PDR PharmEHR Summit 12 update 7

#pharmehr

EHRs and FDA Goals: Safety and Adherence

Keynote speaker: Janet Woodcock, MD, Director for Drug Evaluation and Research, FDA

Speaker Comments

No consistent way to track if patients are taking their meds.
30% lapse in taking medications after one year.
What are the outcomes?
Effectiveness (real world) vs efficacy (artifical environment)
Patients often do not which meds they are taking or the reasons for use
FDA: No consistent way to track the diagnoses associated the with the medicaion
Epidemic of opiod abuse

Uncertainity leads to lawsuits, medicaton recalls, less favorable outcomes

Essential factors needed;
Integration of relevant drug information into work flow
Ability to access additional information is one click away
Integraton of REMs (risk elimination and medication)
Up to date medication lists for patients and prescribers
Patient education information to use the medication safely and effectively: FDA mandated single page leaflet
Abilithy to link pharmacies and providers with patients in the center: PCMH; including hosptilal discharge medications
AKA Medication Reconciliation
Abillity of provider report adverses event easily
Standarize terms to faciliate secondary use of data

Safey surveillance
Currently using min-sentinal system from Harvard Pilgrim :over 125 million patients
Based on claims
Uses common data model: no central repository, distributed model
Standardized queries are then sent out, turn around within two days

OMAP

2 million lives
methods research
observational research still needs work

800,000 adverse events reported per year
500,000 serious and unexpected
no system in place for thorough analysis

Paperless medication labeling is a goal

Drug safety communicatons are standardized but often without specifics

All of the above require integration with EHRs

Hope to integrate research capability into EHRs
Research needs to be part of clinical practice
Most cancer patients are not given the option to participate in research

Working with ONC

Gaps
Only 50% of practices have EHRs
Some EHRs are just electronic paper charts
Care is not consistently patient centered
Patient annotation of medication of experience is not yet available

Needs
A quick reponse for diseminating adverse events information
Better understanding and communication with patients regarding adherence
Better understaning of off-label use
Faster migration of medications to OTC
Better EHR adoption
Better EHR documentation of the medication use process

If you attended, please share your comments here. SV



http://www.pdrnetwork.com/index.html

PDR PharmEHR Summit 12 update 6

#pharmehr

Reps and EHRs: Synergies Now and into the future

Moderator: Rich Altus, President
Gregg Viscuso, Senior Executive Sales Professional, Glaxosmithkline
AJ Higgins MD

Key note speaker: Deidre Connelly, President, North America Pharmaceuticals, Glaxosmithkline, comments

Only 50% receive treatment based on evidence based guidelines
By 2014, 65% of physicians will be in group practices
Moving from multiple reps to a single person representing a portfolio of products
Change in rep reimbursement: service is weighed greater than sales

Still sees a role of rep in addition to information delivered via EHRs: cancer, respiratory disease

If you attended, please share your comments here. SV


PDR Network

PDR PharmEHR Summit 12 update 5

#pharmehr

EHR Patient Connectivity

Ed Fotch MD, Moderator
Jodi Daniel JD, MPH, Director, ONC
Stephen Malik

Stephen Malik, President and General Manager of Intuit Health

DIspels myth of which demographics are using online access
Patients are using almost all the features: appts, medication refills, etc
Reviewed criteria for using a portal: trustworhthy, convenient, intuitive, supported
Reviewed busines outcomes
Reviewed practice benefits
Future trends: consolidation, mobility, MU 2

Jodi Daniel JD, MPH, Director, ONC

Notes the tide is shifting: from provider to consumer centered care
AMA code of ethics 1847 compared to today: passive vs active

Consumer engadgement improves health improvemen: patiens greatest untapped resource, leads to better care
Reviewed how HIT supports this
Showed how patients are using technology: moving story about ePatient Dave: cancer survivor
20% of patients are using mobile technology to manage health
80% use the Internet
66% of consumers would consider switching to a provider that offers online access to records

What is ONC doing? Promoting and supporting: access, action, attitude
Launch of consumer eHealth program
Access: promoting Blue Button and Direct Project, RECs,
Acton: PHRs etc
Attitudes: consumer video challenge, telling their own stories

Future goals: looking at social media, gaming

Role of providers in consumer engagement

If you attended, please share your comments here. SV


PDR Network

PDR PharmEHR Summit 12 update 4

#pharmehr

Adverse Event Reporting, Panel Discussion

Dr Steven Merahn, CMO, PDR Moderator comments

The real safety of drugs is made known after it has been distributed to a large population
Reviewed resons for underreporting by clinicians
Imbeding RxEvent reporting within the EHR and the physican workflow

Evan Grossman, AthenaHealth
Brian O'Neil, Office Allie
Chuck Frederick, Rph, eMDs

Evan Grossman, AthenaHealth

Reviewed patient safety issues: prevention, incident response, feedback, industry relations
Reviewed softrware adverse event severity ratings; 1a to 3c

Brian O'Neil, Office Allie

Offers EHR, PMS, EDI solutions: EHR $30 per month
Messaging improved HEDIS results: goal is to go to MCOs to increase physician reimbursement
Offers integration with home monitoring device
Offers reimbursed evisits with some health plans

Chuck Frederick, Rph, eMDs

Integrated EHR/PMS, physician owned and operated
Reviewed internal EHR patient ssfety monitoring
Feels that beter use of EHRs will reduce severe adverse events by better identifying populations at greater risk
Will be working with RxEvent Reporting

Great suggestion: have adverse drug event reporting count towards Meaningful Use 2

If you attended, please share your comments here. SV



PDR Network

PDR PharmEHR Summit 12 update 3

#pharmehr

George Soares of Cerner

Explored the ability of EHRs to faciliate more clinicians to partidipate in clinical trials.
Discussed post-marketing safety reporting

PDR Network

PDR PharmEHR Summit 12 update 2

#pharmehr

Dan Pucci, of Allscript is making some great points:

Deming's Law: invest a little more up front to reduce costs at the backend
Open Systems: permitting third party apps to "plugin" ,ie glucometer results
Evidence-Based Recommendations at the point of care: generated on by the EHR review of the next day's patients

PDR Network

PDR PharmEHR Summit 12 update 1

Great speakers yesterday, more to come today including Janet Woodcock, MD Director, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research FDA.
Currently listiening to Aidan Farrell discussing secondary uses of data collected from EHRs ie. Pharma/Bio research.
Bio/Pharma sponsorship opportunities: script info, patient ed, ecoupons, provider surveys, diagnosis support tools (eg care management programs), adherence programs

Dr Ed Fotch, CEO, PDR Network moderator

AMA offers guide to new payment models

As ACOs become more of a reality for many of us, it is important to learn about the variety of reimbursement models that are available. SV


The toolkit includes an explanation of pay-for-performance programs, shared savings and risk adjustment.


The tool kit is a collection of articles titled "Evaluating and Negotiating Emerging Payment Options," which is free to all physicians online

FDA Goals: EHRs and Drug Safety Video

This video succinctly reviews the value of EHRs in promoting the FDA goals. SV

Brief (3 Minute) video comments by Dr. Janet Woodcock, Director of FDA CDER at recent HIMSS meeting: FDA Goals: EHRs and Drug Safety

Video Link

CMS Stage 2 MU Webinar Slide Deck

These slides do an excellent job of explaining where we have been and will be going. SV

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) held a Webinar providing an in-depth review of the meaningful use Stage 2 proposed rule. The presentation gives a comprehensive review of the proposed changes from Stage 1 to Stage 2, reviews the high-level goals of the Incentive Program, discusses the incentive payments and payment adjustments, and also reviews the appeals process. Finally, a detailed walk-through of the registration and attestation processes are provided.



CMS MU Slides

Smartphones owned by almost 50% of American Adults


The Point of Care will soon be the whole world! sv

According to a study by PEW Research:

46% of American adults now own a smartphone of some kind, up from 35% in May 2011; Smartphone owners now outnumber users of more basic phones

http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Smartphone-Update-2012/Findings.aspx

Age of Primary Care has arrived: enhanced reimbursement announcements

I guess this what happens when Geeks and Primaries are working together.
HIT and PCMH have generated the evidence for enhanced reimbursement. sv

Here are the announcements from Aetna, Anthem and United.

