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Physician practices are turning to Software as a Service (SaaS) electronic health record systems--and have several good options to choose from, according to a new report from Orem, Utah-based healthcare research firm KLAS.
The study, in which more than 290 providers using SaaS ambulatory EHR systems were interviewed, reported that SaaS EHRs are becoming increasingly popular. "These systems appeal to small organizations that want low maintenance, a quick go live, and small up-front investment," the report noted. "Providers must also be comfortable with clinical and patient data being stored off-site and limited flexibility in the system."
EHR response time, such as the loading time between clicks
Customer support, such as frequent updating and enhancements
Product quality/usability
"Bang for the buck", i.e. attractive pricing
The top ranked SaaS vendor/product was CureMD EMR, followed closely by Practice Fusion, athenahealth athenaClinics, MIE WebChart EMR, MedPlus/Quest Diagnostics Care 360 EMR, and Sevocity EMR.
One downside to SaaS EHR products, according to the report, is that many of them do not also offer practice management solutions. Of the top six products, only CureMD and athena sell practice management products in tandem with their EHR systems.
The report corroborates trends in hospitals, which also are embracing cloud computing for their EHR and HIE use. Gartner recently predicted that cloud computing will take center stage by 2014.
Time for the next entry covering Shawn Riley’s list of 101 Tips to Make your EMR and EHR More Useful. I can’t believe that this is the last post in the series. I think it’s been a good series chalk full of good tips for those looking at implementing an EHR in their office. I’d love to hear what people thought and if they’d like me to do more series like this one. Now for the final 5 EMR tips.
5. Automatic trending helps all over the place – A picture is worth a thousand words and this is never more true than when we’re talking about trending. Make sure your EHR software can quickly take a set of results and/or data points and graph them over time.
4. Keep training over and over – Are you ever done learning software? The answer for those using an EMR is no. Part of this has to do with the vast volume of options that are available in EMR software. However, the training doesn’t necessarily have to come from formal training sessions. Much of the training can also come by facilitating interaction and discussion about how your users use the software. By talking to each other, they can often learn from their peers better ways to use the software.
3. Infrastructure is key to performance – I love when people say “My EMR is Slow” cause it’s such a general statement that could have so many possible meanings. Regardless of the cause of slowness, the EMR is going to get the blame. For those wanting to dig in to the EMR slowness issue, you can read my pretty comprehensive post about causes of EMR slowness. I think you’ll also enjoy some of the responses to that EMR slowness post.
Infrastructure really matters when someone is using an EMR all day every day. There’s no better way to kill someone’s desire to use an EMR than to have it be slow (regardless of who’s responsible).
2. Quit pulling charts as soon as possible – I think this tip should be done with some caution. In certain specialties the past chart history matters much more than in others. Although, it’s worth carefully considering how often you really look through the past paper chart in a visit. You might be surprised how rare it is that you really need the past paper chart. If that’s the case, consider only pulling the chart when it’s needed. If you only find yourself looking through the past paper chart for 2 or 3 key items, then just have someone get those 2 or 3 items put into the EMR ahead of time. Then, it will save you having to switch back and forth. Plus, then it’s there for the next time the patient visits.
1. Crap process + Technology = Fast Crap – Perfect way to end 101 EMR and EHR Tips! I like to describe technology as the great magnifier. The challenge is that it will magnify both the good and bad elements of your processes. Fix the process before you apply the technology.
If you want to see my analysis of the other 101 EMR and EHR tips, you can find them all at the following link: 101 EMR and EHR tips analysis.
Every act or a statute conveys an objective to be achieved. The objective of HIPAA, which stands for Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, is to protect patient security and privacy. An act introduced by the U.S Congress in 1996, and augmented April of 2003, HIPAA was predominantly focused on easy portability of patient health information (PHI) for easy health insurance coverage in spite of shifting jobs and locations.
The concept of “portability” brings an increasing thrust on “accountability.” The portability of health information is beneficial to the patient, the physicians who record and refer back to the patient’s history and the insurance companies which settle the medical claims of the patient. Because HIPAA is used as a resource by three different parties, the risk of information breach is very high. It is a practice-driven policy where extra care needs to be taken during the transfer and storage of information. It is to be noted that for any kind of transfer, the form of the record is vital. The implementation of HIPAA paved the way for electronic versions of the patient health records (PHRs), which required an urgent enforcement of technology based regulations.
