orleans docs adopt EHR HealthcareITNews.com NEW ORLEANS – Crescent City Physicians, a multi-specialty practice in the greater New Orleans area, plans to implement an integrated electronic health records and practice management system linking its 12 ambulatory care practices. Dale Mertens, vice president of physician services at Touro Infirmary and president of Crescent City Physicians, said the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina spurred CCPI to make the jump to electronic health records. “We were lucky – (our) billing and financial systems were up and running within a week and a half,” said Mertens. “So many of our counterparts were devastated by the destruction. It showed us the importance of electronic records, both clinically and administratively, from a disaster recovery standpoint.” More at e ●Connect: PHYSICIaNS 0908 HealthcareITNews.com e ●Connect: CreSCeNt 0908 Novant, which is in the midst – Novant of a rollout of an electronic Health has embarked on an health record system developed by Chicago-based automation initiative Allscripts, has also that promises sweeping purchased Allscripts’ change for more than Clinical Quality Solution 1,000 of its physicians EHR module, or CQS. across North Carolina and A.J. Patefield, MD, South Carolina. vice president of T he n o t - f o r - p r o fi t Novant Health in North health system includes A.J. Patefield, Carolina, is overseeing nine hospitals, outpatient MD surgical centers, two nursing the project. Novant plans to roll homes and physician practices at out the technology to 200-250 300 sites across the Carolinas. NovaNT see page 26 By BeRNIe MoNeGaIN, Editor WINSTON SALEM, NC Novant Health begins EHR implementation http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://HealthcareITNews.com http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9896 http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9894
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.