More docs gravitating to cloud-based EHRs

May 15, 2012 — 2:41pm ET | By Marla Durben Hirsch via FierceEMR.com

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.

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Spending on security of health data breaches to hit $70B by 2015 - FierceHealthIT

Spending on security of health data breaches to hit $70B by 2015 - FierceHealthIT:
March 29, 2012 — 3:24pm ET | By Dan Bowman 

With the cost of healthcare data breaches continuing to rise year after year, it shouldn't come as a surprise that spending on the security of that information is estimated to hit $40 billion this year, and balloon to $70 billion three years from now, according to a recently published report from Princeton, N.J.-based consulting firm The Boyd Company.

Specifically, investments in electronic health records and mobile technology to meet government compliance standards are cited as key to the expected spending splurge. Because of the inevitable increase in medical records sharing, new and improved efforts will be mandatory to keeping health data safe.

The report breaks down current data security costs in the U.S. by city, with New York ($32.6 million), San Francisco ($27.8 million) and Los Angeles ($25.7 million) spending the most annually on such protection.

"In an industry whose cost structures are under constant scrutiny by patients, insurance companies and government agencies, comparative economics are ruling investment and location decisions for new facilities," the authors wrote. "In today's difficult economy, improving the bottom line on the cost side of the ledger is often easier than on the revenue side for many healthcare services companies."

Read more: Spending on security of health data breaches to hit $70B by 2015 - FierceHealthIT http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/healthcare-data-breaches-hit-70b-2015/2012-03-29?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss#ixzz1qtWl0H8w

Promised E-Health Improvements Also Come With Shortcomings, Risks

Sep 29, 2009

Efforts to achieve greater efficiency and higher quality in health care through new health information technologies are not without new risks as well.

For instance, the Houston Chronicle reports that "Even when notified by electronic e-mail alerts, doctors sometimes ignore test results that show the patient might have a serious condition, according to a Houston study. The study, conducted at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center and its clinics, found doctors failed to follow up within a month on nearly 8 percent of such alerts. The alerts involved abnormal results, some later diagnosed as cancer, on imaging tests such as MRIs and X-rays" (Ackerman, 9/29).

The lead researcher, Dr. Hardeep Singh of the Baylor College of Medicine, "said the findings suggest that while helpful, electronic medical records do not eliminate the problem of missed test results, and other strategies need to be used to ensure patients get prompt care -- perhaps rules that clear up any ambiguity over who is responsible for following up," Reuters reports. The study appeared in the Archives of Internal Medicine (Steenhuysen, 9/28)....[Continue Reading]

The Importance of Paper – Yes, Paper – in Health Information Exchanges

by Ashish V. Shah

By several different measures, the past President and current President of the United States have little in common. But both do share a vision of transitioning the American healthcare system to the use of electronic health records (EHRs) as quickly as possible – George W. Bush backed a 2014 deadline and Barack Obama has provisioned incentives within ARRA to drive adoption by 2015.

The byproduct of this type of commitment has spurred heavy investment in the healthcare IT industry, focused primarily on the development of EHR technology to improve operational efficiency and patient care. So, why are some physicians rejecting the notion of EHRs or in some cases … de-installing them? You would think with strong Presidential support and no shortage of financial investment in the industry that penetration of EHRs into the physician market would exceed 33 percent.

The reality is that at least 67 percent of physicians today who receive information from caregivers or labs outside of their care setting depend on paper. What they care about is having timely and reliable access to the information they need – not whether it comes to them in paper or electronic format – and they most certainly won’t stop depending on paper overnight. In fact, even physicians with EHRs often must depend on paper, especially if their EHR is not interfaced to the data sources. Without interfaces, their EHRs are empty and, by many accounts, not very useful. If the EHR isn’t useful, they say, why disrupt the familiar paper-based workflow? [Continue Reading]

BayView wall mounted cabinetry wins prestigious award

Since their debut earlier this year, the BayView series of EMR workstations and medication cabinets have made quite an impression.

We have recently received an award from the Healthcare Facilities Symposium. The award recognizes the BayView line for its innovative design and functionality.

Check out the BayView page for more information for more details. There are also several short videos showing these new EMR workstations in action.

A Healthcare IT Primer

If you need a crash course on Healthcare IT terminology check out this article from Dr. John Halamka, MD, CIO, CareGroup Health System, Harvard Medical School.

March 23, 2009, Healthcare IT News

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.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE >>

Get the EMR wheels moving! Site pools resources.

I will be interesting to see how the HITECH Act effects the level of competition in the EMR field. With HIMSS09 around the corner I have to wonder what will be the tactics used to lure potential customers to the massive array of EMR products.

Are you looking for an EMR solution? To help get you started check out EMRconsultant.com. The site lists over 324 suppliers of EMR/EHR products. The site has reviews and links to video and downloadable demos.

One you have your EMR software selected make sure to have your hardware figured out. Where will you use it? Hallway, patient room on a mobile cart? We have wall mounted arms & cabinets plus mobile computing carts and tablet solutions. We have products across the spectrum of paper and electronic charting. Give us a call if you need help figuring out a solution. 888-760-8159

Make it a great day!

I've posted several links in the recent past in regards to our new network lock for our EMR workstations.

If you are attending HIMSS09 in Chicago, you are invited to view a LIVE demonstration of our network lock system featuring full audit trail and remote administration. Our booth is #4058.

Cygnus is proud to offer the most advanced locking system in the industry. The NetLock allows caregivers to access the cabinets while utilizing their existing prox cards. No keys to carry or codes to memorize. Get more information on our website. View a video of the NetLock in action HERE.