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Data Storage Report points to digital tsunami ahead and EHR is at the Heart of it all! - May 9, 2010
Orlando Florida -- If healthcare CIOs think they’ve gotten busier as health information has become increasingly digitized over the last few years, a recent study indicates that, as the pop song goes, they “ain’t seen nothin’ yet.”
The study, titled "The Digital Universe Decade – Are You Ready?", was sponsored by EMC Corporation, and it provides a startling look at how much digital information is going to be produced in the years ahead.
As the report puts it, “think of the growth of the Digital Universe as a perpetual tsunami. As this universe grows by an order of magnitude, we will have to deal with information in new ways: How will we find the information we need when we need it? We will need new search and discovery tools. . . .How will we know what information we need to keep, and how will we keep it? Yes, we will need new technical solutions tied to storage, but we will surely also need new ways to manage our information. . . . How will we follow the growing number of government and industry rules about retaining records, tracking transactions, and ensuring information privacy? . . .How will we protect the information we need to protect? If the amount of information in the Digital Universe is growing at 50% a year or so, the subset of information that needs to be secured is growing almost twice as fast.”
While the report doesn’t look specifically at the healthcare sector, the implications are clear. Storage, security, portability, accessibility; these and other information issues are front and center for IT managers and policymakers both inside and outside the healthcare sector.
And as this report makes clear, given the size of the digital wave that’s coming, treading water is just not a realistic option.
For more information please call (407) 641-5199 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com and let us "Uncomplexify your Information
Tecnology"
Why Sencilo HealthIT Solutions
When it comes to your healthcare computing needs, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions's main objective is to provide a turnkey solution
that can essentially sustain itself. When you choose Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, you don't just gain a vendor who provides you
with technology. You get a business partner who walks with you through every step of the process
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture: More than technology With Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture, you can leverage the same productivity tools and technology resources that have transformed business. And you get a full portfolio of services too. By working with Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, you can get:
A dedicated customer team
A website customized for your institution
A full portfolio of robust solutions
Easy setup, implementation and maintenance
Simple ordering and delivery
Technology training
Flexible financing options
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services makes it easy.
In addition to providing high-quality technology at a low cost, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional
Services can help you plan your healthcare computing from the ground up. By working with you from the initial construction phases, we can help you save time and money and lead to a truly customized solution.
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services offers complete services that include:
Design
Procurement
Installation
Training
Maintenance
Support
About Us
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions is a Florida-based integrator specializing in EHR Cost Cutting storage, security and managed services solutions. Sencilo delivers a comprehensive portfolio of products from best-of-breed hardware and software from multiple manufacturers including Allscripts, VMware, Dell Fujitsu EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, IBM, HP, Cisco, Microsoft, Gateway Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City solutions include Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC HP IBM Quantum Compliance Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Daytona Beach Deland Melborne Tampa Clearwater
Network Backup appliance Data Recovery Backup Health IT Healthcare IT Digital Hospital Allscripts Patient Data electronic health record P4P rules and the HITECH Act PayerView Rankings practice management tools $44,000 in Medicare or $66,000 in Medicaid from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act eClinicalWorks, Allscripts, NextGen, GE Centricity, and Meditech Electronic Healthcare IT Medical Records EHR Clinical Practices eClinicalWorks Allscripts Florida EMR, EHR, electronic medical record, health, records, practice management systems solutions, medication services, PHR Otolaryngology, Orthopaedics, Pain Nuerosurgery, Urology, Ophthalmology, Cardiology, Billing, Appointment Scheduling, clinicalworks, eClinicalWorks, solutions for physicians, hospitals, clinical education and medical services Computerized Patient CPR, Order Entry, CPOE, Document Clinical Information Informatics, Computer-based, SOAP, HIT, Healthcare Encounter Forms, web based, online, clinical rules database, electronic prescribing, e-prescribing, eprescribing, athenaClinicals, certified EMR, certified EHR, HITECH Act VAR Reseller Dealer hipaa privacy doctor, healthcare performance management, data security, hosting, arra, free, InterFAX, MyWay, HIPPA, EasyPayMedicare, MedicAID, SureScripts, FNC, billing, superbill iMedica Tiger on Windows, eprescribe pqri simple practice management revenue cycle e-cw e-clinicalworks greenway emds nextgen ge sage athena epic klas Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition Google Health, Microsoft Healthvault Health Internet certified "meaningful use" violations HealthPresence Health Presence Sencilo “transformative” telemedicine medicaid medicare Seminole County Medical Society Orange county Orlando Medical News Trusted Advisor e-Prescription e-Rx CareTracker paperless scanning document storage hippa audits iscribe document scanning fi-6130 fi-6040 CCHIT ARRA surescript
Hurry Up and Provide Us with Access to Our E-records! - April 25, 2010
Orlando Florida -- Doctors that are still using paper-records keeping for their patients stand a good chance of losting them to more electronic based offices. Federal panel endorses patient safety database SSA names special advisor for healthcare IT NCI to offer cancer e-care record CMS aims to make it easier for docs to collect incentives Pennsylvania changes HIE strategy with ARRA funds Bell to succeed Leavitt at CCHIT VA, DOD to raise the bar on data exchange ONC puts 'NHIN Direct' on fast track ONC names managers for 'Beacon' grants program ONC to survey consumers on privacy, HIE. When Regina Holliday needed her husband's electronic health record to help her care for him after a terminal cancer diagnosis it didn't arrive for days, was incorrect, and outdated when he was transferred to another provider. She later used the correct record to care for him until his death. "It's time to stop being incremental," Holliday, now an advocate for patient access to their EHRs, told a panel of the Health and Human Services' Health IT
Policy Committee on April 21. "There's too much urgency to get the data to the patient."
Paul Tang, MD, chairman of the committee's meaningful use workgroup, said that was also the upshot of testimony from providers, vendors and other patient/consumer advocates. Patient access to their summary and discharge data is vital because nowadays they are "kicked out" of the hospital to continue recuperation at home, he said. Tang is also chief medical information officer of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation. The panel explored various ways, such as incentives and technologies, to engage patients and their families in the use of health IT.
Engaging the patient
Other organizations are also looking for ways to boost patient involvement. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, for example, has included in its proposed meaningful use rule several objectives that encourage patient and family engagement, including giving consumers copies of and timely access to their electronic record. Many patients also are unaware that they already have the right to access their health information under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), said Joy Pritts, chief privacy office at the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.
Some state laws limit access while others expand it. In her former role as a health law academic, Pritts developed a state-by-state guide on how to access health information. "There is a certain amount of a lack of knowledge of patients to access their information and their right to it," she said. To change that situation, ONC plans a campaign to inform the public about the value of the meaningful use of electronic health records, including patient access to data, Pritts said. Regional health IT extension centers will also be able to help healthcare providers understand the concept of sharing data with their patients as part of their technical assistance to help provider meet meaningful use requirements. Physicians also need data from patients about their conditions for their electronic health record. Patient-generated data can be just as important as clinical data from tests and exams, said James Weinstein, MD, director of the Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practices and an orthopedic
surgeon. "The patient reported data can be more important to me than the MRI, CT scan or X-ray," he said.
Physicians often don't ask patients about details of living with their conditions because they see so many patients, he said.
"Just knowing what the patient's health status is, or doing health risk assessments in some organized way, will inform the decision process," he said. "If we know the diagnosis, give the patient the opportunity to engage in shared decision-making or their preferences and values, and measured the effect of treatment, we would know a lot more than we do today about healthcare."
