The North Carolina Healthcare Information and Communications Alliance (NCHICA) and the Workgroup for Electronic Data Interchange (WEDI) Timeline Initiative have announced the release of its first estimated timeline database addressing proposed health care standards, regulations and other initiatives announced by federal agencies and national standards organizations. The timeline estimates that, based on current assumptions, implementation of the 5010 version of HIPAA transactions will be complete in 2014. This date is important because the ICD-10 clinical coding system cannot be used until 5010 transactions are implemented and can be processed using the ICD-10 codes. Project management software is being used to identify the critical issues that affect the implementation of 5010 transactions and may provide opportunities to shorten the time frame for implementation.
Covidien, a world leader in advanced energy-based surgical systems, and Questra Corporation, the leader in Intelligent Device Management (IDM), today announced the global launch of the Valleylab Exchange Software Update System. The first remote update system in the electrosurgical market today, the Valleylab Exchange Software Update System is a convenient, cost-effective method for hospitals to remotely update the software on the ForceTriad energy platform. Hospitals can extend the capabilities of the energy platform and add support for new surgical instruments with this system, which updates software through secure electronic communications via RS-232 ports. They may also conduct updates over the Internet at their facility — without needing to send the surgical unit to a center or depot.
Health Level Seven (HL7) has announced the approval of the Personal Health Record System Functional Model (PHR-S FM) as a Draft Standard for Trial Use (DSTU). The PHR-S FM defines the set of functions that may be present in PHR systems, and offers guidelines that facilitate health information exchange among different PHR systems and between PHR and EHR systems. The PHR-S FM can be applied to specific PHR models (stand-alone, web-based, provider-based, payer-based, or employer-based models). At the same time, the Functional Model is flexible enough to encourage product innovation.
The GetWellNetwork has introduced the GetWellNetwork Regulations Package, a comprehensive compilation of patient education videos designed to help hospitals address more than 15 requirements and objectives as outlined by the Joint Commission, National Patient Safety Goals (NPSG), Hospital Compare and the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) that can be impacted by patient education. The requirements are intended to improve the safety and care of patients. For example, hospitals are required to educate patients on a number of aspects of their care, including the right to pain management (Joint Commission R1.2.160). They are also required to comply with current World Health Organization Hand Hygiene Guidelines or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hand hygiene guidelines (NPSG 7A). To assist hospitals’ response to these requirements and objectives, the GetWellNetwork Regulations Package links specific education videos to identified regulation requirements. GetWellNetwork has partnered with six industry-leading providers of education videos to compile this package, including Emmi Solutions, Envision, Milner-Fenwick and Wired.MD. The package also includes content that was produced by GetWellNetwork for the exclusive use of GetWellNetwork clients. The GetWellNetwork Regulations Package contains more than 60 video titles and can be licensed by GetWellNetwork client hospitals. The videos are then available to patients and families through the GetWellNetwork PatientLife System at the bedside.
Fallon Clinic has appointed a new chief medical officer. The largest independent multi-specialty group practice in Central Massachusetts has chosen Robin Richman, an obstetrician/gynecologist with extensive clinical and administrative experience. Richman joins the Fallon Clinic team on December 7.
DB Technology has launched their RAS 3.28 software suite for revenue cycle management for hospitals. In addition to more functionality, DB Technology has included significant innovations to its software suite which is already deployed in hundreds of hospitals nationwide where it enables data from varied computer systems and applications to reside in RAS for easy, fast and unencumbered access.
StatCom, the leading provider of patient flow logistics and tracking software, announces the appointment of Jim Rosenblum as executive vice president, products and chief technology officer. Rosenblum joins StatCom’s senior leadership team and will be responsible for defining product strategy and development, as well as scaling the organization and processes to support the company’s growth. StatCom’s unique hospital-wide enterprise solution focuses on optimizing patient throughput and capacity by managing patient flow from admission to discharge.
Stefan Topolski, a Massachusetts doctor, has created an open source EMR system to run with FileMaker. The flexible, ruggedly dependable, and HIPAA-secure medical office electronic medical records (EMR) system called Cottage Med includes secure and wireless networking, PDA, and multiple-office support, prescription writing and cross-platform compatibility built in. The solution is free and includes support and training, though Topolski asks for a donation. Designed for PC, Apple, and Linux environments, these EMR templates run with the database program FileMaker, significantly reducing the costs related to office management and billing. On average it takes medical office staff one hour to learn the system.
The HealthCentral Network announced an agreement with HealthPricer Interactive, a leader in online comparison shopping for health care products. The agreement will syndicate product search and comparison shopping to HealthCentral.com’s network of condition-specific web sites. Commencing January 2008, HealthCentral.com readers will have access to an online health marketplace consisting of a co-branded health product search and comparison shopping web site powered by HealthPricer. HealthPricer’s database contains more than 300,000 OTC, contact lens, supplement and beauty products from more than 100 trusted online merchants. Searches on HealthPricer.com display the best merchants that offer the exact product match and price.
InterSystems Corporation announced that Pathology Associates Medical Laboratories (PAML) has selected the InterSystems CACHÉ high-performance object database as the database for their next generation laboratory billing system. The largest independent laboratory in the Northwest, PAML is moving forward immediately to leverage comprehensive CACHÉ MultiValue capabilities by migrating its billing services application to CACHÉ.
