tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33379536520180305192024-03-05T04:24:34.610-05:00LFTo Define is to Perfect - LFAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.comBlogger129125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-37806240710579374172012-07-11T18:21:00.004-04:002012-07-11T18:21:49.796-04:00What do industry experts think of the healthcare reformIn an article published at <a href="http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/4-experts-weigh-impact-health-reform-ruling?topic=08,10,28,29,19" target="_blank">HealthcareITNews</a> 4 different experts provided their opinions on what can be anticipated as a result of the healthcare reform. I tend to agree with most of the opinions and therefore highlighted the most significant in my opinion parts. Please see full body of the article enclosed below.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">WASHINGTON – With the nation on the edge of its seat June 28, the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.govhealthit.com/news/supreme-court-upholds-individual-mandate-aca" style="color: #1c5397; text-decoration: none;"><strong>Supreme Court ruled it constitutional</strong></a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>for all Americans to obtain health insurance or face penalties. And with the remaining sections of the ACA staying in place, healthcare reform was deemed to be in full swing, resulting in another victory for the Obama administration.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">With that said, we compiled four expert reactions to the Supreme Court's ACA decision.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><strong>1. It's a 'historic victory.'<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman </span>felt the decision was a 'win' for all Americans who will be covered by health insurance. "<span style="background-color: yellow;">The law's effects will be significant in our state, where over two million people are uninsured. Over a million uninsured New Yorkers will soon have access to affordable coverage,</span>" he said. "This law will continue to provide a spectrum of key consumer protections including <span style="background-color: yellow;">keeping young adults on their parents' plans, ending pre-existing condition restrictions, and increasing consumer information about healthcare choices.</span>"</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><strong>2. Healthcare continues to be in a state of change.</strong> "It's about creating a sustainable healthcare industry," said <span style="background-color: yellow;">Bruce Johnson, CEO of supply chain management company GHX.</span> "Unlike most industries, healthcare is two-dimensional: delivering high-quality care to save lives while running efficient businesses. At the core, <span style="background-color: yellow;">healthcare reform is driven by the need to reduce costs while delivering care of the highest quality.</span>" The business of healthcare needs to change, continued Johnson, to deliver cost-efficient and effective business processes. "<span style="background-color: yellow;">It's all about quality and access -- and quality can be improved by healthcare businesses working together to standardize and streamline their processes."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><strong>3. The decision will impact all healthcare providers.</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>"Those who were waiting to see what would happen with healthcare reform can now expect to see a number of changes to their practice," said <span style="background-color: yellow;">Claire Marblestone, attorney at healthcare provider firm Fenton Nelson. </span>"For example, there will be <span style="background-color: yellow;">additional funds for rural healthcare providers, incentives to adopt electronic healthcare records, and mandatory adoption of compliance and ethics programs for certain facilities</span>." Furthermore, she added, "<span style="background-color: yellow;">The changes to Medicare and Medicaid will have an impact on provider reimbursement."</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><strong>4. The focus will shift to implementing programs as soon as possible.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></strong><span style="background-color: yellow;">Bart Stupak, former Michigan congressman</span>, said now that the ruling has been made, "t<span style="background-color: yellow;">he focus within the executive branch, in the states, and throughout the healthcare industry will be on developing and implementing the programs as quickly as possible." </span>The demand for healthcare is about to explode as baby boomers continue to age. "It will be critical for all parties involved in the healthcare system -- providers, hospitals, insurers, and the government -- to innovate and develop methods for reducing the costs of delivering quality healthcare,"Stupak added, "so the country will be able to afford expansion."</span></div>
</blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-72642686005620817622012-07-11T11:42:00.000-04:002012-07-11T11:42:30.038-04:00Gluten FREE? - Places to go to in NYCI found an article posted by <a href="http://newyork.cbslocal.com/top-lists/best-gluten-free-food-in-the-city/" target="_blank">CBS New York</a> on some of the best places in NYC that are Gluten FREE. As I explore each one I'll post comments to this post.<br />
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I have shared this with a lot of my friends, although I have not been diagnosed with Celiac, giving up gluten was the best things I have done for myself in a long while. I no longer feel tired, my energy level stays evenly high through the day. This results in me being more productive and enjoying my days more. Quality of life increase of sure. <br />
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Suffer from Celiac disease? Going through life gluten-free poses its
challenges, especially when cravings for comfort foods like pizza and
cupcakes come knocking. Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered. Here’s a
look at some of the top GF fare in town. <em></em><br />
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<h3>
Risotteria</h3>
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<img alt="gluten free breadsticks The 8 Best Gluten Free Food & Restaurants In New York City" class="size-full wp-image-85008" src="http://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/gluten-free-breadsticks.jpg?w=420" title="Gluten-Free Breadsticks" /><div class="wp-caption-text">
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Our favorite gluten-gree find in all of New York City may be Risotteria’s breadsticks (credit: Risotteria)<br /><br />270 Bleecker Street (between 6th & 7th Aves.)<br />New York, NY 10014<span class="skype_pnh_container" dir="ltr" tabindex="-1"><span class="skype_pnh_highlighting_inactive_common" dir="ltr"><span class="skype_pnh_text_span"></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span class="skype_pnh_container" dir="ltr" tabindex="-1"><span class="skype_pnh_highlighting_inactive_common" dir="ltr"><span class="skype_pnh_text_span">(212) 924 – 6664</span></span> </span></blockquote>
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<a href="http://risotteria.com/" target="_blank">risotteria.com</a><br />
<a href="http://directory.newyork.cbslocal.com/directory/listing/100/558369-Risotteria" target="_self">Reviews & More Info</a><strong><br />
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If you suffer from a gluten intolerance, you’ll find a bit of heaven
at Risotteria. From the minute they place the first round of gluten-free
breadsticks at the table until you finish the last bite of your
gluten-free apple pie at dessert. In between, you can sip on gluten-free
beer! The menu targets those with Celiac Disease, and itemizes the
options with markers for “gluten free,” “vegetarian,” or “dairy free.”
The restaurant specializes in risotto and gluten-free baked goods, which
you can order to go. On Tuesdays, order from a special gluten-free
pasta menu. Yes, the place sounds too good to be true for those who
normally can’t enjoy all of these foods – and the crowds that gather
nightly prove the restaurant’s worth. Reservations aren’t accepted, wait
time can be lengthy and the place gets crowded fast. But our tip? It’s
worth it.<br />
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<h3>
Bistango</h3>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_26952" style="width: 310px;">
<img alt="bistango The 8 Best Gluten Free Food & Restaurants In New York City" class="size-full wp-image-26952" src="http://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/bistango.jpg?w=420" title="A delicious, gluten-free meal at Bistango Ristorante (Image courtesy of bistangonyc.com)" /><div class="wp-caption-text">
(credit: bistangonyc.com)</div>
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415 3rd Avenue<br />
New York, NY 10016<br /> <span class="skype_pnh_container" dir="ltr" tabindex="-1"><span class="skype_pnh_highlighting_inactive_common" dir="ltr"><span class="skype_pnh_text_span">(212) 725-8484</span></span> </span><br />
<a href="http://www.bistangonyc.com/" target="_blank">bistangonyc.com</a><br />
<a href="http://directory.newyork.cbslocal.com/directory/listing/100/562243-Bistango-Restaurant" target="_self">Reviews & more info</a><br />
The gluten-free options here are limitless, and the staff is eager to
please and ensure a safe and delicious meal for everyone. You’ll
probably even meet the owner, Anthony, who often comes out to greet
guests and chat about his restaurant. Start the meal off with warm,
crusty gluten-free bread that puts most other GF bread to shame. For
dinner, you can dine on creamy Spinach & Ricotta Ravioli, flavorful
Wild Mushroom & Ricotta Ravioli, or Cheese Tortellini from the
gluten-free menu. For a $2 premium, you can make any pasta item on the
menu gluten-free. They also offer two Green’s gluten-free beers, the
dark and sweet Endeavor and the light and fresh Quest. During the
summer, sip fresh gluten-free white wine sangria. Try the GF homemade
cheesecake for dessert.<br />
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<h3>
Keste Pizza & Vino</h3>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_27564" style="width: 310px;">
<img alt="kestepizzeria2 The 8 Best Gluten Free Food & Restaurants In New York City" class="size-full wp-image-27564" src="http://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/kestepizzeria2.jpg?w=420" title="KestePizzeria2" /><div class="wp-caption-text">
The pizza from Keste. (photo credit: kestepizzeria.com)</div>
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271 Bleecker Street<br />
New York, NY 10014<br /> <span class="skype_pnh_container" dir="ltr" tabindex="-1"><span class="skype_pnh_highlighting_inactive_common" dir="ltr"><span class="skype_pnh_text_span">(212) 243-1500</span></span> </span><br />
<a href="http://www.kestepizzeria.com/" target="_blank">kestepizzeria.com</a><br />
<a href="http://directory.newyork.cbslocal.com/directory/listing/100/681800-Keste-Pizzeria-Vino" target="_self">Reviews & more info</a><br />
A good pizza can be tough to find – especially when you’re avoiding
gluten – but Mondays and Tuesdays are gluten-free days at this West
Village spot. Choose from the Mast Nicola, with lardo, Pecorino Romano
(a hard, salty cheese), and basil, or sample the Marinara (tomatoes and
oregano) or the classic Margherita. All pies come on a cruncy,
brick-oven crust that will make you forget it’s gluten-free. The torta
caprese, a flourless chocolate almond cake, is moist and dense,
completely gluten-free, and a great way to finish off your meal.<br />
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<h3>
S’MAC</h3>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_369479" style="width: 310px;">
<img alt=" The 8 Best Gluten Free Food & Restaurants In New York City" class="size-medium wp-image-369479" height="199" src="http://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/smac.jpg?w=300&h=199" title="S'mac" width="300" /><div class="wp-caption-text">
(credit: S’mac/Facebook)</div>
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345 East 12th St<br />
New York, NY 10003<br /> <span class="skype_pnh_container" dir="ltr" tabindex="-1"><span class="skype_pnh_highlighting_inactive_common" dir="ltr"><span class="skype_pnh_text_span">(212) 358-7912</span></span> </span><br />
<a href="http://www.smacnyc.com/" target="_blank">smacnyc.com</a><br />
Mac’n'cheese is the ultimate comfort food (check out our <a href="http://newyork.cbslocal.com/top-lists/best-mac-n-cheese/" target="_blank">Best Mac roundup</a>) -
but for not always for gluten-free lifestyles. That’s where S’MAC comes
into the play. They’ve gone through a lot of effort to make their
entire menu available in GF variations, charging a bit more depending on
the size of dish you order. For GF mac, they use Brown Rice elbow
macaroni, bechamel (no wheat flour), and breadcrumbs made from GF
cornflakes. With all that in mind, dive into their extensive collection
of delicious mac flavors, including cheeseburger and cajun.<br />
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<h3>
Lilli And Loo</h3>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_87770" style="width: 310px;">
<img alt=" The 8 Best Gluten Free Food & Restaurants In New York City" class="size-medium wp-image-87770" height="199" src="http://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/chinese-food.jpg?w=300&h=199" title="Chinese Food" width="300" /><div class="wp-caption-text">
Getty Images/Clip Art</div>
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792 Lexington Avenue<br />
New York, NY 10065<br /> <span class="skype_pnh_container" dir="ltr" tabindex="-1"><span class="skype_pnh_highlighting_inactive_common" dir="ltr"><span class="skype_pnh_text_span">(212) 421-7800</span></span> </span><br />
<a href="http://www.lilliandloo.com/" target="_blank">lilliandloo.com</a><br />
Hungry for stick-to-your-bones, Chinese takeout – sans gluten? Check
out this Lexington Avenue locale, Lilli and Loo. Their gluten-free menu
boasts more than 50 items, including spicy General T’so’s chicken or
tofu, which retains the crunch its gluten-filled counterpart is known
for. We like the rice noodle pad thai, and the dumplings are delicious
with GF soy sauce.<br />
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<h3>
Candle 79</h3>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_369427" style="width: 310px;">
<img alt=" The 8 Best Gluten Free Food & Restaurants In New York City" class="size-medium wp-image-369427 " height="199" src="http://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/cocktails-from-candle-79.jpg?w=300&h=199" title="Cocktails From Candle 79" width="300" /><div class="wp-caption-text">
(credit: Candle 79)</div>
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154 E 79th St<br />
New York, NY 10021<br /> <span class="skype_pnh_container" dir="ltr" tabindex="-1"><span class="skype_pnh_highlighting_inactive_common" dir="ltr"><span class="skype_pnh_text_span">(212) 537-7179</span></span> </span><br />
<a href="http://candlecafe.com/">candlecafe.com </a><br />
Dimly-lit and perfect for date night, this Upper East Side venue
boasts a thorough gluten-free menu. Their organic, vegan fare pairs
fabulously with a thorough cocktail selection. The atmosphere is
welcoming to those without dietary limitations, as well. We’re big fans
of Angel’s Nachos ($16.00).<br />
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<h3>
Tu-Lu’s Gluten-Free Bakery</h3>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_298885" style="width: 310px;">
<img alt=" The 8 Best Gluten Free Food & Restaurants In New York City" class="size-medium wp-image-298885" height="225" src="http://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/tu-lus-vanilla-buttercream-cupcake.jpg?w=300&h=225" title="Tu-Lu's Vanilla Buttercream Cupcake" width="300" /><div class="wp-caption-text">
Tu-Lu’s Vanilla Cupcake with Vanilla Buttercream (credit: Tu-Lu’s)</div>
</div>
338 East 11th St.<br />
New York, NY 10003<br /> <span class="skype_pnh_container" dir="ltr" tabindex="-1"><span class="skype_pnh_highlighting_inactive_common" dir="ltr"><span class="skype_pnh_text_span">(212) 777-2227</span></span> </span><br />
<a href="http://www.tu-lusbakery.com/" target="_blank">tu-lusbakery.com</a><br />
Time for dessert. Tu-Lu’s<a href="http://newyork.cbslocal.com/top-lists/best-cupcakes-in-new-york-city/" title="The 9 Best Cupcakes In New York City"> made our Best Cupcake list</a>
on the quality of its wares alone. It’s a bonus that
they’re gluten-free. Tully Lewis attended culinary school at Le Cordon
Bleu in Austin, Texas, before making her way up to NYC to continue her
studies at NYU. Good thing for us it’s not all academic for her. Her
chocolate chip cookies get rave reviews, and of course, we love the
vanilla/vanilla cupcake.<br />
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<h3>
Rice To Riches</h3>
<div class="wp-caption alignnone" id="attachment_242347" style="width: 290px;">
<img alt=" The 8 Best Gluten Free Food & Restaurants In New York City" class=" wp-image-242347" height="258" src="http://cbsnewyork.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/rice-to-riches.jpg?w=280&h=258" title="Rice To Riches" width="280" /><div class="wp-caption-text">
(credit: ricetoriches.com)</div>
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37 Spring Street<br />
New York, N.Y.<br /> <span class="skype_pnh_container" dir="ltr" tabindex="-1"><span class="skype_pnh_highlighting_inactive_common" dir="ltr"><span class="skype_pnh_text_span">212.274.0008</span></span> </span><br />
<a href="http://ricetoriches.com/" target="_blank">ricetoriches.com</a><br />
In a skinny city where venues like Pinkberry make a business of
encouraging visitors to top their non-fat concoctions with healthy
additions like fruit and nuts, Nolita’s Rice To Riches offers heaping
portions of their trendy take on comfort food while encouraging the
overindulgence (the walls are lined with phrases poking fun at thin
girls and fitness freaks). It’s a bit pricey, but even the smallest size
is big enough for two to share. The staff is knowledgeable about which
flavors are gluten-free, and which ones aren’t safe for those with the
allergy.</blockquote>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-51533352392476163422012-07-09T12:32:00.000-04:002012-07-09T12:32:24.515-04:00Managed Care News - WellPoint to aquire AmerigroupA very big change in the delivery of healthcare is here. Healthcare reform makes an impact on all of the aspect of care delivery, from providers to suppliers, to pharmaceutical, to insurance companies. One of the big transactions will take effect in the first quarter of 2013.<br />
