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Lack of Basic Security allows BlueCross and BlueShield to loses 500,000 members Health and Financial Records - January 19, 2010
Orlando Florida -- BlueCross and BlueShield of Tennessee has announced it has so far notified more than 157,000 members of the theft of identifiable data in early October that affected an estimated 500,000 members. The Chattanooga, Tenn.-based insurer announced the theft within days of its occurance. It started notifying members in early December as evidence that their information was on stolen files surfaced during an investigation that continues.
In October, 57 hard drives containing audio and video files were stolen from a leased facility that previously housed a call center and was in a transition stage with some employees still working at the facility. The files related to coordination of care and eligibility phone calls from providers and members. The video files were images from computer screens of customer service representatives and the audio files were recorded telephone conversations. The stolen material included an estimated 1.3 million audio files and 300,000 video files.
The files contained demographic information and BlueCross ID numbers. They also contained diagnostic information and Social Security numbers for many of the affected members. The files were encoded, which is a process of converting data by use of a code to make it unreadable, but not encrypted, which changes plain text into ciphertext, or characters, using algorithms and a key.
The plan hired New York security firm Kroll Inc. to review backup files and identify affected members, conduct forensic data matching to determine the data at risk for each member, and to assess BCBS of Tennessee's systemwide security. The plan "has taken several actions to strengthen these protocols," the company said in a Jan. 13 statement updating its progress. Among the changes is a requirement now that all data resides in properties that BCBS of Tennessee owns, according to a spokesperson.
The theft occurred on Oct. 2 and the plan learned about it on Oct. 5. Work to identify and match data began on Oct. 7. The plan and Kroll completed an audit of back-up files on Jan. 4 with analysis of the data continuing. Notification letters to affected members started on Dec. 7.
We have seen this all before, companies like Blue Cross and BlueShield thinking that it would not happen to them, well it did and it will happen again if they don't improve their in-house security, says Brian McCarthy CEO for Sencilo HealthIT Solutions. This will be more and more common place in the news, now that there are laws requiring sloppy firms that do not protect their clients informations, blasts McCarthy. Whether you are a large company or a small doctors office you are required by law to keep client information protected or face large fines and lawsuites. Just ask the CIO of BlueCross how much this will cost them, if their straight with you it will be in the tens of millions, says McCarthy.
As of Jan. 7, the insurer has identified 220,000 members at highest risk and has notified more than 157,000. These members had their Social Security number among the data that was stolen. The plan remains in the process of identifying and notifying additional members at lower risk because their Social Security numbers were not among the data. All affected members will receive free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services for one year, with enhanced services for those with compromised Social Security numbers.
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 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 Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City
solutions include BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs 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 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, 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
Health Net carelessly loses 1.5 million Health Records and violates HIPAA law in doing so - January 16, 2010
Orlando Florida -- Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has filed a lawsuit charging Health Net of Connecticut Inc. with violations of the HIPAA privacy and security rules following a large breach of identifiable medical records and Social Security numbers.
Blumenthal's office believes this is the first lawsuit by a state's chief legal officer since the HITECH Act last year gave state attorneys general authority to prosecute HIPAA privacy and security violations.
Parent company Health Net in Los Angeles last November reported to insurance officials in four states the disappearance in May of a hard drive with protected health information on 1.5 million members, including 446,000 in Connecticut. The data was not encrypted, but Health Net said it is invisible without the use of specific software. The company attributed the delay in reporting the breach to a lengthy forensic investigation to determine what information was on the hard drive. "Had Health Net used some basic data encryption products they would not of found themself about to get fines in the millions, says Brian McCarthy CEO and Data Protection expect for Sencilo HealthIT Solutions in Lake Mary Florida. Everyone of our clients over the past 6 years start off with "it can't happen to me" but we demostrate just how simple it is to steal both paper and digital records, and we always
win them over.
In the lawsuit, Blumenthal charges Health Net did not have adequate legal grounds to delay notifying members of the breach and that the delay constituted an unfair trade practice under state law. "Under information and belief, no law enforcement agency determined that the notification to affected Connecticut residents would have impeded a criminal investigation and requested that the notification be delayed," according to the suit.