McKesson Corporation, has introduced two solutions designed to enable health system pharmacy leaders to conduct highly customized comparisons of their performance against similar institutions and develop a targeted action plan for achieving high performance. The new Web-based solutions -- the High Performance Pharmacy Benchmarking Service and the High Performance Pharmacy Assessment Tool -- will be available through the High Performance Pharmacy Web site, providing a one-stop shop for hospital pharmacy leaders to discover best practices, measure performance, and identify specific steps to achieve high performance.
Perceptive Informatics, the technology subsidiary of PAREXEL International Corporation, has selected experts in the fields of cardiovascular, musculoskeletal, oncology, and central nervous system imaging to serve as scientific advisors. These advisors are working with the Perceptive Informatics Medical Imaging functional units to help guide clients in making key decisions regarding the imaging related aspects of clinical programs from early stage development through post-marketing studies.
Sunquest Information Systems, a market leader in laboratory information systems, announced that it has completed plans to expand its development and marketing of the Sunquest CoPathPlus anatomic pathology solution. Since 1997, Sunquest has provided Sunquest CoPathPlus to its customer base of hospital and independent laboratories. Under its new plans, Sunquest will expand its marketing of Sunquest CoPathPlus, an industry leading pathology solution, to all hospitals, integrated with its market leading Sunquest Laboratory solution, and will increase development of features in order to meet the critical requirements of its customers.
Streamline Health Solutions has announced that it has reached an agreement with Emergis, under which Emergis is integrating Streamline Health's accessANYware document management repository and document workflow applications into its Oacis Electronic Medical Record (EMR) solution. The integrated solution addresses clinicians' need for immediate access to patient records in hybrid environments, where electronic health records still cohabit with paper.
Health Level Seven (HL7), America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), and the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), announced they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to create a collaborative process for the maintenance of portability standards for personal health records (PHR). This MOU expands the number of stakeholders involved in the standards development process to help facilitate data portability between health insurance plans to give plan members the ability to move their personal health data when their health coverage changes.
Care Management International has announced an alliance with WNS (Holdings) Limited, a leading provider of offshore business process outsourcing (BPO) services. The alliance will leverage each company’s strengths to offer smart sourcing health care solutions through a global delivery model. Care Management International and WNS jointly will offer a comprehensive suite of smart sourcing medical management and care management solutions, such as transaction-based care services, health risk assessments, data analysis and member outreach programs. Smart sourcing is an emerging approach that uses highly trained clinical talent, operating on a flexible timetable integrated with the latest clinical technology and approaches to improve outcomes, achieve innovation, improve quality of care and provide cost savings for health care companies.
Spring Medical Systems, a leading provider of software solutions for small- and medium-sized medical practices, has announced an exclusive partnership with Provider Services of America (PSA), a health care company that serves as a resource and strategic partner of independent physician associations (IPAs) and other physician networks nationally, to offer SpringCharts as its Electronic Health Record (EHR) solution of choice.
Sage Software has joined an esteemed list of petitioners urging the White House and President George W. Bush to revise regulations which prohibit controlled drugs from being electronically prescribed. According to a letter from the e-Prescribing Controlled Substances Coalition, such regulations are negatively impacting the adoption of electronic prescribing and foregoing potential significant efficiencies ePrescribing brings to health care. Sage Software is among those submitting the letter along with large health care-related organizations such as BlueCross BlueShield, CVS, American Society of Consultant Pharmacists and Wal-Mart.
NoMoreClipboard.com PHR has partnered with ReliefInsite.com to ease pain management for patients, practitioners, and caregivers by incorporating a free pain management module into the NoMoreClipboard.com interface. Featuring a secure, user-friendly daily calendar and interactive body map, ReliefInsite helps patients record pain location and intensity, capture symptoms and track medications for improved patient compliance and treatment. NoMoreClipboard.com, an online Personal Health Record (PHR) company, works with health care providers and industry groups to simplify transactions between patients, providers and payors, saving each party significant time and effort. Within NoMoreClipboard.com, patients or caregivers can store information such as allergies, medications and medical conditions in a secure environment. The patient can then choose to share their PHR with selected healthcare providers, and NoMoreClipboard.com takes care of securely transferring the PHR to physicians on behalf of the patient.
CanadianEMR recently launched a website designed to assist Canadian physicians, practice managers and office staff with the selection, implementation and use of Electronic Medical Record systems in medical practice settings. CanadianEMR was established in 2003 and, since that time, has developed a reputation as a rich source of physician-created content and discussion on multiple topics related to Electronic Medical Records (EMR). This physician-generated information has provided valuable feedback to healthcare planners, government organizations and vendors of EMR systems. Information on CanadianEMR is either contributed by physicians who use EMR systems or is provided and maintained by vendors of EMR systems. The site allows visitors to compare EMR systems head-to-head using the EMR Comparison Engine; view detailed information about EMR companies and products in the Vendor Profile section; rate your EMR system using the CanadianEMR five-star rating system according to five measures of quality (you can return at any time to update your rating); and review and add your comments to the CanadianEMR blog, an online meeting place where physicians or users of EMR systems can participate in moderated EMR-related peer discussions.