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WellPoint is acquiring Amerigroup along with some other companies, such as 1-800-Contacts, a Draper, Utah based contact lens retailer. Please see the article published in <a href="http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20120709/NEWS/307099940?AllowView=VW8xUmo5Q21TcWJOb1gzb0tNN3RLZ0h0MWg5SVgra3NZRzROR3l0WWRMVGJVLzBJRWxiNUtpQzMyWmVzNTNVWUpiaWg=&utm_source=link-20120709-NEWS-307099940&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=am" target="_blank">ModernHealthcare.com</a> below:<br />
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WellPoint said it entered a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://ir.wellpoint.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=130104&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1712527&highlight=">definitive agreement to acquire Amerigroup</a>, a Virginia Beach, Va.-based managed-care company, for about $4.9 billion.<br /><br />The deal will expand the Indianapolis-based health insurer’s Medicaid managed-care business, including its share of the dual-eligible population.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br /><br />“We expect Medicaid spending under managed-care programs to increase by nearly $100 million by the end of 2014,” said WellPoint President and CEO Angela Braly during a conference call. “These opportunities will develop organically in addition to the Medicaideligibility expansion under healthcare reform.”<div style="float: left; padding-bottom: 20px; width: 340px;">
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The combined company will serve about 4.5 million Medicaid beneficiaries, as well as have a Medicaid presence in 19 states. Amerigroup, which said its revenue is expected to double over the next five years, will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of WellPoint.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br /><br />The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2013.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><br /><br />WellPoint said last month that it planned to<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20120604/INFO/306049974/health-insurer-wellpoint-to-buy-1-800-contacts">acquire<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="skype_pnh_container" dir="ltr" style="background-attachment: scroll ! important; background-color: transparent ! important; background-image: none ! important; background-position: 0px 0px ! important; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat ! important; border-collapse: separate ! important; border: 0px none rgb(0, 0, 0) ! important; bottom: auto ! important; clear: none ! important; clip: auto ! important; color: rgb(0, 173, 237) ! important; cursor: pointer ! important; direction: ltr ! important; display: inline ! important; float: none ! important; font-size: 1em ! important; font-style: normal ! important; font-weight: bold ! important; left: auto ! important; letter-spacing: 0px ! important; list-style: disc outside none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; overflow: hidden ! important; padding: 0px ! important; page-break-after: auto ! important; page-break-before: auto ! important; page-break-inside: auto ! important; position: static ! important; right: auto ! important; table-layout: auto ! important; text-align: left ! important; text-decoration: none ! important; text-indent: 0px ! important; text-shadow: none ! important; text-transform: none ! important; top: auto ! important; vertical-align: baseline ! important; width: auto ! important; word-spacing: normal ! important; z-index: 0 ! important;" tabindex="-1">1-800-Contacts,<span class="skype_pnh_highlighting_inactive_common" dir="ltr" style="background-attachment: scroll ! important; background-color: transparent ! important; background-image: none ! important; background-position: 0px 0px ! important; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat ! important; border-collapse: separate ! important; border: 0px none rgb(0, 0, 0) ! important; bottom: auto ! important; clear: none ! important; clip: auto ! important; color: rgb(0, 173, 237) ! important; cursor: pointer ! important; direction: ltr ! important; display: inline ! important; float: none ! important; font-size: 1em ! important; font-style: normal ! important; font-weight: bold ! important; left: auto ! important; letter-spacing: 0px ! important; list-style: disc outside none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; overflow: hidden ! important; padding: 0px ! important; page-break-after: auto ! important; page-break-before: auto ! important; page-break-inside: auto ! important; position: static ! important; right: auto ! important; table-layout: auto ! important; text-align: left ! important; text-decoration: none ! important; text-indent: 0px ! important; text-shadow: none ! important; text-transform: none ! important; top: auto ! important; vertical-align: baseline ! important; width: auto ! important; word-spacing: normal ! important; z-index: 0 ! important;"><span class="skype_pnh_textarea_span" style="background-attachment: scroll ! important; background-color: transparent ! important; background-image: none ! important; background-position: 0px 0px ! important; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat ! important; border-collapse: separate ! important; border: 0px none rgb(0, 0, 0) ! important; bottom: auto ! important; clear: none ! important; clip: auto ! important; color: rgb(0, 173, 237) ! important; cursor: pointer ! important; direction: ltr ! important; display: inline ! important; float: none ! important; font-size: 1em ! important; font-style: normal ! important; font-weight: bold ! important; left: auto ! important; letter-spacing: 0px ! important; list-style: disc outside none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; overflow: hidden ! important; padding: 0px ! important; page-break-after: auto ! important; page-break-before: auto ! important; page-break-inside: auto ! important; position: static ! important; right: auto ! important; table-layout: auto ! important; text-align: left ! important; text-decoration: none ! important; text-indent: 0px ! important; text-shadow: none ! important; text-transform: none ! important; top: auto ! important; vertical-align: baseline ! important; width: auto ! important; word-spacing: normal ! important; z-index: 0 ! important;"><span class="skype_pnh_text_span" style="background-attachment: scroll ! important; background-color: transparent ! important; background-image: none ! important; background-position: 0px 0px ! important; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat ! important; border-collapse: separate ! important; border: 0px none rgb(0, 0, 0) ! important; bottom: auto ! important; clear: none ! important; clip: auto ! important; color: rgb(0, 173, 237) ! important; cursor: pointer ! important; direction: ltr ! important; display: inline ! important; float: none ! important; font-size: 1em ! important; font-style: normal ! important; font-weight: bold ! important; left: auto ! important; letter-spacing: 0px ! important; list-style: disc outside none ! important; margin: 0px ! important; overflow: hidden ! important; padding: 0px ! important; page-break-after: auto ! important; page-break-before: auto ! important; page-break-inside: auto ! important; position: static ! important; right: auto ! important; table-layout: auto ! important; text-align: left ! important; text-decoration: none ! important; text-indent: 0px ! important; text-shadow: none ! important; text-transform: none ! important; top: auto ! important; vertical-align: baseline ! important; width: auto ! important; word-spacing: normal ! important; z-index: 0 ! important;"></span></span></span></span></a> a Draper, Utah-based contact lens retailer, for an undisclosed sum.</div>
</blockquote>
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-44002371251024426742012-07-09T12:22:00.002-04:002012-07-09T12:22:47.073-04:00ACO - Accountable Care Organization - What is it all aboutThis morning I received my usual set of Healthcare related news. One of the articles published by <a href="http://www.modernhealthcare.com/" target="_blank">ModernHealthcare</a> caught my attention.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20120709/NEWS/307099933?AllowView=VW8xUmo5Q21TcWJOb1gzb0tNN3RLZ0h0MWg5SVgra3NZRzROR3l0WWRMVGJVLzBJRWxiNUtpQzMyWmVzNTNVWUpiK2k=&utm_source=link-20120709-NEWS-307099933&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mh-alert" target="_blank">"CMS announces 89 new ACOs"</a> - as I read about this news, I realized that many of those whose lives are affected by the changes in healthcare delivery do not know what ACO is and how does it change the delivery of healthcare for Medicare Recipients.<br />
<br />
From the article I gather that CMS (Center for Medicaid and Medicare services) engaged more ACOs through out the country. See the body of the article below:<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">As of July 1,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><a href="http://www.modernhealthcare.com/assets/pdf/CH8048079.PDF" style="font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">89 new Medicare accountable care organizations (PDF)</a><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>started to serve Medicare beneficiaries in 40 states and Washington, D.C., the CMS announced Monday.</span><br style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">These new programs bring the total list of ACOs to 154, which includes 32 ACOs in the Pioneer ACO model from the CMS Innovation Center that were announced last December and six physician group practice transition demonstration organizations that began in January 2011.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><br style="color: black; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: black; display: inline ! important; float: none; font-family: inherit; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">“The Medicare ACO program opened for business in January, and already, more than 2.4 million beneficiaries are receiving care from providers participating in these important initiatives,” CMS Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner said in a statement.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></span></blockquote>
On the official <a href="http://www.cms.gov/" target="_blank">CMS website</a> I found a detailed description of what the ACO is all about and what available programs for are available to get involved if you are a provider, or a Healthcare professional. Please see the explanation below:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div class="syndicate" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<h1 style="background-image: url(https://assets.cms.gov/resources/cms/images/background/bg-page-title.jpg); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 19px; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding-bottom: 6px !important;">
Accountable Care Organizations (ACO)</h1>
<br />
<b>What's an ACO?</b><br />
Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers, who come together voluntarily to give coordinated high quality care to their Medicare patients.<br />
The goal of coordinated care is to ensure that patients, especially the chronically ill, get the right care at the right time, while avoiding unnecessary duplication of services and preventing medical errors.<br />
When an ACO succeeds both in both delivering high-quality care and spending health care dollars more wisely, it will<strong>share in the savings</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>it achieves for the Medicare program.<br />
Medicare offers several ACO programs:<br />
<ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 4px 0px;"><a href="http://www.cms.gov/sharedsavingsprogram/" style="color: #002280;">Medicare Shared Savings Program</a>—a program that helps a Medicare fee-for-service program providers become an ACO. Apply Now.</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 4px 0px;"><a href="http://innovations.cms.gov/areas-of-focus/seamless-and-coordinated-care-models/advance-payment/" style="color: #002280;">Advance Payment Initiative</a>—a supplementary incentive program for selected participants in the Shared Savings Program.</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 4px 0px;"><a href="http://innovations.cms.gov/areas-of-focus/seamless-and-coordinated-care-models/pioneer-aco/" style="color: #002280;">Pioneer ACO Model</a>—a program designed for early adopters of coordinated care. No longer accepting applications.Organizations across the country have already transformed the way they deliver care, in ways similar to the ACOs that Medicare supports.</li>
</ul>
Organizations across the country have already transformed the way they deliver care, in ways similar to the ACOs that Medicare supports.<br />
<b>As a healthcare provider, must I participate in an ACO?</b><br />
Participating in an ACO is purely voluntary for providers. We realize different organizations are at different stages in their ability to move toward an ACO model. We want to try to meet you where you are. Our hope is to show you models of participation that will encourage you to participate in and begin this work, no matter your organization’s stage.<br />
<strong>What are the rights of my Medicare patients if they see providers who participate in a Medicare ACO?</strong><br />
Fee-for-service Medicare patients who see providers that are participating in a Medicare ACO maintain all their Medicare rights, including the right to choose any doctors and providers that accept Medicare. Whether a provider chooses to participate in an ACO or not, their patients with Medicare may continue to see them.<br />
<b>Where can I learn more about ACOs?</b><br />
CMS offers different learning opportunities for organizations interested in learning more about ACOs. Visit this page periodically to learn about the latest opportunities.<br />
Included in those opportunities are<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://acoregister.rti.org/" style="color: #002280;">ACO Accelerated Development Learning Sessions</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(ADLS). CMS hosted two ADLS this year (June in Minneapolis; September in San Francisco), and will host an additional session in Baltimore on November 17-18. The ADLS help executive leadership teams from existing or emerging ACO entities:<br />
<ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 4px 0px;">Understand their current readiness to become an ACO.</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 4px 0px;">Identify organization-specific goals for achieving the three-part aim of improving care delivery, improving health, and reducing growth in costs through improvement.</li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 4px 0px;">Begin to develop an action plan for establishing essential ACO functions.</li>
</ul>
For more information about the ADLS and to view resources from previous sessions, visit the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://acoregister.rti.org/" style="color: #002280;">ADLS website</a>.<br />
<strong>How else is Medicare encouraging coordinated care?</strong><br />
<a href="http://innovations.cms.gov/" style="color: #002280;">The CMS Innovation Center</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>offers a menu of alternative options, including:<br />
<ul style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 20px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 4px 0px;"><a href="http://innovations.cms.gov/initiatives/cpci/" style="color: #002280;">Comprehensive Primary Care initiative</a></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 4px 0px;"><a href="http://innovations.cms.gov/initiatives/bundled-payments/index.html" style="color: #002280;">Bundled Payments for Care Improvement initiative</a></li>
<li style="list-style: disc outside !important; margin: 4px 0px;"><a href="https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Demonstration-Projects/DemoProjectsEvalRpts/Medicare-Demonstrations-Items/CMS1239313.html" style="color: #002280;">Community Based care Transition Program</a></li>
</ul>
We want to try to meet you where you are. Our hope is to show you models of participation that will encourage you to join in and begin this work, no matter your organization's stage.</div>
<div class="helpbox" style="background-color: white; border: 2px solid rgb(222, 222, 222); color: black; font-family: inherit; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 19px; margin: 10px 0px; orphans: 2; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<h2 style="background-color: #e4e5e5; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 1.2em; margin: 2px 0px; padding: 2px 6px;">
Downloads</h2>
<div class="help-details" style="background-color: #f8f9fa; border-top-color: rgb(222, 222, 222); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; margin-top: 1px; padding: 6px;">
<ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="margin: 4px 0px;"><a href="https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/ACO/Downloads/Appendix-ACO-Table.pdf" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: url(https://assets.cms.gov/resources/global/images/icons/icon-pdf.png); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #002280; padding-right: 20px;" type="application/pdf">Click here for a chart highlighting some of the key differences between the proposed and final rules. [PDF, 125KB]</a></li>
<li style="margin: 4px 0px;"><a href="https://www.cms.gov/Medicare/Medicare-Fee-for-Service-Payment/ACO/Downloads/ACO-Menu-Of-Options.pdf" style="background-attachment: scroll; background-color: transparent; background-image: url(https://assets.cms.gov/resources/global/images/icons/icon-pdf.png); background-position: 100% 50%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; color: #ff7800; padding-right: 20px; text-decoration: underline !important;" type="application/pdf">The Affordable Care Act: Helping Providers Help Patients - A Menu of Options for Improving Care [PDF, 73KB]</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-41382080379737794282012-07-06T10:00:00.000-04:002012-07-06T10:00:05.248-04:00Patient Health Records access for UnitedHealthcare membersMost of us working in healthcare know that any program, mandate or regulation first being implemented by the CMS (Center for Medicaid and Medicare Services). This is also true for the EHR implementation, followed by PHR (Patient/Personal Health Records). Most of the commercial insurance companies stay on stand by observing the outcomes of the CMS effort and join in later in the process to reinforce and adopt regulation, program or mandate at hand.<br />
<br />
Some come forward and adopt innovation faster than others and it is always interesting to see who and how will participate first. Department of Veterans Affairs has always been on the forefront if implementation.<br />
<br />
As stated in the article published by <a href="http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/unitedhealthcare-launches-blue-button-capability?topic=04,08,12,18,19" target="_blank">Healthcare IT News</a> United Healthcare has launched their own Blue Button program. This program enables plan participants to access and print their PHRs with just a click of a mouse.<br />
