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800,000 Doctor's Personal Data stolen from Blue Cross, AMA concerned - October 21, 2009
The stolen laptop contained personal data on nearly every physician in the country. Why did Blue Cross allow this to happen?
Orlando Florida -- The theft of a laptop belonging to an employee of an insurance trade group has put hundreds of thousands of physician around the country at risk of identity theft.
The laptop, belonging to an employee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), was stolen from a car in late August, according to reports in the Boston Globe and the Chicago Tribune. It contained a database listing the business and personal information of about 800,000 doctors.
There were about 732,000 practicing physicians in the U.S. at the end of 2007, according to a spokesperson for the American Medical Association.
The BCBSA, which represents various Blue Cross health groups across the U.S., did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for the American Medical Association confirmed that the organization had been warning physicians about the breach.
"The AMA is advising physicians to be on guard for potential identify theft as a result of a breach of physician personal data at BlueCross BlueShield Association (BCBSA)," said Brian McCarthy CEO and well known Data Protection expect of Sencilo HealthIT Solutions. "The AMA has met with BCBSA to express our concerns and learn what steps are being taken to protect physicians in the wake of this information breach, says McCarthy. For years we have been telling companies to encrypt their data (notebooks), including BCBSA, I guess they'll start listening now.
Rohack said that BlueCross Blue Shield Plans will offer credit monitoring services to affected physcians and he urged doctors to keep an eye out for fraud arising from the breach. He said that the AMA is working with BCBSA to decide on additional steps that can be taking to mitigate the risk of identity theft.
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association reportedly told the Tribune that the employee in question had violated corporate policy by transferring the data to a personal laptop. According to the Globe's account, Blue Cross-Blue Shield maintains the data in encrypted form on its servers, but the employee copied the data after it had been decrypted.
Only a portion of the physician records in the database -- 16% to 20% -- on the stolen laptop include a social security number as an identifier. No patient data is believed to be involved.
For more information please call (407) 265-6293 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com/healthIT
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 EMR 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 VMware, Dell Fujitsu Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP. Its technical expertise is known throughout the storage and security industry. Clients include leading corporations, major financial institutions, top universities, government facilities, as well as small to medium size businesses. Sencilo's professional services include consulting, integration, project management, storage virtualization installation, maintenance and knowledge transfer.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Hialeah, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Ocala, Palm Coast, Clearwater, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Maitland and Cape Canaveral Green Simpana Offerings Projects: BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Backup Exc Pure Disk NetBackup Networker TSM Commvault BakBone D2D D2D2T compare cloud data deduplication thin provisioning DXi Global Compression DDX virtual tape library Data Reduction SEPATON FALCON compare Celerra CLARiiON Equallogic Sencilo HealthIT Solutions NS20 NS40 CX4 CX3-20 CX3-40 CX3-80 FAS2050 FAS3050 Xiotech Nexsan Avamar DLD3 1500 D3 Storwiz storage compression data Ocarina Networks A-SIS compare Sepaton infopro BlueArc OnStor Microsoft Unified Storage data protection StorageX Brocade FAQ SSD Solid state disk SANmelody FalconStor tier zero Xiotech ISE nx4 ax4 greenBytes ZFS Sun Top 10 ROBOBak managed services hosting cloud grid Datacore Compellent compellant equallogic lefthand networks don't buy storage stop buying storage itguardian cherub networks Arkeia 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 EMR 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
How does Electronic Medical Records improve quality of care - October 13, 2009
Orlando Florida - Patients in the Kaiser Permanente Hospital are seeing something new when a physician or nurse visits their rooms. The doctors and nurses themselves aren't different; they continue to provide their patients with superior care and service.
But a piece of equipment they bring with them — a wheeled cart with a computer screen on top — is a significant difference, and it's an example of what will help dramatically improve health care in America.
The cart-borne computer is wirelessly connected to a huge database containing the medical history of our members, as well as the latest recommended treatments for a wide range of medical conditions. The database contains all outpatient and inpatient visit information, diagnostic images such as X-rays and mammograms, allergies, specialists' notes, lab tests and prescriptions. And it is all part of KP HealthConnect, the largest nongovernmental electronic medical record (EMR) system in the United States.
Electronic medical records are a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's health reform effort, and as part of his effort to stimulate the economy, he has dedicated some $19 billion to make EMRs a national reality.
Why? Electronic medical records improve the quality of care. A fully functional EMR system gives physicians, nurses and technicians a patient's comprehensive medical history at the point of care, whether it's in the doctor's office, the emergency room or in a skilled
nursing facility. It is also remotely accessible for specialists and others who are on call, allowing them to make informed decisions that expedite patient care.
EMRs have the potential to increase efficiency and contain costs by reducing duplication and improving patient safety, and they do this by harnessing the incredible power of computers — their ability to calculate, to network, to automatically check facts and to provide targeted research results — and applying that power to medical care.
In health care systems with fully implemented electronic medical records, physicians and nurses no longer need to spend valuable time looking through several files for paper records that are often incomplete.
Now, for example, emergency department physicians with a fully functional EMR system can see a patient's previous hospitalizations, medications and diagnoses when that patient shows up complaining of chest pains. That means treatment can begin more quickly and success is more likely.
Medication is safer, too: Prescriptions written by physicians using the EMR system are spell-checked and legible, and the computer automatically combs the patient's history for potentially dangerous drug interactions and alerts the doctor.
In the hospital, medications are bar-coded and scanned at bedside to help ensure the right patient is getting the right drug in the right dose at the right time.
Of course, EMRs should not be a one-way street. In integrated health care systems, patients can use their home computers to increase convenience by making appointments online, ordering prescription refills that are delivered to their home, viewing their lab results through secure Web pages, and e-mailing their physicians — all at no additional cost.
Last year, thanks to these online tools tied to EMRs, Kaiser Permanente members had 6 million e-visits without using a gallon of gas.
Notes jotted on paper and placed in multiple files where doctors rarely see them are a remnant of a fragmented, inefficient model of medical care. In the 21st century, Americans expect — and deserve — more.
For more information please call (407) 265-6293 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com/healthIT
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 EMR 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 VMware, Dell Fujitsu Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP. Its technical expertise is known throughout the storage and security industry. Clients include leading corporations, major financial institutions, top universities, government facilities, as well as small to medium size businesses. Sencilo's professional services include consulting, integration, project management, storage virtualization installation, maintenance and knowledge transfer.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Hialeah, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Ocala, Palm Coast, Clearwater, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Maitland and Cape Canaveral Green Simpana Offerings Projects: BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Backup Exc Pure Disk NetBackup Networker TSM Commvault BakBone D2D D2D2T compare cloud data deduplication thin provisioning DXi Global Compression DDX virtual tape library Data Reduction SEPATON FALCON compare Celerra CLARiiON Equallogic Sencilo HealthIT Solutions NS20 NS40 CX4 CX3-20 CX3-40 CX3-80 FAS2050 FAS3050 Xiotech Nexsan Avamar DLD3 1500 D3 Storwiz storage compression data Ocarina Networks A-SIS compare Sepaton infopro BlueArc OnStor Microsoft Unified Storage data protection StorageX Brocade FAQ SSD Solid state disk SANmelody FalconStor tier zero Xiotech ISE nx4 ax4 greenBytes ZFS Sun Top 10 ROBOBak managed services hosting cloud grid Datacore Compellent compellant equallogic lefthand networks don't buy storage stop buying storage itguardian cherub networks Arkeia 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 EMR 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
Why the Department of Homeland Security Should be Concerned About Healthcare Records - October 13, 2009
Orlando Florida - Often we read the headlines on how to protect ourselves is becoming ever more problematic. For some it’s as simple as having the ability to carry a concealed weapon, premised on the idea that if you want to hurt me, be prepared for the consequences. Needless to say, that’s extreme security process when it comes to healthy living. Most of us enjoy our lives without the need to put a gun beside our mouse and keyboard.
