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Clinical Information Systems: ARRA and Quality/Patient Safety Measures
With all the discussion surrounding the ARRA and HITECH legislation one cannot help but wonder – what about all those on the “early adoption curve” for their EMR? When systems were installed in the...
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How Meaningful is Meaningful Use – the multi-billion dollar question?
The industry is buzzing with anticipation and almost giddy at the prospect of the billions of dollars available in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), perhaps better known as...
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Strapping New Technology on Old Business and Clinical Processes Will Not...
My last post explained how the system in healthcare IT was flawed and how it was important for buyers of healthcare IT systems to understand the limitations of the system in order to achieve the...
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Is Your Enterprise Network a Medical Device?
Answering this question first requires an understanding of the legal definition of a medical device. Section 201(h) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, defines a medical device as, "... an...
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Healthcare IT: Is There A Better Place to Be?
The past couple years have been tough on everyone. Unemployment is over 10%, the economy has been weakened, many businesses have failed, and the job market has been bleak. One bright spot in the...
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Health Care Delivery In The United States – Feverish Pace or Just Suffering...
So when the words “health care in the United States” are spoken these days do you think about “how good is my care?” or do you think about health care reform? Odds are it is about health care reform....
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Common Myths About EMR
Common Myths About EMRFrom the Perspective of a System ImplementerMuch is being written regarding how ARRA incentives are the driving force behind EMR adoption. Despite this lucrative incentive, many...
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Meaningful Use - Stop, Look and Listen
On December 30, 2009 the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the proposed rule that would implement provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) that...
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Healthcare – The Newest Technology Battlefield?
Back in the early 90’s during the height of cut backs to the defense industry, I remember reading an article in one of the major magazines about how the economic struggles of the defense industry was a...
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The ARRA Hot Potato – Who Is Accountable My Vendor or My Organization?
You have just left a meeting with your key vendor(s) and received assurance that they will get you to Meaningful Use. With your estimated $6M in ARRA incentives now well in hand, you should be feeling...
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Things Are Different Now... “A Perspective on Healthcare Change“
Healthcare organizations have changed -- and the progress is amazing!The organization, skills and the ability to execute are vastly improved and the trend is accelerating. The people populating the...
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First Things First
Have you ever been walking around barefoot on a great summer night just looking up at the sky with all the stars thinking wow this is really beautiful and then wham you stub your toe on a rock and now...
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ICD-10-CM – Another Thing in the Bucket Full of Change
Another “special” date for healthcare is quickly approaching – 10/1/2013. What makes this day so special? It is the date that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will only accept...
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Medication Reconciliation, The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
As we look at the ARRA Meaningful Use matrix, we all see a requirement for medication reconciliation or med rec. An innocuous sounding requirement - simply reconcile a patient’s medication at the...
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Sir Isaac Newton, Mr. HIStalk and Universal EMR Rules
The other day a colleague forwarded me an email that has surely made the rounds and probably is in your inbox (or maybe your junk/spam mail). The email contained Mr. HIStalk’s Universal Rules for Big...
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Stark & Stimulus: A Window of Opportunity
We hear lots of chatter around ARRA ‘dollars and definitions’ (e.g., Medicare & Medicaid reimbursement incentives, other HITECH funding, Meaningful Use, certified EHRs). Lots of great commentary...
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ARRA & Stark – Is The Safe Harbor Safe?
The ARRA Meaningful Use Matrix, the associated financial incentives, the challenges and the issues have been at the forefront and have been hashed and rehashed. Bottom line to this is ARRA will...
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HIMSS Advocacy
The passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act motivated many of us in Healthcare IT to read more policy material and struggle through more legislative documentation than we ever dreamed we...
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Interfacing Requirements Continue to Evolve
Interfacing requirements continue to evolve. Whether you are ready or not, the healthcare industry is in full flight and there are many new challenges to be met while we are jetting along.We must now...
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Santa Rosa Consulting Celebrates Two Years and Significant Growth
In May 2008 our founder, Rich Helppie, brought together a team of healthcare industry leaders to share a unique and innovative vision that could change the way healthcare management & information...