For more information please call (407) 641-5199 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com and let us "Uncomplexify your Information
Tecnology"
Why Sencilo HealthIT Solutions
When it comes to your healthcare computing needs, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions's main objective is to provide a turnkey solution
that can essentially sustain itself. When you choose Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, you don't just gain a vendor who provides you
with technology. You get a business partner who walks with you through every step of the process
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture: More than technology With Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture, you can leverage the same
productivity tools and technology resources that have transformed business. And you get a full portfolio of services too. By working with Sencilo HealthIT
Solutions, you can get:
A dedicated customer team
A website customized for your institution
A full portfolio of robust solutions
Easy setup, implementation and maintenance
Simple ordering and delivery
Technology training
Flexible financing options
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services makes it easy.
In addition to providing high-quality technology at a low cost, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional
Services can help you plan your healthcare computing from the ground up. By working with you from the initial construction phases, we can help you save time
and money and lead to a truly customized solution.
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services offers complete services that include:
Design
Procurement
Installation
Training
Maintenance
Support
About Us
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions is a Florida-based integrator specializing in EHR Cost Cutting storage, security and managed services solutions. Sencilo delivers
a comprehensive portfolio of products from best-of-breed hardware and software from multiple manufacturers including Allscripts, VMware, Dell Fujitsu EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, IBM, HP, Cisco, Microsoft, Gateway Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City solutions include Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC HP IBM Quantum Compliance Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Daytona Beach Deland Melborne Tampa Clearwater Network Backup appliance Data Recovery Backup Health IT Healthcare IT Digital Hospital Allscripts Patient Data electronic health record P4P rules and the
HITECH Act PayerView Rankings practice management tools $44,000 in Medicare or $66,000 in Medicaid from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act eClinicalWorks, Allscripts, NextGen, GE Centricity, and Meditech Electronic Healthcare IT Medical Records EHR Clinical Practices eClinicalWorks Allscripts Florida EMR, EHR, electronic medical record, health, records, practice management systems solutions, medication services, PHR Otolaryngology, Orthopaedics, Pain Nuerosurgery, Urology, Ophthalmology, Cardiology, Billing, Appointment Scheduling, clinicalworks, eClinicalWorks, solutions for physicians, hospitals,
clinical education and medical services Computerized Patient CPR, Order Entry, CPOE, Document Clinical Information Informatics, Computer-based, SOAP, HIT, Healthcare Encounter Forms, web based, online, clinical rules database, electronic prescribing, e-prescribing, eprescribing, athenaClinicals, certified EMR, certified EHR, HITECH Act VAR Reseller Dealer hipaa privacy doctor, healthcare performance management, data security, hosting, arra, free, InterFAX, MyWay, HIPPA, EasyPayMedicare, MedicAID, SureScripts, FNC, billing, superbill iMedica Tiger on Windows, eprescribe pqri simple practice management revenue cycle e-cw e-clinicalworks greenway emds nextgen ge sage athena epic klas Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition Google Health, Microsoft Healthvault Health Internet certified "meaningful use" violations HealthPresence Health Presence Sencilo “transformative” telemedicine medicaid medicare Seminole County Medical Society Orange county Orlando Medical News Trusted Advisor e-Prescription e-Rx CareTracker paperless scanning document storage hippa audits iscribe
document scanning fi-6130 fi-6040 CCHIT ARRA surescript
Meaningful Use Update: CCHIT is out and ARRA is in. Allscripts MyWay - April 25, 2010
Orlando Florida -- The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology announced Tuesday the first group of products certified for use with the proposed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) incentive requirements. The 2011 Comprehensive and Preliminary ARRA certification programs, launched on Oct. 7, inspect electronic health record technology for the first time against proposed federal standards to support providers in qualifying for 2011-2012 incentives under ARRA.
"The ARRA incentives have the potential to significantly accelerate adoption of EHR technology by office-based physicians, other eligible providers and hospitals," said Alisa Ray, the CCHIT's executive director. "These first four health IT companies, demonstrating their compliance with the proposed federal standards, are now able to offer certified products to providers who wish to purchase and implement EHR technology and achieve meaningful use in time for the 2011-2012 incentives. "
According to Ray, the CCHIT has had about 25 applications for its 2011 programs and inspections are continuing. She expects the CCHIT to make additional announcements soon.
The CCHIT Certified 2011 Comprehensive program differs from the Preliminary ARRA certification program by providing a more rigorous inspection of integrated EHR functionality, interoperability and security in addition to full compliance with federal standards, she said. As part of the Comprehensive inspection process, key aspects of successful use are verified at live sites, and usability is rated, Ray said. The CCHIT Certified Comprehensive program is intended to serve healthcare providers looking for maximal assurance that a product will meet their complex needs, as well as support their achievement of meaningful use to qualify for the ARRA financial incentives, according to Ray. One product has been certified in the CCHIT Certified 2011 Comprehensive program: MyWay from Allscript-Misys. The Preliminary ARRA 2011 program is a modular, limited certification and inspects technology only against the federal standards. It offers flexibility for health IT companies, developers and providers in meeting ARRA 2011-2012 certification requirements. The products announced Tuesday as certified in the Preliminary ARRA 2011 program are:
•eHealth Made EASY, version 3, by eHealthade EASY, LLC, supporting two of 27 meaningful use objectives for eligible providers and two of 24 objectives for hospitals.•KIS Track, version 5.1, by Kaulkin Information Systems, supporting two of 27 objectives for eligible providers.•Medios, version 4.5, by IOS Health Systems, supporting all 27 objectives for eligible providers.According to Ray, the 'Certification Facts' label displayed with every product listing describes all certifications granted and lists which meaningful use objectives are supported by the technology. The ARRA certification component of both programs is considered preliminary because the definitions of 'meaningful use,' as well as criteria and standards, have not been approved by the Department of Health and Human Services, Ray said. Healthcare IT companies testing against the proposed standards will be
provided the opportunity to close any gaps after the final rules are published in the Federal Register in spring 2010.
For more information please call (407) 641-5199 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com and let us "Uncomplexify your Information
Tecnology"
Why Sencilo HealthIT Solutions
When it comes to your healthcare computing needs, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions's main objective is to provide a turnkey solution
that can essentially sustain itself. When you choose Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, you don't just gain a vendor who provides you
with technology. You get a business partner who walks with you through every step of the process
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture: More than technology With Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture, you can leverage the same
productivity tools and technology resources that have transformed business. And you get a full portfolio of services too. By working with Sencilo HealthIT
Solutions, you can get:
A dedicated customer team
A website customized for your institution
A full portfolio of robust solutions
Easy setup, implementation and maintenance
Simple ordering and delivery
Technology training
Flexible financing options
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services makes it easy.
In addition to providing high-quality technology at a low cost, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional
Services can help you plan your healthcare computing from the ground up. By working with you from the initial construction phases, we can help you save time
and money and lead to a truly customized solution.
