Implementing and meaningfully using clinical systems will require a fundamental shift in hospitals’ organizational decision-making.  And it will also demand a reexamination of the way health information technology is viewed in the hospital, as well as the CIO’s role. “Hospitals have to recognize that Meaningful Use’s goal is not to implement systems. Rather, it is
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In an effort to provide some clarity about the requirements for meeting Meaningful Use, CMS conducted a series of audio conferences earlier this month with the goal of providing neutral, objective information to hospitals and providers barraged by information coming from vendors, associations, and medical societies. During the conferences, held August 11-13, CMS experts directly
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As University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) nears completion of its aggressive electronic medical records rollout to its 2,700 employed physicians, leaders at the health system are gearing up for the next challenge: getting affiliated physicians online with ambulatory EMR.

“We’ve had over a decade of experience implementing systems across our health system, both in the hospital and the ambulatory side, and we’ve learned a lot about what it takes to do it successfully,” explains Jody Cervenak, CIO of UPMC’s physician services division.

Despite a flurry of enthusiastic statements released by EMR vendors on the heels of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Meaningful Use final ruling announcement earlier this month, not all vendors are convinced that the rules, at least in the short term, adequately address the fundamental EMR useability issues that have been a barrier to physician adoption.

One of those vendors is SRS CEO Evan Steele, whose Montvale, NJ-based company sells modular EMR systems to high performance physician practices.

As the government moves slowly but inevitably toward a final definition of Meaningful Use, Regional Extension Centers (REC) across the country are launching plans to support eligible providers in their efforts to meet the criteria, secure incentives, and avoid penalties in 2015. Leveraging existing relationships to reach out to thousands of providers in their states
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After spending the last two decades searching for an EMR, physicians at a small Los Angeles, CA area practice discovered a simple, low-cost solution that not only helps the office run more smoothly, but more importantly, lets them focus on patient outcomes. Dr. Martin Sechrist of Community Medical Group in Downey, CA began searching for
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Without the resources typically available to their larger counterparts, it’s often difficult for small hospitals to envision how they can find a solution that will enable them to cost-effectively improve patient care, much less qualify for Meaningful Use incentives. Tiny Guadalupe County Hospital, a 10-bed acute-care facility in Santa Rosa, NM, found a solution to
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The HIT Policy Committee sent its Strategic Plan workgroup back to the table to clarify and refine the draft strategic plan document prior to transmitting it to the Office of the National Coordinator. During the workgroup’s presentation at the HIT Policy Committee meeting held on May 19, committee members raised questions about how the strategic
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When it comes to getting clinicians to adopt new technologies, one CIO believes an important function of his department is to offer them education, support, and a vision of how they can benefit from using technology. “In the IT department, we see our role as exposing both physicians and patients to the benefits that technology
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To create a true coordinated care environment, leaders at one hospital system knew they would have to do more than offer an EMR product to its 3,200 community physicians. They would also need to figure out a way to easily exchange information. “We were not blind to the fact that down the road, we needed
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