Blumenthal is seeking a court order blocking Health Net from further HIPAA violations and requiring encryption of all protected health information on portable electronic devices. He also seeks civil fines.
New federal rules mandated under the HITECH Act require "timely" notification of certain breaches of health information. The rules were effective in September and have a compliance deadline of Feb. 22, 2010.
Health Net of Connecticut on Jan. 13 released the following statement within hours of receiving the lawsuit: "Protecting the privacy of our members is extremely important to us. Health Net's company policy states that data must be encrypted and secured. Health Net has just received a copy of the lawsuit and is in the process of reviewing it. We will continue to work cooperatively with the Connecticut Attorney General on this matter.
"To date, Health Net has found no evidence that there has been any misuse of the data. Health Net is offering two years of free credit monitoring services for all impacted members who elect this service. This service also includes $1 million of identity theft insurance coverage and enrollment in fraud resolution services for two years, if needed. Additionally, if members experience any identity theft between May 2009 and the data of their enrollment, Health Net will provide services to restore the member's identity at no cost to the member." I have heard this says a hundred times from companies "after" a breach, take my word for it, Health Net's client records are being sold and making the bad guys rich off their carelessness.
For more information please call (407) 641-5199 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com and let us "Uncomplexify your Information Technology"
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 Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City
solutions include BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC
NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs 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 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, 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
Give me my medical records, now! - January 15, 2010
Orlando Florida -- For five days as her husband lay in his hospital bed suffering from kidney cancer, Regina Holliday begged doctors and nurses for his medical records, and for five days she never received them.
On the sixth day, her husband needed to be transferred to another hospital -- without his complete medical records.
"When Fred arrived at the second hospital, they couldn't give him any pain medication because they didn't know what drugs he already had in his system, and they didn't want to overdose him," says Holliday, who lives in Washington. "For six hours he was in pain, panicking, while I ran back to the first hospital and got the rest of the records."
Despite a federal law requiring hospitals and doctors to release medical records to patients who ask for them, patients are reporting they have a hard time accessing them leading to complications like the ones the Holliday family experienced.
'What part of "Give us our damn data" do you not understand?'
Dave deBronkart, co-chairman of the Society for Participatory Medicine, put it this way in a recent blog post: "What part of 'Give us our damn data' do you not understand?"
While there are no statistics on how many patients have trouble accessing their own records, there have been "repeated" complaints to the Department of Health and Human Services, according to a senior health information privacy specialist at the department's Office for Civil Rights, which enforces the federal law that gives patients access to their records.
"It's crazy ridiculous when you can't walk out of a doctor's office or hospital with a copy of your medical records if you ask for them," says Deven McGraw, director of the health privacy project at the Center for Democracy and Technology.
"Lack of information kills people," she says. "Having your medical records can save your life."
Elizabeth Lietz, a spokeswoman for the American Hospital Association, says she can't speak to any specific case where a patient had trouble getting records from a hospital.
"Every patient has a right to get their medical records," Lietz says. "Our goal is to work with patients to get their records while at the same time protecting their privacy rights."
DeBronkart encourages patients to get their records before they're admitted to the hospital.
He points to an incident in 2008 when a Minnesota hospital was supposed to remove a patient's cancerous kidney -- but instead removed the healthy kidney, leaving the diseased one in the patient's body.
The hospital, Park Nicollet Health Services said the "tragic error" occurred because "the side of the effected kidney was incorrectly identified in the medical chart several weeks before the surgery took place."
"If that patient had had their medical records before the surgery, they could have caught this error and corrected it," deBronkart says.
'You have to be a jerk'
As her husband writhed in pain, Regina Holliday drove to the first hospital with her husband's power of attorney in hand.
"I had to get nasty. I had to say, 'You did a bad job, and I'm angry, and the second hospital is angry,' " she says. An hour-and-a-half later, she had the records in hand and took them to the second hospital, where after looking at the chart, they gave her husband more pain medication.