Security needs have expanded. Everywhere we turn there’s potential harm to us personally and has real long-term consequences. "More troubling is the fact that most of it is out of our own individual control. No longer is it about the basics of locking the doors of your car, home and maybe a safe that’s stashed in the basement", says Brian McCarthy CEO and Founder of Sencilo HealthIT Solutions and well known speaker on the subject of data privacy.
Along the PC and the Internet
Today we use personal firewalls and anti-virus software that we hope protects our information and valuables. And that doesn’t protect the most valuable part of your life – information about you. Information about you and your family is everywhere and you can’t go buy protection for it – from anywhere or anyone. You can’t even call the police to find out. For years, fraud based on identity theft has been a significant challenge to defeat. The simple things that help prevent such opportunities are well established: Shredding or burning junk mail credit card offers and other financial information and records before they hit the trash bin. Destroying computer hard drives or wiping them clean using software. Phishing and junk email is becoming easier to manage and control, although it still has a long way to go. Are there other areas beyond our control that could be damaging?
Yes. Too many areas are beyond our personal ability to protect. And it’s going to expand in the future. Now on the U.S. Administration’s radar screen is EMR — Electronic Medical Records — which will lower the administration component of medical services. Hopefully instead of spending hours filling out forms, and staff spending hours sorting and inputting paper forms, that cycle time is actually used to attend to your medical needs and service. The doctor would see your entire medical history, ensuring that every allergy and drug you have taken is taken into consideration in medical treatment and ensuring that the right consultations are prescribed. In general terms that will increase efficiencies in the medical industry – lowering costs.
This creates a whole new set of security problems that go beyond just worrying about who is making loans in your name and destroying your credit. And worse, we don’t have any direct personal control in securing or protecting ourselves on who has access or management of this information. Medical records are the next big area of information that is now becoming digitized and recorded. Over the past 5 years, every medical visit, drug and appointment you have ever had is now bar-coded, logged and tracked on paper and sometimes the local clinic you go to. If you visited the emergency room at a hospital, that visit was likely recorded on the local server at that facility. The records will include every personal detail about you and your family’s health, becoming the basis of information for EMR. Local medical record storage has never been a problem since most systems are not accessible from the outside world and thus are on a computer server, but segregated from an integrated or national system. That will soon change, says McCarthy.
Gone will be the days that your medical records are simply stored in a file at your local family doctor’s clinic. If someone is “authorized” to see them, it will be in nanoseconds, not a few days by way of a courier service. Checks and balances for authorized access will be easy components to solve. Many countries already have some wide area storage of information about patients since it’s a national medical insurance program, often run by the provincial or state government. Many are now seeing problems from within the medical industry such as internal fraud billing for medical visit, specialist visits and prescription drug services becoming a real financial concern. Analytics is about to get a huge surge in business just like what the credit card industry does today.
With such information now being available and archived, that brings about huge security and privacy challenges that courts, legal experts and lawmakers will be faced with for decades. Software and hardware solutions for such applications will have to face performance scrutiny to standards as high as the Pentagon’s. The value of the data is potentially significant. In the wrong hands it creates a massive set of protection and security challenges beyond what most envision. Credit card data is selling to the highest bidder to the tune of millions. Medical records are worth significantly more.
The security of the information asks more questions than we have current answers for; who has access and who protects it? Suddenly this becomes more than just a series of ethics debates. In the United States, and in fact, most of the world, insurance companies already have significant checks and balances in place to ensure data integrity for claims and patient records for each claim made, are in fact secured and protected. Those records are not a complete picture of your medical history – but soon they will be if not properly controlled, protected and policies put into place. In some countries, your premiums are determined by that information, just like your car insurance is. The more problems you keep on making claims for, the higher your insurance premiums are or worse, discontinued. Now consider if the information about your entire family is now available or accessed, without your consent and what that implies. The 5 W’s comes to mind — Who, What, Where, When, Why — are all checks and balances that while solvable will create critical challenges to the health of the system. An example is what if that information is now in a central data center and not just at one insurance, hospital or clinic facility; who ensures the integrity of the data being input and is it accurate? Don’t even ask if you have access to it.
Pharmaceutical companies would find complete electronic medical records a treasure trove for what drugs to maintain low cost and which ones to charge premiums for, literately right down to a city block radius. The architecture of the data centers will likely follow industry standards, such as Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) parameters. But who is going to protect, secure and watch over the information? What regulatory or enforcement agency is ensuring your privacy rights are going to be adhered too? And what if the data is shipped outside of the country – then what laws or regulations protect your information then? If a major disaster strikes, is the data safe, redundant in security, access or storage? Having Clint Eastwood with a .357 Magnum at the front door of the data center isn’t going to help.
For more information please call (407) 265-6293 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com/healthIT
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 EMR 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 VMware, Dell Fujitsu Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP. Its technical expertise is known throughout the storage and security industry. Clients include leading corporations, major financial institutions, top universities, government facilities, as well as small to medium size businesses. Sencilo's professional services include consulting, integration, project management, storage virtualization installation, maintenance and knowledge transfer.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Hialeah, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Ocala, Palm Coast, Clearwater, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Maitland and Cape Canaveral Green Simpana Offerings Projects: BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Backup Exc Pure Disk NetBackup Networker TSM Commvault BakBone D2D D2D2T compare cloud data deduplication thin provisioning DXi Global Compression DDX virtual tape library Data Reduction SEPATON FALCON compare Celerra CLARiiON Equallogic Sencilo HealthIT Solutions NS20 NS40 CX4 CX3-20 CX3-40 CX3-80 FAS2050 FAS3050 Xiotech Nexsan Avamar DLD3 1500 D3 Storwiz storage compression data Ocarina Networks A-SIS compare Sepaton infopro BlueArc OnStor Microsoft Unified Storage data protection StorageX Brocade FAQ SSD Solid state disk SANmelody FalconStor tier zero Xiotech ISE nx4 ax4 greenBytes ZFS Sun Top 10 ROBOBak managed services hosting cloud grid Datacore Compellent compellant equallogic lefthand networks don't buy storage stop buying storage itguardian cherub networks Arkeia 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 EMR 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
Another State Calling For The End of Prescriptions On Paper - October 13, 2009
Orlando Florida - Iowa Health System officials called Monday for doctors statewide to get rid of prescriptions on paper and go entirely electronic.
Monday, the group announced their partnership with Allscripts to launch what's being called "e-prescribe Iowa."
The goal of this statewide initiative is to get all doctors to start sending prescriptions electronically. They hope to do this by offering the technology free of cost.
