Practice management:
Published in partnership with
tHe newS SourCe
Capital celebration
Industry leaders at National Health
IT Week celebrated unprecedented
progress for health IT. PaGe 20
news
on tour
Health IT leaders stop by George
Washington University Hospital PaGe 3
end game
Regional Extension Center chiefs
begin work of IT uptake. PaGe 9
commentary
Hidden costs
Mobile is the way to go in healthcare,
says Motorala’s Vivian Funkhauser,
who explains why. PaGe 13
HosPitaLs & iDns
Big bang rollout
Catholic Health Initiatives takes on
EHR project throughout 72 facilities
in 18 states. PaGe 17
PHysician Practices
& ambuLatory care
i am woman
Study shows women are top users
of e-visits with doctors, and likely to
drive uptake. PaGe 23
Payers
accountable
Anthem Blue Cross signs up for pilot
Accountable Care Organization, new
model for care.PaGe 27
VenDors
Growth ahead
Observers say market for HIE tech is
due for growth spurt. PaGe 31
CliniCal toolkit
Seeking partners
Stand-alone PM vendors looking for
EHR match. PaGe 34
ManaGeMent Solutions
all about metrics
Proof of pay-for-performance
programs is in the outcomes. PaGe 35
www.Healthcareitnews.com
MedTech Media / Vol. 7 No. 7
for HealtHCare
Allscripts, Eclipsys soon to be one
Merged company to
figure in physician,
hospital markets.
By Mike Miliard, Managing Editor
CHICAGO – “Any time a business deci-
sion is client-driven, it’s much more
likely to be successful,” says Allscripts
CEO Glen Tullman.
And so, he says, he has high hopes
for his company’s $1.3 billion merg-
er, announced in June, which will
see Tullman serve as CEO of the
combined company, with Eclipsys’s
president and CEO Phil Pead becom-
ing chairman and focusing on
smoothing the transition, tending
to key client and strategic relation-
ships and developing international
opportunities.
“We share with Eclipsys now more
than 20 joint clients” including
Columbia University Medical Center,
Mayo Clinic President and CEO John Noseworthy walks with Health and Human Services
Secretary Kathleen Sebelius through the lobby of the Gonda building on the Mayo Clinic
campus in Rochester, Minn. Thursday morning June 3, 2010. Sebelius was at Mayo to spotlight
its use of information technology. (AP Photo/ Post-Bulletin, Ken Klotzbach)
Market saturated page 34
inforMation
Eclipsys CEO Phil Pead, left, and Allscripts CEO Glen Tullman announced a merger of the two
companies on June 9. The merger awaits the usual approvals.
the Lahey Clinic and Hartford
Hospital, says Tullman. “And they’re
very interested in having us work
teCHnoloGy n J u lY 2010
and conse- Reaction from
quently having Allscripts customers
the two systems on P. 14
work in an inte-
grated fashion is much easier to do.
I’ve known Phil for years. We both
have a healthy degree of respect for
each other, and a friendship. So as we
began to show up at the same meet-
ings, and those clients suggested we
put the companies together, we start-
ed to have some conversations.”
As Tullman sees it, the two compa-
nies’ strengths are complementary.
Allscripts is well known for its presence
in the ambulatory market, and Eclipsys
is a leader in acute care settings.
Together, the new company will
make for a combined client base that
includes 180,000 physicians, 1,500
together. We have a unique benefit in hospitals and 10,000 post-acute
that both companies use Microsoft organizations – resulting in the
.NET as our fundamental architecture, MerGer see page 14
Coming: Newly certified EHRs
n
AtIOnAL HEALtH IT chief David Blumenthal, MD, announced
on June 18 that electronic health records certified under a new
temporary certification program would be on the market by fall,
Certification is a critical piece to proving meaningful use for hospitals
and physician practices to be eligible for Medicare and Medicaid incen-
tives under ARRA, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Read
more about certification and other ARRA programs that promote health
IT in “ARRA Revisited” a special publication of Healthcare IT News
and Healthcare Finance News that accompanies the July 2010 issues.
Medical home pilot
still reaping benefits
By Molly Merrill, Associate Editor served as a learning lab to gain bet-
LEAWOOD, KS – The benefits of the ter insight into the kinds of hands-
National Demonstration Project on on technical support family physi-
the patient-centered medical cians want and need to
home, an initiative by the implement the PCMH model
American Academy of Family of care.
Physicians (AAFP) and its “Recommendations for the
subsidiary TransforMED, are patient-centered medical
still being realized two years home model will continue to
after the project ended. come for th, but the
The project, which was Terry McGeeney, TransforMED NDP achieved
MD
undertaken by TransforMED what it set out to do,” said
and funded by the AAFP, ran from AAFP President, Lori Heim, MD.
June 2006 to May 2008. It was the “From the beginning, the nation-
first and largest “proof-of-concept” al demonstration project was viewed
project to determine empirically as more of a learning lab than a
whether the TransforMED Patient- research or demonstration project,”
Centered Medical Home (PCMH) added Terry McGeeney, MD, presi-
model of care could be implement- dent and CEO of TransforMED. “The
ed successfully and sustained in model was changed seven times dur-
today’s healthcare environment. ing the project,” he explained. “When
The demonstration project also Pilot see page 25
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www.HealthcareITNews.com Industry news July 2010
Industry
HIteCH ACt ‘lIt A fIre’
under HeAltH systems
The nation’s employers can expect a 9 per-
cent jump in medical costs in 2011, accord-
ing to a new report from Pricewaterhouse-
Coopers, which details the reasons for the
anticipated hike and highlights the possibil-
ity for savings over the long term – including
the increasing use of electronic health
records. “The mandates of the HITECH Act,
passed in 2009, lit a fire under health systems
because of the potential bonuses and future
penalties for not complying with the new
regulations,” the report asserts.
mobIle teCH touted As boost
to veterAns HeAltHCAre
For the three million veterans living in rural
areas, access to healthcare remains a major
barrier, Rep. Michael F. Michaud (D-Maine),
chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’
Affairs Subcommittee on Health, said in his
opening remarks at a hearing Wednesday. But
wireless technology shows promise for veterans,
he said. “It is no surprise that our rural veter-
ans have worse health outcomes compared to
the general population,” Michaud said. “This
is where I see the great potential of innovative
wireless health technologies.” Michaud
acknowledged VA as a recognized leader in
using electronic health records, telehealth,
and telemedicine. “However, wireless health
technologies also include mobile health, which
truly is the new frontier in health innovations,”
he said.
It AdoptIon Is About
more tHAn teCHnology
The message from the HIMSS Virtual
Conference and Expo session “The Roadmap
of EMR Adoption and IT Hospital Success”
was clear: IT implementation isn’t just a tech-
nology project. It’s a clinical one. The complex-
ity of these projects has been steadily increas-
ing, said Jim Deren, director of IS planning
at Troy, Mich.-based CareTech Solutions.
“Moving into the 1990s, hospitals were using
more technology – patient scheduling and
emergence of Web-base technology – and
started embracing the PC world,” said Deren.
“Now, it’s been getting much more complex.
Organizations have a lot of data output and
usage. And over the last two years, meaning-
ful use has become the number-one thing IT
people have been talking about.”
IndIAnA HeAltH InformAtIon
exCHAnge expAnds
Leaders of the Indiana Health Information
Exchange (IHIE) announced the exchange
would expand to serve patients in Terre Haute
and Clinton, Ind. Union Hospital, a 380-bed
community healthcare facility with 2,400
employees, is the largest nonprofit healthcare
provider between St. Louis, Mo. and
Indianapolis, serving patients from west
central Indiana and east central Illinois.
It will join 60 other hospitals serving more
than 6 million patients throughout the state
as part of IHIE.
HIMSS presses IT agenda on Capitol Hill
Leaders aim for progress,
but ask for gauge of
industry readiness.
By DIana Manos, Senior Editor
WASHINGTON – As part of the National Health
IT Week, held June 14-18 in Washington,
DC, leaders of the Healthcare Information
and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)
urged Congress to make haste on meaning-
ful use, without losing sight of what can be
realistically achieved by the industry.
HIMSS leaders prepped members at the
ninth annual HIMSS Policy Summit, held
June 15-17 at the Ronald Reagan Building
and International Trade Center in Washington,
D.C. prior to storming Capitol Hill to push
HIMSS’s 2010 advocacy agenda.
Barry P. Chaiken, MD, HIMSS board
A visit to The George Washington University Hospital In Washington D.C. gave several health IT leaders a first-hand
look at electronic health record implementation June 14 at the start of National Health IT week. From left to right: Sian
Spurney, MD, hospitalist with the Medical Faculty Associates; Renee Patrick, project manager – Physician IT Services
at GW Hospital; unidentified; Bettijoyce Lide, senior advisor and program coordinator for health IT - NIST; Kathie
Westpheling, manager - public policy, HIMSS; Sharon Canner, senior director of advocacy, CHIME. The two people at
the far right are not idenitified.
GW tour connects technology to policy
By BernIe MonegaIn, Editor
WASHINGTON – Health IT stakeholders received
a first-hand look at health information technol-
ogy and electronic health record implementation
during a visit to The George Washington
University Hospital last month as part of National
Health IT week in the nation’s capital.
The facility, which is the closest hospital to
the White House, welcomed representatives
from several government agencies including
the Food and Drug Administration, Health
Resources and Services Administration,
National Institute of Standards and Technology
and Office of the National Coordinator for
Health Information Technology.
“The tour of GW was a valuable opportu-
nity to showcase EHRs to a broad segment
of federal agency staff,” said Sharon Canner,
CHIME’s senior director of advocacy. “It was
extremely successful in that it provided a real-
■ Healthcare IT News 3
news
HIMSS is also pushing for Congress
➔ tHe news: HIMSS continues to press its to work with the Obama Administration
national agenda on health IT. to make the current physician self-
➔ wHAt It meAns: Though there has
been more legislative attention and action
referral regulation exemptions, or
Stark exemptions, and anti-kickback
on health IT in the past couple of years than safe harbors permanent.
ever before, HIMSS sees advocacy as critical. Barry Chaiken, Neal Neuberger, executive director
MD of the Institute for e-Health Policy,
chair, encouraged National Health IT Week said the healthcare system is complex and
participants to ask lawmakers to ensure diverse, and solutions to move healthcare
that any future policy pertaining to elec- IT forward need to be equally complex.
tronic health record incentive programs “These are not so much technological issues,
under the American Recovery and but complex organizational issues that require
Reinvestment Act balance meaningful use some sophisticated approaches involving lit-
criteria and measures with industry readi- erally millions of players,” Neuberger said.
ness, without delaying the timeline for Neuberger said he doubted Congress
implementation would work on any actual healthcare IT
Chaiken said HIMSS’ policy agenda this legislation this year, because most of its
year also calls for Congress to enable the healthcare IT focus is already on the
study of an informed patient identity solution. aDvocacy see page 4
Capital
all abuzz
By DIana Manos, Senior Editor
w
ITH SO many things coming to
a head to
advance
electronic health record
adoption like never
before, you could say
it’s the summer of
health IT.
Last month saw a flurry of meetings
in Washington associated with the fifth
annual National Health IT Week, June
14-18, themed “One Voice, One Vision:
Transforming Health and Care.” The week
boasted the support of 178 organizations
that thronged
Washington to send
the nation’s leaders
“a powerful mes-
sage on the impor-
tance of fostering
the widespread use of health IT to improve
patient safety and healthcare quality.”
Participants included vendors,
world glimpse of how hospitals are preparing provider organizations, payers, phar-
for achieving meaningful use.” maceutical/biotech companies, govern-
The tour included demonstrations of GW ment agencies, trade associations,
Hospital’s emergency department information research foundations and consumer
systems, radiology PACS, order management protection groups.
and nursing documentation systems, as well The Health Information Management
as physician documentation and workflow. and Systems Society (HIMSS) held its
While information technology analysts ninth annual HIT Policy Summit June
explained how the systems work, clinicians 16-17 before swarming Capitol Hill to
were also on hand to share how these systems push its health IT agenda. Government
assist them in patient care. Health IT hosted a conference and exhi-
“Inviting representatives from federal agen- bition June 15-16 called “Innovation 2010:
cies to view health IT systems in action and On the Threshold of Meaningful Use.”
learn about efforts in progress for achieving The eHealth Initiative, College of
‘meaningful use’ helps the health policy com- Healthcare Information Management
munity better understand the benefits and Executives (CHIME), National eHealth
challenges of real-world implementation,” said Collaborative, Women in Government,
Gretchen Tegethoff, CIO and director of infor- and the Institute for eHealth Policy also
mation technology at the George Washington Manos see page 4
University Hospital. ■
4 Healthcare IT News ■ July 2010 Industry news www.HealthcareITNews.com
Health IT leaders hail progress in past year
By DIana Manos, Senior Editor
WASHINGTON – Industry leaders gave
a thumbs up for healthcare IT
advancement over the past year and
offered encouragement for achieving
“lofty goals,” at a press briefing June
15 hosted by the Healthcare
Information and Management
Systems Society (HIMSS).
The briefing was part of the Fifth
Annual National Health IT Week,
supported by 170 organizations and
H EALTH C ARE
with their medical records and treatment plan.
Datalogic Scanning bar code readers for healthcare applications.
www.scanning.datalogic.com/perfectmatch
held June 14-18 in Washington, D.C.
Neal Neuberger, executive direc-
tor for the Institute for e-Health
Policy, and president of Health Tech
Strategies, LLC, said he was pleased
with the progress, but warned efforts
to advance healthcare IT must come
from the ground up. States, localities
and organizations such as the
Regional Extension Centers will
provide the needed push to make it
work, he said.
A Perfect Match.
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Collaboration
among organiza-
tions, stakeholders
and vendors will be
critical to getting the
kind of healthcare
information technol-
ogy adoption antic- David Muntz
ipated under the HITECH provisions
of the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act, Neuberger said.
“The whole effort, now, will be to
reach all these organizations in a
timely fashion,” he said. Rural and
minority communities are a par-
ticular concern, he added.
Speaking on behalf of the College
of Healthcare Information
Management Executives (CHIME),
David Muntz, senior vice president
and CIO of Baylor Health Care
System in Dallas said, “So much has
happened since we met for National
progress see page 8
aDvocacy
Continued from page 3
HITECH measures in ARRA.
Like other leaders – both federal
and industry stake-
holders – Neuberger
predicted meaning-
ful use regulations
will see many itera-
tions and adapta-
tions over the com-
Justin Barnes
ing years.
Justin Barnes, immediate past
chairman of the HIMSS Electronic
Health Record Association, said EHR
Association members are “commit-
ted to achieving interoperability”
and “to designing products that
enhance patient safety.”
The EHR Association represents
a majority of the commercially avail-
able, installed and operational EHRs
in the United States. ■
Manos
Continued from page 3
hosted Health IT Week events.
The 60 Regional Extension
Centers, or RECs, began launching
their services in May and June, with
many of them represented at
National Health IT Week. With $642
million in federal funding, these
centers are expected to help some
100,000 providers adopt health IT
and qualify for meaningful use incen-
tives within the next two years.
As this column goes to print, the
industry eagerly waits the final rule
on meaningful use, which will guide
vendors and providers toward mea-
suring healthcare data to improve
care, boosted by federal incentives
over the next five years.
Even though many stakeholders
are frustrated with the fast pace
required to qualify, most are thrilled
with the significant advances health
IT is making and the overarching
effect it is having, and will have, on
U.S. healthcare.
Neal Neuberger, head of the
Institute for e-Health Policy told
Healthcare IT News that despite how
the Department of Health and
Human Services was mandated by
the legislation to make certain pro-
visions in its rulemaking, “90 percent
of it is spot on.”
“It’s amazing how much of it is
great,” he added. Neuberger and many
other industry leaders expect health-
care IT adoption measures will
develop in cycles over the coming
years as the stipulations for incentives
are tweaked closer to realistic goals.
Beginning in October – just a few
short months away – providers who
want to reap the first of the incen-
tives available under the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act must
start collecting health data elec-
tronically. It’s easy to see why there
is a hum in Washington – and across
the country – as stakeholders and
providers scramble to begin a U.S.
healthcare revolution from paper to
EHRs and from geographically-based
variations in medical care to nation-
wide evidence-based practice. ■
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6 Healthcare IT News ■ July 2010 Industry news www.HealthcareITNews.com
CCHIT to add women’s health, oncology criteria
By BernIe MonegaIn, Editor
CHICAGO – The Certification
Commission has selected two new,
all-volunteer panels to develop cri-
teria for electronic health records
in women’s health and in oncology,
the latest domains to be added to
CCHIT’s independently-developed
certification programs.
The commission also announced the
slated launch of new certification
programs for Behavioral Health,
www.vitalimages.com
Dermatology and Long-Term and public response to drafted
Post-Acute Care on July 26, 2010. criteria and test scripts and
“We rely on the broad expertise of publishing a future roadmap
our work group volunteers for devel- of certification requirements.”
opment of the criteria and inspection More than 75 people vol-
processes for our CCHIT Certified unteered to participate in
programs for special practice areas,” the new work groups, Bell
said Karen Bell, MD, chairwoman said. The response “under- Karen Bell, MD
of the commission. “This develop- scores the continued high level of The members represent a diverse
ment process includes evaluating interest and dedication of the health- range of healthcare stakeholders
provider needs, understanding cur- care community to work with the chosen for their individual experience
rently available standards, analyzing commission in achieving its mission and fair balance, including physi-
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of accelerating the adoption
of health IT,” she said.
The volunteers – 13 for
Women’s Health and 15 for
Oncology – were appointed
b y t h e C e r t i fi c a t i o n
Commission following an
open application process.
cians, hospitals and other providers,
health IT developers, and other rep-
resentative organizations, according
to CCHIT.
To achieve an even higher level
of accountability and transparency,
CCHIT limits health IT vendor par-
ticipation on the commission’s work
groups to no more than 33 percent,
including any provider applicants
who may receive compensation from
a vendor. ■
Expectations
for clinical
data use low
By BernIe MonegaIn, Editor
CHICAGO – Healthcare providers and
payers face complex challenges when
trying to maximize the value of their
clinical data, but their expectations
for clinical analytics vary signifi-
cantly, according to a new study.
“Can Organizations Maximize
Clinical Data,” was conducted by
HIMSS Analytics and sponsored by
San Diego-based clinical analytics
company Anvita Health.
HIMSS Analytics conducted a
focus group study of chief medical
officers and chief medical informat-
ics officers at payer and provider
organizations. The study examines
how members of each group define
clinical analytics, how they analyze
clinical data, which tools they use
to analyze the data, and the chal-
lenges of using clinical data to
improve their business.
“Anvita Health sponsored this
study to gauge the readiness of the
payer and provider markets for the
onslaught of new data that will come
from rapid adoption of electronic
medical records and medical devic-
es,” said Anvita Health CEO Richard
Noffsinger. “We wanted to uncover
the disparities in the understanding
and use of available data today, and
bring to the surface the shared pain
points between the two groups.”
lImIted expeCtAtIons
Most of the study participants indi-
cated they are collecting and lever-
aging clinical and/or claims data to
enhance patient care, cost, safety
and efficiency, and data are examined
on a variety of levels:
■ Evaluating a specific patient or
member
■ Evaluating a population
■ Evaluating a specific provider
or provider network
■ Evaluating prevalence or treat-
ment of a specific condition, such
as diabetes or hypertension
“A key finding for us was that both
payers and providers had limited
expectations for how clinical analyt-
ics could improve the quality of
patient care – especially at the point
of care – and lower costs through
that improved quality,” said
sTuDy see page 9
EHR funding,
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8 Healthcare IT News ■ July 2010 Industry news www.HealthcareITNews.com

Epic systems VP to head EHR vendors association

By BernIe MonegaIn, Editor with executive committee elec- mittee from 2004 to 2006, nity to lead the EHR Association as CPSI, who has served as Certification
CHICAGO – Carl Dvorak, executive tion results based on voting and was re-elected in 2009. a resource for our collective custom- Workgroup chair and on the
vice president of Epic Systems, has by the full membership during Jarvis was first elected to ers in achieving ‘meaningful use,’ Executive Committee since 2006;
been elected chairman of the HIMSS May and June. the executive committee in helping the industry and policymak- ■ Jacob Reider, MD, chief med-

