Healthcare IT News - November 2008 - (Page 11)

www.HealthcareITNews.com November 2008 ■ Healthcare IT News 11 O M M N T R Y Workflow for top care RECENTLY THERE HAVE been some interesting studies and articles noting the lack of mass electronic medical record adoption throughout doctors’ offices within the United States. The New England Journal of Medicine for one, found that a mere 4 percent of doctors’ offices nationally have a fully functioning system and just 13 percent are using basic applications. A more recent article entitled “Why Doctor’s Still Balk at Electronic Medical Records” published in USA Today cited the sheer cost of EMRs as one of many factors prohibiting more widespread adoption. These studies and articles are right when they say that adoption has lagged, but I believe they are profoundly wrong when predicting that things aren’t going to change anytime soon. With governmental bodies, trade associations, President Bush and both presidential candidates calling out for widespread IT adoption, medical professionals are beginning to heed these calls. Having relied on antiquated paper processes for decades, physicians of all strides (and particularly those who dictate heavily) are showing much greater enthusiasm for the hardware and software applications that yield greater efficiency and productivity; reduce medical errors; help them boost revenue and improve patient care. As someone who previously built a successful software company that sold Internet security software, I’ve seen this type of enthusiasm before in other industries. The medical profession is ripe for some significant changes in the very near term. Here is why: Standards. In years past, there were literally hundreds of EMR systems available but it was very difficult to tell what products were the best, and many doctors spent a lot of money on applications that didn’t perform very well. The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology (CCHIT) has established a set of rigorous standards for EMR testing and certifies only those systems that pass the highest standards for functionality, security and interoperability. Doctors who choose a CCHIT-certified EMR have purchased a highly functioning system. Cost. Earlier versions of EMRs were very expensive and came with little to no payment flexibility. Today, however, prices are driving and doctors have plenty of different payment programs and financing options available to them. Doctors often have the option to pay a traditional licensing fee, they can enter into a subscription agreement, or even pay per patient encounter. With the elimination of other costs such as transcription, paper file creation and storage, and even post- NeWsmaker iNtervieW What technology will have the greatest impact on healthcare five years from now? The introduction of Google Health and HealthVault because it raises the awareness of consumers that there’s an easy place to put information online, and it’s easy to do. What is your greatest challenge at Connected Health? Physician adoption is important to focus on at this point. This conference (Center for Connected Health symposium) has grown by 25 percent (attendance was at more than 1,000 Oct. 1718). As part of the conference I offered a CME course for doctors. There were 38 attendees and four were not doctors. Doctors just aren’t plugged in yet. Are patients ready to be connected? Yes. We really never run into patient resistance - especially from the elderly who are kind of afraid of technology. Joseph C.Kvedar Founder, director of Center for Connected Health, a division of Partners Healthcare Dermatologist, vice chair of dermatology, Harvard medical school authored 60 publications on telemedicine and connected health “One of the biggest knocks on Emr technology is that it’s too difficult to use.” age, implementing an EMR can now have an immediate positive effect on cash flow. Usability. One of the biggest knocks on EMR technology is that it’s too difficult to use, requires expensive training and ultimately leads to decreases in productivity before gains can be achieved. Again, this is a common refrain from those who only have reviewed older software. Some of the newer products include a doctor dashboard with single click access to all patient information, voice recognition technology and electronic prescribing, but perhaps most importantly, leverage Microsoft technology including Word so they are familiar and easy to use, fully customizable, and don’t require much training. A good example is the Center for Women’s Health in Indiana, which recently went live with their EMR on a Monday and were up to their full patient load by Friday. Incentives. In an effort to promote greater adoption of healthcare IT and EMRs while simultaneously SappINgToN see page 12 MIke SappINgToN gloStream What has surprised you the most in your work at the Center for Connected Health? The insight that I’ve gotten is how much we can equip patients to care for themselves and how much people do care for themselves. People want to be empowered. What are you reading? Articles about small changes. I'll be reading Nudge: Improving Decisions About Health, Wealth, and Happiness by Richard H. Thaler and Cass R. Sunstein. (Sunstein spoke at this year's conference. ■ More at HealthcareITNews.com e Connect: Kvedar 1108 ● Editor Bernie Monegain interviewed Joseph C. Kvedar, MD. leTTerS Continued from page 10 The marketing of e-prescribing has certainly been masterful and unquestionably misleading. Our hats are off to the leaders of the vast and lucrative data mining industry for pulling off yet another privacy-destroying coup. – Deborah C. Peel, MD Founder and Chair Patient Privacy Rights CORRECTION: The main photo in the October Product Spotlight featured an Omnicell mobile workstation. The caption was incorrect. Also, the IDs for Blaine Cappel and Erik Stielow, were inadvertently swapped in the captions. Are you ready for ICD-10? YES “We are talking about a little under three years to get something in place that we should already have. I believe that our software vender facing a three year deadline can accommodate their customers. The bigger question in my mind is, can CMS and company make the necessary changes in time to meet that deadline?” – Alan Whitehouse Oconee Regional Medical Center “We’ll make it but it will be painful - an additional year would be a big help.” – Anonymous. “It will take all vendors to work on changes We use 3M, and Sphere (as our host system). Both will have been modified but looks like 3M is working on ICD-10.” – Lynn Edwards Bear Valley Community Healthcare District HEaltHcarE it NEwSmONitOr cOrrEctiONS Healthcare IT News is published by MedTech Publishing Company, LLC, which is solely responsible for its editorial content. Editors are expected to meet the highest professional standards for accuracy, objectivity, fairness and independence. Errors of fact are corrected as soon as the error is established and corrections are published in the medium in which the error appeared. Inquiries or disputes about the factual accuracy of the record should be directed to the editor. Q 80% 60% 40% 20% 0% Can your healthcare organization be ready for ICD 10 by Oct. 1, 2011? 142 reader responses 55% Degrees don’t always correlate to abilities I see is that HHC agencies are too often looking for a Masters in Social Services or an RN to run their agencies. It has been my experience that the “degrees” in these fields have no correlation in their abilities to run an increasingly complex and sophisticated corporation in a newly competitive industry. Many of BODs also seem to be less inclined to understand this as a business. Even NFPs must be managed as if they are for profit. – Jim Nelson Senior Public Sector Manager Health Industries big issue 45% NO EditOrial iNdEpENdENcE Healthcare IT News is published in partnership with the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). HIMSS members are eligible to receive Healthcare IT News and related publications – both in print and online – as a benefit of membership. With the exception of the HIMSS Insider, which is produced by the staff of HIMSS and appears within the pages of Healthcare IT News every month, HIMSS and its leadership exercise no control over the editorial content of the newspaper and related publications. YES To take future surveys, subscribe to our enewsletter, HealthcareITNewsWeek, or visit us daily on the Web at HealthcareITNews.com. NO “The vast majority of the dental industry does not use ICD 10 and needs significant help in getting consistent compliance within the industry.” – Anonymous “[It is] Too big a job, with 5010 first.” – Anonymous “Because it requires implementation of 5010 first, which itself will take until 10/1/2011.” – Anonymous http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=10291 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com

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Healthcare IT News - November 2008 Contents $700M Strong PHR Power Stepping It Up Geo IT EMRs Go Rural HiMSS Insider: Making a Difference Home for the Blues Merge Amnesty Management Solutions: Outsourcing Appeal Clinical Toolkit: Enterprise PACS

Healthcare IT News - November 2008

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