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.

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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