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services offers complete services that include:
Design
Procurement
Installation
Training
Maintenance
Support
About Us
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions is a Florida-based integrator specializing in EHR Cost Cutting storage, security and managed services solutions. Sencilo delivers a comprehensive portfolio of products from best-of-breed hardware and software from multiple manufacturers including Allscripts, VMware, Dell Fujitsu EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, IBM, HP, Cisco, Microsoft, Gateway Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City solutions include Security "meaningful" "meaningful usage" EMC HP IBM Quantum Compliance Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Daytona Beach Deland Melborne Tampa
Clearwater Network Backup appliance Data Recovery Backup Health IT Healthcare IT Digital Hospital Allscripts Patient Data electronic health record P4P rules and the HITECH Act PayerView Rankings practice management tools $44,000 in Medicare or $66,000 in Medicaid from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act eClinicalWorks, Allscripts, NextGen, GE Centricity, and Meditech Electronic Healthcare IT Medical Records EHR Clinical Practices eClinicalWorks Allscripts Florida EMR, EHR, electronic medical record, health, records, practice management systems solutions, medication services, PHR Otolaryngology, Orthopaedics,
Pain Nuerosurgery, Urology, Ophthalmology, Cardiology, Billing, Appointment Scheduling, clinicalworks, eClinicalWorks, solutions for physicians, hospitals, clinical education and medical services Computerized Patient CPR, Order Entry, CPOE, Document Clinical Information Informatics, Computer-based, SOAP, HIT, Healthcare Encounter Forms, web based, online, clinical rules database, electronic prescribing, e-prescribing, eprescribing, athenaClinicals, certified EMR, certified EHR, HITECH Act VAR Reseller Dealer hipaa privacy doctor, healthcare performance management, data security, hosting, arra, free, InterFAX, MyWay, HIPPA, EasyPayMedicare, MedicAID, SureScripts, FNC, billing, superbill iMedica Tiger on Windows, eprescribe pqri simple practice management revenue cycle e-cw e-clinicalworks greenway emds nextgen ge sage athena epic klas Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition Google Health, Microsoft Healthvault Health Internet certified "meaningful use" violations HealthPresence Health Presence Sencilo “transformative” telemedicine medicaid medicare Seminole County Medical Society Orange county Orlando Medical News Trusted Advisor e-Prescription e-Rx CareTracker paperless scanning document storage hippa audits iscribe
document scanning fi-6130 fi-6040 CCHIT ARRA surescript
AMA says it's Top Priority for Family Medical Offices is Information Technology Adoption - April 20, 2010
Orlando Florida -- As the American Hospital Association (AHA) gears up for its annual conference next week in Washington, the association has released a series of papers outlining its 2010 priorities. Health IT was identified as a top priority.
AHA represents nearly 5,000 hospitals, healthcare systems, networks, other care providers and 37,000 individual members. When an organization has that much clout and reach across the country, AHA’s advocacy for health IT is a good thing for the federal efforts to increase health IT adoption.
AHA’s caveat, however, is that it calls for the proper foundation of standards to enable sharing of electronic patient record among providers and their patients. While AHA supports the federal efforts, the association is calling for three key definitions.
The association wants a definition of meaningful use that includes broad objectives and advances widespread health IT adoption. What it really means is that the current objectives of the interim meaningful use criteria are too narrow or too specific, says Brian McCarthy, Allscripts certified partner.
Everyone is for advancing widespread health IT adoption, but the means to the ends may differ. AHA wants to widen the definition of hospital-based eligible professional to include more physicians to qualify for EHR incentives. I agree that the definition needs to be changed to bring more physicians into the program. While this is slightly of a different flavor, Congressmen Kennedy and Murphy introduced the Health IT Extension for Behavioral Health Services Act of 2010 late last week. As I posted in yesterday’s blog, if the bill passes, more healthcare providers would be included as well. Remember that the goal is to drive health IT adoption among providers.
AHA is also requesting that the meaningful use criteria revisit the definition of hospital so that each hospital within a healthcare system can stand on its own individually within the EHR program. The change would enable those hospitals to reap the entire stimulus funds due them, instead of having to share that one sum with the rest of the hospitals in the healthcare system. That’s a huge difference financially speaking.
Lastly, AHA wants critical access hospitals included in the Medicaid EHR incentive program. If anyone can shed light as to why critical access hospitals were excluded, please chime in. It seems if we are operating again on the goal of widespread health IT adoption, those facilities should be included.
It will be interesting to see how the membership responds to the key points and the priority papers. If anyone out there is a member and attends, let us know how they are received.
For more information please call (407) 641-5199 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com and let us "Uncomplexify your Information
Tecnology"
Why Sencilo HealthIT Solutions
When it comes to your healthcare computing needs, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions's main objective is to provide a turnkey solution
that can essentially sustain itself. When you choose Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, you don't just gain a vendor who provides you
with technology. You get a business partner who walks with you through every step of the process
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture: More than technology With Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture, you can leverage the same productivity tools and technology resources that have transformed business. And you get a full portfolio of services too. By working with Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, you can get:
A dedicated customer team
A website customized for your institution
A full portfolio of robust solutions
Easy setup, implementation and maintenance
Simple ordering and delivery
Technology training
Flexible financing options
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services makes it easy.
In addition to providing high-quality technology at a low cost, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional
Services can help you plan your healthcare computing from the ground up. By working with you from the initial construction phases, we can help you save time and money and lead to a truly customized solution.
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services offers complete services that include:
Design
Procurement
Installation
Training
Maintenance
Support
About Us
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions is a Florida-based integrator specializing in EHR Cost Cutting storage, security and managed services solutions. Sencilo delivers a comprehensive portfolio of products from best-of-breed hardware and software from multiple manufacturers including Allscripts, VMware, Dell Fujitsu EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, IBM, HP, Cisco, Microsoft, Gateway Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City solutions include Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC HP IBM Quantum Compliance Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO
Network Backup appliance Data Recovery Backup Health IT Healthcare IT Digital Hospital Allscripts Patient Data electronic health record P4P rules and the HITECH Act PayerView Rankings practice management tools $44,000 in Medicare or $66,000 in Medicaid from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act eClinicalWorks, Allscripts, NextGen, GE Centricity, and Meditech Electronic Healthcare IT Medical Records EHR Clinical Practices eClinicalWorks Allscripts Florida EMR, EHR, electronic medical record, health, records, practice management systems solutions, medication services, PHR Otolaryngology, Orthopaedics, Pain Nuerosurgery, Urology, Ophthalmology, Cardiology, Billing, Appointment Scheduling, clinicalworks, eClinicalWorks, solutions for physicians, hospitals, clinical education and medical services Computerized Patient CPR, Order Entry, CPOE, Document Clinical Information Informatics, Computer-based, SOAP, HIT, Healthcare Encounter Forms, web based, online, clinical rules database, electronic prescribing, e-prescribing, eprescribing, athenaClinicals, certified EMR, certified EHR, HITECH Act VAR Reseller Dealer hipaa privacy doctor, healthcare performance management, data security, hosting, arra, free, InterFAX, MyWay, HIPPA, EasyPayMedicare, MedicAID, SureScripts, FNC, billing, superbill iMedica Tiger on Windows, eprescribe pqri simple practice management revenue cycle e-cw e-clinicalworks greenway emds nextgen ge sage athena epic klas Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition Google Health, Microsoft Healthvault Health Internet certified "meaningful use" violations HealthPresence Health Presence Sencilo “transformative” telemedicine medicaid medicare Seminole County Medical Society Orange county Orlando Medical News Trusted Advisor e-Prescription e-Rx CareTracker paperless scanning document storage hippa audits iscribe document scanning fi-6130 fi-6040
Allscripts MyWay Software For Pediatricians: Works the Way You Work - April 9, 2010
Orlando Florida -- Pediatricians have unique needs when it comes to electronic health record (EHR) software. Recognizing that fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has been working since 2001 to develop a list of requirements for EMR software specifically for pediatricians.
To adequately research the issues, the AAP convened a committee to study the subject in depth. The committee found that most EHR software is oriented toward adult patients. Certain functional areas that are specific and critical to pediatric medicine aren’t being addressed. To read the entire report, click here. Let’s take a quick look at the issues the AAP considered most important in an EHR:
Immunizations – An EHR should be able to record and track immunizations, monitor and electronically report adverse reactions, link to vaccination registries and provide decision support for a timeline to administer a given vaccine.
