The American Medical Association Presents Online Resources on EHRs

Even when healthcare providers finally make the leap to new health IT systems, finding the time and resources to train their staffs to use them remains a problem.

For that reason, many providers will welcome the American Medical Association’s (AMA) recently released online educational tutorials that are designed to help physician practices better implement new health IT.

Physician practices may need to redesign and reorganize their office routines so that they can successfully and efficiently adopt health IT. The AMA created these tutorials to help physicians understand how to best implement new technologies, such as ePrescribing, into their practices.

This series of short video tutorials feature downloadable tools and best practices about health IT for physician practices. For example, in a transcript accompanying one of the tutorials, the AMA notes that the purpose of these tutorials is to provide you with the information you need to examine how your practice works today (current state) and to think about how you hope it will work after you implement your new health IT systems (future state).

More specifically, the transcript explains that “the workflow tutorials will be most valuable to smaller practices that have not yet implemented health IT, practices that are just beginning the process and practices that are struggling to make effective use of computerized systems that they already have acquired.”

The three tutorials cover ePrescribing, pre-visit planning and point-of-care documentation. According to the AMA, the first tutorial explains the value of ePrescribing and the quality, safety, and efficiency of ePrescribing compared to handwritten prescriptions. The tutorial also allows physicians to identify opportunities for medication management improvement while enhancing physician and patient convenience.

The pre-visit planning tutorial will help physician practices to establish a pre-visit planning structure that provides full patient information to the physician before the patient arrives. This can create new efficiencies that will allow more time for patient-physician interaction and shorter patient wait times. The point-of-care documentation tutorial addresses decisions regarding the type of hardware used during an office visit. The tutorial also helps physician practices understand the type and format of information that should be entered during a visit.

For more information, go to the AMA's health IT webpage.

For more information regarding SMARTMDs EHR Solution, go online to www.SMARTMD.com and click on our EHR Solutions page. You may also contact one of our SMARTMD EHR sales specialists, by calling toll-free (855) 762-7863.

EHR Incentive Dollars- The Numbers Don't Lie!

123,921 Eligible Professionals (EP) have registered for EHR Incentives, 15,255 have successfully attested to meaningful use in the Medicare program.

$2,533,689,145 has been paid out in Medicare and Medicaid Incentives.

22% of eligible professionals that have been paid EHR incentives are Family Practitioners and 20% are Internal Medicine.

41 States Medicaid programs were open for registration. Two additional States launched in January of 2012.

More than 1500 EHR products have been certified by ONC-ATCBs.

That’s a lot of EHR software. The actual number of EHR vendors is approx. 300. The number 1500 includes multiple versions of the same software, partial EHR certification for products like data warehouses, ePrescribing, etc. 

So what does this all mean? If you are an EP reading this and have not yet made up your mind to purchase and implement an EHR solution for your healthcare business, then ask some of your peers what their plans are. Odds are that your peers are already in the EHR game. The numbers don't lie!

The EHR Incentive Programs- Their Differences & More...Part II

I gave you information on the Medicare EHR incentive program in a blog post last week and now, here is the data regarding the Medicaid EHR incentive program:

The Medicaid EHR Incentive Program

The Medicaid EHR Incentive Program will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and CAHs as they adopt, implement, upgrade, or demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology in their first year of participation and demonstrate meaningful use for up to five remaining participation years. The Medicaid EHR Incentive Program is voluntarily offered by individual states and territories and may begin as early as 2011, depending on the state. Check with your State Medicaid agency for more information.

Eligible professionals can receive up to $63,750 over the six years that they choose to participate in the program.

There are no payment adjustments under the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program.

EPs- The Incentive Money is Indeed Flowing!

As a representative of SMARTMD and to benefit its existing and furture EHR clients, I am attending weekly, both in-person and online live CMS conferences regarding Meaningful Use, the EHR Incentive programs, 5010, ICD-10 and more topics of extreme importance to today's physician. The one thing that I can tell you is that the EHR incentive program dollars, both for Medicare and Medicaid EPs is indeed flowing. Below is the most recent data I just received from last week's meeting.  

CMS said they have provided $2.5 billion in meaningful use incentive payments as of December 2011.

As of December 2011:

-$1.38 billion had been paid out under the Medicare meaningful use incentive program

-$1.15 billion had been paid out under the Medicaid meaningful use incentive program.

The final payout totals could be higher because eligible professionals can wait until as late as February 2012 to attest to meaningful use for the 2011 calendar.

During the month of December 2011, the Medicare program distributed $464.7 million in incentive payments to 4,997 eligible health care providers and 193 eligible hospitals. States distributed $229.4 million in Medicaid incentive payments to 2,794 eligible health care providers and 230 eligible hospitals.

Adding to the above, 41 states have launched their Medicaid meaningful use programs in 2011, but only 33 have started distributing incentive payments. In January 2012, Colorado and Kansas launched Medicaid meaningful use programs, bringing the total number of states with programs in place to 43.