Officials said that every year 1.5-million Americans are injured and 7,000 die from medication errors. Officials said many of these could be prevented if doctors made the switch to electronic records.
"Electronic prescribing helps to eliminate errors, improve patient safety and reduce costs by making the prescribing process more efficient, more effective," said Bill Leaver, of Iowa Health Systems.
Officials said the electronic system also checks for patient allergies and harmful drug-to-drug interactions.
For more information please call (407) 265-6293 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com/healthIT
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 EMR 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 VMware, Dell Fujitsu Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP. Its technical expertise is known throughout the storage and security industry. Clients include leading corporations, major financial institutions, top universities, government facilities, as well as small to medium size businesses. Sencilo's professional services include consulting, integration, project management, storage virtualization installation, maintenance and knowledge transfer.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Hialeah, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Ocala, Palm Coast, Clearwater, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Maitland and Cape Canaveral Green Simpana Offerings Projects: BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Backup Exc Pure Disk NetBackup Networker TSM Commvault BakBone D2D D2D2T compare cloud data deduplication thin provisioning DXi Global Compression DDX virtual tape library Data Reduction SEPATON FALCON compare Celerra CLARiiON Equallogic Sencilo HealthIT Solutions NS20 NS40 CX4 CX3-20 CX3-40 CX3-80 FAS2050 FAS3050 Xiotech Nexsan Avamar DLD3 1500 D3 Storwiz storage compression data Ocarina Networks A-SIS compare Sepaton infopro BlueArc OnStor Microsoft Unified Storage data protection StorageX Brocade FAQ SSD Solid state disk SANmelody FalconStor tier zero Xiotech ISE nx4 ax4 greenBytes ZFS Sun Top 10 ROBOBak managed services hosting cloud grid Datacore Compellent compellant equallogic lefthand networks don't buy storage stop buying storage itguardian cherub networks Arkeia 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 EMR 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
Majority of Healthcare Providers View Biggest Data Leakage Threat as Internal - October 8, 2009
IDC Survey Finds 57% of Companies Plan to Invest in Data Loss Prevention Technology, but 85% Believe Data Loss by External Hackers is Unlikely
Orlando Florida -- Sencilo HealthIT Solutions a leading Healthcare IT solutions and services provider, today announced the results of a new IT security survey -- conducted by market research firm IDC -- which revealed that most healthcare providers are placing investment in Data Loss Prevention (DLP) technology at the top of their priority list. While 57% of the companies polled said they plan to invest in DLP technology, three times the number of respondents said they believe data leakage is more likely to occur through accidental employee error (45%) than by external hackers with malicious intent (15%.)
A majority of respondents (85%) said they thought data loss through external hacking was "very unlikely", and 55% perceived intentional external data loss as having only "moderate impact" or "no impact at all" on their business. Additionally, more than 60% said they believe they are unlikely to be affected by virus attacks, says Brian J. McCarthy CEO of Sencilo HealthIT Solutions and well known security expert.
"The challenge when protecting an organization from internal data loss is that traditional defenses are designed to face outward, at the perimeter of a network, whereas the inside of the network remains relatively free of security controls. Compounding the problem, security awareness training initiatives for employees often go unfunded because organizations find it difficult to demonstrate a return on investment for such training," said Mccarthy. "To tackle these challenges, companies are moving toward DLP as it involves a holistic approach to the protection of information, rather than simply the protection of networks and systems. It creates automated, technical barriers to both human error and malicious intent"
The IDC research surveyed IT security decision makers at more than 400 healthcare organizations, with at least 5 employees each, in the Americas. Other key survey results include:
•Compliance variations. The research revealed that large organizations with more than 1,000 employees tended to be more compliant than smaller companies. In addition, companies in the Americas and in the public sector were more concerned about IT security regulations than those in other regions and industries.
•IT security spending. The survey found that from 2008 to 2009, 19% of the companies surveyed increased their overall IT spending while 41% decreased it, mainly due to the economic downturn. However, for nearly 60% of the organizations, the average spend on IT security within the overall IT budget remained at 10% or more.
•Shift to holistic approach. The surveyed companies appear to be shifting their investment focus away from point solutions to a more holistic approach, with 59% planning to invest in IT security audits and 52% in consulting services. This indicates a growing realization that reacting to security incidents, and ad-hoc acquisition of point technologies without regard to how they dovetail with others, is more costly and less effective than planning an integrated strategy.
For more information please call (407) 265-6293 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com/healthIT
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 EMR 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 VMware, Dell Fujitsu Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP. Its technical expertise is known throughout the storage and security industry. Clients include leading corporations, major financial institutions, top universities, government facilities, as well as small to medium size businesses. Sencilo's professional services include consulting, integration, project management, storage virtualization installation, maintenance and knowledge transfer.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Hialeah, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Ocala, Palm Coast, Clearwater, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Maitland and Cape Canaveral Green Simpana Offerings Projects: BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Backup Exc Pure Disk NetBackup Networker TSM Commvault BakBone D2D D2D2T compare cloud data deduplication thin provisioning DXi Global Compression DDX virtual tape library Data Reduction SEPATON FALCON compare Celerra CLARiiON Equallogic Sencilo HealthIT Solutions NS20 NS40 CX4 CX3-20 CX3-40 CX3-80 FAS2050 FAS3050 Xiotech Nexsan Avamar DLD3 1500 D3 Storwiz storage compression data Ocarina Networks A-SIS compare Sepaton infopro BlueArc OnStor Microsoft Unified Storage data protection StorageX Brocade FAQ SSD Solid state disk SANmelody FalconStor tier zero Xiotech ISE nx4 ax4 greenBytes ZFS Sun Top 10 ROBOBak managed services hosting cloud grid Datacore Compellent compellant equallogic lefthand networks don't buy storage stop buying storage itguardian cherub networks Arkeia 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 EMR 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
Top 10 Reasons to go with a EMR / EHR solution now! - October 7, 2009
Orlando Florida -- Now that Healthcare IT is part of the stimulus and newsworthy, I receive many questions from reporters about the fundamentals of healthcare IT. Here's a primer with the Top 10 questions and answers:
1. Can you define EHR, EMR, PHR and PM in simple terms?
Electronic Medical Record - An electronic record of health-related information on an individual that can be created, gathered, managed, and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff within one health care organization.
Electronic Health Record - An electronic record of health-related information on an individual that conforms to nationally recognized interoperability standards and that can be created, managed, and consulted by authorized clinicians and staff, across more than one health care organization.
Personal Health Record - An electronic record of health-related information on an individual that conforms to nationally recognized interoperability standards and that can be drawn from multiple sources while being managed, shared, and controlled by the individual.
Practice Management - An application used to manage the physician business operations including scheduling, registration, and billing ...
2. How large is the unserved market for HIT?
There are 800,000 clinicians in the US. 17% have EHRs today. This leaves 664,000 who need EHRs. Over the next 5 years the early to mid-adopters will work hard to gain the full stimulus incentive amounts available in 2011-2012. Late adopters will gain the reduced stimulus available in 2013-2014. Resistors will begin receiving penalties in 2015.
3. How many companies are currently competing in the small practice/ ambulatory EHR market? Are there any clear leaders in terms of client base or innovation?