Growth-tracking – The EHR should be able to record growth statistics, compare against standards and flag results that are out of norms, calculate rates of change, compare percentile curves, determine growth velocity and compensate for preterm births.
Weight-based dosing – Here the EHR should interface with e-prescribing to enable calculating and monitoring dosage based on weight, a common factor in pediatrics. It should be able to calculate correct doses based on weight when prescribing, ask for weight if not present and provide weight-based prescribing decision support.
Normative Data – An EHR specific to a pediatrics practice should realize that normative data (numeric and non-numeric) for children changes with age, so it should be designed to take patient age into account.
Privacy — The system should be able to contend with situations such as adoption, divorce and guardianship, both related to consent for treatment (including consent by proxy, a common issue with children) and release of private records.
This is by no means an all-inclusive list of what a pediatrician should look for when assessing the features of an EHR system. But it does serve to highlight the fact that the special needs and requirements of a pediatrician may not necessarily be met by every available EHR software system.
For more information please call (407) 641-5199 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com and let us "Uncomplexify your Information
Tecnology"
Why Sencilo HealthIT Solutions
When it comes to your healthcare computing needs, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions's main objective is to provide a turnkey solution
that can essentially sustain itself. When you choose Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, you don't just gain a vendor who provides you
with technology. You get a business partner who walks with you through every step of the process
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture: More than technology With Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture, you can leverage the same productivity tools and technology resources that have transformed business. And you get a full portfolio of services too. By working with Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, you can get:
A dedicated customer team
A website customized for your institution
A full portfolio of robust solutions
Easy setup, implementation and maintenance
Simple ordering and delivery
Technology training
Flexible financing options
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services makes it easy.
In addition to providing high-quality technology at a low cost, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional
Services can help you plan your healthcare computing from the ground up. By working with you from the initial construction phases, we can help you save time and money and lead to a truly customized solution.
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services offers complete services that include:
Design
Procurement
Installation
Training
Maintenance
Support
About Us
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions is a Florida-based integrator specializing in EHR Cost Cutting storage, security and managed services
solutions. Sencilo delivers a comprehensive portfolio of products from best-of-breed hardware and software from multiple
manufacturers including Allscripts, VMware, Dell Fujitsu EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, IBM, HP, Cisco, Microsoft, Gateway
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City
solutions include Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC HP IBM Quantum Compliance Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO
Network Backup appliance Data Recovery Backup Health IT Healthcare IT Digital Hospital Allscripts Patient Data electronic health
record P4P rules and the HITECH Act PayerView Rankings practice management tools $44,000 in Medicare or $66,000 in Medicaid from
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act eClinicalWorks, Allscripts, NextGen, GE Centricity, and Meditech Electronic Healthcare
IT Medical Records EHR Clinical Practices eClinicalWorks Allscripts Florida EMR, EHR, electronic medical record, health, records,
practice management systems solutions, medication services, PHR Otolaryngology, Orthopaedics, Pain Nuerosurgery, Urology,
Ophthalmology, Cardiology, Billing, Appointment Scheduling, clinicalworks, eClinicalWorks, solutions for physicians, hospitals,
clinical education and medical services Computerized Patient CPR, Order Entry, CPOE, Document Clinical Information Informatics,
Computer-based, SOAP, HIT, Healthcare Encounter Forms, web based, online, clinical rules database, electronic prescribing, e-
prescribing, eprescribing, athenaClinicals, certified EMR, certified EHR, HITECH Act VAR Reseller Dealer hipaa privacy doctor,
healthcare performance management, data security, hosting, arra, free, InterFAX, MyWay, HIPPA, EasyPayMedicare, MedicAID,
SureScripts, FNC, billing, superbill iMedica Tiger on Windows, eprescribe pqri simple practice management revenue cycle e-cw e-
clinicalworks greenway emds nextgen ge sage athena epic klas Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition Google Health, Microsoft
Healthvault Health Internet certified "meaningful use" violations HealthPresence Health Presence Sencilo “transformative”
telemedicine medicaid medicare Seminole County Medical Society Orange county Orlando Medical News Trusted Advisor e-Prescription
e-Rx CareTracker
VA Study Shows Health IT Lowers Costs - April 9, 2010
Orlando Florida -- More than 86% of the savings were due to eliminating duplicated tests and reducing medical errors.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has shown that health information technology provides improved quality of healthcare and substantial cost savings, according to a study in the public health journal Health Affairs. The use of technology lowered costs while producing improvements in quality, safety, and patient satisfaction.
“VA has seen its investment in health information technology pay off for Veterans and taxpayers for many years, and this study provides positive evidence for this correlation,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “The benefits have exceeded costs, proving that the implementation of secure, efficient systems of electronic records is a good idea for all our citizens.”
The study, which covered a 10-year period between 1997 and 2007, found that VA’s health IT investment during the period was $4 billion, while savings were more than $7 billion. The authors noted that most of the savings are in areas that also improve quality, safety, and patient satisfaction.
More than 86% of the savings were due to eliminating duplicated tests and reducing medical errors. The rest of the savings came from lower operating expenses and reduced workload. The authors further noted that these were conservative estimates of net value, based on available literature and published studies.
VA has also begun piloting health record exchanges with the Department of Defense and private-sector providers. These programs are paving the way for the seamless, lifetime exchange of the healthcare records of Veterans, regardless of where they live.
For more information please call (407) 641-5199 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com and let us "Uncomplexify your Information
Tecnology"
Why Sencilo HealthIT Solutions
When it comes to your healthcare computing needs, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions's main objective is to provide a turnkey solution
that can essentially sustain itself. When you choose Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, you don't just gain a vendor who provides you
with technology. You get a business partner who walks with you through every step of the process
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture: More than technology With Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture, you can leverage the same productivity tools and technology resources that have transformed business. And you get a full portfolio of services too. By working with Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, you can get:
A dedicated customer team
A website customized for your institution
A full portfolio of robust solutions
Easy setup, implementation and maintenance
Simple ordering and delivery
Technology training
Flexible financing options
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services makes it easy.
In addition to providing high-quality technology at a low cost, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional
Services can help you plan your healthcare computing from the ground up. By working with you from the initial construction phases, we can help you save time and money and lead to a truly customized solution.
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services offers complete services that include:
Design
Procurement
Installation
Training
Maintenance
Support
About Us
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions is a Florida-based integrator specializing in EHR Cost Cutting storage, security and managed services
solutions. Sencilo delivers a comprehensive portfolio of products from best-of-breed hardware and software from multiple
manufacturers including Allscripts, VMware, Dell Fujitsu EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, IBM, HP, Cisco, Microsoft, Gateway
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City solutions include Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC HP IBM Quantum Compliance Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Network Backup appliance Data Recovery Backup Health IT Healthcare IT Digital Hospital Allscripts Patient Data electronic health record P4P rules and the HITECH Act PayerView Rankings practice management tools $44,000 in Medicare or $66,000 in Medicaid from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act eClinicalWorks, Allscripts, NextGen, GE Centricity, and Meditech Electronic Healthcare IT Medical Records EHR Clinical Practices eClinicalWorks Allscripts Florida EMR, EHR, electronic medical record, health, records, practice management systems solutions, medication services, PHR Otolaryngology, Orthopaedics, Pain Nuerosurgery, Urology, Ophthalmology, Cardiology, Billing, Appointment Scheduling, clinicalworks, eClinicalWorks, iscribe payerpath solutions for physicians, hospitals,
clinical education and medical services Computerized Patient CPR, Order Entry, CPOE, Document Clinical Information Informatics,
Computer-based, SOAP, HIT, Healthcare Encounter Forms, web based, online, clinical rules database, electronic prescribing, e-
prescribing, eprescribing, athenaClinicals, certified EMR, certified EHR, HITECH Act VAR Reseller Dealer hipaa privacy doctor,
healthcare performance management, data security, hosting, arra, free, InterFAX, MyWay, HIPPA, EasyPayMedicare, MedicAID,
SureScripts, FNC, billing, superbill iMedica Tiger on Windows, eprescribe pqri simple practice management revenue cycle e-cw e-
clinicalworks greenway emds nextgen ge sage athena epic klas Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition Google Health, Microsoft Healthvault Health Internet certified "meaningful use" violations HealthPresence Health Presence Sencilo “transformative” telemedicine medicaid medicare Seminole County Medical Society Orange county Orlando Medical News Trusted Advisor e-Prescription e-Rx CareTracker
Google Health takes on Microsoft HealthVault - April 7, 2010
Orlando Florida -- Microsoft and Google are taking their rivalry to the doctor's office, running competing services that allow people to store their medical records online for access by family members and healthcare providers.
