Healthcare IT News - December 2008 - (Page 21)

www.HealthcareITNews.com NEWS Makers ■ December 2008 Healthcare IT News 21 The Pe o Ple , S To r i e S a n d i n n ovaT i o n S o f 20 0 8 Table of Contents 22 23 24 25 D top implementations op trends t top tech to watch for in 2009 people to watch BarackObama C.martinHarris,mD GlenTullman PROVIDERS C. Martin Harris, MD, CIO of the Cleveland Clinic, won the provider category of newsmakers with 31 percent of the vote. The Cleveland Clinic is partnering with Google to launch a pilot program that will use Google’s new services to provide patients with greater control and access to medical records. “Innovation is having vision to do what others have not, being the first entry into a market or task or solution to a problem,” said one respondent. “Clevland Clinic has done this with the huge piggyback onto the Google ehealth solution offered to their patient data base and millions of people across the globe.” “Cleveland Clinic has been a pioneer in electronic patient records and sharing patient information across the continuum of care from hospital, physician and post acute, home care and hospice,” said Joyce McFadden. “The Cleveland Clinic is partnering with Google to launch a pilot program that will use Google’s new services to provide patients with greater control and access to medical records. Free access and instant, open information is a valuable and risk matter, for those this initiative deserves my election,” said Fernando Miguel Gersberg Curatiss, MD. “Dr. Harris’ alliance with Google sets the future direction (of ) PMR. This will be a growing area that may facilitate personalized healthcare” said Tony Amaddio, in sales and development for IBM Healthcare and Life Sciences. Joe Bajek, CIO of the University of Colorado Hospital in Denver, gathered the second greatest number of votes, with 27.5 percent. Healthcare IT News wrote a story about Bajek’s initiatives on the “green IT” front. Melissa Anisla, with health insurer CIGNA, cast her vote for Bajek. newsmakers see page 22 OCSSeePeril,PrOmiSeOfiT While physician adoption of healthcare information technology remains low nationwide, many observers are hopeful that things will change for the better in 2008. Healthcare IT News spoke with industry experts who say that U.S. doctors will be focused on multiple IT-related issues in the coming year. Michael Barr, MD, vice president of practice advocacy and improvement at the American College of Physicians, says the high cost of IT adoption in the small practice space limits investments in technologies like electronic medical records. USHCAllSfOrmOreHeAlTHCAreiTSPeNDiNG President Bush’s fiscal year 2009 spending proposal calls for $66 million for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, a $6 million increase over last year’s request. The president’s budget – essentially a recommendation – will be considered by Congress when it works out its own appropriations bill, which will not be decided until next August. eleHeAlTHBOONfOrOHiOBABieS An innovative telemedicine project in central Ohio plans to extend its reach, using high definition videoconferencing technology to connect remote medical facilities in the state with one of the nation’s leading children’s hospitals. The Division of Neonatology at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus is the largest in the United States, treating more than 2,100 babies per year. eAlWOrKBeGiNSNOW Two healthcare IT heavyweights – one recovering from internal disarray, the other having experienced a steep drop in its stock price in recent months – have decided to lend each other a hand. And while the reaction from analysts has been subdued, the proposed merger of British-based Misys Plc and Chicago-based Allscripts has its respective CEOs, Mike Lawrie and Glen Tullman, seeing a brighter future and a more complete healthcare IT offering. eDiCAreTOCrACKDOWNNATiONWiDe Coding experts say doctors and hospitals that don’t prepare now for the upcoming federal crackdown on Medicare billing could face payback bills in the six-figures, referrals to fraud enforcers and possible jail time. The Year in Review Top newsmakers: the headlines, both in the mainstream and in the healthcare IT-focused media. We asked Healthcare IT News readers to pick the people they believed had and would continue to have the biggest impact on healthcare IT on the policy front, as a healthcare provider and as a vendor. The choices – from more than 1,100 respondents – were clear. hey dominated MAKING GOOD ON AN IT VISION TODAY AND TOMORROW By BernIe monegaIn, Editor t POLICYMAKERS More than 33 percent of the votes for most influential policymaker were cast for then Presidential candidate now President-elect Barack Obama. Obama has pledged $10 billion a year over the next five years to help boost the adoption of healthcare IT. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt, the winner in the policy category for 2007, garnered the second most number of votes, with more than 18 percent. The rest of the candidates in this category, including Republican presidential candidate John McCain, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.) and New T York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, each landed about 6 percent of the votes. But each had ardent champions. Narayanachar S. Murali, MD, of Orangeburg, S.C., cast his vote for Obama. “When the mess cannot get any worse,” he said, “we need direction from the very top. If Barack Obama falls prey to the lobbyists and decides to ignore healthcare reform it will haunt the Democratic Party for the foreseeable future.” “What is the strongest ally for healthcare IT other than the president-elect?” asked Maria Filamor-Robinson, a nurse at Woodland Heights Medical Center in Lufkin, Texas. “Healthcare IT needs a very strong supporter from administration for its realization. I think with Obama’s support, more people if nothing else are more open to its concept and possible implementation.” “Michael Leavitt is the captain of the ship that is driving the mechanism that enables caregivers at the local level to facilitate change,” one respondent said. “His vision to deliver appropriate care at lower cost is being implemented by individuals and institutions nationwide.” Big names equals big stories in 2008 IT News’ readers this year, as they identified the top stories of 2008. The hottest story of the year was the long anticipated merger between Allscripts and Misys. This deal affected an estimated 150,000 U.S. physicians and another 700 hospitals. “This agreement changes the landscape in healthcare information technology by creating a single company that will serve roughly 150,000 physicians with our portfolio of electronic health record, practice management and other software solutions,” said Allscripts CEO Glen Tullman, who leads the combined company. Tullman and Mike Lawrie, chief executive of Misys plc and executive chairman of the new Allscripts, r By molly merrIll, Associate Editor ig names caught the eyes of Healthcare m both proclaimed the deal as a shot in the arm for the U.S. healthcare industry. The story that grabbed second place detailed Google’s plans to unveil more information on its health initiative to liberate data from provider and payer databases and follow the patient. Google Health went public in June with the details of its platform for storing and managing personal medical data. Many supporters of the personal health record see it as a tool to empower patients to manage their own health, but there are still critics who have concerns over privacy. “I think it will shift the emphasis from solely being on the provider to include the consumer,” said Deborah Hagar, of the Coalition for Quality Affordable Health Care. “It’s the future – not as fast as the TopsTorIes see page 25 1. Leapfrog Group picks top hospitals, raises patient-safety bar. 2. Twelve communities picked for Medicare EHR demo. 3. The show will go on - without Cerner. 4. Thomson Healthcare study names top 100 hospitals on patient safety. 5. Google unveils more information on health initiative. 6. Allscripts, Misys announce merger. 7. CMS releases final e-prescribing standards. 8. Troubled United Healthcare gets thumbs down from hospital execs. 9. Experts say Medicare billing crackdown could prove costly for providers. 10. Top five healthcare IT blunders. year In revIew see page 22 http://www.HealthcareITNews.com

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Healthcare IT News - December 2008 Contents AHIC 2.0 Debuts See How It Works Monitored to Health Right Decisions Neurologist Needed HiMSS Insider: Four to the Board Heartened Generation Next Clinical Toolkit: Inpatient EMRs Management Solutions: Asset Tracking

Healthcare IT News - December 2008

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