<br />
<b>Although, as per UnitedHealthcare, the PHR have been available for almost 20 years, the importance and availability of it is now emphasized. By placing the Blue Button in a more visible position UnitedHealthcare plans to attract the attention of the users and enables them to download their records in a PDF or text formats as well as printing it out.</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>UnitedHealthcare members can view, print and download information such as claims data, health screenings and self-entry. An individual's PHR will include critical health information such as previous or current health conditions, vital signs and procedures, and personal information that allow easy sharing of important information.</b></blockquote>
By March of 2012 the Blue Button program went live on one website for 500,000 people enrolled in Health Plan of Nevada. By the end of the year it is anticipated for more than 12 million employer-sponsored plan participants to have access. By 2012 nearly 26 million UnitedHealthcare enrollees will be able to access their records.<br />
<br />
As per Karl Ulfers, VP of Consumer Solutions at UnitedHealthcare, "The technology encourages people to update their personal health records as well as print them, so they can take their records with them and discuss their health and treatments with their doctors."<br />
<br />
Between government and private-sector organizations it is anticipated for as many as 75 million people to have access to their records via the Blue Button.<br />
<br />
The full body of the article is quoted below:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">
<div style="background-color: white; color: black; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.5; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
MINNETONKA, MN – Taking a cue from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, UnitedHealthcare has launched its own Blue Button program, enabling its plan participants to access and print their personal health records (PHRs) with the click of a mouse.</div>
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The Department of<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="directory-item-link" href="http://www.healthcareitnews.com/directory/veterans-affairs" style="color: #1c5397; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Veterans Affairs</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>launched the Blue Button in 2010 to allow simple exchange of a patient’s personal health data in a standard, consistent format. Initially designed for use by veterans, the idea has begun to find footholds in the private sector.</div>
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“Blue Button puts patients in charge of their personal health information. It is central to our vision of patient-centered clinical encounters,” said Peter L. Levin, chief technology officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs. “The federal<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="directory-item-link" href="http://www.healthcareitnews.com/directory/blue-button-initiative" style="color: #1c5397; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Blue Button initiative</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>is a great example of public-private partnerships and open government. With Blue Button, the government created a framework that offers patients private and secure access to their data, and is a model for the private sector.”</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.5; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
For years, nearly 20 million people who log on to UnitedHealthcare’s health and wellness site (myuhc.com) have had access to a PHR. But officials say the addition of Blue Button to the site will make that access easier, promoting the importance of a PHR and offering users the ability to print their records in either PDF or text formats.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.5; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
UnitedHealthcare members can view, print and download information such as claims data, health screenings and self-entry. An individual’s PHR will include critical health information such as previous or current health conditions, vital signs and procedures, and personal information that allow easy sharing of important information.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.5; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
UnitedHealthcare’s support of the Blue Button initiative first began in September 2011, and in March 2012 the Blue Button went live on one website for 500,000 people enrolled in Health Plan of Nevada benefit plans. As the firm expands the use of the technology, more than 12 million employer-sponsored plan participants will have access by the end of the year, and by mid-2013 nearly all 26 million UnitedHealthcare enrollees will be able to access their PHR with the click of the Blue Button, UnitedHealthcare officials say.</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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“Blue Button is a new, convenient way people can access their health records securely and easily with just a single click,” said Karl Ulfers, vice president, Consumer Solutions at UnitedHealthcare. “This technology encourages people to update their personal health records as well as print them, so they can take their records with them and discuss their health and treatments with their doctors.”</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.5; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
About a half of million veterans and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="directory-item-link" href="http://www.healthcareitnews.com/directory/medicare" style="color: #1c5397; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Medicare</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>members, including nonveterans, have already downloaded their records using the Blue Button interface, according to Veterans Affairs CIO Roger Baker.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 1.5; orphans: 2; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
“By the end of 2012, we think as many as 75 million people will have access to their medical information through Blue Button,” said Baker. “We’re getting a lot of adoption by private-sector organizations.”</div>
</blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-33401140612251672522012-07-05T16:53:00.000-04:002012-07-05T16:53:15.431-04:00Inforgraphic - Do Healthcare professional use Social MediaVery interesting perspective on how healthcare professionals use Social Media Resource. Originally published in <a href="http://www.healthcareitnews.com/infographic/infographic-how-healthcare-professionals-use-social-media" target="_blank">Healthcare IT News</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZJRD4vBIaQJKDDCxUUYnlfP4WkouWF2xiR9TVtPzZVt3BFtU_I3KKEjyhBRM0kIhGd5TS_22b_Ma_3iWyl5S5WE8Y1dREr45Hj13RPPKDRAQmNTSgCwuh_q54LdcpCu9gkGORH3HpgU/s1600/socialmedia_infographic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDZJRD4vBIaQJKDDCxUUYnlfP4WkouWF2xiR9TVtPzZVt3BFtU_I3KKEjyhBRM0kIhGd5TS_22b_Ma_3iWyl5S5WE8Y1dREr45Hj13RPPKDRAQmNTSgCwuh_q54LdcpCu9gkGORH3HpgU/s1600/socialmedia_infographic.png" /></a></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-45612752567542093212012-07-03T17:07:00.001-04:002012-07-04T08:32:39.398-04:00Medicaid Expansion - Will your state be In or Out<div class="title">Healthcare blog at the <a href="http://thehill.com/">TheHill.com</a> has published an interesting article - "Fifteen governors reject or leaning against expanded Medicaid program". This brings a very valid point, if the congress passed a law that has an option to opt out for the state how will the overall effort be effected, since we are talking about a federal law implementation. </div><div class="title"><br />
</div><div class="title">As much as I would like to stay out of politics, this is one topic where I simply cannot refrain myself from commenting. The implementation and acceptance of the Medicaid expansion can only work if it is implemented across all of the states, with the affordable option for healthcare insurance be available anywhere in the country. Should a state choose not to participate it may have far beyond reach implications on the migration of the population from one state to another. </div><blockquote class="tr_bq">At least 15 governors have indicated they will not participate in the expansion of Medicaid under the healthcare law, striking a blow to President Obama’s promise of broader insurance coverage.<br />
<br />
Before Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling, <span style="background-color: yellow;">states had the option of either increasing their Medicaid rolls or being penalized by the federal government.</span> <span style="background-color: yellow;">The high court struck down that offer as unconstitutional.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="module"> <div> <div> <div> <div class="vbanner"> <div id="google_ads_div_Healthwatch_ContentSquare_300x250_ad_wrapper"><div id="google_ads_div_Healthwatch_ContentSquare_300x250_ad_container" style="display: inline-block;"> </div></div><div id="google_ads_div_Healthwatch_ContentSquare_300x250_ad_wrapper"><div id="google_ads_div_Healthwatch_ContentSquare_300x250_ad_container" style="display: inline-block;">Governors still have a fi<span style="background-color: yellow;">nancial incentive to participate in the expansion of coverage for low-income people, since the government will foot most of the bill through 2016. But the decision is also loaded with politics, particularly for Republican governors who are adamantly opposed to “ObamaCare.”</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><br />
“You can make the political call real quick, but the actual decision is a complicated one,” said Matt Salo of the National Association of Medicaid Directors. “Governors are going to be looking at the numbers and asking: Does this make sense for us?”<br />
Seven states with Republican governors have given a flat “no” to the Medicaid expansion since the Supreme Court ruling, according to reports and press statements.</blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq">States that will decline to participate include Florida, where Gov. Rick Scott (R) turned his opposition to the law into a political career, and Louisiana, where Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) has vowed to help elect Mitt Romney as president in order to repeal it.<br />
<br />
In eight other states — seven with GOP governors — the Medicaid expansion seems unlikely, given comments from governors and their offices.<br />
<br />
Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) “has no interest in fast-tracking any portion of this bankrupting and overreaching legislation,” spokeswoman Lucy Nashed said in a statement Monday. “We will continue to call for the full repeal of the bill.”<br />
<br />
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R), considered a contender to be Romney’s vice-presidential nominee, said his focus is on November. </blockquote>Some consider the expansion as "budget-busting":<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">“The only way to stop Barack Obama’s budget-busting healthcare takeover is by electing a new president,” McDonnell said in a statement following the court’s decision.<br />
</blockquote>Interestingly enough, a lot of states already working on the Medicaid redesign and expansion even without a Federal mandate. But that doesn't apply to all.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">Some states haven't made a decision as of yet, whether they will or won't participate in the expansion of the program. <br />
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), also the subject of VP speculation, has not announced what his state will do. His political position is trickier, since he leads a blue state where there is more support for the healthcare law.<br />
<br />
In its original form, the Affordable Care Act would have pulled all federal funds for state Medicaid programs that did not expand as the law intended.<br />
<br />
Chief Justice John Roberts strongly criticized that approach in his opinion for the majority.<br />
“The financial ‘inducement’ Congress has chosen is much more than ‘relatively mild encouragement’ ” to expand Medicaid, Roberts wrote. “It is a gun to the head.”<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: yellow;">Past estimates have found that, as designed, the law’s expansion would have provided healthcare access to an additional 17 million low-income Americans.</span><br />
<br />
“States have a lot to consider,” said Robin Rudowitz with the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured. “That is a lot of federal money sitting on the table.”<br />
<br />
Alan Weil with the National Academy for State Health Policy said states that do not comply could raise the ire of some in Congress.<br />
<br />
“If states turn down that offer, it leaves a lot of people uninsured. If we end up in that place, a lot of people in Congress are going to say that is a problem,” he said.<br />
<br />
Several Democrats have expressed confidence that the bill’s intention to expand healthcare coverage can still be fulfilled.<br />
<br />
Peter Orszag, who led the White House budget office during the healthcare debate and had a major role in shaping the legislation, said states might come around eventually.<br />
<br />
He said the law’s coverage expansion would be significantly undercut if a large number of states opt out.<br />
<br />
“There may be significant gaps that open up, and that would be unfortunate,” he said, noting that more than half of the coverage expansion was set to come through Medicaid.<br />
<br />
<div style="background-color: yellow;">But Orszag said there is plenty of precedent for states to expand their Medicaid programs when they don’t have to. About 60 percent of current Medicaid spending goes toward people or benefits that are not mandated by federal law, he said. States decide to provide those optional benefits because the federal government bears most of the cost — and it would cover an even bigger share of the Affordable Care Act’s expansion.</div><br />
The federal government will cover the entire cost of the expansion for a few years. Its share begins to drop after that, but Orszag said it won’t fall far enough to be a bad deal for states.<br />
“A 90 percent subsidy rate is going to be hard to resist,” Orszag said Monday on a conference call organized by Foreign Affairs magazine.<br />
<i>— Sam Baker, Lydia Nuzum and Gunnar Sidak contributed to this report.</i></blockquote>You can find original article along with the list of states that already decided on their participation/non-participation <a href="http://thehill.com/blogs/healthwatch/health-reform-implementation/236033-fifteen-governors-reject-or-leaning-against-expanded-medicaid-program" target="_blank">here</a> <br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-68057774749921333142012-07-03T15:39:00.000-04:002012-07-03T15:39:03.158-04:00Affordable Care Act - Let's Look InsideIn a very descriptive article posted by the <a href="http://modernhealthcare.com/">ModernHealthcare.com</a> Joe Carlos has explained the ruling.<br />
<br />
With the new ruling in place those that will not have/purchase health insurance will be subjected to additional taxes. <br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The court ruled that Congress has the power to compel individuals to
purchase insurance as a tax on people who do not have health insurance.</blockquote>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
...the court ruled that Congress has the power to compel individuals to
purchase insurance as a tax on people who do not have health insurance.</blockquote>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
The important piece of information is that with this legislation passed the number of affordable options to purchase an insurance coverage will hopefully increase. As part of the overall process to better healthcare NY State is already working through a Medicaid redesign program. The ultimate objective is of course to prevent illness from developing and spreading by implementing more of preventive measures. Annual visits as well as other precautions can result in decreased number of admissions into the hospital and shorter waiting time in the Emergency room. Having an insurance coverage enables every one of us as a patient to take care of our health not in the time of crises but continuously by maintaining a healthy lifestyle.</div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The landmark decisions end two years of legal uncertainty and clear the
way for full implementation of the 906-page law. Doing so includes
establishing insurance exchanges in each state, prohibiting insurance
companies from discriminating against the sick, and requiring nearly all
Americans to prove on their income taxes that they carry health
insurance starting in 2014.<br /><br />"Today's historic decision lifts a
heavy burden from millions of Americans who need access to health
coverage. The promise of coverage can now become a reality,” said
American Hospital Association President and CEO Richard Umbdenstock in a
statement. “The decision means that hospitals now have much-needed
clarity to continue on their path toward transformation.”<br /><br />The
insurance industry's national interest group, America's Health Insurance
Plans, released a statement reiterating its position that “universal
coverage” was essential to avoiding significant increases in cost and
decreases in choices for health insurance.</blockquote>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
There is a slight downside of course, as per Karen Ignagni, but with the absence of the pre-existing condition clause alone the disruption of coverage can be reinstated. </div>
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“The law expands coverage to millions of Americans, a goal health plans
have long supported,” AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni said in a
statement, “but major provisions, such as the premium tax, will have the
unintended consequences of raising costs and disrupting coverage unless
they are addressed.”<br /><br />The court, however, did strike down part of
the reform law's mandated expansion of Medicaid. Congress had aimed to
expand the insurance program for the poor by at least 16 million people,
but the court ruled that Congress did not have the power to cut off
Medicaid funding for states that refused to comply with the law's
eligibility rules.<br /><br />The law said that states "must either accept a
basic change in the nature of Medicaid or risk losing all Medicaid
funding," Roberts wrote. "The remedy for that constitutional violation
is to preclude the federal government from imposing such a sanction … As
a practical matter that means states may now choose to reject the
expansion; that is the whole point. But that doesn't mean all or even
any will.”