Elec tronic Health Record
Association, and Charles Jarvis, vice
president of healthcare services and
government relations for NextGen
Healthcare Information Systems,
has been elected vice chair.
The EHR Association announced
the new appointments June 16, along
The Association is com- 2007 and has also served as ers define open standards, and shar- ical informatics officer, Allscripts,
posed of 44 companies that chair of the Communications ing best practices among EHR who has served as chair of the Quality
supply the majority of EHRs Workgroup, the Government developers and users for safe and and Clinical Decision Support Special
in use in hospitals and physi- Carl Dvorak Initiatives Workgroup and the effective use of EHRs,” said Dvorak. Interest Group and vice-chair of the
cians practices in the United States. Ambulatory Special Interest Group. Re-elected to the Executive Acceleration Workgroup, and joined
Dvorak was a founding member of Both will begin their one-year Committee for two-year terms are: the Executive Committee earlier this
the association, now in its fifth year. terms on July 1. ■ Rick Reeves, senior manager, year to complete the term of a former
He also served on the executive com- “I’m excited about the opportu- product development services at Allscripts representative; and
■ Mickey McGlynn, director,

government and industry affairs for

Siemens, who is current chair of the
Government Affairs Workgroup
where she has served since 2008.
NEW! ■ Pamela Chapman, director of

clinical product management for

eMDs, also joins the Executive
Committee as a new member with
a one-year term.
“We have an important opportu-
nity to support the transformation
of our nation’s healthcare system by

ProVation ONE
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working with policymakers and pri-
vate organizations that share our
mission of improving the quality
and efficiency of healthcare through
information technology,” Jarvis said.
Enabled by our unique, structured approach to data Dvorak succeeds Justin Barnes,
vice president of marketing, corporate
management, One Click Updates provides ProVation development and government affairs
for Greenway Medical Technologies.
Order Sets customers with the ability to easily update Jarvis succeeds Mark Segal, vice
president, government and industry
their order sets as new evidence becomes available. affairs, GE Healthcare IT.
Barnes will continue to serve on
the Executive Committee and as chair-
man emeritus. Segal will also con-
Tracks the evidence tinue to serve on the Executive
Committee and as past vice-chair. ■
Presents the recommended updates
Lets you apply with just one click progress
Continued from page 4
Health Information Technology
Week just nine months ago.”
Making order set maintenance a one click event. The HITECH Act and healthcare
reform legislation have helped lay
down the foundation for “dramati-

Let us do the work— cally improving” healthcare delivery,

he said.
so your team can do theirs. “But why the focus on healthcare
information technology? Becausethe
proper use of healthcare information
One Click Advantages technology will allow the U.S. to
Presents a concise, practice-impactful summary of new medical evidence that achieve its appropriately lofty goals,”
he said.
affects the content of your facility’s order sets.
Earlier, HIMSS had anticipated
Identifies order sets in your customized library that may require modification for Reps. Tim Murphy (R-PA), Patrick
each new piece of evidence. See what Outsell Insights* Kennedy (D-R.I.) and Kathy

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www.HealthcareITNews.com Industry news July 2010
Extension center leaders aim for meaningful change
By DIana Manos, Senior Editor
WASHINGTON – The Regional Extension Centers
aimed at helping physicians across the coun-
try convert to digital records have begun their
work, and some of the centers’ leaders were
trumpeting their goals at the 2010 Government
Health IT Conference and Exhibition June
15-16 in the nation’s capital.
Jennifer Brockman, director of Com-
munications and Organizational Growth at
the Virginia Health Quality Center (VHQC)
said her organization has now partnered
with the Center for Innovative Technology,
Community Care Network of Virginia and
the Medical Society of Virginia to form the
new Virginia-wide REC.
The Virginia Health Information
Technology REC will use its two-year, $12.4
million federal REC grant to target some
2,300 physicians, or 20 percent of the pri-
mary care providers in Virginia.
“Quality is the end game for us,” she said.
“That’s why we’re interested in healthcare
IT. It’s a means for improving healthcare.”
sTuDy
Continued from page 6
Noffsinger. “Comprehensive real-time analyt-
ics can take these stakeholders beyond just
evaluation, and provide a blueprint for action
by physicians, care managers and others in
the care continuum.”
Hurdles to better use of dAtA
When asked about obstacles for better use of
clinical data within their organizations, par-
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An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
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The goal of the government’s Health IT Regional Extension Center electronic health records, with even
program is to help 100,000 more physicians implement and use
electronic health records in a meaningful way.
Like many of the organizations that
received REC grants, VHQC is a federally
designated quality improvement organiza- million grant to offer group purchasing, health-
ticipants provided a core list of common
challenges:
Payers: Clinical data exists in multiple
codes and formats resulting in the need to
map varying administrative or claims codes
to a common language for analysis.
The process of clinical analysis, from data
input to data integration to data analysis was
perceived as cost-prohibitive, with the ben-
efit falling short of the expense.
Providers: Clinical data appears in mul-
tiple places, including notes on paper. Capturing
Call us today 1.877.288.5699
Visit us online Spector360.com
tion (QIO), already experienced in
helping organizations achieve quality
in healthcare.
Brockman said the Virginia REC
would provide discounted group pur-
chasing rates from selected healthcare
IT vendors. However, the REC will
also help doctors if they wish to use
systems they already have.
Healthbridge Tri-State Regional
Extension Center based in Cincinnati,
will serve physicians in parts of Kentucky,
Indiana and Ohio.
David Groves, executive director of
Healthbridge, said the REC has its
work cut out for it. “Dismal statistics”
show fewer than 6 percent of prima-
ry care physicians in the area use
fewer in rural areas. Healthbridge
plans to help 1,800 of them achieve
meaningful use by 2012.
The Healthbridge REC will use its $9.7
discrete patient data and entering that data
in a format that’s computable was perceived
as a daunting, resource-intensive task.
lIttle use for deCIsIon-mAkIng
The two groups reported that most clinical
data was analyzed retrospectively. In addition,
the study found little use of data for real-time
decision making, even with significant inter-
est in using clinical data to drive a clinician’s
decision in real time at the point of care. The
implementation of meaningful use guidelines
SPECTOR 360 ALERT
■ Healthcare IT News 9
care IT connectivity, educational resources
and personal help. “We don’t want this to be
just proof of a pilot, but a true transforma-
tional change,” he added.
“Quality is the end gAme
for us.”
– Jennifer Brockman
Beth Schindele, project director of new
Delaware Regional Extension Center, affili-
ated with the West Virginia Medical Institute
and Quality Insights of Delaware, said the
REC would try to get 1,000 physicians to
qualify for meaningful use.
This is a “very aggressive” goal, she said,
because most of the physicians serve rural
areas and are without broadband service.
The REC will use 90 percent of its grant
money to provide incentives to get physi-
cians to participate.
Getting a physician buy into healthcare IT
is difficult, Schindele said. But so far, the new
REC has more than 150 physicians who have
contracted to participate. ■
will begin to address this challenge.
“The ability to access and interpret clinical
data in real-time can help clinicians and
other healthcare professionals evaluate and
enhance patient care, healthcare costs and
overall efficiency,” says John P. Hoyt, execu-
tive vice president, organizational services
at HIMSS. “The results of this study identi-
fied areas of improvement for data capture
and data access so that clinical analytics
become a more valuable tool for healthcare
organizations.” ■
UNAUTHORIZED FILES SAVED
SAVED TO: USB DRIVE
LOGIN: JOHN SMITH
14 APRIL 2010 18:09:48
10 Healthcare IT News ■ July 2010 WEB FEATURES www.HealthcareITNews.com

W E B F E AT U R E S

HealthcareITNews.com
Podcast with
Allscripts CEO
FEATURED SLIDESHOW
about merger Navigating the new PACs market

H
EAR WHAT Glen Tullman
This study, conducted by independent research firm KLAS, measures
has to say about what led PACS vendor performance in the Acute Care, Community, and
to the merger of health Ambulatory markets. KLAS gathered more than 1,600 product
IT company Allscripts,
which until now has
interviews from healthcare providers. Over a quarter of respondents
focused its business pri- are PACS administrators in their organizations, and over 30 percent
marily on ambulatory care of respondents are involved in radiology management within their
technology, with Eclipsys, which markets to
hospitals and intergrated delivery systems. organizations.
In a Podcast recorded shortly after June healthcareitnews.com/klas-pacs
9 when the two companies announced their
agreement to merge, Tullman discusses the
challenges of integration of both products MOST POPULAR STORIES AT
and culture. He talks about why the merg-
er is the right deal at the right time for both
HEALTHCAREITNEWS.COM
companies and for the market at large.
Everyone is looking for an enterprise
■ HHS awards $83.9M to boost health IT
EHR, he says, one that fulfills both inpatient ■ VA announces 26 winning ideas of its health IT initiative
and ambulatory needs, and now there will
be a market leader. ■ Premier names 21 top hospitals
He discusses how he and Eclipsys CEO
Phil Pead, who will become chairman, will ■ Health IT hottest career trend for college graduates
work together to create a successful merger.
Tullman also talks about competitors, ■ Allscripts-Eclipsys: ‘A match made in heaven’ - mostly
such as Cerner, Epic, McKesson and others
and what will distinguish the new Allscripts ■ Help wanted: Health system looks to hire 200 IT workers
from them. He responds to the criticism
that has been leveled at Allscripts’ Enterprise
EHR (formerly TouchWorks).
Finally, he talks about the recent books
he’s listened to while running and how they
give him ideas he applies to business. Visit healthcareitnews.com on an iPhone, BlackBerry,
Palm or Android and get Healthcare IT News headlines optimized
healthcareitnews.com/tullman for your mobile device.

Brought to you Brought to you Brought to you

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Can EHRs prevent human-based medical errors? 5 Best practices for HIPAA 5010, ICD-10, and CORE!
Approaches to privacy and security for HIEs
“A medical overdose resulted in death at a Maine “Still looking for that first step toward HIPAA 5010
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Robinson, State Health IT Coordinator for Oregon
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one and a practice management system in October best practices the firm recommends, which is worth
EHR adoption, she said.”
and will go live with the systems in 2011.” pulling out for ICD10Watch readers.”
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12 Healthcare IT News ■ July 2010 commentary www.HealthcareITNews.com
Health IT tipping point is now
i
t’S ONE week into summer, and healthcare
professionals across the country are anx-
iously awaiting the final definition of
meaningful use. To say they are eagerly wait-
ing would also apply, but anxiously seems
more precise because there is plenty of anxi-
ety to go around.
Will the criteria set for achieving meaning-
ful use be attainable? Will it be too much too
soon? It’s the timeline that has even the most
loyal of champions worried.
Then there is the issue of certification. By
law, to be eligible for meaningful use health-
care organizations are required to be using
certified technology. Will the health IT certi-
fication organizations – known as ATcBs, or
“there are many moving
parts that have to work
together.”
Authorized Testing and certification Bodies – be
in place and operational in time to get the job
done? Will the makers and vendors of elec-
tronic health record systems be ready?
There are many moving parts that have to
work together. Talk about interoperability!
Here’s a challenge for organizational interop-
erability. There are plenty of unknowns to fan
the fear.
In January David Muntz, senior vice
president and cIo of Baylor Health care
System, had this to say in a statement cHIME
issued regarding the proposed meaningful
use criteria:
“Adequate time to understand the impact
of these new systems and to implement them,
are some of my secondary concerns. My pri-
mary concern is the time and effort required
to achieve successful organizational change
management.”
concerns like Muntz’s remain as the time
draws closer for the final rules, which were
expected in late spring.
But, in the past six months most organiza-
tions have not been simply waiting. They have
been preparing to meet the specific objectives
they expect will be part of the final rule. Taking
EHR tech cannot be equated to banking systems
t
hE tEChNOLOGY underlying the elec-
tronic health record and the electron-
ic medical record seems to be signifi-
cantly driven by sales to a perceived market.
That market is controlled by parameters
designed to report data to regulatory agencies
and insurance companies, rather than to
increasing the interactivity and effectiveness
of actual professional medical care decision
making for individual patients.
The importance of interoperability, porta-
bility and other standards of data collection
and use cannot be overemphasized. The infu-
sion of national quality medical standards is
laudable, as long as they keep pace with real-
ity and are dynamic and accurate.
However, the fly in the ointment is the tre-
mendous importance of direct medical evalu-
ation of the patient, assessment of findings
that require action tailored to the individual
problem list, and to the evolution of the indi-
vidual plan of treatment. It is ironic that for
example, MUMPS, the program that evolved
out of the context of research attempts to
invent a healthcare computer language, that
in my opinion, was originally designed to
action, it seems, can relieve some of the anx-
iety of waiting for the “i’s” to be dotted and
the “t’s” to be crossed.
The proposed rule
put forth a graduated
approach, which would
raise the bar each year
from 2011 and 2012
through 2015. cHIME
and HIMSS support
the phased approach,
but they are among the
industry organizations
Bernie monegain
that caution against
editor
raising the bar too
high, too soon.
The government is not pushing too hard
or moving too fast, the nation’s healthcare IT
chief David Blumenthal, MD, countered in
his Health IT Buzz blog on June 14.
“Historically, adopting our most fundamen-
tal medical technologies, from the stethoscope
to the X-ray, were met with significant doubt
and opposition,” he writes. “So it comes as no
surprise that in the face of change as trans-
enhance some of these functions, is now,
according to Wikipedia, “...currently used in
electronic health record systems as well as by
multiple banking networks and online”.
Indeed, either banking networks have
become closely aligned to health record systems
or vice versa. In any event it is clear that the
level and length of training that physicians
need to treat and manage the complexity of
human biological function and dysfunction
cannot be equated to “multiple banking net-
works” data processing.
As someone who supervised the comput-
erization of an occupational health system
over some 12 years ago, I recognized that it
was essential to develop what I call physician
computer subset decision interfaces.
These interfaces are not only where the
value of the intense medical training and
intellectual competence required of physicians,
coupled with the computational capacity of
the software and hardware, are realized, but
also where they meet interactively to solve
medical problems in fluid clinical contexts.
This involves focused human contact,
rather than only treatment of the isolated
formational as the adoption of health IT – even
though it carries the promise of vastly improv-
ing the nation’s healthcare – some hospitals
and providers push back.”
We expect some fine-tuning of the meaning-
ful use definition, but no big changes from
the proposed rule. It’s impossible to get the
rules and timetable just right for every single
entity, but we hope and expect that the jump-
start the HITEcH Act gave healthcare will
keep the momentum going through transfor-
mation, that out of the uncertainty and dis-
ruption will be born a system that is safer,
more effective and more efficient.
It’s up to you.
Barry chaiken, MD, chairman of the HIMSS
Board of Directors put it this way during his
opening remarks at the annual HIMSS confer-
ence in Atlanta last April.
“Through the implementation of compelling
healthcare IT solutions, you must transform
the way healthcare is provided in this country,
not the president, not congress, not clinicians
– you. If you don’t do it, it will not happen. You
must step forward and you must lead.” ■
“medical chart.” If software design is concen-
trated only on profitable sales which are
driven by healthcare data collection, and
which are heavily constrained by bureau-
cratic demands, the efficacy of this massive
investment in healthcare IT is fraught with
failure. ■
Stuart W. Lewis MD
Lewis Research Solutions LLc
eDitorial inDePenDence
Healthcare IT News is published
in partnership with the Healthcare
Information and Management Systems
Society (HIMSS). HIMSS members are
eligible to receive Healthcare IT News
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and online – as a benefit of member-
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HIMSS and its leadership exercise no
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EDITORIAL BOARD
John Glaser, Vice President, CIO,
Partners HealthCare, Boston
Denni McColm, CIO,
Citizens Memorial Healthcare, Bolivar, Mo.
Jane Olds, COO,
Louisiana Health Network, New Orleans
Wes Rishel, Vice President, Gartner, Inc.
William Spooner, Senior Vice President,
CIO, Sharp Healthcare, San Diego
Paul Tang, Vice President, CMIO,
Palo Alto Medical Foundation, California
Steven Waldren, Director, Center for Health IT,
American Academy of Family Physicians
2006
JESSE NEAL AWARD
WINNER
www.HealthcareITNews.com commentary July 2010 ■ Healthcare IT News 13

c o M M E N T A R Y

the wireless effect

The potential benefits of electronic health
records are far from a new idea. Their prom-
ise is both welcome and familiar to admin-
istrators and practitioners alike: a health-
care system where patient care information
is freed from a paperwork prison so that
caregiver productivity is improved and
medical errors are greatly reduced or even
eliminated.
are uniquely suited to help healthcare organizations of
any size realize the full potential of what broadband can
offer them, their employees and their patients. Yet, para-
doxically, the common misperception that wireless broad-
band solutions are more expensive, less secure, and too
difficult to maintain means that the very organizations
that could benefit from them might question them as a
viable solution. Many organizations in
rural or hard-to-reach areas, for
instance, may assume that wireless
broadband is the wrong fit for them,
when in reality those challenges make
NewsmakeriNterview
What was the genesis of the Allscripts
merger? Some people are saying you
should have done it sooner.
“Any great merger always begins with
clients. We’re fortunate to share some of
the really, really good clients – some of
the market leaders, such as columbia
New York Presbyterian, Lahey clinic,
Hartford Hospital or West Penn, names
that are kind of legendary names and, of
Glen course, North Shore Long Island Jewish.
Those organizations, who are long-time
Tullman and satisfied Eclipsys users, are also
users of Allscripts electronic health

B
ut that promise remained elusive without a broad-
band investment to support it. Though techno-
logically feasible since the advent of the Internet, there
was no solid fiscal incentive to invest in the data pipeline
needed to realize it in real healthcare settings until the
FDA began mandating the use of barcodes on pharma-
ceuticals in 2005. Though healthcare IT departments have
been hard at work on their “barcode strategy” since
then, many were slow to respond out of understandable
concern that any investment would entail too much expense
and risk, at too high a cost, with too slow a deployment.
The goal must be broader than just the widespread
adoption of EHRs. Forward-looking planners realize this
is about transforming an industry, not reducing paperwork.
It’s about using broadband connectivity to deliver patient
care with newfound agility across the entire continuum
of care. It’s about getting connectivity with enough capac-
ity to manage all the data transfer needs throughout an
organization today, with room to expand. With that goal
in mind, IT managers in healthcare need to weigh broad-
er concerns than EHR file formats and content conver-
sion. They need to be weighing the specific drivers for
broadband solutions in their organization to achieve reli-
able interoperability factors like:
■ Number and physical location of facilities to be con-
nected
■ Kind of data to be “pushed through the pipe.” (i.e. data,
voice, video, images, all of the above)
■ Reliability, integrity and security require-
ments of the data supplied to a facility
■ Authentication and credentialing of those accessing
the data to ensure a secure environment that meets HIPAA
regulations.
Whatever the need or profile, today’s wireless solutions
them the perfect candidate.
The bottom line is that wireless broad-
VIVIAn J. band delivers real healthcare systems
FunkHouSer improvement. Real-time access to reli-
Motorola able patient data saves staff time and
makes for greater productivity while
reducing the potential for medical errors. Wireless networks
can be implemented more quickly and easily – delivering
a time and cost advantage in areas where laying down
cable is cost-prohibitive. Moreover because it owns the
network, the hospital IT department is in control of its
own infrastructure, never feeling like it’s at the mercy of
a carrier or service provider. It is secure and can give
administration visibility into the network, right down to
automatic HIPAA compliance auditing.
Healthcare organizations need no longer limit their
goals to reactive ones, prioritizing those technology invest-
ments which merely fill gaps in their existing systems.
Instead, they can set goals according to the kind of service
they plan to deliver in the future by investing in scalable
technology available today that can help them meet their
goals of providing access to electronic patient records
anywhere in a reliable and secure manner. Wireless broad-
band offers clear cost and implementation advantages over
other solutions in healthcare settings. Is your organization
realizing the benefits of wireless broadband yet? ■
Vivian J. Funkhouser, principal, Global Healthcare Solutions,
Motorola, Inc. has worked in healthcare marketing and sales glob-
ally for more than 20 years. At Motorola, Vivian serves as the
global business development principal for health care solutions,
covering everything from wireless infrastructure equipment to
devices.
CeO of allscripts
records and other services. They’ve
Joined allscripts in 1997 pushed us to work together more close-
and led the iPO ly. So the good news is that for people
who say we should have started sooner,
CeO of enterprise
we have started. could we have done it
systems, inc. from
sooner? We think the timing was perfect.
1994-1997
What does Allscripts bring to Eclipsys in terms of organization,
management, culture and market development skills?
First and foremost the market is demanding an end-to-end
integrated solution. What hospital customers want most is to
connect to physician groups out in the market because that’s
where hospitals get their revenue. Each physician is worth
between $1 million and $3 million based on some recent stud-
ies. Allscripts has more than 40,000 practices for these hos-
pitals to connect with. The strategic rationale for the business
makes sense. We think that we bring very solid management
that builds on their successful management team. We do think
that, given the quality of their software, we can help them
market and sell it even more than they have in the past. This
is software that, according to KLAS, was No. 1 in cPoE for
the last seven years.
What is your biggest challenge going forward?
In any merger or acquisition, the first place you always start
is people. We have to make sure that everyone shares in this
joint vision. We believe they do. We believe we’ll spend a lot
of time communicating internally to our folks in painting the
breadth and scope of the opportunity and how they would
fit into the future. The next step is technology. The good
news there is that because we share a common architecture
(Microsoft.Net), and because we’re both close with Microsoft
TullMAn see page 14