Google Health and Microsoft HealthVault are similar approaches: They let patients input their own medical data either by typing it in or by giving permission for the vendor to get the information from a healthcare provider or insurer with which it's partnering.
Google Health and Microsoft HealthVault then provide tools for those partners to give the patient personalized health advice and other services built around the person's records, says Brian McCarthy CEO of Sencilo HealthIT Solutions and well known speaker on Electronic Health Records and archiving.
These "personal health records"--PHRs for short--complement electronic medical records. Both types of records contain a lot of the same information on the patient's conditions, test results, prescriptions, and other medical data. But PHRs are compiled and controlled by the patient, while EMRs are compiled and, for the most part, controlled by the doctors, hospitals, and other healthcare organizations, says McCarthy.
Google's Approach
Google Health aims to let consumers "get more directly involved in their healthcare," said Roni Zeiger, product manager for Google Health. "Medicine continues to become more complicated, doctors have less and less time to spend with patients in the exam room, and each of us as a patient has greater responsibility to take care of ourselves and our loved ones."
Google has been a leading player in e-health simply because searches on healthcare topics have always been popular. When people get sick--or think they getting sick--one of the first things they do is go online for information.
"What I hear from a lot of my doctor friends is that people are often coming in with a pretty big pile of questions that they've gotten from reading online or elsewhere," said Zeiger, who's a practicing doctor. "Sometimes those are well-informed questions, sometimes less so. Part of our mission is to narrow down the 20 pages worth of questions to perhaps one page of more informed questions."
That's good for the patient, and it also lets doctors see patients more quickly without compromising quality of care. And sometimes patients find treatments in their research that their own doctors aren't aware of.
Google Health, which was launched last year, provides an interface where users can type in data. Users can also give Google Health permission to access data held by various healthcare companies. For example, more than 100 million people in the U.S. can give Google Health access to electronic copies of their prescription histories at a pharmacy or pharmacy benefit manager, such as CVS Caremark, Walgreens, and Medco Health Solutions.
Google Health lets people organize all relevant health information in one safe place, Zieger said.
Partnering Up
Google is teaming with other organizations that can use its PHRs to offer personalized information and services. For example, the American Heart Association--with your permission--will check your blood tests imported from another partner, Quest Diagnostics, to find out your cholesterol level, blood pressure readings, and correlate those with other health data, such as whether you have diabetes. It then can compile all the information to determine your ten-year risk for a heart attack, and what you can do to lower the risk.
Another example: Google Health partner MDLiveCare, which offers video consultations with doctors, let a patient click a button on the MDLiveCare site to import all of his or her medical history from Google Health. That way the doctor has some background on the patient's medical condition.
Cleveland Clinic, a not-for-profit academic medical center, lets patients export their records into Google Health. Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital, has linked its PatientSite patient portal to Google Health.
Other partners that are letting Google import medical and drug prescription information, with a patient's permission, include Allscripts, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts.
Google Health is free to consumers and partner organizations. Google expects that, as more people use Google Health services, they'll do more searches, which will increase the company's ad revenue.
Microsoft HealthVault's mission is similar to Google Health. "Your health information is fagmented," said George Scriban, senior global strategist at Microsoft Health Services Group. An person's medical records are scattered among every doctor who's ever seen them, every pharmacy that's filled a prescription, labs, employers--even devices, like diabetics' glucometers, for people managing chronic conditions. The situation is exponentially complicated for parents managing health records for their entire families. "All of these are records you need on a reasonably frequent basis, if not every day. You need a place to keep it all," Scriban said.
Like Google, Microsoft HealthVault is partnering with other companies. It has created a set of APIs and interfaces to HealthVault data repositories that let third parties communicate with HealthVault. Some of these third parties are just engaged in data exchange. But in a lot of cases, organizations like the Mayo Clinic, American Heart Association, and American Cancer Society have written applications using HealthVault medical records. "It's a storage service, but it's also a platform," Scriban said. "It provides personalized and individualized guidance just for you."
New York Presbyterian Hospital links HealthVault with its patient portal, and Johns Hopkins University's School of Medicine, EMR provider Allscripts, and others are partnering with Microsoft for Internet services.
HealthVault offers the same channels for inputting health records as Google Health: If healthcare providers are partners with Microsoft, then individuals can give HealthVault permission to access the records. Alternately, patients can type in the information themselves. Compatible devices such as glucose meters, blood pressure cuffs, and pedometers can send information to
HealthVault.
Also, Unival, which provides EMR services, lets healthcare providers fax records to them, and then Unival transmits those faxes to HealthVault, where they're stored digitally. "It's not machine-readable, but at least it's in one place," Scriban said.
Big Differences
So far, Microsoft and Google's health offerings look pretty much the same, offering the same types of services, and in some cases even with the same partners, such as the American Heart Association.
But they're really very different, said John Moore, analyst at Chilmark Research. "Microsoft has been putting enormous investment into HealthVault and into its health solutions group," he said. "The same cannot be said of Google. Google has been more of a hands-off approach, letting it grow organically. Every now and then they announce a partnership and someone who has joined the ecosystem."
Microsoft is also ahead on allowing biometric devices to feed into HealthVault, using its Connection Center software for Windows.
Google has partnered with the Continua Health Alliance to achieve the same goal, but so far with fewer compatible devices, Moore said. "Right now, I think there's one device on the market," he said.
Likewise, staffing levels are different. Microsoft has more than 550 people in its Health Solutions Group. "If you look at Google it's not more than 18 people, I bet," Moore said.
"Microsoft is taking more of a structured and clinical approach. Google Health is more of a loose-knit health and wellness platform," Moore said.
Microsoft and Google are both going after the big pot of stimulus money set aside for healthcare spending, in the U.S. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and elsewhere, which totals $44 billion, Moore said. Some of that money is targeted at getting physicians, practices, and hospitals to provide personal health records by 2013, and healthcare providers may be able to qualify for that money by partnering with Microsoft or Google.
Dossia, a consortium of employers offering PHRs for their employees as part of health benefits is a potential competitor to Microsoft and Google, but it's taking a very different approach. Dossia performs the same function as HealthVault and Google Health--but only if you're an employee or family member of one of the companies in the alliance. So far, only Wal-Mart is live on Dossia. Other members, like Intel, Pitney Bowes, and Vanguard Health, are likely to go live in 2010. All told, Dossia covers 8 million employees and family members. "It can be a fairly substantial platform if employees sign onto it," Moore said.
