As CEO and “Healthcare IT Futurist” for the Montgomery, TX-based AC Group, Mark R. Anderson is one of the country’s leading authorities on the healthcare industry and ambulatory information systems in particular. Inside Healthcare Computing recently caught up with Anderson, who shared his impressions of the current HIT market and provided some predictions for the
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Once past the hurdles of EHR system selection and implementation, some early adopter hospitals are finding ways to fine-tune their systems to maximize patient safety and quality of care. Memphis, TN-based Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare has developed an electronic sepsis alert within its electronic medical records that allows it to catch the warning indicators of
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Earlier this month, Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security (SSA), announced the availability of $24 million in contracts to provide the agency with electronic medical records to improve the efficiency of its disability programs. Through a Request for Proposals available on www.fedbizopps.gov, Social Security is looking for health care providers, provider networks, and health
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After sending the Meaningful Use workgroup back to the drawing board last month, the Health IT Policy Committee approved the workgroup’s revised recommendations at its July 16 meeting. The approved Meaningful Use matrix can be viewed at http://hhs.gov/healthit. The recommendations, adopted by committee consensus, focus on leveraging technology to enable significant and measurable transformation in
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With the release of the first official “meaningful use” draft, healthcare providers and thought leaders are quickly weighing in with their interpretations and providing varying critiques. On June 16, the Office of the National Coordinator’s (ONC) Health IT Policy Committee announced its initial recommendations for defining the ARRA’s meaningful use clause. The draft documents include
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One of the most challenging parts of implementing an EMR system is getting physician buy-in and adoption. The Alabama Medicaid Agency (ALMA), through its Together for Quality (TFQ) initiative, has learned some valuable lessons about how to help physicians successfully integrate technology into their daily workflow and realize its benefits. “One of our goals since
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We recently reported that Toronto-based Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre was in the process of negotiating the sale of MyChart, its in-house designed continuity-of-care system (Inside Healthcare Computing 12/22/08) to an undisclosed Canadian company. On January 23, 2009, Canadian telecommunications company Telus announced the acquisition of intellectual property rights for MyChart. The agreement includes a continuing
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In December 2007, we reported that in an effort to simplify EMR contracting procedures and increase the rate of EMR adoption among physician offices, The Ohio State Medical Association (OSMA) established a Standards of Excellence (SOE) designation for physician systems vendors. We quoted Sue Hertlein, a senior consultant with the Alpharetta, GA-based Coker Group, who
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Telus Corp.’s recent announcement of a $100 million, three-year investment in its healthcare sector and its launch of Telus Health Solutions may indicate that the Vancouver, Canada-based telecommunications company has its eye on opportunities south of the border, an industry analyst tells Inside Healthcare Computing. “Telus is definitely making a pre-emptive strike,” telecom analyst Carmi
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The Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative (MAeHC) will complete its pilot at the end of 2008. Mickey Tripathi, president and chief executive officer, says the initiative has been successful in achieving high adoption of EMRs among physicians in the three demonstration communities. Nearly 100 per cent of physicians in the three pilot sites – Brockton, Newburyport, and
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