CNN contacted the first hospital for comment and received this reply: "HIPAA rules don't allow us to talk about a patient."
Fred Holliday died two months later from his kidney cancer at the age of 39. He was the father of two children and an assistant professor of film studies at American University in Washington.
After he died, Holliday, an artist, painted a scene on the back of a jacket depicting her husband in a hospital robe and handcuffs with the words "Data Prison" above him.
She sold the jacket to Jen McCabe, CEO of Contagion Health, who wears it to medical conferences, where she says it's attracted many comments.
"Almost everyone I talked to had a horror story about a medical error ordifficulty getting access to medical records to take to a new doctor or hospital," she says.
One of those people was Alan Viars, a CEO of a high-tech company in Baltimore, Maryland. Viars says he learned of the importance of looking at your own medical records when his father went for an annual physical last summer and his doctor told him an EKG test the year before indicated he'd had a heart attack.
He says no one had ever told his father he'd had an abnormal EKG. "His physician didn't bother to look at the result of his EKG or failed to inform my father of his condition," Viars wrote in a blog. "Unbelievable, I know, but true."
Viars' father went to a hospital near his home in West Virginia, where a cardiac catheterization showed two arteries were so severely blocked he needed open heart surgery. Online, Viars found another hospital with better success rates for bypass surgery, and arranged to have his father transferred there.
His sister, Leslie Cryster, tried to get their father's medical records. In particular, she wanted a copy of a CD showing the results of his cardiac catheterization, an invasive procedure where a tube is inserted through an artery to the heart. Cryster, a nurse anesthetist, knew that if the CD didn't get to the next hospital, they'd have to do procedure, which has risks, all over again.
"We started with the nursing staff and they said, 'We don't normally give patients their records,' " she says. "Then I talked to a clerk at the hospital, who told me I had to go to an offsite storage facility to get the records. Then that facility told me I had to ask the hospital."
Finally, Cryster talked to someone else at the hospital and threatened to call her sister-in-law, who's an attorney. After talking it over with a cardiologist, she received her father's records, and he had his bypass surgery a few days later at the second hospital.
"I hate to think that I threatened to call an attorney, but I did. I hate to think that's what it takes to get somebody to listen to you, but I feel like that's what it takes," she says.
'It's your data'
To make sure you get your medical records, follow these tips.
1. Know your rights
The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which governs access to medical records, gives hospitals and doctors 30 days to respond to a request for medical records, although some state laws provide for a shorter time frame, and in urgent situations, such as a transfer to another hospital, it's customary for hospitals to move more quickly.
Be prepared to make your request in writing, McCabe says. You can bring it in person, or fax the request in, but make sure you confirm that the hospital's received it.
One way to get your medical records more quickly is to seek out providers who use electronic medical records so the records can be e-mailed to you, she says. Some providers have an electronic portal so you can read your records anytime you want on a secure site on the Internet.
2. Get the new hospital or doctor to help you
Lietz says if you need your records because you're switching hospitals or doctors, ask the new office to make the records request.
"Have the provider make the request," she says. "To be honest, it's going to be faster."
3. Remember the limits of the law
Your doctor doesn't have to give you access to everything in your record. For example, your doctor doesn't have to give you access to information he or she thinks might cause you or someone else substantial harm, says the senior health information privacy specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services.
Some states allow even more information to be kept from a patient. For example, the New York Department of Health Web site says doctors may deny you access to "personal notes and observations" they've made in your record.
4. Get angry
"Sadly, you might have to get angry in order to gain access to your medical records," Viars wrote in his blog. "Don't let them tell you no. It's your data."
5. File a complaint
If you have trouble getting access, you can file a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
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 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 Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City
solutions include BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs 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 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, 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"
Steps to Finding the "Right" EHR for your Practice - January 15, 2010
Orlando Florida -- While industry and the government continue their dance around the “meaningful use” rules — it’s too
hard, too soft, insecure, etc.) thousands of clinics, hospitals and small medical practices still face the hard question.
You need something installed and proving its value by October 1 of next year or no 2011 stimulus check. You’re being pressed for a
decision by vendors, your accountant and the government. What you should be looking for?
