And the Dander Keeps On Rising
This isn úmero cinco in our series of attempts to shed some of this dander. But it keeps on rising. Here are two recent reports both relating to the life-on-the-ground of North American rank and file physicians, especially as that life increasingly revolves around data entry and digital madness over and above everything else.Are physicians suffering from acute, maybe by now chronic, PTSD? In the 20 March 2018 number of the important Boston Globe-affiliated newsfeedSTAT, Elizabeth M étraux, a prolific staffer and author at the eminentorganization Primary Care Progress, gives us another quite useful take on physician ...
Source: Health Care Renewal - March 22, 2018 Category: Health Management Tags: burnout core values EHR managerialism physicians Source Type: blogs
Dear CMS Administrator
, Ms. Seema Varma:
Your address to HIMSS acknowledges many of the problems with Healthcare IT, highlighting lack of interoperability, lack of data exchange, and lack of cybersecurity, and suggesting some regulations that could be eliminated. This is a welcome realization of some of EHR’s more obvious limitations and problems. However, most of your recommendations for improvement of health IT are insufficient, unproven, or have been repeatedly shown to fail.
We applaud your acknowledgement of: 1. The frustration (and often rage) of many clinicians when using the current EHRs’ clunky and inefficient user interfaces; 2...
Source: The Health Care Blog - March 13, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Dear CMS Administrator Verma
By ROSS KOPPEL & STEPHEN SOUMERAI
Your address to HIMSS acknowledges many of the problems with Healthcare IT, highlighting lack of interoperability, lack of data exchange, and lack of cybersecurity, and suggesting some regulations that could be eliminated. This is a welcome realization of some of EHR’s more obvious limitations and problems. However, most of your recommendations for improvement of health IT are insufficient, unproven, or have been repeatedly shown to fail.
We applaud your acknowledgement of: 1. The frustration (and often rage) of many clinicians when using the current EHRs’ clunky and inefficient ...
Source: The Health Care Blog - March 13, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
Small Grounds for Celebration and Many Lurking Risks in HIMSS Survey
When trying to bypass the breathless enthusiasm of press releases and determine where health IT is really headed, we can benefit from a recent HIMMS survey, released around the time of their main annual conference. They managed to get responses from 224 managers of health care facilities–which range from hospitals and clinics to nursing homes–and 145 high-tech developers that fall into the large categories of “vendors” and “consultants.” What we learn is that vendors are preparing for major advances in health IT, but that clinicians are less ready for them.
On the positive side, both the...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - March 12, 2018 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andy Oram Tags: Genomics Healthcare Analytics Healthcare Business Population Health Health Care Funding HIMSS HIMSS Survey Hiring patient safety Source Type: blogs
US Health IT Policy Lags Behind
As described in a recent opinion article, Health IT Now and the Bipartisan Policy Center convened a work group of organizations representing clinicians, patients, hospitals, and technology companies to assess the current regulatory landscape, identify the most pressing needs of users, and develop consensus on the ideal future role of government in a post-meaningful use era, and a rapidly evolving delivery system and technology environment. Their report can be accessed and read here.
“For too long, federal regulation of health IT favored reporting and process over care and treatment. HHS must create a new era in which go...
Source: Policy and Medicine - March 12, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan - Policy & Medicine Writing Staff Source Type: blogs
Patient Access to Health Data: The AHA Doesn ’ t Really Want to Know
This report may stand as a model for how to cover up problems by asking superficial questions.
I don’t want to denigrate a leap from 27% to 93%, over a four to five year period, in the hospitals who provide patients with their health data through portals. Even more impressive is the leap in the number of hospitals who provide data to patient caregivers (from zero to 83%). In this case, a “caregiver” appears to be a family member or other non-professional advocate, not a member of a health team–a crucial distinction I’ll return to later.
I’m disappointed that only 50% of health systems al...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - March 8, 2018 Category: Information Technology Authors: Andy Oram Tags: Healthcare Communication Hospitals Patient Portal Care Coordination Collaboration Data Exchange Patient Engagement Source Type: blogs
The Trump Administration, Patient Data Rights + Value Based Care
By SEEMA VERMA
Following is the full text of CMS administrator Seema Verma’s remarks at HIMSS18 in Las Vegas.
It is a privilege to be with you here today and speak about the amazing advancements happening all across the nation in healthcare. One of the most exciting parts about being the CMS Administrator is the opportunity to see the cutting-edge breakthroughs that are happening every day. As we walk the exhibit hall of this conference, it is easy to be struck by how innovation is accelerating in healthcare.
We have procedures that we couldn’t have imagined a generation ago that are saving thousands of lives.
Pre...
Source: The Health Care Blog - March 8, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: John Irvine Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
How Not to Handle EHR Certification Problems
Today I was thinking back on how differently EHR vendors have handled EHR Certification problems. First, take a look at the $155 million whistleblower lawsuit that eCW (eClinicalWorks) suffered thanks to improper EHR certification (amidst other things). They had to have known what they were doing and didn’t come clean.