Aetna (CT/NJ):

Primary care providers who participate in Aetna’s networks, who have been recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA)* as a PCMH, and who are not participating in other quality incentive programs with Aetna will receive a quarterly Coordination of Care payment for each commercial (non-Medicare) Aetna member in their care. The NCQA-recognized PCMH practices are recognized for providing a number of services, including:

Improved access to care, such as the ability to reach health professionals outside normal business hours;
Proactive and planned preventive care (screenings, physicals, labs);
Improved access through non-face-to-face visits (e-mail, web, phone); and
Access to nurses and other health care professionals, allowing more focused physician visits.

According to the Wall Street Journal, the reimbursement could be an extra $2-$3 per patient per month.

Anthem (NY):

The new program will also incorporate best practices from Empire’s successful medical home pilot, and build on the demonstrated value of those programs. For instance, one of our New York pilots have shown an 12-23% decrease in acute inpatient admissions and an 11-17% decrease in total ER visits for the pilot population, while improving compliance with evidence‐based treatment and preventative care guidelines.

Through Empire’s new patient-centered primary care program, participating physicians will be able to earn additional revenue in the following ways:
General increase to the regular fees paid to physician practices for specific services.
Payment for “non‐visit” services currently not reimbursed, with an initial focus on compensation for preparing care plans for patients with multiple and complex conditions.
Opportunity for shared saving payments for quality outcomes and reduced medical costs.

To participate in the shared savings, physician practices must meet plan quality requirements, which include, for example, quality standards established by organizations such as the National Committee on Quality Assurance, the American Diabetes Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and others. Those primary care physicians, however, who maintain or improve quality may earn 30 percent to 50 percent more than they earn today through the shared savings model. Over time, Empire estimates the program could substantially improve quality and member health, potentially reducing trend in overall medical costs by as much as 20% by 2015.

HIMSS12 Update: New York Successes

Another great HIMSS conference is drawing to a close. Record registrations and membership.
Many useful educational sessions and diverse vendors. And of course there was Farzad's, our leader on the road that has not been fully mapped but promises a better future for the delivery of healthcare.
Tonite NYC DOH PCIP and Hudson River Healthcare will be honored at the awards dinner while our own Dr Holly Hunter services as HIMSS Board Vice-Chair.
Let's hear it for New York!!!

CMS proposes definition of stage 2 Meaningful Use


Some take home points:

1) Stage 1 extended to 2014, gives the vendors more time to bake in the functionality and reporting features

2) More sub-specialty options available

sv

CMS FACT SHEET

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                           Contact: CMS Media Relations Group
February 24, 2012                                                                                                              (202) 690-6145

CMS PROPOSES DEFINITION OF STAGE 2 MEANINGFUL USE OF CERTIFIED ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS (EHR) TECHNOLOGY The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced a proposed rule for Stage 2 requirements for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs. Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, part of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, eligible health care professionals (EPs), eligible hospitals and Critical Access Hospitals can qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments when they adopt certified EHR technology and use it to demonstrate "meaningful use" of that technology by achieving objectives set by CMS.

The fact sheet summarizes CMS' proposed requirements for Stage 2 of the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs and highlights:

*        Changes to Stage 1 Criteria for Meaningful Use

*        Greater Applicability to Specialists

*        Stage 2 Reporting of Clinical Quality Measures

*        Payment Adjustments and Exceptions

*        Extension of Stage 1

In this proposed rule, CMS proposes several changes to existing Stage 1 criteria for meaningful use. Some of these changes would be optional for use by providers in Stage 1 but would be required for use in Stage 2. Other changes would not take effect until providers have to meet the Stage 2 criteria.
CMS' proposed rule may be viewed here: http://www.ofr.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2012-04443_PI.pdf
Additional information on the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs can be found at  http://www.cms.hhs.gov/EHRincentiveprograms.
Click here to read the entire CMS Fact Sheet issued today (2/23): http://www.cms.gov/apps/media/press/factsheet.asp?Counter=4286
# # #

Rite Aid and OptumHealth Introduce NowClinicSM Online Care Services in Detroit

Virtual visits continue to evolve. Please let us know if you would use this type of service in your practice. sv

NowClinic services are supported through a technology platform provided by American WellTM, (www.americanwell.com) the industry leader in telehealth solutions.

OptumHealth is part of Optum, a leading information and technology-enabled health services company dedicated to making the health system work better for everyone. OptumHealth is a leader in population health management, helping 60 million Americans navigate the health care system, finance their health care needs and achieve their health and well-being goals. OptumHealth supports the physical, mental and financial health of individuals with solutions offered through employers, health plans, public sector programs and health care providers. Visit www.optum.com or www.optumhealth.com for more information. For more information about NowClinic, visit www.myNowClinic.com.

HIMSS 2012 Begins today. Helpful links

Remember what happens in Vegas, should not, should not stay in Vegas!

Attend the presentations, make your network connections and then bring them back home and share as much as possible. This is a rare opportunity to meet such a diverse group of people, companies and institutions.

Please post your comments about the event here. sv

HIMSS 2012 is mobile

Twitter Cheat Sheet, track the Tweets!

HIMSS 2012 News

HIMSS 2012

Arkansas, Delaware, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota Launched Their Medicaid EHR Programs November 2011

On November 7th, the Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program launched in Arkansas, Delaware, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota. This means that eligible professionals (EPs) and eligible hospitals in these six states will be able to complete their incentive program registration. More information about the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program can be found on the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Basics page of the CMS EHR website.

If you are a resident of Arkansas, Delaware, Montana, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, and are eligible to participate in the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, visit your State Medicaid Agency website for more information on your state's participation in the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program. Click on a State below to access its website.

Arkansas
Delaware
Montana
New Jersey
New York
North Dakota

As of November 7th, 39 states have launched Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs and through October, 23 states have issued incentive payments to Medicaid EPs and eligible hospitals who have adopted, implemented, or upgraded certified EHR technology. CMS looks forward to announcing the launches of additional states' programs in the coming months.

For a complete list of states that have already begun participation in the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program, see the Medicaid State Information page on the CMS EHR website.

NYAM Author Night Series - Medical Informatics: An Executive Primer, 2nd Edition

Sponsors: New York Academy of Medicine, maxIT, HIMSS NYS, Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, & Columbia's Center for Advanced Information Management

Date: Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Time: 5:30PM: Check-in and Refreshments, 6:00-7:00PM: Presentation, 7:00-7:30 PM Networking

Location: The New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street, New York, NY 10029

Speakers:

Moderator: Ken Ong, MD, MPH, CMIO of New York Hospital Queens

Panelists:
Abha Agrawal, MD, FACP, Medical Director of Kings County Hospital Center in Brooklyn, NY

Rachel Block, Deputy Commissioner for Health Information Technology Transformation in the New York State Department of Health

Curtis Cole, MD, Chief Information Officer for Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City

Deborah Johnson-Ingram, Senior Program Manager on the Performance Improvement Team with Primary Care Development Corporation (PCDC) in New York City

Joseph Kannry, MD, Lead Technical Informaticist on the EMR Clinical Transformation Group at Mount Sinai

Glenn Martin, MD, Director of Medical Informatics for the Queens Health Network (QHN) in New York, a winner of the Nicholas E. Davies Award of Excellence

Jason Shapiro, MD, MA, Associate Professor and Chief of the Division of Informatics in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Mount Sinai

Mytri Pritam Singh, MPH, Executive Director of Implementation at the Primary Care Information Project (PCIP), a Bureau within the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (NYC DOHMH)

Alan Silver, MD, MPH, Medical Director at IPRO, a non-profit healthcare assessment and quality improvement company

Salvatore Volpe, MD, FAAP, FACP, CHCQM, Physician Liaison and Clinical Champion for the NYC DOH Primary Care Information Project and NYC REACH (Regional Extension Center)

Additional Information

Registration Information
Cost: Free, but advance registration required

Register now

Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs One Year Milestone

Like a train, it may have been slow to start; but now it is gaining momentum.
This is the last year to get the full Medicare Incentive Payment, so call your local RECs and AMA to get help with choosing, implementing and using EHRs. SV

January 3rd Marked the One Year Milestone for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs
January 3rd was the one year anniversary of the start of registration for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Programs. Over the past year, there has been a tremendous amount of interest in the incentive programs as providers across the country have implemented EHRs. Year one highlights include:

43 states have started their Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs
Over 176,000 people have registered for the Medicare and/or Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs
Over $2.5 billion has been paid in incentive payments to eligible professionals (EPs) and eligible hospitals and critical access hospitals (CAHs) across the country

RECs List

AMA

The Medicare EHR Incentive Program: Last day to attest for 2011 (Calendar Year)

February 29, 2012 is the last day for eligible professionals to register and attest to receive an Incentive Payment for calendar year (CY) 2011.


