OmniMD Achieves EHNAC e-Prescribing of Controlled Substances Certificate for Prescribing Applications

Certification ensures adherence to data processing standards and compliance with security infrastructure and integrity requirements for all e-Prescribing transactions

Tarrytown, NY – December 16, 2013 – OmniMD, a healthcare solution of Integrated Systems Management, Inc. announced today that it has been certified with the e-Prescribing of Controlled Substances Certificate Program for Prescribing Applications (EPCSCP-Prescribing) from the Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC). EHNAC’s program demonstrates the operational integrity of companies that use e-prescribing, by affirming compliance with industry regulations and all necessary standards for transaction timeliness, security and privacy with new prescriptions and renewals. Through the consultative review process, EHNAC evaluated OmniMD’s electronic prescribing and fax-based prescribing transactions in the areas of confidentiality enforcement, level-of-service and escalation procedures, outcome-related metrics, security infrastructures and the ability to comply with industry-standard data formats. The thorough certification process demonstrates compliance with stringent DEA regulations and adherence to strict standards and participation in the comprehensive, objective evaluation of the organization’s business. 

“The growth of e-prescribing in recent years has reached a strong uptick not only due to meaningful use measures, but because of the industry’s critical need for advancement of care and transitioning to electronic health records and processes,” says Lee Barrett, executive director of EHNAC. “Privacy, security and confidentiality continue to top the list of concerns for solution providers and their customers. OmniMD’s EHNAC EPCSCP-Prescribing certification is a significant achievement in ensuring full confidence in the integrity of their e-prescribing system and processes, and we are pleased to congratulate them.”

OmniMD is a comprehensive Ambulatory Electronic Health Record, Revenue Cycle Management and Health Information Exchange solution serving all the states of United States.  OmniMD’s ePrescribing is a Surescript’s White Coat Quality certified solution. With the EHNAC EPCSCP accreditation, OmniMD will be able to enable physicians electronically prescribe controlled substance with all the safety measures in place.

“EHNAC’s thorough accreditation process prompted us to risk assess administrative, physical, procedural and technological aspects of our organization and implement the required safeguards.  This accreditation is important not only for EPCS program but to be on top of HIPAA and HITECH regulations providing patient safety, security and privacy of the information.” quoted Divan Dave,CEO at OmniMD.

About OmniMD

OmniMD (a division of Integrated Systems Management, Inc.) is a national electronic health record software company with thousands of providers in more than 40 states and five countries. OmniMD’s emr software is cloud based and represents state of the art solution in the medical software industry. The Tarrytown, N.Y.-based company has 120 programmers and 15 physicians on staff who work to make the product excellent surpassing the industry requirements

About EHNAC

The Electronic Healthcare Network Accreditation Commission (EHNAC) is a voluntary, self-governing standards development organization (SDO) established to develop standard criteria and accredit organizations that electronically exchange healthcare data. These entities include e-prescribing and EPCS solution providers, electronic health networks, financial services firms, health information exchanges, health information service providers, medical billers, third-party administrators, management service organizations, outsourced service providers, payers and vendors.

EHNAC was founded in 1993 and is a tax-exempt 501(c)(6) nonprofit organization. Guided by peer evaluation, the EHNAC accreditation process promotes quality service, innovation, cooperation and open competition in healthcare. To learn more, visit www.ehnac.org, contact info@ehnac.org, or connect with us on Twitter, YouTubeand LinkedIn.

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Press contact information:

OmniMD Marketing

(914) 332-5590 (office) Ext: 167

(914) 909-5280 (Fax)

marketing@omnimd.com

OmniMD EHR Earns Surescripts White Coat of Quality for 2012

TARRYTOWN, NY, January 3, 2013--OmniMD™, a division of Integrated Systems Management Inc., announced that its OmniMD electronic health record (EHR) has earned the Surescripts® White Coat of Quality distinction for technology vendors for 2012.

"Earning the Surescripts White Coat of Quality for 2012 for OmniMD EHR is an important recognition that we uphold the highest standards of quality in e-prescribing," said Divan Da've, CEO. "Very few EHRs have achieved this distinction. We are dedicated to continuous improvement of our products, and the White Coat of Quality for 2012 is a tribute to our team's work."