If your "on the fence" about your EHR purchase because your concerned about those EHR incentive dollars ever getting to you, well you shouldn't be.

Give one of our EHR sales specialists a call at toll-free (855) 762-7863 to explain how to receive your EHR incentive dollars with use of our EHR solution.

The EHR Incentive Programs- Their Differences & More...

The Medicare EHR Incentive Program

• The Medicare EHR Incentive Program will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and CAHs that demonstrate meaningful use of certified EHR technology.
  
  Participation can begin as early as 2011. Eligible professionals can receive up to $44,000 over five years under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program. There's an additional incentive for eligible professionals who provide services in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HSPA). To get the maximum incentive payment, Medicare eligible professionals must begin participation by 2012. Incentive payments for eligible hospitals and CAHs may begin as early as 2011 and are based on a number of factors, beginning with a $2 million base payment. Important! For 2015 and later, Medicare eligible professionals, eligible hospitals, and CAHs that do not successfully demonstrate meaningful use will have a payment adjustment in their Medicare reimbursement.

My next post will be about the Medicaid EHR incentive program.

If you have additional questions regarding te EHR Incentive Programs, you may speak with one of our EHR sales specialists by calling toll-free (855) 762-7863. You can also go online to www.SMARTMD.com and click on our EHR Stimulus page.

The Differences in Stage 1, 2 and 3- Keeping it Simple!

1. Stage 1: 2011-2012, Data capture and sharing

2. Stage 2: 2013, Advance clinical processes

3. Stage 3: 2015, Improved outcomes

Stage 1:  Meaningful use criteria focus on:	Stage 2: Meaningful use criteria focus on:	Stage 3:  Meaningful use criteria focus on:
Electronically capturing health information in a standardized format	More rigorous health information exchange (HIE)	Improving quality, safety, and efficiency, leading to improved health outcomes
Using that information to track key clinical conditions	Increased requirements for e-prescribing and incorporating lab results	Decision support for national high-priority conditions
Communicating that information for care coordination processes	Electronic transmission of patient care summaries across multiple settings	Patient access to self-management tools
Initiating the reporting of clinical quality measures and public health information	More patient-controlled data	Access to comprehensive patient data through patient-centered HIE
Using information to engage patients and their families in their care		Improving population health

Hope that was as simple as possible. For any additional information, go to www.SMARTMD.com and click on our EHR Stimulus Center Page. Or you can contact one of our EHR sales specialists, at toll-free (855) 762-7863

Patient Portals- The Future is Now!

With an increased emphasis on patient access to their own health data, electronic health system vendors are offering patient portals to their offerings.

Patient portals play an important role for electronic health records by enabling providers and patients to communicate with each other and at the same time, help providers meet Meaningful Use requirements.

They can also increase a provider's efficiency. Patient portals can collect patient family/social history and even history of present illness as well as monitor patient wellness on a periodic basis, thereby, practices save time documenting patient conditions and history.

If patient portal vendors are going to stay in the patient portal development business, they should consider making these changes:

• Recognize the importance of the patient as a key member of the care team, not just a recipient of information
• Offer forms and workflows that are easy to use and to customize
• Ensure that the portal is affordable for providers, thus the savings passed on to the patient
• Make sure that the patient data is portable so that providers can share it with other providers

Provide system upgrades to keep the portal up-to-date s technology advances, such as the increasing growth in mobile access

To see a demonstration of SMARTMD's EHR solution and its patient portal, go online to www.SMARTMD.com and see our EHR Solution pages. Or you may contact one of our EHR sales specialists at toll-free (855) 762-7863. 

 

ONCs Mostashari Offers List of Top 10 Health IT Developments in 2011

In a post on the "Health IT Buzz" blog, National Coordinator for Health IT Farzad Mostashari catalogs the 10 most noteworthy health IT developments of last year. I have condensed the list for our SMARTMD readers in this blog post. According to Mostashari, 2011's most notable health IT developments were:

1. The expansion of the electronic health record meaningful use program, in which the number of certified EHR products increased from 300 to more than 1,500 last year;
2. The launch of the Direct Project, a secure platform that facilitates the exchange of health data over the Internet;
3. HHS' National Quality Strategy, which includes health IT components to improve health care quality and reduce costs;
4. The launch of the Office of Standards and Interoperability's Summer of Standards, during which a consensus was reached for a single standard of transmitting patient care transitions data;
5. The cultivation of increased health IT innovation through initiatives such as the Investing in Innovation program, which encouraged development of health care applications;
6. The expansion of health IT workforce training programs that include 82 community colleges and nine universities;
7. HHS' Office for Civil Rights release of its first report to Congress on breaches of protected health information;
8. The launch of ONC's Consumer e-Health Program to encourage consumers to use IT tools to become engaged in their health;
9. Regional extension centers, which have enrolled more than 116,000 primary care providers to help them adopt and use EHRs; and
10. The growth in overall EHR adoption, with a CDC survey finding that the percentage of office-based physicians who adopted a basic EHR system increased to 34% last year from 17% in 2008

I'm hoping by end of this year when he writes this "end of year" highlights list, item number 10 says that the percentage of office-based physicians who adopted a basic EHR system increased from 34% to 100%.

