November 18, 2011
Great 140 Character Sound Bites from Ron Sterling at EHR Summit by HBMA
Written by: JohnI’ve been having a really great time all day at the EHR Summit by HBMA. It’s been an event with some really interesting content and a lot of people who really understand the underpinnings of the EMR industry. Most of the people I’ve met are those running their companies and so they’re very interesting to talk with.
Instead of doing a summary, I was basically live tweeting the sessions I attended on @ehrandhit. Ron Sterling was the keynote yesterday and the guy was like sound bite after sound bite. It made it perfect for live tweeting. So, I’m dedicating this post to all my tweets during Ron Sterling’s keynote at the EHR Summit. I know you’ll glean a lot of interesting perspectives from it.
November 9, 2011
The Perfect EMR is Mythology
Written by: JohnI don’t know about the rest of you, but ever since David Blumenthal left ONC he’s had plenty of interesting things to say. I think he’s still somewhat cautious, but you can tell he’s given himself more freedom to comment on the state of EHR software and how it could be improved.
One example of this was in Andy Oram’s writeup of David Blumenthal’s speech in Boston a little while back. Here’s one section of Andy’s write up that really hit me (emphasis mine):
Perhaps Blumenthal’s enthusiasm for putting electronic records in place and seek interoperability later may reflect a larger pragmatism he brought up several times yesterday. He praised the state of EHRs (pushing back against members of the audience with stories to tell of alienated patients and doctors quitting the field in frustration), pointing to a recent literature survey where 92% of studies found improved outcomes in patient care, cost control, or user satisfaction. And he said we would always be dissatisfied with EHRs because we compare them to some abstract ideal
I don’t think his assurances or the literature survey can assuage everyone’s complaints. But his point that we should compare EHRs to paper is a good one. Several people pointed out that before EHRs, doctors simply lacked basic information when making decisions, such as what labs and scans the patient had a few months ago, or even what diagnosis a specialist had rendered. How can you complain that EHRs slow down workflow? Before EHRs there often was no workflow! Many critical decisions were stabs in the dark.
Lots of interesting discussion points there, but the one I take away from it is that there’s no such thing as the perfect EMR. Blumenthal is dead on that many doctors have this abstract ideal of what an EMR should be and it will never be that way. Certainly there are benefits to implementing an EMR, but there are also some challenges to using an EMR as well. No amount of programming and design are going to ever change that.
I wish I could find a description I read 4-5 years ago from an EHR vendor talking about the doctors they liked to work with. In it they described that they liked working with doctors who had reasonable expectations of the EHR implementation. They wanted to work with doctors who wanted to go electronic. They wanted to work with clinics that understood that some change was required as part of any IT implementation. From what I can tell, that EHR vendor has basically done just that.
Reminds me of trying to force my kids to do something they don’t want to do. Never seems to end well. Instead, it’s a much more satisfying experience for all when I help them understand why we’re doing what we’re doing. They still don’t like some of the details in many cases, but at least they understand the purpose for what we’re doing.
As long as doctors cling to some abstract ideal of EMR perfection, no EMR vendor will ever be able to satisfy them. A perfect EMR is not reasonable. Just because an EMR doesn’t offer everything that you could dream, doesn’t mean it’s not an incremental improvement over what you’re doing today.
Don’t let the quest for perfection get in the way of incremental improvement. Perfection is more nearly obtained through many incremental improvement than giant leaps.
Tags: Andy Oram • David Blumenthal • EHR Implementation • EMR Adoption • EMR Implementation • EMR Vendor • ONC • Perfect EMRNovember 8, 2011
101 Tips to Make Your EMR and EHR More Useful – EHR Tips 21-25
Written by: JohnTime for the next entry covering Shawn Riley’s list of 101 Tips to Make your EMR and EHR More Useful. I met someone at a conference who commented that they liked this series of posts. I hope you’re all enjoying the series as well.
25. Care coordination is much easier in an EMR and should be evaluated to be used
The idea of care coordination has never been more important in the history of healthcare. It’s the future of healthcare (at least in the US). Whether they end up being called ACOs or some other term, the switch to needing to coordinate care in order to improve the health of a population is happening as we speak. Luckily, EMR software is a great way to facilitate this care coordination.