Come 2009, the heat was felt and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act, part of the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), was signed in the month of February by President Obama and was to come into affect by 2010. This emphasized the need and importance of going paperless when it came to PHRs. This brought in a practical way of implementation of HIPAA and gave it more importance to take affect.
All the three acts — HIPAA, HITECH and ARRA — collaboratively focus on tightening the healthcare screws when it comes to patient information, use of technology and its benefits, and the penalties in cases of non-compliance. It is to be noted that prior to the enactment of HITECH, HIPAA was looked at as a mere set of rules and regulations on paper. The proposed requirements under the HIPAA were so stringent that it wasn’t practical enough to implement. For example, HIPAA requires the exchange of information through a secured encrypted email carrier. However, in reality, the healthcare professionals typically preferred the convenience of the act, rather than the security it provided. The professionals were known to use cell phones and personal laptops, which would not only overlook a secured network, but also force other issues like loss of data, attacks and malicious activities by the hackers and other third-party intruders. Previously, saying that one’s record-keeping method was “HIPAA compliant” may not have been strictly true, even though it’s clear that being so is only good option.
As we are into another decade and the legions of law are looming over the healthcare industry, it is only advisable to stay put to non-fraudulent practices and monitor every move. Because the eyes of the healthcare police are on us and they wouldn’t blink in today’s age.
TAMPA, FL – The majority of patients and physicians have a positive perception of electronic documentation, according to a survey conducted by Sage Healthcare Division, a unit of Sage North America.
“The adoption of electronic health records has grown in recent years as the U.S. government’s incentive plans and the benefits of these systems are realized by more and more office-based physicians,” said Betty Otter-Nickerson, president of Sage Healthcare Division. “The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics estimates that more than half of office-based physicians have adopted a basic EHR, while more than 10 percent have adopted a fully functional system, such as Sage Intergy EHR. The results of the study will help Sage Healthcare design solutions that maximize the benefit to physicians and their patients.”
The Sage Healthcare Insights study examines the effect of implementing an electronic health record system on both physicians and their patients. The purpose is to understand how the perceptions of physicians who use EHR systems differ or are similar to the perceptions of the patients who recall seeing their physician use the system. According to the study, patients felt more comfortable with physicians that used an EHR system, and more importantly, felt that the information contained in the medical record was more accurate when they physically saw information being entered electronically. “What we learned is patients like to see their verbatim information entered into the record as they said it, not as the doctor interpreted it,” added Otter-Nickerson.
You know, when you think about an EMR purchase, it’s obvious that there’s plenty of technical considerations involved. But the truth is, when it comes down to it, most doctors will never need to know anything about APIs or coding or middleware before they pick out a system. They just want the EMR to work.
The thing is, they’ve already made a big investment in technology before — maybe lots of times — even though they probably know little or nothing about how the gears really mesh. I’m talking about automobile buying, of course. I sort of doubt a single doctor has ever sat through a Webinar on the difference between anti-lock and regular brakes, the advantages of added cargo room or the physics of improved gas mileage. But they still buy cars, don’t they?
No, like everyone else, I’m sure your average doctor takes in commercials, makes a few mental notes as to how the promised benefits fit into their world, digests the information a bit and then goes shopping. At that point, they’re briefed on what features the car has, and tell the salesperson whether that works for them. Ultimately, they buy something that fits their budget, their needs and probably, their self-image too.
Now, an EMR isn’t a fashion statement — while cars most decidedly are — but in other ways, the purchasing process should be similar.
After all, the software they’re choosing should be as utilitarian as an SUV. They should come to the buying process knowing what needs they’re trying to address (in a car, say, the ability to haul big objects, or in an EMR, being able to enter patient notes quickly and clearly). Hopefully, they have a sense of how they’re going to use their EMR on a day-to-day- basis, as they obviously do when they’re car shopping.
And with any luck, they’ll also know what ongoing problems they’re trying to solve, be they managing the flow of laboratory results, making sure they’re reminded to follow up on preventive care, looking at the health of their patient population and so on.
