EMR

HIT Policy Committee Recommends “Minimum” Certification of EHRs

August 16, 2009

At last Friday’s meeting, the HIT Policy Committee adopted the recommendations of the Certification and Adoption Workgroup.

Between the initial recommendations in July and the adopted recommendations in August, one critical word was added to the definition of “certification”. That one word is “minimum” — and this one word expresses the correct approach and philosophy for the government’s role in the certification process for EHRs.

In this post I’ll address why a “minimum” approach toward certification makes […]

“Meaningful Use” Criteria as a Unifying Force

August 13, 2009

by Vince Kuraitis, Steve Adams, and David C. Kibbe MD, MBA

Over the past several years, many diverse initiatives have arisen offering partial solutions to systemic problems in the U.S. health care non-system.

We see Meaningful Use Criteria recommended by the HIT Policy Committee as a unifying force for these previously disparate initiatives. These initiatives have included:

Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMHs)
Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs)/Health Information Exchanges (HIEs)
Payer Disease/Care Management Programs
Personal Health Record Platforms — Google Health, Microsoft HealthVault, Dossia, health banks, more to come
State/Regional […]

Overcoming The Penguin Problem: Setting Expectations for EHR Adoption

August 2, 2009

Economists call it “The Penguin Problem” — No one moves unless everyone moves, so no one moves.

The role of user expectations is crucial in getting penguins to move off of ice floes and in the successful adoption of new network technologies. I’ll cover two main points in today’s essay:

How “The Penguin Problem” Helps Explain Low EHR (electronic health record) Adoption To-Date
How Recent Federal Actions Are Setting Higher Expectations for EHR Adoption

The Penguin Problem and Low EHR Adoption To-Date

While not the only factor, […]

RHIOs Emerging From Coma

July 25, 2009

A subtle but profound shift is occurring in the world of RHIOs/HIEs (Regional Health Information Organizations/Health Information Exchanges).

…and the title of the eHealth Initiative’s Sixth Annual Survey of Health Information Exchange says it all:

Migrating Toward Meaningful Use

What’s happening here?

Joe the Doctor: “…’scuse me, why do I want to bet-my-practice on an EMR?”

July 9, 2009

Blogger Fred Pennic writes a review of the (HIMSS) Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society 2008 Book of the Year Award. The book is entitled Keys to EMR Success: Selecting and Implementing an Electronic Medical Record and is written by Ronald Sterling, CPA, MBA.

There is no question,” says Sterling “that the selection and implementation of an EMR is a ‘bet-the-practice’ proposition. If you fail, you end up with more costs and greater frustration.…” (emphasis added)

“EHR 2.0″ Complimentary Webcast Presentation — BrightTALK e-Health Summit

July 6, 2009

BrightTALK is sponsoring a complimentary series of e-Health Summit webcasts this Wednesday, July 8.

Here’s a full listing of the six eHealth Summit topics (Eastern Time). Click on the links to attend any or all of the webcasts. The series will be recorded for future on-demand access.

EHR 2.0: Federal HITECH Act Creates Opportunities Beyond EMRs

8 Jul 2009 11:00 am

Presenting Vince Kuraitis, Principal Better Health Technologies

Data Convergence in Life Sciences and Healthcare

8 Jul 2009 12:00 pm

Presenting Greg Nelson, President […]

Blueprint for Change: From EMR 1.0 to Clinical Groupware (EHR 2.0)

June 21, 2009

by Vince Kuraitis JD, MBA and David C. Kibbe MD, MBA

The last article in this series — Time for EHRs to Become Plug-and-Play — used words to describe a major industry shift underway in health IT.

Sometimes pictures help to make a point. Here are several diagrams that you can also download as PowerPoint slides.

Computer Industry 1983 to 2002

Source: Venkatraman, N. Winning in a Network Centric Era, 2006

Blueprint for Health IT Shift

From EMR 1.0 — 2008…

…to Clinical Groupware/EHR 2.0 — 2012

Time for EHRs to Become Plug-and-Play

May 21, 2009

by David C. Kibbe MD, MBA

The remarkable report, “Initial Lessons From the First National Demonstration Project on Practice Transformation to a Patient-Centered Medical Home,” published in the May/June issue of Annals of Family Medicine, the Nutting Report, makes this point about the state of primary care IT offerings:

Technology needed in a PCMH is not “plug and play.” The hodge-podge of information technology marketed to primary care practices resembles more a pile of jigsaw pieces than components of an integrated and […]

Stunning Announcement: AMA Goes to the Dogs in Deal With Physician Web Portal Company

April 23, 2009

What’s stunning about this deal is who its NOT with. The AMA chose NOT to partner with any of the incumbent electronic medical record (EMR) companies, e.g., Allscripts, GE, Epic, NextGen, or many others.

For those of you who have not seen earlier posts in this series, please understand that the reference to “goes to the dogs” is a great compliment.

In a joint press release, the American Medical Association and Covisint unveiled an agreement yesterday:

Compuware Corporation (NASDAQ: CPWR) announced today that its Covisint subsidiary signed […]

Will HITECH Lead to Innovation? The Continuing Cat/Dog Dialogue

March 17, 2009

Will the recently passed HITECH legislation — the federal stimulus funding for health IT — encourage innovation? or will it lock in outdated electronic health record (EHR) technology?

It’s a mixed bag — HITECH legislation is both dog-like (innovative) and catlike (protecting incumbents). I’ll refresh your memory below on more specific definitions of cats and dogs.

Among many other reasons, HITECH is dog-like primarily because it has ended the question of WHETHER the U.S. is really serious about health IT reform. HITECH spells out […]