Healthcare & Technology

HIPAA Survival Guide Radio ... stay up-to-date on tte web

2012-01-21T14:05:33-05:00

Last week Carlos Leyva, Managing Partner of The Digital Business Law Group and CEO of 3Lions Publishing, broadcasted the first online radio show. This first edition covered HIPAA's Privacy Rule and the Patient's Bill of Rights.

To listen to the archived version see below. To be notified of the dates for new shows, subscribe on blogtalkradio or subscribe to the HITECH / HIPAA Compliance Newsletter in the sidebar to the right.

Listen to internet radio with cleyva on Blog Talk Radio

John Halamka shares Thoughts on the Year Ahead

2012-01-04T08:54:44-05:00

Link: Thoughts on the Year Ahead

John Halamka presents his ideas about the major issues for 2012..

ICD10 - John predicts 25% of IT capacity will be consumed by ICD10 this year. Not good...

Meaningful Use Stage 2 including inpatient clinical documentation - now this is exciting. Potential criteria will likely include improvements to clinical records that improve care coordination and communication between providers. John suggested use of templates and social-networking like group documentation.

ACO Planning - The reform changes for ACOs will include focus on prevention and wellness. New business intelligence (BI) and clinical decision support (CDS) capabilities will be helpful in meeting these goals.

Compliance - Compliance issues will include "conflict of interest tracking, learning management systems for compliance education, and enhanced revenue cycle systems that provide decision support."

Security - yes, the past year had a long list of data breaches, malware, and mobile devices so security of PHI must be improved, particularly if we intend to move clinical decision support to the bedside or engage in Health Information Exchanges.

NPR describes New Year's Forecast For The Health Care Bill

2012-01-03T10:15:48-05:00

Link: A New Year's Forecast For The Health Care Bill

NPR topics presents a summary of the impact to the Affordable Care Act in a discussion between Audie Cornish and Noam Levey of the Los Angeles Times.

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Healthcare EHR "e-bilities"

2011-12-29T09:46:00-05:00

Link: Usability and Successful EHR Meaningful Use

Recently the ONC posted on the Health IT Buzz Blog about the "challenges providers face in achieving Meaningful Use of electronic health records (EHRs)."

The concept of "useability" has long been known in other industries where new technology or applications enter the workplace. Some time ago I wrote about usability of health IT, however I expanded the definition to include a few more "E-bilities" as shown in the following graphic contained in the post: Part 4 of The Value of the Internet for Improving Healthcare.

This is the last post in the series and it focuses on capabilities, or "e-bilities" of technology to improve healthcare. Regardless of the mode of use (e.g. email or internet), technology must be easy to use, secure, reliable, and accessible.

For the past year, the SHARPC-Project 1 has focused on making use of technology easier for clinicians. One ONC staff member, Jacob Reider, MD had some interesting comments that focused on "The User Experience." His comments spanned the continuum of User Experience with a framework for how tools and/or applications can/should evolve.

Functional (it does what it is claimed to do)
Reliable (it works consistently)
Usable (it works in a way that is consistent with the user’s expectations)
Meaningful (it does something important or valuable)
Pleasurable (it is enjoyable to use)

So, I will end with one thought. Even if the system meets "Useability" standards for clinicians, achieving quality health data analytics still requires that accurate, timely and quality data is entered into the EHR avoiding the Garbage In-Garbage Out phenomenon.

8 Key population health issues for 2012

2011-12-27T15:31:32-05:00

Link: 8 Key issues for population health management in 2012

This article in Healthcare IT News caught my eye. A white paper written by the Care Continuum Alliance described significant market movement toward accountability and value driven healthcare outcomes as a result of collaborative models, such as ACOs. However, there are 8 key issues that could affect population health management in 2012:

Accountable care and the Medicare Shared Savings program
Consumer use of mobile and eHealth technologies
Reducing avoidable hospital readmissions in Medicare
Quality improvement in Medicare advantage
Opportunities to support insourced programs
Improving care coordination for dual eligibles
Federal support for prevention and wellness
Development of ACA health insurance exchanges

Each of these items contains a plethora of complex issues that will require agreement, alignment, and cooperation between distinct parties. In order to simplify my thoughts on this topic, I offer the following.

Accountable care and collaborative models certainly provide the opportunity with electronic records to capture and disseminate research and/or de-identified clinical data for surveillance. The link to "accountability" also provides the impetus to develop predictive analytics, a personal favorite.

It is well known that mobile technology, including smart phones, are changing the nature of "computer use" and internet access. According to the article the author stated that "a patient-centered, consumer-empowered, pull-rather-than-push model will dominate, with social media in a position of importance."

Reducing re-admissions? Well, we should already be doing this, unfortunately the quality of healthcare in certain situations, or the variable factors in a patient's condition and care makes this a tough goal to reach all the time. However, Medicare tracking is looking a 3 conditions - heart failure, acute myocardial infarction and pneumonia.

Finally, the other items tout the value of competitive forces in healthcare resulting from support of "insourced programs," development of health insurance exchanges in 2014, and the single idea that is near and dear to a nurse - support for prevention and wellness!

Prevention and wellness has not been a priority for most clinicians due to its non-reimbursable status. Let's hope that changes. Since the Prevention and Public Health Fund is under discussion, Medicare added annual wellness visits and expanded coverage of obesity and cardiovascular disease prevention services.

2012 brings a year of great change and challenge. Best wishes to all for a safe, happy, and prosperous new year!

Healthcare Analytics: What does it take to provide excellent care for patients?

2011-12-14T14:49:44-05:00

As clinicians, do we ever wonder how excellent patient care can be achieved? Do we become too involved in our deadlines, our tasks, or our own needs and lack the time to reflect and to improve? It is certainly an issue in today's healthcare environment as the delivery of care changes in the path to Meaningful Use...