I don’t have a pat answer for you. Instead, I have a checklist, based on interviews conducted over the last year, of some things you need to ask about.
1. CCRs in English — A Continuity of Care Record (or Continuity of Care Document) is what you will be handing each patient when
they leave you after all this is done. The document will mainly be prepared by your EHR software, based on inputs you give it while the patient is with you. It’s not too much to ask that these documents be written in English, simple English a patient can understand, not medical gobbledygook.
2. Interoperability — Your state, city, or region is going to build an exchange for health records. What standards will it be using, and will the data you generate from your EHR be compatible, so you can send records to a hospital or get records from a specialist? No waffling — yes or no.
3. Security — Not just passwords, or encryption, or even audit trails. You need to be able to perform a risk assessment on your system — or have someone else do it — at any time. You need procedures that your own people understand for this process.
4. On-site training — Everyone on your staff needs to not only learn how to use this stuff (you included), but know they can get support, in English, whenever they need it. This is a question best answered by talking to other customers. Get references. Buy those references a drink, or three. Get the straight poop on this, because it’s key.
5. Commitment — Maybe this won’t work. Any IT engagement starts as just that. It may become a marriage with time, maybe a dysfunctional one. But you need to know how you can get out of it before you go into it. Try before you buy works for me. Note that in this list I didn’t talk about speeds and feeds. I didn’t talk about operating systems, or your client devices (ooh — a tablet! An iPhone!). I didn’t talk about open source vs. proprietary, or even whether you should be buying gear or using Software as a Service (SaaS).
You need to look at this decision strictly from your own point of view.
What’s in it for me? How will this drive improvements to the way I practice?
What’s in it for my patients? How will this help them understand what they need to do, and change habits?
What do I have to do, as opposed to what do I want to do? Do what you have to do for the 2011 stimulus, and the 2013-2015
wish lists will take care of themselves.
The meaningful use guidelines, on which public comment has now begun, are not telling you to buy hardware, software or services. They are telling you to get the data you need to improve your practice and your patients’ outcomes. Before you start fighting any alligators, make certain you keep that drained swamp at the top of your mind.
For more information please call (407) 641-5199 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 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 Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City
solutions include BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC
NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs 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 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, 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"
How to Survive Your Electronic Health Records (EHR) Project - January 15, 2010
Orlando Florida -- In 2002, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles launched its new electronic physician order entry system. Three months later, 400 of the hospital’s physicians demanded the software be removed. Later reports cited poor navigation and usability and inadequate user training.
EHR (electronic health records), like any major software project, has to be implemented thoughtfully, with time planned into the schedule for user education, testing, and customization. In a hospital or physician clinic, the 24/7 nature of the operation can make it tempting to do an EHR implementation quickly and hope for minimal disruption to the staff. But an EHR project that is carefully planned with extra time allotted for testing, training, integration, and data migration will usually go more smoothly than rushed projects.
“We start with a series of planning discussions before any work starts,” says Brian J. McCarthy, president and CEO of Sencilo HealthIT Solution, an EHR consultancy. “We create a project charter, goals, objectives, [and a] list of the types of change that have to be endured, the timeline, resources, and assumptions.”
Health History
EHR systems, which include such things as electronic patient charts, physician order entry, doctor’s notes, lab results, and e-prescribing, make it much easier for doctors and other caregivers to see a patient’s health history and to more quickly get records and test results to other providers. They can also improve patient safety by red-flagging potential treatment errors. EHR will also be required software at all hospitals and physicians offices in the next five years.
But EHR also involves drastic changes in work processes, especially for physicians used to writing on paper charts. The systems involve the integration of software and data in various departments throughout the hospital, including admitting, the emergency room, and radiology, as well as with outside labs and clinics, and sometimes with regional health information exchanges. EHR systems are complex, costly, and usually time-consuming to install. According to Hypatia Research’s “ARRA and EHR: What Healthcare Providers Need to Know About the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and Electronic Health Records,” the cost of EHR software and implementation services for even a small doctors office may reach about $100,000.
