News about Healthcare IT Solutions & Services Industry

EHR Software - Permanent Certification Plan

The Health IT Policy Committee endorsed comments on a plan by the Office of the National Coordinator to offer permanent certification of electronic health record systems, including a provision to monitor EHRs after they are purchased to ensure providers are installing the proper technology.

The advisory panel okayed this and other features of permanent certification described in a proposed rule published by ONC in March. The ONC is expected to finalize its plan for permanent certification of EHRs sometime before the end of the 2010.

Permanent certification describes requirements for testing whether EHRs deliver the functions required for meaningful use. A separate temporary certification plan has been designed containing a more limited set of requirements to help providers get EHRs up and running in the first year of the meaningful use program.

EHR Software - Labeling To Signify Certification

The federal Health IT Policy Committee has recommended that health IT vendors use labels to clarify that their EHR Software is certified to satisfy first-stage requirements for meaningful use in order to ward off potential confusion among buyers about whether systems they are considering will qualify them for the incentive program.

Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has recently asked for comments about its plan to offer "temporary" certification of health IT products and systems which is designed to qualify health IT systems for first stage of the meaningful use plan, which begins next year. A permanent plan will be developed to certify health IT products for future phases of meaningful use.

Under the proposed rule, vendors would be directed to label their products with the date the product was certified. The committee also recommended that technology that is certified during 2010 should contain a label specifying that it has been certified for Stage 1 requirements only. 

To help providers keep track of certified products, the committee also urged ONC and certifying organizations to maintain a Web site listing the names of vendors and their product version numbers that have received certification.

Electronic Health Records : Ambulatory survey shows uptick in Physician Use

A government survey indicates there was an 18.7% increase in the use of electronic health record software in physician offices to 41.5% in 2008 from 34% in 2007, but preliminary results for 2009 show only a slight increase up to 43.9%.

Doctors were asked, “Does this practice use electronic medical records or electronic health records (not including billing records)?” with options for answering “all electronic,” “part paper and part electronic,” “no” or “don't know.”

A “basic” system was defined as including patient demographic information, “patient problem lists,” clinical notes, orders for prescriptions and applications for viewing laboratory and imaging results.

A “fully functional' system, also included functions for medical histories and follow-ups, test ordering, electronic prescribing, drug interaction alerts, flagging “out of range” test levels, and reminders for guideline-based interventions.

Read full details here.

New Certification Programs in Early 2010

David Blumenthal, M.D., national coordinator for health information technology, on December 7, 2009, posted a stimulus-related update on ONC's blog, called Health IT Buzz.

He announced that meaningful use criteria (from CMS) would be coming within weeks, with electronic health records certification plans in early 2010. Those rules had been expected along with meaningful use rules by the end of 2009.

Original Text from the Blog:

At ONC, we're making tremendous progress to achieve our goals and today, I wanted to provide a quick update and an important new announcement.

Although I'm often out front in communicating our goals and progress, there is an entire organization - plus numerous collaborating agencies, our federal advisory committees, and other stakeholders - behind me working harder, and faster than ever, to get the right pieces in place to meet very aggressive timelines.

You have seen evidence of that work already with our announcements of major grant programs to help establish health information exchange and grow the health IT workforce. And you'll see even more in the weeks and months ahead as we roll out new projects.

Already, we're on the way to getting the Regional Extension Centers and the State Health Information Exchange program established early in 2010. In fact, on a technical assistance call on Friday about the extension center program, we announced that, due to a strong response for applications, there will be approximately 30 extension center awards made in January and the remainder in March. This should assure support is in place for providers looking to become meaningful users of EHR systems leading up to 2011.

Of course, this isn't all we're doing. You will see meaningful use criteria (from CMS) in a matter of weeks. We also anticipate publishing in early 2010 our proposed plans for establishing a new certification program, which we believe will enable most vendors to have their products certified by 2011. And there will be a number of other awards and programs rolling out between now and the end of the first quarter. This past week's announcements of the Beacon Community Program and additional workforce training grants continue to build the needed foundation for electronic health records throughout the nation.

We're working hard and we're working fast, but we're also working smart and ensuring that the necessary programs and standards serve as a sound foundation.

90% Users Satisfied with EHRs

At a policy conference sponsored by the National Committee for Quality Assurance in Washington, David Blumenthal, national coordinator for health information technology at HHS, said that a recent study of physician practices showed that 20% were using electronic health records in 2008. Of those users, 90% said they were satisfied with the technology "and could point to quality improvements" as a result of using electronic records.

Even for those physicians who had complaints about using the technology, "it's clear that very few physicians would go back to paper-based records," he said.

Blumenthal reiterated his commitment to issue proposed rules on the so-called "meaningful use" of EHRs last month, as well as offer grants to establish 70 health IT regional extension centers nationwide that will offer technical assistance, guidance and information on best practices to support and accelerate providers' efforts to become meaningful users of EHRs.

Source: Modern Healthcare News

CCHIT Certifies EHRs Under 2011 Criteria

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology has announced the first electronic health records products certified under its 2011 criteria.