There are over 100 companies providing EHRs for small practices. In my experience the ambulatory market leaders are eClinicalWorks, Allscripts, NextGen, GE Centricity, and Meditech/LSS (for small practices tightly affiliated to a hospital using Meditech). Epic is a market leader but not for small practices.
4. What does “meaningful use” really mean? Do you think physicians currently feel compelled to wait for clearer language from the government on the interoperability standards before investing?
"Meaningful use" is demonstrating to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the professional is using a certified EHR in a meaningful manner, which includes the use of e-prescribing, electronic HIE, and submission of information on clinical quality measures. Additional clarity on interoperability will be complete by the end of 2009. I do not believe clinicians should wait for all the details before investing. They should begin EHR implementation now.
5. What other details about meaningful use are listed in the bill?
-The Secretary may develop more stringent measures of meaningful use over time.
-For eligible professionals that are not meaningful users of EHRs, Medicare reimbursements will be cut 1% in 2015, 2% in 2016, and 3% in 2017.
-If less than 75% of professionals are meaningful users in 2018, Secretary can cut reimbursements another 1 percentage point, to maximum of 5%.
-Exceptions to the reimbursement reductions may be made on a case-by-case basis for hardships.
-The CMS Website will list eligible professionals who are meaningful EHR users.
6. Will Healthcare Smart Cards replace PHRs?
Smart cards have not received wide acceptance in any US industry, although they are very popular in other parts of the world. Reading and writing to smart cards would require a substantial investment in hardware throughout the healthcare industry. There are likely to be privacy concerns associated with lost or stolen smart cards. For all these reasons, I believe it is much more likely that web-based Personal Health Records, such as those provided by Google, Microsoft, and Dossia, will be more popular than smart cards. These PHRs are secure, protect confidentiality, and are automatically updated by labs, pharmacies, hospitals, and clinician offices.
7. Will clinicians be able to migrate easily from one EHR to another?
Interoperability in 2009 includes e-Prescribing, laboratories and clinical summaries needed for continuity of care. It does not include every field in the EHR. Conversion for one to EHR to another requires a combination of automated and manual data transfer. For the next few years, replacing one EHR product with another will still be a data conversion challenge.
8. What is the roadmap for interoperability?
Over the past 3 years, HITSP has focused on Labs, Medications, Clinical Summaries, Public/Population Health, and Devices. In 2009 and beyond we'll add clinical research, newborn screening and close numerous gaps. In general, I believe meaningful use will include exchange of
Problems lists/Diagnoses
Medications including e-prescribing
Allergies
Text-based summaries
Quality data sets
Population health data sets submitted to CDC, public health departments, and other government agencies.
9. "After standards are adopted in 2009, the National Coordinator shall make available at a nominal fee an electronic health record, unless the Secretary determines that the needs and demands of providers are being substantially and adequately met by the marketplace. Nothing in the legislation requires that entities adopt or use the technology made available through this provision.” -from HITECH Act. Do you see this as a viable solution for small practices who want to wait it out and go with a cheaper software product?
Open Source may provide reduced licensing cost, but other costs beyond license fees are the majority of implementation expenditures including practice workflow redesign, interfaces, and training. Open Source is an important part of the nationwide acceleration of EHR implementation, but it is not a panacea.
10. Do you see PHR’s and EHR’s as separate markets currently and what about in the future?
PHRs and EHRs are different products and I do not believe that PHRs will replace EHRs. EHRs are workflow tools for clinicians. PHRs are lifetime clinical summary and workflow tools for the consumer. They are complementary not competitive technologies.
For more information please call (407) 265-6293 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com/healthIT
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 EMR 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 VMware, Dell Fujitsu Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP. Its technical expertise is known throughout the storage and security industry. Clients include leading corporations, major financial institutions, top universities, government facilities, as well as small to medium size businesses. Sencilo's professional services include consulting, integration, project management, storage virtualization installation, maintenance and knowledge transfer.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Hialeah, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Ocala, Palm Coast, Clearwater, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Maitland and Cape Canaveral Green Simpana Offerings Projects: BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Backup Exc Pure Disk NetBackup Networker TSM Commvault BakBone D2D D2D2T compare cloud data deduplication thin provisioning DXi Global Compression DDX virtual tape library Data Reduction SEPATON FALCON compare Celerra CLARiiON Equallogic Sencilo HealthIT Solutions NS20 NS40 CX4 CX3-20 CX3-40 CX3-80 FAS2050 FAS3050 Xiotech Nexsan Avamar DLD3 1500 D3 Storwiz storage compression data Ocarina Networks A-SIS compare Sepaton infopro BlueArc OnStor Microsoft Unified Storage data protection StorageX Brocade FAQ SSD Solid state disk SANmelody FalconStor tier zero Xiotech ISE nx4 ax4 greenBytes ZFS Sun Top 10 ROBOBak managed services hosting cloud grid Datacore Compellent compellant equallogic lefthand networks don't buy storage stop buying storage itguardian cherub networks Arkeia 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, free, arra
AHIMA "Security and Privacy of EMR top Priority" - October 7, 2009
Orlando Florida -- With security and privacy of patient information paramount as the government and healthcare industry work to transform the system, the American Health Information Management Association is calling for national standards to protect patient information, says Brian McCarthy CEO of Sencilo HealthIT Solutions.
AHIMA's leaders on Monday released a Health Information Bill of Rights, a seven-point list they say is a model for protecting patient data. The document, unveiled at the 53,000-member group's 81st annual convention in Grapevine, Texas, was crafted by a blue ribbon panel and approved by the AHIMA board of directors.
Wendy Mangin, the group's immediate past president, led the panel of healthcare information management professionals. She said neither the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act nor HIPAA rules provide consumers with adequate protection.
Linda Kloss, CEO of AHIMA, said the group has not proposed legislation, but these principles could spur stricter healthcare data security laws.
According to Vera Rulon, president of AHIMA's board of directors, the principles address the protection of consumer health information from three basic standpoints: appropriate access, optimal accuracy and the highest standards of privacy and security for everyone.
As AHIMA leaders see it, privacy is not just for celebrities like George Clooney and Britney Spears.
"More often than not, those who fall prey to misappropriated, misused, lost or inaccurate health information are regular citizens like you or me who fall victim to greed, desperation, inattention, inappropriate access, inadequate security or any of a number of preventable circumstances," Rulon said. "We believe it is time for the health information profession – we who know better, care deeply and believe more can be done – to do more."
The Health Information Bill of Rights' seven protections was made necessary by "repeated abuses of access, accuracy, privacy and security of the most basic rights of individuals whose trust has been betrayed and dignity compromised," said Rulon.
In calling for a national privacy standard, Mangin said: "If your health records move seamlessly over state lines in service to your care and wellness, then it only makes sense that the rules governing the privacy of those records should enjoy the same portability and the consumer the same protection as a consequence."
AHIMA plans to keep its momentum building through Health Information and Technology Week, scheduled for Nov. 1-7, when it will offer a free wall poster for healthcare organizations to display in waiting areas and a certificate that states their pledge to uphold the seven protections in the Health Information Bill of Rights.