OmniMD serves more than 11,000 users with complete electronic medical record (EMR)/EHR software, cloud-based or enterprise. Surescripts is an important component of OmniMD's complete EHR, Da've said.

OmniMD's EHR previously completed Surescripts Gold certification. The resulting Gold Solution Provider status is granted to vendors with software products that surpass Surescripts' baseline product certification to meet criteria that demonstrate a higher level of commitment to e-prescribing. OmniMD was one of only nine vendors to attain that status in 2010.

The Surescripts White Coat of Quality distinction for technology vendors is a critical part of Surescripts' continuous quality improvement program. The White Coat recognizes technology vendors that uphold the highest standards of clinical quality in e-prescribing. E-prescribing saves lives, improves efficiency and reduces the cost of healthcare for all.

About OmniMD
OmniMD, headquartered in Tarrytown, NY, is a division of Integrated Systems Management, Inc., which is a leader in software development and information technology consulting since 1989. OmniEHR™, OmniPM™ and OmniMD Services offer unparalleled reliability, ease-of-use, efficiency, interoperability, and customizability. OmniMD v.11.2 is ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certified as a Complete EHR and is also CCHIT Certified® 2011 for Ambulatory EHR with a 5-Star usability rating.

OmniMD offers a comprehensive set of services such as Revenue Cycle Management (RCM), medical transcription, document scanning and indexing, a patient portal, patient reminders, IT and networking, and eligibility verification as part of an integrated solution to help practices effectively address their financial, administrative, clinical, and regulatory needs. For more information, please visit http://www.omnimd.com.

Contact:
Connie Jones
Marketing Manager, OmniMD
914-332-5590 x116
cjones@omnimd.com

OmniMD™ EHR Version 11.0 Receives ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 Certification

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 5, 2011
Media Contact:
Ted Dave
pr@omnmd.com
tdave@omnimd.com

January 5, 2011 – Integrated Systems Management Inc announced today that OmniMD™ EHR, Version 11.0 is 2011/2012 compliant and was certified as a Complete EHR on January 4, 2011 by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®), an ONC-ATCB, in accordance with the applicable (eligible provider) certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. The 2011/2012 criteria support the Stage 1 meaningful use measures required to qualify eligible providers and hospitals for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

According to Divan Dave, CEO, of OmniMD™ “This certification is another step in our commitment to provide providers with intuitive, easy-to-use, affordable technologies that help them improve patient care, reduce their costs and qualify for government incentives".

The ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification program tests and certifies that Complete EHRs meet all of the 2011/2012 criteria and EHR Modules meet one or more – but not all – of the criteria approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) for either eligible provider or hospital technology.

“CCHIT is pleased to be testing and certifying products so that companies are now able to offer these products to providers who wish to purchase and implement certified EHR technology and achieve meaningful use in time for the 2011-2012 incentives,” said Karen M. Bell, M.D., M.S.S., Chair, CCHIT.

OmniMD™ EHR, Version 11.0 certification number is CC-1112-484340-1. ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification conferred by CCHIT does not represent an endorsement of the certified EHR technology by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services nor does it guarantee the receipt of incentive payments.

The clinical quality measures to which OmniMD™ has been certified include:

NQF 0421 - Adult Weight Screening & Follow-Up
NQF 0013 - Hypertension: Blood Pressure Measurement
NQF 0028 - Tobacco Use Assessment and Cessation
NQF 0041 - Influenza Immunization
NQF 0024 - Weight Assessment and Counseling
NQF 0038 - Childhood Immunization Status
NQF 0034 - Colorectal Cancer Screening
NQF 0043 - Pneumonia Vaccination Status
NQF 0067 - CAD: Oral Antiplatelet Therapy
NQF 0084 - Heart Failure: Warfarin Therapy

OmniMD™ EHR Version 11.0 is also certified in CCHIT’s separate and independently developed certification program. OmniMD™ Version 11.0 is a pre-market CCHIT Certified® 2011, Ambulatory EHR. Integrated Systems Management Inc. has certified its EHR technology in both programs to provide greater assurance to its customers.