The Chicago-based organization has two programs for 2011 that include criteria to support proposed federal standards for qualifying for Medicare/Medicaid incentive payments under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The government has not officially proposed standards. But based on some requirements in the law and recommendations from federal advisory committees, CCHIT has launched initial 2011 certification programs that it will modify if necessary.

The CCHIT Certified Comprehensive program is an update of the organization's traditional EHR certification service. The Preliminary ARRA certification program focuses on the standards for qualifying for the Medicare and Medicaid incentives for meaningful use of EHRs.

The initial EHR product certified under the Certified Comprehensive program is ABELMed EHR-EMR/PM, Version 11, from ABEL Medical Software Inc.

The initial EHR products certified under the Preliminary ARRA program are:

• eHealth Made EASY, Version 3, from eHealth Made EASY LLC. The product is certified for supporting two of 27 meaningful use objectives for eligible providers and 2 of 24 objectives for hospitals;
• KIS Track, Version 5.1, from Kaulkin Information Systems, supporting 2 of 27 objectives for eligible providers; and
• Medios, Version 4.5, from IOS Health Systems, supporting 27 of 27 objectives for eligible providers.

More information is available at cchit.org.

Author: Joseph Goedert

Source: Health Data Management

Meaningful Use of EHR Software - CMS Readies Medicaid Incentives

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services soon will send a series of documents to state Medicaid agencies to assist them in developing health information technology plans, which include incentive payments to providers for meaningful use of electronic health records. The incentives are authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

CMS will send letters and templates for the State Medicaid HIT Plan, the Planning Advance Planning Document and the Implementation Advance Planning Document to make the documentation process as simple as possible, according to a notice published Nov. 30 in the Federal Register.

"This information is being requested in order that states can submit documentation to CMS for review and approval in order that states can implement the Medicaid program and draw down federal financial participation," according to the notice. It is available at gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.html.

Source: Health Data Management

Use EHR Software Effectively - Blumenthal

In a blog published on 30th November, David Blumenthal, M.D., M.P.P. - National Coordinator for Health Information Technology writes that he believes that "policy should be based on the best available information, carefully analyzed and considered. However, recent studies raising questions about the benefits of EHRs are informative, but limited in their applicability to our HIT program. To the extent that they accurately capture past experience with EHRs, these studies illustrate something that the Congress and the President understand and have allowed for: namely, that having an EHR alone is not sufficient. Doctors and hospitals have to use this technology effectively, have to employ its extraordinary power to improve clinical decisions, in order to achieve its potential benefits. The federal government's new programs of incentives and penalties are totally focused on encouraging the meaningful use of EHRs. The resources set aside by the Congress to encourage the adoption of EHRs will go only to physicians, hospitals, and other providers who meet carefully designed new requirements for the use of EHRs that will translate into health improvements and cost reductions for the American people. And the plan passed by Congress includes new resources and support that will help make it possible for providers and hospitals to meet these requirements. We have already announced the availability of grants that will help providers adopt and use EHRs, and we will be making additional announcements in the weeks and months ahead."

Source: Health IT Buzz Blog on The Evidence for HIT

EHR Systems Considered Priority by Medical Students

In a survey conducted by California based Epocrates Inc, the results of which were published by AAFP, 9 out of 10 medical students declare that an electronic health record, or EHR, system will be a key part of their future medical practices. That finding puts students squarely in the same camp as many family physicians, who already have a fully implemented EHR system in their practice or are in the process of implementing one.

The survey based on the feedback from 1,005 medical students who use the company's mobile software concluded that medical students view EHRs as a priority in their future work lives. In fact, 90 percent said it is "important" or "very important" to have an EHR system wherever they decide to practice. 

For complete report, please click here.

Author: Barbara Bein

Pilot Meaningful Use and Focus Criteria on Value and Achievability : MGMA

The federal government should conduct a small pilot project with a number of vendors and a variety of physician practices before incentive programs for meaningful use of electronic health records start, the Medical Group Management Association recommends.

The pilot would ensure that the process of demonstrating meaningful use is achievable and practical, the Englewood, Colo.-based association said in a recent letter to David Blumenthal, M.D., national coordinator for health information technology. "This pilot could assist in determining potential roadblocks to program success and identify solutions to those roadblocks."

MGMA offered a series of recommendations in its letter. Among them:

• Avoid reliance on third-party compliance. "Several of the draft meaningful use criteria require, for example, the reporting of percentages of patients undergoing specific tests. We strongly encourage you not to impose arbitrary 'thresholds' that physicians would have to meet for the reporting of these types of measures." Physicians, MGMA notes, can't force patients to take tests.
• Create a simple process for physicians to demonstrate meaningful use. "We recommend that attestation and/or survey instruments serve as the primary methods of demonstration. This would be especially important for the initial phases of the program and could be verified through an audit process. The development of a complicated and time-consuming process for practices to prove that they meet the incentive qualifications will result in fewer organizations transitioning to EHRs."

 

Text of MGMA's letter to Blumenthal

Source: Health Data Management