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 began in 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 receive full Medicare benefits, you will need to be using your EHR in a meaningful manner by October 1, 2012.

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.

Please contact your State Medical Societies, Specialty Medical Societies, the AMA and your local Regional Extension Centers for details.

AMA

Regional Extension List

2012 PharmEHR Summit March 20 & 21, Philadelphia

Delivering Bio/Pharmaceutical Marketing and Regulatory Results Using Electronic Health Records (EHRs):
Messages to Physicians at the Point of Prescribing and Care

Philadelphia Hyatt at the Bellevue, March 20-21, 2012

For more information, please contact PDR Network representative Thomas Eck at (201) 358-7424 or via email at thomas.eck@pdr.net.

This exclusive, invitation-only event will feature industry-leading speakers from Bio/Pharma; the federal government, including Janet Woodcock, MD, Director, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, FDA; and EHR vendor firms, including Glen Tullman, CEO of Allscripts, the country’s largest EHR vendor.

Industry leaders will discuss, demonstrate and design practical means to deliver drug safety, risk management, patient support, marketing services and regulatory messages within physician workflow via EHRs. Key areas of discussion will include:
• EHR adoption and the powerful impact on physician decision-making: “The New MD Desktop”
• Regulatory and brand message integration into the new physician workflow
• Improving prescription fulfillment and medication adherence


About the PharmEHR® Summit

Tuesday, March 20
11:00 AM
Arrivals & Lunch

12:00 PM
Welcome and 2011 EHR Look-back

12:30 PM
EHRs: What, Why and Where
EHR Adoption, Drivers and Impact

1:30 PM
Impact of EHRs on the Medical-Legal- Regulatory Framework and the ‘Duty-to-Warn’ Landscape

2:15 PM
Break (15 minutes)

2:30 PM
ePrescribing Adoption, Formulary Compliance

3:15 PM
Integrating EHRs into the Product Marketing Lifecycle

4:15 PM
EHRs – Payer's Perspective

5:00 PM
Break

5:30 PM
Top 100 Wine Tasting

7:00 PM
Dinner Key Note: EHRs - Now and the Near Future
• Glen Tullman, CEO, Allscripts

Wednesday, March 21
7:00 AM
Breakfast

7:45 AM
Welcome & Agenda

8:00 AM
What EHRs Currently Offer Pharma

9:00 AM
What Pharma Wants from EHRs and Their Users

10:00 AM
Break (15 minutes)

10:15 AM
EHRs and Adverse Drug Event Reporting and Follow-up

11:00 AM
EHR Patient Connectivity: Driving Medication Adherence and Safety

12:00 PM
Lunch

1:00 PM
Day Two Key Note: EHRs and FDA Goals: Safety and Adherence
• Janet Woodcock, MD, Director, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, FDA

1:45 PM
Bringing REMS and Adherence to Life with EHRs

2:30 PM
Closing Remarks/Meeting Adjourns

PDR Network recognized early the significant impact of EHR adoption on the bio/pharmaceutical industry. In addition to leading in the integration of drug-related services into EHRs, PDR Network founded the PharmEHR® Summit – the only national meeting of senior executives from bio/pharma and EHRs. Each year, this invitation-only meeting explores emerging strategies for bio/pharmaceutical marketing, regulatory and other core business objectives.

In hosting the annual PharmEHR® Summit, PDR Network reinforces its commitment as a strategic leader and trusted partner within the healthcare community.

PDR Network

EHRs: The New Drug Safety, Liability and Efficacy Battleground at HIMSS12

This a great topic with two great presenters. sv

Tuesday, February 21, 12:15 PM - 1:15 PM

Description:
The rapid adoption of EHRs by U.S. providers creates a new and powerful platform to improve patient safety, professional liability protection, drug efficacy and regulatory compliance.

Speaker Information:
Edward Fotsch, MD
Chief Executive Officer, PDR Network

David Troxel, MD
Medical Director, The Doctors Company

Level:
Intermediate

Objectives:
•Discuss how changes to provider workflow from EHR adoption create opportunities to deliver drug safety, regulatory and support services at the point of care
•Identify how FDA-drug information delivered via EHRs can improve patient safety and decrease professional liability
•Analyze how drug support services integrated into EHRs can improve drug efficacy and reduce drug costs for patients
•Explain how Adverse Drug Event reporting integrated into EHRs enhances provider convenience, resulting in improved event report quality and quantity, and thereby advancing drug safety
•Recognize the current status and likely future of adverse EHR event reporting, including the FDA's position related to EHR monitoring and regulations

Location:
Venetian Sands Expo Convention Center

Room:
Marco Polo 803

HIMSS12

US Innovation Summit 2012

Obama Administration officials, health care leaders join together at Innovation Summit

Summit builds on Affordable Care Act, highlights private, public innovations to improve health care quality and lower costs



Obama Administration officials and a breadth of representatives from across the health care system will meet in Washington today for a day-long meeting to explore how they can collaborate and improve the quality of health care while at the same time lowering costs.



The Obama Administration also released a new report today highlighting the success of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. Created by the Affordable Care Act, the Innovation Center has already worked to test and support innovative new health care models that can reduce costs and strengthen the quality of health care.



The summit will showcase nearly half a dozen announcements of major new initiatives by leading health care organizations. Among these announcements are new “challenges” to reverse the trend of diabetes, advance the field of Alzheimer’s prevention and treatment, and bolster the battle against HIV/AIDS.



To read the entire HHS Press release issued today (1/26) click here: http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2012pres/01/20120126a.html



For more information, visit http://www.innovation.cms.gov/summit/.



Year in Review is posted here: http://innovations.cms.gov/documents/pdf/CMMIreport_508.pdf



Although registration to attend the event in person is now closed, the Care Innovations Summit will be broadcast online in its entirety. Tune into http://hcidc.org throughout the day on Thursday to watch. You may also join the twitter conversation by following the hashtag #cisummit.

New Functions of the CMS EHR Information Center

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has made changes to its electronic health record (EHR) Information Center Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system, based on user feedback. The changes are intended to allow easier and more efficient access to information about the EHR Incentive Program for eligible hospitals, eligible professionals, and critical access hospitals. See the instructions for calling the EHR Information Center, below:



1. To contact the IVR, dial 1-888-734-6433 (primary number) or 888-734-6563 (TTY number).

2. Take advantage of the new options from the main menu by doing the following:

Press 1 for Hot Topics
For information on when registration begins, press 1.
For information on attestation, press 2.
For information on being a dually-eligible hospital, press 3.
For information on registration tips, press 4.
For information on payment time frames, press 5.
For information on important upcoming dates, press 6.
For information on the clinical quality measures (CQM) eReporting pilot, press 7.
For information on HPSA payments, press 8.
Press 2 for Information on NPPES and PECOS password resets
For EPs needing NPPES/PECOS password resets, press 1.
For eligible hospitals needing PECOS password resets, press 2.

Press 0 to speak with an information specialist.
For registration questions, press 1.
For all other questions, press 2.
Press # to repeat the menu
To listen to your available menu options, press #.

EHR Information Center Hours of Operation:
7:30 a.m. – 6:30 p.m. (Central Time) Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.
(General information is available on the IVR 24 hours a day, except during planned system maintenance.)

The HIMSS12 Preview Edition is Now Available Online!

The HIMSS12 Agenda has a plethora of thought-leading and engaging events surrounding health IT. Go beyond the agenda and discover the value of HIMSS12 offerings in the articles of the HIMSS12 Preview Edition.

Download/View .pdf

In this preview, learn about the education programs, from pre-conference workshops and symposia to specialty programs and 300-plus education sessions focused on the industry’s hottest topics: Meaningful Use, ICD-10, mobile health, connecting with consumers, business intelligence, interoperability and more. Also, get the latest details on the world's largest and most respected 1,100-plus company exhibition.

While you are planning your HIMSS12 navigation, be sure to engage and connect with other HIMSS12 attendees by RSVPing to the official event page on LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/rt6ufB
What events, programs, or social engagements are you looking forward to most?

We look forward to seeing you in Vegas!

AMA Releases Health IT Tutorials for Physician Practices

The AMA released three online educational tutorials today to help physician practices better implement health information technology (health IT).

This series of short video tutorials feature downloadable tools and best practices about health IT for physician practices. The tutorials will provide physicians with guidance on how they might better use health IT in their practices. The three tutorials cover ePrescribing, pre-visit planning and point-of-care documentation. The first tutorial explains the value of ePrescribing and the quality, safety, and efficiency of ePrescribing compared to handwritten prescriptions.