About Integrated Systems Management, Inc

Founded in 2000, OmniMD™ integrated Electronic Health Records and Practice Management (PMS) products and services, offers unparalleled reliability, ease-of-use, efficiency and customizability. OmniMD™ Ambulatory EHR has also earned a designation as a pre-market CCHIT 2011 Certification with the highest 5 Star Usability Rating ensuring OmniMD™ commitment to have a comprehensive, secure, scalable, intuitive and interoperable EHR system. OmniMD™ Ambulatory EHR Version 11.0 is CCHIT 2011 Pre-Market Certified, web-enabled and support devices ranging from Tablet PCs to Smart phones. OmniMD™ offers a comprehensive set of services such as Health Transcriptions, Document Management, Patient Portal, Patient Reminder and Eligibility Verification as part of an integrated solution under one roof helping practices to effectively addressing their financial, administrative, clinical, and regulatory needs. OmniMD™ Ambulatory EHR Version 11.0 is built as a true Software as a Service solution. It can be deployed as an Enterprise or a Subscription based Service as per the practice requirements. OmniMD™ is designed to exceed the present and future needs of the healthcare industry. OmniMD™ is robust, scalable, interoperable, secure, intuitive and customizable with rapid deployment model. OmniMD™ EHR has also achieved Surescripts® Gold Solution Provider status, which allows for interoperability with the nation’s community pharmacies - improving the safety, efficiency and quality of the prescribing process. Gold Solution Provider status is granted to vendors whose software products have surpassed Surescripts’ baseline product certification, by demonstrating a higher level of commitment to e-prescribing, enhanced security, excellent customer support and service. OmniMD™ is a division of Integrated Systems Management, Inc. – ISM Inc. - (www.ismnet.com) a leader in Software Development and Information Technology Consulting since 1989.

About CCHIT

The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®) is an independent, 501(c)3 nonprofit organization with the public mission of accelerating the adoption of robust, interoperable health information technology. The Commission has been certifying electronic health record technology since 2006 and is approved by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as an Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB). More information on CCHIT, CCHIT Certified® products and ONC-ATCB certified electronic health record technology is available at http://cchit.org.

About ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification

The ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification program tests and certifies that EHR technology is capable of meeting the 2011/2012 criteria approved by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). The certifications include Complete EHRs, which meet all of the 2011/2012 criteria for either eligible provider or hospital technology and EHR Modules, which meet one or more – but not all – of the criteria. ONC-ATCB certification aligns with Health Information Technology: Initial Set of Standards, Implementation Specifications, and Certification Criteria for Electronic Health Record Technology published in the Federal Register in July 2010 and strictly adheres to the test procedures published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) at the time of testing. ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification conferred by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®) does not represent an endorsement of the certified EHR technology by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services nor does it guarantee the receipt of incentive payments.

“CCHIT®” and “CCHIT Certified®” are registered trademarks of the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology.

Should physicians nearing retirement deploy EHRs?

One of the lesser discussed factors determining whether to adopt EHRs or not is the number of years that a physician who owns his or her practice has left before retirement.

This is a complicated issue, and the advice will vary from physician to physician, given his or her specific circumstances. There are, however, a few common facts that need to be taken into consideration.

As one healthcare consultant noted, putting in an EHR system in the office doesn’t instantly deliver value. It’s – rightly – what you do with the system. And that will require time, likely years, to reap the benefits of improved clinical outcomes of patients and perhaps derive new sources of revenues (such as charging agencies to send out data, etc.). The question is whether the physician has the time to develop value or meaningful use out of the EHRs.

There will be immediate benefits, such as data retrieval automation, which can cut down on office staff time doing low-priority tasks. Intangible benefits may surface in the form of increased patient satisfaction when appointments can be scheduled via e-mail or test results received electronically without staff intervention and time.

Another benefit is the elimination of duplicative tests, but until the fee-for-service model is replaced, this particular benefit is lost revenue for physicians. Although the industry is beginning to embrace such models as bundled payments and payments tied in with medical homes, the timeline for when we are completely rid of fee for service is fuzzy at best. Will the physician retire before that happens? If retirement is less than five years away, I’d say it’s unlikely we’ll see payment reform.

Choosing the most cost-efficient system and a vendor that guarantees achieving meaningful use criteria may remove some of the discomfort and uncertainty over the major changes. Certainly physicians should reach out to their local regional extension centers (RECs) to help with implementation and workflow and office reengineering.

The healthcare consultant made a number of good points. It’s not the end of the world if the physician’s practice does not have an EHR since many larger organizations have their own and simply have that acquired practice implement the system that they use. That’s what happened to my physician’s office, although the acquisition occurred more than five years ago, which was at a time when EHRs weren’t a hot issue, as they are now.