Successful Implementation
To better ensure a successful EHR implementation, experts at EHR software companies and consulting firms offer their advice for making the implementation process smoother.
Recruit non-IT staff. EHR systems touch every area of the hospital, not just the IT department. They also usually represent major changes in work processes for the employees, often more than with other enterprise software such as ERP and CRM. Non-IT staff should be involved throughout the project to help spot potential problems with the new workflow or screen navigation and to help with communication and training within their areas.
Workflow, then and now. Putting in a new enterprise application almost always entails changes to employees’ work processes. Hopefully, the new workflows are more efficient than the old ones, but regardless, they’re different and often unwelcome to employees. Have IT and non-IT staff identify the various workflows that will be affected and map out how they will be changed. This will help spotlight problems with the new workflow and give employees a better understanding of how the new system will work.
24-hour support. A hospital treats patients at all hours, so its EHR system has to be available around the clock as well, at least for the first two or three weeks of an implementation. However, not all software vendors expect to provide 24-hour support, so discuss it with the EHR vendor early on and work out a backup plan if need be, advises Cox. She also recommends appointing a triage coordinator to assess how well problems are being handled during the rollout. A daily change meeting to discuss changes to the implementation and any problems is also important, says Cox.
User training. User training often gets low priority, but for EHR systems in particular, user training is critical to adoption. Frustrated users will simply refuse to use the software or use it incorrectly, creating errors. Offer initial training on the product during the last couple of weeks before implementation as well as early in the rollout. To make training more convenient and ensure people retain what they’ve learned, provide multiple types of training, including instructor-led classes, computer-based training via the Web or a CD, and hands-on practice. “Pre-training, post-training, refresher training . . . It’s impossible to train too much,” says Paul O’Toole, senior vice president of operations for Healthland (www.healthland.com), an EHR software maker.
O’Toole recommends getting a group of super users trained on the system early in the process to ensure there are plenty of helpers available to help users navigate the system when it goes live. “They’re the ones that will be hand-in-hand with the docs, making sure they’re comfortable with the EHR,” he says.
Testing. There are multiple moving parts in an EHR system that can go wrong. So testing should occur throughout the implementation as each new function or module is rolled out. O’Toole says that the integration points between different software systems inside and outside the hospital, as well as with medical devices, have to be checked carefully. “You have to make sure the data is flowing properly,” he says.
Data translation is another potential problem area that requires careful checking. After a data conversion, Pam Wostarek, regional implementation manager for EHR software company NextGen (www.nextgen.com), says she has clients do thorough data point reviews and side-by-side comparisons of charts and screens to spot discrepancies.
User acceptance testing is not only a good idea, says McCarthy, but something that should be done more than once. She recommends three cycles of user acceptance testing, with each one followed by a report on the issues the users encountered.
Governance. Any major software system requires constant maintenance after it has been deployed. But if it’s a brand new application such as EHR, there may be no existing group that is tasked with administering it, causing it to be essentially abandoned after the rollout and initial fanfare end.
“One of the biggest mistakes is leaving the product to manage itself, without any governance for how to manage the application,” says Wostarek. “Governance involves assigning committees of individuals to look at content in upcoming releases and upgrades [and] look at changes in workflow [and] at changes in the organization, and ask, ‘Do we need to change anything [in our EHR system]?’”
For more information please call (407) 641-5199 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 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 Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City
solutions include BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs 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 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, 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"
Complying with HITECH Act of 2009 for Data Security - January 15, 2010
Orlando Florida -- As of February 17, all business associates (BAs) must comply with the HIPAA security rule and parts of the privacy rule or face stiff penalties.
It's time to do a last-minute check to make sure they are.
Know your BAs. Most importantly, double-check your list of BAs, says Brian McCarthy CISSP, CISM, and President of Sencilo HealthIT solutions, LLC in Lake Mary Florida.
Make sure that anyone who could qualify as a BA has been accurately identified as a BA. For example, your organization may not realize that that a consultant that has access to personal health information (PHI) actually qualifies.