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The Winds of Change are Whipping Up a Storm – The ICD-10 Conversion
Change has nearly achieved buzzword status in today’s world. Change is a word used to describe, in usually somewhat dramatic fashion, virtually everything. This ubiquitous use of the word has drained...
View ArticleThe Main Thing Is To Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing…
The great thing about working as a consultant is that you get to meet people from all over the country and get to hear their perspectives on “things”. One thing I like to explore is views on the...
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Fireworks or Firecrackers… Don’t let your Go Live Fizzle
The race is on to implement advanced clinical software and get in line for a piece of the HITECH pie. After months of planning, building and testing, much rests on the selection and execution of a live...
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CPOE … meeting the Meaningful Use requirement for Stage 1
This blog was triggered by a colleague on a project on which I am currently engaged – the design, build and implementation of CPOM. The conversation followed a presentation summary of the Current...
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Goals Need Way More Emphasis
A popular question in our HIT community is “why do EHR implementations fail?” Obviously the easiest response is to state that there are a multitude of complex reasons – blah blah blah. I personally...
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Impact of Potential FDA Regulation of EMRs
The Case for Regulating EMRsFrom a quarter century point of view, it seems inevitable that the HIT industry will be regulated by the FDA. Look past all the hand waving and hyperventilating caused by...
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ARRA and Healthcare…The Good, the Bad and the "Not so Ugly"
Here we are less than two months away from the two year anniversary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) passed by the United States’ 111th Congress back in February of 2009. As we all...
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Is Meaningful Use Meaningful? If So, To Whom?
My answer to both questions is it is meaningful, on paper, to the ONC and CMS. It is meaningful with the respect that it does one thing. Meaningful Use changes the course of a healthcare provider’s...
View ArticleEHR: Is time your greatest enemy?
The following is my response to an article in Health Data Management regarding an article which argued that time is the enemy of a good EHR implementation....
View ArticleHas Meaningful Use Optimism Run Amuck?
I make it a point to read every article Gienna Shaw writes for HealthLeadersMedia.com. She consistently captures large amounts of information and packages it into a concise understanding of the...
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What is the Meaningful Use Binary Trap?
Apparently, many healthcare leaders are finding themselves caught between a rock and a hard place, a self-imposed “binary trap” when it comes to Healthcare IT.It does not have to be that way. HIT is...
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Meaningful Use: Is the ROI meaningful?
If you haven’t begun the process of selecting and implementing an EHR, Meaningful Use may not be something about which to be overly concerned. The reason, you probably will not be done in time to...
View ArticleThe Meaningful Use Call-Out of HIPAA Security
This blog is a detailed, yet brief look at the HIPAA Security call-out in the CMS Meaningful Use Incentive Program and the HIPAA Security standard(s) associated with the call-out.When you see the...
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Meaningful Use. First? Second? ICD-10 instead? What to do!?
This blog is a consideration of the cacophony of eHealth compliance initiatives and whether a provider should replace one over the other, in particular, Meaningful Use .One of the questions that has...
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Components of a Successful HIPAA Security Risk Assessment
This blog outlines key components to a successful HIPAA Security Risk Assessment, not only a vital part of any IT program strategy, but to be compliant with HIPAA/HITECH Rules that went into effect...
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Meaningful Use and “Relevant” Medication Reconciliation
Stage I of the Meaningful Use journey includes required or core elements and menu or optional requirements. Medication Reconciliation is one of the optional elements. Hospitals may select this optional...
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MU2 on the Horizon
This blog is a first consideration of the recent Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM) for Stage 2 of Meaningful Use (MU2) that was released February 23, 2012.The recent MU2 announcement may give you...
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Meaningful Use Menu Measure Selection is a Strategic Financial Opportunity
It’s common knowledge that Meaningful Use (MU) should be viewed as more than just an IT initiative; impacts from participation in MU are felt across hospital operations – from clinical to IT to...
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There’s Gold in them Charges!
There’s Gold in them Charges!One of the many challenges that Cerner Millennium users face is the timely and accurate capture of charges. Are you capturing all potential charges? Are you entering all...
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Meaningful Use Stage 2 – Patient Portals Must Focus on the Patient and...
In 2004, President George W. Bush said, “Within ten years, every American must have a personal electronic medical record.” However, 8 years later, a number of Americans still do not have access to an...
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