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.


To view the tutorials, visit www.ama-cmeonline.com/health_it_workflow.
These activities have been certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit TM

AMA

HIMSS eNurse Mentoring Program

Once again, HIMSS, is leading the way for sharing HIT guidance. SV

Welcome to the eNurse Mentoring Program, developed in collaboration between HIMSS Career Services and HIMSS Nursing Informatics. This program will give our members the opportunity to become connected to nationally recognized leaders in nursing. If you have a question you would like to ask our mentors pertaining to career growth and advancement and looking for possible insights into processes and thoughts not otherwise found in the health IT arena please submit your question to: hfigge@himss.org. A new question will be posted monthly.

By creating this eNurse Mentoring Program, HIMSS Professional Development Career Services strives to strengthen our members' abilities to connect to industry leaders focusing on nursing leadership, healthcare IT and management systems for HIMSS members at various stages of their health IT careers.

NYS Designated Phase I Medicaid Health Homes

On November 1, 2011, the NYSDOH received 61 Health Home applications to serve the ten counties in Phase 1. All applications were reviewed by a broad multidisciplinary team representing many perspectives including the NYS Department of Health's Offices of Health Insurance Programs, Health Information Technology and the AIDS Institute; the NYS Office of Mental Health; the NYS Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services; and the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Twenty-one applicants are being conditionally approved as Phase 1 Medicaid Health Homes. The contingent approved Health Homes are by region:

Bronx

Montefiore Medical Center (establishing the Bronx Accountable Healthcare Network) with Acacia Network; Albert Einstein College of Medicine; Morris Heights Health Center; St. Barnabas Hospital; & Union Community Health Center

NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation + MetroPlus Health Plan

Visiting Nurse Service of New York Home Care + Institute for Family Health; Argus Community; Help PSI Inc.; Urban Health Plan, Inc.; & Community Healthcare Network

Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center + CBC/FEGS Health and Human Services System, Inc., IHealth/Help PSI Inc.; Bronxworks; Allmed Medical Centers; Corinthian IPA, Essen Medical.

Brooklyn

Maimonides Medical Center + Lutheran Medical Center; Institute for Community Living; FEGS Health and Human Services System, Inc.; Visiting Nurse Service of New York; First to Care Home Care; Jewish Board of Family and Children Services; Promoting Specialized Care and Health; Center for Urban and Community Services

NYC Health and Hospitals Corporation + MetroPlus Health Plan

Community Health Care Network

Institute for Community Living + Coordinated Behavioral Care, Inc.

Long Island /Nassau

North Shore - Long Island Jewish Health System + LI Federally Qualified Health Center (LIFQHC) and Nassau University Medical Center (NuHealth)

FEGS Health and Human Services System, Inc. + Nassau County Mental Health, Chemical Dependency and Developmental Disabilities Services
Schenectady

Visiting Nurse Service of Schenectady County, Inc. + Ellis Hospital; Hometown Health Center; Capital District Physicians Health Plan

Northern Region (Clinton, Essex, Fhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifranklin, Hamilton, Warren, Washington cos.)

Adirondack Health Institute, Inc. + Hudson Headwaters Health Network; Community Partners, Inc.; & Adirondack Health

Glens Falls Hospital + Capital District Physicians Health Plan

View the full list of network partners by region and/or county.

Disruptive Technology Leadership: From EHRs to iPads

Kristopher P. Kusche, M.Eng., CISSP, CPHIMS, FHIMSS
Vice President, Information Services - Technology Management
Albany Medical Center

Friday, December 9th, 1:00 - 2:00 PM Eastern / 12:00 - 1:00 PM Central

A review for IT executives of the adoption of disruptive technologies, measuring the impacts of such adoption, and an experience-based methodology of managing the process:
• Understanding disruptive technologies and the drivers of need/desire;
• Measure the benefits and challenges of adopting disruptive technologies;
• Identify management strategies around adopting disruptive technologies; and
• Review disruptive technologies on the HIT horizon.



Registration Link

CDPHP adds additional funding to help Specialists adopt EHRs

Insurer's Dollars Push Specialists onto EHR Highway

N.Y. health insurer adds $1 million to the pot to help specialists implement electronic health records, qualify for Meaningful Use, and use health information exchange

November 25, 2011

Information Week

By Nicole Lewis



http://informationweek.com/news/healthcare/interoperability/232200150



Brief:

Article reports that a health insurance provider, Capital District Physicians Health Plan, is providing $1 million to help 800 specialists within its network to implement health IT. Article mentions that the funding will go to pay for consultation services to help specialists select EHRs, attest to Meaningful Use, and connect to an HIE. Article includes comments from Dr. Bruce Nash, senior VP of medical affairs and CMO at CDPHP, who says that this funding is necessary because specialists are a critical piece to making an HIE work by connecting them to primary care providers.

New York State Medicaid EHR Incentive Program


Information about the program can be found at www.emedny.org


The NY Medicaid EHR Incentive Program Support Team can be reached at hit@health.state.ny.us, or 800-278-3960. The MEIPASS HelpDesk can be reached at 877-646-5410.

The Second Annual PharmEHR Summit March 2012

SAVE THE DATE

PDR Network Presents

The Second Annual
PharmEHR Summit
March 20-21, 2012
Philadelphia Hyatt at the Bellevue

This exclusive, invitation-only event will bring together senior executives from the bio/pharmaceutical industry, the FDA and EHRs to discuss, demonstrate and design practical means to deliver drug safety, risk management, patient support, marketing services and regulatory messages within physician workflow via EHRs. Key areas of discussion will include:

EHR adoption and the powerful impact on physician decision-making: “The New MD Desktop”
Regulatory and brand message integration into the new physician workflow
Improving prescription fulfillment and medication adherence using EHRs

Additional information, including a detailed agenda and registration information will be provided in the coming weeks. For more, please contact PDR Network representative Thomas Eck at (201) 358-7424 or via email at thomas.eck@pdr.net.

This event is brought to you by PDR Network – the trusted leader in physician communication for more than 65 years.

HIMSS HIT Body of Knowledge


Check out this new service at HIMSS.

Happy Thanksgiving.sv

The HIMSS Health IT Body of Knowledge provides a rich and organized compilation of content that introduces the reader to essential definitions, descriptions and discussions of key topic areas related to health information systems and management. If you are new to healthcare and/or new to healthcare IT, this site will provide information on the basics that you need to know to become grounded in the field and to succeed. The reader will find this resource useful in gaining knowledge about a specific topic related to health IT or to gain a more complete knowledge of health information systems and management. The Health IT Body of Knowledge is focused less on the technical aspects of the subject matter and more on the management of systems and information.


HIMSS

AHRQ EHR Guide to Reducing Unintended Consequences

Thank you RAND Corporation and AHRQ. sv

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has recently published an online Guide to Reducing Unintended Consequences of Electronic Health Records. This resource is designed to help physicians and organizations anticipate, avoid, and address problems that can occur when implementing and using an EHR.

The Guide is based on published literature and guidelines, research by the authors and interviews with organizations that have implemented EHRs. It represents a compilation of best practices. However, the authors caution that “[T]his area of research is still in its infancy.”

The RAND Corporation prepared the Guide for AHRQ under contract HHSA290200600017I, Task Order #5. The authors of the Guide are Spencer S. Jones, Ross Koppel, M. Susan Ridgely, Ted E. Palen, Shinyi Wu, and Michael I. Harrison.

For more information on the AHRQ or the AHRQ Guide, please visit www.AHRQ.gov.

AHRQ: How to evaluate PCMH evidence of value

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and Mathematica Policy Research are pleased to announce the release of a decision maker brief and white paper on building the evidence base for the medical home. In these new resources, we discuss how to improve the quality of the PCMH evidence and evaluations to ensure that the best policy decisions are made.

The decision maker brief offers a concise description of why and how to commission effective evaluations of medical home demonstrations. It captures some of the lessons we’ve learned while reviewing the current evidence on the PCHM including thoughts on what outcomes to assess, why to include control practices, and why not accounting for clustering can doom an evaluation.

The white paper provides practical information for researchers, implementers, evaluators, and those who fund them about how to determine the effect sizes a given study can expect to detect, identifies the number of patients and practices required to detect policy-relevant, achievable effects, and demonstrates how evaluators can select the outcomes and types of patients included in analyses to improve a study’s ability to detect true effects.