Make sure organizations you have identified as BAs actually are, says Frank Ruelas, director of compliance and risk management at Maryvale Hospital and principal of HIPAA Boot Camp in Casa Grande, AZ.
In the early days of HIPAA, many organizations decided to err on the side of caution and made pretty much everyone sign a BA contract, says Ruelas. But that decision may come back to haunt them with this new compliance date pending.
Gauge your BAs' readiness. The next item on your last-minute checklist is to make sure that your BAs know that they are expected to comply with these regulations. Some organizations, even this late in the game, might not even know that they are required to be HIPAA compliant, says Ruelas.
Don't just ask your BA if they are HIPAA compliant, ask them specific questions to gauge their readiness, such as how they will handle specific scenarios, says Borten. Some BAs also may not understand the full extent of what they are now required to do, says Ruelas. For example, they might know they have new breach notification requirements, but are unaware of their other responsibilities, says Ruelas.
Make sure your BA contract language is up to date. Once you've checked up on your BAs, make sure you have legal contracts that include all the language required by the privacy and security rules and HITECH Act.
Put expectations in writing. For example, make sure that the covered entity and BA agree on action parameters when a breach is discovered. Spell out in the contract how long the BA has to report a breach to your organization once it is discovered.
Requiring that rapid notification will ensure that you are being notified in a timely manner and also that you can work with the BA to determine the cause and fallout from the breach by the time you are required by federal law to report it, he says.
Brace for contract updates. Be prepared to update the contract next month when the government is expected to release new breach notification guidance. Many hope that this guidance will clear up some lingering questions related to how elements of the HITECH Act should be incorporated into BA agreements.
Hire an attorney who knows HIPAA. If you are hiring, look for an attorney who specializes in HIPAA to review your BA contracts. Borten says she's seen many a competent attorney include contract provisions that were not HIPAA compliant simply because the rule is complex and requires someone with specialized knowledge to interpret and apply it correctly.
Beware of subcontractors. Include language regarding subcontractors. Know to whom your BAs subcontract work and stay informed on these arrangements, says Borten. Consider requiring the organization to notify you if they are using a subcontractor, particularly one that is offshore. Some organizations go so far as to prohibit BAs from subcontracting work offshore, says Borten.
Don't view BAs as adversaries. "Covered entities and BAs have been partners for years; it is not something that has to cause a divide," says Ruelas. If your BAs need help becoming compliant, help them along. Your organization likely spent a lot of time getting up to speed on HIPAA. Save your BAs some of that work by sharing with them what you've already done.
"It really serves no purpose to say to them figure it out yourself," says Ruelas. Set aside a day and have them come in and talk to your designated privacy officer or security officer.
"You're helping each other out. It is a symbiotic relationship," says Ruelas.
For more information please call (407) 641-5199 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 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 Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City
solutions include BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs 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 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, 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"
What you Do Not Know about Healthcare IT and Meaningful Use Will Cost you Dearly - Part Two - January 11, 2010
Orlando Florida -- The massive new federal rule issued last week by the CMS has been getting most of the attention in the healthcare information technology community because it sets the meaningful-use criteria healthcare providers must meet to leverage billions of dollars in federal subsidies to purchase electronic health-record systems under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, known as the stimulus law.
Still, a smaller, companion rule also released on the same day by the Office of the National Coordinator at HHS packs a lot of IT wallop.
The stimulus law requires the national coordinator, in consultation with the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to “keep or recognize a program or programs for the voluntary certification of health IT as being in compliance with applicable certification criteria adopted” by HHS. And, according to ONC rule writers, HHS is obliged under the stimulus law to adopt standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria that will “enhance the interoperability, functionality, utility and security of health information technology.”
This same set of standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria were mandated by law to be produced by HHS before the end of 2009. The ONC beat the deadline with a day to spare, releasing them in a 136-page “interim final rule” on Dec. 30, 2009.
The ONC rule isn't expected to be officially published in the Federal Register until Jan. 13. It becomes effective 30 days after that. Public comments, however, will be accepted on the ONC rulemakers' handiwork for 60 days after official publication.