</blockquote>
For original Article - <a href="http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20120628/NEWS/306259982?AllowView=VW8xUmo5Q21TcWJOb1gzb0tNN3RLZ0h0MWg5SVgra3NZRzROR3l0WWRMVGJVdjhKRWxiNUtpQzMyWmV0NVhrWUpiU2o=&utm_source=link-20120628-NEWS-306259982&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mostreq" target="_blank">click here</a><br />
<br />
To download 193 page opinion and dissent document (PDF) produced by the Congress - <a href="http://www.modernhealthcare.com/assets/pdf/CH80280628.PDF" target="_blank">click here </a><br />
<div style="background-color: white; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;">
<br /></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-77161036465626029582012-07-02T15:37:00.000-04:002012-07-02T15:37:01.088-04:00Beware of the Medication that you take.<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Beware of what is prescribed to you, not all medication is created equal and especially medication that you give to your children. Heavily regulated industry and we are still dealing with the consequence of misrepresentation and misuse. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As stated in MedPageToday.com:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span> <span style="background-color: yellow;">GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to plead guilty and pay $3 billion in
civil and criminal penalties </span>in a deal with federal prosecutors over its
marketing of paroxetine <span>HCl (Paxil), bupropion (Wellbutrin), and
other drugs, and for failing to report safety problems with
rosiglitazone (Avandia), the government announced Monday.</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">One of the medications that was misrepresented is Paxil. Paxil is a widely used in the outpatient treatment substance that controls anxiety and depression. By taking the medication a child not only did not receive any treatment, but was also subjected to "risk of suicidal thinking and behavior":</span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<strong>Paxil </strong><br />
GSK
acknowledged that its labeling for paroxetine was false and misleading
because t<span style="background-color: yellow;">he company allegedly promoted Paxil for treating depression in
patients under 18, even though the FDA never approved it for use in
children and adolescents.</span><br />
GSK allegedly participated in the
publishing of medical journal articles that <span style="background-color: yellow;">stated paroxetine was
effective in patients under 18, when, in fact, the data showed that the
opposite was true.</span> At the same time, the company withheld study data in
from two other studies in which Paxil also failed to demonstrate
efficacy in treating depression in patients under 18, according to a
press release from the Justice Department.<br />
The company also
"sponsored dinner programs, lunch programs, spa programs, and similar
activities to promote the use of Paxil in children and adolescents," the
Justice Department said.<br />
<div style="background-color: yellow;">
Paroxetine and other antidepressants
have carried black box warnings since 2004, stating that antidepressants
may increase the <u>risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in patients
under age 18</u>.</div>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> I am sure that this is a sad reality for a lot of patients and providers that have prescribed and most importantly took the medication and suffered from side effects. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">...</span><br />
<h4>
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Original article appeared in MedPageToday.com. Full body of the article along with the link to the source is listed below: </span></span></h4>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<header><hgroup><h1>
<a href="http://www.medpagetoday.com/PublicHealthPolicy/FDAGeneral/33587" target="_blank">GSK to Pay $3B for Sales, Safety Violations</a></h1>
</hgroup><div class="byline">
By Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today<div>
<span style="color: #666666;">Published: July 02, 2012</span></div>
</div>
</header></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<br />
WASHINGTON
-- GlaxoSmithKline has agreed to plead guilty and pay $3 billion in
civil and criminal penalties in a deal with federal prosecutors over its
marketing of paroxetine <span>HCl (Paxil), bupropion (Wellbutrin), and
other drugs, and for failing to report safety problems with
rosiglitazone (Avandia), the government announced Monday.</span></blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The <a href="http://www.medpagetoday.com/Cardiology/Diabetes/29432" target="_blank">initial terms of the agreement</a> were first announced in 2011. The government said this was the largest health fraud settlement in U.S. history.<br />
"Today's historic <a href="http://www.justice.gov/opa/gsk-docs.html" target="_blank">settlement</a>
is a major milestone in our efforts to stamp out health care fraud,"
Bill Corr, deputy secretary of the Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS), said in a press release. "For a long time, our
healthcare system had been a target for cheaters who thought they could
make an easy profit at the expense of public safety, taxpayers, and the
millions of Americans who depend on programs like Medicare and Medicaid.
But thanks to strong enforcement actions like those we have announced
today, that equation is rapidly changing."</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<strong>Paxil </strong><br />
GSK
acknowledged that its labeling for paroxetine was false and misleading
because the company allegedly promoted Paxil for treating depression in
patients under 18, even though the FDA never approved it for use in
children and adolescents.<br />
GSK allegedly participated in the
publishing of medical journal articles that stated paroxetine was
effective in patients under 18, when, in fact, the data showed that the
opposite was true. At the same time, the company withheld study data in
from two other studies in which Paxil also failed to demonstrate
efficacy in treating depression in patients under 18, according to a
press release from the Justice Department.<br />
The company also
"sponsored dinner programs, lunch programs, spa programs, and similar
activities to promote the use of Paxil in children and adolescents," the
Justice Department said.<br />
Paroxetine and other antidepressants
have carried black box warnings since 2004, stating that antidepressants
may increase the risk of suicidal thinking and behavior in patients
under age 18.</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<strong>Wellbutrin </strong><br />
T<span style="background-color: yellow;">he government
also alleged that from 1999 to 2003, GSK promoted bupropion -- a drug
approved only for major depressive disorder -- for a slew of
conditions, including weight loss, the treatment of sexual dysfunction,
substance addictions, and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder.</span><br />
GSK
paid millions to doctors to promote the drug off-label during meetings
sometimes held at swanky resorts, the government said. The company
relied on pharmaceutical sales reps, "sham advisory boards," and
continuing medical education programs that appeared independent but were
not.</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<strong>Avandia </strong><br />
GSK has agreed to pay $243
million for its unlawful conduct concerning the <span style="background-color: yellow;">diabetes drug
rosiglitazone,</span> in part for failing to give the FDA required
post-marketing safety data on the drug. According to the government, the
company kept secret data on<span style="background-color: yellow;"> raised cardiovascular effects.</span><br />
Since
2007, rosiglitazone has carried a black box warning alerting patients
and physicians to the drug's potential increased risk for congestive
heart failure and heart attack.<br />
To settle all the criminal charges
involving the three drugs -- Paxil, Wellbutrin, and Avandia -- GSK
agreed to pay $1 billion.</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<strong>Civil Settlement</strong><br />
In the civil settlement portion of the resolution announced Monday<strong>, </strong>GSK
agreed to pay $2 billion to settle civil claims that the company
promoted Paxil, Wellbutrin, asthma drug combination
fluticasone/salmeterol (Advair), anti-epileptic medication lamotrigine
(Lamictal), and anti-nausea medicine ondansetron (<span>Zofran) for
off-label uses, and that it paid kickbacks to doctors to prescribe those
drugs along with migraine drug sumatriptan (Imitrex), irritable bowel
syndrome medication alosetron (Lotronex), asthma drug fluticasone
(Flovent), and herpes medication valacyclovir (Valtrex).</span><br />
The civil settlement also levies millions in fines against GSK to settle false claims allegations related to use of Avandia.<br />
In
addition, the settlement also requires GSK to pay $300 million to
resolve allegations that the company reported false drug prices under
Medicaid, making it appear that its drugs were cheaper than what they
actually were. As a result, GSK underpaid rebates due to Medicaid and
overcharged the government, according to the Justice Department.</blockquote>
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<strong>Corporate Integrity Agreement </strong><br />
In
addition to the criminal and civil resolutions, GSK will participate in
a 5-year Corporate Integrity Agreement with the HHS Office of Inspector
General that will require the company to make "major changes to the way
it does business, including changing the way its sales force is
compensated to remove compensation based on sales goals for territories,
one of the driving forces behind much of the conduct at issue in this
matter," according to the press release.<br />
"For example, company
executives may have to forfeit annual bonuses if they or their
subordinates engage in significant misconduct, and sales agents are now
being paid based on quality of service rather than sales targets," HHS
Inspector General Daniel <span>Levinson said in a statement.</span><br />
GSK
CEO Andrew Witty said while charges originated in a "different era for
the company," that they "cannot and will not be ignored."<br />
"On
behalf of GSK, I want to express our regret and reiterate that we have
learnt from the mistakes that were made," he said in a statement.<br />
He
said the company has "fundamentally changed" its marketing and selling
procedures, including firing employees and changing how sales
representatives are paid.</blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-31092262857122372482012-06-29T12:49:00.002-04:002012-06-29T12:49:48.251-04:00<div class="module-post-detail __FIRST__ image" id="module-post-detail" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: black; font-family: helvetica, arial, clean, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 1px;">
I have found this article yesterday, and I am glad to say that I have been Practice Fusion Certified Consultant and Academic Partner for almost 3 years now. With a lot of skepticism from both providers and patients on the FREE software model, we have implemented it as part of our EHRS (Electronic Health Records Specialist) curricula and I am very happy we did. Having met with Ryan Howard in person, as well as key team members two years back at Practice Fusion user conference in San Francisco I was so moved and found by the whole idea of their business and the quality that they brought to the table. </div>
<div class="module-post-detail __FIRST__ image" id="module-post-detail" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: helvetica,arial,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 1px;">
</div>
<div class="module-post-detail __FIRST__ image" id="module-post-detail" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: helvetica,arial,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 1px;">
Implementation of EHR systems within small and medium size practices has always been a challenge, primarily for the users. Building the workflow for the practice and making sure that your staff is computer savvy enough to navigate a system that is being implemented is very hard. </div>
<div class="module-post-detail __FIRST__ image" id="module-post-detail" style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: helvetica,arial,clean,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; position: relative; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 1px;">
<br /></div>
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Interesting to see how in such a short period of time they were able to really build a presence for themselves in the healthcare community. </div>
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Way to go!</div>
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Practice Fusion Pulls In $34M Series C led by Artis to crush the other eMeadical Record Startups</div>
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by Josh Constine. Original article is published by <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2012/06/28/practice-fusion/" target="_blank">Techcrunch</a> (full body of the article is enclosed below)<br /><h1 class="headline" style="color: black; font-family: Interstate,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 39px; font-style: normal; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: -2px; margin: -9px 0px 0px; padding: 0px;">
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<a href="http://www.practicefusion.com/" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Practice Fusion</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>is the frontrunner in the fevered race to become <i style="font-style: italic; font-weight: normal;">the</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>electronic medical record platform, and today it finished raising a $34 million<a href="http://www.pehub.com/157417/practice-fusion/" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> Series C</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>led by hedge fund<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/financial-organization/artis-capital-management" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Artis Ventures</a> to make sure it wins and lead it towards an IPO. Practice Fusion’s valuation is now around a half a billion dollars, it tells me. Startups trying to compete? “We’re squashing them” founder and CEO Ryan Howard tells me. It now hosts 40 million patient records of its 150,000 doctor and other medical professional clients, up from 25 million records and 130,000 clients seven months ago.</div>
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The money will fund a patient acquisition strategy, the build-out of its app platform, hires, and attracting more docs to ditch pen and paper for more efficient, accessible electronic records. Howard beams ”We’re excited to light it up. The company’s on fire, growth is maddening. The problem needs to be solved.”</div>
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Practice Fusion develops a free, web based electronic medical record platform for physicians that lets them chart data, schedule appointments, electronically prescribe medicine, work with labs, and distribute referral letters — all things that can get in the way of actually helping the sick. It makes money by letting labs, pharmacies, and other service providers to doctors pay to advertise within the platform. There’s both a Practice Fusion desktop interface and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://techcrunch.com/2011/11/11/practice-fusion-ipad/" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">iPad app for doctors</a>.</div>
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Howard was careful choosing Artis Ventures to lead the round, telling me “it’s a wedding. You’re married to that investor. Artis is a hedge fund with a venture fund. It’s preparing us. It’s who would be buyers in a public market” indicating the company has its sights on an IPO. Artis also backed YouTube.</div>
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<a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/company/practice-fusion" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Practice Fusion now has a total of over $64 million</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>in funding, and Howard admits, “We have a lot of cash on hand.” The full list of investors joining the Series C round includes long-time investors<a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/financial-organization/felicis-ventures" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"> Felicis Ventures</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/financial-organization/band-of-angels" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Band of Angels</a>, plus<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/financial-organization/glynn-capital-management" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Glynn Capital</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/person/ali-partovi" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ali</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/person/hadi-partovi" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Hadi Partovi</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/financial-organization/founders-fund" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Founders Fund</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/financial-organization/morgenthaler-ventures" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Morgenthaler Ventures</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/person/scott-banister" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Scott Banister</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/financial-organization/sv-angel" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">SV Angel</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/financial-organization/ghost-angel" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Ghost Angel</a>, and several other institutional and individual investors. Practice Fusion now ranks amongst<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/company/castlight-health-2" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Castlight</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>($160 million), and<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.crunchbase.com/company/zocdoc" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">ZocDoc</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>($95 million) as the most heavily funded health startups.</div>
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It needs it at the rate its growing. Howard tells me “we brought on about 20 people last month”. It’s got 170 employees now and expects to have 250 by year’s end. Hiring employees that quick is tough right now. “It’s more competitive than ever, especially for engineers” says Howard. But its applying its funding to becoming an attractive place to work, even compared to perked-up giants like Google and Facebook. That’s why it’s investing in a gorgeous San Francisco office, wellness programs, healthy food, and more.</div>
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Howard spoke candidly about how he views Practice Fusion’s competitors like Elation EMR. “I see them getting smaller in the rear view mirror. There’s no one in the Valley that keeps me up at night.” As for the big medical companies, “Our largest competitor is<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.allscripts.com/" style="color: #0a9600; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Allscripts</a>, and we took on 4x as many new users as them last quarter.” While it wouldn’t disclose exact revenue numbers, the startup told me “in Q1 2012 revenue generation was comfortably in the seven figure range, an increase of more than 500% from the same quarter in 2011.”</div>
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With it pulling away from startups in the space, now it just needs to worry about huge, long-standing medical companies. Luckily it’s got a big headstart, and startup power. Howard explains “We’re making sure we can out-innovate anyone else.” And attracting the best talent to make that possible isn’t so hard thanks to its mission. “Someone could die because [a doctor] can’t get access to their chart. Understand, we’re saving lives.”</div>
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<a href="http://crunchbase.com/" style="color: white; font-weight: bold; outline-style: none; text-align: center; text-decoration: none;">CRUNCHBASE</a></div>
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<li style="float: left; list-style: none; margin: 0px 15px 10px 0px; padding: 0px;"><a class="tab item-1 current" href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=3337953652018030519" style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Interstate, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 1px; margin-right: 10px; outline-style: none; padding: 2px 5px; text-decoration: none;">PRACTICE FUSION</a></li>
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<span class="header-text" style="color: grey; display: block; font-family: Arial,Interstate,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 10px; max-width: 200px; padding: 0px;">Website:</span><span style="display: block; font-family: Interstate,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; max-width: 200px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://www.practicefusion.com/" style="color: #0a9600; font-family: interstate; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; outline-style: none; text-decoration: none;">practicefusion.com</a></span></div>
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<span class="header-text" style="color: grey; display: block; font-family: Arial,Interstate,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 10px; max-width: 200px; padding: 0px;">Launch Date:</span><span style="display: block; font-family: Interstate,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: bold; max-width: 200px; padding: 0px;">July 10, 2005</span></div>
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Practice Fusion provides a free, web-based Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system to physicians. With charting, scheduling, e-prescribing, billing, lab integrations, referral letters, unlimited support, Meaningful Use certification and a Personal Health Record for patients, Practice Fusion’s EMR addresses the complex needs of today’s healthcare providers and disrupts the health IT status quo. Practice Fusion is the largest and fastest growing EMR community in the country with over 160,000 users and 35 million patients. For more information on Practice Fusion,...</div>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-37442997601067408172012-06-27T19:35:00.000-04:002012-06-27T19:39:41.158-04:00EHR Implementation in the Hosptials - Where are we?<h3 style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #202020; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 21px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/despite-doubts-about-finances-hospitals-moving-forward-ehrs?topic=,08,28,16,17" target="_blank">Despite doubts about finances, hospitals moving forward with EHRs</a></h3>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Originally posted in HealthITNews</span> </div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">According to this article only 48% of healthcare business leaders said they're "somewhat comfortable" with the budgets allocated for the EHR deployment. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Although there are incentive programs, and the obvious benefit of enhanced communication between departments as well as consolidation of the Electronic Medical Records for a given patient, a lot of learning has to take place between new and existing workforce to have the comfort level using the systems systematically. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> We look at training as an integral part of the implementation that must be catered to different groups of workforce based on their involvement with the system. It is not just about the technology, it is about the staff that will use this technology.</span></div>