If your still on the fence regarding an EHR, get movin and call some vendors like SMARTMD. Your peers are! 

 

 

Direct from HHS- Read Their Statement on Stage 2

Direct from Health and Human Services (HHS) is their statement regarding Stage 2 timeline changes... 

"The Department of Health and Human Services has moved the start date for Stage 2 of the electronic health records meaningful use program from 2013 to 2014".

Federal officials this summer had voiced support for a proposal to delay Stage 2 one year to 2014 for providers who attest to Stage 1 in 2011. The rationale was that Stage 1 pioneers who attest in 2011 should not be penalized by tight timeframes next summer for getting ready for Stage 2. Now, that proposal is adopted, and since providers who begin Stage 1 attestation in 2012 could wait until 2014 to start Stage 2, now everyone will start Stage 2 in 2014. Those providers who were early adopters in 2011, however, can get three years of Stage 1 incentive payments.

The following is a statement direct from HHS explaining the decision:

"Input from the vendor community and the provider community makes clear that the current schedule for compliance with stage 2 meaningful use objectives in 2013 poses a nearly insurmountable timing challenge for those who attest to meaningful use in 2011. With the anticipated release of the final rule for stage 2 in June, 2012, the current timetable would require EHR vendors to design, develop, and release new functionality, and for eligible hospitals to upgrade, implement and begin using the new functionality by the beginning of the reporting year in October of 2012. In response to significant input on this matter from multiple stakeholders, expert testimony, and countless hours of review, analysis and deliberation, our intention is to delay the start of Stage 2 of the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs for a period of one year for those first attesting to meaningful use in 2011. We intend to propose such a delay in the Stage 2 meaningful use Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), which is scheduled to be published in February 2012. Not only do we believe that this will give vendors added time to develop certified EHR technologies for Stage 2, we also believe this delay will give providers additional time to implement new software and meet the new challenges of Stage 2. We also intend to propose maintaining the current expectation for those first attesting to meaningful use in 2012, so that all providers attesting to meaningful use in 2011 or 2012 will begin Stage 2 in 2014. Perhaps most importantly, we want to provide an added incentive for providers attesting to meaningful use in 2011. We encourage any providers who have been waiting until 2012 to attest to Stage 1 meaningful use now. Under the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs, providers who attest early receive greater incentives. And now those providers who first attest in 2011 can get three payment years for meeting the Stage 1 expectations, while those first attesting in 2012 can only get two payment years under Stage 1 criteria."

In case your still a bit confused, contact one of our SMARTMD EHR sales specialists to answer any of your Stage 2 questions or concerns by dialing toll-free (855) 762-7863. 

Government Announces Changes to Timeline for Meaningful Use, Especially Stage 2

In November, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced policy changes designed to make it easier for health care providers and hospitals to qualify for meaningful use incentive payments. Under the 2009 federal economic stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of certified electronic health records can qualify for Medicaid and Medicare incentive payments.

Under current regulations, eligible health care providers that attest to Stage 1 of the Medicare EHR incentive program this year would need to meet Stage 2 requirements in 2013. However, health care providers who attest to Stage 1 in 2012 would not need to meet Stage 2 requirements until 2014, but they still would be eligible for the same total incentive payment amount.

To encourage greater participation in the meaningful use program, Sebelius said that health care providers who meet Stage 1 requirements this year would not need to meet the Stage 2 standards until 2014. According to Secretary Sebelius, "Doctors who act quickly can also qualify for incentive payments in 2011 as well as 2012".

HHS said it will launch outreach efforts to inform health care providers and health IT vendors about the policy changes. The agency said it will target outreach, education and training to eligible health care providers that have registered for the Medicare EHR incentive program but have not yet met the meaningful use requirements. 

SMARTMD also reported in a prior blog post about the CDC Survey on Health IT Adoption report issued in November 2011, about the same time as the Secretarys timeline change for meaingful use. The CDC report shows that the percentage of U.S. physicians who have adopted basic EHRs has doubled from 17% in 2008 to 34% in 2011. During the same time period, the percentage of primary care doctors using basic EHRs nearly doubled from 20% to 39%. The survey also found that 52% of office-based U.S. physicians now plan to participate in the meaningful use incentive program. 

If all goes according to the federal goverment, we should have a digital eco-system of patient, physicians and payers all talkin to each other sooner than we think. 

Here's a link to the HHS statement regarding the timeline changes to meaningful use:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2011pres/11/20111130a.html

To find out about SMARTMD's EHR solution and how it can help your practice attest successfully to meaningful use, call and speak to one of our EHR sales specialists by dialing toll-free (855) 762-7863.