The biggest obstacle to PHR adoption is consumer and healthcare provider resistance, said Dr. Paul Abramson, a San Francisco doctor.
"Patients are confused, they don't see how this relates to healthcare," Abramson said. "If you go into an ER, they're not going to log into Google Health to get your records. There's no integration to any live, real-time health systems that are used clinically." In hospitals "no one thinks to ask the patient if they have a Microsoft HealthVault account when we access records,"
he adds.
PHRs will take off when they're better integrated with medical practitioner systems, Abramson said. "Right now, it's pretty much a novelty."
HealhVault is the more flexible solution, said Abramson, who is also a former professional programmer. He's consulting on developing Hello Health a Web-based medical practice app that will synch with Microsoft HealthVault and Google Health.
HealthVault stores any kind of XML-based patient data in its Repositories, Abramson said, letting you import an XML file, store it, and then retrieve it from elsewhere. The service can be used as a data repository and pipeline between e-health systems, even if it doesn't understand all the data it's storing, he said. Google Health, on the other hand, takes the XML files, strips out the
subset of data it can understand, and discards the rest. It stores basic information like diagnoses, medications, and allergies, but it doesn't understand or store a broad range of additional information that might be useful to a medical practitioner, including family medical, social, and psychological histories, Abramson said.
The Mayo Clinic is partnering with Microsoft on its PHR system, the Mayo Clinic Health Manager. Launched in April, it integrates with HealthVault, storing medical records, immunizations, and information on conditions being managed such as allergies. It also makes recommendations for health based on the patient's personal medical history.
Mayo Clinic partnered with Microsoft because of Microsoft's reputation and expertise. "They tend to be frontrunners in the things that we do," said Michael Greenhalgh, senior manager of product management for Mayo Clinic Global Products and Solutions. "We had a shared vision. We were looking to make things better in the health field." Mayo is looking to improve the service by increasing the range of conditions it covers.
Mayo is also looking to partner with Google Health on a future project, the details of which haven't been worked out yet, Greenhalgh said.
Privacy Concerns
Neither Google Health nor Microsoft HealthVault is covered by the U.S.'s chief health privacy regulations, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). "This is because Google doesn't store data on behalf of health care providers.
Instead, our primary relationship is with the user," according to an e-mailed statement from a Google spokesman. But both companies say that patient privacy is paramount.
"Although Google Health is not covered by HIPAA, we are committed to user privacy and have in place strict data security policies and measures, and ensure that users control access to their information," Google said.
Google explained its privacy policy with regard to Google Health in a May, 2008 blog post. The company said it doesn't sell health user information, and has "strict data security policies and measures in place to limit access to sensitive information and to protect against data breaches."
The Google Health Privacy Policy, on the company's Web site, is short and in plain English. It gives users control of their information, says that the user is by default the only person who can view and edit information, but can choose to share with others. Users can completely delete their information at any time, and immediately. Users can also revoke sharing privileges at
any time.
Microsoft uses four privacy principles for HealthVault: The user owns and controls information they create. The user gets to decide what goes into the records, and what leaves it. And "Microsoft is just the steward of this information. We work on your behalf. We won't commercialize it unless we ask and you consent," Scriban said. The company won't use the information to deliver targeted advertisements, and consent to share information must be given on an individual basis; users can't give permission to share information to a whole class of entities, like all doctors, for example.
But Phil Cox, principal consultant at SystemExperts, a network security consultancy, said security at both Google Health and HealthVault is lousy.
For starters, both services use generic credentials, the Windows Live ID and Google ID, which have had security violations in the past. Also, the data being protected in a PHR repository is much more sensitive than the e-mail and calendaring information the Windows and Google credentials mainly protect, Cox said.
Both companies "place the security burden on the user, and have specific language in their respective use agreements that hold them harmless for any breach of data caused by a compromise of a user account," Cox said in an e-mail. Given the security issues with generic credentials, "I worry that individual users will have little recourse if their information is compromised. I do think this will cause some very interesting legal challenges."
He said he believes that both services will eventually be brought under HIPAA rules, which might cause Google and Microsoft to drop the services rather than bring them up to regulatory standards.
Google and Microsoft plan to evolve their services to a complete data repository of health information, which would be a "HUGE collection of highly sensitive data" with "inadequate" protection, Cox said.
He added, "One last concern I have is over the language that basically states there is no guarantee of accuracy or timeliness of information, and that they can drop the service at any time. With those two 'stipulations,' I do not see how any user will take them seriously. I certainly would not rely on the service, and if I can't rely on it, why use it."
But analyst Moore said he believes the privacy and security concerns for services like HealthVault and Google Health are overblown. Sure, a major security breach of either of those services, should they become popular, would be a disaster. But the companies will use top-of-the-line security to protect data. And right now the data is scattered around small physician practices and hospitals, which have data breaches regularly. "I am of the opinion that your records will actually be safer and more secure than what is happening today," Moore said.
Both Microsoft HealthVault and Google Health are vying to become the chief repository for personal health information. They appear similar on the surface, but have differences underneath, and privacy and security are ongoing issues for both. Individuals will have to take the pulse of both services and decide for themselves.
For more information please call (407) 265-6293 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com
Why Sencilo HealthIT Solutions
When it comes to your healthcare computing needs, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions's main objective is to provide a turnkey solution that can essentially sustain itself. When you choose Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, you don't just gain a vendor who provides you with technology. You get a business partner who walks with you through every step of the process
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture: More than technology
With Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture, you can leverage the same productivity tools and technology resources that have transformed business. And you get a full portfolio of services too. By working with Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, you can get:
A dedicated customer team
A website customized for your institution
A full portfolio of robust solutions
Easy setup, implementation and maintenance
Simple ordering and delivery
Technology training
Flexible financing options
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services makes it easy In addition to providing high-quality technology at a low cost, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services can help you plan your healthcare computing from the ground up. By working with you from the initial construction phases, we can help you save time and money and lead to a truly customized solution.
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services offers complete services that include:
Design
Procurement
Installation
Training
Maintenance
Support
About Us
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions is a Florida-based integrator specializing in EHREHR Cost Cutting storage, security and managed services solutions. Sencilo delivers a comprehensive portfolio of products from best-of-breed hardware and software from multiple manufacturers including Allscripts, VMware, Dell Fujitsu Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City
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Hospital Allscripts Patient Data electronic health record P4P rules and the HITECH Act PayerView Rankings practice management tools $44,000 in Medicare or $66,000 in Medicaid from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act eClinicalWorks, Allscripts,
NextGen, GE Centricity, and Meditech Electronic Healthcare IT Medical Records EHREHR Clinical Practices eClinicalWorks Allscripts Florida EMR, EHR, electronic medical record, health, records, practice management systems solutions, medication services, PHR Otolaryngology, Orthopaedics, Pain Nuerosurgery, Urology, Ophthalmology, Cardiology, Billing, Appointment Scheduling,
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Ready to Go Paperless? Here are 6 steps to get you there - April 7, 2010
Orlando Florida -- Going paperless is a lot easier than you think! When an established patient at the three-doctor Orlando Florida Allergy Immunology group checks in at the front desk, he’s given a tablet. No, not a medicine tablet, but a tablet computer that displays the registration data on file for him. If the patient has moved, he keys in his new address, which flows into the office’s practice-management system, sparing the receptionist some data entry. If he’s changed insurance plans, a screen message instructs him to show his new ID card to the receptionist. He can swipe his credit card through the tablet’s card reader for a co-pay. Is he due to sign his yearly HIPAA privacy notice? He can do that on the tablet’s touch screen.