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NEW YORK – A new study from KPMG finds nearly half of business leaders at hospitals and health systems are more than halfway through full<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a class="directory-item-link" href="http://www.healthcareitnews.com/directory/electronic-health-record-ehr" style="color: #1c5397; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">EHR</a> deployments, even as many harbor doubts about how much funding their organizations have planned to support the initiatives.<br />
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Some 49 percent of hospital and health system business administrators who participated in the poll said they were more than 50 percent of the way to completing EHR deployment.<b></b><br />
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Meanwhile, almost the same number (48 percent) of health system business leaders said they're "only somewhat comfortable" with the level of budgeting their organization has planned for EHR deployment, according to KPMG. Nine percent said they weren't comfortable at all while 18 percent said they were unsure. Only 25 percent said they were "very comfortable."<br />
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"There is a level of uneasiness as to whether there is adequate funding to complete these projects," said Gary Anthony, principal with KPMG Healthcare. "In most organizations, EHR deployment will most likely be one of the most transformational projects that they've ever undertaken, as well as one of the largest investments outside of the construction of a new hospital they've ever made."</div>
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Nonetheless, he added, many hospitals still look at EHR deployments as "just an IT project, and that may be why we are seeing multiple extensions to scope, timeline and budget."</div>
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In terms of resource strategies used to complete EHR deployment, 46 percent of hospital and health system execs said they're using a multiple-resource strategy. This was followed by leveraging existing staff (16 percent), hiring new or additional staff (13 percent) and securing third party assistance (10 percent). Fifteen percent said they didn't know.<br />
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When asked whether their organization had a mobility access strategy that provides clinicians and patients with "anywhere" access to EHRs, roughly half of the administrators said they didn't know.<br />
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"EHR deployment isn't an end point," said Jerry Howell, principal with KPMG Healthcare. "It's an important step in an organization's journey to automate the clinical functions within the hospital or health system and improvement to quality and patient safety. There needs to be continued focus on resourcing and having the correct sponsorship and commitment to deploy an EHR and to continue to support and use it."</div>
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</blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-46088291472551783642012-06-26T17:53:00.002-04:002012-06-26T17:54:11.563-04:00NYeC Digital AcceleratorAs many of you know, I take an active participation in the events around implementation of EHR and health related technologies in general, training programs that surround these initiatives as well as user experience for providers, healthcare professionals and patients. <br />
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Recently NYeC (New York eHealth Collaborative) has partnered up with the New York City Investment Fund in a New York Digital Health Accelerator program that will enable New York State to expand and potentially build a unique ecosystem for the healthcare industry. Many technology companies, start-up and otherwise participated in the conferences and information session.<br />
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Below is a full text of a newsletter regarding the applications received for the program.<br />
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NY Digital Health Accelerator<br />Receives 250 Applications</h2>
<img alt="---" height="10" src="http://pr.ak.vresp.com/6b83db159/www.nyehealth.org/images/newsletter/rule-dotted.gif" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;" width="600" /><br />
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<tr><td style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;" valign="top"><img alt="Maria Gotsch" height="325" src="http://pr.ak.vresp.com/799704874/www.nyehealth.org/images/newsletter/v18_maria_gotsch.jpg" style="border-style: none; margin: 20px 0px 10px;" width="600" /><br />
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After a flurry of applications just before deadline, the review process for the<a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?NewYorkeHealthCollab/d446e23248/3ae0838112/af3f597758" style="color: rgb(107, 179, 36) !important; text-decoration: none !important;" target="_blank">New York Digital Health Accelerator</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(NYDHA) begins. A total of 250 early- to growth-stage software development companies submitted applications, anxious to participate in the 9-month long program. Up to twelve chosen companies will receive up to $300,000 of funding each for the development of new health IT products, along with invaluable mentorship from those healthcare provider organizations who their innovations will serve.</div>
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The NYDHA, run by the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?NewYorkeHealthCollab/d446e23248/3ae0838112/579c675eb4" style="color: rgb(107, 179, 36) !important; text-decoration: none !important;" target="_blank">New York eHealth Collaborative</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>and the<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?NewYorkeHealthCollab/d446e23248/3ae0838112/8084f9be9a" style="color: rgb(107, 179, 36) !important; text-decoration: none !important;" target="_blank">New York City Investment Fund</a>, also provides developers with access to the technology platform that is connecting electronic health records across New York State, the<a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?NewYorkeHealthCollab/d446e23248/3ae0838112/dbcfaf9f1f" style="color: rgb(107, 179, 36) !important; text-decoration: none !important;" target="_blank">Statewide Health Information Network of New York</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>(SHIN-NY). The SHIN-NY will be the platform for innovators to develop products and software solutions to meet the needs of healthcare providers across the state.</div>
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“The Partnership and our investment fund have been thrilled with the response we have received from innovators in healthcare technology,” said Maria Gotsch, CEO of the Partnership for New York City’s Investment Fund. “Our investor syndicate is looking forward to working with all of the healthcare providers involved to help grow the emerging health IT sector in New York City.”</div>
<img alt="Speakers" height="275" src="http://pr.ak.vresp.com/8266029fb/www.nyehealth.org/images/newsletter/v18_speakers.jpg" style="border-style: none; margin: 20px 0px 10px;" width="600" /><br />
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Dr. Nirav R. Shah, the New York State Commissioner of Health gave the opening remarks at a packed launch event in May at The TimesCenter in New York. The event brought together over 400 attendees curious to learn more about the Accelerator program, from startup software development companies, to healthcare providers and policy makers, and strategic investors.</div>
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Along with a panel discussion with providers, Maria Gotsch and Dr. Herbert Pardes, Executive Vice Chairman of the Board, New York-Presbyterian Hospital and New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System also spoke. Dr. Pardes related the growth of health information across New York State as “the twenty first century’s Erie Canal.”</div>
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The impressive number of applications came as no surprise in a time when health IT is growing at such a clip. Along with the fact that the program provides such a substantial amount of funding as compared to other accelerator or incubator programs, it also offers something extremely coveted among health tech developers: direct, one-on-one access to healthcare organizations, allowing for a more custom-made product to suit the very particular demands of a very particular market.</div>
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“The economy and healthcare are the two most important issues facing the state, and the New York Digital Health Accelerator will allow us to tackle them both at once,” noted David Whitlinger, Executive Director of NYeC. “This initiative represents the best kind of marriage between the public and private sectors. We are leveraging New York’s investment in our statewide health information exchange network and empowering it with the free market.”</div>
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Applications for the New York Digital Health Accelerator will be reviewed by a selection committee comprised of the participating provider mentors and the investors. The top 20 finalists will present their company to the selection committee in late July, and program participants will be selected in early August. The program will begin in September.</div>
<img alt="Cocktail Reception" height="275" src="http://pr.ak.vresp.com/bbd2c8f66/www.nyehealth.org/images/newsletter/v18_cocktail_area.jpg" style="border-style: none; margin: 20px 0px 10px;" width="600" /><br />
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Video highlights of the event are available<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://cts.vresp.com/c/?NewYorkeHealthCollab/d446e23248/3ae0838112/a23567877e" style="color: rgb(107, 179, 36) !important; text-decoration: none !important;" target="_blank">http://<wbr></wbr>digitalhealthaccelerator.com/<wbr></wbr>events/</a>.</div>
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</tbody></table>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-62707882536534967022012-06-26T16:56:00.002-04:002012-06-26T16:56:58.534-04:00Does EHR leads to decrease in malpractice claims?<br />
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<a href="http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/docs-who-used-ehrs-showed-lower-malpractice-claims?topic=08,19" target="_blank">Docs who used EHRs showed lower malpractice claims</a></h3>
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June 26, 2012 | Mike Miliard, Managing Editor - Original Article posted in HealthcareITNews</div>
The general idea here is that with the EHR implemented the number of the malpractice claims went down.<br />
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I believe that if a provider has access to more accurate and just more information about his/her patient it can and will lead to a higher quality of treatment. With the information at hand treatment plans are developed with more accuracy, given that a provider is aware of the pre-existing conditions and medications that patient is currently on. Although we have a long way to go for a full EHR implementation, even at this stage both providers and patients already notice the difference in the workflow and treatment.<br />
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I am enclosing one of the slides from the study as well as a full body of the article with appropriate links below.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPO9l9N4oC5OoQjYYLDAA4ueVSSrvAfq2fhKr5w_uBeZWdReikEO_KrRgWZnI68tos-3IKRJO5b_CljOWFCCXnB8GQqI_BsEnqqRmzbbOS7RlXcxrewtXjl3rYB-btKY7_EtGB9bg4u_o/s1600/m_ild120034t1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPO9l9N4oC5OoQjYYLDAA4ueVSSrvAfq2fhKr5w_uBeZWdReikEO_KrRgWZnI68tos-3IKRJO5b_CljOWFCCXnB8GQqI_BsEnqqRmzbbOS7RlXcxrewtXjl3rYB-btKY7_EtGB9bg4u_o/s640/m_ild120034t1.png" width="436" /></a></div>
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BOSTON – A study by <a class="directory-item-link" href="http://www.healthcareitnews.com/directory/harvard-medical-school" style="color: #1c5397; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Harvard Medical School</a> researchers, published Monday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, showed that Massachusetts physicians who used electronic health records saw a reduction in malpractice claims.</blockquote>
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Correlation does not imply causation, of course. But the report's authors say their findings suggest that "implementation of EHRs may reduce malpractice claims and, at the least, appears not to increase claims as providers adapt to using EHRs."</blockquote>
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The study, titled "The Relationship Between Electronic Health Records and Malpractice Claims," was written by Mariah A. Quinn, MD; Allyson M. Kats; Ken Kleinman; David W. Bates, MD; Steven R. Simon, MD.</blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPO9l9N4oC5OoQjYYLDAA4ueVSSrvAfq2fhKr5w_uBeZWdReikEO_KrRgWZnI68tos-3IKRJO5b_CljOWFCCXnB8GQqI_BsEnqqRmzbbOS7RlXcxrewtXjl3rYB-btKY7_EtGB9bg4u_o/s1600/m_ild120034t1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPO9l9N4oC5OoQjYYLDAA4ueVSSrvAfq2fhKr5w_uBeZWdReikEO_KrRgWZnI68tos-3IKRJO5b_CljOWFCCXnB8GQqI_BsEnqqRmzbbOS7RlXcxrewtXjl3rYB-btKY7_EtGB9bg4u_o/s640/m_ild120034t1.png" width="435" /></a>"Given the potential of EHRs to reduce adverse events and health care costs, the question of whether EHRs reduce the risk of malpractice lawsuits is a logical one," they write.<br /><b><br /></b>"Risk factors for medical error and resultant malpractice claims, including poor communication between providers, difficulty in accessing patient information in a timely manner, unsafe prescribing practices, and lower adherence to clinical guidelines, may be ameliorable by health information technology," the report notes. "The high quality and availability of proper documentation in EHRs may increase the likelihood of successful defense against malpractice claims."<br />For this study, the researchers assessed groups of Massachusetts physicians who had previously been surveyed in 2005 and 2007 – tracking their malpractice claims over time.<br /><span style="background-color: yellow;">"Because physicians in the sample were insured for different durations and used EHRs for variable amounts of time, the number of insured years was calculated for each physician before and after <a class="directory-item-link" href="http://www.healthcareitnews.com/directory/electronic-health-record-ehr" style="color: #1c5397;" target="_blank">EHR</a> adoption," they write. "We used Poisson regression to determine whether EHR use was associated with malpractice claims, modeling the rate of malpractice claims per year in periods with and without EHRs and adjusting for clustering by physician. We used the generalized linear mixed models version of Poisson regression to account for correlation between periods."</span><br /><b><br /></b>Of the 189 doctors surveyed in both 2005 and 2007, they note, 27 were named in at least one malpractice claim. Overall, 33 of the 275 physicians from multiple surgical and medical specialties who responded in 2005 and/or 2007 incurred a total of 51 unique claims. Forty-nine of those claims were related to events occurring before EHR adoption. Two were related to events occurring after EHR adoption.<br />"We found that the rate of malpractice claims when EHRs were used was about one-sixth the rate when EHRs were not used," the researchers write. "This study adds to the literature suggesting that EHRs have the potential to improve patient safety and supports the conclusions of our prior work,which showed a lower risk of paid claims among physicians using EHRs. By examining all closed claims, rather than only those for which a payment was made, our findings suggest that a reduction in errors is likely responsible for at least a component of this association, since the absolute rate of claims was lower post-EHR adoption."<br /><b><br /></b>The report does concede that other factors may be at work. "For example, physicians who were early adopters of EHRs may exhibit practice patterns that make them less likely to have malpractice claims, independent of EHR adoption; these early adopters contribute a disproportionate amount of time in our analyses, favoring an effect of EHRs on reducing malpractice claims."<br />Still, they argued, despite the small sample size, the reduction in malpractice claims shown in the EHR study "lends support to the push for widespread implementation of health information technology."<br />Access the report <a href="http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1203517" style="color: #1c5397; text-decoration: none;">here</a>.</blockquote>
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<br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-4841511851399209362012-06-25T15:40:00.000-04:002012-06-25T15:40:09.956-04:00EHR Adoption - Are we there yet?<br />
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<a href="http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/docs-adopt-and-adapt-still-cling-old-days?topic=08,11,12,16,17,18,19" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Docs adopt and adapt, yet still cling to old ways"</span></a></h3>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">HealthcareITNews</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the article published in HealthcareITNews, shocking statistics on the implementation of the EHR. We are so far behind on the technology use among healthcare practitioners. Even those that recognize the need and benefit of the technology in their practice are still staying behind the curve, with Fax machines being the dominant technology. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In providing training/educational services to providers and their staff the constant struggle is with the consistent, continuous usage of the technology that is being implemented. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am sure that we will come to the point when everyone is going to be using EHR technology and beyond but it is a rocky road so far. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">SEE THE FULL ARTICLE BELOW - </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"ATLANTA – The technology takeover has begun, and physicians nationwide are acclimating one step at a time, a new physician survey reveals. Laptop, smartphone and iPad usage is increasingly common among U.S. physicians, but the report finds old-fashioned methods of communication continuing to stand their ground. </span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The second annual National Physicians Survey, conducted by the little blue book and Sharecare, polled 1,190 U.S. practitioners representing more than 75 medical specialties. It reveals physicians' perceptions about the ongoing changes in the healthcare system and how those changes are impacting their daily practices as well as their ability to provide optimal patient care. </span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Two out of three physicians (66 percent) say the integration of electronic medical records (EMRs) is among their practice challenges. Despite that, most doctors (66 percent) acknowledge EMRs will at least improve or have a neutral effect on their future business. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Almost one out of three doctors (30 percent) are using laptops regularly for e-prescribing, EMRs and more. Almost a quarter (20 percent) are using smartphones, and 12 percent use iPads, for clinical needs.</span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Additional survey highlights:</span><br />
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<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Peer-to-peer communication is occurring via email – despite not being a "secure channel."</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thirty-four percent of physicians communicate with other clinicians via email – not defined as a "secure channel" by HIPAA.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Telephone (95 percent) and fax (63 percent) are still the primary forms of communication.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A dinosaur in most other office environments today, the fax is still king with physicians, supporting hand-written notes, insurance forms and lab test result transmissions.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fifty-eight percent of doctors communicate with peers in person.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Five percent use social networking sites</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Doctor-to-patient communication remains fairly traditional, with some online inroads.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The majority of physicians (91 percent) talk with patients via phone, 84 percent in person, 20 percent via email, 8 percent via personal health records (PHRs) and 6 percent via text.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Few physicians are opting for solo practices these days -- a good portion are "employed" by hospitals, large practices or accountable care organizations (ACOs).</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Twenty-two percent of physicians are in ACO talks, up from 12 percent last year</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Of those who said they were aware of ACOs, 37 percent stated that they would participate as a member of a group practice, 27 percent as a member of a physician-hospital organization, 10 percent as a hospital-employed physician.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Only 17 percent of the respondents were unfamiliar with the ACO term, down from 45 percent last year.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Doctors say new patients find them via:</span><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Word of mouth (71 percent)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Practice networks referrals (33 percent)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Print directories (29 percent)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Internet searches (22 percent)</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Despite an onslaught of healthcare regulations and requirements and shrinking practice margins, physicians are finding some advocates.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Forty-one percent say their state medical organization/society advocates for them. </span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thirty-nine percent say their national medical organization/society does.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But 40 percent report "no one."</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Still, overwhelmingly burdened by obtaining reimbursements from insurers (81 percent) and patient approvals (77 percent), most doctors (71 percent) believe the quality of healthcare will deteriorate over the next five years.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fifty-five percent fear they aren't spending adequate time with each patient.</span></li>
<li><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thirty-eight percent are concerned they aren't seeing enough patients in a day.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Physicians today are practicing in a healthcare environment that they never could have predicted much less prepared for," said Keith Steward, MD, senior vice president of medical affairs at Sharecare. "This year's National Physicians Survey provides valuable insight into the frustrations and opportunities of the day-to-day management of practices, administration tools doctors use, and how communication with both colleagues and patients is evolving. </span><span style="background-color: white;"> </span></div>
</div>
</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Arming doctors with innovative solutions to ease administrative burdens is a top priority for the healthcare industry," he adds. "Doctors need to get back to what they were trained to do – provide their patients with the best care possible."</span><br />