If a practice knows these things, they won’t be blinded by a blizzard of technical terms or worry about whether they’re on version 2.15 of the latest build. They won’t have to spend much time debating over whether a SaaS or client-server solution makes more sense. They’ll just want to get the job done.
Unfortunately, it’s hard to get to that point when a technology comes in looking all scary, complicated and expensive. But as any one who’s ever bought a new car knows, you can always take the damned thing back.
Ran across this great video by the Fox Group. The video runs about 10 minutes and goes into pretty good detail into the operational benefits, financial incentives, and potential pitfalls of migrating a medical practice to an electronic health record system.
Electronic health records are in the spotlight, thanks to the federal economic stimulus package. Many hospitals and physician groups are scrambling to draft strategies to fully implement EHRs in time to qualify for maximum federal incentive payments. Relatively few have rolled out every component of a truly comprehensive EHR.
But Kaiser Permanente is entering the home stretch in what's turned out to be a seven-year drive to implement comprehensive EHRs, personal health records and related systems at all of its hospitals and clinics. The experiences of the Oakland-Calif.-based not-for-profit organization, which owns 431 medical offices and 35 hospitals plus a large health plan, provide valuable insights for others that aren't as far along.
On Thursday, the Health IT Policy Committee's certification and adoption work group recommended that multiple organizations be allowed to provide "HHS certification" for electronic health record systems, Health Data Managementreports.
To receive HHS certification, EHR systems must meet a minimum set of functional criteria and achieve the "meaningful use" objectives of the federal economic stimulus package. Under the stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate meaningful use of EHRs will receive Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments.
The work group called for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT to define HHS certification criteria and separate the process from the influence of certifying organizations.
Maryland law will allow state to put stimulus cash toward electronic health records
Maryland law will allow state to put stimulus cash toward electronic health records
Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley will sign legislation Tuesday that provides incentives for health care organizations to implement electronic health records.
House Bill 706 allows the state to make use of federal stimulus dollars available for electronic health records and coordinate those efforts with the state’s own plan to create a state wide health information exchange.
As reported here and onEHRtv.com, The Department of Health And Human Services recently announced new guidelines for controlling and reporting security breaches of Electronic Medical Records. Now, just weeks after HHS’ announcement, Virginia has revealed that the EMRs of 8 million patients may have been compromised.
Yesterday, an FBI Official confirmed that they are investigating a $10 million ransom demand by a hacker or hackers, who say they have stolen nearly 8.3 million patient records from a Virginia government Web site that tracks prescription drug abuse. The breach involves the Virginia State Prescription Drug Monitoring Program’s website, www.pmp.dhp.virginia.gov/. Virginia’s governor said state police are also cooperating in the investigation. In a statement the governor said that the breach of patient EMR data is a serious crime, and is being treated as such.As of this writing the Website is still down. [Read the complete article on the EHRScope Blog]
Although Windows may be the norm, there is still a need and desire to have an EMR system for Mac. The Macintosh is a robust and powerful system which requires little to no regular maintenance...surely not a whole IT staff (depending on the size of the facility).
Below is a list of Mac-based EMR's. I haven't noted the CCHIT status because I wanted to make note of something. There is a growing debate about CCHIT and the potential for abuse of "power". Yes, there needs to be a standard but how flexible should that standard be in order to make it possible for older EMR's, which have been around for years, to stay alive? The CCHIT standards could force EMR programmers to bloat their software which would add signicant cost, which would then be passed onto the end user.
Here is a list of EMR systems available for the Macintosh. Enjoy! -macpractice.com -springcharts.com/SCforMacOS.html -comchart.com -powermed.com -liferecord.com
EHRs Being Used to Track H1 N1 May 4, 2009 From EHR Scope Blog
Last week I created a post that discussed how EHRs could be used to help track and suppress an infectious disease outbreak such as the Swine Flu. Today I can report on how it is actually being done!
Minnesota based Quinnian Health, announced it has partnered with Dallas’s TelaDoc Medical Services to provide remote consultations, and access to its Qhealth Platform.The announcement comes as the WHO has officially declared H1 N1, or Swine Flu as Pandemic. [Continue Reading]
Very insightful article from Health Care Tracker Blog which is written by Deresa Claybrook from Positive Response. In the article Deresa lays out the issues with the light being cast upon personal health records. With so many vendors trying to get a piece of the action, it is important that standardization be a goal.