You can access the brief and white paper by clicking on the following links:


Power brief (Improving Evaluations of the Medical Home)

Power paper (Building the Evidence Base for the Medical Home: What Sample and Sample Size Do Studies Need?)


To learn more about what AHRQ has been up to, please visit: pcmh.ahrq.gov.

Surescripts Announces that Majority of Doctors in U.S. Now Use E-Prescribing

Good news, but we still have a way to go. sv


Surescripts

ARLINGTON, Va. - Nov. 9, 2011 - Surescripts today announced that over 52 percent of office-based doctors now use e-prescribing. The announcement was made over Twitter as part of a nationwide online event featuring healthcare leaders and providers from across the U.S. who gathered to celebrate the sixth annual Safe-Rx Awards, given each year to the top 10 states based on e-prescribing use. To view and participate in the post-event discussion, go to www.surescripts.com/safe-rx where visitors can also find adoption and use statistics for all states and share in the experiences of the individuals and organizations driving the use of e-prescribing across the nation.

"Congratulations to this year's Safe-Rx Award winners and to all the states for taking action to improve one of the most fundamental parts of our nation's health care system," said Harry Totonis, president and CEO of Surescripts. "In three short years, the nation has moved from less than 10 percent to more than 50 percent of physicians e-prescribing. This represents one of the most significant milestones achieved to date in the nationwide effort to adopt and achieve meaningful use of health information technology."

By replacing a pen and paper prescription pad with a more accurate, reliable and secure electronic prescription and by allowing prescribers to access critical information regarding their patients' medications and health plan coverage, e-prescribing saves lives, time and money, and improves the quality of care.

Surescripts reported the following statistics, tracking the growth of e-prescribing nationwide:

•52 percent (291,000) of all office-based physicians now actively use e-prescribing compared with fewer than 10 percent three years ago
•There are 357,000 active prescribers on the Surescripts network (including office-based physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants)
•94 percent of retail pharmacies nationwide are now connected and receiving e-prescriptions

Top 10 States With Highest Rates of E-Prescribing
1. Massachusetts
2. Delaware
3. Michigan
4. Connecticut
5. Rhode Island
6. Pennsylvania
7. South Dakota*
8. Iowa*
9. Oregon*
10. North Carolina*
*New to the top 10

Empire BlueCross BlueShield Announces Ground-Breaking Contract Agreement with NYU Langone Medical Center Based on Payment for Value

Empire Blue

Electronic Health Records Association to Collaborate with iHealth Alliance on Patient Safety Initiatives and EHRevent

This must be the week for EHR Safety Initiatives! SV

CHICAGO (November 7, 2011) – The Electronic Health Records (EHR) Association and the iHealth Alliance (iHA) announced today that they will work collaboratively to support efforts to develop practical, effective, and optimized reporting tools to collect information on medical incidents that may be related to the use of health information technology (IT).


“Obviously, this is an important effort for our Association to support ,” said Sarah Corley, MD, Chief Medical Officer at NextGen Healthcare and Chair of the Association’s Patient Safety Workgroup. “As developers of core technologies that can enhance patient safety and quality care delivery, we want to ensure that we’re part of any initiatives focused on collecting and appropriately analyzing suspected issues that compromise those objectives,” Corley went on to say.


The agreement establishes a basis for collaboration between the two organizations to support the iHA’s online reporting service, EHRevent.org, as well as to ensure that the data being collected by that service is relevant and timely, and to engage with other stakeholders to broaden participation and support of patient safety reporting efforts.


“We’re delighted to be working with the EHR Association on this initiative,” Nancy Dickey, MD, Chair of the iHA said. “The Association and its members bring expertise about these systems that is simply not found elsewhere. In understanding how EHRs are designed and implemented, we’ll be more successful in understanding the root causes of suspected incidents so that they can be prevented in the future,” Dr. Dickey concluded.

The EHR Association, led by its Patient Safety Workgroup under the leadership of Dr. Corley and Vice Chair Rich Landen, Senior Product Manager for Industry Relations at QuadraMed, will also continue to monitor and engage in other activities and organizations that may be working on health IT-related incident reporting.

About the HIMSS EHR Association

The HIMSS EHR Association is a trade association of 44 electronic health record (EHR) companies that join together to lead the health IT industry in the accelerated adoption of electronic health records in hospital and ambulatory care settings in the US. The Association provides a leadership forum for the EHR software provider community to speak with a unified voice relative to standards development, the EHR certification process, interoperability, performance and quality measures, and other EHR issues as they become subject to increasing government, insurance and provider-driven initiatives and requests. Membership is open to HIMSS Corporate Members companies that design, develop and market their own EHRs. The Association is a partner of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and operates as an independent organizational unit within HIMSS. For more information, visit http://www.himssEHRA.org.

About EHRevent

EHRevent is an online system that allows healthcare providers to report unanticipated events associated with the adoption and use of electronic health records. Founded in 2010 and governed by the not-for-profit iHealth Alliance, EHRevent is operated as a federally sanctioned Patient Safety Organization (“PSO”) which allows safe harbor protections for reporting providehttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifrs. Network operations for EHRevent are provided by PDR Network LLC. For more information, visit http://www.EHRevent.org.

About the iHealth Alliance

The iHealth Alliance is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to protect the interests of patients and providers as healthcare increasingly adopts electronic systems in patient care. iHealth Alliance board members include senior executives from U.S. medical societies, professional liability carriers, patient safety groups and liaison representatives from the FDA. For more information, visit https://www.ehrevent.org/Mission.html.

EHR Safe Harbor Bill Introduced in the House


Do you think that this bill will encourage greater use of EHRs and facilitate quicker identification of problems?
Let us know your opinion. SV


A bill has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Safeguarding Access For Every Medicare Patient Act, that would provide certain legal safe harbors to providers participating in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs. H.R. 3239 would create a mechanism for reporting EHR-related adverse events to promote patient safety, but would prevent such reports from being used as legal admissions of wrongdoing. The bill, intended to promote EHR use, would cover certain providers serving Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, as well as participants in health information exchanges.

Bill H.R. 3239

LIPIX + NYCLIX Merge To form: Healthix

Congratulations on the merger! SV


Healthix™: A Tale of Two RHIOs


In a groundbreaking effort that provides clinicians with the means to significantly improve patient care throughout the region, the Long Island Patient Information eXchange (LIPIX) and the New York Clinical Information Exchange (NYCLIX) are proud to formally announce their plans to merge. The organizations, which were the two largest Regional Health Information Organizations (RHIOs) in the state, will unite to create Healthix, Inc. We are now one of the largest active, self-sustaining RHIOs in the country! The combining of our technologies, operations and governance expands and strengthens our leading health information exchange (HIE) services.


The Manhattan-based organization will have over 31 acute care hospitals, 24 long-term care providers, 14 home care agencies, and many other ambulatory practices among its 104 connected facilities. Additionally, the combined patient directory will represent nearly 2% of the United States’ population (over 5 million patients) and continues to grow daily.


Healthix will embrace a mission shared by both LIPIX and NYCLIX, as well as the state of New York, to deliver industry-leading, secure exchange of patient health information in support of collaborative care models, outcomes-based medicine, emerging reimbursement structures, and patient-driven healthcare. Benjamin Stein, MD, the CEO of LIPIX, and Gil Kuperman, MD, the Executive Director of NYCLIX, each addressed the news in a joint statement: “We are excited and proud that our two organizations could come together in a spirit of collaboration that should change the landscape of health information technology throughout the region and the country.” Dr. Stein, who will remain CEO of the combined entity, added, “The benefits of the enlarged organization and network will accrue to all of our current and future members; these cover the range from nationally renowned health systems to small rural independent practices. The biggest winners here, however, are the patients of New York.”

LIPIX

Meaningful Use Best Practices to Secure EHR Bonus – Physicians Tell You How

Webinar • Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2011 • 1:00 – 2:30 p.m. ET

To Register

Learn best practices for meeting meaningful use from three physicians who have gone through the process, met the requirements and collected the bonus money.
The measures for meaningful use range from simple to complex, but even the simple ones have little-known tricks that successful practices can learn to achieve quickly. In this 90-minute webinar, you will get physicians’ perspectives on which measures are challenging, which are easy and what traps and pitfalls to be aware of.