At any rate, David Blumenthal, MD, said that in the near future adopting health IT will be part of the cost of doing business and part of the profession. Who knows when that will be? But when that time does arrive, it may just matter who is fully using EHRs and who is not.

Source : http://www.ehrexperts.us/should-physicians-nearing-retirement-deploy-ehrs/

EHR developed for long-term care holds promise

By Molly Merrill

COLUMBIA, MO – Researchers from the University of Missouri are developing an electronic health record system aimed at meeting the needs of a population of older adults that’s expected to almost double in the next 20 years.

According to the U.S. Administration on Aging, there will be about 72 million older adults living in the U.S. who will require care from a workforce that is already projected to be lacking.

Researchers from MU are currently working on a solution they say may help alleviate some of the burden. They’re developing an EHR system that encompasses standard health assessments and those obtained through new technologies. The goal, they say, is to increase efficiency and accuracy, improve patient outcomes and reduce costs for long-term care.

“As the use of emerging technologies increases along with the older population, maintaining complete and accurate patient information can be overwhelming,” said Marilyn Rantz, professor in the MU Sinclair School of Nursing. “A comprehensive system that encompasses all measures, old and new, is the key to enhance and efficient clinical decision making.”

The EHR is being tested at TigerPlace, an independent senior-living facility in Columbia, Mo. According to the researchers’ initial findings, use of the EHR system can enhance nursing care coordination and advance technology use and clinical research.

“New technologies to passively monitor older adults’ health are being developed and are increasingly commercially available,” Rantz said. “The challenge remains to integrate clinical information systems with passive monitoring data, especially in long-term care and home health settings, in order to improve clinical decision making and ensure patient records are complete.”

Effective EHR systems display data in ways that are meaningful and quickly assessable for clinicians, Rantz said. With access to comprehensive data, clinicians can make more informed clinical decisions, better perform risk assessments and provide risk-reducing interventions.

Source :- http://www.ehrexperts.us/ehr-developed-for-long-term-care-holds-promise/

Flexibility built into final rule on meaningful use EHR

WASHINGTON – Federal officials released the final rule on meaningful use Tuesday, which will allow physicians and hospitals to qualify for thousands of dollars in stimulus funding incentives for the adoption of electronic health records.

The 864-page final rule, several weeks late from its anticipated delivery before June 21, outlines the specific qualifications providers must meet to achieve the meaningful use of electronic health records.

At a news conference Tuesday morning, federal healthcare officials praised the advance of electronic health records, while acknowledging the difficulties providers face at the onset of adoption.

According to David Blumenthal, MD, national coordinator for health information technology, the final rule differs from the proposed rule issued last January: It allows providers more flexibility in choosing which measures to use for qualifications.

According to Blumenthal, the proposed rule required doctors to comply with 23 measures, and hospitals 25 measures. The government received more than 2,000 comments on the rule, many of them asking for more flexibility in allowing clinicians to qualify.

Blumenthal said the final rule took those comments into account. The final rule requires doctors to comply with a set of 15 core objectives during the first year - or Stage 1- of adoption. Hospitals are required to comply with 14 core objectives. In addition to the core objectives, both hospitals and doctors will have to choose five more objectives from a “menu” of 10, he said. The remaining objectives will be deferred to Stage 2 of adoption.

The final rule also reduced the number of electronic prescriptions a doctor is required to make from 75 percent to 40 percent, Blumenthal said.

Kathleen Sebelius, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, said the Federation of American Hospitals is an “enthusiastic supporter” of the new rule. The federal government hopes other groups will join them, she said.

Blumenthal, a physician, said he is confident the use of electronic health records will become a core professional competency among physicians, who will eventually lead the way in adoption. Until then, the government will encourage healthcare IT adoption through financial incentives, such as these set up under the meaningful use rule. The government will also supply “shoulder-to-shoulder” support for providers through the regional extension centers.

