Here come the health IT dollars
Nashville's Healthcare Management Systems said today that two of its hospitals in Kentucky have been awarded incentive payments for using its electronic health record system. Rockcastle Regional Hospital received nearly $630,000 and Breckinridge Memorial Hospital received about $194,000 in stimulus funds made available under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for hospitals that meet "meaningful use" requirements for EHR systems.
“We’re extremely pleased to see these community hospitals moving forward successfully,” said Tom Stephenson, president and chief executive officer of HMS. “They are improving healthcare delivery and are among the first to receive the incentive payments that became available this year. HMS is proud to help Breckinridge and Rockcastle achieve adoption of these tools and qualify for stimulus funding.”
HMS currently serves more than 680 community hospitals and healthcare organizations nationwide.
Mar 24, 2011 12:45 PM
HMS' electronic health record gets certification
Healthcare Management Systems' electronic health record has received certification from the Office of the National Coordinator, meaning its clients who demonstrate "meaningful use" of the system will qualify for federal reimbursement under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.“Hospitals have a unique opportunity to take advantage of ARRA and the available funds to purchase and utilize software to improve patient care and safety,” said Tom Stephenson, HMS president and chief executive officer. “HMS is very pleased to offer our customers a certified product that will allow them to achieve Stage 1 meaningful use while improving the lives of their patients. We understand the challenges facing community hospitals and remain committed to delivering software that meets their needs. Our customers and staff have worked side by side to deliver a product that meets the certification requirements.”The Nashville company is among several who have achieved some level of ONC certification. For more background, click here.
Jan 21, 2011 1:04 PM
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CredenceHealth system gets
Nashville health information technology firm CredenceHealth said its CHlive system has achieved certification for "meaningful use in clinical quality measures." CHlive is a web-based application that interfaces with hospitals' existing IT systems and work flows to capture Core Measures data and track performance in those and other metrics. It meets the criteria for calculating and submitting clinical quality measures, as well as all security and IT standards, the company said. The certification from the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology means the system meets some of the measures required for providers seeking federal reimbursement for health IT systems under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act."This certification is a crucial component of the CHlive product suite for our clients to meet their meaningful use requirements, Stage 1 and beyond," said CredenceHealth President and CEO Justin Lanning. "This new module in combination with the entire CredenceHealth product suite creates an even more powerful set of knowledge delivered through our real-time clinical surveillance."CredenceHealth, formed in 2007, has been rolling up customers in recent months. For background on the company, click here.
Jan 13, 2011 9:08 AM
What the Recovery Act can do for VU
Vanderbilt University has received more than $148 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in the last 18 months, according to The Reporter. The money — received int he form of 246 two-year grants to more than 200 Vanderbilt researchers — has been used to buy major equipment, hire additional staff and accelerate research.Much of the Vanderbilt money is being invested in infrastructure, including $8.6 million for “advanced genomics” technologies, and nearly $4 million for an ultra-high field NMR spectrometer to study complex protein structures. Another big chunk supports team science: nearly $8 million for Vanderbilt's coordination of a world-wide consortium that is developing cell-based therapies for diabetes and millions more to Vanderbilt and several other universities to probe the genetic “architecture” of autism.
Jan 7, 2011 1:51 PM
Nephrology EHR gets certification
Nashville-based Health IT Services Group's Acumen EHR received certification from the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology that it meets the criteria for Stage 1 meaningful use — meaning health care providers using the system may qualify for federal reimbursement dollars in 2011 that are made available through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Health IT Services Group's product caters specifically to nephrologists."As the national leader in the nephrology specific EHR market, we are delighted to achieve this important milestone," said Terry Ketchersid, M.D., VP and Medical Officer for Health IT Services Group. "Acumen is able to meet the needs of every nephrologist in practice today, including those who wish to demonstrate meaningful use."
Jan 5, 2011 11:03 AM
Electronic health record incentive program to start
Health care providers hoping to receive government reimbursement for implementing electronic health records can take the first step toward receiving the cash on Jan. 3. That's the day hospitals and physicians hoping to tap into the some $20 billion made available for the program through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act can register to participate. From there, health care providers will have to take several other steps, including demonstrating that they're "meaningful users" of EHRs. HealthLeaders Media has more on the program and registration process at this link. Dec 27, 2010 9:38 AM
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Emdeon product certified for 'meaningful use'
Nashville-based revenue and payment cycle management firm Emdeon said its Emdeon Clinician product has been certified to meet Stage 1 criteria for meaningful use of an electronic health record under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The 'EHR Lite' product is a web-based, software-as-a-service offering that can be used as a stand alone product or part of Emdeon's larger Office Suite. For more on meaningful use criteria under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, click here. Oct 25, 2010 8:41 AM
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Government subs need to show their stubs
Miller & Martin employment lawyer Kyle Young says businesses contracting with federal agencies should be prepared to present the compensation info of their top executives. The somewhat wacky thing? So should those companies' subcontractors. Oct 8, 2010 9:50 AM
And what will that percentage be in 2011?
The Wall Street Journal's Health Blog on Friday highlighted an interesting statistic from a recent Health Affairs study: In 2009, just 2 percent of hospitals would have qualified for the government's definition of "meaningful use" of electronic health records — the set of standards finalized this year that many health care providers are rushing to meet by 2011 in order to qualify for the government's first round of reimbursement for health information technology systems. What percentage of hospitals will hit the mark next year? Think 20 percent:It’s actually not surprising that hospitals were slow to adopt new systems in 2009, given the horrible economic conditions, difficulty of raising money for capital investments and uncertainty over what the final government requirements would be. “I’d be shocked if we didn’t see an uptick in 2010 and an even bigger one in 2011,” Jha tells the Health Blog. “But are we going from 2% to 40%? No. We might go from 2% to 5% [in 2010] to 15% or 20% in 2011.”
Aug 30, 2010 11:09 AM
The health care transparency/quality issue
Early in the Nashville Technology Council’s “Naked Hospital” event today, Emdeon’s Miriam Paramore raised an interesting, if somewhat disheartening point about the lack of data transparency in our health care system. When it comes to creating transparency around quality indicators — a needed step on the path to actually improving outcomes — there are several hurdles in our way. Among them: much of the data around quality is not digital; there’s no standard format for the data, even if it were in digital form; there’s no good clinical information exchange so providers, insurers and patients can exchange patient information that would help improve care. Unfortunately, the money being funneled toward health information technology from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to help health care providers implement electronic medical records only addresses the problem of digitizing data, she said. It doesn’t begin to standardize the data format or make a meaningful impact on establishing health information exchanges. On top of that, Paramore thinks it will be 10 years before electronic medical records are in “mass use” across the country. “My experience with adoption in health care is it’s a 20 year process,” she said. That time line is only somewhat “smashed down” by the funds and mandates of ARRA. Aug 26, 2010 2:33 PM