Open source has strong support in recent poll

yes for our organizations.” “Open source software appeals to HealtHcare it1newsmonitor
– Dan Bauman, Torrance
news the DIY market. It may be slightly

“Healthcare is an enormously fragmented
industry with many competing standards and
dozens of solutions aimed at solving the same
problem. Open source helps drive industry
standards and allows software providers to focus
on core solutions providing for offerings that
are more aligned with the customers real needs.”
- Andrew Aitken, consultant
“The goal is interoperability and data
exchange. These concepts are ingrained in
open source software and open platforms.”
-Anonymous
“Open source software is truly important
to support flexibilty as the EHR grows. There
should be some level of plug and play capa-
bility in order to acheive the best solutions
Memorial Medical Center, cheaper in acquisition costs and pos-
Torrance, Calif.
“Open source will drive stan-
dards. Just watch how the open
source products produced by NCI’s mONitOr
caBIG program are already driving
standards like BRIDG (an implementation of
HL7, CDISC, FDA requirements, and NCI
requirements).”
– Thomas P. Carusom go with a name you know (many trust studies
Business Ambitions
no
“We don’t have open source fighter jets
in the military for the same good reason.”
– Anonymous
Q
is open source technology a
sibly allow for the development of good fit for healthcare?
modules that regular vendors don’t
support. But the average doctor’s 72%
72%
office isn’t going to go DIY, and there
are essentially no price benefits to
80%
142 reader
responses
buy open source software from a
vendor. At that point, it becomes only a matter
71%
60%
of which vendor you trust. When you don’t know
anything about software, you are more likely to
40%
have shown this empirically), even if it’s not a
20%
company you hold in particularly high regard. 29%
Products like OpenVista will gain a niche in the
0%
market, but are unlikely to do more than that,
yes no
just as Linux, despite its passionate true believ-
To take future surveys, subscribe to our
ers, will never take over the desktop.”
e-newsletter, HealthcareITNewsWeek, or
– Anonymous
visit us daily at HealthcareITNews.com.
14 Healthcare IT News ■ July 2010 news www.HealthcareITNews.com

Customers weigh in on allscripts deal TullMAn

Continued from page 13
who will step in and help us in
By BernIe MoneGAIn, Editor catholic Health Initi- “as these two organizations terms of any of the integration
ChICaGO – Leadership and execution are key to atives, which operates work we have to do, that one is
combine their market strengths,
the success of the Allscripts-Eclipsys merger, accord- 72 hospitals and is further along. The last piece is
ing to Allscripts customers, who say the deal pres- ranked as the third- it will translate into new, highly a simple one – it’s simple to say;
ents both challenges and opportunities. largest faith-based health integrated services and products.” it’s harder to do – and that’s
chicago-based Allscripts, a company focused system in the nation. “At – Michael O’Rourke execution. We demonstrated with
on selling electronic health record systems to cHI, we recently con- the merger with Misys that we
physician practices and community clinics, tracted with Allscripts “Allscripts is one of our key strategic partners, know how to do these. We know
announced on June 9 it would enter the hospital to provide their ambula- and the merger with Eclipsys will help make how to execute. We have an
market by merging with Eclipsys corp. in a stock tory health record and Allscripts a stronger, more diverse company, industrial-strength management
deal valued at $1.3 billion. Allscripts customers practice-management which can only be good for UMass Memorial team with a group of people
say the deal is a good match, though some caution solution to our more than michael O’rourke Health care,” said Brenckle. “In the near term, who’ve been through this before.
that how the merger turns out will depend on 1,000 employed physicians across the 18 states we don’t see it having any negative impact or
how well Allscripts can execute. It will require in which we have a presence. change in focus on Allscripts as our ambulatory Which products do you need to
strong leadership, they say. As o’Rourke sees it, the merger of Allscripts EHR for our employed physicians and our pre- integrate and how will that work?
“I continue to be impressed with Glen’s leader- with Eclipsys represents the ongoing evolution ferred EHR for private physicians in the com- The products are working in
ship,” said William Spooner, senior vice president of the health information technology industry, munity.” an integrated fashion today at
and cIo of Sharp Healthcare in San Diego, refer- which recently has been propelled by the neces- “We’ve had an outstanding partnership with certain of our sites. This is
“it’s good to see sity to address the exchange of health Allscripts as we work to deploy Allscripts really about enhancing and
information and to meet the require- Enterprise product with our physician practices extending the integration as
another enterprise ments of meaningful use. and community,” said chuck McDevitt, cIo of opposed to beginning a process.
vendor in the market.” “I think that as these two organiza- Self Regional Healthcare in Greenwood, S.c., There were teams working
– William Spooner tions combine their market strengths, which serves as the referral hospital for the seven before the transaction because
it will translate into new, highly inte- South carolina counties. “We don’t expect that our clients had asked two inde-
ring to Allscripts cEo grated services and products,” o’Rourke said. to change per our discussions with Allscripts. We pendent companies to work
Glen Tullman. “It will be Integration will, indeed, be critical says Todd can certainly see these things being a distraction together. our integration with
a great opportunity for cozzens, cEo of Picis, the Wakefield, Mass.-based but given their recent merger with Misys, it is Eclipsys, will, of course, be
him to demonstrate it technology company that sells high-acuity systems our expectation that their level of service and much deeper and much richer
once more.” for emergency departments, intensive care units support will continue to be as good as it is today than it is with some of those
william spooner However, Spooner’s and operating rooms. if not better.” other companies. That process
endorsement was not without reservation. “on the surface it makes sense,” cozzens said Spooner said Allscripts made the merger with has been under way. It will
“It’s good to see another enterprise vendor in of the merger. He added that proof of success Misys work, and he expects it will set the stage accelerate now, and we will have
the market,” Spooner said. “I hope they can exe- would be in the rollup of products to be able to for the Eclipsys merger. one application, which will
cute on the planned integration, yet my focus offer an enterprise-wide system that is robust. “The Allscripts-Misys merger brought some be the market leader when
continues to be interoperabilty between Allscripts Allscripts, he notes, is moving from working benefits as they brought in new technical capa- that’s done.
and cerner – my two EHRs.” with small systems with small price points to bilities and made organizational changes to sup-
“I believe this merger will be positive for the large integrated systems. port transition to larger company and larger client What distinguishes the new
healthcare industry,” said Michael o’Rourke, George Brenckle, cIo at UMass Memorial Health base,” Spooner said. “I expect that similar oppor- Allscripts from your competitors,
senior vice president and cIo for Denver-based care, says the merger looks like a good fit to him. tunities may present in this next stage.” ■ such as Cerner and McKesson
and the others?
the merger of
MerGer
tion to third-party apps across care Every competitor is a little bit
settings, the pair seem well matched. allscripts and different. The hospital companies
Continued from page 1 “Given our respective architec- eclipsys, two well – the cerners, the McKessons,
known players in
industry’s largest network of clients tures,” said Pead, “we believe we’ll the Epics have always been hos-
the healthcare it
on one product platform. be able to deliver this integration pital focused and they never
market, has been
The merg- very quickly.” lauded as a smart really had a usable product for
er also better Indeed, says Sean W. Wieland, move by customers the ambulatory physicians out
positions the senior research analyst at Piper and analysts alike, there. That was oK until recent-
combined Jaffray, the merger is “a match made but most also caution ly when people started to under-
company to in heaven on a PowerPoint slide.” that the proof will be stand that those ambulatory
help its cli- But as always, the devil is in the in the execution. physicians represented the life-
ents more details. While Tullman called the blood of large hospitals and
effec tively marriage “about as crisp and clean integrated delivery networks. So,
access the a merger as you’re every going to it became very critical to connect
approximate- see,” it will still be a “very complex” it handled the relatively seamless and attention, much as we did with to those communities.
Phil Pead ly $30 billion process, says Wieland. merger with Misys in 2008. the Misys integration. We have a
in federal He notes that while there’s not (The deal, which is accretive to very solid plan in place already, and What are you reading?
funding for hospital and physician much overlap on the hospital side Allscripts’s non-GAAP earnings start- we feel confident.” I don’t actually do as much read-
adoption of EHRs provided by the of things, there is some duplication ing in calendar year 2011, will mean In the meantime, he and Pead are ing as I used to, but I do when
American Recovery and on the physi- that Misys’s excited to be leaders in “the single I run. I listen to books on tape.
Reinvestment Act (ARRA). cian side. He
“Both eclipsys and controlling fastest transformation of an indus- With one or two of these I actu-
“Both Eclipsys and Allscripts share also wrote that allscripts share a vision i n t e r e s t try that we have ever seen,” says ally had insights that led us to
a vision of a connected system of h e’d h e a r d of a connected system of in Allscripts is Tullman. changing what we’re doing in
health in which critical information “from some health in which critical reduced to 8 “Allscripts is a leader in the ambu- our business. “The Age of the
follows the patient and informs all customers that percent through latory space. Eclipsys is the leader Unthinkable,” by Joshua cooper
providers that assist the patient the Allscripts information follows the share buyback in cPoE, and has been there for Ramo, which talks about how
across the complete care continuum,” Enterprise patient and informs all and a secondary seven years; out of the top 21 Best you plan for what you can’t imag-
said Pead on a conference call HER needs providers that assist the offering, with Hospitals from U.S. News and World ine. That’s true in business. Two
announcing the deal. “This merger some work and the remainder Report, 18 use Eclipsys software. years ago, did we think there
patient across the care
will turn that vision into a reality.” the merger of the company That gives you a sense of the qual- would be a $30 billion stimulus?
With both the Eclipsys Sunrise could be a dis- continuum.” divvied up ity there.” And did we think that hospitals
Enterprise and Performance traction to the –Phil Pead b e t w e e n Meanwhile, “it’s clear that Phil loves like North Shore Long Island
Management solution for hospitals management.” Allscripts (55 the space. He’s very customer focused. would not only be buying EHRs
and the Allscripts portfolio of solu- Nonetheless, Wieland was inclined percent) and Eclipsys (37 percent) He’s very smart about technology. for their 1,200 physicians, but
tions for physician practices running to “believe that they will be able to shareholders. And so his vision was to build a great also for 7,000 unaffiliated physi-
on .NET, and with both companies execute.” His conviction is borne out “I don’t ever want to say that any company. What we concluded togeth- cians? We didn’t think that.
sharing an “open architecture” by recent history, he said; he gives integration is easy,” says Tullman. er was that there was enough work – Bernie Monegain interview
approach, which simplifies connec- Allscripts “a lot of credit” for the way “We’re going to focus a lot of time for both of us to do.” ■
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www.HealthcareITNews.com July 2010 ■ Healthcare IT News 17

NEWSBRIEFS
MaIMoNIdES addS caRE
CHI to launch 18-state EHR rollout
Health system to – including techni- “catholic health technology organiza-
MaNagEMENt tEchNology cal analysts, clini- tion. The new employ-
Maimonides Medical Center, an academic hire more than 200 cal informaticists,
Initiatives has launched ees will supplement a
a national clinical
hospital in Brooklyn, N.Y. has adopted the
IT personnel. engineers, manag- group of approxi-
Allscripts Care Management solution to ers, database information-technology mately 800 informa-
increase the efficiency of utilization manage- By BernIe MonegaIn, Editor administrators, tion technolog y
program that is very
ment and discharge planning and improve DENVER – Catholic Health application devel- employees at CHI.
the coordination of care. Maimonides, which Initiatives, a Denver-based health- opers and also ambitious and very The $1.5 billion
also uses the Allscripts emergency depart- care system, will hire more than security and iden- comprehensive.” project, which will
ment technology, implemented the Web-based 200 high-tech workers to help tification-manage- – Cristina Thomas include technology
care management application in less than roll out its new clinical system ment personnel. tions will from Cerner, MEDITECH and
four months and has been using it since the across the country. CHI expects to fill more than be filled over the next 12 months Allscripts, will be implemented
end of March. The feature the staff loves The work requires an increase in 100 positions over the next three for a wide variety of operational over the next five to seven years.
most is having all the forms online, said a number of specialized positions months. An additional 100 posi- projects within the information rollouTsee page 18
Madeline Rivera, Mainonides vice president
for care management

d.c. hoSpItal goES dIgItal

WIth ItS oRdER SEtS
Sibley Memorial Hospital, a 328-bed hos-
pital in Washington D.C., has selected Wolters
Kluwers’ ProVation Order Sets, powered by
UpToDate Decision Support, as its elec-
tronic order set solution. The hospital will
implement the latest version of the software,
which includes the unique One Click Updates
tool, enabling easy and automatic updating
to keep order sets current with the latest
medical evidence. The hospital will imple-
ment the latest version of the software, which
includes the unique One Click Updates tool,
enabling automatic updating to keep order
sets current with the latest medical evidence.
BoStoN hEalth NEtWoRk
autoMatES chaRgE captuRE
Caritas Christi Health Care in Boston, a six-
hospital network, has implemented charge
capture software from Boston-based
MedAptus. Caritas Christi selected MedAptus’
Practice Plus Edition on BlackBerry smart-
phone devices and Web-enabled workstations
for the capture of physician inpatient charg-
es. In addition, Caritas Christi is rolling out
the MedAptus Facility Edition for the capture
of outpatient clinic charges, starting in the
area of cardiology.
Philly center goes for cures
IT at the core of research
at new CHOP facility.
By BernIe MonegaIn, Editor
PHILADELPHIA – The Children’s Hospital of
Philadelphia (CHOP) has a shiny, new $504
million dollar, 12-story research center where
scientists can discover treatments to save the
lives of countless children with cancer, brain
tumors, mitochondrial disorders and a host
of other diseases. But this type of life-saving
work would be impossible without information
technology, says Thomas Curran.
Curran, who studies childhood brain tumors,
serves as deputy scientific officer of The
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research
Institute, where scientists undertake research
biochemistry, genetics.
“Biomedicine has become a much more
information-intensive field,” Curran says.
“pretty much
everything we
do is dependent
on information
technology.”
– Thomas Curran
“Pretty much everything we
do is dependent on information
technology.”
Always top for mind for the
researchers, says Curran, is
bridging the gap between basic
research and clinical applica-
Philip R.
tions,” he adds.
Johnson, MD
It’s what Philip R. Johnson,
MD, chief scientific officer at CHOP, calls “trans-
lational research” – transforming scientific dis-
The new Colket Translational Research Building at
coveries into medical innovations. Chidren’s Hospital of Philadelphia provides 12 stories of
“Those innovations are aimed at improving labs and the newest in technology.
the lives of children and families,” Johnson says.
“Having state-of-the-art space, equipment and pacESEttINg RESEaRch
technology will help us attract top-level research- ➔MItochoNdRIa: Testing tiny power plants of
ers to join the preeminent scientists already here.” human cells that lead to metabolic and degenerative
Vast amounts of data are used for the research diseases when malfunctioning
and information technology systems are key to ➔gENoMIcS: Reasearching genes involved in
collecting, organizing and interpreting the data, asthma, autism, diabetes, inflammatory bowel
Curran says. CHOP’s electronic health record disease, obesity, schizophrenia, neuroblastoma
system (from Verona, Wis.-based EPIC Systems) ➔gENE thERapy: Studying clinical-grade vectors –
is also critical. Researchers extract data from the bio-engineered viruses that deliver therapeutic genes
EHRs to help them in their research. to patients suffering from genetic diseases
The data – stripped of patient identification ➔IMMuNothERapy: Harnessing elements of
– help researchers identify markers for various the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells of
diseases, create models, consider new treatments patients suffering from genetic diseases
researcH see page 19

oRlaNdo hEalth RollS out

platFoRM FoR IMagE ShaRINg
Orlando Health, a not-for-profit healthcare
Mass General at work on file transfers By Kyle Hardy, Community Editor against confidentiality breaches. medical records, and has seen
organization, will implement the SeeMy
BOSTON – Massachusetts General “There’s two transmissions,” benefits ranging from easy
Radiology.com diagnostic image sharing
Hospital, a 900-bed care center said Haas. implementation to increased
technology platform to exchange diagnostic
located in the heart of Boston, has “One is a simple e-mail with productivity.
imaging information during trauma transfers
been using a new secure file trans- a link to the patients health The idea of uploading data to
from referral facilities and for imaging
fer solution that has helped solve information. The recipient has a secure network came to Haas
exchange throughout Orlando Health’s eight
one piece of meaningful use. to then input a user ID and pass- while working with the Social
hospitals and care centers. As part of the
Mark Haas, associate director word to view the actual record. Security Administration’s Web
triage process, the technology, developed by
of health information services at It’s a lot like online banking, site. Patient records would be
Atlanta-based Accelerad, allows clinicians to
Mass General, has been working and provides better security for uploaded to the site and gated
review vital medical image information via
with Chelmsford, Mass.-based patients.” with a user ID and password.
the Web or on mobile devices to assess a
Massachusetts General Hospital in Biscom to implement the com- Mass General has been lever- “The Social Security Administration
patient’s condition before a transfer is made.
Boston guards against potential security pany’s electronic file transfer solu- aging the Biscom Delivery Server has created a secure Web site
breaches during file transfers. tion in an effort to ensure security to facilitate the exchange of Transfer see page 19
18 Healthcare IT News ■ July 2010 hoSpItalS & IdNs www.HealthcareITNews.com
VA awards contract for work on VistA
By BernIe MonegaIn, Editor
WASHINGTON – The Department of
Veterans Affairs plans to spend $10.9
million to improve HIPAA compli-
ance for VistA, its enterprise-wide
electronic health record system.
The government contract recent-
ly awarded to Engineering Services
Network (ESN) is valued at $7.9
million for the first year. If all options
are awarded, it will be worth a total
of $10.9 million.
Under the contract, ESN will
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upgrade the VA’s Veterans Health
Information Systems and Technology
Architecture (VistA) to meet Health
Insurance Por tability and
Accountability Act (HIPAA) elec-
tronic transaction standards,
enabling third-party healthcare rev-
enues/payments - 5010/D.0.
The enhancements must be ready
for external testing by January 2011
and be in production by January 2012.
Under the contract, ESN is tasked
with providing 13 specific enhance-
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ments to VistA legacy products.
rollouT
Continued from page 17
“ESN is pleased to support the
VA in this critical project supporting
HIPAA compliance for VistA legacy
systems by providing IT solutions
to the department’s internal custom-
ers, end-users and our veterans,”
said ESN President and CEO
Raymond F. Lopez, Jr.
Working with ESN on the project
are team members from Harris
Patriot Healthcare Solutions,
Vangent and 7 Delta. ■
It is among the largest information-
technology initiatives of its kind in
healthcare, and will likely involve
additional high-tech positions, Catholic
Health Initiatives executives say.
The implementation will include
72 hospitals in 18 states.
The clinical information technology
project, which includes plans for a
system-wide electronic health record
in both the acute care and ambula-
tory settings, a health information
exchange and physician and patient
portals.
“Catholic Health Initiatives has
launched a national
clinical information-
technology program
that is very ambi-
tious and very com-
prehensive,” said
Cristina Thomas,
Judy Kirby
CHI’s vice president
for clinical information strategy. “We
need the best people available to
supplement our existing staff and
to help us achieve our goal, which
is to put new electronic tools to work
“What organizations are
trying to do is gear up
for a project before they
are in the middle of a
project and are starting
to sink.”
– Betsy Hersher
for patients, clinicians and providers.
We are making an aggressive effort
to hire the best candidates for these
important positions.”
Thomas is optimistic about finding
the right people for the right positions
to add to CHI’s 850-member health
IT team. The fact that the jobs are
available across a wide geographic area
and that some can be worked virtu-
ally will help, she said.
Betsy Hersher whose healthcare
executive recruitment firm Hersher
Associates in Chicago has been in busi-
ness 30 years, says the firm is seeing
a growing demand for director and
senior director level personnel, report-
ing directly to the CIO.
“What organizations are trying to
do is gear up for a project before they
are in the middle of a project and are
starting to sink,” she said
Judy Kirby, president of Kirby
Partners, a healthcare IT recruitment
firm in Altamonte Springs, Fla., says
she’s seeing demand in three areas:
security; high level executives – CIO
or CTO, and clinical IT.
Kirby said filling those positions is
taking longer than in did in past years.
Many of the new jobs at CHI will
be based in Denver, where CHI has
been headquartered since its formation
in 1996. Some key positions will be
“virtual,” allowing employees to work
remotely. Other positions will based
in or connected to CHI markets across
the country, including Tacoma, Wash.;
Des Moines, Iowa; Chattanooga, Tenn.;
Little Rock, Ark.; Denville, N.J.;
Lexington, Ky.; Dayton, Ohio;
Cincinnati, Ohio; Nebraska;
Minnesota; and North Dakota.
The organization’s clinical informa-
tion technology program includes a
wide array of initiatives that focus on
technology, clinical tools and system-
wide infrastructure to achieve the
organization’s quality goals.
Besides electronic health records to
support CHI’s 350 medical-group
practices, the project will focus on the
standardization of clinical documents,
bar-coded medication administration
and computerized physician order
entry, among other areas. ■
www.HealthcareITNews.com hoSpItalS & IdNs July 2010 ■ Healthcare IT News 19