Here's how the CMS and the ONC rules are intertwined.
While providers must “meaningfully use” their subsidized EHRs, the systems themselves have to be “qualified” under a definition in the stimulus law and “certified” against criteria established through federal rulemaking by a certification organization “recognized” by the ONC.
Yet even after nearly 700 pages of new rules, another ONC rulemaking will be required. It will cover how certification bodies are recognized by the ONC.
“There will be a certification process,” ONC head David Blumenthal said during a public question-and-answer session when the two rules by the CMS and the ONC were released. The certification process “will be the subject of a second (ONC) rule which we hope to issue shortly. That will make clear how the process of certification will proceed.” That process will include how the ONC will go about vetting and “recognizing” an organization, or organizations, to do the testing and certification of EHR systems to meet the standards in the new rules.
ONC rulemakers noted there is nothing new about HHS anointing EHR certification organizations.
In 2006, CMS promulgated rules for an exception to the Stark law prohibition against hospitals compensating physicians in return for patient referrals.
Simultaneously, HHS' inspector general's office produced a waiver of the federal anti-kickback statute. Both the exemption and the waiver applied if a hospital, following the new guidelines, subsidized the cost of an EHR for an affiliated physician. The 2006 guidelines required that to qualify for the waivers, hospitals must provide an EHR that had been certified as “interoperable” by a certifying body “recognized” by the HHS secretary, says Brian J. McCarthy CEO of Sencilo HealthIT Solutions of Lake Mary, FL and known author on the subject of Meaningful Use.
For more information please call (407) 641-5199 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com let us "uncomplexify your Health Information Technology."
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 Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City
solutions include BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs 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 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, 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 proposed “meaningful use”
What you Do Not Know about Healthcare IT and Meaningful Use Will Cost you Dearly - Part One - January 11, 2010
Orlando Florida -- The massive new federal rule issued last week by the CMS has been getting most of the attention in the healthcare information technology community because it sets the meaningful-use criteria healthcare providers must meet to leverage billions of dollars in federal subsidies to purchase electronic health-record systems under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, known as the stimulus law. Most people do not remember this was a law signed in 2004 by the Bush Adminstration, to get Doctor's office to start sharing healthcare records.
Still, a smaller, companion rule also released on the same day by the Office of the National Coordinator at HHS packs a lot of IT wallop.
The stimulus law requires the national coordinator, in consultation with the director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to “keep or recognize a program or programs for the voluntary certification of health IT as being in compliance with applicable certification criteria adopted” by HHS. And, according to ONC rule writers, HHS is obliged under the stimulus law to adopt standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria that will “enhance the interoperability, functionality, utility and security of health information technology," says Brian J. McCarthy CEO from Sencilo HealthIT Solutions from Lake Mary, FL.
This same set of standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria were mandated by law to be produced by HHS before the end of 2009. The ONC beat the deadline with a day to spare, releasing them in a 136-page “interim final rule” on Dec. 30, 2009.
The ONC rule isn't expected to be officially published in the Federal Register until Jan. 13. It becomes effective 30 days after that. Public comments, however, will be accepted on the ONC rulemakers' handiwork for 60 days after official publication.
Here's how the CMS and the ONC rules are intertwined.
While providers must “meaningfully use” their subsidized EHRs, the systems themselves have to be “qualified” under a definition in the stimulus law and “certified” against criteria established through federal rulemaking by a certification organization “recognized” by the ONC.
Yet even after nearly 700 pages of new rules, another ONC rulemaking will be required. It will cover how certification bodies are recognized by the ONC.
“There will be a certification process,” ONC head David Blumenthal said during a public question-and-answer session when the two rules by the CMS and the ONC were released. The certification process “will be the subject of a second (ONC) rule which we hope to issue shortly. That will make clear how the process of certification will proceed.” That process will include how the ONC will go about vetting and “recognizing” an organization, or organizations, to do the testing and certification of EHR systems to meet the standards in the new rules.
ONC rulemakers noted there is nothing new about HHS anointing EHR certification organizations.
