Category: EHR

Early and costly proposals for healthcare reform are creating clouds of uncertainty on the healthcare horizon, providing scant relief for organizations stymied by the economy, patient safety issues and internal budget restraints, observes Paul Keckley, Ph.D, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. As he prepares a mid-year review of financial and legislative…

Implementing an EHR into your organization is not the same as implementing a patient-centered medical home (PCMH) model of care, according to Dr. James Crawford, senior vice president for laboratory services and chair of the department of pathology and laboratory medicine at North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System. To be a PCMH, the practice workflow…

Although CMS does not currently require physicians in the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative to have electronic health records, nearly 75 percent of American Academy of Family Physicians members are already using EHRs, estimates Dr. Bruce Bagley, AAFP medical director of quality improvement. CMS’ inclusion of two structural measures for 2008, one for EHRs and the…

Dr. Joel Diamond, medical director of Diamond, Fera and Associates, explained how concentrating on people rather than IT and engaging the medical leadership and the rest of the staff at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for successful hospital implementation of an electronic health record and how these lessons can be applied to a physician…

Implementing an electronic health record (EHR) in 1998 has transformed the way the four-location North Fulton Family Practice in Georgia does business. Dr. Jim Morrow, North Fulton’s vice president and chief information officer, described how the EHR has enhanced physician-patient “face time”and care management and improved efficiency, productivity and profitability at the 20-provider practice. He…

Dr. Bruce Bagley, medical director of quality improvement with the American Academy of Family Physicians, described his organization’s willingness to support physicians as CMS expands its Physician Voluntary Reporting Program (PVRP), the role of electronic medical records in the CMS initiative, and predicted just how long this program will remain voluntary. Participating in PVRP can…

Dr. Fred Hosler, senior vice president and chief medical officer at Alegent Health, describes the role of electronic medical records in the pay-for-performance arena, the importance of adequate ramp-uptime and of building staff support in a collegial fashion for organizational ventures such as pay-for-performance. Dr. Hosler also describes how his organization is developing a physician…