“the goal of this

Transfer
Continued from page 17
where we post PHI securely,” said
Haas.
“We started thinking, ‘Why
couldn’t we build something like
this?’ That’s how this whole thing
got started.”
The exchange of electronic med-
ical records is a big part of meaning-
ful use, Haas says, and Mass General
had been doing such exchanges three
years prior to the rule’s conception.
“The process of sending records
used to be laborious,” said Haas. “It’s “We worked ical information electronically is
all about efficiency. The fact that we closely with Mark solution is to help actually a big part of the rule.
were under budget constraints pushed to deploy a solution “Right now we force the issue by
health organizations
us to look to technology to help. By that worked within telling our patient they can request
leveraging this technology we now MGH’s processes,” send SENSItIVE patient their medical information,” said Haas.
send about 52,000 medical records said Bill Ho, records more SEcuREly “We ask them whether they would
annually, per request of the patient Biscom’s vice pres- and more easily.” prefer it in electronic format or paper.
and noticed that using the server was ident of internet Haas said Most of the patients said they would
– Bill Ho
doubling our productivity.” products. that using this prefer the electronic copy.”
The Biscom project, based on Haas’s “The goal of this solution is to help model of PHI exchange has been Robert Matthews, in charge of
experience using the Social Security healthcare organizations send sensi- helpful on its way to getting ready business development at Biscom,
Administration’s Web site, began as tive patient records more securely for meaningful use, but, the rule is said that providers need to realize
a pilot at the hospital. There was and more easily, especially with huge. Haas expects to see real that there are many paths to achieve
virtually no IT team, with the excep- respect to satisfying meaningful use improvements when patients start meaningful use, and “there is no
Emdeon Healthcare IT News HFN Oct Ad right hand pg:Layout 1 9/9/09 4:41 PM Page 1
tion of a few officials from both sides. criteria.” to realize that requesting their med- one-size-fits all solution.” ■

Survey to
dig deeper
CHICAGO – HIMSS Analytics, the not-
for-profit subsidiary of the Healthcare
You don’t need one more partner.
Information and management System
Society (HIMSS), announced would
You need one partner that does more.
add new questions to their annual
study on meaningful use to gauge
hospitals’ readiness.
With hospitals expected to complete

You and Emdeon.

the first phase of deadlines for mean-
ingful use by 2011 to qualify for
bonuses under the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009,
HIMSS Analytics , which tracks
5,000 U.S. hospitals, will ask their
CIOs about the inclusion of structured
document standards to convert nar-
rative data to a structured format
importable to an electronic medical
record. ■

researcH
Continued from page 17
and develop clinical trials.
The researchers also employ high-
level image processing technology to
study cancer cells, reviewing hundreds
of MRIs (Magnetic Resonance
Imaging) against a model.
Informatics has accelerated the rate
at which researchers can do their work
and also the depth, Curran says, which more more more
leads to more targeted and more effec-
tive treatments.
“This points to the underlying
connectivity. capability. roi.
principal of personalized medicine,” 340,000 physicians complete revenue accelerate cash flow
he says. cycle management collect more revenue
5,000 hospitals
An initial $25 million contribu-
patient access reduce costs
tion by long-time board members 1,200 payers management
Ruth M. and Tristram C. Colket, Jr.
55,000 pharmacies improve efficiency
helped to launch construction of ePrescribing
the new 12-story research center
81,000 dentists minimal investment
called the Colket Translational claims & payment
Research Building. 600 software vendors management
The goal is for scientists across a
variety of disciplines, all dedicated denial management
to developing treatments for a spe-
patient billing & payment
cific pediatric disease, to work side-
by-side. Physical proximity will
foster close collaboration, thus pro-
viding more opportunities for new
ideas and expedited results.
“This facility provides a new,
custom-designed setting to advance
our already robust research to the
next level,” said Stephen B. Burke,
chairman of the Board of Trustees
of Children’s Hospital. “We are build-
ing more than glass and steel; we
are building 21st century healthcare
for children worldwide.” ■ 877.EMDEON.6 (877.363.3666)
www.emdeon.com
20 HIMSS Insider n July 2010 www.himss.org

A puBLICATIoN of THE HEALTHCARE INfoRMATIoN AND MANAgEMENT SySTEMS SoCIETy n VoLuME 6 n NuMBER 7

New HIMSS Board Members, Officers Begin Their Terms

H
eading up the HIMSS Board of
Directors, four officers and four board
members began their newly appoint-
ed posts earlier this month. C. Martin Harris,
MD, MBA, FHIMSS, assumed the one-year
term as chair of the board, replacing Barry P.
Chaiken, MD, MPH, FHIMSS, chief medical
officer, DocsNetwork Ltd. John H. Daniels,
CPHIMS, CHPS, FACHE, FHIMSS, started
his term as vice chair of the board, replacing
Liz Johnson, RN-C, MS, CPHIMS, FHIMSS,
vice president, applied clinical informatics,
Tenet Healthcare Corp.
Chair
Dr. Harris is the CIO and chairman of the IT
Division of Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.
Additionally, he is executive director of e-Cleve-
land Clinic, a series of e-health clinical programs
offered over the Internet. Dr. Harris’ interest
and expertise in the area of improving the prac-
tice of medicine through the inno-
vative application of IT, is reflect-
ed in his numerous appointments
to national technology.
Vice Chair
Mr. Daniels is senior vice president C. Martin Harris
and CIO for Evolvent Technologies.
He is a retired Air Force officer
with over 20 years of military ser-
vice. Mr. Daniels served as CIO
of the USAF Academy Hospital
in Colorado Springs, Colo., the
first and only Air Force hospital Charlene S.
underwood
named on the 25 Most Wired Small
and Rural list by Hospital & Health Networks
(2005 and 2006).
Chair Elect and Vice Chair Elect
In recent elections by the board, Charlene S.
Underwood, MBA, FHIMSS, was selected as
chair elect, and Holly Miller,
MD, MBA, FHIMSS, as vice-
chair elect. Ms. Underwood is
director of government and
industry affairs for Siemens
Medical Solutions. Dr. Miller
John H. Daniels is the chief medical officer of
MedAllies.
New Board Members
Beginning their three-year
terms this month, the Society’s
four new board members
Holly Miller
include: Steven Arnold, MD,
MS, MBA, CPE, FHIMSS,
chief medical officer, Virginia Commonwealth
University Health System; Scott T. MacLean,
MBA, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, CIO and corporate
director, Newton-Wellesley Hospital/Partners
HealthCare System; Judith A. Murphy, RN,
FACMI, FHIMSS, vice president, Aurora Health
Care; and Carol Steltenkamp, MD, MBA,
FAAP, FHIMSS, CMIO, University of Kentucky
HealthCare.
New Nominating Committee Members
The following individuals began their two-year
term on the Nominating Committee: Kim
Brant-Lucich, MBA, PMP, FHIMSS, director,
process redesign, St. Joseph Health System;
Susan Kay Newbold, PhD, RN, FHIMSS,
associate professor, Vanderbilt School of
Nursing; and Timothy E. Schoener, CPHIMS,
FHIMSS, administrative director, IT,
Susquehanna Health.
New Advisory Board Members
The two new Advisory Board Members are
Harry Greenspun, MD, executive vice president,
chief medical officer, Dell Inc (via acquisition
of Perot Systems); and Keith M. Kerman,
managing director, Primus. n

Health IT Stakeholders Celebrate National Health IT Week HIMSS State Legislator of the year Award Recipient Julie Hamos delivers the keynote address at
HIMSS’ policy Summit. Ms. Hamos was appointed Director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare

H ealth IT stakeholders from throughout the coun- held two cornerstone events during the week, the and family Services (HfS) in April. She served in the Illinois House of Representatives since 1999,
try gathered in Washington, DC June 14-18 for Government Health IT Conference & Exhibition and where in 2005, she sponsored legislation that created the Electronic Health Records Taskforce. This
year, Ms.Hamos successfully sponsored the Illinois Health Information Exchange and Technology Act.
the 5th Annual National Health IT Week (www.heal- the HIMSS Policy Summit.
This legislation will establish a public-private Health Information Exchange Authority to work, in con-
thitweek.org). Working to raise awareness on the At the Government Health IT Conference, 400
junction with the governor’s office of Health Information Technology, to enable providers throughout
benefits of health IT and help educate policymakers attendees heard first-hand perspectives on health Illinois to securely share patient health information—a step toward the adoption of statewide EHRs.
on health IT priority issues, partner organizations IT initiatives underway among federal agencies.
held numerous events throughout the city. HIMSS Keynote speakers included Farzad Mostashari, MD,
Recovery and Reinvestment t Act appropriately Capitol Hill were requests to “enable the study of an
ScM, deputy national coordinator for Programs &
Dr. garth graham, Deputy
balance meaningful use criteria/measures with informed patient identity solution” and to “work with
Policy with the Office of the National Coordinator
Assistant Secretary of HHS industry readiness without delaying the timeline for the Obama Administration to make permanent the
for Health Information Technology, and Doug
for Minority Health, speaks implementation.” Also included in the message to current Stark exemptions and anti-kickback safe
Fridsma, acting director, Office of Interoperability
at the Institute for e-Health harbors for EHRs.” Additional information on the
and Standards with ONC. HIMSS
policy’s Health Information HIMSS messages can be accessed on the HIMSS
During the 9th Annual HIMSS Policy Summit, policy Summit
Technology Showcase and website, www.himss.org/policysummit.
Demonstration on Capitol attendees joined together to discuss priority policy delegates from
North Caro-
Those who were not able to make it to
Hill during National Health issues among the community. When carrying their
lina prepare Washington this year can still make their voices
IT Week. Dr. graham was message to Capitol Hill, attendees commended
to carry their heard on Capitol Hill by taking part in HIMSS’ “Virtual
honored at the HIMSS poli- Congress’ commitment to transforming healthcare
cy Summit with the HIMSS message to Advocacy.” Visit HIMSS’ Legislative Action Center
through the use of IT, and recommended that “any
federal policy Leadership Capitol Hill. (www.himss.org/advocacy/action center.asp)
future regulatory or legislative action pertaining to
Award. today to send a letter to members of Congress. n
the EHR incentive programs under the American

use of RfID Technology HIMSS Analytics Europe Launched—Bringing New

Summary: Several recent news articles have highlighted the use of RFID tech- Data Resources to European Health IT Decision Making
nology for uses ranging from tracking patients and equipment to monitoring com-
pliance with medication regimens. Nearly one-third of respondents believe widespread use of RFID
applications will benefit healthcare organizations in the area of patient safety, which includes items such
as positive patient identification. A similar percentage indicated the ability to impact patient safety and/
H IMSS announced the formation of HIMSS
Analytics Europe (HAE), a German-based
company, to provide healthcare organizations,
understand IT operations and how they compare
to others, and resources for country-level policy
makers and supplier companies that provide
or reduce medical errors is the most critical influencer for the use of RFID applications in healthcare.
In terms of actual utilization, respondents were much more likely to report RFID technology is used for governments and IT companies extensive data insight into the health IT marketplace.
non-patient items, such as asset/biomedical equipment tracking or inventory management. resources and services about the adoption and Uwe Buddrus, former owner of Hospital
Area in Which Widespread Use of RFID Applications Would Benefit Healthcare Organizations the Most use of health IT in Europe. A full launch of IT.Net, will serve as managing director for the
Patient Safety 31.22% resources is planned for late September. Leipzig-based HIMSS Analytics Europe.
Asset/Equipment Tracking 23.98% HIMSS’ recent acquisition of assets from More information about HIMSS Analytics
Improvement in Patient Flow 13.57% Hospital IT.Net serves as the foundation of the Europe will be unveiled at the HIMSS Europe
Supply Chain Management 8.60%
new entity and will be the basis for a new port- Health IT Leadership Summit in Rome on Sept.
Inventory Management 5.43%
4.07% folio of products and services for the European 29 – Oct. 1. The event will attract European IT
Medical Records Chart Tracking
Lab Products/Specimen Tracking 3.62% healthcare market. HIMSS Analytics Europe will directors, managers and CEOs. To attend, visit
Other 2.71% offer a full array of services to healthcare organi- www.hitleadershipsummit.eu. For more informa-
Temperature Tracking 0.09% zations such as comparative IT adoption bench- tion about HIMSS, and upcoming webinars and
Surgical Trays 0.09% For more information, visit marking, a European-formulated EMR Adoption presentations on HIMSS Analytics and other
Don’t Know 4.98% www.himss.org/vantagepoint. Model (EMRAM) scale, resources to help better products, visit emea.himss.org. n
www.himss.org July 2010 n HIMSS Insider 21

HIMSS upcoming Events oNC Reveals final Rule on

WELCoME Temporary Certification
HIMSS Europe Health IT Leadership HIMSS Asia10 Health IT Leadership HIMSS Middle East10
program for EHR Technology
NEW CORPORATE Summit
Sept. 29 – Oct. 1
Summit and Congress
Oct. 26-29
Nov. 8-10
Dubai
The Office for the National Coordinator for Health
Information Technology (ONC) has announced the
Final Rule on the Temporary Certification Program

MEMBERS Rome
www.hitleadershipsummit.eu
Korea
www.himssasiapac.org
www.himssme.org/10 for Electronic Health Record (EHR) Technology.
HIMSS’ experts have developed several analysis
and resource documents on this and other regu-
lations related to meaningful use. Find them all at
www.himss.org/economicstimulus. n
PLATINUM
Compellent
www.compellent.com
Stratus Technologies
www.stratus.com

Don’t let technology

GOLD
Adroitent Inc.
www.adroitent.com
CenTrak Inc.
www.centrak.com

Eldorado, a division of
get in the way
MphasiS Healthcare
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of your practice.
Emulex Corp.
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Long Island patient

Ingenix CareTracker ™ EHR:
Information Exchange faster, easier, and more affordable.
(lipix)
www.lipix.org
Mcfarland and Associates
www.mcfarlandassociate.com
Qbase
www.qbase.us
QlikTech (QlikView)
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utech products Inc.

(Endosoft)
www.endosoft.com
WhiteCloud Analytics
www.whitecloudanalytics.com
Wisconsin physicians
Service Insurance Corp.
www.wpsic.com
To learn more about the benefits of
corporate membership, visit www.himss.org/
membership or contact HIMSS Senior Manager of
New Account Sales Rebecca Washler at
bwashler@himss.org or 319-393-3117.

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www.HealthcareITNews.com July 2010
NEWSBRIEFS
Study REvEalS ERx hElpS
hEad
pREvENt aSthma attackS
Text
A new study finds patients are more likely
to routinely take medications for asthma
control when physicians keep close watch
over their adherence by reviewing detailed
electronic prescription information. The study
was conducted by researchers at Henry Ford
Hospital in Detroit, who studied the use of
inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) for asthma
control. Researchers found that when doctors
used e-prescribing to access detailed infor-
mation such as how often patients fill their
prescriptions and the estimated number of
days each prescription would last, medication
adherence was significantly higher.
mINNESota hIE to oFFER
E-pREScRIBINg vIa poRtal
The Minnesota Health Information Exchange
(MN HIE) plans to offer healthcare providers
access to e-prescribing through its portal.
MN HIE officials say it will be using Rcopia,
an e-prescribing application from DrFirst, to
link its providers to patients’ clinical informa-
tion so they can create an electronic prescrip-
tion. The application will help them meet
state regulatory requirements for electronic
prescribing effective Jan. 1, 2011, said
officials.
Ny ExtENSIoN cENtER to Roll
out EmR
Non-profit NYC Regional Electronic Adoption
Center for Health (NYC REACH), the feder-
ally designated Regional Extension Center
(REC) for New York City, will be offering an
electronic medical record and practice man-
agement system to its providers in New York
City. NYC REACH officials said it would use
a $21.7 million grant awarded by the fed-
eral department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) to help roll out an EHR/PM
system from Westborough, Mass.-based
eClinicalWorks to providers within New York
City’s five boroughs.
WESt vIRgINIa lauNchES It
cENtER to hElp pRovIdERS
West Virginia has established a Regional
Health Information Technology Extension
Center (WVRHITEC) designed to help pri-
mary care providers across the state imple-
ment electronic health records systems.
Starting this summer, the WVRHITEC will
begin working with regional and community-
based organizations to provide information,
guidance and technical assistance to eligible
participants, who will include doctors, nurse
practitioners and physician assistants in
primary care settings. This includes provid-
ers in rural and medically underserved areas;
community health centers and certain pub-
lic, not-for-profit or critical access hospitals.
Women to drive e-visits
By Molly MerrIll, Associate Editor
ROCHESTER, MN - Recent surveys
show patients want to be able to
e-mail their doctors, but this type
of communication is largely "still
in the waiting room," even when
the technology to make it happen
exists.
This is according to Scott Gode,
vice president of product manage-
ment and marketing for Seattle
based Azaleos, which specializes
in unified communications. Gode
says technology for patient com-
munication is being used in "a
minor way or not at all." He says
the blame lies mostly with poor
usability and implementation.
“There is a ten-
dency to over-pilot
technology adop-
tion to the point
where there is a
requirement to see
better results with
Scott Gode the new system
than with the old one,” says Gode.
But he says this shouldn’t be
the case. “As soon as you see that
a new system provide the same
quality as face-to-face care, make
the switch.”
John Bachman, MD, a consul-
tant in family medicine at
Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo
Davies
finalists
named
CHICAGO – Four healthcare orga-
nizations have been named as
finalist for the 2010 HIMSS Davies
Ambulatory Care Awards of
Excellence, recognizing their use
of electronic health records.
Winners will be determined
after site visits and final commit-
tee votes in mid-September.
amBulatoRy caRE
aWaRd FINalIStS
➔ Family Practice Associates,
Wilmington, Del.
➔Grove Medical Associates,
Worcester, Mass.
➔The Diabetes Center, Ocean
Springs, Miss.
➔ Miramont Family Medicine, Fort
Collins, Colo.
Women begin managing their children’s care even before they are born, which is why
nurse-midwife Amy Romano believes they’re ideal candidates for the e-movement.
Photo courtesy of Kristen Oganowski.
Clinic, says there is “no question”
that e-visits can provide the same
quality of care. He believes that
for areas like chronic disease man-
agement, e-visits could even help
providers to follow patients more
closely online.
Bachman was part of a pilot
study of online visits conducted
in Mayo Clinic’s Department of
Family Medicine from Nov. 2007
through Oct. 2009. The study was
part of a larger effort to develop
an online portal to be used
throughout all departments.
woMen see page 24
Cashflow for doctors
By Molly MerrIll, Associate Editor
SEATTLE – “You can’t find a pro-
vider that doesn’t want more
patients paying in cash,” says the
president of a new Web site that
aims not only to link cash-paying
patients to providers, but also to
offer patients greater transpar-
ency for making a decision about
where to seek medical care.
PriceDoc provides comparative
pricing information for various
medical, dental, vision, chiroprac-
tic, cosmetic, medispa and allied
health and elective procedures.
Procedures which are mainly “low
risk and non diagnostic,” says the
company’s president, Pat Bradley.
The site also gives patients infor-
mation about providers’ education,
training, credentials, services and
amenities, as well as photos and
videos of procedures, he said.
Women’s role in
e-visits
71%
Women made up the majority of
patients using e-visits in a pilot study
conducted at Mayo Clinic.
MAYo FouNDATIoN FoR MEDICAl EDuCATIoN AND
RESEARCH
Ami Laws, MD, is a primary care physician
that practices concierge medicine.
Bradley says the site is not unlike
dating sites or other Web sites where
consumers pay a monthly fee to
have their profile displayedHe says
in some cases providers post their
procedure prices, but then allow
■ Healthcare IT News 23
Patients
vague on IT
By Molly MerrIll, Associate Editor
NORWALK, CT - Less than one
in 10 American adults use
electronic medical records or
e-mail their doctor, according
to a new Harris Interactive/
HealthDay poll.
Nearly half of respondents
of the poll, which was con-
ducted among 2,035 U.S.
adults online from June 8-10,
weren't even sure if their
physician offered these tech-
nologies.
The majority of those polled
said they would like their doc-
tors to access their medical
records online, but only about
a third (30 percent) believe
their insurer should have the
same access.
Overall, "the general public
only has a vague idea, only a
very limited understanding,
of what all this is about," rea-
soned Humphrey Taylor, chair-
man of the Harris Poll, a ser-
vice of Harris Interactive.
The poll results show that
despite the Obama adminis-
tration's campaign to expand
the use of health information
vague see page 24
➔ thE NEWS: New Web site links
cash-paying patients with providers.
➔ What It mEaNS: Hopefully
increased exposure for the concierge
model of care, which aims at providing
patients a higher level of care.
patients to make an offer.
“Through PriceDoc, we offer a
discount of 20 to 30 percent off our
usual fees,” says Robert M. Stark,
MD, medical director of
Cardiovascular Prevention Program
at Greenwich Hospital/Yale-New
Haven Health, who signed up to
use the service seven months ago.
“Pricing transparency is most
important for patients who are self-
pay or who want to have some
control over their healthcare
expenditure,” said Stark.
cashflow see page 25
24 Healthcare IT News ■ July 2010 phySIcIaN pRactIcES & amBulatoRy caRE www.HealthcareITNews.com
E-visits prove equivalent
BOSTON - A recent study finds that
online visits with dermatologists
achieved equivalent clinical outcomes
for acne patients. The study con-
cluded they could be used as a model
for chronic conditions.
"This data shows that digital
images and patient survey respons-
es provide sufficient information for
dermatologists to make appropriate
treatment decisions; e-visits achieved
comparable clinical results, were
25 YEARS OF
SYSTEMIC SUCCESS
HEALTHCARE IS CHANGING.
Evidenced-Based Medicine • HITECH • Meaningful Use
Pay for Performance • PQRI
TECHNOLOGY IS ADVANCING.
time-saving for patients and well-
received by patients and physicians,”
said Alice Watson, MD, the study’s
lead author and corporate man-
ager Center for Connected Health,
which conducted the study.
The e-visits platform has proven
to be a true visit replacement rather
than just an addition to conven-
tional care,” said Joseph C. Kvedar,
MD, director, Center for Connected
Health and a dermatologist.
Cloud Computing • Data Warehouse
EHR/RIS/LIS • HIE/NHIN
WWW.CATTAILSSOFTWARE.COM
woMen
Continued from page 23
This portal is in the final stages thinks they are uniquely positioned
before roll out to 350 com-
munity-based physicians and
then to specialists.
In the pilot it was found
that women made up 71
percent of the patients using
e-visits.
“The people that will drive John Bachman,
[e-visits] are the people MD
managing healthcare and that’s nonprofit organization for pregnant
women,” says Bachman.
TEAM UP WITH A
PARTNER THAT
UNDERSTANDS
BOTH!
1-866-456-0366
Women begin managing their
children’s care even before they are
born, which is why Amy Romano
to take part in the e-patient
movement.
“Women’s access to infor-
mation is changing. We need
to reach out to women where
they are,” said Romano, a
nurse-midwife that does
online advocacy work for
Lamaze International, a
women.
4.2 million women
will give birth this
year.
With 4.2 million women expect-
ed to give birth in the next year, she
believes that access to online health-
care for this demographic could
“ do a lot to improve healthcare for
an important part of the population
times two.”
“It’s a major resource for fixing
what is wrong with healthcare,” she
said. ■
vague
Continued from page 23
technology, public attitudes
toward electronic medical records
haven't budged much over the
past few years.
In 2009, 78 percent of adults
indicated that they "strongly" or
"somewhat" agree that doctors
should have access to their elec-
tronic medical records. In 2007,
80 percent were in agreement on
physicians' access to those records.
The polls showed only nine
percent of patients can commu-
nicate with their doctors by e-mail,
up from four percent in 2006.
Eight percent can schedule a visit
online, up from three percent,
and eight percent can get diag-
nostic test results by e-mail, up
from two percent
in 2006.
A little more
than a quarter (28
percent) of those
polled thought
their doctor used
EMRs, but 42 Humphrey Taylor
percent said they didn't know if
their primary care physician had
the technology.
A similar online survey con-
ducted for Norwalk, Conn.-based
Xerox Corporation by Harris
Interactive showed that only 16
percent of U.S. adults who have
a healthcare provider/institution
have been approached by their
healthcare provider/institution
to discuss EMR conversion.
"There is much for the patient
to gain when records go digital,
it's just a matter of communicat-
ing and demonstrating the ben-
efits – like improved patient
safety," said Mara Bryant, associ-
ate vice president, organizational
excellence and health information
management, White Memorial
Medical Center, a not-for-profit,
teaching hospital in Los Angeles.
According to experts, patients
also remain skeptical about the
inappropriate use of health infor-
mation stored electronically.
"Ideally, the government only
allows 'covered entities' access to
your entire health history, called
your 'personal health information,'"
said Erin Stevenson, a digital
health-care consultant at Redwood
Medical Consulting in Bayside,
Calif. But the law is vague and full
of loopholes, he explained.
www.HealthcareITNews.com phySIcIaN pRactIcES & amBulatoRy caRE July 2010 ■ Healthcare IT News 25