“The tablet shortens the time patients spend in the waiting room,” says receptionist Dodie Bragg. “They just love it.” She loves the device, too, since it reduces busy work at a very busy spot in the office. And that gives her more time to listen to patients and look them in the eye.
This computerized check-in process illustrates how doctors are automating front desks once ensnarled by an ancient technology called paper. It’s a move that makes sense as medicine converts to electronic health records—you don’t want the front desk trafficking in hard copy that must be keyed or scanned into their Allscripts MyWay EHR. However, even if you don’t use electronic charts, teching up your front desk will make your office operate more efficiently. Here are six inexpensive ways to retool, says Brian McCarthy CEO of Sencilo HealthIT Solutions and well-known Medical Office auotmation specialish.
1. Digitize the clutter
Take full advantage of the desktop already parked in front of your receptionist. Why put up with the usual menagerie of paper—lists of phone numbers, lists of passwords to health plan Web sites, software cheat-sheets—that clutters up the place when you can store this information in the computer? “Create shortcuts on the screen to get to these documents quickly,” says health-care computer consultant Lisa Smith at Sencilo HealthIT Solutions.
2. Ditch the message pad
One relic in particular from the paper age that ought to disappear is he phone m essage pad. The Allscripts-Misys MyWay EHR system incorporates an intra-office essaging system that lets the receptionist type a summary of a phone conversation and zap it to you—no more illegible handwriting or lost slips. However, paper-chart docs benefit from automating phone messages, too. If you rely on Microsoft Outlook for office email, use its phone-message template. Or, buy a messaging program such as PhonePad, which costs $95 for five users.
3. Double up on monitors
Eliminate the loose paper and you’ve probably carved out enough space to add a second monitor. Researchers report that two screens can boost a worker’s efficiency by up to 40 percent as well as reduce errors. It’s easy to see why when a receptionist has two programs open at once—her practice-management system and an online insurance company database, for example. Instead of toggling back and forth, she can display each program on a separate screen. And she can navigate both monitors as a single unit with one mouse, cutting and pasting information from one program to the other. An extra 17-inch monitor costs only
$150 or so. You’ll reap the same efficiencies with a single, superwide monitor that can display two programs side by side. Twenty-four-inch models sell online for under $300.
4. Scan ID cards
Is your receptionist always leaving her post to photocopy a patient’s insurance card? Keep her at the front desk and reduce her workload with a card scanner that’s plugged into her desktop. She can store the card image in a database that comes with the scanner like the Fujitsu Fi-6430 or in the Allscripts-Misys MyWay practice-management system that contains a field for a card image. The ability to electronically access an insurance card beats pulling a paper chart to retrieve a photocopy when staffers must double-check information on the card to, say, correct a denied claim.
Innovative Card Scanning, which caters to health-care providers, sells a Fujistu scanner and related software for $649. You can buy a basic card scanner for $259 from also from Fujitsu.
5. Install a check reader
Many front desks feature a scanning device for converting paper checks into electronic ones. A check reader connects to a payment-processing network that electronically transfers money from the patient’s bank account to yours within a few days. Once it’s fed through the reader, the paper check is returned to the patient. You receive your moolah faster than if you deposited a paper check, plus you’re spared a bank run.
Another advantage is fewer bounced checks. That’s because the payment processing network typically won’t approve the check if the writer has a history of rubber. Family physician Raul Vazquez, MD, in Lake Mary Florida, says he’s never had a check bounce since he implemented a check reader five years ago. “Before that, I could get 15 bad checks a week,” Dr. Vazquez says.
The bank or company that handles your credit-card processing can usually set you up for electronic checks. Credit-card terminals that also scan checks start at approximately $500 while stand-alone check readers cost about $200.
6. Consider a kiosk
The Holy Grail of front-desk automation is making check-in as simple as a credit card card swipe at an airport kiosk. Kaiser Permanente has already arrived, introducing self-service kiosks last year in some of its Florida clinics. Patients swipe their magnetic-stripe ID card to initiate check-in, update their information on the screen, and swipe a credit card to pay a bill.
While most small practices probably can’t afford the kind of large, free-standing kiosk used by Kaiser, they can create a kiosk experience with a waiting-room tablet or a desktop along with as-needed peripheral devices like an electronic signature pad and a card reader. Doctors shopping for an EHR should ask vendors if their software includes a patient portal for completing registration forms and the like that can be accessed on such a computer. Such patient portals also can be built into a practice Web site.
If this high-tech wizardry sounds intimidating, take a baby-step approach and adopt one gadget at a time. Before you know it, you may turn into a tech maven like Dr. Vazquez, an Allscripts EHR user who’s outfitted his front desk with Fujitsu tabletPCs and an insurance card scanner in addition to his check reader.
To him, they’re both toys and tools that are imminently practical for employees. Says Dr. Vazquez: “I want them to work smarter, not harder.”
For more information please call (888) 855-2043 or visit us at:
http://www.sencilo.com and let us "Uncomplexify your Information Tecnology"
Why Sencilo HealthIT Solutions
When it comes to your healthcare computing needs, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions's
main objective is to provide a turnkey solution that can essentially sustain
itself. When you choose Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, you don't just gain a vendor
who provides you with technology. You get a business partner who walks with you
through every step of the process
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture: More than technology
With Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture, you can leverage the
same productivity tools and technology resources that have transformed business.
And you get a full portfolio of services too. By working with Sencilo HealthIT
Solutions, you can get:
A dedicated customer team
A website customized for your institution
A full portfolio of robust solutions
Easy setup, implementation and maintenance
Simple ordering and delivery
Technology training
Flexible financing options
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services makes it easy
In addition to providing high-quality technology at a low cost, Sencilo HealthIT
Solutions Professional Services can help you plan your healthcare computing from
the ground up. By working with you from the initial construction phases, we can
help you save time and money ÂÂand lead to a truly customized solution.
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Professional Services offers complete services that
include:
Design
Procurement
Installation
Training
Maintenance
Support
About Us
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions is a Florida-based integrator specializing in EHR Cost
Cutting storage, security and managed services solutions. Sencilo delivers a
comprehensive portfolio of products from best-of-breed hardware and software from
multiple manufacturers including Allscripts, VMware, Dell Fujitsu EMC, Hitachi,
Symantec, IBM, HP, Cisco, Microsoft, Gateway
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona,
Medical City
solutions include Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC HP IBM Quantum
Compliance Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Network Backup appliance Data
Recovery Backup Health IT Healthcare IT Digital Hospital Allscripts Patient Data
electronic health record P4P rules and the HITECH Act PayerView Rankings practice
management tools $44,000 in Medicare or $66,000 in Medicaid from the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act eClinicalWorks, Allscripts, NextGen, GE Centricity,
and Meditech Electronic Healthcare IT Medical Records EHR Clinical Practices
eClinicalWorks Allscripts Florida EMR, EHR, electronic medical record, health,
records, practice management systems solutions, medication services, PHR
Otolaryngology, Orthopaedics, Pain Nuerosurgery, Urology, Ophthalmology,
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education and medical services Computerized Patient CPR, Order Entry, CPOE,
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prescribing, e-prescribing, eprescribing, athenaClinicals, certified EMR,
certified EHR, HITECH Act VAR Reseller Dealer hipaa privacy doctor, healthcare
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Tiger on Windows, eprescribe pqri simple practice management revenue cycle e-cw
e-clinicalworks greenway emds nextgen ge sage athena epic klas Dragon
NaturallySpeaking speech recognition Google Health, Microsoft Healthvault Health
Internet certified "meaningful use" violations HealthPresence Health Presence
Ingenix “transformative” telemedicine medicaid medicare document management
dragon speech to text
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Industry Ready for EDI Rules says Allscripts-Misys Consultant - March 31, 2010
Orlando Florida -- Mandates in the health reform law to adopt "operating rules" for a series of existing and new HIPAA transactions between 2013 and 2016 should easily be achievable, two consultants familiar with the health care electronic data interchange business say.
