July 2010 - EMR and HIPAA

The Surprise of Broad EMR Adoption

Pat Rioux on LinkedIn made the following comment about a possible surprise that could come from the move to broad EMR adoption: I hope the biggest surprise that we get from this huge undertaking is that we finally have providers wondering how they did...

Published Fri, Jul 30 2010 11:57 AM by EMR and HIPAA

Pulse EHR Software Gets $13.5 Million Capital Infusion

Some really big news dropping yesterday that Pulse and Cegedim Healthcare Software (CHS) (a European company) were merging. As part of the merger, Pulse is getting a $13.5 million capital infusion. I’ve been very interested in what the future of...

Published Thu, Jul 29 2010 1:55 PM by EMR and EHR

What Are EMR Vendors Planning for ICD-10?

I remember when I first started my job at a healthcare facility 5+ years ago, I ran into these codes they called ICD-9. Yes, this was all very foreign to me, but I learned quickly the meaning of ICD-9. I also learned quickly that the EMR vendor which...

Published Thu, Jul 29 2010 12:35 PM by EMR and HIPAA

Meaningful Use Rule Clarification by John Halamka

In MedCity News, John Halamka makes an effort to summarize as simply as possible the Quality Measures: I’ve been asked to summarize the Quality Measures as simply as possible a. The Core Measures for All Eligible Professionals, Medicare and Medicaid are...

Published Wed, Jul 28 2010 4:42 PM by EMR and EHR

Easy EMR Stimulus Money for Current EMR User

A common contributor to this blog lately has been BobbyG (check out his REC blog for more). He tells an interesting story that runs counter to my post about even existing EMR users not currently showing meaningful use. Meaningful use is in fact quite...

Published Wed, Jul 28 2010 12:06 PM by EMR and HIPAA

Away From Blogging Sick

The latest flu bug that’s been going around has hit me pretty hard. I’ll be back tomorrow (assuming all goes well) with more posts. Until then, some interesting news items for you to consider: SOAPware Announces Release of PMS – They’ve...

Published Tue, Jul 27 2010 11:02 AM by EMR and HIPAA

EMR Stimulus Q&A: Do You Have to Use a CCHIT Certified EHR Vendor?

AK sent me the following EHR Certification question: Is it necessary to get CCHIT certified vendor just because you want to qualify for incentives or regardless you MUST go for a certified solution? Because I make the case that one should go with the...

Published Mon, Jul 26 2010 12:46 PM by EMR and HIPAA

Nuance and MModal – Natural Language Processing Expertise

Many of you might remember that one of the most interesting things I saw at HIMSS this year was the natural language processing that was being done by MModal. In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, check out this video interview of...

Published Fri, Jul 23 2010 11:50 AM by EMR and HIPAA

Challenge of Meaningful Use Even for Existing EHR Users

Paul decided to stop by the post I did that referred to his comments on the skepticism around meaningful use. He shared a really interesting experience he had with a client that has an existing CPOE and EHR and their evaluation of the meaningful use requirements...

Published Thu, Jul 22 2010 12:56 PM by EMR and HIPAA

AMA Weighs in on Meaningful Use

The AMA has finally weighed in on the meaningful use final rule and it’s not a glowing recommendation for meaningful use and the changes that were made. Here’s a short summary from the Wall Street Journal healthcare blog. Now, after “careful...

Published Thu, Jul 22 2010 12:36 PM by EMR and EHR

Number of EHR Certifying Bodies Continues to Increase

An article by Government Health IT’s Mary Mosquera has some interesting data from ONC about the number of EHR certifying bodies there might be available to EHR vendors. Here’s the most relevant section: So far, ONC has received six or seven...

Published Wed, Jul 21 2010 6:47 PM by EMR and EHR

Physicians Don’t Want to Be Told What to Do

It seems like a theme is cropping up around meaningful use. It has little to do with the regulations themselves. Instead it has to do with the fundamental concept of meaningful use essentially “Telling Physicians How They Should Practice.”...

Published Wed, Jul 21 2010 11:42 AM by EMR and HIPAA

Single Point of Contact for EMR Vendor and Consultants

I was passing through my LinkedIn account and saw this message from @GrandRounds4ODs which seems to have come from his Twitter account: Appoint a single point of contact for project/contract compliance. Keep the consultants + vendors honest! This is some...

Published Tue, Jul 20 2010 2:11 PM by EMR and EHR

EMR Marketing

It seems to me like EMR marketing is really kicking into gear now that we have the meaningful use final rule. Makes sense with the intense competition that’s happening between the 300+ EMR vendors. One EMR vendor recently emailed me about advertising...

Published Tue, Jul 20 2010 12:13 PM by EMR and HIPAA

Official ONC and CMS Conference Call on EHR Stimulus Programs

The “Official” ONC/CMS Audio conference call on the EHR stimulus programs. Don’t want to miss this one! ONC Certification and Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs: Final Rules How will they impact you? The Centers for Medicare...

Published Mon, Jul 19 2010 5:11 PM by EMR and HIPAA