cashflow
Attracting cash- Medical Care in College Park, Ga., healthcare delivery system has
UVA on track paying patients is Anchor Medical Clinic in Mukilteo, derailed," she said.

for IT switch
CHARLOTTESvILLE, vA - The
University of Virginia Health
System is preparing for its new
EMR launch starting in
September. It will begin rolling
out technology from Verona,
Wis.-based Epic on Sept. 28,
when all ambulatory care clinics
will switch to the new system,
and the entire Medical Center
will use it for communicating
and retrieving results. On Dec.
1, adult oncology will make the
switch, with all in-patient units
and the ER implementing on
March 5, 2011.
Continued from page 23
As for future developments, Bradley
says, “We are leaning towards a full
loop, where you could book your
appointments though our site.”
They are also thinking of offering
providers a pay-per-lead model where
they would only be required to make
a payment if a patient was delivered
through their service. “The main ben-
efit for providers is increased exposure
and the opportunity to attract new
cash-paying patients,” says Bradley.
something that con-
cierge practices
know a little about.
Although they may
differ by name (often
referred to as direct Patrick Bradley
healthcare or retainer-based medi-
cine among others) or by pricing
structure, the aim is the same –pro-
viding higher quality care.
PriceDoc.com provides listings
for six concierge practices: Care
Practice in San Francisco; Essential
Wash; Qliance - Primary Care
Specialists in Seattle; Dr. Mac in
San Antonio; and Guardian Family
Care in Mill Creek, Wash.
"Operating a direct healthcare
practice allows my office to offer
primary care at an affordable price,"
says Heidi S. Rendall, MD, of Anchor
Medical Clinic, who signed up to be
listed on PriceDoc last year. "But it
B:8.75”
also gives me and my staff the time
T:7.75”
and flexibility to provide the patient-
focused
S:6.75” healthcare that today's
“I can absolutely say this is a better
model of medicine,” says Ami Laws,
MD, a Palo Alto primary care physician
who has approximately 200 patients.
She says her patients receive a better
level of care and comfort than they
would receive at a regular practice.
Although Laws says her fee-for-
service is higher than that of a typi-
cal clinic she says, “My patients almost
never have to go into an emergency
room,” which she says saves on over-
all healthcare dollars. ■

PIloT
Continued from page 1
something wasn’t working, we
changed it, with the end goal of devel-
oping a viable model of care with the
tools and resources to support it.”
Trinity Clinic-Whitehouse in Texas,
a participant in the demonstration,
is about where its medical director
thought it would be two years after
the pilot. “I am sure most participants
in the project took a break. We did,”
said Melissa Gerdes, MD. “Healthcare
reform put everyone on pins and
needles.” At that time the economy
was also “tanking” and it was hard
for practices to put out money for
this, she said.
But now the clinic is back on track
and in the process of applying to the
National Committee for Quality
Assurance (NCQA) for Level 1 rec-

We also manage pain. Yours.

ognition for PCHM in the primary
care division, which has a deadline
of May 2011.
Gerdes says one of the reasons for
applying for medical home recogni-
tion is that it will afford the clinic
the opportunity to participate in could be riddled with a serious disease. If it is, we have the cure: an improved
other pilots. At the time Healthcare infrastructure. For over 20 years CDW Healthcare has been helping to increase the
IT News spoke to Gerdes the clinic
quality of life for healthcare organizations by supplying the right hardware, software
was meeting with officials from the
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www.HealthcareITNews.com July 2010
NEWSBRIEFS
PORTICO PARTNERS TO SPEED
HEALTH PLAN EXPANSION
Portico Systems, a maker of Integrated Provider
Management (IPM) solutions, and Glenridge
HealthCare Solutions, a professional services
and data management firm specializing in
provider network development, managed care
contracting and health plan operations, are
announcing a new partnership that will inte-
grate Portico’s Provider Management Platform
with Glenridge’s provider network development
and provider contract services. The integration
enables health plans to reduce their admin-
istration costs, while accelerating their growth
into new geographic markets and/or rapidly
creating new provider networks.
MICROSOFT DEvELOPS NEW CRM
PLATFORM FOR PAyERS
Microsoft announced the Health Plan Sales
Solution for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, a stra-
tegic customer relationship management (CRM)
platform that will allow health plans to more
easily move their marketing and sales pro-
cesses online to better manage sales, member
service and retention. As a result, health plans
will be able to better compete in the indi-
vidual and small-group market, reduce mul-
tiple points of failure in their current sales,
service and retention processes, and interop-
erate with state insurance exchanges.
INTELIMEDIX PARTNERS WITH
TC3 FOR COST-MANAgEMENT
Intelimedix, a Lakeland, Fla.-based business
intelligence company focused on multi-rela-
tional data mining and advanced analytics,
announced a strategic partnership with inte-
grated loss control service provider TC3 Health,
of Irvine, Calif. The partnership will combine
the company’s core capabilities to offer pub-
lic and private health plans a comprehensive
medical cost-management solution that
includes identification of preventable condi-
tions and unnecessary treatment, clinical code
editing, and fraud, waste and abuse detection.
SCAN UNvEILS NEW WEB-BASED
EDUCATIONAL INITIATIvE
SCAN Health Plan, a Medicare Advantage
plan serving more than 110,000 members in
California and Arizona, announced the launch
of a new online initiative dedicated to improv-
ing education and patient care in the field of
geriatrics. Through Web-based training and
access to expert instructors, the new site
(scancme.com) offers learning modules focused
on educating physicians and other healthcare
professionals in the management of chronic
disease and geriatric conditions. SCAN’s
Continuing Medical Education/Performance
Improvement Education (CME/PIE) Program
will focus on the introduction of new skills,
practices and technologies, and the dissemi-
nation of new research findings.
Anthem joins ACO demo
By MIke MIlIard, Managing Editor
IRVINE, CA – Anthem Blue Cross,
alongside two physician-gov-
erned medical groups in
California, has been selected to
participate in an accountable
care organization (ACO) pilot
project, led by the Engelberg
Center for Health Care Reform
at Brookings and The Dartmouth
Institute for Health Policy and
Clinical Practice.
Accountable care is a new
healthcare model that rewards
providers for improving patient
outcomes and slowing cost growth.
Anthem Blue Cross will collaborate
in the pilot with Monarch
HealthCare, of Irvine, Calif., and
HealthCare Partners, of Torrance,
Calif., both independent physician
associations. The demonstration
project is already under way in
three other communities across
the country. The goal is to produce
a successful model of care that
MEDecision, NaviNet help
with clinical summaries
By MIke MIlIard, Managing Editor
WAYNE, PA – MEDecision has
partnered with NaviNet to assist
payers in delivering patient
clinical summaries to providers
enrolled in the NaviNet Network.
MEDecision, which develops
patient-centric health manage-
ment solutions, will work with
NaviNet to enable health plans
distribute MEDecision Patient
Clinical Summaries – clinically
validated, payer-based health
records – and advanced referral
and authorization technology
to any provider enrolled in the
nationwide NaviNet Network.
“MEDecision has long advo-
cated collaboration and interop-
erability as a means of improv-
ing healthcare, and our alliance
with NaviNet demonstrates our
commitment to that belief,” said
Scott A. Storrer, president and
CEO at MEDecision. “Together,
we will deliver a powerful solu-
tion that facilitates the growing
need among payers and provid-
ers to enable the best clinical
decisions.”
MEDecision’s data will be
Anthem Blue Cross will join two providers in California to form an Accountable Care
Organization, a new model model for care.
will be replicable nationwide.
Anthem Blue Cross expects that
its PPO members in Los Angeles
and Orange counties whose phy-
sicians participate in the
delivered via
NaviNet’s multi-
payer Web por-
tal directly into
the provider
office workflow,
giving doctors
easy access to Brad Waugh
more robust, actionable patient
information at the time of service,
Storrer said. This can help payers
and providers increase adminis-
trative and operational efficien-
cies, control costs and improve
care coordination and quality.
“NaviNet is committed to
streamlining health information
exchange among stakeholders,”
said Brad Waugh, president and
CEO of NaviNet. “Combining
NaviNet’s Web-based healthcare
communications solutions and
our vast network of electroni-
cally enabled providers with
MEDecision Patient Clinical
Summaries results in a best-of-
breed solution that offers a true
differentiator to health plans
seeking innovative ways to
improve care coordination and
manage costs.” ■
HealthCare Partners and Monarch
ACOs will benefit from the care
coordination, chronic disease
management, and improved infor-
mation for decision-making inher-
The big switch
On Oct. 2, 2013 will you be ICD-10 native or dual processing with ICD-9?
Dual Processing
ICD-10 Native 14%
At Aetna.com,
ask ‘Ann’ anything
By MIke MIlIard, Managing Editor
HARTFORD, CT – Anyone who’s
languished on hold or suffered
through a maze of touchtone mes-
sage options while try-
ing to get a simple
question answered will
appreciate Aetna’ new
invention. Her name
is Ann.
The health plan
recently unveiled an online assis-
tant to help members who have
questions about how to navigate
Aetna’s secure member Web site.
She’s pretty, with curly hair and
a mellifluous voice. And she’s made
entirely of ones and zeroes. Ann,
Aetna’s personalized, virtual assis-
tant, offers 24-hour support for
members who are new to the Web
site or need help logging in.
■ Healthcare IT News 27
ent in the new model.
"Accountable Care Organi-
zations will be built around the
collaboration between payers and
healthcare provid-
ers to better man-
age the total care
of a defined pop-
ulation," said
Peggy Hinz, pub-
lic relations direc-
tor with Anthem Leslie Margolin
Blue Cross.
"Anthem views this collabora-
tion as an opportunity to provide
additional electronic data direct-
ly to Monarch and Healthcare
Partners to coordinate care along
the continuum. This will include
information on eligibility, phar-
macy, and medical management.
At the same time, future elec-
tronic data transfer will allow
additional non-claims data to
flow to Anthem to help measure
aCO see page 29
86%
Source: ICD10watch.com
Members get the same informa-
tion from Ann they’d receive when
calling customer service – but they
don’t have to leave the Aetna site.
Ann is interactive and
easily interprets ques-
tions, helping them
with the registration
process or with recov-
ering forgotten user
names or passwords.
“In the past, members who
encountered an issue with the log-
in and registration process had
to pick up the phone or send an
e-mail to get help,” says Stephen
Schneider, Aetna’s head of member
enrollment and communication
solutions.
“But now with Ann, we can pro-
vide real-time assistance when and
aNN see page 29
28 Healthcare IT News ■ July 2010 PAyERS www.HealthcareITNews.com

At AHIP, American Well showcases successes

By erIC WICkluNd, Contributing Editor
LAS VEGAS – Fresh off a visit to the
White House and a shout-out at this
year’s American Telemedicine
Association conference, American
Well President and CEO Roy
Schoenberg is eager to keep the
momentum going for his Online
Care product.
Schoenberg was in Las Vegas last
month at America’s Health Insurance
Plans Institute 2010 to tout the com-
pany’s latest two successes: a new
contract with Indianapolis-based
WellPoint, Inc., the nation’s largest
health benefits company by medical
membership, and an announcement
that BlueCross BlueShield of Western
New York and BlueShield of
Northeastern New York have gone
live with the Online Care platform.
“What we’ve done here is intro-
duced a whole new dimension to
healthcare,” Schoenberg said. “We
are the magic glue in the middle,”
allowing healthcare providers and
patients to work out care delivery
“on their own terms.”
The Boston-based firm’s product
essentially creates an online portal
through which patients can contact
physicians immediately, from their
homes, by video, phone or secure
chat. The company contracts with
health plans to set up the portal,
which creates a network of creden-
tialed physicians
from the plans’
established provider
networks who can
review clinical infor-
mation, chat with
the patient, pre- Roy Schoenberg
scribe medication
and suggest follow-up care.
WellPoint plans to roll out the
Online Care provider platform to
select markets in its 34-million-
member network by the fourth quar-
ter of this year.
“WellPoint is committed to help-
ing improve the access of all
Americans to quality, affordable
healthcare,” said Dijuana Lewis,
executive vice president and chief
executive officer of WellPoint’s
Comprehensive Health Solutions
business. “We recognize the need
for healthcare to become more acces-
sible and convenient than ever before,
especially for individuals living in
rural areas. We are pleased to work
with American Well in the develop-

INTRODUCING ment of this new option.”

“Providing more people with
access to insurance – a primary goal
of healthcare reform – was just the
beginning,” added Alphonso O’Neill-
White, president and CEO of
BCBSWNY/BSNENY, at AHIP.
“Through Online Care NY, our plans
are addressing the very real need to

NewsWeek
transform how, when and where
they receive care. Without it, physi-
cians will become even more over-
whelmed while patients ignore
Brought to you by the publisher of Healthcare Finance News and Healthcare IT News healthcare needs or continue to inap-
propriately use urgent care. Now,
both physicians and patients alike

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plan executives and other professionals, covering the areas “We’ve introduced a
whole new dimension
of IT, finance and policy surrounding the current landscape of to healthcare.
We are the magic
regulated reimbursements. glue in the middle
allowing providers
and patients to work
out care delivery on
their own terms.”
– Roy Schoenberg

While contracting with health

plans – American Well has had suc-
cessful launches in Hawaii and
Minnesota, among other locations,
as well as the St. Louis-based
Ascension Health network – remains
the core of the company’s business,
Schoenberg said he’s excited to see
American Well head in two new
VISIT directions.
The company has developed a
www.healthcarepayernewsweek.com platform for physicians’ offices, called

TO SUBSCRIBE TODAY Online Care Team Addition, that

allows physicians to link with spe-

FOR FREE cialists and patients; and it is also

offering Online Care to its first large
employer, Delta Air Lines, through
a partnership with Golden Valley,
Minn.-basedOptumHealth.
In addition, American Well signed
an agreement in April with Rite Aid,
paving the way for Online Care por-
tals in select Rite Aid pharmacies
around the country. The arrangement,
the first between American Well and
a drugstore chain, brings pharmacists
into the Online Care loop.
“Frankly, there are more pharma-
cies close to where people live than
there are emergency rooms,”
71 Pineland Drive, Suite 203 • New Gloucester, ME 04260 Schoenberg pointed out. ■
PHONE 207.688.6270 • FAX 207.688.6273 • www.medtechmedia.com
www.HealthcareITNews.com PAyERS July 2010 ■ Healthcare IT News 29

The ACO model

aNN aCO
delivery model by collaborating with Anthem Blue Cross, called the par-
employers, members, hospitals and introduces incentives for ticipation in the ACO an example
Continued from page 27 Continued from page 27 physicians to provide our members "of our commitment to work togeth-
payers and physicians
where the member needs it.” the quality of care." with the right care, at the right time, er along with hospitals and medical
“Ann is an extension of the indus- Without advances and at the right cost," said Mike to collaborate and groups to drive quality, cost and
try-leading service we provide to in health IT, "such Ramseier, vice president, provider meet or exceed quality safety improvements across
Aetna members,” said Frank Cobbin, data exchange would engagement and contracting with benchmarks. [California's] system of care."
Aetna senior vice president of service not have been pos- Anthem Blue Cross. Added Jay Cohen, MD, president
operations. “Many people turn to sible in the past," Since the ACO model encourages efficiency, leading to "a provider-led and chairman of the board at
the Web for service. There are about said Hinz – adding, payers and providers to work more organization willing to be account- Monarch HealthCare: "This is
Elliott Fisher, MD
2,500 chat sessions between our "future opportuni- closely, and introduces incentives able for the full continuum of care a very exciting development for
members and Ann every day. This ties are significant." for physicians to collaborate and to for its patients," said Elliott Fisher, anyone who supports innovative
is evidence that Ann is engaging and "Anthem Blue Cross is excited to meet or exceed quality benchmarks, MD, co-leader of the Brookings- ideas designed to improve health-
makes it easy for our members to be leading the way in California and it holds great promise for enhancing Dartmouth project. care delivery in the communities
get help while they’re online without nationally to transform the current patient outcomes and increasing Leslie A. Margolin, president of we serve." ■
taking an extra step to call us.”
When mem-
bers visit the
Aetna Navigator
site, they can
click on Ann to
open a chat win-
dow and enter
a question. Ann
is programmed
to understand
the intent of the
question by recognizing the natural
Bring the missing 25% of patient
information into your EMR
language members use to ask it. She
then provides an immediate written
and spoken response in a friendly
voice to create a personal and inter-
active experience.
Moreover, says Schneider, “Ann
is always learning. As we review
the quality of the interactions mem-
bers have with Ann, we can con- Most EMRs concentrate on capturing patient data – name, age, basic medical
tinually expand her vocabulary histories. It’s certainly a key part of the patient record, but what about
recognition and responses.” everything else? Physicians also need content that most EMRs miss – paper
Developed by Spokane, Wash.- charts and notes, faxes, images, photos, forms.
based Next IT, the technology behind
Ann emulates the look and voice of That’s where OnBase document management comes in. It converts paper
a human. The technology “transforms
documents to electronic files and integrates clinical content into the EMR.
self-service information access from
frustrating and one-sided to satisfy-
Physicians simply click a link in the patient record, and the rest of the patient’s
ing and dynamic by intelligently information is right there.
accommodating individual commu-
nication styles and preferences, engag- It’s time for physicians to have a full patient story from beginning to end and
ing users through natural language improve patient safety. It’s time for IT to do it with simple, proven integration
dialog and precise knowledge to suc- practices in a system that’s low maintenance.
cessfully find answers and resolve
issues across every touch point.” Learn more at Hyland.com
Data has shown she’s having an
immediate impact. More than half
of people registering on the site for
the first time engage with Ann, and time to make a difference.
calls to Aetna’s customer service
technical help desk have been declin-
ing since Ann was introduced.
Between May and June, those calls
decreased 29 percent.
“We have received very positive
feedback from members,” says
Schneider. “We have a feedback
mechanism built directly into Ann
and review that feedback regularly.
It has been an extremely positive
experience both for members
and Aetna.”
“We are committed to delivering
information and resources that help
our members get the information
they need to make the right health-
care decisions, and maximize their
benefits,” said Cobbin.
“Ann is another way we are
investing in technology to improve
the experience our members have
with us on the Web. We will con-
tinue to expand her functionality
and capabilities to help members,”
©2010 Hyland Software, Inc. All rights reserved.
he added. ■
new name.
same quality.
more opportunities.
MedTech Publishing is now MedTech Media.

www.medtechmedia.com

W
hat’s in a name? In this case, a whole new world. Reflecting its broader experience and
capabilities in interactive technologies, MedTech Publishing Company, LLC is now MedTech
Media. As always, we’re laser focused on healthcare and technology, but we’ve expanded
our core brands, Healthcare IT News & Healthcare Finance News, to include highly customized
multimedia content and extensive lead generation programs. It’s working – in a time when others are
retrenching. MedTech Media has grown by 50 percent in the last two years.