Why wait to get started? Schedule an assessment by calling 1-407-265-6293 or go to www.sencilo.com/healthcare
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 EMR 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 VMware, Dell Fujitsu Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP. Its technical expertise is known throughout the storage and security industry. Clients include leading corporations, major financial institutions, top universities, government facilities, as well as small to medium size businesses. Sencilo's professional services include consulting, integration, project management, storage virtualization installation, maintenance and knowledge transfer.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Hialeah, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Ocala, Palm Coast, Clearwater, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Maitland and Cape Canaveral Green Simpana Offerings Projects: BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Backup Exc Pure Disk NetBackup Networker TSM Commvault BakBone D2D D2D2T compare cloud data deduplication thin provisioning DXi Global Compression DDX virtual tape library Data Reduction SEPATON FALCON compare Celerra CLARiiON Equallogic Sencilo HealthIT Solutions NS20 NS40 CX4 CX3-20 CX3-40 CX3-80 FAS2050 FAS3050 Xiotech Nexsan Avamar DLD3 1500 D3 Storwiz storage compression data Ocarina Networks A-SIS compare Sepaton infopro BlueArc OnStor Microsoft Unified Storage data protection StorageX Brocade FAQ SSD Solid state disk SANmelody FalconStor tier zero Xiotech ISE nx4 ax4 greenBytes ZFS Sun Top 10 ROBOBak managed services hosting cloud grid Datacore Compellent compellant equallogic lefthand networks don't buy storage stop buying storage itguardian cherub networks Arkeia 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, arra, free
EHealthcare Architecture from Sencilo HealthIT Solutions - October 7, 2009
Orlando Florida -- The U.S. Healthcare system has top-notch doctors and hospitals, excellent medical technology and cutting-edge research facilities. And yet, the actual delivery of patient care is often inefficient and outdated. Today's caregivers are often forced to make diagnoses and treatment decisions without adequate patient information or knowledge of the most up-to-date clinical protocols. In fact, while there are pockets of advanced technologies, the industry as a whole remains paper-based, isolated and disconnected.
At Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, we're committed to helping you deliver the best care possible. By connecting your organization to the latest technology and cost-saving strategies, we can help to improve efficiencies and the quality of care across your entire healthcare operation.
The technology to improve patient care
Here at Sencilo HealthIT Solutions, we understand that transforming your hospital system to a 21st century hospital is no easy task. Fortunately, we can help. From assessments to hardware, software to services, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions has the technology solutions you need for your healthcare organization.
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture offers a complete technology framework that focuses on the three areas of healthcare computing that matter most:
Access to information when and where needed
Information management and availability
Operational effectiveness and cost control
With the Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture, you get reliable, affordable technology and services you can trust from Sencilo HealthIT Solutions — plus a single point of contact for your IT infrastructure. Most importantly, through our professional services, you get the technical know-how for developing customized solutions built around your needs. Get more information by visiting the Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare website.
Information Access
Today's healthcare organizations are awash in high-quality data. Every day, hundreds of thousands of patients interact with doctors, nurses, hospitals, health clinics and pharmacies. Imagine if access to this critical data was always at the caregivers' fingertips. With Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture, it can be. From admissions to ER to radiology, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions technologies can enable care providers to have access to critical patient information when and where they need it most.
30% — Average percent of visits during which patient charts cannot be found.By improving access to critical health data via better technology, physicians and care providers can spend more time actually caring for patients.
Helping integrate every aspect of care delivery
With consistent and timely access to patient data, physicians can make better decisions that could help increase patient safety and, ultimately, save lives. Systems such as electronic medical records (EMR) systems and picture archiving and communications systems (PACS) can help in this quest to provide anytime, anywhere access to information. These advanced technologies can help:
Save valuable time
Prevent medical administrative errors
Provide doctors with up-to-date patient histories — even if there are multiple doctors in multiple
Offset the expenses of traditional X-ray film
Put clinical information and best practices in physicians' hands when and where they need it
Learn more about improving patient care with PACS solutions from Sencilo HealthIT Solutions and reducing prescription errors with EMR systems.
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions puts critical patient data right at your fingertips
With Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture solutions, you can provide access to real-time patient data, exactly where and when it's needed. We can help you make collaboration easy and secure by integrating clinical information systems and mobile technology. Our integrated point of care* solutions feature:
Durable, reliable mobile solutions — including Sencilo HealthIT Solutions laptops and tablet pcs, mobile carts and handhelds — that let care providers capture and access data virtually anywhere, anytime.
High-performance Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Precision workstations that can support critical applications, such as digital imaging and archiving
Productivity-enhancing scanners, printers and software built to perform well in demanding clinical environments
Extranet and intranet portal solutions for improved collaboration and productivity
Comprehensive IT infrastructure assessments to help determine what solutions and services are right for your needs
Relationships and certifications with key HIS, RIS and digital imaging vendors to help ensure compatibility and seamless integration
Ongoing support services to help maintain performance and security of your systems
Ultimately, these solutions can help care providers achieve fast and accurate diagnoses and treatments to deliver a high quality of care and help enhance patient outcomes.
Information Availability
The vast majority of data generated by the healthcare community — information that could lead to a better understanding of treatment options, adverse drug effects and outcomes — is often lost within disparate systems. Plus, many hospitals still have important records stored in paper files, which can compromise security and prevent easy access.Sencilo HealthIT Solutions can help store and manage your critical data, everything from patient health records to billing information.
1/3 — Amount of the $1.8 trillion annual U.S. healthcare budget spent on duplicative or inappropriate procedures.1By increasing access to critical health records via a reliable information infrastructure, preventable errors can be reduced.
Strengthening your information backbone
By ensuring the availability of critical information, healthcare providers can potentially reduce the number of preventable errors, and thus, improve patient safety. A study shows that nearly 195,000 people died as a result of potentially avoidable medical errors in 2002.2This is one of the many reasons why Sencilo HealthIT Solutions wants to help bring 21st century information management into the healthcare community.
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture can help you strengthen your IT infrastructure and simplify operations across your organization. With our high-performance server and storage solutions, you can efficiently store, manage and secure critical patient health records and administrative data. And since our solutions are reliable, scalable and highly available, you can meet your data needs for today — and tomorrow — without cutting into your bottom line. Our portfolio features:
Highly available, scalable Sencilo HealthIT Solutions servers and Sencilo HealthIT Solutions storage and security solutions that grow with your business
Data center and environmental assessments to help your organization optimize standards based server and storage technologies
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions OpenManager Systems Management tools for deployment, monitoring and automated hardware change management
Server and storage consolidation services to increase utilization of your hardware purchases
Ongoing support services to help keep your systems available and running at peak performance
Creating a secure information network helps you to effectively manage critical patient data, ensuring its availability at the point of care.
By using open standards for healthcare records and systems, the industry can get on the way to national interoperability. The ultimate goal: To ensure the availability of critical patient data at the point of care*. This aligns perfectly with the federal government's vision of a National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII).
Cost Control
The business of healthcare is in critical condition. Hospitals nationwide are losing money, and for this reason, are reluctant to make technology investments — even if they could pay off in the long term. At the same time, there's the added pressure of rising healthcare costs and an aging population. By helping you deploy affordable, reliable technology, Sencilo HealthIT Solutions can help lower your IT costs and improve your overall operational efficiency.