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-20221049183011349982012-01-18T16:03:00.000-05:002012-07-20T16:04:41.754-04:00"Information Week - Top 9 Health IT Stories Of 2011"<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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Original Article -<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/galleries/healthcare/policy/232301297?pgno=1" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Information Week</a></div>
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<a class="IG_byline" href="http://www.informationweek.com/authors/1114" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Marianne Kolbasuk McGee</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>01/05/2012</div>
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2011 was a challenging year for healthcare IT professionals. Providers rolled out electronic health record systems to qualify for the government's Meaningful Use financial incentives. Meanwhile, mobile health apps took off, e-prescribing increased, health info exchanges got a start, and some organizations suffered data breaches. On the plus side, more health IT jobs became available.</div>
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<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Demand Soars For Health IT Skills</b></div>
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The U.S. government estimates that the Meaningful Use initiative and related programs are fueling demand for about 50,000 new health IT professionals in the next few years.</div>
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According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of health IT jobs across the country is expected to grow by 20% from 2008 to 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations. To help prepare the future workforce, there were a number of program roll-outs in 2011 from the American College of Physician Executives,<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>the training firm Alameda</b>, and HITECH Act-funded efforts, including regional extension centers.</div>
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Despite these initiatives, job-seeking health IT professionals and prospective employers complain about skills mismatches and gaps. For instance, when<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">InformationWeek Healthcare</i><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>readers<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://informationweek.com/news/healthcare/leadership/231903124" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">learned</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>recently that the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) and the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration (ASHHRA) were working together to match job seekers to thousands of expected vacancies in health IT, many reacted with excitement, but others expressed skepticism and cynicism.</div>
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"I have spoken to many highly qualified and experienced IT resources who have applied for positions in the Healthcare industry and the response is typically 'do you have experience as a nurse or as a healthcare practitioner?'," wrote one commenter. "Until the healthcare industry rejects the notion that you have to have medical experience to bring your IT skills to bear, they will continue to struggle with innovation and improved service to the public."</div>
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Among other organizations trying to bridge the skills gap is the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA), which is helping train clinical professionals to fill high-level roles such as chief medical information officer and chief nursing information officer.</div>
</blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-59662109779073955852011-12-15T16:03:00.000-05:002012-07-20T16:03:42.113-04:00"EMR Daily News - Alameda Launches Healthcare Information Technology Professional Certification"<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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December 14, 2011 By<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://emrdailynews.com/author/steve/" rel="author" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" title="Posts by Steve Campbell">Steve Campbell</a></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; color: #7a7a7a; font-family: Arial; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px 0px 1em; orphans: 2; padding: 0px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waltstoneburner/3413603682/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" title="Jinan by Walt Stoneburner, on Flickr"><img alt="Jinan" class="alignleft" height="240" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3636/3413603682_d22a30a49c_m.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="160" /></a>Information Technology workers looking for an exciting challenge as healthcare IT professionals, can finally benefit from a new opportunity to train online, while earning an industry-recognized national certification. The Healthcare Information Technology Professional (HITP) course provides the fundamental knowledge and skills required by technical professionals to support a medical practice, clinic or facility in its adoption of Health IT and beyond.</div>
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Alameda Services, a New York based organization specializing in Healthcare courseware development introduced the new course to enable IT professionals to leverage their knowledge of information and computer science, while learning the core concepts of the US healthcare system, medical information systems and business intelligence and analytics.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Our team of industry healthcare and information technology experts has designed this course specifically to offer new employment opportunities to IT workers and those who have a basic working knowledge of office technology,”</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>says Lena Feygin, Dip LC, executive vice president and director of business development for Alameda Services.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“We provide the crucial tools and training materials to facilitate the learning process, foster new skill development and ensure career success in the healthcare industry.”</strong></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The HITP course is based on core concepts including IT, healthcare practice, electronic health records / electronic medical records (EHR/EMR) and business intelligence and analytics. Students will learn about: healthcare technologies, patient data management, and the culture of the healthcare industry today.</strong></div>
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The online learning system comprises in-depth activities to reflect the way that one area of Health IT knowledge blends into another, including:</div>
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">US Healthcare System</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Medical Law</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Terminology and effective communication in healthcare and the public health setting</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Electronic health record implementation and management</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Healthcare compliance</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Concepts of quality improvement including patient safety</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Healthcare data management and organization</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Principles of business intelligence (BI) and business analytics</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">BI applications in Healthcare</li>
</ul>
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<br /></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The HITP course is approved by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) to take its exam for national certification as a Certified Electronic Health Records Specialist (CEHRS), a certification often required by healthcare employers.</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Upon successful completion of the program, students will receive a certificate of completion from Alameda Services and they will be prepared to the NHA exam to earn the industry-recognized national certification.</div>
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The best candidates for HITP training are professionals who have experience in the following areas: Help Desk/Desktop support; Network Administration (A+, Network+, MCP); Quality Assurance; or Business Analysis.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">“Unlike similar courses which can be very time-consuming and costly, we have designed this program to be completed at the student’s own pace, typically 5-6 weeks. The regular price is $395, nearly one-third of similar offerings. During the month of December we are running a 20% off promotion offering the program for only $316” says Feygin</strong>.</div>
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<strong id="yui_3_4_0_3_1323895227287_1599" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Photo<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></strong><strong id="yui_3_4_0_3_1323895227287_1599" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">By<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waltstoneburner/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Walt Stoneburner</a></strong></div>
</blockquote>
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<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />Read more:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://emrdailynews.com/2011/12/14/alameda-services-launches-healthcare-information-technology-professional-certification-online-learning-course/#ixzz1gcwuy4Wg" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">http://emrdailynews.com/2011/12/14/alameda-services-launches-healthcare-information-technology-professional-certification-online-learning-course/#ixzz1gcwuy4Wg</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-29247558891129639632011-12-13T16:02:00.000-05:002012-07-20T16:02:52.082-04:00"Alameda Services Launches Healthcare Information Technology Professional (HITP) Certification Online Learning Course"<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Brand New Online Training and Certification Opens the Door for Information Technology Professionals to Obtain a Career in the Healthcare Industry</em></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">New York, NY – December 13, 2011 –</strong>Information Technology (IT) workers looking for an exciting challenge as healthcare IT professionals, can finally benefit from a new opportunity to train online, while earning an industry-recognized national certification.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">The Healthcare Information Technology Professional (HITP)</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>course provides the fundamental knowledge and skills required by technical professionals to support a medical practice, clinic or facility in its adoption of Health IT and beyond.<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.alamedaservices.com/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Alameda Services, a New York based organization specializing in Healthcare courseware development covering Healthcare compliance, Healthcare IT, Data Management, Business Intelligence and Analytics, Electronic Health Records (EHR) training and workforce development</a>, introduced the new course to enable IT professionals to leverage their knowledge of information and computer science, while learning the core concepts of the US healthcare system, medical information systems and business intelligence and analytics. The HITP course is approved by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) to take its exam for national certification as a Certified Electronic Health Records Specialist (CEHRS), a certification often required by healthcare employers. More information about the Alameda Services HITP course is available at<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://alamedaservices.com/HITPDetails" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">http://alamedaservices.com/HITPDetails</a></div>
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“Our team of industry healthcare and information technology experts has designed this course specifically to offer new employment opportunities to IT workers and those who have a basic working knowledge of office technology,” says Lena Feygin, Dip LC, executive vice president and director of business development for Alameda Services. “We provide the crucial tools and training materials to facilitate the learning process, foster new skill development and ensure career success in the healthcare industry.”</div>
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The HITP course is based on core concepts including IT, healthcare practice, electronic health records / electronic medical records (EHR/EMR) and business intelligence and analytics. Students will learn about: healthcare technologies, patient data management, and the culture of the healthcare industry today.</div>
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The online learning system comprises in-depth activities to reflect the way that one area of Health IT knowledge blends into another, including:</div>
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> US Healthcare System</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Medical Law</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Terminology and effective communication in healthcare and the public health setting</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Electronic health record implementation and management</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Healthcare compliance</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Concepts of quality improvement including patient safety</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Healthcare data management and organization</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Principles of business intelligence (BI) and business analytics</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">BI applications in Healthcare</li>
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The hands-on component of the program includes usage of live certified EHR software from an industry-recognized vendor.</div>
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Upon successful completion of the program, students will receive a certificate of completion from Alameda Services and they will be prepared to take an exam to earn an industry-recognized national certification granted by NHA.</div>
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The best candidates for HITP training are professionals who have experience in the following areas: Help Desk/Desktop support; Network Administration (A+, Network+, MCP); Quality Assurance; or Business Analysis.</div>
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“Unlike similar courses which can be very time-consuming and costly, we have designed this program to be completed at the student’s own pace, typically 5-6 weeks. The regular price is $395, nearly one-third of similar offerings. During the month of December we are running a 20% off promotion offering the program for only $316” says Feygin.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About Alameda Services</strong></div>
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ALAMEDA Services is an Allied Health training organization specializing in workforce development through in-class/on-line training. The company’s mission is to bridge the gap between the healthcare and information technology industries, and to satisfy their growing workforce demands by providing technology and educational expertise. More information is available at<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.alamedaservices.com/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">http://www.alamedaservices.com</a></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Original article also appeared in:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></strong><a href="http://tech.einnews.com/247pr/252162" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Technology Today</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://education.einnews.com/247pr/252162" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Education News Today</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://health.einnews.com/247pr/252162" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Healthcare Industry Today</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.einnews.com/247pr/252162" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">World News Report</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://newsblaze.com/story/2011121300040200004.tf/topstory.html" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">News Blaze</a>,<a href="http://healthcarenewsarticles.com/healthcare_articles/2011/12/alameda-services-launches-healthcare-information-technology-professional-hitp-certification-online-learning-course-252162.htm" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Healthcare News Articles</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://industrynewsarticles.com/industry_articles/2011/12/alameda-services-launches-healthcare-information-technology-professional-hitp-certification-online-learning-course-252162.htm" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Industry News Article</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://elearningnewsarticles.com/e-learning_articles/2011/12/alameda-services-launches-healthcare-information-technology-professional-hitp-certification-online-learning-course-252162.htm" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">eLearning News Articles</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://finance.sfgate.com/hearst?Account=sfgate&Page=MEDIAVIEWER&GUID=20178288" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">San Francisco Chronicle</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://markets.chron.com/chron?Page=MEDIAVIEWER&GUID=20178288" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Houston Chronicle</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://finance.dailyherald.com/dailyherald?Page=MEDIAVIEWER&GUID=20178288" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Chicago Daily Herald</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/mi.miamiherald/?Page=MediaViewer&GUID=20178288" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">The Miami Herald</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/newsday/?Page=MediaViewer&GUID=20178288" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Newsday</a> </div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-67155939557805743542011-11-17T16:00:00.000-05:002012-07-20T16:01:34.645-04:00"All-Inclusive, Online Allied Health Administration Training Program"<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Alameda Services Debuts All-Inclusive, Online Allied Health Administration Training Program and Certification</strong></div>
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<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Dynamic<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Allied Health-focused Training</em><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Organization<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></em><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Introduces<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Certified Medical Administration Professional (CMAP) Program;</strong><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Designation Indicates Healthcare Practice Administration Readiness to Employers</em></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">New York, NY – November 17, 2011 –</strong>Allied health professionals who provide a range of patient, accounting, billing, coding and medical records support to physicians are often unable to receive the comprehensive training that today’s medical practices require. To provide allied health professionals, and those looking to enter the healthcare field, with<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">all-inclusive training and certification at an affordable price</strong>, Alameda Services, a New York based organization specializing in Healthcare courseware development covering Healthcare compliance, Healthcare IT, Electronic Health Records (EHR) training and workforce development, has unveiled a new and powerful online training track<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">approved by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA)</strong>. The Certified Medical Administration Professional (CMAP) training track provides a<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">unique opportunity for students to learn about medical office administration, contract management, vendor management, healthcare compliance and regulations, healthcare information technology (HIT), medical billing and coding, medical terminology, and other essential topics pertaining to medical practice administration</strong>. In addition, participants will learn bookkeeping and accounting basics that remain an integral part of most medical practices. Those interested in learning more are encouraged to visit<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.alamedaservices.com/node/E-Learning" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">http://www.alamedaservices.com/node/E-Learning</a></div>
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“We not only provide the most important tools and training materials that enhance the learning process, facilitate new skill development and ensure career success in the healthcare industry, but also help students prepare for the national exams, gain more confidence and put their best foot forward,” says Lena Feygin, Dip LC, executive vice president and director of business development for Alameda Services. “Our intense program embraces all the different aspects of the healthcare office administration and enables each student to compete effectively in the marketplace. We are convinced that our newly-developed<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">CMAP training track will serve as stepping stone to lifelong career success</strong>.”</div>
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The CMAP™ training track and certification (<a href="http://www.alamedaservices.com/node/E-Learning" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">http://www.alamedaservices.com/node/E-Learning</a>) is an extensive program offered by the Allied Health E-Academy, powered by Alameda Services and consists of three modules:</div>
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Medical Administrative Assistant (leading to CMAA designation)</strong><ol style="list-style-type: lower-alpha; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Medical Office Operations</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Medical Terminology</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Accounting/Bookkeeping</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">MS Word/Excel</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Medical Billing (Part 1)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Introduction to EHR (Electronic Health Records)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Introduction to Healthcare IT (HIT)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">NHA CMAA Certification Exam preparation</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Electronic Health Records Specialist (leading to CEHRS designation)</strong><ol style="list-style-type: lower-alpha; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Advanced EHR</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Healthcare Compliance (HIPAA, HITECH, ARRA, Meaningful Use)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Hands-on Live EHR</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">NHA CEHRS Certification Exam preparation</li>
</ol>
</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Billing and Coding Specialist (leading to CBCS designation)</strong><ol style="list-style-type: lower-alpha; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 0px 2em;">