So while our name has changed, our fiercely loyal audience can continue to depend on our news
products and opportunities to engage with the pressing issues of the day. And our valued clients can
expect even greater opportunities to reach our ever-growing markets.

For more information on MedTech Media, contact Danielle Hartley, VP, Associate Publisher,
at danielle.hartley@medtechmedia.com.
www.HealthcareITNews.com July 2010
NEWSBRIEFS
PFIzER makES mEdIcal INFo
avaIlaBIlE vIa IPhoNE
Pfizer and Epocrates announced a collabora-
tion to give healthcare providers mobile access
to the Pfizer Medical Information Group to
obtain scientific answers to their product
questions or to report an adverse event.
Clinicians can make direct contact through
the Epocrates drug reference app on their
iPhone to pharmaceutical manufacturers and
immediately apply findings to patient care.
Pfizer enables this direct access to its medical
information services via the Epocrates channel
in an effort to enhance the safe and effective
use of its medicines and help improve the
quality of patient care.
SRS ENcoURaGES docS To
REPlacE lEGacY SYSTEmS
SRS, a Montvale, N.J.-based maker of hybrid
EMRs, announced the launch of its EMR
Replacement Program for medical practices
seeking to de-install legacy EMRs. Created in
response to increasing market demand for
usable and effective EMRs that boost physician
productivity, the program helps practices tran-
sition smoothly from an unsuccessful EMR
implementation to the SRS hybrid EMR, com-
pany executives say. To ease the financial
burden on these practices, which have already
made significant investments in one or more
EMRs, the EMR Replacement Program offers
a unique transfer pricing structure.
EmIX addS daTa ShaRING
To cloUd TEchNoloGY
eMix, a new venture from San Diego-based
DR Systems, announced that its cloud-based
technology for sharing imaging studies and
reports has added a new capability: importing
and sharing data from CDs, DVDs and other
external media. Although eMix replaces the
need to share radiology data via hard copy
media such as CDs and DVDs, many facilities
still receive a significant number of radiology
files in CD form. The innovation allows them
to import CD files into eMix, and to use eMix
as a convenient place to hold the exams before
deciding what they want to do with them.
mERGE makES NEW PRodUcTS
FoR clINIcal ImaGING
Merge Healthcare announced the launch of a
complete workflow solution for imaging in
clinical trials. The new CIMS solution is the
first open platform in the industry that allows
organizations to transparently execute the
imaging portion of clinical trials within the
overall electronic trial management solution.
CIMS is the first commercially available Title
21 CFR Part 11-compliant network for man-
aging all aspects of imaging in clinical trials.
The CIMS platform automates the full workflow
of image submission, image storage in a
vendor-neutral DICOM archive, and image
analysis and viewers.
TV screens not just for fun and games
Hospital executives are looking to entertainment systems that engage patients in their
care as well as keep them entertained.
HIEs poised for Paper and pencils
growth, change make good EHRs
By MIke MIlIard, Managing Editor
Boston – A recent in-depth assess-
ment of health information
exchange (HIE) vendors from IDC
Health Insights is predicting “sig-
nificant growth over the next 12
months or so,” according to Lynne
Dunbrack, program director at
IDC Health Insights.
The HIE market “is relatively
immature,” said Dunbrack, during
a presentation about the report’s
finding. Of the 14 examined in
the assessment, “only four vendors
have 50 or more customers.”
Dunbrack added that today,
“the HIE market is made up pri-
marily of small privately held
vendors,” with just a few excep-
tions, such as Microsoft, Oracle,
and RelayHealth, which is a divi-
sion of McKesson.
But, she said, “we can expect
HIS Boom
Projected compound annual growth rate, next seven years
EMR
CPOE
Practice
Management
By MIke MIlIard, Managing Editor
LonDon – EMRs and CPOE are
all well and good. But what about
one of the lesser discussed areas
of healthcare IT? What about on-
demand movies and touch-screen
computers and whizz-bang video
games? When patients are laid
up in hospital beds, don’t they
deserve to have a little fun while
these new advancements in infor-
mation technology are helping to
keep them healthy?
As it turns out, those two func-
tionalities aren’t as divergent as
they may appear.
“Hospital stays can be a lonely
and daunting time for patients of
all ages, so it’s important to ensure
that patients feel connected to the
outside world,” says Ben Packman,
commercial and media director for
Hospedia, the UK’s largest patient
bedside entertainment provider.
dramatic changes By MIke MIlIard, Managing Editor
in the next 12 to CHICAGo – When the Agency for
18 months as HIE Healthcare Research and Quality
technologies (AHRQ) released its report
become a com- “Electronic Health Record
modity and dom- Usability: Vendor Practices and
inant players Perspectives” this past spring, its
acquire their way Lynne Dunbrack first words of warning were that
into a crowded market.” design and ease of use were major
Many HIE vendors “have large sticking points.
healthcare customer bases that Although the vendors surveyed
lend them expertise in providing “described an array of usability
cross-selling opportunities, so we engineering processes and the use
expect that they’ll be adding cus- of end users throughout the prod-
tomers over the next year, par- uct life cycle,” it read, “practices
ticularly in light of meaningful such as formal usability testing,
use,” said Dunbrack. the use of user-centered design
Indeed, as David Blumenthal processes, and specific resource
wrote in a recent open letter on personnel with expertise in usabil-
HHS.gov, “the federal government ity engineering are not common.”
is working to enable a wide range Rigorous, thoughtful, and pro-
of innovative and complementary active design, the report made
exchange see page 33 clear, was essential for making
EMRs that are easier to use – thus
leading to more widespread accep-
tance and better patient outcomes.
Central to that goal was encour-
15.3% aging “formal usability testing early
in the design and development
12.1%
phase as a best practice, and [dis-
couraging] dependence on post-
10.8%
Source: GlobalData
■ Healthcare IT News 31
And so Hospedia develops tech-
nology that offers phone call pack-
ages, radio, TV
and wi-fi. It’s
recently unveiled
a new, fully digital
15-inch touch-
screen that offers
better viewing
quality and “paves Richard Cooke
the way for on demand and inter-
active services such as films and
games,” says Packman.
But Hospedia’s bedside systems
also “have the capability to deliv-
er over £14 million in savings for
the NHS in England every year,”
he says, as they’re also used for
tasks such as real-time patient
surveys and bed management.
“As well as remaining a source of
entertainment and communication
for patients, the systems could be
enTerTaIn see page 32
deployment review
supporting usabil-
ity assessments,”
the report read.
“By not identifying
critical usability
issues through a
Jeffery Belden, MD
wide range of user
testing during design and devel-
opment, vendors are opening
the door to potential patient
safety incidents and costly post-
release fixes.”
At a session at June’s HIMSS
Virtual Conference and Expo,
Jeffery Belden, MD, a physician
with the department of family
and community medicine at the
University of Missouri, and Janey
Barnes, the human factors spe-
cialist at User-View Inc., pre-
sented a detailed and user-
focused design process for ven-
dors developing EMRs.
“Don’t forget the buyer’s side
of usability,” were Belden’s march-
ing orders, as he led attendees
through the stages of efficacious
EMR design and development,
from initial note-taking and
information gathering, through
PaPer see page 33
32 Healthcare IT News ■ July 2010 vENdoRS www.HealthcareITNews.com

enTerTaIn
cations solution. It’s mostly in Europe on the machine allows patients to Cooke says. After all, “if it’s an unreli-
and Asia right now, but Lincor has purchase entertainment services – and able entertainment system it’s annoy-
Continued from page 31 been making recent forays stateside, “allows hospitals to make up a lot of ing, and the patient won’t be happy.
integrated into the day-to-day lives of with installations in Holy Name recoupment through patient revenue, But it’s not as serious.” A malfunction-
hospital staff, used by everyone from Hospital in Teaneck, N.J. and several effectively buying time on the system ing clinical system is a bit more serious.
porters and cleaners to clinicians and MultiCare clinics in Washington State. at a rate usually set by the healthcare Michael O’Neil, founder and CEO
management,” says Packman. “As the Above all, says Cooke, Lincor is in provider.” of Bethesda-based GetWellNetwork,
technology develops, it would be pos- the “access business” – that means More importantly, the system offers which specializes in turning hospital
sible to integrate the Hospedia system patients accessing entertainment, but physicians “access to whatever the room TV monitors into interactive
into the patient stay from beginning also docs getting at clinical information. A bedside system from Lincor backend clinical system is, whether communication devices for patients,
to end.” “With the big push to get EHR adop- Enter Lincor’s product, which offers it’s from McKesson or Meditech or families and clinicians, came up with
Richard Cooke is CEO of Dublin- tion in the U.S., after hospitals decide “a full multimedia experience,” says whatever. They log in directly from the idea for his company when he was
based Lincor. His MEDIVista is a to put in electronic records, the next Cooke: telephone, IPTV delivery, mov- the terminal straight into the HIS a non-Hodgkins lymphoma patient,
leading bedside clinical computer and thing they’re trying to figure out is: ies on demand, Web browsing, and system. in and out of hospitals over the course
digital entertainment and communi- How am I going to get access to them.” more. A magnetic credit card reader That sort of functionality is crucial, of his treatment.
Feeling, he says, “like we were on
the outside looking in on our own care
experience,” was a strong impetus in
his development of what O’Neil calls

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Practical implementation guides, exciting industry trends, patients and families throughout the
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About the Book comprehensive information security management program in the modern healthcare environment.
Combining
This book is a guide to marketing your IT department within and to your hospital, health system, or the experience and insights of top healthcare IT managers and information security
organization. Communicating and promoting the purpose of your IT department, its importance to the
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Case Studies in the Healthcare Environment

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Nursing and Informatics for the 21st Century: An International Look at Practice, Education and EHR Trends is the follow-up to the highly- IT department/division; and view how other healthcare IT organizations approach marketing.
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About the Dictionary
Terms, Acronyms and Organizations, Second Edition
HIMSS Dictionary of Healthcare Information Technology

This updated edition examines the revolution that has occurred in nursing in the past four years and explores the role information assurance; and personal health records. Special features include a sample security plan and links
creating a customer-focused culture; public relations; social networking; and crisis communications.
technology is playing in this transformation, with a thoughtful examination of nursing practice, science and research, and education
to scores of additional tools and resources.
HIMSS
across the globe.
About the Authors This authoritative and timely health information technology dictionary has been

for theAbout the Editor

With nearly 50 case studies written by nursing’s leading innovators and recognized leaders across specific segments of the healthcare
significantly expanded since the first edition, now with 2,700 terms and acronyms,

another instance, the system might

Charles E. Christian, FCHIME, FHIMSS, is the Director of Information Systems and CIO of Good Samaritan
industry and the globe, Nursing and Informatics for the 21st Century presents a “snapshot” of nursing and information technology

Dictionary of
adoption around the world. The book provides an in-depth analysis of nursing developments in the United States and an expandeda 101-year-old free-standing, acute care community hospital in southwest Indiana. Mr. Christian is
Hospital, and over 300 organizations included.

21st Century
global focus including profiles of EHR initiatives in the Middle East and Asia. In addition, new developments featured in this second
serving his 20th year in this role and his 38th year in healthcare. Mr. Christian is a Fellow of the Healthcare
edition include nursing faculty development; the Technology Informatics Guiding Education Reform (TIGER) Initiative in the United Painstakingly reviewed by industry experts, this valuable resource includes an
Edited by Terrell W. Herzig, MSHI, CISSP
Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and served as the Chair of the Board of Directors,
Healthcare Information
States; advancement of data terminology standards, and the results of a five-country international survey on nursing clinical Terrell W. Herzig, MSHI, CISSP, is Information Security Officer of the UAB Health System, exhaustive list of acronyms and definitions used in health information technology
documentation. 2008-2009. He is a Fellow and charter member of CHIME (College of Health Information Management
Birmingham,
Executives) and served on the CHIME Board of Directors from 2003 through 2004. He is currently serving Alabama, the UAB HIPAA Security Officer, and an Adjunct Professor of Health and clinical informatics. It also includes a listing of organizations and associations

Technology Terms,
About the Editors on the Board of Directors of the Indiana Health Informatics Corporation by appointment of Informatics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Mr. Herzig teaches graduate
Indiana Governor that have some relationship to healthcare informatics (listings include contact
Mitch Daniels. Prior to joining Good Samaritan Hospital, Mr. Christian worked in healthcare courses
IT for Compucare
in Information Engineering, Programming, Computer Networks, and Information Security information, mission statements, and Web addresses).

show a video on fall-

andAtlanta,
Charlotte A. Weaver, PhD, MSPH, RN, FHIMSS, is Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer for Gentiva Health Services, Baxter Ga.,Travenol, in both management and implementation roles. Mr. Christian holds a Bachelor of
and serves as Adjunct Professor at the University of Kansas, School of Nursing and the University of Minnesota, School of Nursing.
Science degree in Business Administration from Lacrosse University.
Previously, she was with Cerner Corporation from 1999 to 2008 where she served as the first chief nurse officer in the IT industry.
An International
in the UAB School of Health Professions. During his tenure at UAB, he has served as Director of The HIMSS Dictionary of Healthcare Information Technology Terms, Acronyms
and Organizations is the ideal quick reference for health IT professionals and the Acronyms and
Connie White Delaney, PhD, RN, FAAN, FACMI, is Professor and Dean of the School of Nursing at the University of Minnesota. Look at Practice,
Judith A. Kirby, CPC, has recruited exclusively in the Healthcare Information Systems field since 1992. Information Technology for the Civitan International Research Center and Director of Informatics

Organizations
essential resource for executives, clinicians, academics, consultants, government
10 INCHES

Dr. Delaney is the first nurse informatician Fellow in the American College of Medical Informatics to be selected as dean In
forApril, for theits
a major1994, Ms. Kirby purchased an Orlando, Florida franchise. The company recently changed Pittman
name toGeneral Clinical Research Center. Mr. Herzig has also consulted on numerous
university in the United States, a position she has held since August, 2005. She also holds an appointment in the InstituteKirby
Informatics, University of Minnesota.
Partners to enhance its brand specialty. Ms. Kirby has worked with and coached hundreds
for Health
Education and
of healthcare
informatics projects with external groups, including Southern Nuclear and the US Army Medical
IT professionals in their search for new opportunities. In addition to overseeing operations and managing the
staff and other professionals who need a reference tool for understanding the
terminology and acronyms for this growing field.
Patrick Weber, MA, RN, is Director and Principal of Nice Computing in Lausanne, Switzerland. He has more than 30 years company,
of Ms. Kirby continues to recruit and has received numerous awards. She is a member EHR Trends
Command.
of CHIME and

prevention as a pre-
9 INCHES

HIMSS and has presented at HIMSS, CHIME and MUSE. Prior to her move into executive search, Ms. Kirby
healthcare experience, with more than 20 years in the field of health informatics. Mr. Weber has served as his country’s national
representative to the International Medical Informatics Association-Nursing Informatics (IMIA-NI) for over 10 years and isspent
a seven years in social work and four years employed by the Council of Girl Scouts, providing training and
About HIMSS
9 INCHES

recognized informatics leader across Europe.

support for their volunteers. Ms. Kirby has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology.
Robyn L. Carr, RGON, is Director of Informatics Project Contracting at IPC & Associates, Cambridge, New Zealand, and serves as
Second EditionAbout HIMSS The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is a
an international consultant in countries as far ranging as Taiwan and South Africa. Prior to starting her own IT consultingSteven
companyR. Bennett, MA, is a Vice President with Kirby Partners (formerly Snelling Executive Search), a comprehensive healthcare-stakeholder membership organization exclusively
TheHis
recruiting firm that specializes in healthcare IT with hospitals and consulting firms nationwide.
in the Asia-Pacific Rim countries, Ms. Carr served in various clinical management and administrative positions in New Zealand Healthcare
career Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is a comprehensive
Health Services for over 35 years. Ms. Carr has served as country representative into IMIA-NI, and has been the IMIA-NI chair and focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information
background includes nearly 25 years with regional and national advertising agencies. Mr. Bennett owned an
healthcare-stakeholder membership organization exclusively focused on providing global
executive leader over the last decade. technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare.
Second Edition
Weaver | Delaney | Weber | Carr

advertising firm for five years, has been a newspaper reporter, publisher of a medical magazine for physicians,
leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management systems for the

cursor to a
and a college instructor in public speaking and mass communication. Mr. Bennett has a Bachelor of Arts Founded in 1961 with offices in Chicago, Washington D.C., Brussels, Singapore,
Christian/Kirby/Bennett

About HIMSS betterment

degree in Journalism from Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, and a Master of healthcare. Founded in 1961 with offices in Chicago, Washington D.C., Brussels,
of Arts degree and other locations across the United States, HIMSS represents more than
in Communication Studies from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is a comprehensive healthcare-stakeholder membership Singapore, and other locations across the United States, HIMSS represents more than 23,000 23,000 individual members, of which 73% work in patient care delivery settings. The Definitive Source for Healthcare
organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership for the optimal use of information technology (IT) and management HIMSS also includes over 380 corporate members and nearly 30 not-for-profit
About HIMSS
systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded in 1961 with offices in Chicago, Washington D.C., Brussels, Singapore, and other
individual members, of which 73% work in patient care delivery settings. HIMSS also includes
organizations that share our mission of transforming healthcare through the IT Terminology Including
locations across the United States, HIMSS represents more than 23,000 individual members, of which 73% work in patient care over 380 corporate members and nearly 30 not-for-profit organizations that share our mission
delivery settings. HIMSS also includes over 380 corporate members and nearly 30 not-for-profit organizations that shareThe Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is a comprehensive healthcare-
our mission effective use of information technology and management systems. HIMSS
of transforming healthcare through the effective use of information technology and management systems. HIMSS frames and leads membership organization exclusively focused on providing global leadership forofthe
stakeholder transforming
optimal healthcare through the effective use of information technology and management frames and leads healthcare public policy and industry practices through its � Authoritative, Timely Definitions