4.04% — The average operating margin for the nation's hospitals, a 20% decline since 2003.1 By adopting IT best practices and standardizing technology across your operation, you can lower spending and focus on the delivery of care.
Driving down costs, while improving patient care
By deploying IT best practices, you can help reduce operating costs and invest more in the delivery of patient care. Partnering with a technology provider who understands the unique needs and challenges of the healthcare industry can allow you to improve efficiency throughout your organization. Sencilo HealthIT Solutions eHealthcare Architecture utilizes the power of the Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Direct Model to deliver affordable, reliable IT solutions that feature:
Build-to-order Sencilo HealthIT Solutions systems that can simplify procurement and deployment processes and lower costs
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Managed Services for desktop lifecycle management from acquisition to disposal
Sencilo HealthIT Solutions Financial Services with flexible financing options that fit your capital and expense budget requirements
Web-based and classroom training and certification so your organization can get the most out of your technology investments
IT asset management assessments that help ensure enterprise solutions specific to your needs
Excellent service and support for continued productivity and technical assistance
By achieving your IT efficiency and service-level goals, we can help lower your organization's total cost of ownership (TCO). You can get a single point of contact for all your technology needs. And you can rely upon our continuous process improvements. It all adds up to the ideal way to achieve better quality clinical and administrative outcomes.
Why wait to get started? Schedule an assessment by calling 1-407-265-6293 or go to www.sencilo.com/healthIT
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 EMR 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 VMware, Dell Fujitsu Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP. Its technical expertise is known throughout the storage and security industry. Clients include leading corporations, major financial institutions, top universities, government facilities, as well as small to medium size businesses. Sencilo's professional services include consulting, integration, project management, storage virtualization installation, maintenance and knowledge transfer.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Hialeah, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Ocala, Palm Coast, Clearwater, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Maitland and Cape Canaveral Green Simpana Offerings Projects: BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Backup Exc Pure Disk NetBackup Networker TSM Commvault BakBone D2D D2D2T compare cloud data deduplication thin provisioning DXi Global Compression DDX virtual tape library Data Reduction SEPATON FALCON compare Celerra CLARiiON Equallogic Sencilo HealthIT Solutions NS20 NS40 CX4 CX3-20 CX3-40 CX3-80 FAS2050 FAS3050 Xiotech Nexsan Avamar DLD3 1500 D3 Storwiz storage compression data Ocarina Networks A-SIS compare Sepaton infopro BlueArc OnStor Microsoft Unified Storage data protection StorageX Brocade FAQ SSD Solid state disk SANmelody FalconStor tier zero Xiotech ISE nx4 ax4 greenBytes ZFS Sun Top 10 ROBOBak managed services hosting cloud grid Datacore Compellent compellant equallogic lefthand networks don't buy storage stop buying storage itguardian cherub networks Arkeia 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 , arra, free
Health System CIOs Shifting Priorities - October 7, 2009
Orlando Florida -- For hospital and health system CIOs, crafting a budget that will meet future needs is now more difficult than ever. In large part, this is due to a confluence of factors that makes any certainty illusive. Among those elements are: the combination of increasing uninsured ED visits and decreasing elective procedures; the transitions to ICD-10 and HIPAA-5010; the movement to healthcare reform that will likely involve a shift to value-based purchasing under Medicare; and the lack of clarity around HITECH reimbursement as meaningful use and certification comes into focus, says Brian J. McCarthy, CEO of Sencilo HealthIT Solutions.
Then there is the constant swirl of developments in the healthcare IT vendor market, not to mention the ever-shifting dynamics of local healthcare market competition. With all those puzzle pieces in the mix, no CIO could be faulted for feeling a bit panicked, says McCarthy.
Figuring out how to optimally spend IT dollars in the next few years is a challenging prospect. And that is precisely why many CIO leaders are counting on the same operating principles and strategies that have kept them grounded in the past to serve them during these uncertain times.
“My take on all this is that these elements are simply accelerating a focus on what we should be doing all along,” says Baylor Health System Senior Vice President and CIO David Muntz. “So to me, there's no big surprise in this; if there's a difficulty at all, it's the order in which we might be required to do things.”
In fact, says Muntz, who helps lead a 14-hospital, 3,000-bed system based in Dallas, “I actually think this is a good-news situation. If I had to focus on the negative, I would say that if you can't rush to get the carrots, you should at least try to avoid the sticks.” By that, he is referring to the penalties that will be incurred for failing to use an EHR in a “meaningful” way as required under HITECH. The need to look at the broader picture in healthcare, Muntz adds, means scanning the horizon for the emergence of such important concepts as the medical home and accountable care groups, and putting the IT foundations in place to support concepts such as those that purchasers, payers, and policy-makers are moving toward.
So, Muntz says, “My advice is to take a deep breath and to continue doing the things you were already doing, if they were the right things.”
John Glaser, Ph.D., senior vice president and CIO of the eight-hospital Partners HealthCare system in Boston, advises caution during this deep recession. “At the end of the day, organizations operate on a philosophy of either conservatism or aggressiveness. Fundamentally, I would tell people this is not a bad time at all to be fiscally conservative. The markets are recovering, but it's still tight out there; so you have to be conservative with capital and operating expenses; that's just smart and prudent. On the other hand,” he says, “There could be opportunities here, and these things happen when they happen. If we see opportunities, I wouldn't be the turtle who pulls in his limbs and hides.”
For Lac Tran, senior vice president and CIO at the three-hospital Rush University Medical Center in central Chicago, that translates into an acute awareness of the need to carefully prioritize, and in some cases, re-prioritize IT projects, while still adhering to core strategic principles. As a result, says Tran, “We're doing a lot of deferring to subsequent years of projects that are of lower priorities. And we're definitely cognizant of areas that touch on regulatory requirements.”
Among those areas are the transitions to ICD-10 and HIPAA 5010. “We have task forces in both of those areas,” Tran notes, adding that he believes ICD-10 will have a far bigger impact on his organization, as it will require all of Rush's coding professionals to be retrained (and to have their retraining documented), as well as requiring its physicians to be trained in the new coding system, says McCarthy of Sencilo HealthIT Solutions.
Fortunately, in other areas, such as preparing to request federal funding under ARRA-HITECH, Rush is well-positioned, Tran notes, as the organization has been live with CPOE for nine years already. “All these things are just helping us to get to where we need to go, faster,” he says.
Cutting a path
Industry experts see an interesting split screen when it comes to budget prioritization at hospitals across the country. Leading organizations have already made progress down the following roads:
The alignment of organization-wide IT spending with the patient safety, care quality, efficiency, and effectiveness goals of the organization;
The advent of IT as a facilitator to process improvement and a support for organizational cultural change;
Intensive clinical IT development, especially with regard to EMR and CPOE implementation;
The rise of the CIO as a thought leader and change agent within the organization;
The evolution of the strategic budgeting process as an affirmation of change agency.
