Healthcare IT News - October 2008 - (Page 36)

36 Healthcare IT News ■ October 2008 PhySIcIAN PRActIcES & AMBulAtoRy cARE ing the patient, it would be difficult to prescribe for that patient,” he says. “I believe it is inappropriate for any physician to be prescribing Joseph M. medication to a Heyman, MD patient that they have never met or examined. That is not the best way to provide medical care.” Heyman says he would not have as much of a problem if the patient had a prior relationship with the physician, but he would be concerned if this were not a requirement. TelaDoc has a guarantee that if a member waits longer than three hours, their consult will be free of charge. Rick Boxer, MD, chief medical officer, TelaDoc, says last month the average physician Rick Boxer, MD response time was 23 minutes. www.HealthcareITNews.com Along with a membership fee, a member pays a ﬂat rate of $35 for a medical consult. On average the consult lasts 10 minutes, Boxer says, which is longer than the typical five-minute consult patients receive from their primary care physicians, and much cheaper too, he adds. According to Boxer, a TelaDoc membership fee averages to under $3 a month and larger entities are paying well under $1. ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: teLaDoC 1008 TelADoC Continued from page 31 The responding physician can access the patient’s medical record to use as a basis for treating the patient. Gorton says the vast majority of the patients are treated based on this model of cross coverage. However he says that virtually all of their new patients are of a newer model where they have had a prior relationship with the patient. Not everyone is enthusiastic “We believe that patients should have a relationship with a physician.” – Joseph Heyman, MD about healthcare by phone. “We believe that patients should have a relationship with a physician,” says Joseph M. Heyman, MD, chairman of American Medical Association Board of Trustees. “Without examining or know- ● Incentives for EHR adoption on the rise By DIANA MANoS, Senior Editor cHIcAGO – connectED How can the right emergency department information system keep everyone connected? By allowing doctors and nurses to share patient information seamlessly. By bringing departments together with rapid order placement, results reporting, and remote accessibility. By providing tracking and reporting functionality for critical metrics. By keeping an eye on your industry and incorporating the latest quality, regulatory and compliance measures. By working with wireless documentation tools to bring clinicians back to the patient’s side. Because being connected is essential, visit tsystem.com. The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology reported results of a survey that shows momentum is building to financially coax physicians into adopting electronic health records. The commission reported more than $700 million in funding programs have sprung up in the past two years to subsidize healthcare IT adoption. The study, compiled in CCHIT’s Incentive Index, found 90 initiatives in the public and private sectors ready to reward doctors for adopting EHRs. At a conservative estimate, at least 43,000 physicians are being offered subsidies in state or local initiatives already, according to John Morrissey, CCHIT’s communication manager and author of the study. Of the incentive programs discovered by CCHIT, 50 have been launched by hospital organizations in response to federal “safe harbor” regulations announced in 2006. The safe harbor regulations allow hospitals to subsidize up to 85 percent of certain costs for physicians to acquire, implement and maintain EHRs that are CCHIT-certified for their offices. Forty incentive programs discovered by CCHIT are being offered by government agencies, insurance plans, employer coalitions and public-private partnerships. Of these, 20 explicitly call for CCHITcertified technology, the commission reports. New York, the largest known regional commitment to accelerate EHR adoption, has distributed $157 million to regional networks representing more than 18,000 physicians and is poised to announce a new round of funding in November. CCHIT officials attribute the trend in growing incentives, in part, to the commission’s contribution to boosting physician confidence in EHR software. ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: CCHIt 1008 ● e ● Connect: tSYSteM 1008 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=10074 http://www.tsystem.com http://www.tsystem.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=10090 http://www.healthcareitnews.com/eConnect.cms?id=10139

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Healthcare IT News - October 2008 Contents Seattle's Slate Board 2.0 MGMA Newsmaker IT Battles Infection Beyond Adoption Excellence in Maine Carrot and Stick HP Layoffs Mobile Workstations Automating Offices

Healthcare IT News - October 2008

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