After this must-attend webinar you will be able to:

Apply best practices

Properly document for the 15 core measures

Earn the $18,000 bonus with best practices for implementing meaningful use
Avoid common mistakes

Minimize staff time commitment

Bonus Material: You’ll get several downloadable tools as a bonus for attending this webinar, including a timeline of the roadmap to meaningful use and a compiled guide to meeting the 15 core meaningful use measures


To Register

Your Expert Presenters

Christopher Tashjian, MD, FAAFP Dr. Tashjian is extremely active in setting policy for the medical community. He serves on the Board of Directors of HealthPartners Inc. where he is Co-Chair of the Medical Board of Governors and Chair of the Health Transformation Committee. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors for the MMIC Group, the State of Wisconsin EMS Physician Advisory Committee, and Western Wisconsin Medical Associates.

William Vollmar, MD Dr. Vollmar practices family medicine/sports medicine for Diamantoni and Associates Family Practice in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. As one of the partners and a 20 year practice veteran, he was highly involved in selecting and developing their EHR program.

Salvatore Volpe, MD, FAAP, FACP, CHCQM Dr. Volpe has 20 years of primary care medical practice experience. His expertise on the topic of emerging medical communication technologies such as e-prescribing and electronic health records has made him a prominent speaker on the national medical lecture circuit.

New NYSHealth RFP: Promoting and Managing Growth at Primary Care Centers in Four Regions of New York State


Overview

Successful implementation of health reform will require expanded primary care capacity. With this Request for Proposals (RFP), NYSHealth seeks to promote fundamental, lasting changes in the community health centers (CHCs) that comprise a cornerstone of New York’s health care delivery system. NYSHealth recognizes that expanding health care access—whether establishing a new site, increasing the type of services available, or pursuing a merger—takes thoughtful planning and resources. Through this grant initiative, CHCs may conduct the data analyses needed for clinical capacity planning or preparation of a business plan; retain legal counsel; hire real estate advisors; enhance recruitment efforts; or build their internal management infrastructure.

Eligible applicants include Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), FQHC look-alikes, and comprehensive diagnostic and treatment centers in four regions of the State: Western New York, Central New York, the Finger Lakes region, and Long Island. Eligible organizations may apply for grants as well as supplemental program-related investments.

Download the full RFP.

Submissions

All applications must be submitted using NYSHealth’s online application system. Before submitting an application, please review the detailed application instructions. The online application can be accessed here. The deadline to submit an application is Tuesday, November 29, 2011, at 1 p.m. Late applications will not be accepted.

Programmatic questions regarding the application process should be e-mailed to growthmanagementRFP@nyshealth.org.

Questions regarding the online application system should be e-mailed to grantsmanagement@nyshealth.org.

National Provider Call on Physician Quality Reporting System & Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program

Tuesday, November 8; 1:30-3pm ET

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will host a national provider call on the Physician Quality Reporting System & Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program. A question and answer session will follow the presentation.
Target Audience: Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) providers, Medical coders, physician office staff, provider billing staff and vendors

Agenda:


Opening Remarks
Program Announcements
Overview of the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule to Address the 2012 Physician Quality Reporting System & Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program

§ Question & Answer Session

Registration Information – Please visit http://www.eventsvc.com/blhtechnologies/ to register for this informative session. Registration will close at 12:00 p.m. ET on November 8, 2011, or when available space has been filled. No exceptions will be made. Please register early.

Presentation: The presentation will be posted at least one day before the call at: http://www.cms.gov/PQRS/04_CMSSponsoredCalls.asp in the “Downloads” section on the CMS website.

Accessing the Communication Support Page to Request a 2012 Medicare Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program Payment Adjustment Significant Hardship Exemptions

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) would like to advise eligible professionals who continue to experience a problem with accessing the Communication Support Page at https://www.qualitynet.org/portal/server.pt/community/communications_support_system/234 on the internet, when trying to submit a 2012 Medicare Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program Payment Adjustment Significant Hardship Exemption Request to please follow the steps listed below.

· In the internet browser, select Tools/Internet Options/Advanced.

· Scroll down toward the bottom and locate the “Use TLS 1.0” choice.

· Place a checkmark in the “Use TLS 1.0.”

· Click the ”OK” box.

· Attempt to access the site again.

If you still experience trouble accessing the site, the QualityNet help desk is available to answer inquiries regarding the Physician Quality Reporting System (Physician Quality Reporting, previously known as Physician Quality Reporting Initiative or PQRI) and Electronic Prescribing (eRx) Incentive Program.

QualityNet Help Desk – 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM CST

• General CMS Physician Quality Reporting System and eRx Incentive Program information
• Portal password issues
• Feedback report availability and access
• PQRI-IACS registration questions
• PQRI-IACS login issues

Phone: 1-866-288-8912

TTY: 1-877-715-6222

Email: Qnetsupport@sdps.org

Adirondack Regional Community Health Information Exchange (ARCHIE) Joins Forces With HIXNY

One operational platform created to serve the 17 county region of Northern New York and the Capital Region

ALBANY, NEW YORK - The Adirondack Regional Community Health Information Exchange (ARCHIE) will bring its operational resources to the Health Information Xchange of New York (HIXNY). ARCHIE was founded by Adirondack Medicine Incorporated, an independent physicians association (IPA) and Glens Falls Hospital. The staff members at ARCHIE, including Executive Director Dirk Rittenhouse, Director of Client Relations Heather O'Conner and Technical Project Manager Robin Smith have joined the HIXNY staff.

ARCHIE was noted to be a customer of Healthvision.


HIXNY is listed as an InterSystems Healthshare Customer

Medical Economics EHR Pilot Project is announced


http://www.modernmedicine.com/modernmedicine/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=745400&pageID=1&sk=&date=

Participating vendors

ABEL Medical Software http://www.abelmedicalsoftware.com

Amazing Charts http://www.amazingcharts.com

Aprima http://www.aprima.com

Athenahealth http://www.athenahealth.com

CureMD http://www.curemd.com

GE Healthcare http://www.gehealthcare.com

McKesson Physician Practice Group http://www.mckesson.com/en_us/McKesson.com/For%2BHealthcare%2BProviders/Physician%2BPractices/Physician%2BPractices.html

Emr4md http://www.emr4md.com

NextGen Healthcare http://www.nextgen.com

Practice Fusion http://www.practicefusion.com

Sage Healthcare http://www.sagehealth.com

CMS:Webinar Tomorrow: EHR Incentives for Small Practices

What: Webinar- The CMS EHR Incentive Programs: Small-Practice Providers and clinical Quality Measures

When: Tuesday, Oct. 25 from 1:00 -- 2:30 p.m. EDT

Why: To help small-practice providers successfully report CQMs

How: Register online

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is holding a second webinar
on clinical quality measures (CQMs) and their importance in attesting to
meaningful use for the Medicare EHR Incentive Program. CMS hopes to help
small-practice and rural providers become more knowledgeable in the topics
below:
An overview of the CQMs
How to report CQMs during attestation
Why CQMs are included in the EHR Incentive Programs
Answers to many FAQs on the CQMs and the EHR Incentive Programs

Although, small-practice providers are the intended audience of this webinar,
anyone will be able to join.

Handouts of the webinar presentation, a document with over 300
question-and-answers from the webinar held on August 30, and an informational
CQM fact sheet will be provided to participants before the webinar.
Additionally, registrants will be given an opportunity to submit questions
before the webinar that will be answered by CMS subject matter experts and
posted to the CMS EHR website a few weeks after the webinar has been completed.

Registration:
Individuals can register online at the link above. After successfully
registering, they will be sent a confirmation message with a link to the webinar
site. Space is limited, so interested participants should register now to secure
their place.

HHS ANNOUNCES NEW INCENTIVES FOR PROVIDERS TO WORK TOGETHER THROUGH ACCOUNTABLE CARE ORGANIZATIONS WHEN CARING FOR PEOPLE WITH MEDICARE

People with Medicare will be able to benefit from a new program designed to encourage primary care doctors, specialists, hospitals, and other health care providers to coordinate their care under a final regulation issued today by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Created by the Affordable Care Act, these final rules on Accountable Care Organizations add to the menu of options for providers looking to better coordinate care for patients and will make it easier for providers to deliver high quality care and use health care dollars more wisely.



The initiatives announced today are just two of several efforts made possible by the Affordable Care Act to help bring better health, better care and lower costs not just to Medicare beneficiaries, but to all Americans. For example, the Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Initiative and Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative offer alternatives to coordinate and improve health care.



“Today we have taken another step to improve health care for people with Medicare,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “We are excited to give doctors, hospitals and other providers the flexibility and support they need to work together and focus on making sure patients get the care they need.”



“This model of delivering care may not be right for everyone, but it provides new incentives for doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers to work together in new ways,” said Secretary Sebelius.



