Healthcare IT News - November 2008 - (Page 21)

www.HealthcareITNews.com November 2008 ■ Healthcare IT News 21 NEWSBRIEFS MIchIgaN phySIcIaNS Roll out clINIcal SuppoRt Warren, Mich.-based St. John HealthPartners, a physician-hospital organization, is rolling-out Web-based clinical support to help manage patient populations and screen for chronic diseases. SJHP has signed a deal with Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Cielo MedSolutions to acquire licenses for Cielo Clinic software. Under the agreement, SJHP acquires Cielo Clinic software not only for the primary care clinics operated by St. John Health, but for the network of affiliated, private medical practices also included in St. John HealthPartners. EMR improves rural healthcare An EMR links migrant and seasonal farm workers in Minnesota and North Dakota. By Molly MerrIll, Associate Editor ISANTI, MN SaN DIEgo Ipa IMplEMENtS hyBRID EhR/pM The Sharp Community Medical Group, the largest IPA in the San Diego area, will roll out an electronic health record and practice management system to automate and connect clinical and administrative processes for 700 physician members and affiliates. The medical group will use a new system called SCMG Connect, which will be powered by Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions, to serve the network’s more than 156,000 managed care patients. – The Northern Minnesota Network, a consortium of three Federally Qualified Health Centers that provide healthcare services to the uninsured, underinsured, migrant and seasonal farm workers in rural areas of Minnesota and eastern North Dakota, is closing the chapter on an electronic medical record implementation project. The Northern Minnesota Network, or NMN, is made up of Migrant Health Services Inc., Cook Area Health Services (which operates as Scenic River Health Services) and Sawtooth Mountain Clinic. Together they operate 17 clinic sites. Two problems the network hoped to solve through implementing healthcare information technology were timely access to patient’s medical records, and tracking and managing medical information for a transitory and widely scattered patient population. The network’s implementation was funded by a variety of sources including state and private grants, but the largest source of funding came from the government. “Our patients deserve the same level of healthcare that others have that have full health- Cook Clinic, part of CHS, was set to go live with its EMR on Oct. 21, 2008. care. It is great that we can even the playing field for our patients who have little or no insurance,” said Jackie Moen, the project manager and director for the NMN. Before the sites could go for- ward with their EHR implementation, they first had to all make the move to a single practice management solution – GE Healthcare’s Centricity. Moen said this move wasn’t, a NMN see page 22 Virtual doc visits aid care By Molly MerrIll, Associate Editor FRONT ROYAL, VA DocS, patIENtS to ShaRE INFo vIa cuStoM EMR oN WEB Physicians and patients using the SwiftMD Web-based portal will be able to securely share medical information through a custom electronic medical records solution created in partnership with SSIMED, supplier of the EMRge Electronic Health Records system. SwiftMD is a Web- and phone-based telemedicine and diagnostic service whose physicians provide consultation via phone or bi-directional Internet video and audio. The move to share patient information through the online portal aims to give providers instant access to relevant patient data. – Americans have nearly perfected the ability to multi-task, often aided by technology. So it should come as no surprise that some patients would like to virtually “see” their physician while Steve Malik still keeping to their daily tasks. Skyline Family Practice, a three-physician family practice based in Front Royal, Va., about 70 miles from Washington, D.C., offers its patients virtual office visits, or VOVs. Floyd “Tripp” Bradd, III, MD, patients with says his practhE NEWS: Physicians are using minor, acute, tice has always ➔ virtual office visits to treat nonnon-emergenbeen on the emergency care needs for patients. cy health concutting edge What It MEaNS: Patients can ditions. of technology ➔ quickly receive low-cost care without “I want phyand with many feeling an impact on their busy day. sicians to be on patients who the forefront of are commuters Web interacthis was just the next logical step. Skyline tions with their patients,” says Family Practice’s Web site is Bradd. Ste v e Ma l i k , C E O o f maintained by Raleigh, N.C.– based MedFusion. The Web site MedFusion, says VOVs are allows patients to request an “absolutely” a growing trend appointment and register for – much like other kinds of selftheir appointment online. They service transactions. “I am excited that the country can also request a VOV, use the ask-a-doctor feature, renew is interested in solving healththeir prescriptions and pay care access and costs issues and VoVS see page 24 their bills online. VOVs are for IT is key for model By Molly MerrIll, Associate Editor SOUTH PORTLAND, ME – The so-called medical home concept is critically dependent on information technology, said David Howes, MD, president and CEO of Martin’s Point Health Care, a not-for-profit healthcare organization based in Portland, Maine. He said the medical home concept could lower costs for a nation that is experiencing crises in both the financial and healthcare systems. “Throughout the country MHM see page 24 REgIStRy to hElp phySIcIaNS tRack chRoNIc DISEaSES Medical Network One, a Rochester, Mich.based physicians’ services organization and interactive health management service provider, will use a Web-based patient registry system to manage its patients’ preventative care and chronic disease management initiatives. Three hundred physicians in Medical Network One will use a registry from Atlanta-based Wellcentive to help track patients with chronic health conditions. The registry will also be used to help physicians manage pay-for-performance programs. HealthcareITNews.com e ● Connect: PHYSICIaNS 1108 More at Partners Community HealthCare, Inc. Primary Care Physicians Partners Community HealthCare, Inc. worked with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts to establish a P4P incentive for community physicians to adopt EMRs. EMR Adoption Homegrown systems improve follow-up care vide an electronic referral either from the emergency room to a primary care provider or from a primary care provider to a specialist. The burden of more reliably connecting patients with the care they need is most acutely felt by safety net organizations, according to the study’s authors, Jane Metzger and Walt Zywiak of e-reFerrAl see page 24 100 80 60 40 20 0 90 Percentage of primary care physicians using EMRs By Molly MerrIll, Associate Editor 64 34 9 2003 18 2004 2005 2006 2007 e ● Connect: GraPHS 1108 SOURCE: PARTNERS COMMUNITY HEALTHCARE, INC. – A new-but-long needed niche in the healthcare industry has emerged in the area of follow-up care. A recent study conducted by the California HealthCare Foundation highlights the use of eight Web-based systems that were developed to aid patient referrals. The systems function to proOAKLAND, CA http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.HealthcareITNews.com http://www.healthcareitnews.com/story.cms?id=10321

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Healthcare IT News - November 2008

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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