Check out this link to a quicktime video – it highlights a new iphone app all about the H1N1 virus – http://spedr.com/tjdg
Check out this link to a quicktime video – it highlights a new iphone app all about the H1N1 virus – http://spedr.com/tjdg
Here’s a nice tech guide from the folks at Time magazine – some cool gadgets just in time for the holiday season! Here’s the link http://bit.ly/TIzUI
I thought that some of you may be interested in registering for this web presentation. Here is the link
Check out this link Health IT Certification . Has anyone had any experience with this organization.
Looks like there are four ways that the educational programs and certification for CPEHR, CPHIT and CPHIE can be taken:
I am looking at signing up for the EHR Cert.
The U.S. health care system lags behind many other industrialized nations in health IT adoption and other measures related to health care access and quality, according to a new study.
The study was published online today in the journal Health Affairs (Monegain, Healthcare IT News, 11/5).
For the study, researchers surveyed more than 10,000 primary care physicians in 11 countries between February and July 2009 .
The study found that 46% of U.S. physicians use electronic health records, up from 28% in 2006.
The researchers found that 99% of doctors in the Netherlands use EHRs. Australia, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and the U.K. also reported EHR adoption rates of 94% or higher.
Among the surveyed countries, only Canada lagged behind the U.S., with an EHR adoption rate of 37% .
The study also found that advanced EHR use in the U.S. tends to occur in large, integrated group practices. Researchers noted that the countries with the highest EHR adoption rates reported no significant differences in rates of advanced use among physician practices of different sizes (Robeznieks, Modern Healthcare, 11/5).
Researchers found that at least half of the physicians in Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands have a process to track adverse medical events.
They noted that 20% of U.S. doctors said they have an effective risk monitoring system, while a third of U.S. physicians said they have no such system.
Here is a link to the full study – http://spedr.com/5wb7m
It would appear that MDs have limited knowledge of the American Recovery and Reinvestment provisions, according to a recent online survey of 1,001 physicians, and they are still reluctant to adopt information technology.
Ingenix, a healthcare IT company and consulting firm conducted a survey. While financial incentives and penalties drive physicians to adopt health IT, the survey showed, they continue to be worried about upfront cost and workflow disruption.
The survey showed more than half ( 58 percent) of the respondents have little or no familiarity with ARRA, with 42 percent indicating some familiarity.
82 percent cite investment reimbursement as a motivator for implementing an electronic health record system, with 77 percent citing penalties as a motivation to implement.
Not surprisingly, cost and workflow disruption were listed as the two greatest risks for EHR deployment, with 82 percent citing cost and 74 percent citing workflow disruption.
The shift to adopt health IT is happening – thanks to the stimulus funds and CMS incentives – albeit slowly, said Kim LaFontana, vice president of Ingenix. “There is a growing awareness that the reason to adopt makes sense,” she said.
The industry needs to educate the independent physicians who have not had a compelling business case to adopt in the past, LaFontana said. The legacy vendor community has largely focused on the multi-specialty, complex healthcare systems with deep pockets, she said.
With ARRA and a larger market of small physician offices, vendors have an incentive to develop innovative next-generation electronic health records, she said. Hosted EHRs with monthly subscription fees are providing much-needed new business and technology models for independent physicians.
The way physicians are educated on health IT and EHRs also needs to change, LaFontana said, adding, “This is an opportunity to start talking about capabilities in the physician’s office.”
Technology should be seen as an enabler that brings new capabilities and efficiencies to a physician’s office, she said. Physicians will be more receptive to health IT if the conversation is around better care and more efficiency of the whole system. For instance, physicians would value an EHR with its ability to identify their diabetic patients who have not had a hemoglobin A1c screening test in the past year.
The primary care physician’s world is changing rapidly, LaFontana said. Fee and reimbursement schedules are changing, models of care such as the patient-centered medical home are being introduced, reporting quality meausures is required for participation in pay-for-performance programs. The small physician offices are overwhelmed with administrative complexity, clinical protocols and revenue cycle management issues, she said.
Legacy vendors have under-invested in the small group practices in the past. “You have to look at the entire physician’s office,” LaFontana said. Vendors and independent physicians need to establish the foundational capability in the office and the workflow around that in order to reap the benefits of health IT implementation.
I have a Blackberry Tour and its a great smartphone. In fact I’m typing this blog entry from my phone – very cool. Just found a great app – its the TIME magazine app- great news articles and very easy to read on the device. Check it out.
Have you any experience with Practice Fusion? Check out www.practicefusion.com. This is a FREE online EMR system. Looks like its revenue model is via advertising on the screen – there is an advertising free version which you have to pay for. I have been playing around with it and it looks very impressive. The company claims that it will meet all the “meaningful use” criteria and they guarantee you will get your 44-64 K – a big promise!
I opened an account to use for an overseas project. I am going to Nicaragua in February with ‘Operation Rainbow’ – check out www.operationrainbow.org. I thought we would keep electronic records on all the patients we see on the trip. I am trying to find out how good the internet service is in Nicaragua – anyone know? I will continue to look at this product as I think it looks very promising.
The use of Twitter in the healthcare space is intersting. This posting from a blog outlines a way to record health related activities, symptoms and other related activities. Check this out http://spedr.com/31kr7
I recently attended the Health 2.0 conference in San Francisco. One of the companies that was highlighted at the meeting was ‘American Well’. An impressive company that has created an online care system that allows instant connection between a patient and a provider. Using a web cam and VOIP technology the concept of online care becomes fairly straightforward. Their current partners include Blue Shield, Blue Cross, Optum Health and Tri West Healthcare Alliance. Check them out at www.americanwell.com. I will be following them very closely as I think this space in healthcare is set for huge expansion.