The two initiatives launched today – the Medicare Shared Savings Program and the Advance Payment model – will help providers form Accountable Care Organizations and reflect the significant input provided by stakeholders as well as lessons learned by innovators in care coordination in the private sector.



•The Medicare Shared Savings Program will provide incentives for participating health care providers who agree to work together and become accountable for coordinating care for patients. Providers who band together through this model and who meet certain quality standards based upon, among other measures, patient outcomes and care coordination among the provider team, may share in savings they achieve for the Medicare program. The higher the quality of care providers deliver, the more shared savings the providers may keep.


•The Advance Payment model will provide additional support to physician-owned and rural providers participating in the Medicare Shared Savings Program who also would benefit from additional start-up resources to build the necessary infrastructure, such as new staff or information technology systems. The advanced payments would be recovered from any future shared savings achieved by the Accountable Care Organization.


“As a physician I understand the complexities of caring for a patient who may have multiple providers,” said Donald M. Berwick, M.D., administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). “This opportunity to coordinate care among providers could greatly improve the quality of care Medicare beneficiaries receive.”

CMS Press Release

ACO Overview

AMA and Transformed Webinar: Preparing for health IT

If you missed the presentation, you can see it by following this link: READYTALK.

Meeting Description:

Think it is too difficult or costly to become a patient centered medical home or meaningful user of health IT? Get tips on how to succeed--from both a clinical and an operations standpoint--even as a small practice. This begins with engaging staff and promoting teamwork, leadership and communication throughout the implementation process. Learn how to employ fundamental strategies to help your practice manage change, as well as improve workflow efficiencies and handle typical challenges associated with successful health IT implementation.

Presenters

Ana Jensen, PhD, Practice Enhancement Facilitator, TransforMED

Salvatore Volpe, MD, FAAP, FACP, CHCQM

Date: Thu, Oct 20, 2011
Time: 02:00 PM EDT
Duration: 1 hour
Host(s): American Medical Association

Registration Link

Medical Home/Health Home Funding Opportunities

Here is an especially useful link for NY based practices and Community Health Care Centers. SV

CHCANYS

Visit our eclinicalworks blog for updates on 2011 eclinicalworks users conference

"Focus on Canadian eHealth Innovation"


The Consulate of Canada

In partnership with


Aria Health Systems; Barnabas Health; Geisinger Health System; Hahnemann University Hospital; Horizon Blue Cross; Public Health Management Corporation; Summit Health; Tenet Healthcare Corporation; Thomas Jefferson University Hospital; University of Pennsylvania Health System



Cordially invite you to



"Focus on Canadian eHealth Innovation"



Tuesday 4th, October 2011

The Hub at the Cira Center

30th and Arch Streets, Philadelphia, PA 19104



Matching Innovative Canadian Health Care & Solution Providers

with the Mid-Atlantics Leading Payers & Providers



An expert Advisory Board has chosen ten (10) innovative Canadian Health IT start-up companies to match up with ten (10) leading regional payers and providers through a one-day series of speed-dating and educational sessions. The eHealth Summit will:-

Match progressive health care providers and payers with innovative early-stage health care information technology companies to showcase and accelerate innovation
Accelerate meaningful use of health IT and health information exchange, better health care access, provision and outcomes and lower error rates and costs.


A limited number of tickets are available to the public to participate in this historic event.



8:00 AM - 5:00 PM

Limited Capacity

Dress: Business Attire

Get more information

Register Now!

A Vision for Canada: Family Practice: The Patient’s Medical Home

Let's share best practices and improve the quality for both sides of the border. SV

On September 21, 2011, the College of Family Physicians of Canada officially released its new position paper called A Vision for Canada: Family Practice – The Patient’s Medical Home. The document provides an important vision of the future of frontline patient-centred care to meet the health care needs for all Canadians through specific goals and recommendations. Please see the full document, executive summary and news release.


A Vision for Canada: Family Practice – The Patient’s Medical Home
A Vision for Canada: Family Practice – The Patient’s Medical Home (abridged version)
News Release

CMS:Comprehensive Primary Care Initiative

Contact your health plans now!
Ask them to get involved.
Now is the time to change the payment paradigm from acute care to chronic/patient centered care. SV

The Comprehensive Primary Care (CPC) initiative is a new CMS-led, multi-payer initiative fostering collaboration between public and private health care payers to strengthen primary care for all Americans. Primary care is critical to promoting health, improving care, and reducing overall system costs, but it has been historically under-funded and under-valued in the United States. Without a significant enough investment across multiple payers, independent health plans-- covering only their own members and offering support only for their segment of the total practice population-- cannot provide enough resources to transform entire primary care practices and make expanded services available to all patients served by those practices. The CPC initiative offers a way to break through this historical impasse by inviting payers to join with Medicare in investing in primary care in 5-7 selected localities across the country.

The CPC initiative will test two models simultaneously: a service delivery model and a payment model. The service delivery model will test comprehensive primary care, which is characterized as having the following five functions:

Risk-stratified Care Management;
Access and Continuity;
Planned Care for Chronic Conditions and Preventative Care;
Patient and Caregiver Engagement;
Coordination of Care Across the Medical Neighborhood.

The payment model includes a monthly care management fee paid to the selected primary care practices on behalf of their fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries and, in years 2-4 of the initiative, the potential to share in any savings to the Medicare program. Practices will also receive compensation from other payers participating in the initiative, including private insurance companies and other health plans, which will allow them to integrate multi-payer funding streams to strengthen their capacity to implement practice-wide quality improvement.

The Innovation Center is now accepting letters of intent from public and private health care payers for the Comprehensive Primary Care initiative.

The first step is for public and private payers (including states) to indicate their interest to CMS, including the level and type of support for primary care practices being offered. Interested payers must submit a nonbinding letter of intent and a completed Geographic Service Area Worksheet by November 15, 2011 via email to CPCi@cms.hhs.gov. Applications from payers that do not submit a timely letter of intent will not be considered.

Final applications, to be completed only after the letter of intent has been submitted, must be received on or before January 17, 2012. Once CMS evaluates these proposals and selects the markets, a second solicitation will be issued for primary care practices in those markets.

New England Quality Care Alliance (NEQCA) Fall Forum


Now in its 13th year, this conference is designed specifically for NEQCA physicians, nurses & administrative staff. The forum offers seminars, exhibits, cocktail reception and dinner. RSVP for this event now. We look forward to seeing you there!

October 4, 2011
Sheraton Four Points, Norwood, MA

Register Now

CMS Lab Results Access Proposed Rule Issued

You have until November 14, 2011 to post your comments on the site.
Please post them here as well. SV


CLIA Program and HIPAA Privacy: Patients' Access to Test Reports

ONC Publishes Final Version of the Federal HIT Strategic Plan: 2011–2015

Here's some reading for the weekend. SV



The Federal Health IT Strategic Plan: 2011-2015 ("the Plan") is developed under the leadership of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) and in close collaboration with other federal partners. The Plan reflects a strategy for coordinating with the public and private sector to realize Congress’ and the Administration's health information technology (health IT) agenda: improving the quality, efficiency, safety and patient-centeredness of health care.

The Plan reflects federal government priorities to help eligible providers become meaningful users of health IT; support implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA); protect individuals’ privacy; empower consumers with access to their health information, and support enhanced learning and innovation. The Plan, which was last published in 2008, has been updated to take into account the rapidly changing landscape of health IT and health IT policy. Since 2008, two major pieces of legislation have established an ambitious agenda and committed significant resources to health IT– the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, passed as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the PPACA. The HITECH Act addresses security and privacy risks as health IT becomes a more ubiquitous part of health care, and PPACA expands both public health care and private health insurance initiatives.




Federal HIT Strategic Plan: 2011–2015

New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC Digital Health Conference:Speakers list

Here is the list of experts who will be presenting.
See you there.
Share your experiences and thoughts here, before, during and after:

What would you like discussed?
What you thought of the conference?
Suggestions for future conferences.

The conference will bring together hundreds of health information technology (HIT) stakeholders and decision-makers from across the region including providers of all types, the public sector, private industry, health plans, hospital administration, and others. The conference will showcase the latest technologies, share best practices, inspire collaboration, and generally support the advancement of healthcare innovation.
A separate awards ceremony and evening gala will be held the evening of December 1st.
Description of Track Scopes
Innovations in the Inpatient Setting: How real-world, practical accomplishments in care coordination, outcomes improvement, workflow efficiencies and administrative effectiveness are improving care in hospitals.
Advances in the Delivery of Primary Care: How new technologies are improving the safety, quality and cost-effectiveness of the delivery of primary care. Innovations will include patient engagement, improving practice workflow and integration of devices.
Chronic Care Management: Showcase new technologies such as telehealth, wireless health technologies, disease management programs, medication adherence programs and ways to better care for chronic patients including the needs of caregivers and the aging.
Health & Wellness: Showcase patient, employee and consumer programs that are using digital technologies to help individuals maintain active and healthy lives.