Asked what cutting-edge organizations are doing right, Erica Drazen, Sc.D., managing partner in the Waltham, Mass.-based Emerging Practices/HealthCare Sector group at Falls Church, Va.-based CSC, says, “The biggest differentiator” has been in leadership over clinical IS projects. CIOs, executives, and clinician leaders in pioneering organizations “have long recognized that CPOE and eMAR and broadening patient access to medical records aren't IT projects; they're clinical process change projects.” That realization, Drazen says, is what compels a hospital or health system forward.
In fact, she says, “The top clinician leaders in your organization don't only need to be at the table setting priorities; they need to be pushing you, as the CIO, and saying things like, ‘We need to make patient care safer and improve the continuity of care, and can you help us with that, Mr. or Ms. CIO?’”
That positioning is very different, Drazen says, from what has developed in many hospital organizations around the country, where CIOs and their teams have been vested with the ownership of clinical IT development. Clinicians, she insists, must be the owners of clinical IT strategy. “Would a CFO allow IT people to tell them how to structure their revenue cycle program?” she asks. “Of course not.”
Greater CIO visibility
What many CIOs are finding is that governance and relationship-building are assuming more importance than ever before, bringing them to a more strategic place in their own evolution, says McCarthy.
“These technologies touch so many aspects of the organization now that your strategic and financial alignment of technology becomes really significant,” says Tim Zoph, vice president and CIO of the 873-bed Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago. “As a result, you now have a broader audience, and a bigger portfolio of activity you're working through,” Zoph says. “We're entering into an era of knowledge and value, and the technology facilitating transformational changes within any organization is so important that this becomes about survival strategies.”
And so, says Zoph, what once could be neatly categorized as a budgeting process has become something much broader in scope. In fact, he says, the whole budgeting process in times like these, particularly for the big-ticket clinical IT implementations, becomes a governance challenge for CIOs. “And a part of governance is not telling people what to do, but instead, building confidence and answering questions squarely, and making sure the institution understands both the promise and limitations of technology.” Indeed, he says, “In times of uncertainty, clarity of leadership is even more important. This is a time where people really earn their leadership edge.”
Alignment equals progress
For those organizations whose existing strategy naturally aligns with today's trends, a clear advantage has emerged. “Our core vision is to be a low-cost, high-quality patient care organization, and though we're not going to buy every piece of technology out there, one of our explicit strategic goals is to harness technology,” says George Conklin, senior vice president and CIO of Christus Health, a 44-hospital Catholic hospital system based in Dallas.
And, since the focus at Christus is “around providing integrated information across the care continuum,” the health system has already been live with EMR and other core clinical information systems for a few years now, Conklin reports. What's more, he and his colleagues are busy working on a broad project to standardize medical vocabulary, with an eye towards standardizing care across the system.
In the end, many CIOs agree that getting the details of strategic budgeting right during this time of change and uncertainty means looking at the big picture and aligning organizational IT goals and resources with overall goals and industry trends.
“The good news these days,” says Baylor's Muntz “is that there's no longer anyone in a hospital organization who isn't thinking about information technology. So as CIO, you essentially become the great listener. It's your challenge to figure out how to coordinate all the disparate conversations and strands going on in your organization,” and to help lead action around those currents of discussion. Even with all the current fiscal and operational challenges involved, he concludes, that's a good place for CIOs to be right now.
Everyone knows it's coming, yet many say this one will be rocky. Though HHS earlier this year pushed back the transition date to Oct. 1, 2013, for CIOs, 2013 is still right around the corner. “ICD-10 is probably the thing that makes me the most nervous, simply because of the massive amount of change that will be required,” says David Muntz, senior vice president and CIO at the 14-hospital Baylor Health System based in Dallas. “We've begun to plan, and one of the things we'll be talking about is how we do that without stepping all over ourselves in terms of having to do extensive remediation with regard to the EMR,” Muntz adds. That's because, with ICD-10, “You're essentially asking someone who speaks just a few words to dramatically enlarge their vocabulary.”
HIPAA 5010
Like the transition to ICD-10, this is already a known quantity; yet some believe it could be more challenging than generally conceived. The transition to HIPAA 5010, as mandated by the federal Administration Simplification Act, must take place by Jan. 1, 2012. And though it might not be as challenging as the transition to ICD-10, it will nonetheless compel software upgrades and process changes within hospitals, along with training of all affected personnel, experts note. As a result, says Lac Tran, senior vice president and CIO at the three-hospital Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, “We have task forces in both of those areas.” Tran urges all CIOs to begin working with their IT team to immediately to effect a smooth transition to the new standard.
The economic recession
How long will the current recession last? Healthcare has historically lagged behind other industries, both in terms of when a downturn takes place and when a recovery gets underway. Says John Glaser, Ph.D., senior vice president and CIO at Partners HealthCare in Boston, “My advice is to be cautious, but don't hibernate and go back into a cave.” Glaser says he believes the recession is naturally compelling CIOs and their teams to take a second look at the array of software and hardware they have in their organizations. However, he says that it will be vitally important not to cut back on spending in ways that could hamper the ability to address the reimbursement, policy, and regulatory demands purchasers and payers are making of healthcare providers right now.
The ARRA-HITECH funding hurdle
One thing is clear: CIOs must be moving ahead now to make those preparations, even as key pieces of information around meaningful use requirements remain far from final. “In order to take advantage of the policy changes in the Recovery Act, you need to be proactive, and to make choices based on imperfect information,” says Tim Zoph, vice president and CIO of Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Chicago. And that definitely means “aligning your institution and your physicians to take advantage of that situation.”
Healthcare reform
For many, the concepts of federal healthcare and reimbursement reform appear to be identical and fused; and indeed, one major element in healthcare reform is the prospect of major changes in reimbursement patterns under Medicare. But, industry and policy experts say, regardless of whether comprehensive health insurance reform is passed, reimbursement reform is inevitable. And, given some of the ideas being discussed in Washington, experts say it's important to consider concepts such as accountable care groups, pay for performance, and the medical home could soon become payment realities. Now is the time, says Baylor's Muntz, to lay the IT foundation for the implementation of these concepts. Most CIOs concur that the implementation of highly functional core clinical information systems, of strong data warehouses, and of report-writing and data-publishing capabilities will be vital says McCarthy, CEO of Sencilo HealthIT Solutions.
Continually prioritize and re-prioritize projects.
Be conservative with capital and operating expenses, but not to the detriment of long-term strategic initiatives.
Devote task forces to specific industry mandates, such as the move to ICD-10 or HIPAA 5010.
Take seriously industry trends toward improved patient safety and quality, while becoming more accountable and transparent; weaving those trends into strategic plans and budgets.