Key changes in the final CMS rule include:

• Greater flexibility with respect to eligible professionals and hospitals in meeting and reporting certain objectives for demonstrating meaningful use. The final rule divides the objectives into a “core” group of required objectives and a “menu set” of procedures from which providers may choose any five to defer in 2011-2012. This gives providers latitude to pick their own path toward full EHR implementation and meaningful use.
• An objective of providing condition-specific patient education resources for both EPs (eligible providers) and eligible hospitals and the objective of recording advance directives for eligible hospitals, in line with recommendations from the Health Information Technology Policy Committee.
• A definition of a hospital-based EP as one who performs substantially all of his or her services in an inpatient hospital setting or emergency room only, which conforms to the Continuing Extension Act of 2010
• CAHs (critical access hospitals) within the definition of acute care hospital for the purpose of incentive program eligibility under Medicaid.

A CMS/ONC fact sheet on the rules is available on the CMS Web site.

Source : http://www.myemrstimulus.com/flexibility-built-into-final-rule-on-meaningful-use/

Obama launches national campaign to sell health reform, health IT

By Chelsey Ledue

WASHINGTON – After signing the healthcare reform bill into law on March 23, President Barack Obama traveled to Iowa and Maine to promote his vision, which includes the role of healthcare IT in saving lives and cutting cost.

Obama visited Iowa City, Iowa on March 25 and Portland, Maine on April 1.

At the Maine rally, Obama said passage of the healthcare reform law is a reminder that the country has the power to shape its own destiny.

“It has reminded us that we, as a people, do not shrink from a challenge,” he said. “We overcome it.”

Obama has had a history of supporting healthcare IT advancement, which includes a call for every American to have an electronic health record by 2014. The president requested $110 million in his budget this year, to strengthen healthcare IT policy coordination and research activities.

Last year, the administration backed more than $20 billion over 10 years to advance healthcare IT adoption in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

At the president’s rally in Portland, Maine Gov. John Baldacci touted healthcare IT as the means for improving quality of care, noting that Maine has been an early leader in the adoption of medical technology.

Information technology “plays a huge role” in medical reform, Baldacci told Healthcare IT News. “A huge role. It’s going to be through medical information technology that you’re going to enhance the ability of the providers to give quality care but also do it in a way that will reduce costs. It’s a critical element that needs to be part of this.”

David Howes, a physician and CEO of Portland, Maine-based Martin’s Point Health Care, said the reform law is “an enormous step forward.”

“The bill builds support for primary care and EHRs,” Howes said. “It contains flexibility and support for new models of care and Medicare quality and effectiveness measures. It is an enormous step forward for the American people and businesses.”

“I think it’s an opportunity for the president to help market the good parts of the bill,” said Gordon H. Smith, executive vice president of the Maine Medical Association, prior to the president’s visit. “I think it’s a battle for the hearts and minds of the public.”

Above article publish on http://www.ehrexperts.us/obama-launches-national-campaign-to-sell-health-reform-health-it/

Covering Electronic Health Records

By Neil Versel

Electronic health records (EHRs) have been around in one form or another since the 1960s, but the notion of patient records being stored on computers is only beginning to seep into the public’s consciousness. While pretty much every other industry computerized years ago, the vast majority of Americans’ medical records remain on paper.

The goal of electronic health records (and health information technology in general) is to make health care safer and more efficient by providing health professionals and patients alike with information to inform decision-making, promote preventive care and reduce duplication.

It sounds simple enough, but health IT is a complex, frequently misunderstood topic. In this essay, I’ll provide some background on electronic health records and health information technology, a glossary of terms, and some story ideas, with the goal of helping you better cover this important health and business topic.

Ditching paper charts is not easy, nor is writing about the conversion. The central story is not the technology itself, but rather how health information technology will transform care. “It’s really a matter of change management rather than technology,” Dr. David Blumenthal, the Obama administration’s national coordinator for health IT, explained in November 2009.

Online health records for all – “in 10 years”

First, some background: in 2004, President George W. Bush called for “most Americans” to have electronic health records within 10 years and created the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology within the Department of Health and Human Services to help make it happen. One early project of the office was the attempted conversion of VistA, the EHR long in place at the Department of Veterans Affairs, for use in small medical practices. The EHR, which was difficult to install in most doctors’ offices, never made it past a beta version before federal officials dropped the project.

Health IT subsequently drifted in and out of the national spotlight over the next several years, but didn’t garner much coverage in the mainstream press unless there was a local angle, such as a hospital installing a system. As a longtime reporter on this beat, it has been a challenge to “sell” this story outside the trade press. But now that health information technology is a major story, with plenty of interesting national and local angles, I’ve noticed more reporters scrambling to grasp this difficult subject.