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Medical Billing (Part 2)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">ICD-10</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Advanced Compliance (EDI, HIE, etc)</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">NHA CBCS Certification Exam preparation</li>
</ol>
</li>
</ol>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Upon successful completion of each program module, students will receive a certificate of completion from Allied Health E-Academy and they will be prepared to take exams to earn three industry-recognized national certifications granted by NHA. Upon earning all three national certifications, students will be awarded the CMAP certification from Allied Health E-Academy – a new professional designation indicating the highest level of readiness for today’s medical practices.</strong></div>
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The highly-effective methodology, developed by Alameda Services, includes a Learning Management System (LMS) that grants immediate access to all student training materials which include topic slides and flashcards. No multiple downloads or email exchanges needed. Students can measure their progress by taking multiple quizzes and tests. Students who require additional help can contact instructors and gain the assistance they need to enhance their performance. All three NHA certifications include exam simulation which allows students to prepare for the certification exam.</div>
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<img alt="CMAP™ vs Others.jpg" src="http://www.alamedaservices.com/system/files/CMAPvsOther.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; height: 288px; margin: 0px 12px; padding: 0px; width: 383px;" />“One of the important aspects behind our methodology is that students will find everything they need in one place, conveniently located as part of our Learning Management System,” says Feygin. “Information about the program, questions related to training, training materials, quizzes and flash cards, all located in one place.”</div>
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In addition, unlike similar courses which can take months and cost thousands of dollars, the CMAP certification prepares students in up to eight weeks for less than $1,000 (see comparison chart).</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About Alameda Services</strong></div>
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ALAMEDA Services is an Allied Health training organization specializing in workforce development through in-class/on-line training. The company’s mission is to bridge the gap between the healthcare and information technology industries, and to satisfy their growing workforce demands by providing technology and educational expertise.</div>
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October 25, 2011 By<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://emrdailynews.com/author/steve/" rel="author" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" title="Posts by Steve Campbell">Steve Campbell</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waltstoneburner/3373248256/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" title="Nurse by Walt Stoneburner, on Flickr"><img alt="Nurse" class="alignleft" height="240" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3426/3373248256_6f4fe1363f.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="160" /></a>Allied<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> </strong>Healthcare Professionals of the future must be technology savvy and knowledgeable about healthcare practice administration, not to mention up-to-date on ever-changing compliance requirements, according to executives at Alameda Services, an expert organization in Allied Health related training solutions, focusing on workforce development and intense Electronic Health Record (EHR) training.</div>
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To help better prepare today’s workforce for the stringent job requirements for a rewarding career as an allied health professional, Alameda Services has identified “Five Requirements for Success Among Allied Health Professionals of the Future” and recently launched the of <a href="http://www.alamedaservices.com/EHRSPromo80Registration" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_self">Allied Health E-Academy powered by Alameda Services</a>, an online portal designed to provide interactive training and online learning culminating in three national certifications and three certificates of completion in EMR/EHR specialties, Medical Billing/Coding and Medical Office Administration. More information about Alameda Services is available at<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.alamedaservices.com/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">http://www.AlamedaServices.com</a>.</div>
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“Allied health professionals must expand their knowledge in technology to stay current with the industry innovation that is currently being implemented across all of the healthcare service providers,” says Lena Feygin,Dip LC, executive vice president and director of business development for Alameda Services. “The shift toward comprehensive adoption of Electronic Medical Records / Electronic Health Records (EMR/EHR) requires knowledge beyond traditional healthcare office practices.”</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Five Requirements for Success among Allied Health Professionals of the Future</strong></div>
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Feygin and her team at Allied Health E-Academy have identified a number of skills that future allied health professionals must possess in order to enjoy successful future careers.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1. Knowledge of Medical Office Administration</strong> – A basic understanding of the functions, practices and procedures of medical offices is still at the foundation for any healthcare administrative staff position. But tomorrow’s workforce will be seeing fewer paper-based forms. Instead they will face a number of electronic forms, checklists and diagnostic tools that require their attention to detail in order to complete. Understanding and adapting to the new practice workflow is essential for the effectiveness of any practice employee.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2. </strong> <strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Knowledge of Compliance</strong> – The medical billing industry is increasingly focused on compliance requirements. With healthcare providers becoming more involved in the selection of both diagnostic and procedural codes, the traditional role of a medical practice biller is taking on new responsibilities. For example, for the past few years providers were presented with an opportunity to voluntary participate in the e-Prescribing (eRx) and Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS) programs, and have received incentive money as a reward for their participation. Since the information reported for the PQRS is pulled from the previously submitted claims, billers and compliance officers of the practice become key individuals to not only start this initiative but also to assist with processing. In addition those providers that have not implemented an e-Prescribing program within their practices with incentives are subjected to penalties from Medicare/Medicaid at this time. With the new regulations under HIPAA, ARRA, and HITECH laws, medical office staff requires an understanding of best practices to keep the providers in compliance, and also to assist providers in receipt of the incentive programs by adopting EHR systems and reporting on Meaningful Use criteria.</div>
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There is an additional segment that affects billers and coders or those entering into the field of billing and coding. With the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 diagnostic practices and with the implementation of EMR/EHR systems, providers become more involved with the actual code selection. A biller/coder is the support mechanism for providers in this transitional process and serves to ensure accuracy in the claims submitted.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3. Knowledge of Technology</strong> – More than any other time, practice staff members require working knowledge of both software, in the form of EMR/EHR applications, and hardware, including mobile technologies like notepads and tablets. The future will bring further implementation of telemedicine and mobile devices directly into the hands of these professionals as well. Security and electronic format becomes a more pressing issue which require for additional pieces of equipment and software to be integrated within individual practices. Examples of such measures are: webcams for patient picture identification, scanners to convert paper records to electronic format, barcode technology to have scanned unique IDs for individual patients, integration with the diagnostic equipments in use within the practice and outside of it.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">4. Knowledge of Data</strong> <strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Management and Analysis</strong> – Since technology is making its way into the healthcare providers practices/clinics/facilities, there is an additional need in understanding and ability to monitor the processes of:</div>
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· Data backup/restore – To have a productive relationship with the technology EMR/EHR services providers, a practice staff must have a clear understanding of the processes of their data backup/restore since the practice owns all of the data related to its patients.</div>
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· Data migration – Understanding and actively participating in the data transitioning from previously used systems (scheduling, billing, progress notes, etc.) into a fully certified EMR/EHR system can be crucial for a seamless transition. Having the knowledge and the ability to monitor these processes makes an office staff member an invaluable part of the team.</div>
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· Statistics and Data analysis – With the PQRS reporting and Meaningful Use criteria in place, it becomes essential for office members to be able to not only prepare the necessary compliance reports, but also to be able to use the data internally to evaluate the population served</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">5. Knowledge of Health Information Exchange (HIE)</strong> – The ability to electronically move clinical information among various healthcare information systems, while maintaining the meaning of the information being exchanged, is the goal of HIE. The allied health professionals of the future will need to become familiar with accessing and retrieving patient-centered care data and how other healthcare entities are involved in the workflow of the practice. It is important to grasp the understanding of the Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) that exists within any practice via its EMR/EHR system. The knowledge of the process on how to work with the data that is being released to other providers or received upon request of the practice is essential for a successful data interchange. Working within the new environment of electronic data becomes a daily task rather than a far away myth.</div>
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“Our coursework is demanding, interesting and intense,” adds Lena Feygin. “It is carefully designed to enhance employment opportunities for students who are ambitious, goal-oriented and determined to succeed in a highly-competitive marketplace. The participants will obtain the technical knowledge and the business acumen they need to maintain consistent standards of patient care for years to come. They will be well-equipped not only to land a solid job in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, but subsequently take on more challenging responsibilities, while delivering excellent healthcare to patients.”</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Photo By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/waltstoneburner/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Walt Stoneburner</a></strong></div>
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Original Article posted at<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://emrdailynews.com/2011/10/25/ehremr-training-specialist-alameda-services-shares-what-allied-health-professionals-will-need-to-succeed-in-tomorrow%e2%80%99s-workforce/#disqus_thread" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">EMR Daily News</a></div>
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</blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-41580967301511557502011-09-28T15:41:00.000-04:002012-07-20T15:59:06.386-04:00"EMR Daily News - AlliedHealthEacademy Provides Online Learning"<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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September 28, 2011 By<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://emrdailynews.com/author/steve/" rel="author" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" title="Posts by Steve">Steve</a><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a data-disqus-identifier="//emrdailynews.com/?p=15203" href="http://emrdailynews.com/2011/09/28/allied-health-e-academy-provides-online-learning-and-certification-for-electronic-health-records/#disqus_thread" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">0 Comments and 1 Reaction</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/luptonlibrary/5063379968/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" title="Library2010_066-Edit by UTC Library, on Flickr"><img alt="Library2010_066-Edit" class="alignleft" height="240" src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4144/5063379968_8d51e072c6_m.jpg" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" width="192" /></a>As the healthcare industry progresses toward the comprehensive implementation of Electronic Health Records and significantly reduces the use of traditional paper-based health records and documentation, allied health professionals are seeing an increased need for cross-training that includes both healthcare and technology knowledge.</div>
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To better serve busy allied health professionals, as well as others looking to enter the healthcare field, Alameda Services today announced the launch of AlliedHealthEacademy.com, an online portal designed to provide interactivetraining and online learning culminating in three national certifications and three certificates of completion in EHR/EMR specialties.</div>
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Alameda Services has developed a successful track record of providing “in-class” training programs focusing primarily on workforce development and training in the field of healthcare IT. It has launched AlliedHealthEacademy.com as a dedicated organization focusing solely on Allied Health training and certification as well as connecting its graduates with potential employers throughout the country.</div>
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“Today we are launching an online training opportunity for participants throughout the country,” says Lena Feygin, Dip LC, executive vice president and director of business development for Alameda Services.</div>
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“AlliedHealthEacademy.com is our way of connecting with those interested in pursuing a career in Allied Health nationwide. We are no longer limited to a geographical region”, she continues.</div>
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The new Certified Medical Practice Professional (CMPP) program is an all-inclusive program offered by the AlliedHealthEacademy.com. It incorporates two major parts – the Electronic Health Records Specialist (EHRS) and Billing and Coding Professional (BCP). The CMPP program is approved by the National Healthcareer Association for two nationally recognized certification examinations: Certified Electronic Health Records Specialist (CEHRS) and Certified Billing and Coding Specialist (CBCS). Students will receive a certificate of completion from AlliedHealthEacademy.com upon satisfactory completion of the EHRS and BCP, and CMPP certification upon successful receipt of both NHA certifications.</div>
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Allied health professionals provide numerous care and support services, including diagnostic, technical, therapeutic and direct patient care. These services, and the important role of allied health professionals, are absolutely critical to doctors and other health professionals they work with as well as the patients they serve.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Photo Credit By <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/luptonlibrary/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">UTC Library</a></strong></div>
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<a href="http://emrdailynews.com/2011/09/28/allied-health-e-academy-provides-online-learning-and-certification-for-electronic-health-records/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Originally posted by EMR Daily News</strong></a></div>
</blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-54640503152514366702011-07-27T15:40:00.000-04:002012-07-20T15:40:54.071-04:00"Information Week - Where The IT Jobs Are: Healthcare"<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Demand and pay for health IT talent surges, according to online career site Dice.com.</strong><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />By <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/authors/1114" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Marianne Kolbasuk McGee</strong></a> <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/policy/231002567" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">InformationWeek</a><br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />July 26, 2011 12:45 PM</div>
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Looking for a well-paying tech job? You may want to consider a health IT job, for which openings--along with pay--are soaring year over year, according to online career site, Dice.com, which specializes in engineering and technology postings.</div>
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While the number of open IT jobs posted on Dice.com overall has climbed 24% since last year, demand for health IT talent has shot up the most, said Alice Hill managing director of Dice.com.</div>
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"Health IT jobs are up 75% over last year," said Hill in an interview with <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">InformationWeek Healthcare</em>.</div>
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Although health IT jobs make up a relatively small segment of overall tech jobs posted on Dice.com, "nothing has been as large" as the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/leadership/229625613" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">surge in demand</a>seen by Dice for health IT postings, she said. Approximately 3,000 health IT jobs are currently posted on <a href="http://www.dice.com/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Dice.com</a>, she said.</div>
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It's not just the number of health IT job openings that are spiking, but pay for those positions is climbing too, she said.</div>
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Overall, "technology salaries have been flat for some time, even going down in some areas," she said. By contrast, average pay for health IT-related job postings in the medical and pharmaceutical segments has increased about 7% since 2009 to $85,244.</div>
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Health IT annual pay averaged in the mid to upper $70K range for many years till recently when it broke the $80K mark, she said.</div>
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Of health IT, the set of skills being most sought after are those related to e-health records or e-medical records, she said.</div>
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That's not surprising, considering the mad dash underway by thousands of hospitals and doctor offices nationwide to comply with federal government deadlines so that the healthcare providers can qualify for the more than $27 billion in incentive money allotted by the HITECH Act for the <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/policy/231001896" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Meaningful Use</a> of health IT, including EHR and EMR systems.</div>
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Also, among health IT job openings, positions that require skills in working with Cerner health IT platforms have jumped 80%, said Hill.</div>
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Overall within health IT, many employers are seeking professionals with previous experience working in enterprise environments, as well as strong analytical and problem solving skills, she said.</div>
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"These aren't entry level positions, but jobs demanding experienced people," she said.</div>
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Among employers looking to fill health IT jobs include Sharp Healthcare in San Diego, UnitedHealth in Minneapolis, and Baylor Health in Dallas, according to a Dice spokeswoman. Open positions at those organizations include health IT program and project mangers, and senior systems analyst.</div>
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The hunt for experienced health IT people could get tougher as Meaningful Use deadlines loom, and newly installed EHR, computerized physician order entry, and other clinical information systems require ongoing support and enhancements, Hill said.</div>
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"I don't think this is a bubble," she said.</div>
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In fact, the U.S. government has predicted a shortage of 50,000 health IT workers in coming years. The HITECH Act also allotted funding for <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/leadership/231002523" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">workforce development</a> and training, including programs involving community colleges across the country.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">In addition, private organizations have been also stepping up with new programs to train an emerging health IT workforce. Recent offerings range from new certificate programs for health IT implementation and support technicians from professional organization CompTIA to online training EHR courses for techies and <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/patient/231002324" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">non-techies</a> from private educational firm <a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/leadership/231000285" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Alameda Services.</a></strong></div>
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Meanwhile, historically, the ups and downs Dice.com has seen in demand of particular skill sets often have been a trailer for larger trends in the works, said Hill.</div>
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In the past "we saw mobile was getting hot" months before skills related to the technology were demanded by large numbers of employers across many industries, she said.</div>
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"By the time you put jobs up for posting, employers have to have a budget and plan in place" to utilize those demanded skills and technologies, she said.</div>
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<a href="http://www.informationweek.com/news/healthcare/policy/231002567" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Original Article Appeared in Information Week</a></div>
</blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-41733103084873266882011-07-20T15:39:00.000-04:002012-07-20T15:39:15.260-04:00"Alameda Services Unveils Electronic Health Record (EHR) eLearning Series to Meet Increasing Demand for Healthcare IT (HIT) Training"<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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Health Information Technology (HIT) organization offers online courses to educate and inform about electronic health records.</div>
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NEW YORK, NY, July 20, 2011 /24-7PressRelease/ -- At a time when healthcare accountability is crucial for success, emerging technologies can dramatically improve the standard of patient care and enhance patient experience. The need for greater understanding is especially acute when it comes to the complexities of electronic health records (EHR). To help healthcare providers of all specialties, their staff and the public to master the intricacies of EHR <a href="http://www.alamedaservices.com/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Alameda Services, a dynamic Health Information Technology (HIT) organization specializing in workforce development and intense Electronic Health Record (EHR) training</a>, today announced the launch and availability of its first e-learning segment that will serve as a powerful Web-based EHR training tool. More information about Alameda Services is available at <a href="http://www.alamedaservices.com/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">http://www.alamedaservices.com</a>.</div>
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Alameda's new series of online courses educates and informs participants about electronic health records (EHR), healthcare reform, and Meaningful Use, expanding their understanding of the rapidly-evolving healthcare technology landscape. This online, interactive content is based on two years of popular in-class training programs, as well as regular interface with providers, employers, and EHR software vendors. It offers extensive hands-on experience and certification designed to increase workforce efficiency and job placement in healthcare industry. In today's world, where time is a premium, the new program simplifies access to important topics for busy healthcare professionals, as well as anyone who is looking for HIT training.</div>
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"EHR is one of the most essential components in today's technologically advanced healthcare environment," explains Lena Feygin, Dip LC, executive vice president and director of business development for Alameda Services. "As healthcare professionals continue the process of transitioning from paper-based records to electronic health records, our goal is to help them embrace the full benefits of cutting-edge technology to provide the best possible service for their patients. From our perspective, education is the best way to make that a reality. We believe that delivering this kind of powerful, expert-level training will enable healthcare practitioners to advance patient safety, reduce medical errors, improve medical outcomes, and enhance office efficiencies."</div>
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In light of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, healthcare organizations and medical practices across the country are racing to adopt EHR in order to qualify for incentive payments. Alameda's online courses serve as an expedient alternative to traditional classroom training. It is not only an opportunity for doctors and healthcare administrators to adjust to a new environment, but also empower people of all walks of life to learn about the history and benefits of the new reform and help them understand the basics of Meaningful Use.</div>
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"We believe that our readily-built and dynamic online course is the perfect way for providers to meet the critical challenge of new technologies and take their skills to the next level," Feygin says. "The availability of the online courses reflects our continued commitment to deliver healthcare technology solutions that will improve quality of care, curtail skyrocketing healthcare costs, and enhance communication between providers and patients."</div>
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The online program is available 24/7, allowing the participants not only to learn everything they need to know at their own pace and convenience, but also save time and money. The introductory segment will be incorporated into the first module, which is due to be released this fall. It comes at no charge for healthcare providers, administrative staff, members of the media, and the general public who choose to take it now. Those who participate in a brief survey will receive a 10 percent discount on the full module when it debuts in the fall.</div>
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To register, please <a href="http://www.alamedaservices.com/node/Registration/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">click here</a>.</div>
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Unique Benefits of the Segment Include:</div>
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- Participants will learn the history of the new healthcare reform and become aware of the factors that led to changes in the healthcare industry</div>
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- The course explains how a new reform will impact individuals, families, communities, as well as early retirees and small businesses.</div>
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- The course addresses the "pre-existing condition clause" and describes its impact on individuals with pre-existing conditions</div>
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- Participants will familiarize themselves with the core capabilities of EHR and Meaningful Use requirements</div>
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- The course explains EHR Workflow System</div>
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About Alameda Services</div>
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ALAMEDA Services specializes in workforce development through training and eLearning consulting. The company's mission is to bridge the gap between the healthcare and technology industries, and to satisfy their growing workforce demands by providing technology and educational expertise. More information is available at <a href="http://www.alamedaservices.com/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">http://www.alamedaservices.com</a>.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Appeared in:<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></strong><a href="http://health.einnews.com/247pr/221554" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Healthcare Industry Today</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://markets.financialcontent.com/newsday/news/read?GUID=19007756" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Newsday.com</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://business-newsarticles.com/business_articles/2011/07/alameda-services-unveils-electronic-health-record-ehr-elearning-series-to-meet-increasing-demand-for-healthcare-it-hit-training-221554.htm" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Business Newsarticle</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://health-newsarticles.com/health_and_fitness_articles/2011/07/alameda-services-unveils-electronic-health-record-ehr-elearning-series-to-meet-increasing-demand-for-healthcare-it-hit-training-221554.htm" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Health Newsarticles</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.healthcareitnews.com/press-release/alameda-services-unveils-electronic-health-record-ehr-elearning-series-meet-increasing" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Healthcare IT News</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://emrdailynews.com/2011/07/25/alameda-services-unveils-electronic-health-record-elearning-series-to-meet-increasing-demand-for-hit-training/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">EMRDailyNews</a>,<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.healthy-fitness-blog.com/2011/07/20/alameda-services-unveils-electronic-health-record-ehr-elearning-series-to-meet-increasing-demand-for-healthcare-it-hit-training/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Health & Fitness News</a></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-53570373059153289972011-07-07T15:38:00.000-04:002012-07-20T15:38:16.064-04:00"FierceEMR - Five factors to look for in a certified EHR specialist - FierceEMR"<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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July 7, 2011 — 10:13am ET | By <a href="" rel="author" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Janice Simmons</a></div>
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As the demand to certified electronic health record specialists (CEHRS) continues to escalate, healthcare organizations will have to take additional steps to ensure that potential candidates are right for the job. For starters, try quizzing them on a few common acronyms: HIPAA, HITECH, PQRI, MU. If they don't know what these jumbles of letters stand for, they may not be right for the job. </div>
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EHR employment readiness requires training and knowledge of the healthcare industry and health information technology, Lena Feygin, executive vice president of New York City-based Alameda Services, told <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Healthcare IT News</em>.</div>
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"We often see one or the other, but it isn't sufficient, said Feygin, who is also director of business development for Alameda, a consulting and training organization that specializes in workforce development and EHR training.</div>
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During the next decade, job growth for medical records and health information technicians is expected to grow more than 20 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. To help address that demand, Alameda created<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> a five-point EHR checklist</strong> to assess individuals' EHR workforce readiness:</div>
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1. They 'get' healthcare and have EHR expertise. Candidates for EHR training and CEHRS certification should have prior experience in either healthcare administration or information technology.</div>
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2. They studied with a curriculum approved by the National Healthcare Association (NHA), the governing body that provides CEHRS certification.</div>
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3. They obtained more hours of EHR training than the industry baseline. While the NHA requires 60 hours of training, Alameda Services suggests that additional training is needed so EHR students can spend hands-on time with more than one EHR system--making them more versatile with multiple products.</div>
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4. They're fluent in the language and acronyms of healthcare records compliance. This includes many commonly used terms such as HIPAA, HITECH, PQRI and Meaningful Use criteria.</div>
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5. They've learned multiple EHRs. Healthcare EHR staffers who have hands-on experience with more than one EHR are able to provide guidance to their healthcare practices about which one might be the best fit.</div>
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For more information:<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />- read the <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Healthcare IT News</em> <a href="http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/five-criteria-choosing-certified-ehr-specialist" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">article</a> <br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />- view the Alameda Services <a href="http://www.healthcareprnews.com/healthcare_articles/2011/06/alameda-services-asks-is-your-workforce-ready-to-be-employed-in-an-ehr-job-219169.htm" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">announcement</a></div>
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<a href="http://www.fierceemr.com/story/five-factors-look-certified-ehr-specialist/2011-07-07" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Appeared in FierceEMR</a></div>
</blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-55866522629369553592011-07-05T15:37:00.000-04:002012-07-20T15:37:20.426-04:00"Healthcare IT News - Five criteria for choosing a certified EHR specialist"<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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By: Molly Merrill, Associate Editor,<a href="http://healthcareitnews.com/news/five-criteria-choosing-certified-ehr-specialist" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span>Originally Published in Healthcare IT News</a></div>
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NEW YORK – As the need for certified electronic health record specialists (CEHRS) grows, it is important that healthcare organizations are able to recognize whether potential candidates are EHR-ready, says one consultant.</div>
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The CEHRS job is to create, maintain and secure patient records, said Lena Feygin, executive VP of Alameda Services, a New York City-based HIT organization specializing in workforce development and intense EHR training.</div>
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Alameda has developed a curriculum for training EHR specialists in two years. She said it focuses on four major areas: the technology segment, the workflow and business processes, compliance with regulations like HIPAA and ARRA and a hands-on component that requires working with the software in a clinical environment.</div>
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Feygin says that their program often exceeds the requirements of the National Healthcare Association (NHA), the governing body for the CEHRS certification, and has been successfully piloted at La Guardia Community College and the Met Council on Jewish Poverty.</div>
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“We believe that EHR employment readiness requires training and knowledge of both the healthcare industry and the information technology that the industry uses. We often see one or the other, but it isn’t sufficient,” said Feygin, who is also director of business development for Alameda Services.</div>
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The training organization has developed a five- point checklist to help prospective workforce development organizations, students and healthcare providers assess the readiness of an EHR candidate for certification and employment.</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">EHR Employment Readiness Checklist:</strong></div>
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Get healthcare and EHR expertise.</strong> Candidates for EHR training and CEHRS certification should have prior experience in either healthcare administration or information technology. Someone who has worked in a healthcare practice as a front desk clerk, billing person, or office manager might require a skills upgrade that will not only enable them to maintain their existing job, but gain a new job and add to their earning power. Someone with IT experience who understands hardware and software infrastructure will require clinical- and healthcare-specific software training that will allow for a wider spectrum of job opportunities. Training for the CEHRS exam requires that students understand both healthcare practice operations as well as medical record-keeping information. “It’s not enough to understand how a healthcare practice operates or how some software works; EHR specialists must understand both in order to be effective,” says Feygin.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Study with an NHA-approved curriculum</strong>. Ensure that the training program is approved by the NHA. “Training organizations that provide approved national certification, such as CEHRS, as part of their programs report better retention, and placement,” says Feygin. “In addition, approved certification fosters the adoption of standards and an understanding of basic topics required for better job opportunities.”</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Obtain more hours of EHR training than the baseline</strong>. While the NHA only requires 60 hours of training, Alameda Services suggests that significant additional training is necessary so EHR students can spend hands-on time with more than one EHR system, making them more versatile with multiple products. This increased training can also enable them to actively participate, where applicable, in the selection of an EHR that is most fitting for a given healthcare practice. “We provided students in our EHR training programs for La Guardia Community College and the Met Council on Jewish Poverty with more than five times the required baseline – over 300 hours of training,” says Feygin. “The NHA certification sets the criteria and baseline for the industry. But we feel it is important to understand that achieving the baseline alone is not enough for success in the field.”</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Become fluent in healthcare records compliance</strong>. There is an entire alphabet-soup of healthcare records compliance requirements that healthcare records specialists must be fluent in: HIPAA, ARRA, HITECH, PQRI and Meaningful Use criteria. “We recognize that this can almost seem like speaking a second or third language,” says Feygin. “But healthcare providers must adjust to the new rules and demonstrate compliance. EHR specialists must be capable of preparing practices for these changes in the field.” In August she says the company is launching an eLearning program geared to those in the workforce that will aim at getting them up to speed on compliance issues.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Learn multiple EHRs.</strong> While there are many competing EHR software packages, there are a great number of similarities. Becoming trained in multiple EHR programs makes students more employable, according to Feygin. “Healthcare EHR staffers who have hands-on experience with more than one EHR are able to provide guidance to their healthcare practices about which one might be the best fit. They can also quickly adapt to an existing EHR as a new employee.” She says the company provides a “vendor agnostic program”, which can be plugged into any program. Currently they work with EHR vendors Practice Fusion and EHealth Made Easy.</li>
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Also Appeared in<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.ehrwatch.com/headline/five-criteria-choosing-certified-ehr-specialist" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">EHR Watch</a></div>
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</blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3337953652018030519.post-39227988779844292722011-06-28T15:34:00.000-04:002012-07-20T15:36:01.249-04:00"Alameda Services Receives National Healthcare Association (NHA) Approval; Prepares Students for Certified Electronic Health Record Specialists (CEHRS) Exam"<blockquote class="tr_bq">
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Alameda</strong><strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Services Receives National Healthcareer Association (NHA) Approval; Prepares Students for Certified Electronic Health Record Specialists (CEHRS) Exam</strong></div>
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<em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">New York City-based Healthcare IT Consulting and Training Organization Becomes Training Affiliate for Industry Standard Healthcare Record Keeping Specialist Certification</em></div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">New York, NY – June 28, 2011 –<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span></strong><a href="http://www.alamedaservices.com/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">Alameda Services, a Health Information Technology (HIT) consulting and training organization specializing in workforce development</a>, has been recognized as a training affiliate for the CEHRS Exam, administered by the National Healthcare Association (NHA). As an affiliate, Alameda Services is able to prepare students for the rigorous national certification as part of its program. Students and healthcare providers often report a higher level of recruitment, retention and placement among those who obtain the electronic health record (EHR) certification. More information about Alameda Services is available at<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.alamedaservices.com/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">http://www.alamedaservices.com</a>.</div>
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“Our company is committed to producing well-trained, well-educated and technically-savvy professionals,” says Lena Feygin, Dip LC, executive vice president and director of business development for Alameda Services. “We are delighted that our program has been approved by NHA. Our powerful workforce development strategies provide students with the knowledge, abilities and skills they need to succeed in a wide variety of healthcare settings.”</div>
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NHA, established in 1989, grants approval to a select group of organizations that demonstrate compliance with the highest industry standards and provide an optimum learning experience for students.</div>
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In an effort to enhance the provision of healthcare and promote patient safety, NHA set forth specific guidelines for testing the competency level of potential EHR specialists. NHA certification is a nationally-acclaimed credential that allows healthcare professionals to be recognized for their proficiencies.</div>
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“Many private practices, hospitals and allied organizations require national certification as a competency standard,” adds Feygin. “Even though our EHR training program is not centered around the certification, it qualifies Alameda graduates for the exam and reflects the value they derive in the classroom. The length of our program, its quality and impact, are carefully planned. And all the materials incorporated into the curricula, are based on the expertise of the subject matter experts that have participated in the development of EHRs.”</div>
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As the healthcare industry continues to evolve, there is an increased demand for well-trained and highly-skilled healthcare professionals. At a time of persistent unemployment, benefits to obtaining a certification may result in increased pay scale, better job opportunities, more career advancement, and job security.</div>
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“At Alameda we prepare our students not only to succeed but to excel,” says Feygin. “The length of our program exceeds hours required by NHA. We ensure that our students are well-equipped to navigate the competitive landscape of the healthcare industry and enjoy rewarding careers for years to come.”</div>
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<strong style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">About Alameda Services</strong></div>
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ALAMEDA Services specializes in workforce development through training and eLearning consulting. The company’s mission is to bridge the gap between the healthcare and technology industries, and to satisfy their growing workforce demands by providing technology and educational expertise. More information is available at<span class="Apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="http://www.alamedaservices.com/" style="color: #242424; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline;">http://www.alamedaservices.com</a></div>
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</blockquote>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00117659924008388556noreply@blogger.com0