24. Take advantage of E-Health tools
I actually think that this is a big call to EMR vendors to integrate their EMR software with the various e-health tools out there today. EHR vendors that think they can create every e-Health tool a doctor could want are going to be left behind by those systems which support the most popular consumer health tools on the market. However, that’s not to say that doctors can’t do their part. Start getting your patient using the e-health tools that will benefit them as a patient and then start requesting that your EMR vendor support the tools you’re using.
23. Make certain all caregivers know that logs are kept for any system overrides
Don’t hide the fact that everything is logged. Let everyone know that whatever is done on the system is logged. While some may see this as big brother watching them, most will realize that the logs are a protection for them. They log exactly what was done and said and who did it.
I remember one time there was some problem in our EMR system. I can’t remember the specific issue. Well, it was brought up in our staff meeting and the director said, whoever made this mistake is going to be providing breakfast for the whole staff. I went into the logs to see who’d accessed the patient to do the offending task. Little did the director (who was also a practicing provider a few times a week) know that she was the offending party. Everyone in the clinic enjoyed a nice breakfast that week.
22. Give caregivers the ability to override the system when necessary
Mistakes happen in documentation in an EMR. We’re all imperfect human beings (except for my wife) who make mistakes. So, you need an option and likely a process for how and who can make corrections to what was done in the EMR. Just be sure that everything that’s “overwritten” is logged and the reason for the change is well documented.
21. Develop a root cause analysis process for the EMR
I’m not that familiar with root cause analysis processes, so I’ll just share what Shawn says about it:
You very likely already have a root cause analysis model for your practice. You will need to adopt that model to the EMR. If you don’t, you will create a likelihood for the same errors to continually repeat. The EMR process is different than a usual root cause analysis. You will need to take into account interfaces, security roles, single sign on, and several other things beyond the “simple” human process.
If you want to see my analysis of the other 101 EMR and EHR tips, I’ll be updating this page with my 101 EMR and EHR tips analysis. So, click on that link to see the other EMR tips.
Tags: 101 EHR Tips • ACO • ACOs • Care Coordination • CDS • e-Health Tools • EHR Implementation • EHR Logs • EHR Override • EHR Selection • EHR Tips • EMR • EMR Audits • EMR Errors • EMR Implementation • EMR Logs • EMR Override • EMR Platform • EMR Safety Metrics • EMR Selection • EMR Tips • EMR Tool • Root Cause AnalysisNovember 2, 2011
Kickin’ It Old School: 7 Pre-EMR Technologies to Implement Today
Written by: Jennifer DennardI was on the phone recently with an insurance company representative, inquiring about their policies, premiums and hidden caveats. During the middle of my call, the rep tells me his computer seems to have frozen up, and that he can’t move forward with answering my questions because he literally can’t move to the next screen containing the answers. “But wait,” he says excitedly, “I do have some paper to read off of.”
I chuckled to myself thinking of how many times physicians have had a similar experience, much to the consternation of electronic medical records (EMRs) vendors. Ah, good ‘ole paper. Healthcare’s last bastion of pre-HITECH document keeping. It’s always there when you need it – if you still have it.
This thinking transitions nicely into the topic of “old-school” technologies physicians should consider before going completely digital with their documentation in the form of an EMR. Culled from several recent and not-so-recent articles (See “10 technologies to embrace before EMRs,” and “HIT Projects You Can Implement Today”), with a few of my own suggestions thrown in for good measure, the list below goes from extremely low-tech to on-the-verge-of-clinical technologies.
1. Copy Machine/Printer Combo
You may laugh at the simplicity, but if a doctor’s computer ever freezes up, a copy of a patient’s paper chart will come in very handy.
2. Fax Server
Again, simplistic in nature, but elemental in sharing data with other offices. Perhaps we’ll see resurgence in fax technology now that the government has eased EMR requirements associated with participation in accountable care organizations.
3. Instant Messaging
So 2008, but still a very effective method of communication amongst an office’s nurses, clinicians and front-desk staff.