Well, I watched this video today, posted by Brian Ahier. It is an epic portrait of how one individual came up with an idea that would provide quality care/experience to customers.

Click this link to watch the video - a moving and heart-felt story.

The Simple Truths of Service: Inspired by Johnny the Bagger

May you have a Happy and Safe Holiday Season!

FREE Webinar: Privacy Rule Under HITECH

2011-12-10T08:50:16-05:00

The HIPAA Survival Guide's Privacy Rule Under HITECH Webinar will help get you up to speed on how the HITECH Act has impacted the HIPAA Privacy Rule and how marketplace trends are impacting it as well. The webinar will walk you through the Privacy Rule and discuss the effect that the HITECH Act has had under three major sections: 1) uses and disclosures of PHI contained in sections §164.502 through §164.514; 2) the Patient's Bill of Rights contained in sections §164.520 through §164.528; and 3) the Administrative Requirements contained in Section §164.530.

Date: December 13, 2011.

Time: 2:00 to 3:30 EST.

To register CLICK HERE.

Looking for best of breed HIPAA Training?

If you need tools that will help with your compliance initiatives then check out the HSG Store. Are you for an Internet Lawyer with HITECH /HIPAA experience?

Tis the Season of a Well-Lived Meaningful Life?

2011-12-07T11:15:29-05:00

Link: Is a Well-Lived Life Worth Anything?

The Holiday Season is upon us. People are racing through the malls making sure to get that "just right" gift for friends and loved ones. The Holiday Season has become a shopper's heaven, the hedonic opulence of our times - if only for those who have available resources. When did this phenomenon appear? Have we lost the goal of living a meaningful life? A term the ancient Greeks called eudaimonia.

Several months ago I read the book Last Acts: Discovering Possibility and Opportunity at the End of Life, written by David J. Casarett, M.D. One might say, why would you read such a sad book? I would respond by saying that the compassion we show to those who are dying and to their families and friends during a time of great sorrow can become respectful, uplifting memories of that person's life. This compassion then elicits reflections about a meaningful life; a celebration of the life they led with its achievements and last desires.

Celebration of life then, evokes the question, "How do we know if we have lived well? First, I might say it is a spiritual question and one that can only be answered within. However, this Harvard Business Review article provides an interesting soliloquy of psychological realism in today's hard times. Consider the recent Occupy Movements and its dispersion across the nation. Umair Haque, in his HBR article above, describes "the heart of the economy today.."

He wrote,

Instead of an "energy industry," I see a resource addiction that saps money and preserves self-destructive expectations. I see, instead of food and education "industries," an obesity epidemic and a debt-driven education crisis. Instead of a pharmaceutical industry, I see a new set of mental and physical discontents, like rates of suspiciously normally "abnormal" mental illnesses and drugs whose lists of "side effects" are longer than the Magna Carta. Instead of a "media industry," I see news that actually misinforms instead of enlightening — rusting the beams of democracy — and entertainment that merely titillates.

I found Umair's article insightful; reminding me of our current health care crisis, nations across the globe wrestling with financial/debt issues, and people and families in need almost everywhere. It's not the world I remember growing up... where children had high hopes for college and secure financial futures for themselves and their families. No, those times have all but disappeared. We live in a new age.

So for those of us seeking a well-lived meaningful life in this new age, take a few minutes to contemplate these items from Umair's article:

Living, (working, and playing) not just having.
Better, not just more.
Becoming, not just being.
Creating and building, not just trading and raiding.
Depth, not just immediacy.

We are the creators of the future.

This last statement resonates with me. Our children and our children's children have a tough road ahead, but with their courage and creativity they may find new insight into some of the toughest issues we face today. This is my hope.

To all, Seasons Greetings and Best Wishes to all for a Happy and Safe Holiday Season.

MU Stage 2 deadline extended..

2011-12-01T18:19:13-05:00

Link: HHS extends MU Stage 2 deadline to spur faster EMR adoption

An article today in Healthcare IT News reported "According to figures from HHS, physician adoption of EHRs have doubled in two years. To encourage faster adoption, Sebelius announced that HHS intends to allow doctors and hospitals to adopt health IT this year, without meeting the new standards until 2014. Doctors who act quickly can also qualify for incentive payments in 2011 as well as 2012."

More information available in the article above.

Healthcare Analytics: Top 5 Benefits of Clinical Decision Support (CDS)

2011-11-30T14:07:32-05:00

Link: The Health Record Review by Dr. Robert Hitchcock

In Monday's EHR Watch news, Dr. Hitchcock presented five key reasons why CDS should be used in the hospital ED. Robert Hitchcock, M.D., F.A.C.E.P., is vice president and CMIO, T-System, Inc.

Reduce the risk of medication errors.
Reduce misdiagnoses.
Provide the entire care team with consistent, reliable information.
Improve efficiency and patient throughput.
Access all information in one place.

While clinical decision support should not replace a provider’s knowledge, experience, intuition or judgment, it can complement the clinician’s skills and enhance the quality of care provided. The ED is an ideal setting for tools that help reduce the incidence of preventable medical errors and adverse events.

I am very supportive of the need for better information at the point of care. ED environments are fast paced and filled with opportunities for mistakes. Given the history of medical errors in the US, the need for better information, for the right patient, the right provider, at the right time and for the right reasons, effective use of Clinicial Decision Support Systems has strong potential to improve clinical decision making.

More information can be found at the link for this article.

Looking for best of breed HIPAA Training?

If you need tools that will help with your compliance initiatives then check out the HSG Store. Do you need an Internet Lawyer with HITECH /HIPAA experience?