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Showing posts with label roi. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roi. Show all posts

Friday, May 9, 2014

Health IT Potpouri

There is an overwhelming amount of information about HIT on the web, blogs, email newsletters and a Google search will turn up literally hundreds of resources.

For this week, May 8 2014 I have compiled this list of hot topics and links:
ROI -- whether the "I" stands for innovation or for investment -- will be among the many topics up for discussion at the National Healthcare Innovation Summit, which kicks off May 13 in Boston. The organizers promise "the kinds of innovations that people can take home and use tomorrow."

Among the healthcare developers workshopping better approaches to technology design at HxRefactored in Brooklyn next week will be Stephen Buck, who'll offer some "lessons learned" from looking closely at leading EHRs -- specifically, how not to design a user interface.

More than 370,000 Medicare and Medicaid eligible providers have earned an EHR incentive payment so far, with 64,000 new participants attesting to meaningful use for the 2013 reporting year.

The Defense Health Agency has put a foot forward with revamping its clinical information systems after it inked a bridged contract with a Reston, Va.-based technology and defense company.
The current landscape of data exchange networks is disjointed, with health care systems scrambling to uncover sustainable business models. The need for interoperability is greater than ever. What will the model look like in the future and what are organizations doing to move toward more valuable data exchange? Ashish Shah, Medicity’s CTO, and I recently discussed these industry drivers with Anthony Brino, editor of Government Health IT. Read the article HIE at a Crossroads.
Carolinas HealthCare System CareConnect got an early start on creating a robust network for data exchange. Take a look at this recent case study highlighting Medicity’s role in connecting the health care ecosystem to enable a 360-degree view of patients across the care continuum.


Posted: 06 May 2014 10:06 PM PDT
A while back — three months, to be exact — I asked readers if they had a preferred term to describe “the application of new, personalized technologies to healthcare.” I gave you the choice of digital health, connected health, wireless … Continue reading →
HIE among U.S. non-federal acute care hospitals has been trending upward since 2008, in fact, and it took some major leaps forward in 2013.
Posted: 05 May 2014 09:01 AM PDT
Understanding that physicians require more comprehensive, flexible clinical documentation solutions that reflect the fast-paced highly mobile health care environment, M*Modal today announced enhancements to its Fluency Flex™ Mobile dictation application for iOS 6.0+ devices. Moving beyond the capture of clinical notes during … Continue reading →
More than half of people with chronic conditions say the ability to get their electronic medical records online outweighs the potential privacy risks, according to a new survey by Accenture.
New guidelines issued by the Federation of State Medical Boards could have a chilling effect on the growth of telemedicine -- especially in rural areas and among low-income patients, say some patient advocates, healthcare providers and healthcare companies.
Some analysts are predicting the next "great wave" in EHR purchasing among U.S. hospitals to be just around the corner. But do the numbers really bear that out?
The hits keep on coming for the new EHR certification criteria, as the American Medical Association and Telecommunications Industry Association send their complaints to ONC on the heels of similar criticism submitted earlier by the EHR Association.
The “unconfirmed rumor of a huge acquisition” that HIStalk (a.k.a. the National Inquirer of health IT) tweeted about on Wednesday apparently is that IBM was going to acquire Epic Systems. Mr. HIStalk on Thursday expressed some reservations.   @DaLAWon Much … Continue reading →
The hits keep on coming for the new EHR certification criteria, as the American Medical Association and Telecommunications Industry Association send their complaints to ONC on the heels of similar criticism submitted earlier by the EHR Association.


Posted: 01 May 2014 10:51 AM PDT
Nextgov has a great article up which outlines many of the details of the soon to be bid out Healthcare Management Systems Modernization contract. I’d prefer to call it the DoD EHR Contract or AHLTA replacement contract. Certainly there’s more … Continue reading →
Explore Medical Practice Insider's guide to emerging apps and devices for the medical practic

If you want to learn more about ACO formation and Operational Issues: Attend
this event either in person, or as a webinar.
Press Release: Brookings/Dartmouth Fifth ACO Summit Announces New Keynote Speakers Sean Cavanaugh & Alice Rivlin

  • A Hybrid Conference and Internet Event
  • The Leading Forum on Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and Related Delivery System and Payment Reform
  • Sponsored by Engelberg Center for Health Reform at the Brookings Institution and Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice
  • June 18 - 20, 2014
  • Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill, Washington, DC
  • Online In Your Own Office or Home live via the Internet with 24/7 Access for Six Months
For Summit registration information, visit www.ACOSummit.com/registration.php, email registration@hcconferences.com, or call 800-503-3597.