Hollywood movie.
healthcare public policy and industry practices through its educational, professional development, and advocacy initiatives
usedesigned
of information technology (IT) and management systems for the betterment of healthcare. Founded
to promote information and management systems’ contributions to ensuring quality patient care.
systems. HIMSS frames E Dand
I T Eleads
D B healthcare
Y public policy and industry practices through its educational, professional development, and advocacy initiatives designed to
in 1961 with offices in Chicago, Washington D.C., Brussels, Singapore, and other locationseducational,
across the professional development, and advocacy initiatives designed to promote information promote information and management systems’ contributions to ensuring
United States, HIMSS represents more than 23,000 individual members, of which 73% work in patient care Charlotte A. Weaver Comprehensive Acronym Listings
Marketing Strategies and Case Studies
�
About AMIA delivery settings. HIMSS also includes over 380 corporate members and nearly 30 not-for-profit and management
organizations systems’ contributions to ensuring quality patient care. quality patient care.
that shareand our mission of transforming healthcare through the effective use of information technology and Connie White Delaney
in the Healthcare Environment
The American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) is dedicated to promoting the effective organization, analysis, management,
use of information in healthcare in support of patient care, public health, teaching, research, administration, and relatedmanagement
4,000 members advance the use of health information and communications technology in clinical care and clinical research,
policy. AMIA’s systems. HIMSS frames and leads healthcare public policy and industry practices through
its educational,
personal professional development, and advocacy initiatives designed to promote information and Patrick Weber
� Organizations and Associations
health management, public health/population, and translational science with the ultimate objective of improving health. management systems’ contributions to ensuring quality patient care. Linked to Healthcare IT

The point, is to
Robyn L. Carr

230 E. Ohio St., Suite 500 ISBN: 978-0-9821070-2-7 Charles E. Christian, FCHIME, FHIMSS � Healthcare Credentials
230 E. Ohio St., Suite 500 ISBN: 978-0-9821070-4-1
Chicago, IL 60611–3270 Order Code: 558 Judith A. Kirby, CPC
230 E. Ohio St., Suite 500 ISBN: 978-0-9800697-5-4

ISBN:312-915-9295 Chicago, IL 60611–3270 Order Code: 540

230 E. Ohio561
St., Suite 500 978-0-9821070-1-0
Steven R. Bennett, MA
Chicago, IL 60611–3270 Order Code:
312-915-9295 Chicago, IL 60611–3270 Order Code: 557 312-915-9295
www.himss.org www.himss.org
www.himss.org

“leverage entertain-
312-915-9295
www.himss.org

Steven R. Bennett, MA
Judith A. Kirby, CPC
Charles E. Christian, FCHIME, FHIMSS � Healthcare Credentials
ment to get folks
involved,” says O’Neil. Michael O’Neil
“This is not about a patient going on-
demand and finding cool things to
watch. This is about understanding
the systems and process of care and
integrating the patient’s involvement
very deeply into that.”
Not to discount the importance of
entertainment, he clarifies. “In hospi-
tals, patients might sit for hours or for
days. Certainly there’s some healing
in allowing them to relax and enjoy
their time. But entertainment is a
means to an end. The nicer the user-
interface is, the more offerings we
present, the more it gives us a better
chance to engage the patient and thus
drive an outcome.”
Manick Choraria, managing direc-
tor of ICE Middleware, a London-based
maker of bedside communication
technology, sees this dual use of enter-
tainment portals increasing. “Just see
how the field of airline passenger enter-
tainment” has expanded with person-
alized Web and touch screen options.
“Patient centric features will increase
with the addition and availability of
greater choice,” he says.
But, he says, “it will be the develop-
ments on the hospital-centric features
that will spur this sector and lead to
Gain the information, tools, training and guidance you need TODAY
a more efficient, safer and secure work-
to stay competitive – for personal and organizational growth! ing practice. As the platform becomes
commonplace it will encourage devel-
Purchase your copies today at www.himss.org/store. opments of various applications with
HIMSS members enjoy special discounts! www.himss.org/store their own utility.” ■
www.HealthcareITNews.com vENdoRS July 2010 ■ Healthcare IT News 33

exchange PaPer
ers should make generous use of paper, and that Having surveyed physicians and surmised
“pencil works just fine.” their workplace wants and needs, Belden says
Continued from page 31 Continued from page 31 Because sketches, note cards and sticky notes designers should then rank those necessary and/
approaches that will allow secure and mean- brainstorming and storyboarding, to beta testing, are perfect vehicles for brainstorming screen or desirable features and functions, and then
ingful exchange within and across states.” launching and beyond. design, he said – easily grouped and regrouped use the fungibility of notecards and a bulletin
He cautioned, however, “all of our efforts Understanding the end-user’s tasks is critical, and clustered and rearranged again. board to move various components around,
must be grounded in a common foundation said Belden, recommending that EMR makers “design is not just about helping them discover “users’ mental model” and
of standards, technical specifications, and make one or more on-site visits to observe phy- hopefully arriving at an optimal design.
policies” and must “encourage trust among sicians and clinicians at work. Make special note
pretty colors.” Visual design is “not just about pretty colors,”
participants and provide assurance to con- of the “workflow and environment of the users,” – Janey Barnes said Barnes. It’s about “communicating informa-
sumers about the security and privacy of Belden said, “specify how users carry out their “Paper is cheap and quick,” said Belden. And tion organization and priority.”
their information.” tasks in a specific process.” card sorting “aids information design,” allowing For electronic health records, that means
Certainly, said Dunbrack, arriving at a com- Perhaps ironically for an industry that seeks the EMR developers a spontaneous way to work making technology that’s easy and appealing for
mon set of HIE specifications has been a chal- nothing less than the wholesale replacement of through the finding of “latent structures in an doctors and nurses to use – and, in turn, trans-
lenge with such a crowded field of small play- paper-based health records, Belden said design- unsorted group of ideas.” lates into better outcomes for patients. ■
ers. One wants to start with standards the
community accepts,” she said.
“This has been a source of chal-
lenge for organizations trying
to identify their own sets of
standards and then working
with other organizations.”
Meanwhile, she said, it’s
crucial that vendors work David
with customers early on, Blumenthal, MD
proving that information can be shared
safely and securely and demonstrating value
immediately: “Implementation does not
equal adoption,” she noted.
Among other findings from the report: A
vendor’s ability to continue to invest in its HIE
solution is another imperative, said Dunbrack,
“since the business, clinical and technical
requirements for HIEs are rapidly evolving.”

“We can expect

dRamaTIc chaNGES in
the next 12 to 18 months
as hIE technologies
become a commodity.”
– Lynne Dunbrack

She also highlighted the importance of iden-

tifying data limitations and working to remedy
them. “One of the reasons many HIEs have
failed in the past is that few have contributed
data,” she said. “As a result there’s not been much
data to share, and providers get frustrated when
they don’t find what they’re looking for.”
Finally, Dunbrack insisted, “resolving
workflow is a key issue in provider accep- Summer Health IT Summit
tance. If it’s disruptive the provider simply
will not use it.” “Adoption, Implementation, and Meaningful Use”
“The IDC report predicts the paradigm July 27-28, 2010
shift toward collaborative care through HIE To learn more or register today visit Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center
models, which we see as a pivotal opportu-
www.ihealthtran.com or call (646) 502-7563 Denver, Colorado
nity to drive improvements in the quality of
medical care delivery and patient outcomes,” Speakers Include: Topics Include:
said Gary Zegiestowsky, CEO of Informatics
• Meaningful Use – Where do we go
Corporation of America. ■
from here?
• Implementation of SaaS EHR with
Changes ahead... greater than 99.999% Uptime
Among other predictions highlighted by • Innovation in HIT: Meaningful use as a
Michael O’Rourke Lynn Harold Vogel, Ph. D. Barry Chaiken, MD,
IDC’s vendor assessment: VP & CIO VP & CIO FHIMSS driver and detractor
■ The HIE market will continue to evolve
Catholic Health
Initiatives
University of Texas M.D.
Anderson Cancer Center
Chief Medical Officer
DocsNetwork, Ltd.
• Effective IT Adoption and
and mature over the next 12-24 months. HIMSS Chair Physician Engagement: Achieving
■ Enterprise HIEs will be the fastest
buy-in throughout the healthcare
growing segment. continuum
■ Cloud will become a viable option
• Implementing a Comprehensive
for platform deployment, “particularly
Security Program: From the data
as we look at larger initiatives like
regional and statewide efforts.”
warehouse to the point of care
Lisa Khorey Chris Wood, MD Mark Levine MD
■ Mergers and acquisitions will continue Director of Medical Director, CMO, Denver Region • Interoperability: Challenges for
Interoperability Information Services The Centers for
as the various vendors look to build out HIE UPMC Intermountain Medicare & Medicaid Architecture more than Applications
Healthcare Services
solution portfolios.
■ Partnerships to reach “the last mile”
Health IT Solutions
will be important, particularly around the
areas of patient engagement.
-MM
CONNECTING DOCTORS, PATIENTS & COMMUNITES

Summer Health IT Ad.indd 1 6/23/2010 3:27:36 PM

34  Healthcare IT News    July 2010 ■ product spotlight www.HealthcareITNews.com

p r o d u c t s p ot l ig h t

Practice Management
More information at
PM market saturated healthcareITnews.com
recent news

p
By BernIe MonegaIn, Editor
➔➔Big growth projcted for HIS market
ractice management functionality ➔➔Perfect example of why medical
really hasn’t changed much in many years, home demo proved so important
➔➔athenahealth and Physicians
according to Mark Wagner, an analyst with Practice rank the payers
Orem, Utah-based research firm KLAS. ➔➔EHR software market share analysis
There have been changes to accommodate ➔➔Doylestown Hospital serves as a
community HIE model
new regulations and some to better share data with ➔➔Top hospitals ‘hard wire’ quality,
EMR systems, he says, but not many others. safety
There are older, standalone systems still being used ➔➔Docs pessimistic, frustrated with
insurers
by many practices and groups that have been around ➔➔Vendors aim to take fear out of EMR
for nearly 20 years (such as Sage Medical Manager choice
➔➔Electronic medical records come to
and GE Centricity Business, which was IDX Flowcast), the iPhone and iPad
he says. ➔➔What to do if your vendors are late
Wagner notes there are also newer systems that were with HIPAA 5010, ICD-10 updates
➔➔MacPractice medical applications
built from the ground up, weaving PM and EMR func- now available for iPad
tionality into a single, truly integrated application, such ➔➔Physician practices need help
navigating the EHR Gold Rush
as eClinicalWorks. Some of these systems have a “fan-
➔➔Midwest’s largest health system
tastic workflow for the physicians,” he says, but they Few physician practices are eager to replace their practice management system, prefering to implements EMRs
miss important functionality for the billing office. avoid the high maintenance costs associated with newer technology, according to KLAS.
As for the market, it’s saturated, Wagner says. Most
offices have a PM system and most would prefer not to
replace it. Small practices using older applications, like
pm tech keeps practice running
allscripts eclinicalworks greenway
Sage Medical Manager, are content with the older look Allscripts Professional PM eClinicalWorks PM Greenway PrimeSuite
and feel because it’s paid for and requires little to no Allscripts Professional PM (formerly HealthMatics eClinicalWorks Practice Management Prime Suite utilizes single click drag & drop
Ntierprise) is among the most advanced medical (PM) system is established and reliable scheduling, wizard, or template-based for
maintenance costs. management systems available today. Its for practices of all sizes, small to large, larger practices. It also gives at-a-glance
user-friendly interface and extensible design and instantly streamlines medical billing patient demographics, demographics
make Professional PM the perfect practice management. Unified with its electronic and rules view directly within the patient
management system for medical practices, medical records solution, it allows customers scheduling software system, and user-
three trends to watch MSOs and integrated delivery networks.
Allscripts Enterprise PM
to reduce their accounts receivables and
improve collections.
friendly Web browser interface. Client/Server
or ASP Hosting.
Allscripts Enterprise PM (formerly TouchWorks
Mark Wagner, an analyst with research firm KLAS says there emds mckesson
PM) provides an ideal system by combining
eMDs Solution Series McKesson Practice Complete
are three key factors having an effect on the practice sophisticated scheduling and financial
eMDs Solution Series, with more than 26,000 McKesson Practice Complete is the single,
management tools in a single cost-effective
management software market today. users nationwide, is the standard for affordable comprehensive billing and accounts
package.
and integrated EHR and practice management receivable solution that answers the financial,
1. dance partners: Standalone PM vendors are scrambling aprima software solutions, including clinical, financial administrative and clinical challenges faced
to find an EMR dance partner (for instance, AdvancedMD buys Aprima PM and document management modules designed by physicians. McKesson Practice Complete
Aprima’s PM features include revenue cycle to automate medical practice processes and provides complete physician billing services,
PracticeOne). management, credit card processing, electronic chart management. complete clinical services, and complete
2. icd10: All vendors are facing significant issues preparing data interchange, messaging and workflow,
epic connectivity services.system, and user-friendly
interfaces and reporting. Aprima’s built-in Web browser interface. Client/Server or ASP
for ICD10 and HIPAA 5010, not to mention the additional report- reports are customizable and provide immediate
Practice Management
Hosting.
Epic’s practice management technology
ing requirements HITECH is mandating. access to information on HIPAA compliance,
features ambulatory registration, Cadence medinformatix
billing and productivity, clinical orders,
3. no thanks: Vendors won’t get many kudos for meeting medication management and other critical data.
Enterprise Scheduling and Resolute Professional MedInformatix EMR/PM
Billing that helps reduce A/R days, produces MedInformatix EMR/PM is the 1-stop, turn
or exceeding expectations athenahealth accurate claims, allows paperless collection key solution for today’s healthcare practices.
athenaCollector processes and streamlines data entry, and call Its fully integrated billing/collection modules
athenaCollector is a Web-based physician management. and state of the art web-referring module
“Since system, and we have received
billing and practice management solution truly set MedInformatix PM/EMR apart
USER REVIEW