Speakers

KEYNOTE:
Todd Park

Chief Technology Officer, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
T.R. Reid
Best-selling author and healthcare journalist, The Washington Post, PBS

TRACK SPEAKERS (as of 9-16-11):

Cecily Baker, RN
Health Ministry, Mamre Seventh Day Adventist Church
Jean Bauch RD, CDE, CPT
Director, Unity Diabetes Center & Unity Cardiopulmonary Rehab
Russell Bessette, MD
Executive Director, University at Buffalo Institute for Healthcare Informatics
Neil Calman, MD, ABFP, FAAFP
President & CEO, The Institute for Family Health
Eli Camhi, MSSW, LMSW
Executive Director, NewYork-Presbyterian System SelectHealth
Thomas Cannell, MA
Director of Community Health Initiatives, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Thomas Check
Sr. VP & CIO, Visiting Nurse Service of New York
Catherine Comeno, RN, BSN, CCDS, MBA
Clinical Services Director, Cardiology Associates
Anuj Desai
Director of Business Development, NYeC
Helen Figge, PharmD, MBA
Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Senior Director, Career Services, HIMSS
Christina Galanis
Executive Director, Southern Tier HealthLink
George Hickman, FCHIME, FHIMSS, CPHIMS
Executive VP & CIO, Albany Medical Center
Chaim Indig
President & CEO, Phreesia
Lisa Kern, MD, MPH
Associate Professor, Weill Cornell Medical College
Al Kinel, MBA
Program Director, Unity Health System Ð Community Diabetes Collaborative
Alice Loveys, MD, FAAP, FHIMSS
CMIO, IT Practice Consulting Corp.
Cyrus Massoumi
Co-Founder & CEO, ZocDoc
David Mendelson, MD
Chief of Clinical Informatics, Mount Sinai Medical Center
Amanda Parsons, MD
Deputy Commissioner for the Division of Health Care Access & Improvement,
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
KK Rajamani, MDhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Chief of Endocrinology, Department of Medicine, Unity Hospital
Jason Shapiro, MD, MA
Associate Professor, Mount Sinai Medical Center;
Chair Clinical Advisory and Evaluation Committees, NYCLIX
Richard Terry, DO, MBA, FAAFP, FACOFP
UHS, Family Medicine Residency
Victoria Tiase, RN, MS
Director, IT Strategy, New York-Presbyterian Hospital
David Whitlinger
Executive Director, NYeC

NYC REACH Expands EHR Partner List with Seven More Vendors

Even more choices for physicians practicing in NYC!
Contact NYCREACH for details and for assistance in achieving Meaningful Use and Patient Centered Medical Home recognition. SV

NYC REACH, the federally funded Regional Extension Center overseen by the Primary Care Information Project at the NYC Health Department, has added seven more EHR vendors to its partner list, and now supports a total of 12 EHRs. By expanding the list of partner companies, the extension center offers personalized Meaningful Use support to a growing number of EHR users in New York City.



EHR vendors went through an open, competitive process and met strict requirements beyond the national Meaningful Use certification standards. After closely examining the companies and products, NYC REACH officials selected seven EHR systems:

• Amazing Charts
• Criterions
• CureMD
• MedAZ

• Office Practicum
• OmniMD
• Pulse


“Doctors in New York City use a variety of EHRs, and we want to offer our subsidized training to as many practices as possible. Partnerships with new EHR vendors allow us to help more practices achieve Meaningful Use and improve care regardless of the system they use,” explains Acting Assistant Commissioner Dr. Jesse Singer. The NYC REACH Meaningful Use curriculum teaches physicians the qualifications for incentive payments, measures they must meet, and how to attest to Medicaid or Medicare for payment.



NYC REACH chose systems that not only meet the requirements for Meaningful Use, but also give physicians tools to practice preventive medicine, manage chronic conditions, and coordinate care. Doctors shopping for an EHR can receive free vendor selection assistance to help identify a product that is right for their practice.



NYC REACH offers three levels of support for doctors using an EHR or looking to adopt a system.



On-site Meaningful Use Support
On-site Meaningful Use education and classes for users of all partner vendors
• AmazingCharts
• Criterions
• CureMD
• eClinicalWorks
• Greenway
• MDLand
• MedAZ
• MedLink
• NextGen

• Office Practicum
• OmniMD
• Pulse



Implementation Support
Discounts on pre-negotiated EHR packages (including a free lab interface) and personalized implementation support for:
• eClinicalWorks
• Greenway
• MDLand


Vendor Neutral Meaningful Use Support
Physicians using any EHR can attend free Meaningful Use seminars and receive vendor-neutral education on the incentive programs.



Practices that do not have an EHR can use free NYC REACH resources to identify a system that meets their needs.

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More Information
Contact pcip@health.nyc.gov or call (347)-396-4888 with questions.
NYC REACH Partner EHRs
EHR Vendor Partner selection process

ONC HEALTH IT Website for consumers and professionals

The site provides links for patients, families, providers and professionals.
A great resource to share. SV


Healthit.gov

Patients and Families

Providers and Professionals

HIMSS New York State Student Informatics Conference

DATE: Friday, September 23, 2011
TIME: 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
LOCATION: SUNY Downstate Medical Center

The New York State Chapter of HIMSS is proud to present the 2nd Annual New York State Student Informatics Conference on September 23, 2011 at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. The conference will be held in the Health Science Education Building- Alumni Auditorium.

This Conference seeks to continue to nurture and develop tomorrow’s HIT professionals locally in New York State.

A detailed event agenda is available here.

Click here to register

EHR Meaningful Use event! Queens County Medical Society


This one will be hosted by Queens County Medical Society with the NYC REACH extension center, at the Queens County Medical Society, 112-25 Queens Blvd, 4th Fl, Forest Hills, NY 11375.

It's for practices seeking to transition from paper to electronic medical records or to move to a web-based EMR. You'll hear an Introduction to Meaningful Use payments and find out about free support and training to help NYC physicians meet Meaningful Use requirements.

You'll also get an overview and demo of GE Centricity Advance, a web-based, Meaningful Use-certified EMR, practice management system and patient portal designed specifically for small practices.

General admission: $10 pre-paid, $20 at door. MSSNY member $10 pre-paid, $15 at door (registration fee is waived for NYC REACH members). To register, call 718-268-7300

CMS Final Rule on Changes to Electronic Prescribing Incentive Program

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a final rule on changes to the electronic prescribing (eRx) incentive program. The rule states that providers may use either a qualified electronic prescribing system or certified EHR technology to generate electronic prescriptions, in an effort to avoid redundancy between the http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.giftwo programs, and to prevent providers from having to purchase two separate systems with overlapping capabilities. This change applies to the remainder of the calendar year 2011 reporting period, for the 2011 eRx incentive, and the 2013 eRx payment adjustment. Additionally, the rule provides new significant hardship exemption categories for the 2012 eRx payment adjustment. These categories apply to: providers who have registered for the Medicare or Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs; providers unable to electronically prescribe due to local, state, or Federal law or regulations; providers with limited prescribing activity; and providers with insufficient opportunities to report the eRx measure due to denominator limitations. Requests for significant hardship exemptions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and the deadline for requesting such exemptions has been extended to November 1, 2011.

Medical Economics EHR Study and Registration Link

This is great opportunity for those without EHRs to not only receive assistance in implementing an EHR but also to participate in a study that will hopefully provide meaningful information on the whole process. Sign up now! SV

Medical Economics, with input from physicians, has designed a study which will benefit the entire medical community in discovering the best practices in implementing EHR systems. Participating physician practices will be given an EHR system for 2 years. In return, each practice will provide Medical Economics with feedback about their EHR experience — the real story from the physician’s point of view. From set-up and training to implementation and day–to–day utilization, we’ll be asking for your input.

Medical Economics has received commitments from several of the top named EHR companies in the country who have agreed to participate in this EHR study. They will give participating physician practices use of their EHR system— free for 2 years including installation, training, and support. There are a limited number of slots available so the sooner you submit your application the better your chances of being selected.

Registration Link