4. Email
For the love of Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, who didn’t have access to such an easy form of communication, set up an email account – at least for the business side of your office. It would be nice if ALL physicians (including my daughter’s pediatrician) had secure email messaging with their patients, but that’s a whole other blog.
5. IT Infrastructure
You’ve got to build the foundation before you can start wiring the house. As John Lynn mentions in the second article referenced above, “Good IT companies will come and do an analysis of your current IT setup for free.”
6. Microsoft Office and Google Apps
As HIT consultant Shahid Shah mentions in the first article referenced above, free tools will help an office get its feet wet before diving into a full-fledged EMR. These two in particular have “dirt simple” documentation management that allows everyone in the office to be on the same page.
7. Document Imaging
Most scanners come with basic imaging software already included, Shah explains, adding that once physicians are good at scanning and paper digitalization, they can move on to “medical grade” document management that can improve productivity.
What other tools would you suggest to providers looking to ease their way into EMR adoption? Please share your comments below.
October 28, 2011
101 Tips to Make Your EMR and EHR More Useful – EHR Tips 26-30
Written by: JohnTime for the next entry covering Shawn Riley’s list of 101 Tips to Make your EMR and EHR More Useful. I met someone at a conference who commented that they liked this series of posts. I hope you’re all enjoying the series as well.
30. Remember that the EMR is only part of the safety problem
Remember that the EMR is just a tool. How you use that tool still matters. How you manage that tool matters. How you implement that tool matters. Safety is a result of great processes and that doesn’t change when you implement an EMR. In fact, I’d say it’s even more important. The same applies to bad clinical workflows. EMR won’t solve those bad workflows either. You can try to do a redesign of the workflows with the EMR implementation, but that often doesn’t go over well.
29. Errors should be easily reportable
To be honest, I’m not sure exactly which errors Shawn is talking about. I think I’ll take a different spin on it than what he intended and talk about the errors or issues that someone has using an EMR. This is particularly important when you first implement an EMR. You should want to know the errors that are occurring regularly so you can fix them. Make it easy for them to report them and provide proper encouragement and/or rewards for reporting errors they have with the system. Ignorance is not bliss…it always catches up to you eventually.
28. Use data to show both individual and system safety metrics
The key component that Shawn is describing here is the ability to report on various cross sections of data (individual vs system). If you can’t chop up your data to really know what’s going on in your system, then you’re not going to be able to really pinpoint the issues that users are having. Maybe it’s only one person who’s bringing down the average for the entire hospital. You don’t want to make sweeping changes to the system that annoy the majority of users when all you really needed to do was address the issues of an individual or small group of individuals.
27. Record management in the EMR is just as important as in paper
You thought HIM was done when you got the EMR. Wrong! Their role is still very important. Granted, it changes pretty dramatically, but in the clinics I’ve worked in the records management people were able to do a much more effective job improving the patient record in the EMR. Many of the things they did they never had time to do cause they were too busy pulling and filing paper charts.
26. Evaluate decision support tools for a fit to your needs
I believe that the clinical decision support tools are going to be the thing that changes the most over the next 5-10 years. You should definitely see how the clinical decision support tools they have available fit into your environment, but also spend as much time seeing what they’ve implemented and what their road map and method of implementing new clinical decision support tools is so you know where they’re going to be with their tools and product in five years.
If you want to see my analysis of the other 101 EMR and EHR tips, I’ll be updating this page with my 101 EMR and EHR tips analysis. So, click on that link to see the other EMR tips.
Tags: 101 EHR Tips • CDS • Clinical Decision Support • EHR Implementation • EHR Selection • EHR Tips • EMR • EMR Errors • EMR Implementation • EMR Platform • EMR Safety Metrics • EMR Selection • EMR Tips • EMR Tool • HIM • Medical Records • Paper Charts • Record ManagementOctober 13, 2011
Sandhills Paves the Way for Successful Pediatric EMR Implementations
Written by: Jennifer DennardOn my far-too-frequent visits to my younger daughter’s pediatrician, I’ve noticed pristine new monitors and keyboards wrapped up and sitting in the corner of the exam rooms. Over the last six months, there they’ve sat, waiting patiently to be unwrapped and plugged in. “What’s the hold up,” I think? As a parent, I’m hoping this new system will offer the doctors e-prescribing capabilities. As a healthcare IT observer, I’m wondering why what I presume to be an electronic health record (EHR) is taking so long to come out of the box and into operation. Is it a question of resources? Is the facility waiting for a training team to be made available? Is there back-end infrastructure that has yet to be put in place? These are the things I think about while dealing with low-grade fevers and scheduled immunizations.