In 2006, CMS promulgated rules for an exception to the Stark law prohibition against hospitals compensating physicians in return for patient referrals.
Simultaneously, HHS' inspector general's office produced a waiver of the federal anti-kickback statute. Both the exemption and the waiver applied if a hospital, following the new guidelines, subsidized the cost of an EHR for an affiliated physician. The 2006 guidelines required that to qualify for the waivers, hospitals must provide an EHR that had been certified as “interoperable” by a certifying body “recognized” by the HHS secretary.
At the time, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt recognized the not-for-profit Certification Commission for Health Information Technology and its testing criteria as qualifying under the CMS and inspector general rules.
For more information please call (407) 641-5199 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com let us "uncomplexify your Health Information Technology.
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 Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City
solutions include BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs 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 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, 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 proposed “meaningful use”
Uncomplexifying "Meaningful Use" in Healthcare IT for Practitioners - January 11, 2010
Orlando Florida -- With the long-awaited release of HHS’ proposed “meaningful use” guidelines for health IT, many of the nation’s healthcare practitioners will be focusing for quite some time on how, or even whether, they can meet federal requirements in order to qualify for the incentive payments promised under the HITECH provisions of the ARRA, says Brian J. McCarthy, CEO of Sencilo HealthIT Solutions and well known speaker on the subject.
But as healthcare providers work to align their IT systems with the expectations of federal policymakers, those same policymakers need to keep testing those expectations against the reality of what is taking place across the healthcare sector, says McCarthy.
Two recent stories point to the need for policymakers to remain flexible when it comes to the HIT puzzle.
First is the announcement of a report by the Center for Studying Health System Change which points to a gap “between policymakers’ expectations that electronic medical records can improve coordination of patient care and clinicians’ real-world experiences. . .”
According to the study, there are a number of areas where providers feel the design of EMRs need to be improved if they are to have the effect policymakers are after. For example, as currently configured, “EMRs may have unintended consequences for care coordination, such as creating information overload that complicates providers’ efforts to discern key clinical information.”
Meanwhile, other observers are commenting on trends in the implementation of EMRs which may ultimately impede progress toward the goal of using new health IT to improve patient care.
Specifically, this former CIO has noticed a move within hospitals away from catering to the IT goals of specific departments and toward a “one-size-fits all” mentality which may or not improve the overall care provided.
An undertaking as large as moving an entire sector toward a new generation of technology is bound to move, at best, in fits and starts. That said, however, federal policymakers hoping to encourage and enhance a sector-wide shift need to remain mindful of what change really looks like on the ground.
Otherwise, they’ll be making policy for the world as they wish it were, and not as it really is.
For more information please call (407) 641-5199 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com let us "uncomplexify your Health Information Technology.
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 Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City
solutions include BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs 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 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, 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 proposed “meaningful use”
CVS Caremark jumps on Allscripts MyWay for e-prescribing - January 8, 2010
Orlando Florida -- CVS Caremark Corp. said Thursday it will partner with electronic health records maker Allscripts-Misys Healthcare Solutions Inc., and begin switching clients to Allscripts' e-prescribing tool.
CVS said it will stop offering its iScribe prescription tool and transition thousands of clients to products made by Allscripts. E-prescribing allows physicians to send prescriptions directly to a pharmacy by e-mail, and gives the physician information about potential drug interactions and the patient's health insurance. They can also use it to follow up with patients about unfilled prescriptions.
CVS, of Woonsocket, R.I., said current iScribe users will have the opportunity to switch to a full electronic health record system made by Allscripts. That would allow the customers to qualify for up to $64,000 in federal economic stimulus funding starting in 2011.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
CVS runs more than 7,000 drugstores, along with the Caremark pharmacy benefits management business, which handles drug benefits for plans sponsors and beneficiaries.
In afternoon trading, CVS stock rose 81 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $33.37. Shares of Chicago-based Allscripts lost 10 cents to $19.58.
For more information please call (407) 641-5199 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 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 Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Orlando Lake Mary Daytona, Medical City
solutions include BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security "meaningful use" "meaningful usage" EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs 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 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, 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