So what’s finally turning arcane health information technology into a mainstream news story? Two things: National health reform and the federal stimulus bill.

Health Reform: Can Better Health IT Lower Costs and Improve Care?

Now that health insurance reform legislation[NV1] has passed, I hope mainstream media will turn their attention to a major health information technology story: greater access to health care does not guarantee good care, so it won’t matter much whether government or private companies administer health plans for millions of new enrollees as long as fee-for-service remains the dominant payment model.

The perverse reality is that mistakes can be good for business. Medical errors and other complications lead to more hospitalizations and longer stays. Both the fear of being sued and the inability to access previous results cause doctors to order extra tests, without regard to medical prudence.

Health IT can help prevent errors by offering what’s known as clinical decision support — computerized alerts recommending best practices and warning against harmful actions, such as prescribing a medication to which a patient is allergic. EHRs, if properly connected to laboratory systems, make test results more readily available so there is less need to re-order procedures. A good EHR should keep a record of every instruction a doctor gives to a patient so there is no question what was or was not communicated, in case of a malpractice claim.

From the perspective of a health IT reporter, health reform started not with the bills President Obama signed in March 2010, but more than a year earlier with the passage of the $787 billion stimulus bill, also known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The 2009 legislation contains an estimated $25.8 billion for health IT, mostly in the form of incentives [NV2] for doctors and hospitals to adopt electronic health records. Those that have not ditched their paper charts by 2015 face lower Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements.

Insurers and employers that provide health benefits tend to reap the greatest financial rewards from EHRs, so there has been little incentive for the actual providers of health care – physicians and hospitals – to invest in technology. The stimulus is supposed to change the paradigm by rewarding providers that demonstrate “meaningful use” of EHRs beginning in October 2010 for hospitals and January 2011 for physician practices.

According to rules proposed at the end of 2009, EHRs should provide clinical decision support, doctors and nurses should enter orders electronically, patients should be able to get a copy of their medical records on demand and users should be able to share data between facilities and organizations. The requirements will get tougher in 2013 and again in 2015; providers eventually will have to prove that they follow nationally recognized standards of practice.

As electronic health records – and subsets of them like personal health records – become more of a hot topic for mainstream media, it’s important to learn the lingo and get your facts straight.

Know your acronyms: a cautionary tale

Here’s what can happen if you don’t: On Dec. 2, 2009, a website called eSecurity Planet published a story about a privacy watchdog organization publishing a pre-emptive strike against personal health records, a subset of EHRs that has virtually zero market traction to date.

The eSecurity Planet story confused consumer-oriented personal health records for “electronic medical records” and wrongly reported that the stimulus is paying for billions in “electronic personal health records (PHRs).” The stimulus is supporting EHRs, a much broader category. Additionally, the story, like far too many others I’ve read, referred to the much-hyped Google Health and Microsoft HealthVault platforms as market leaders. They are nothing more than early-stage products from big names in the consumer arena, not established health IT powerhouses.

Look past the hype, learn the terminology and talk to people on the front lines. Go to the chief information officer and nursing shift managers of a local hospital. Physicians in private practice should have plenty to say as well.

This subject is often tough to grasp, so don’t be afraid to ask seemingly simple questions. I’ve been covering health IT since 2001, and I still frequently need detailed explanations.

Story ideas for your community

As implementation of national health insurance reform begins and EHR money starts flowing from the stimulus bill, I hope you’ll consider these story ideas for your community.

1. Who owns your EHR[NV3] ? Should you be concerned about it being used as a source of information for pharmaceutical researchers or medical marketers?

2. What is your local hospital or large medical group doing to get stimulus money for EHR development? What differences might patients see as a result?

3. How will the physician office visit change as a result of computerization? Will patients be asked to complete medical history forms online rather than filling out the ubiquitous clipboard each time they go to the doctor? Will nurses and physician assistants be able to provide services once the exclusive domain of physicians because if they have access to more complete patient information?

4. How might patients get better preventive care if medical practices are able to generate, with the help of EHRs, automatic reminders for recommended screening based on age, gender and health risk factors?

Above article publish on http://www.ehrexperts.us/covering-electronic-health-records/