For more information please call (407) 265-6293 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com/healthIT
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 EMR 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 VMware, Dell Fujitsu Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP. Its technical expertise is known throughout the storage and security industry. Clients include leading corporations, major financial institutions, top universities, government facilities, as well as small to medium size businesses. Sencilo's professional services include consulting, integration, project management, storage virtualization installation, maintenance and knowledge transfer.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Hialeah, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Ocala, Palm Coast, Clearwater, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Maitland and Cape Canaveral Green Simpana Offerings Projects: BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Backup Exc Pure Disk NetBackup Networker TSM Commvault BakBone D2D D2D2T compare cloud data deduplication thin provisioning DXi Global Compression DDX virtual tape library Data Reduction SEPATON FALCON compare Celerra CLARiiON Equallogic Sencilo HealthIT Solutions NS20 NS40 CX4 CX3-20 CX3-40 CX3-80 FAS2050 FAS3050 Xiotech Nexsan Avamar DLD3 1500 D3 Storwiz storage compression data Ocarina Networks A-SIS compare Sepaton infopro BlueArc OnStor Microsoft Unified Storage data protection StorageX Brocade FAQ SSD Solid state disk SANmelody FalconStor tier zero Xiotech ISE nx4 ax4 greenBytes ZFS Sun Top 10 ROBOBak managed services hosting cloud grid Datacore Compellent compellant equallogic lefthand networks don't buy storage stop buying storage itguardian cherub networks Arkeia 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
Cost Cutting Tips for Small Business - Part II - September 23, 2009
Orlando Florida == Midsize companies should look at creating cost-cutting teams, pay more attention to reducing maintenance support costs and reduce their networking spending, said Terrence Cosgrove, senior research analyst at Gartner, during a breakout session titled "System Management on an IT Budget" at Everything Channel's Midsize Enterprise Summit in Miami.
Reducing enterprise costs is the second most important business expectation for midsize companies this year, according to Gartner's 2009 survey of 1,500 midsize CIOs.
In a sign of how the economy has changed CIOs' priorities, reducing enterprise costs finished as only the ninth most important expectation in last year's survey, according to Gartner.
Meanwhile, reducing the cost of IT was the third most important CIO strategy in 2009 and it didn't even finish in the top 10 last year.
"A CIO thinks IT has to do everything better, faster, cheaper and become more aligned with the business. The concept of doing more with less has been the anthem of IT operations for the last 10 to 15 years. What's unique now is that fiscal constraints are so much greater and pressure from business is so much stronger. It puts you in the position that IT has to change its way of thinking with respect to infrastructure and operations," said Cosgrove, who laid out tips to help IT organizations lower their costs.
The most important business expectation for midsize companies was improving business processes, but was not a focus of Cosgrove's talk.
Cosgrove detailed several ways that midsize companies can contain costs. To start, organizations should create cost-cutting teams that include representation from all major platforms -- PCs, servers, networking, storage, as well as a financially qualified professional, Cosgrove said.
"A finance person will help because sometimes if you reduce costs in one area, you can increase costs somewhere else. We also recommend someone with a legal background, especially for renegotiated contracts," Cosgrove said.
Reducing hardware maintenance costs can save money through a number of means, Cosgrove said. Gartner has found that the cost of hardware maintenance has increased 5.5 percent over the last year, but the providers' ability to meet service-level commitments has decreased 4.5 percent.
"A lot of clients find support cheaper on a time and materials basis than a subscription," Cosgrove said. He cited one example of a midsize company that saved $10,000 per year by discontinuing maintenance on four-year-old switches, scanners and some printers. The company moved from a 24x7 support contract to a 9-to-5 maintenance window, he added.
Next: Networking Ripe With Savings Opportunities Networking, which represents 10 to 30 percent of IT spending, is ripe with cost-cutting opportunities, Cosgrove said.
"Moving from frame relay to an IP-based backbone system like VPN will save a lot of money. One midmarket company cut their WAN [costs] by 30 percent by moving to broadband VPN," he said. "Also, make networking contracts more competitive. One of our clients, a health-care company, cut their phone costs from $45,000 per month to $23,000 per month by opening their renewal to multiple telecom carriers. Even if you have no intention of moving away from your provider, we recommend opening it up to make it more competitive," he said.
Another cost-cutting measure currently employed by many midsize companies is virtualization. Still, Cosgrove points out, most organizations can do more in that area. At last year's MES shows, Gartner ran a survey that found that 64 percent of servers in attendees' IT environments were still physical. There are three issues critical to virtualization success, he said: controlling sprawl (even "VM-sprawl" Cosgrove said), improved ISV licensing and training.
"There's a wide variance around what ISVs will support in a virtual environment. Eventually, ISVs will figure out a way to monetize it to run in a virtual environment, but it's very inconsistent today," Cosgrove said.
CIOs also should understand the total cost of IT support, which can be eye opening, Cosgrove said. For example, it costs between $12 and $20 for a Level 1 call center contact, but moving to a self-service model can reduce that amount to $2 to $10, he said.
"Most organizations are at 65 percent first-contact resolution. We think 75 percent to 80 percent is good. A one percent increase in first-contact resolution represents a 0.64 percent increase in customer satisfaction," Cosgrove said.
Finally, Cosgrove also advised that midsize companies hold off on moving to Office 2007 because Office 14 will be available in the middle of next year. "Office 2003 will still be supported for the next five years. You're in a really good position to see what Office 14 is like," he said. The cost to migrate from Office 2003 to 2007 is between $900 and $1,600 per user, he added.
Most midsize companies also won't see true cost savings by moving to OpenOffice.org or Google Docs because too many users will still need Microsoft Office, he said. "We don't recommend moving to OpenOffice.org unless you're absolutely sure your works don't need Microsoft Office," he said.
For more information please call (407) 265-6293 or visit us at: http://www.sencilo.com
About Us
Sencilo Solutions is a Florida-based integrator specializing in 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 VMware, Data Domain, EMC, Hitachi, Symantec, HDS, IBM, Commvault, Xiotech and HP. Its technical expertise is known throughout the storage and security industry. Clients include leading corporations, major financial institutions, top universities, government facilities, as well as small to medium size businesses. Sencilo's professional services include consulting, integration, project management, storage virtualization installation, maintenance and knowledge transfer.
Sencilo has offices throughout Florida including: Jacksonville, Daytona Beach, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Hialeah, St. Augustine, Gainesville, Ocala, Palm Coast, Clearwater, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Maitland and Cape Canaveral Green Simpana Offerings Projects: BC DR planning Replication De-Dup De-Dupe iSCSI SAN NAS VMware Security EMC NetApp HP IBM Quantum Compliance VTL Data Domain vs Gartner Magic Quadrant Quadrent LTO Backup Exc Pure Disk NetBackup Networker TSM Commvault BakBone D2D D2D2T compare cloud data deduplication thin provisioning DXi Global Compression DDX virtual tape library Data Reduction SEPATON FALCON compare Celerra CLARiiON Equallogic Dell NS20 NS40 CX4 CX3-20 CX3-40 CX3-80 FAS2050 FAS3050 Xiotech Nexsan Avamar DLD3 1500 D3 Storwiz storage compression data Ocarina Networks A-SIS compare Sepaton infopro BlueArc OnStor Microsoft Unified Storage data protection StorageX Brocade FAQ SSD Solid state disk SANmelody FalconStor tier zero Xiotech ISE nx4 ax4 greenBytes ZFS Sun Top 10 ROBOBak managed services hosting cloud grid Datacore Compellent compellant equallogic lefthand networks don't buy storage stop buying storage itguardian cherub networks Arkeia Network Backup appliance Data Recovery Backup Health IT Healthcare IT Digital Hospital Allscripts Quorum's Virtual Optimization System (VOS) delivers a myriad of capabilities for virtualized application management, High availability, dynamic virtual resource management Xen application workload management,application measurement monitoring,quorum appliance,quorum,quorum,high availability solutions,application workload management,real time availability,real time workload management