Needless to say, my interest is always piqued when I come across stories of pediatricians adopting EHRs and/or realizing the benefits of that technology. So when I came across news that Sandhills Pediatrics had received $184,000 in EHR incentives, I was intrigued. The Columbia, S.C.-based practice has been using an EHR from SRS since 2010.
“Even our initially most skeptical physicians became committed SRS EHR users in a very short period of time,” said Kevin O. Wessinger, M.D., president of Sandhills Pediatrics, in the release announcing the pay out. “All fourteen physicians and their staff value the efficiencies that SRS has delivered and the patient care and practice improvements that SRS has facilitated.”
I recently spoke with SRS CEO Evan Steele to learn more about how Sandhills implemented the EMR back in 2010, and the benefits they’ve realized from it.
This being the practice’s first EHR, what prompted them to make the move from paper to digital?
ES: “The driving force was the quality of care Sandhills was providing. With 4 locations and Saturday and Sunday office hours only at the central location, patient chart review was a big challenge. The patient charts that were housed at the satellite offices, because that’s where the patients were normally seen, and so were not available to review for weekend care. Additionally, the practice provides nurse triage in the evenings until 10:00pm and again, the satellite patients’ charts were not available.”
Did you, as the vendor, encounter any barriers to adoption from the Sandhills staff?
“No, we did not encounter any barriers to adoption. Our implementation plan is highly developed and assures 100% adoption. In addition, the Sandhills team’s dedication to success allowed them to achieve their EHR goals. Furthermore, the decision to implement the SRS EHR was driven from the top down. Sometimes the age of the physicians may impact adoptability. At Sandhills, 12 of the 14 physicians are under the age of 50 so they are more computer-savvy and willing to make the change.”
What sort of “extras” do the pediatric practices look for when selecting an EMR?
“Unique to pediatrics are immunizations. The SRS development staff worked closely with Sandhills on immunizations and pediatric growth charts. SRS secured the integration between Sandhills and the World Health Organization, developed a table for displaying and storing vaccine information, and enabled Sandhills to provide this information to their patients in a usable format.
“With a patient population of 57,000, Sandhills had to provide every kindergarten, grade school, and day care with proof of immunization. In the past, the practice had to hand-write 20,000 immunization certificates each year. SRS was readily available to provide a solution to this issue and saved the Sandhills staff many hours of aggravation. SRS created a form that auto-populates the immunization information so now the Sandhills staff no longer needs to hand-write each certificate.
The same process and benefits were developed for growth charts. The SRS EHR provides the patient’s age, and the Sandhills staff only has to enter height and weight, and this information auto-populates on the growth charts.
SRS created efficiencies, which coupled with our uniqueness in allowing physicians to continue to document notes as they are accustomed, has led to a successful implementation and positive EHR experience.”
How have clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction been improved since the EMR was installed?
“Clinical outcomes have improved as the physicians have access to pertinent clinical data at any time from any place. Additionally, the staff is quicker to respond to patient inquiries. They’ve experienced tremendous improvements in efficiencies and patient outcomes as a direct result of using SRS Order Management. Sandhills used to have manual paper tracking of lab tests and now with the SRS EHR, an expected date pops up in the system and if a test is not back by then, an alert is shown calling attention to the fact that it needs to be addressed.
“The patients, especially those seen on the weekends and evenings, have commented that they appreciate the improved and quick service. When they call in to the office with questions and concerns, they are comforted and given peace of mind knowing that the Sandhills’ staff is completely familiar and up-to-date with their situation.”
What do you think will be the next evolution of EHRs for pediatrics?