$155 million is just the first price they had to pay. Since then, providers have filed a class action lawsuit against eCW and the family of a patient also filed a lawsuit against eCW. This a painful and expensive experience for eCW.
Anne Zieger reported in August last year that the eCW settlement hadn...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - February 27, 2018 Category: Information Technology Authors: John Lynn Tags: EHR Electronic Health Record Electronic Medical Record EMR Healthcare HealthCare IT eClinicalWorks eCW GE Centricity Source Type: blogs
Trump Administration Releases Budget Proposal
The Trump Administration recently released its fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget proposal, including extensive health policy provisions.
The budget proposal features numerous program integrity provisions. For instance, the budget calls for: a $45 million increase in Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control funding; expanded prior authorization requirements for high utilization practitioners of radiation therapy, therapy services, advanced imaging, and anatomic pathology services; expansion of the items of DME, prosthetics and orthotics that are subject to prior authorization; a demonstration to test the use of a benefits manager fo...
Source: Policy and Medicine - February 19, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan - Policy & Medicine Writing Staff Source Type: blogs
Trump Administration Releases Budget Proposal Calls for Increased Funding for Fighting Fraud and Abuse
The Trump Administration recently released its fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget proposal, including extensive health policy provisions.
The budget proposal features numerous program integrity provisions. For instance, the budget calls for: a $45 million increase in Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control funding; expanded prior authorization requirements for high utilization practitioners of radiation therapy, therapy services, advanced imaging, and anatomic pathology services; expansion of the items of DME, prosthetics and orthotics that are subject to prior authorization; a demonstration to test the use of a benefits manager fo...
Source: Policy and Medicine - February 19, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan - Policy & Medicine Writing Staff Source Type: blogs
Trump Administration Releases Budget Proposal Calls for Changes to Open Payments and Increased Funding for Fighting Fraud and Abuse
The Trump Administration recently released its fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget proposal, including extensive health policy provisions.
The budget proposal features numerous program integrity provisions. For instance, the budget calls for: a $45 million increase in Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control funding; expanded prior authorization requirements for high utilization practitioners of radiation therapy, therapy services, advanced imaging, and anatomic pathology services; expansion of the items of DME, prosthetics and orthotics that are subject to prior authorization; a demonstration to test the use of a benefits manager fo...
Source: Policy and Medicine - February 19, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Thomas Sullivan - Policy & Medicine Writing Staff Source Type: blogs
The Opportunity for Health Information Exchanges (HIEs) to Untangle Health Records
The following is a guest blog by Monica Stout from MedicaSoft.
As the government’s Meaningful Use incentive program accelerated the adoption of Electronic Health Records, it also increased the use of patient portals and PHRs to meet MU patient engagement measures. You see this today when you’re offered a portal login at your doctor appointments. Other encouraging trends developed around the same time:
Studies proved that engaged patients tend to exhibit more positive health outcomes at lower costs.
Interest increased among patient populations to be involved in their health and wellness, including a desire to see (a...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - February 6, 2018 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Blogger Tags: Digital Health Healthcare Healthcare Interoperability HealthCare IT Patient Portal PHR HIEs Medicasoft Monica Stout Patient Portals Patient-Centered Data Home PCDH Source Type: blogs
5 Ways Your Certified EHR Can Help Boost Your MIPS Score
The following is a guest blog post by Lisa Eramo, a regular contributor to Kareo’s Go Practice Blog.
How did you do in the first year of reporting under the Quality Payment Program? Are you expecting a negative payment adjustment under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS)? Or did you only submit the minimum data necessary in 2017 to avoid this adjustment? The good news is that you can get on track to report critical MIPS measures in 2018 that will safeguard and perhaps even enhance your revenue in 2020 and beyond.
In fact, your electronic health record (EHR) technology may already include various featur...
Source: EMR and HIPAA - February 5, 2018 Category: Information Technology Authors: Guest Blogger Tags: Certified EHR Electronic Health Record Electronic Medical Record EMR HealthCare IT MACRA Meaningful Use 2015 CEHRT Kareo Lisa Eramo MACRA Monday MIPS MIPS 2018 MIPS 2018 Attestation ONC Source Type: blogs
Apple Health app will link to your medical records (thanks to FHIR)
Apple recently announced that its mobile Health app will link to electronic health record (EHR) systems. This will allow patients/consumers access to their personal health record (PHR). While companies like Microsoft launched PHR platforms such as HealthVault a number of years ago, most of these PHRs were not linked to EHRs. Tethered PHRs became available when patient portals were launched by hospitals, health systems, and clinics to meet the CMS Meaningful Use requirements.It seems that we're finally entering an era where advances such the FHIR (Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources) Specification and other interoper...
Source: Medicine and Technology by Dr. Joseph Kim - January 31, 2018 Category: Information Technology Source Type: blogs
