Healthcare IT News - September 2008 - (Page 24) 24 Healthcare IT News September 2008 ■ PhySIcIaN PRactIcES & amBulatoRy caRE www.HealthcareITNews.com of the composite measure for each diabetic patient,” said Mark Selna, MD, associate chief medical officer for the Division of Clinical Effectiveness at Geisinger Clinic. Four of the phyMark Selna, MD sician groups – Dartmouth-Hitchcock Clinic, The Everett Clinic, Marshfield Clinic, and the University of Michigan Faculty Group Practice – earned $13.8 million in performance payments for improving the quality and cost efficiency of care as their share of a total of $17.4 million in Medicare savings. “All 10 of the CMS sites are moving toward patient registries and electronic data reporting,” said Jeremy Meller, CIO of the clinic division at Marshfield Clinic. “The current results simply show that different sites are at different points in the evolution of their strategies. The important thing is to have an IT roadmap that emphasizes quality. This project should encourage people that investment in IT shows a real Jeremy Meller return.” All physician groups participating in the demonstration received at least 96 percent of their PQRI incentive payments, with five groups earning 100 percent of their incentive payments. A total of $2.9 million in PQRI incentive payments was paid out to the 10 groups under the demonstration. ■ More at medicare PgP demonstration participants: n n n n n n n n n n PGP Continued from page 22 Billings clinic, Billings, mont. dartmouth-hitchcock clinic, Bedford, N.h. the Everett clinic, Everett, Wash. Forsyth medical group, Winston-Salem, N.c. geisinger clinic, danville, Pa. marshfield clinic, marshfield, Wis. middlesex health System, middletown, conn. Park Nicollet health Services, St. louis Park, minn. St. John’s health System, Springfield, mo. univ. of mI Faculty group Practice, ann arbor, mich. 7/18/08 3:03 PM Page 1 DrMcCullough_7.875x10.5 cal care processes, and investing in healthcare IT. Enhancements to electronic health records and patient registries allowed practices to more easily identify gaps in care, alert physicians to these gaps during patient visits, and provide interim feedback on performance. According to CMS, all 10 of the participating physician groups achieved benchmark or target performance on at least 25 of 27 qual- ity markers for patients with diabetes, coronary artery disease and congestive heart failure. Five of the physician groups Forsyth Medical Group, Geisinger Clinic, Marshfield Clinic, St. John’s Health System, and the University of Michigan Faculty Group Practice achieved benchmark quality performance on all 27 quality measures. “We take the components of care and create ‘all or none’ composite measures [and] our performance is only acceptable if we achieve every component “Rising costs associated with transcription and tracking patient records were adversely affecting our practice’s bottom line. Since I had previous experience using Dragon® Medical, I knew I wanted to implement speech recognition with our TouchWorks® EHR from Allscripts®. To maximize our ROI, Dragon would not only promote physician EHR usage, but would also entirely eliminate rising transcription costs and provide the complete records necessary for accurate coding and billing at a higher level of reimbursement than before. Now, all 17 physicians in our practice use Dragon within TouchWorks and are completely mobile with their dictation, using wireless microphones and tablet PCs. They’re achieving speech recognition accuracy rates of over 98% and notes are being turned around instantly — before patients leave the office. As a result, patient satisfaction has been tremendous. We were getting five referrals per month, but last month we had 70. We’ve added several physicians to our group and are well positioned for continued future growth.” HealthcareITNews.com e ●Connect: PGP 0908 Orthopedists gone wireless! ATLANTA – Southern Orthopedic Steven J. McCullough, DO Nephrologist Jackson Purchase Medical Associates Paducah, Kentucky ©2008 Nuance Communications, Inc. www.nuance.com /dictaphone | 1.800.350.4836, EXT. D698 Specialists, a 14-physician practice in metropolitan Atlanta, has installed a wireless data communications network at each of its five clinics. The network is the final piece of a new electronic medical records system that includes tablet PCs and a Web-based medical practice management component. The secure wireless network was installed by Marietta, Ga.-based IMCORP, Inc. Each office at the practice operates with two or three wireless access points strategically installed in drop ceiling fixtures that complement the ceiling panels. Physicians and staff carry wireless mobile tablet PCs that function exactly like their old desktops, except information is exchanged on the spot. More at Speech-driven clinical documentation and communication for healthcare leaders™ e ● Connect: dICtaPHoNe 0908 HealthcareITNews.com e ●Connect: ortHo 0908 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.nuance.com/dictaphone http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9893 http://www.nuance.com/dictaphone http://HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=9898 http://www.healthcareitnews.com/eConnect.cms?id=9946
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