SRS Development recently unveiled vaccine inventory control. This process is entirely manual now, but the new enhancements will automatically track down the vaccine to the lot number. It’s also a double-check for safety that the lot numbers they have match what’s in computer. This is a double benefit – quality control and inventory control. This new development will especially find favor with the nurses, who are so happy that a daily occurrence that used to take 2 hours will now take 2 minutes.”
October 12, 2011
101 Tips to Make Your EMR and EHR More Useful – EHR Tips 31-35
Written by: JohnTime for the next entry covering Shawn Riley’s list of 101 Tips to Make your EMR and EHR More Useful. I hope you’re enjoying the series.
35. CPOE is important, but every EMR will have it.
I think that the CPOE discussion hit a head for me when I saw the CPOE requirements that were baked into meaningful use. Then, I heard someone from the often lauded (appropriately so) IHC in Utah who said that IHC didn’t have CPOE and it would be hard for them to meet that benchmark. Ok, so I’m more of an ambulatory guy than I am hospital, but this surprised me. In the clinics I’ve helped with EHR, CPOE is one of the first things we implemented. No doubt that every EMR has CPOE capabilities.
34. Make sure adverse drug events reporting is comprehensive
Yes, not all drug to drug, drug to allergy, etc databases are created equal. Not to mention some EHR vendors haven’t actually implemented these features (although, MU is changing that). I’d really love for a doctor and an EMR company to go through and rate the various drug database companies. How comprehensive are they? How good can you integrate them into your EHR? etc etc etc.
33. Make certain drug interactions are easy to manage for the physician
I won’t go into all the details of alert fatigue in detail. Let’s just summarize it this way: You must find the balance between when to alert, what to alert, how to alert and how to ignore the alert. Plus, all of the opposites of when not to alert, what not to alert, and how to not ignore the alert.
32. Ensure integration to other products is possible
Is it possible that you could buy an EMR with no integration? Possibly, but I have yet to see it. At a bare minimum clinics are going to want to have integration with lab software and ePrescribing (pharmacies). That doesn’t include many of the other common interfaces such as integration with practice management systems, hospitals, radiology, etc. How well your EMR handles these integration situations can really impact the enjoyment of your EHR.
31. Ensure information sharing is easy
This tip could definitely be argued, but I believe we’re headed down the road of information sharing. It’s going to still take a while to get to the nirvana of information sharing, but we’ve started down the road and there’s no turning back. Kind of reminds me of Splash Mountain at Disneyland where the rabbit has a sign that says there’s no turning back now. My son didn’t like that sign so much and I’m sure many people won’t like that there’s no turning back on data sharing either. However, it’s going to happen.
If you want to see my analysis of the other 101 EMR and EHR tips, I’ll be updating this page with my 101 EMR and EHR tips analysis. So, click on that link to see the other EMR tips.
Tags: 101 EHR Tips • Alert Fatigue • CPOE • Drug to Drug Ineractions • EHR Implementation • EHR Integration • EHR Selection • EHR Tips • EMR • EMR Implementation • EMR Integration • EMR Platform • EMR Selection • EMR Tips • ePrescribing • Hospital Integration • IHC • Labs • Practice Management System Integration • Radiology Integration • Shawn Riley • UTahOctober 6, 2011
No EHR Training Needed
Written by: JohnAnne Zieger over on EHR Outlook just posted an article talking about the need of training on an EHR. In the article, she quotes Dr. Bertman, CEO of EMR company Amazing Charts (Full Disclosure: They’re a sponsor of this site). Here’s one excerpt from the article:
According to Dr Jonathan Bertman, if you need extensive training to use an EHR, you shouldn’t buy it. “Doctors know how to be doctors,” he says. “They shouldn’t have to be trained to be software technicians – if they need training than it’s not a good thing.”
Here was my response in the comments of the article (and a little additional commentary for this post):
I have a feeling Dr. Bertman and I agree about training, but I think it’s over the top for him to say, “if they need training than it’s not a good thing.” Certainly many EHR software vendors require far too much training. I think that’s the point he’s trying to make and I agree 100%. However, the reality is that there are a whole lot of people that get training even on Office. In fact, there’s a whole entire industry around training on Office products. So, EHR is going to have training as well.
