MGMA concerned about success of EHR incentive program

I just read the attached article about the MGMA’s concerns with respect to the government’s incentive program for electronic health records.

“This is a historic opportunity for the industry to improve the clinical care physicians deliver to their patients and to streamline healthcare administration,” said William F. Jessee, MD, the MGMA’s president and CEO. “If constructed effectively, this program has the potential of transforming the nation’s healthcare system.”

I agree with DR. Jessee. The program needs to be structured in a way to facilitate wide spread adoption, instead of erecting huge barriers for physicians. I plan to follow this posting up with an additional posting detailing what is known about the program so far.

In the mean time, I’ve included a link to Kyle Hardy’s article, MGMA concerned about success of EHR program.

Healthcare IT chief takes on meaning of ‘meaningful’

In an open letter, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology David Blumenthal discusses what the government means when it refers to the “meaningful use of electronic health records.”

David Blumenthal, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology, recently sent an open email discussing “meaningful use.” (To read it click here)

In his email, Blumenthal states that infact, a great deal of work has been done to define  “meaningful use.” So far the process has included involvement from hundreds of stake holders and constituents and has resulted in a revised set of recommendations.

As the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), Blumenthal  is charged with coordinating nationwide efforts to implement and use the most advanced health information technology and the electronic exchange of health information. ONC is working with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), through an open and transparent process, on efforts to officially designate what constitutes “meaningful use.”  The issue  is being carefully considered from many different angles and perspective and CMS has a sizable collection of recomendations to synthesize as it firms up its official definition.

CMS is expected to publish a formal definition of meaningful use, for the purposes of receiving the Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments, by December 31, 2009. At that time, the public will be able to comment on the definition, and such comments will be considered in reaching any final definition of the term.

Blumenthal also points out that even in the absence of a formal definition, physicians can still a begin evaluating the capabilities and benefits of an electronic medical record system.  EMR providers are happy to demonstrate their software and these demonstrations can serve as a way to help physicians to begin thinking about how they will apply EMR software to their specific workflow. 

For years, Endsight has been helping clients apply technology to thier business in a meaningful way.  To accomplish this, Endsight provides an upfront, detailed needs analysis that places the emphasis on the medical practices requirements and then maps those requirements to the software’s features. 

To learn more about Endsight’s approach, click here.

To schedule an in-person meeting to discuss your specific needs, click here. 

You can also watch a short web video that introduces Endsight by clicking here.