Health Data Management articles from October 2007

Health Data Management archives from October 2007

So Many Subplots to E-Records Story.
October 1, 2007... This edition of Health Data Management, like many others, is chock-full of stories about electronic records. Our reporting this month shows just how many facets there are to this I.T. evolution, and how many different opinions there are about...

Editorial/Ad Index.
October 1, 2007... 3M Health Information Systems 44 A AdvancedMD 50 Allscripts LLC 32, 68 Amatayakul, Margret, Margret\A Consulting 70 Apple Inc. 30 athenahealth Inc. 34, 44 Ashby, Robert, solo practitioner in Ariz. 29 ...

Readers' Perspective.
October 1, 2007... Personal health records will be widely used within five years, supplanting the need for regional health information organizations. Agree or Disagree? AGREE Jeff Holmes Cambridge, Mass. "Technology is advancing at a pace...

Lessons From a CPOE Go-Live.
October 1, 2007... These and other feature-length articles are available at www.healthdatamanagement.com, which is updated daily with the latest breaking news. Two of the six hospitals of Pittsburgh-based West Penn Allegheny Health System went live with...

Technology Touted in Radio Ads.
October 1, 2007... Chicago-based Children's Memorial Hospital has expanded its branding campaign by highlighting some of its information technology capabilities. The 270-bed hospital created two 30-second radio ads touting its use of I.T. One spot features...

EDS Wins Rhode island network contract.
October 1, 2007... The Rhode Island Department of Health has awarded a contract to Electronic Data Systems to build a statewide health information exchange. The three-year contract, valued at $1.7 million, includes options for up to four 12-month extensions...

Grants Aid Games to Improve Health.
October 1, 2007... The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has announced the inaugural winners of its Games for Health Competition announced last fall. Under the annual program, the Princeton, N.J.-based foundation will award three prizes totaling $30,000 for...

Louisville Readies its HIE.(Health Information Exchange)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... The Louisville (Ky.) Health Information Exchange expects to use a "health record bank" as the business model for a regional health information organization. Under this model, an entity or entities are selected to collect, store and...

Report Details Needs for Pediatric EHRs.
October 1, 2007... A recent report in Pediatrics, the journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, explains the special functionalities necessary in electronic health records systems to support pediatric care. "Child health care providers often find that...

Study Checks Payers' Progress On I.T.(healt data management)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Sixty-four percent of payers offer personal health records for members, but most do not prepopulate the records with pertinent claims data, according to a new report. Only 41% percent of insurers use standards for 75% or more of their...

HL7 Offers Pediatric, PHR Models.
October 1, 2007... Standards development organization Health Level Seven has released profiles for functional models of electronic health records systems for pediatric care and personal health records. The Child Health Functional Profile addresses five major...

Newsline Digest.
October 1, 2007... Newsline Digest presents highlights of the latest health care I.T. news as reported on the Health Data Management Web site. For extended versions of these and many other original news stories, visit www.healthdatamanagement.com. $13...

Stock Chart.(HEALTH CARE TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES)(Statistical table)
October 1, 2007... HEALTH CARE TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES, as of August 29, 2007 Price Price as a One Six One Mkt Company on % of 52 month month year YTD Cap name Ticker 8/29/07 wk high chnge...

Group Practices Taking The I.T. Plunge: Business pressures - not patients, politicians or insurers - are pushing doctors to adopt electronic health records.
October 1, 2007... In late June, Robert Ashby, M.D., a solo practitioner in Scottsdale, Ariz., bought his first electronic health records system. Ashby, his medical assistant and office manager trained on July 16-17 and went live the following day. Many...

EHRs become affordable for solo doc.
October 1, 2007... When Robert Ashby, M.D., looked at electronic health records systems he saw "a lot of the systems for $50,000 designed for large practices with features I didn't need," recalls the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based solo practitioner with one medical...

Munson explains its donation program.
October 1, 2007... Munson Healthcare for seven years has been building an electronic health records infrastructure in its seven hospitals serving northern Michigan. The work is part of a vision of integrating community health data to enable clinician access to...

Trying to Get I.T. to Pay Off in P4P Programs: Providers and payers customize information systems for pay-for-performance initiatives.
October 1, 2007... Over the past 30 years, Marshfield (Wis.) Clinic has periodically tailored its homegrown electronic health records system and data warehouse to meet clinician workflow. But the impetus behind some recent modifications has been more about its...

The Search for P4P Standards.(pay for performance)
October 1, 2007... Even provider organizations that have customized information systems to participate in pay-for-performance initiatives are finding that collecting the required data can be a Herculean task. The chart audits, analysis and process change...

Capturing All the Charges: Physicians are using specialized software to ensure they can perform a fundamental task: submit claims for all the services they provide.
October 1, 2007... Charging for all services rendered seems like a simple enough concept. But for some health care organizations, "missed" charges can amount to millions of dollars in lost revenue. For example, Lahey Clinic in Burlington, Mass., estimates...

The Nurse As CIO: Caregivers bring a new set of skills to the job of technology leader.
October 1, 2007... Capitalizing on their insights as front-line caregivers, many nurses are rising up the administrative ranks of their organizations, with a handful even taking on the role of CIO. These pioneering RNs bring a new perspective to the role of...

So you want to be a CIO?
October 1, 2007... The number of nurses who have ascended the I.T. ranks to become CIOs is relatively small. Those who have taken this career path have advice for those who want to follow in their footsteps: Learn the business side of health care. "Your role...

Vendor Sees Opportunities in I.T. Donation Programs: After the Department of Health and Human Services approved the donation of information technology to community physicians, Greenway Medical Technologies Inc. launched a new strategy.
October 1, 2007... The Carrollton, Ga.-based physician software vendor started targeting its electronic health records software to hospitals that were interested in starting I.T. donation programs. Greenway, betting that there were business opportunities with...

The Best of Both I.T. Worlds: Forms automation helps a provider set caregivers along the path to EHR adoption.
October 1, 2007... CMH Regional Health System wanted to deploy an electronic health record, but didn't feel the time was right to force a switch to computerized care on its medical staff. So the delivery system decided to meet them half-way via a forms...

Knocking on the Bank's Door: Many physicians are taking out loans to finance new technology.
October 1, 2007... Family Practice Associates of Lexington (Ky.) wanted to replace its aging practice management system and move from a document management system to full-fledged electronic health records. But money was a problem. With the relaxation of the...

Managed Care Plans Push PHRs: Some observers question whether insurers are in a good position to compile medical records.
October 1, 2007... A growing number of health insurance companies are offering their enrollees some version of personal health records. They say these records can help them to provide consumers with timely information on how to stay healthy, among other benefits....

Stats Snapshot.(health data mng)(Brief article)
October 1, 2007... Payers are offering different incentives to encourage physician use of information technology, according to a report from the National Business Coalition on Health in Washington. Some managed care companies are giving providers financial...

Contracts Update.(health care information technology companies)
October 1, 2007... The Contracts Update section includes announcements of contracts that health care information technology companies have signed with customers in recent weeks. Contract news can be sent to Health Data Management by e-mail to:...

Learning From Mistakes: Building a successful health information exchange.
October 1, 2007... For the past several years, thought leaders in health care have generated a great deal of buzz about the concepts of interoperability and information-sharing networks like regional health information organizations. Unfortunately,...