Another excerpt from the article:
“Compare them to Microsoft Office,” Dr. Bertman suggests. “It’s a powerful tool, but you usually don’t need special training to use it. An EHR is not more complicated than Office, and that’s how we should be looking at them.”
I’d generally disagree that an EHR is not more complicated than Office. The reality is that what you want to do in an EHR is more complicated than Office. Sure, if all I want to do is type a little bit and maybe click bold, then I’m fine. Most EHR you don’t need any training to login, browse their appointment grid, browse patients, and even create notes.
The reason for the EHR training that’s out there isn’t for these simple features. It’s for the more advanced features like is done in most Office trainings. I could be wrong, but I believe Dr. Bertman generally agrees with me on this, but it wasn’t expressed in a short quote from him.
One other interesting point is that I think a lot of people call it EHR training when in fact it’s about EHR workflow planning and training. You’re a brave person to implement an EHR without planning out your current workflows and how they’ll map to an EHR workflow. I often see this workflow planning and training covered under the broad definition of EHR training.
Tags: Amazing Charts • EHR Implementation • EHR Training • EHR Workflow • EMR Implementation • EMR Training • EMR Workflow • Jonathan Bertman • Microsoft OfficeSeptember 27, 2011
101 Tips to Make Your EMR and EHR More Useful – EHR Tips 36-40
Written by: JohnTime for the next entry covering Shawn Riley’s list of 101 Tips to Make your EMR and EHR More Useful. I hope you’re enjoying the series.
40. Do NOT let the finance department drive the EMR choice or deployment
I’m far too much of a physician advocate to even imagine a finance department driving the EMR choice and deployment plan. Ok, I understand that it happens, but it’s a travesty when it does. Considering the finance department will almost never use the system, it should make sense to everyone to have the users of the system help drive the EMR choice and deployment. After all, they will have to use the system once deployed.
Let’s not confuse what I’m saying. I’m not saying that finance shouldn’t be involved in the EMR choice. I’m not saying that finance can’t provide some great insights and an outside perspective. I also am not saying that users of the EMR should hold the hospital hostage with crazy demands that could never be met. It’s definitely a balance, but focus on the users of the EMR will lead to happy results.
39. Ensure work flow can be hard coded when necessary, and not hard coded when necessary
Related to this EHR tip is understanding when the EHR company has chosen to hard code certain fields or work flows. You’ll be surprised how many EHR have hard coded work flows with no way to change them. In some cases, that’s fine and even beneficial. However, in many other cases, it could really cause you pain in dealing with their hard coded work flows.
Realize which parts of the EHR can be changed/modified and which ones you’re stuck with (at least until the next release..or the next release….or the next release…).
38. You can move to population based medicine
You’re brave to do population based medicine on paper. Computers are great at crunching and displaying the data for this.
37. Safety is created by design
Just because you use an EHR doesn’t mean you don’t need great procedures that ensure safety. Sure, EHRs have some things built in to help with safety, but more often than not it’s a mixture of EHR functionality and design that results in safety. Don’t throw out all your principles of safety when you implement your EHR.
36. Medication Reconciliation should be a simple process
I’m not sure we’ve hit the holy grail of medication reconciliation in an EHR yet, but we’re getting closer. It’s worth the time to make this happen and will likely be required in the future.
If you want to see my analysis of the other 101 EMR and EHR tips, I’ll be updating this page with my 101 EMR and EHR tips analysis. So, click on that link to see the other EMR tips.
Tags: 101 EHR Tips • EHR Implementation • EHR Selection • EHR Tips • EMR • EMR Choice • EMR Implementation • EMR Platform • EMR Selection • EMR Tips • Flexible EHR Workflows • Hard Coded Workflows • Hospital Finance • Medication Reconciliation • Patient Safety • Population Based Medicine • SafetySeptember 21, 2011
What’s Next in Health Information Exchange (HIE)?