PHR growing pains can be fixed.By Health Care Tracker
The personal health record (PHR) is really facing some challenges now as the awareness of the value of the personal health record becomes known to the American public. What good does it do to sit in front of a computer and input medical information about yourself and your family and then have it coupled with data from a billing record when it is not accurate? People are starting to value their health information and billing information more and more. With the awareness of the Google Health products and their involvement, consumers are now more aware of the overall benefits of keeping a personal health record. But don’t be fooled, Google health products has had its share of headaches up to this point. It seems that we have so many choices with these products yet there are no standardizations measures of where the data comes from among any of them, on the clinical side or the administrative (billing) side.
I've posted surveys on LinkedIn about using the terminology EHR/EMR several times and got so many odd responses that made finding this post really enjoyable. Below is a great blog post from the EHR Scope Blog.
PHRs, EHRs, EMRs –Digesting the Alphabet Soup
April 17, 2009
PHR, EHR, EMR , can all make HIT a bit confusing PDQ (Pretty Darn Quick). Certainly everyone agrees what the letters in the three acronyms stand for – Personal Health Record, Electronic Health Record, and Electronic Medical Record. Yet the terms are often misunderstood and misused – even within the industry.
The two most often used interchangeably, albeit incorrectly are EMR and EHR. To the layperson and even to healthcare professionals it may sound like there is very little difference between an Electronic Health Record and an Electronic Medical Record, but there are clearly defined distinctions, depending of course on who is doing the defining.
We know what WE call our products but what do our customers call them when they are in use? I recently received some results from a poll of nurses, doctors, healthcare IT staff and others about what THEY call our type of products.
One response was Computer on Wall, which really made lots of sense. The computers on wheels (or COW) is a popular option across many facilities. There are, however, some issues with this form of point-of-care computing. Besides the issue of battery life and charging (which usually happens in hallways), carts have a large footprint in a room and are cumbersome to move around all day. Not to mention that most hospitals have dead zones of wireless connectivity. We actually visited a facility that had colored tape on the floor to signify dead zones. With a wall mounted charting desk a network drop can be added to directly wire the CPU to the network.
What we do at Cygnus is take the technology of a cart and put it in a stationary, secure, wall mounted enclosure. Our cabinets become attractive fixtures on the wall, leaving the entire floor unobstructed. So, I guess that Computer on Wall isn't so far off.
Obama's national health records system will be costly, daunting
I've been posting quite a bit about the new administration's e-health records push. While the initial cost is steep ($10 billion per year for the next five years) it would end up creating jobs while saving the nation about $300 billion per year by cutting down on duplication, false claims, errors and more.
Here is a great article by Lucas Mearian from ComputerWorld.
January 20, 2009 (Computerworld) President Barack Obama has said that a national electronic health records system will be a priority in his first term, not just for streamlining workflow at hospitals and physician offices but to cut costs and improve the quality of health care.
And while he has pledged to invest $10 billion a year over the next five years on the effort, the price tag for such a system could be closer to $100 billion over the next 10 years, according to experts. They also note that sticking to his five-year timetable could prove to be daunting. READ MORE>>
Caregivers need to enter health information at the point of care to help reduce errors. Our workstations are designed to help maximize floor space in a patient room or hallway. All of our cabinets have a range of security options from simple keyed locks to sophisticated networked locks which can be opened with the swipe of a prox card.
Take a minute to check out the newest video about the anatomy of our cabinets.
The popularity of tablet computers seems to be growing. What we've found is that users like to have a place to dock, charge and store their device.
When we see a certain model is popular, we create a workstation solution. We have several specific models we've designed for the Motion C5. 20" Tablet Station36" Tablet Station.
Are you using a tablet? If so, what kind are you using? Your comments are greatly appreciated.
The study, in which more than 290 providers using SaaS ambulatory EHR systems were interviewed, reported that SaaS EHRs are becoming increasingly popular. "These systems appeal to small organizations that want low maintenance, a quick go live, and small up-front investment," the report noted. "Providers must also be comfortable with clinical and patient data being stored off-site and limited flexibility in the system."