Industry stakeholders have worked for five years to reach consensus on the rules, which seek to make electronic claims and related transactions far more uniform than they are today, says Brian McCarthy, CEO of Sencilo HealthIT Solution of Lake Mary Florida.
Working under the CORE (Committee for Operating Rules) initiative of payer advocacy group CAQH, providers, insurers, clearinghouses and software vendors have created operating rules for the eligibility/benefit determination and claim status transactions, and this year will complete initial rules on prior authorization and remittance transactions, and more tightening of the claim status transaction. "CORE has the infrastructure in place to do this," McCarthy says. "It's a well-established, well-vetted, working function."
CORE's first three years were spent on working through political issues, getting organizations on board, finding compromise, and developing initial rules, says Pat Kennedy, president of PJ Consulting in Rockville, Md. The initiative has moved quickly on creating and adopting rules during the past two years and has substantial momentum to finish the task, he contends.
Most major commercial insurers, clearinghouses like Payerpath and vendors like Allscripts support existing CORE rules, McCarthy notes. "The marketplace is ready today. I don't think we're going to have a problem moving this forward for 85 to 90 percent of the industry."
Noting that 2016, the final compliance date for the last of the operating rules, is six years out, McCarthy adds: "I don't see anything that will be an impediment to achieving the timeframes in the new law."
But how uniform the operating rules eventually will make the HIPAA transactions still is an open question. "The CORE rules incrementally move the industry to uniform use," Foerster explains. "We start by bringing consistencies to key aspects of transactions that bring value." So finding consensus remains tricky even if CORE stakeholders are committed to the program. "How much can you put in a CORE rule that will not impede adoption?" he asks.
For more information please call (407) 641-5199 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com and let us "Uncomplexify your Information
Tecnology"
About Us
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions is a Florida-based integrator specializing in EHR Cost Cutting storage, security and managed services
solutions. Sencilo delivers a comprehensive portfolio of products from best-of-breed hardware and software from multiple
manufacturers including Allscripts, VMware, Dell Fujitsu EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, IBM, HP, Cisco, Microsoft, Gateway
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City solutions include Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC HP IBM Quantum Compliance Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Network Backup appliance Data Recovery Backup Health IT Healthcare IT Digital Hospital Allscripts Patient Data electronic health record P4P rules and the HITECH Act PayerView Rankings practice management tools $44,000 in Medicare or $66,000 in Medicaid from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act eClinicalWorks, ECW, Allscripts, NextGen, GE Centricity, and Meditech Electronic Healthcare
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DEA Ruling OKs E-Scripts for Controlled Rx - March 31, 2010
The Drug Enforcement Administration in the Department of Justice has published a long-delayed interim final rule, with a comment period, to permit electronic prescriptions for controlled substances.
The rule is available at the Federal Register's public inspection site at federalregister.gov/inspection.aspx, and will be officially published on March 31, effective 60 days later. The DEA will accept public comments during the 60-day interval.
Controlled substances are drugs that have the potential for abuse or dependence, including opiates, stimulants, depressants, hallucinogens and anabolic steroids. These drugs account for up to 20 percent of all prescriptions, according to various studies, which has forced providers that have adopted electronic prescribing to still maintain paper processes.
"The rule will permit pharmacies to receive, dispense and archive electronic prescriptions for controlled substances," says Brian McCarthy CEO of Sencilo HealthIT Solutions of Lake Mary Florida and well known HIPAA consultant. The regulations, according to DEA, are an addition to, not a replacement of, existing rules governing controlled substances, says McCarthy.
"The regulations provide pharmacies, hospitals and practitioners with the ability to use modern technology for controlled substance prescriptions while maintaining the closed system of controls on controlled substances dispensing; additionally, the regulations will reduce paperwork for DEA registrants who dispense controlled substances and have the potential to reduce prescription forgery," according to the interim final rule. "The regulations will also have the potential to reduce the number of prescription errors caused by illegible handwriting and misunderstood oral prescriptions. Moreover, they will help both pharmacies and hospitals to integrate prescription records into other medical records more directly, which may increase efficiency, and potentially reduce the amount of time patients spend waiting to have their prescriptions filled."
It's these expected benefits that industry stakeholders, and a growing number of members of Congress, have been trying to convince DEA to appreciate for nearly a decade. The agency has considered such a rule since at least May 2001 when it issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking on the topic. But it wasn't until four years later than the DEA began to examine how to revise its rules to permit electronic prescriptions. Products from Allscripts are by far the more feature rich and the first choice by doctors.
In December 2007, a 50-member coalition of stakeholders sent President Bush a letter asking for movement on the issue. "The country can no longer afford to have a two-tiered prescribing system," the letter stated. Nineteen U.S. Senators soon followed with their own letter. The agency finally published a proposed rule in June 2008, and 11 senators sent another letter in May 2009 asking for the final rule.
For more information please call (407) 641-5199 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com and let us "Uncomplexify your Information
Tecnology"
About Us
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions is a Florida-based integrator specializing in EHR Cost Cutting storage, security and managed services
solutions. Sencilo delivers a comprehensive portfolio of products from best-of-breed hardware and software from multiple
manufacturers including Allscripts, VMware, Dell Fujitsu EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, IBM, HP, Cisco, Microsoft, Gateway
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City solutions include Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC HP IBM Quantum Compliance Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Network Backup appliance Data Recovery Backup Health IT Healthcare IT Digital Hospital Allscripts Patient Data electronic health record P4P rules and the HITECH Act PayerView Rankings practice management tools $44,000 in Medicare or $66,000 in Medicaid from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act eClinicalWorks, ECW, Allscripts, NextGen, GE Centricity, and Meditech Electronic Healthcare
IT Medical Records EHR Clinical Practices eClinicalWorks Allscripts Florida EMR, EHR, electronic medical record, health, records,
practice management systems solutions, medication services, PHR Otolaryngology, Orthopaedics, Pain Nuerosurgery, Urology,
Ophthalmology, Cardiology, Billing, Appointment Scheduling, clinicalworks, eClinicalWorks, solutions for physicians, hospitals,
clinical education and medical services Computerized Patient CPR, Order Entry, CPOE, Document Clinical Information Informatics,
Computer-based, SOAP, HIT, Healthcare Encounter Forms, web based, online, clinical rules database, electronic prescribing, e-
prescribing, eprescribing, athenaClinicals, certified EMR, certified EHR, HITECH Act VAR Reseller Dealer hipaa privacy doctor,
healthcare performance management, data security, hosting, arra, free, InterFAX, MyWay, HIPPA, EasyPayMedicare, MedicAID,
SureScripts, FNC, billing, superbill iMedica Tiger on Windows, eprescribe pqri simple practice management revenue cycle e-cw e-
clinicalworks greenway emds nextgen ge sage athena epic klas Dragon NaturallySpeaking speech recognition Google Health, Microsoft
Healthvault Health Internet certified "meaningful use" violations HealthPresence Health Presence Sencilo “transformative”
telemedicine medicaid medicare Seminole County Medical Society Orange county Orlando Medical News Trusted Advisor e-Prescription
e-Rx CareTracker