Written by: Jennifer Dennard- ACO
- Electronic Medical Record
- EMR
- EMR Adoption
- EMR and EHR Interviews
- EMR Technology
- Healthcare IT
- HIE
- Hospitals
- Meaningful Use
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There seem to be three big acronyms when it comes to healthcare IT and interoperability – EMR (electronic medical record), HIE (health information exchange) and ACO (accountable care organization). Implementing one does not always necessarily lead to the implementation of another. I’m sure everyone will agree, however, that an EMR most likely leads to connectivity to a HIE, which increases the likelihood of participating in an ACO or coordinated care program. I consider these technologies and concepts to be the interoperability triumvirate, if you will.
Of these three, the HIE seems to have seen its day in the sun. Enthusiasm for the concept and its surrounding technologies – at a fever pitch at tradeshows and in the media last year, in my opinion – seems to have been eclipsed by Meaningful Use incentive payments for EMRs and the general consternation related to ACOs. Which is why my interest was piqued when I came across news from a company called NexJ and its new Health Exchange solution.
In order to learn more about the product, touted by the company as one that “brings together the numerous electronic health records systems and applications that exist within healthcare organizations – many of them old, out-dated legacy systems – into one place so that healthcare providers can deliver better, safer, more comprehensive care,” I reached out to Oz Huner, Vice President of Health Solutions at NexJ Systems.
JD: What type of healthcare facility would be the typical customer for your new HIE solution?
OH: “The NexJ Health Exchange solution facilitates the sharing of patient information between healthcare organizations such as hospitals and healthcare providers, ACOs, HIEs, and public health and government agencies.
“Our customers are choosing our solution because it enables them to move from paper-based workflows to electronic workflows and gain such benefits as complete access to accurate information, improved quality of care and patient empowerment.”
Can you give me a specific example of how this HIE can potentially (or has already) improve patient outcomes at a client facility?
“In a current project we’re working on, NexJ is helping meet the challenges emergency department physicians and staff face by providing timely access to the patients’ primary care provider records when they arrive at the hospital admitting department. The NexJ Health Exchange solution connects the patient’s medical record directly with the emergency department systems, improving information sharing between community health providers and the hospital, and improving patient safety.”
Is there a limit to the number of EMRs and applications that can be connected within the NexJ health exchange?
“No, there is no limit to the number of EMRs and applications that can be connected using NexJ Health Exchange. It is highly scalable and can address the needs of the even largest healthcare organizations.”
Does it work with some EMRs better than others?
“No. NexJ Health Exchange provides open, standards-based integration to any EMR system. Its secure, Web-based portal and flexible architecture enables connectivity with legacy and proprietary systems, support for global messaging standards (HL7v2.x and HL7v3.x), exchanging of clinical document formats (CCR and CCD), and support for multiple standardized clinical terminologies (SNOMED, LOINC).
Based on your interactions with providers, do you feel that more and more are finally coming around to the idea of adopting EMRs and eventually HIEs? Or do you find that many providers still think they aren’t worth the expense?
“It is our opinion that EMRs have historically been of great value to healthcare organizations, but since they’re often siloed, such information technology has not been ubiquitously adopted. As an element of a HIE, however, we believe there will be greater EMR adoption as government incentives and programs encourage healthcare providers across the country make the switch to EMRs. As more physicians move to EMRs and become net receivers of patient information, they will realize the benefits of access to accurate information, improved quality of care and patient empowerment.”
Are you working with any regional extension centers around the country to promote your EMR and HIE solutions?
“Indirectly, yes. Through our partnership with Open Health Tools, NexJ is a member of the Platform Implementation Project (PIP), which is working on an open HIE solution for state agencies. The focus is currently on southeast Texas, but is by no means limited to that region.”
NexJ will be at the Health 2.0 conference in San Francisco next week. If you plan on going, stop by their booth and let me and your fellow readers know what you think about this new health exchange solution. Is HIE the buzzword worth bringing back?
Tags: Accountable Care Organization • ACO • Electronic Medical Record • Electronic Medical Records • EMR • EMR Adoption • EMR Implementation • Health Information Exchange • HIE • LinkedIn • Meaningful Use • NexJ • NexJ Systems • Oz Huner
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