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Saturday, February 22, 2014

HealthLeadersMedia: Search for ROI in EMR Patient Safety and Life and Death of Small Systems

HealthLeadersMedia , a publication produced as an online and print journal measures and reports on opinions of CEOs in hospital and group medical practices.  HCLDRs reports on ‘hot topics’ in the economics of the health systems.



ln the January/February 2014 edition several areas emerge as newsworthy.
Front page:
In Search of EHRs ROI
Life or Death of Small Systems
Patient Safety
Table of Contents
Addressing Physician Engagement
Post-acute Care and the Care Coninuum
The Uneasy Journey
Cost- Cutting and the Revenue Cycle
Analytics and Value
Tech Takles Medication Managment


A recent HealthLeaders conference when asked what the most pressing problems were for CEOs and CFOs, responded with the challenges of investing and cutting costs. Any investment of  capital will reduce operating expense, and must show a return of investment over a planned recapture period.


According to CEOs and CFOs the biggest  waste is electronic health records. Many, but not all state, the reasons given are multiple:
In Search of ROI in EHRs
“Rip it and Replace it”.  Installation of EHRs requires a total redesign of work flow, and not just pasting an EHR on present administration. In additon to the cost of the physical EHR and software significant time, and expense are added in  training and loss of efficiency in operations. Initial EHRs are often  not designed with this in mind.


The “hunt for ROI” is a challenge, at the start. Are the measures strictly financial or should they include other metrics, such as reduction in errors, quality of care, safety issues, workplace satisfaction, measurement of multiple metrics. The shift to EHR also creates a shift in worker skills, proficiency in typing,and computer skills as well as experience in  specific EHRs.  Not only are clinical skills and scientific prowess important but familiarity with multiple  software systems.become critical for the search by HR for suitable employees. This also extends the training period for new employees which has an indirect effect on the costs of  hiring new employees.
Scott Mace writes, “The key to ROI is to start with a baseline and ‘redesign your thought system and processes to leverage the value of electronic records, or any IT solution. There are lessons to be learned from other industries. (HBR “Don’t automate, Obliterate”) describes how Ford first implemented information systems.
Life or Death of Small Systems:
Perhaps the greatest indicators for this threat has been the rapidity of mergers and acquisitions.  Scaling upward seems to imply stability and a major advantage to market share and negotiating   power for hospitals and providers when dealing with insurers.  This will only increase as the PPACA effect grows.  For small systems the risks are inherently greater making strategic changes quickly.  For some doing nothing does not seem to be a viable option, however making a big change may mean nothing in the long run.   Large systems are no  longer giving lip service to the promise of reduced overhead and making a serious commitment to efficiency by integrating their hospitals into an operating company structure as opposed to the holding company structures of the recent past.
Community health systems require a unique approach to ACO and develop a creative approach, such as offering PCP services in physician drought areas.  Some even develop a presence close to mega-hospitals such as the Mayo Clinic.  (Ridgeview, in Minnesota).
Patient Safety
A decade ago young new graduates would enter the system and would loyally follow their senior mentors, diligently follow their lead and rarely second guess. Several things have ocurred to change the relationship.  There are now fewer opportunities to buy a senior physician’s practice, so there is less impetus to follow along passively.  
In some hospitals the tables have turned on the senior guard. A new world order is now leading upstart youngsters to teach their senior attendings and physician leaders a new paradigm.  These changes improve quality while reducing waste, inappropriate care, and the opportunity for medical error and  harm.  The new doctors say their strategies avoid millions in unnecessary spending, tens of thousands here and there adding up into millions of dollars.
The ‘new’ order leads one CEO who recites a quote attributed to Ghandi,


“There goes my people. I must follow them, for I am their leader”.
“The fact is they are ‘doing the right thing’, putting us on course to control utilization and cost. Basic routines are questioned, such as lab sets, use of IV antibiotics in lieu of effective oral antibiotics, and even such things as packaging gloves singly if only one glove is needed.”
The current edition of HealthLeaders dives into many other areas as well. It is a good reference for anyone in the hospital industry, and physician leaders as well.  Medical staff leaders will find this to be an excellent source when interfacing with the hospital “C”suite.




The insertion of the Accountable Care Organization into provider/hospital relations requires a team approach, and HealthLeadersMedia facilitates  this progress.
The ultimate goal is to improve the quality of patient care and insure wellness.


Readers can find the entire content of this edition at Health Leaders
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