Medicare, Medicaid agencies plan IT overhaul
Jeff Kelly, Online Industry Editor

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are gearing up for an IT upgrade in 2011. According to this report in FierceHealthIT, part of the rational behind the upgrade is to improve the agencies' ability to share and exchange electronic medical records .. Read More

"Meaningful Use" and NextGen Eye Care Meet Emerging Technology Needs

EyeHealth Northwest (Oregon) needed an integrated solution to meet its ophthalmology-specific needs to over 500 statewide practices, while also complying with the mandates of “meaningful use”. An Electronic Medical Records (EMR) solution was needed, a comprehensive system that provided  enhanced data access, better flexibility to handle high patient volumes, streamlined workflow, more comprehensive claims management capabilities…and budget conscious.

“We knew we needed to take immediate action,” said Cindy Rowe, CEO at EyeHealth Northwest. And they found it with a provider that even had expertise “in the ophthalmology market – specifically with practices our size.“  EyeHealth Northwest’s 30 providers perform more than 130,000 exams and 12,000 surgeries annually are now linked to roughly 5,000 other ophthalmology providers nationwide—and sharing leading technology solutions with each other—a total that represents more than half the ophthalmology EMR user population in the U.S.

Best-in-Class EMR Development and Hosting Services Providers:

• Integrates all the clinical tools necessary for an interdisciplinary approach to services delivery
• Improves staff and resource utilization
• Enables coordinated compliance with accreditation organizations like CARF and JCAHO and speedier justification of medical necessity issues.

Top Considerations Before Selecting Best-in-Class EMR Development and Hosting Services
Provider:

Long-term relationship building, guidance, and ongoing services from EHR vendor to smooth transition and transformation process for medical staff and personnel from legacy paper-based system to electronic.

Key Providers:

1. Sunquest Information Systems, Inc. develops laboratory information systems, barcode point of care, and their Outreach Advantage solutions. Their solutions are all designed to create workflow excellence, decrease turnaround time and length of stay, boost productivity and give clinicians actionable results. Sunquest’s Diagnostic Intelligence offers real-time, dashboard-driven operational and clinical metrics. Their industry share includes more than 37% of U.S. hospitals.

2. Daw Systems, Inc. says that its ScriptSure eRx (e-Prescribing software) "is designed with the goal of helping one to practice medicine easier, safer and more efficiently." ScriptSure eRx has a new user interface that is simple to use that can electronically send prescriptions securely to most pharmacies using the SureScripts-RxHub interfaces as well as output prescriptions to any printer.  This software can be a stand-alone e-prescribing solution or can interface with a medical office’s Practice Management software. This privately-owned company also offers ScriptSure EMR (electronic medical record) which creates e-prescriptions, patient and chart notes, referrals, lab tests orders and consultant referrals. This private company is head-quartered in Ballston Lake NY.

3. SpringCharts from Spring Medical Systems, Inc., an ambulatory electronic health record for Ambulatory Care Units are designed for physician offices and clinics where most Americans receive their healthcare.  SpringCharts received CCHIT recognition  from the Certification Body in the United States for Health Information Technology is reported by Spring Medical Systems to deliver "the lowest total cost of charting" and currently used by thousands of doctors. Spring Medical Systems, Inc. develops electronic health records (EHR) for small- and medium-sized medical practices. The company offers software solutions that enable physicians to manage the clinical and administrative aspects of their practices.

4. Healthcare Management Systems, Inc. (HMS) develops and supports a wide range of solutions in the areas of Clinical, Enabling Technologies, Financial, Rehabilitation, Financial, Behavioral and Long Term Acute Care for integrated clinical and financial hospital information systems. This Nashville TN-based company says that "With the HMS system, caregivers are able to increase their efficiency in delivering quality care with an emphasis on improving patient safety." Its customer base includes over 600 community hospitals; behavioral, rehabilitation and long-term acute care facilities and multi-entity healthcare organizations around the US.

EMR Development and Hosting Services
Definition: EMR Development and Hosting Services is an organization that offers an integrated collection of computer and telecommunications capabilities that facilitates communication of patient, clinical and financial information among multiple providers, payers, employers, pharmacies.