implementing overwhelming positive feedback from ge healthcare

Centricity Practice
Solution in
2007, we have
seen marked
improvements in
our workflow efficiencies and cost
savings – we were able to eliminate
transcription costs within the first
year. We recently launched a patient
portal as part of the Centricity
that reduces administrative red tape.
our patients. They love the flexibility
It allows you to efficiently assess, plan,
of communicating with their
and improve practice performance while
physicians, scheduling appointments
increasing revenue. There are no start-up
and paying bills online, while our
costs for software licensing, no investments in
staff appreciates the ease with
hardware and servers, and no hidden ongoing
which they can manage patients,
expenses for maintenance, upgrades and data
documents and the billing process.”
back-up. athenaCollector is easy to use, saves
– Barbara Fahl-Watkins,
time, and dramatically improves your bottom
administrator,
line.Medical billing and practice management
Heart & Vascular Center of Arizona
saves time and increases revenue.
Centricity Practice Solution
Centricity Practice Solution combines GE
Healthcare’s EMR and Practice Management
systems to help practices enhance workflow
efficiency, business performance and
quality of care. The integrated, CCHIT
Certified solution supports clinicians from
the first point of contact with a patient to
final reimbursement, including scheduling
appointments, managing documents and
automating billing processes.
from all its competitors. With 15 years of
experience in the industry, MedInformatix is
one of the pioneers in the Fully Integrated
PM/EMR system.
sage
Sage Practice Management
Sage Practice Management software integrates
easily with other functions of the practice,
giving providers a forward-looking perspective
needed to deliver high quality care efficiently
and profitably.
www.HealthcareITNews.com ManageMent solutions July 2010
P4P process is all about measuring results
By John Andrews, Contributing Editor
r
eal data and real results tell the story
of the pay-for-performance movement,
but market specialists say it starts with
the vision of what an organization aspires to
be and the priorities it sets.
Still burgeoning as a payment model, P4P
has taken various shapes in its genesis, though
it is primarily intended to nudge providers
toward quality and efficiency with financial
rewards. Medicare’s Physician Quality
Reporting Initiative serves as a P4P template
for providers to follow. Yet experts recom-
mend each organization customize its own
program according to its goals.
As John MacDonald, managing director
of Devon, Pa.-based LECG SMART explains:
“To make P4P work, you have to invest time
and money to make sure that you are able
to measure performance in line with the
organization’s philosophy about pay, business
objectives and goals. It depends on what you
want to accomplish and the level involved.”
Any well-designed IT system can serve as
the infrastructure for P4P, MacDonald said
– the key is in the planning. Determine a
set of metrics to measure and keep it small,
he said.
“Too many metrics is too diluted. You won’t
be able to do much with it,” he said. “Usually
two to four metrics is enough and customer
satisfaction should be one of them. This is
something that should be qualitative rather
than quantitative.”
The metrics should be specific, but should
also be tailored for each individual’s respon-
f e at u r e d P r o d u c t s
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Physicians across the country are investing time and money in keeping track of metrics that will ensure them
additional income when they can prove certain outcomes. Pay-for-performance programs are here to stay, say
industry insiders.
sibility, MacDonald said.
“You can’t just plug in the same numbers
for everybody – similar maybe, but they should
vary depending on what the team is doing
and what you want them to accomplish. These
metrics should be subjective with some shades
of gray, but you should ultimately be able to
say ‘yes, we did it or no, we didn’t do it.’”
For Summit Medical Group in Berkeley
Heights, N.J., instituting a P4P system means
Practice Management Software
Ingenix
12125 Technology Drive
Eden Prairie, MN 55344
Phone: 877-EHR-0845
Email: ingenuity@ingenix.com
www.ingenix.com/ehr
inGenix careTracKer
ingenix careTracker is a cloud-based, ccHiT-certified®
pm/eHr solution fully integrated with all the operational
functions of the practice. accessible through any internet-
connected computer, providers can easily access patient
records and review medications, patient history, recent
orders and test results. The system fuses clinical, billing
and administrative workflows together and integrates
them with ingenix coding and compliance solutions. Guar-
anteed to meet stimulus “meaningful use” requirements,
careTracker helps practices achieve smoother day-to-day
operations with an improved rOi.
■ Healthcare IT News 35
medical school. Moreover, P4P changes the
entire payment dynamic and that takes some
adjustment, he said.
“Physicians are trained for productivity,”
Brenner said. “The current healthcare system
doesn’t reward outcomes in patient care, it
rewards seeing lots of patients.”
Using PQRI metrics and a clinical quality
solutions system linked to Chicago-based
Allscripts, the Summit Group received
$239,000 from CMS last year under a
Medicare formula that pays 2 percent more
to providers that use the outcomes measure-
ments. Among the metrics used are hemo-
globin and lipid levels in diabetics, post-
operative infection rates and systolic blood
pressure levels.
Each year the clinic holds back 5 percent
of its compensation amounts and distributes
it to the physicians that show improvement
in quality metrics. The group also backs gain
sharing plans with hospitals in which both
organizations should split the residuals from
efforts to prevent patient admissions.
P4P ‘Here to stay’
the largest multi-specialty physician practice When the PQRI movement started in 2007,
in the state is on its way to becoming an Atlanta-based Ingenious Med immediately
accountable care organization, said chief “jumped on the bandwagon,” said Steven Liu,
medical officer Robert Brenner, MD. With MD, chairman and founder.
10 offices in central New Jersey, the group As a result, the company created a P4P
has 165 doctors in its organization. module that creates core measurements and
Introducing a process like P4P into an has increased its functionality in preparation
established physician culture is not easy, for what Liu expects to be an escalating num-
Brenner said, because it deviates dramati- ber of adoptions.
cally from the routines doctors learn in MeAsUre see page 36
July 2010
Published in partnership with
the news source for healthcare information technology
S o l u t i o n S   S e r i e S
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Revisited: print and online
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IncludIng
EHR BuyER’s
GuidE and list of CCHiT
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Supplement to Healthcare IT News and Healthcare Finance News n www.HITECHWatch.com
arra reViSited:
the road to Meaningful Use
Visit www.HITECHWatch.com to access this special
supplement including:
• News and information on how to qualify for the stimulus funds;
how to choose an EHR that will meet certification requirements;
and much more.
• A Buyer’s Guide of EHR products and services.
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36 Healthcare IT News July 2010 n www.HealthcareITNews.com
New mammograPhy techNology
from ge looks PromisiNg
WAUKESHA, WI – GE Healthcare has introduced
a new technology in to aid in breast cancer
diagnosis. The SenoBright, which features
Contrast Enhanced Spectral Mammography
(CESM) technology, reduces ambiguity in mam-
mography results, enabling physicians to detect
and diagnose cancer with more confidence –
even in the densest part of the breast tissue
more rapidly and accurately, said officials.
SenoBright uses X-rays at multiple energies to
create two separate exposures, which specifi-
cally illuminate and highlight areas where there
is angiogenesis, growth of small blood vessels
potentially related to the presence of cancer.
The technology also shows potential for mea-
suring the extension of the lesion to help to
plan surgery and treatment. The new technol-
ogy development was carried out in collabora-
tion between GE Healthcare and Qatar Science
& Technology Park (QSTP). The goal of the
joint research program is to develop new and
innovative technologies for aiding in the diag-
nosis of breast cancer using the latest develop-
ments in digital mammography. The new tech-
Image of breast using SenoBright CESM technology,
that reveals three cancerous lesions. Photo courtesy
of Gustave Roussy Cancer Institute, France.
Price comparison startup
draws $60M in funding
By BERnIE MonEgAIn, Editor
SAN FrANCISCO – A healthcare price-compar-
ison startup started by the founder of
RelayHealth and the co-founder of athenahealth
has raised $60 million in funding, including
an investment from the Cleveland Clinic.
Giovanni Colella, MD, who founded
RelayHealth, and later sold it to McKesson,
started Castlight Health with Todd Park,
a founder of Watertown, Mass.-based athe-
nahealth in 2008. Park now serves as CTO
of the U.S. Department of Health and Human
Services. The company also names Bryan
Roberts, partner at Venrock, one of
the firms participating in the funding, as a
co-founder.
“The drive toward patient responsibility in
healthcare combined with the complete lack
of information to support that transition has
landed Castlight Health in the middle of the
perfect storm,” said Roberts.
Delivered as a Web-based service, Castlight
Health is working with companies – super-
market chain Safeway is its first customer – to
provide employees with individual level views
of their healthcare benefits and costs. As
Castlight executives see it, this granular detail
New Products
CareFusion’s new automatic oxygen controller is designed to improve care for
newborns needing mechanical ventilation.
nology works with an upgrade to GE Healthcare’s
Senographe DS and Senographe Essential
digital mammography equipment.
techNology to imProve care for
NewborNs oN veNtilatioN
SAN DIEGO – CareFusion has launched an auto-
matic oxygen controller to improve care for
newborns needing mechanical ventilation. The
global medical device company says its Closed
Loop Controller of Inspired Oxygen system or
"CLiO2," is the first automatic oxygen control-
ler of its kind designed to keep the oxygen level
in the blood within a safe range for newborns
needing mechanical ventilation. This new soft-
ware algorithm is an enhancement to the
CareFusion AVEA ventilator. The CLiO2 system
non-invasively and continuously measures the
oxygen level in a newborn's blood using Masimo
SET Measure-Through Motion and Low
Perfusion pulse oximetry technology to provide
accurate and reliable oxygen saturation (SpO2)
measurements, even under challenging clinical
conditions. The CLiO2 system processes blood
oxygen saturation levels by a computer algorithm
that then anticipates trends and modifies the
enables employees to become informed con-
sumers and shop for healthcare services by
revealing out-of-pocket costs, alerting users
about cost saving opportunities, as well as
offering additional information about physi-
cians and procedures.
Castlight Health Series C round of funding
included new investors Morgan Stanley
Investment Management, and The Wellcome
Trust, U.S. Venture Partners, as well as
Cleveland Clinic. The funding round also
included existing investors Maverick Capital,
Oak Investment Partners and Venrock.
The funding will be used to accelerate hir-
ing and further product development.
“The continued dramatic rise in healthcare
costs has propelled consumer financial respon-
sibility for medical care as companies seek to
rein in benefit expense growth. said Colella.
“Understanding the health care system is
a daunting task,” said David Singer, partner
at Maverick Capital, which led the round of
financing. “The strength of this team, combined
with the power of their vision, makes Castlight
Health an exciting venture with tremendous
potential. They are addressing one of the top
issues facing the United States today.” n
amount of oxygen delivered. workflow improvement technology, delivers
If necessary, adjustments can faster, more accurate results directly to a
be made on a second to second patient’s electronic medical record. Combined
basis, something not cur- with the know error system, which decreases
rently possible with manual the risk of biopsy switching errors through
control. The CLiO2 system is bar code technology and DNA-based specimen
currently available in most verification, the solution optimizes connectiv-
Western European and Asian ity between lab processes, providing seamless
countries through CareFusion workflow integration and real-time reporting
and its authorized distributors, in a browser-based interface.
with future availability in the
United States and Canada.
workstatioN offers
oN-board Power
WObOrN, MA - A free-wheel-
ing workstation from Woburn,
Mass-based Newcastle
Systems offers on-board power that makes it
possible to run a computer, a printer and other
devices simultaneously. The PC Series
Workstation, used to record inventory in real
time and print labels as each product is handled,
has a rechargeable battery that offers power for
Newcastle System’s free-wheeling workstation offers
up to 12 hours of normal use. Carts are available onboard power to run devices simultaneously.
with dimensions up to 24 x 48 x 37 inches and
five different battery/inverter/charger pack- eXteNsioN uPdates software
ages. Accessories include an additional shelf, FOrT WAYNE, IN- EXTENSION, INC. officials
drawers (including a keyboard drawer), a lap- announced that version 2.0 is now available for
top holder, an 18 x 20-inch pullout printer shelf integration. Version 2.0 – replacing EXTENSION
with a capacity of 60 pounds, a CPU holder, version 1.4 – offers features and functionality
two types of flat-screen holders, and a barcode- that further enhance clinical and operational
scanner holder. workflows and overall communications among
clinicians, healthcare staff and patients. The
New solutioN aims to combat lab EXTENSION appliance-based software solution
errors, boost Productivity suite allows clinicians to automatically receive
INDIANAPOLIS – Bostech Corporation has and respond to intelligent notifications derived
launched a new solution to combat lab errors from pre-defined rules and workflows.
and increase lab productivity. The solution EXTENSION aggregates data, such as HL7
leverages the know error system, which officials standards, from disparate systems and delivers
say represents the new standard of patient the context-aware notifications to the appropri-
safety in the biopsy evaluation process. ate caregiver at the point-of-care via a Cisco IP
ChainBuilder Labs, Bostech’s lab-specific Phone or Web-enabled mobile device. n
MEASURE
“There are quality tracking mechanisms
Continued from page 35
“P4P is absolutely here to stay and getting
for PQRI and we help clients with those
requirements.”
One of the major challenges Law sees for
tweaked more and more to handle wide- P4P going forward is standardization.
spread pilot programs,” he “Each carrier will have its own version
said. “P4P will get bigger of P4P, so getting it standardized should
not just because the gov- be the first thing to happen,” he said.
ernment is pushing it, but “Healthcare reform requires P4P, but it will
because so many changes be up to the individual states and interme-
are happening in health- diaries to determine.”
care finance – margins are Fo r c o n n e c t i v i ty a n d a n a l y t i c s ,
tighter, so if they focus on Indianapolis-based Bostech serves as the
Robert Brenner,
MD
P4P, it will generate more platform to link physicians and hospitals
revenue.” with labs and manages the labs’ workflow
Carmel, Ind.-based Zotec Partners sees to send reports into electronic medical
its role in the P4P as providing the “pay in records systems. The company recently
pay for performance,” launched an agree-
said CEO Scott Law.
“the current healthcare ment with local
“We offer ideas to system doesn’t reward biopsy evaluation
clients with the data outcomes in patient care, it firm Know Error
we’ve amassed over the rewards seeiNg lots of for quality assur-
years,” he said. “We have ance on tests.
a lot of information to
patients.” “The system
bring to bear, including – Robert Brenner, MD provides a work list
outcomes, clinical infor- of what they need
mation, patient satisfaction and quality.” to do, workflow optimization that augments
Zotech software performed more than and connects with the systems for ordering
40 million radiology transactions last year, the lab test, accessing, processing and return-
which accounts for 6 percent of the mar- ing the report to the physician,” said Founder
ketplace, Law said. and Chairman Brad Bostic. “This fits the
“That data can be sliced and diced to P4P model because clinics can boast they
include diagnosis code, reports, procedures perform tests faster and more accurately to
and demographic information,” he said. provide optimal outcomes.” n
www.HealthcareITNews.com July 2010 ■ Healthcare IT News 37

Primary care workforce gets $250M boost
By BernIe MonegaIn, Editor
WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services Secretary Kathleen
Sebelius announced a $250 million federal
investment aimed at increasing the number
of primary care health professionals.
The money comes from prevention and
public health funds in the Affordable Care
Act. The plan, which was announced last
month, is focused on training new primary
care providers.
It does not include funding specific for health
information technology. However, the new
program benefits from federal investments
from the health reform legislation and from
the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
aimed at encouraging the
meaningful use of health infor-
mation technology, said Mary
Wakefield, administrator, HHS
Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA).
HHS announced these five
Kathleen programs:
Sebelius ■ Creating additional pri-
mary care residency slots: $168 million for
training more than 500 new primary care
physicians by 2015;
■ Supporting physician assistant training
in primary care: $32 million for supporting
the development of more than 600 new phy-
sician assistants, who practice medicine as
J o b s p ot
underserved communities.
■ Encouraging states to plan
for and address health profes-
sional workforce needs: $5
million for states to plan and
implement innovative strate-
gies to expand their primary
care workforce by 10 to 25
percent over 10 years to meet
increased demand for prima-
ry care services.
Sebelius said the “severe
shortage” of primary care phy-
sicians is well known, and that
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced last doing something about it is “a
month a five-point program to help build the floundering primary care
personal priority of President
workforce.
Obama.”
members of a team with their supervising “Our health system has not valued prima-
physician, and can be trained in a shorter ry care providers enough,” Sebelius said.
period of time compared to physicians; Joining Sebelius at the news conference in
■ Encouraging students to pursue full- addition to Wakefield were U.S. Rep. Lois Capps,
time nursing careers: $30 million for encour- co-chair of the House Nursing Caucus and HHS
aging over 600 nursing students to attend Assistant Secretary for Health, Howard K. Koh,
school full-time so that they have better odds MD. Koh said the programs would also focus
of completing their education; on prevention.
■ Establishing new nurse practitioner-led “We want to promote prevention at all
clinics: $15 million for the operation of 10 levels of society,” he said. “I’ve seen firsthand
nurse-managed health clinics that assist in the need for more prvention. He said the
the training of nurse practitioners. These country’s healhcare system should focus on
clinics are staffed by nurse practitioners, which wellness and prevention rather than a sys-
provide comprehensive primary healthcare tem that is “focused almost solely on treat-
services to populations living in medically ment, often delivered late.” ■
Indicators have
health IT jobs
on upward curve
By BernIe MonegaIn, Editor
NEW YORK – A majority of employers and
recruiters (52 percent) expect to hire more
career professionals in the second half of
2010 than they did in the first half of the
year, according to a new survey by Dice
Holdings, Inc., which operates specialized
career Web sites for professional communi-
ties, including healthcare.
Jobs in medical records and health informa-
tion technology are expected to grow by 20
percent through 2018, according to the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. Industry insiders
estimate 50,000 new jobs will be created by
the push to transform healthcare from a
mostly paper-based industry to a digital one.
“Several factors – a growing industry with
vast employment needs, a societal concern
with federal backing for broad reform, and a
solution incorporating advanced knowledge
and skills among workers – combine to form
a strong base for workforce development and
employment opportunity for the coming
decade,” said Mark Cafferty, San Diego
Workforce Partnership president and CEO
“Businesses seem to be gradually loosening
their grip on the hiring process as the econ-
omy improves,” said Scot Melland, chairman,
president and CEO of Dice Holdings. ■

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38  Healthcare IT News    July 2010 ■ www.HealthcareITNews.com
lOOKAHEAD
JUly
12-14 – Object Management Group’s “SOA
in Healthcare – Improving Health through
Technology: The role of SOA on the Path to
Meaningful Use,” Arlington, Va.
13-15 – 3rd Annual WEDI 5010 and ICD-
10 Implementation Forum, Fairfax, Va.
13-16 – AMDIS 18th Annual Physician-
Computer Connection Symposium, Ojai,
Calif.
22 – National Forum on Health Information
Exchange (HIE), Washington
22-23 – The 3rd Annual World Congress
Leadership Summit on “The Road to
Interoperability,” Boston
27-28 – World Health Care Congress
Leadership Summit on Wireless Health,
Boston
27-28 – Institute for Health Technology
Summer Health IT Summit, Denver
Healthcare IT stocks
The William Blair Health Care IT Index (WBHCIT), an equal-weighted basket comprising 31 HCIT
AUgUsT
stocks, has been created to capitalize on trends in the industry that include a heightened demand
1-4 – AHRMM10 Annual Conference &
for clinical information systems. The index aims to capture the aggregate stock performance of the
Exhibition, Denver
majority of industry participants focused on healthcare IT. The chart above shows healthcare IT
stocks compared with the Nasdaq Index between May 17 and June 18 For a list of the companies
on the William Blair index, visit www.williamblair.com/WBHCIT.
AD iNDEx
CDW...................................................................................... 25
ARRA/HITECHWatch.com..................................................... 35
Datalogic.................................................................................4
Dell Computer Corp ............................................................. 15
EHR Watch/Greenway .............................................................7
Emdeon Business Services ................................................. 19
Fujitsu Computer Products ................................................. 22
GE Healthcare ...................................................................... 40
Healthcare Payer Newsletter ............................................... 28
Hyland Software................................................................... 29
HIMSS Publications ............................................................. 32
HITN Job Spot ....................................................................... 37
HITN eNewsletter.................................................................. 39
ICD10 Watch/Infosys ........................................................... 18
Ingenix............................................................................21, 35
Institute for Health Technology ........................................... 33
Intersystems............................................................................2
Laserfiche............................................................................. 33
LG Electronics ...................................................................... 11
LINKMED Tools ..................................................................... 35
MedTech Media .................................................................... 30
Navicure ..................................................................................5
Ontario Systems................................................................... 26
Spectrosoft ..............................................................................9
St. Bernard Software ........................................................... 16
The Marshfield Clinic........................................................... 24
Vital Images............................................................................6
Wolters Kluwer Health ............................................................8
HEALTHCARE IT NEWS (ISSN 1547-3139) is
published monthly by MedTech Publishing Company,
71 Pineland Drive, Suite 203, New Gloucester, ME
04260. Phone: 207-688-6270; FAX: 207-688-
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ME and additional mailing offices. Qualified
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by MedTech Media. All rights reserved. No part of
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any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopy, recording or any information
storage and retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publisher.
ON THE MOVE
Siemens Healthcare announced the appointment of longtime Partners Healthcare
CIO John Glaser as CEO of Siemens Health Services Business Unit, where
he’ll be responsible for leading the company’s global healthcare IT business.
The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) has
promoted John Hoyt to the position of executive vice president, organiza-
tional services; in this role, Hoyt will also serve as the executive head for
HIMSS Analytics. Dale Alverson, medical director for UNM Health Sciences
John Glaser
Center’s Center for Telehealth and Cybermedicine Research, was named
president of the American Telemedicine Association. athenahealth’s Chief Operating Officer
David E. Robinson resigned July 1 and was replaced by Ed Park, athenahealth’s
former chief technology officer; Jeremy Delinsky will be appointed chief tech-
nology officer. Merge Healthcare has appointed Jeff Surges to its board of
directors. Polycom has named Andrew Miller president and chief executive
officer. Johns Hopkins Children’s Center neonatologist Christoph Lehmann,
MD, has joined the National Quality Forum (NQF), as a member of its newly
formed Health Information Technology advisory committee. Henry Schein,
Grace Monahan
Inc. has promoted Keith Slater to vice president and general
manager of Henry Schein Medical Systems; the company also named Grace
Monahan as vice president and chief information officer, global information
services. Michael P. Dugan has joined the Federation of State Medical Boards
executive leadership team as chief information officer. DocuSign, a provider
of SaaS-based electronic signature platform technology, has appointed Mike
Dinsdale as chief financial officer. CredenceHealth, which provides real-time
Mike Dinsdale
clinical intelligence to providers and payers, announced that Dan Lynch has
joined the company as senior vice president of business development. Toshiba America Medical
Systems has promoted Catherine Wolfe to senior director, corporate and strategic communica-
tions, leading the new corporate and strategic communications team. Nuance
Communications, Inc. has announced that Mark Laret, chief executive officer
of University of California San Francisco Medical Center, has joined Nuance’s
board of directors. Health Language, Inc. announced that Ailene Thiel has
joined the company as the European sales director. MEDecision, Inc., a
provider of collaborative healthcare management solutions, has named Eric
Demers senior vice president of life sciences. Three medical technology profes-
sionals have been selected as new members of AAMI’s Technology Management Catherine Wolfe
Council: Joseph Dysko, director of clinical engineering and capital services for Catholic Healthcare
West; Barrett Franklin, a clinical engineer with the Department of Veteran Affairs; and Heidi
Horn, VP of clinical engineering services for SSM Healthcare.
QUOTED
Suzanne Accordino ........South Jersey Hospital ......................17
John Bachman...............The Mayo Clinic........................ 23, 24
Janey Barnes .................User-View, Inc. ................................31
Jeffrey Belden ................University of Missouri .....................31
Karen Bell......................CCHIT ................................................6
David Blumenthal .........ONC.......................................... 12, 31
Brad Bostic ...................Bostech ...........................................36
Pat Bradley....................PriceDoc ..........................................23
George Brenckle ............UMass Memorial Health Care..........14
Robert Brenner ..............Summit Medical Group ...................35
Jennifer Brockman.........Virginia Health Quality Center ..........9
Mara Bryant White ........Memorial Medical Center ................24
Stephen B. Burke ..........Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia ..19
Mark Cafferty ................San Diego Workforce Partnership ....37
Sharon Canner ..............CHIME ...............................................3
Barry P. Chaiken ...........HIMSS ........................................ 3, 12
Manick Choraria ............ICE Middleware ...............................32
Frank Cobbin .................Aetna ..............................................29
Jay Cohen ......................Monarch HealthCare .......................29
Richard Cooke ...............Lincor ..............................................32
Todd Cozzens.................Picis ................................................14
Thomas Curran..............CHOP...............................................17
Jim Deren ......................CareTech Solutions ...........................3
Lynne Dunbrack.............IDC Health Insights.........................31
Carl Dvorak ...................Epic Systems.....................................8
Elliott Fisher ..................Dartmouth.......................................29
Vivien J. Funkhouser ......Motorola ..........................................13
Scott Gode .....................Azaleos............................................23
David Groves .................Healthbridge .....................................9
Mark Haas .....................Massachusetts General Hospital ....17
Lori Heim .......................AAFP..................................................1
Betsey Hersher ..............Hersher Associates..........................18
Peggy Hinz.....................Anthem Blue Cross .........................27
Bill Ho ...........................Biscom ............................................19
John P. Hoyt ...................HIMSS ...............................................9
Charles Jarvis................NextGen.............................................8
Philip R. Johnson ...........CHOP...............................................17
Rep. Patrick Kennedy ....D-R.I. ................................................8
Judy Kirby ......................Kirby Partners .................................18
Howard K. Koh ...............HHS .................................................37
Scott Law ......................Zotec Partners.................................36
Ami Laws.......................Concierge Medicine .........................25
Dijuana Lewis................WellPoint .........................................28
Stuart W. Lewis .............Lewis Research Solutions ...............12
Steven Liu .....................Ingenious Med.................................35
Raymond F. Lopez .........Engineering Services Network .........18
John MacDonald ............LECG SMART ...................................35
Leslie A. Margolin ..........Anthem Blue Cross .........................29
Robert Matthews ...........Biscom ............................................19
Terry McGeeney..............TransforMED .....................................1
Scot Melland .................Dice Holdings ..................................37
Rep. Mike Michaud ........D-Maine ............................................3
David Muntz ..................Baylor Health Care System................4
Neal Neuberger..............Institute for e-Health Policy ......... 3, 4
Richard Noffsinger ........Anvita Health ....................................6
Michael O’Neil ...............GetWellNetwork ...............................32
Alphonso O’Neill-White ..BCBSWNY/BSNENY..........................28
Michael O’Rourke ..........Catholic Health Initiatives ..............14
Ben Packman ................Hospedia .........................................31
Phil Pead .......................Eclipsys...........................................14
Mike Ramseier...............Anthem Blue Cross .........................29
Heidi S. Rendall ............Anchor Medical Clinic .....................25
Bryan Roberts................Venrock ...........................................36
Amy Romano .................Lamaze International ......................24
Kathleen Sebelius..........HHS .................................................37
Beth Schindele ..............Delaware REC ...................................9
Stephen Schneider ........Aetna ..............................................27
Roy Schoenberg .............American Well .................................28
David Singer..................Maverick Capital .............................36
William Spooner ............Sharp Healthcare ............................14
Robert M. Stark .............Greenwich Hospital .........................23
Erin Stevenson ..............Redwood Medical Consulting ..........24
Scott A. Storrer ..............MEDecision .....................................27
Humphrey Taylor............The Harris Poll ................................23
Gretchen Tegethoff ........GW University Hospital......................3
Cristina Thomas ............Catholic Health Initiatives ..............18
Glen Tullman .................Allscripts.............................. 1, 13, 14
Mark Wagner .................KLAS Research ................................34
Alice Walter ...................Center for Connected Health ...........24
Brad Waugh ..................NaviNet ...........................................27
Sean W. Wieland ...........Piper Jaffray ....................................14
Gary Zegiestowsky .........Informatics Corp. of America ..........33
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