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Internet Not the (Only) Answer to Disease Management
According to a 2010 Pew Internet Study, patients with chronic health conditions are disproportionately offline. The study, Chronic Disease and the Internet, found... Read more

Inside IT Optimizers®

ARRA EMR incentive payments, Accountable Care Organizations, clinical service integration and patient-centered medical homes are the cornerstones of health care reform. Success in these evolving delivery and financing models requires careful information technology planning. Contact us to discuss our extensive experience in these areas.

Joe DeLuca was a guest on KQED’s Forum, discussing the information technology implications of health care reform. Listen to the audio of the KQED panel. The other panelists included Dr. Robert Pearl, CEO of Kaiser Permanente Medical Group and Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, a health economist and management consultant. Michael Krasny hosted.

Inside IT Optimizers®, cont.

Christopher Longhurst, MD, MS, FAAP has been appointed the chief medical information officer at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital. Dr. Longhurst will lead clinical information strategy and adoption, and will also serve on the Information Services Executive Committee. His recent study "Decrease in Mortality Associated with Physician Order Entry System" can be found in the online May 3 journal Pediatrics.

Mammoth Hospital and Torrance Memorial Medical Center are the latest facilities selecting IT Optimizers to achieve accelerated ambulatory/physician electronic health record (EHR) vendor selection. Both organizations will also be using the Fulcrum Methods® Meaningful Use Methodology assessment tool to ensure that the selected system can provide certified capabilities to qualify for meaningful use incentives. Mammoth Hospital will also be using the Fulcrum tool to evaluate and ensure its inpatient EMR implementation will also qualify for ARRA incentive payments.

Stanford Hospital and Clinics (Palo Alto) has been recognized by the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) with a Stage 7 Award. This award recognizes the progress and impact of electronic medical record systems for hospitals, with Stage 7 being truly paperless care delivery. As of July 2010, only 40 hospitals in the country had achieved this award. More Information.

News


Regulations related to health care reform continue to be published. The latest rules, finalized for meaningful use and standards and certification, were recently published by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC).
	•	Final HHS rule on meaningful use, covering 2011 and 2012.
	•	Final rule, establishing the temporary EHR certification program.

A recent study by Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Stanford University School of Medicine examined the effect on hospital-wide mortality rates after the implementation of a computerized physician order entry system. The authors found a correlation between the system’s implementation and a 20% decrease in mean monthly adjusted mortality. The study was published online May 3 by Pediatrics.

A U.S. court decision on March 29 invalidated patents held on two cancer-related genes, BRCA-1 and BRCA-2, stating that the patents were improperly granted on a "law of nature". With many health care organizations holding genetic patents, and nearly 20% of the human genome currently patented, the ruling could have far-reaching impact on health care providers. Read the court decision. The company holding the patents, Myriad Genetics, filed a notice of appeal in June.

The first prison sentence for misdemeanor HIPAA violations was handed down at the end of April. The defendant, a former UCLA Health System employee, accessed confidential records without a valid reason or authorization in 2003. The case is different from previous HIPAA-related prosecutions in that the defendant was never alleged to have improperly used any of the information.