Meaningful Use and Proper Planning

Posted by Allison Dewan on Tue, Sep 09, 2014 @ 05:04 PM

Meaningful Use & Dealing With Technicalities

Meaningful use is using certified electronic health record technology for a number of tasks in health care. Technology plays a clear role not only in day-to-day life, but also in the way business is done. In terms of healthcare, this means that technology and the medical world are intrinsically linked. EMRs and EHRs are more popular and readily available.

But just having these systems in place is not the only piece to the puzzle. Providers need to take control of their Health IT plans to ensure that data is reported properly. Correct reporting to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is key in order in order to collect incentive payments. This could be complicated if proper planning and management isn’t in place.

Without proper planning and management, a breakdown in coordination could lead to failure to properly report data. This is particularly important for critical access hospitals. Health IT consultant Marcia Cheadle, who is Senior Director of Meaningful Use and Advanced Clinicals for Engage, explains “The CAHs in particular are challenged there because of the way the government views their cost accounting...They also have to go to the fiscal intermediary related to the depreciation of assets required for each of the stages.

The landscape of the Health IT industry is constantly changing and thus it is important to keep up with meaningful use news and maintain planning and coordination efforts at your organization.

Technology is strongly present in meaningful use, and it is imperative that it be properly administered to allow for efficiency in reimbursement.

Stage 2 Meaningful Use has made it obvious that the administrative function of your organization must flow in an organized manner in order to flourish in the current healthcare environment.

Tags: healthcare, meaningful use, healthIT, Scribe, EMR

Preparing for Emergency Situations and Health IT

Posted by Allison Dewan on Sat, Sep 06, 2014 @ 03:57 PM

Emergency Preparedness and Health IT Systems  

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has been increasing its initiatives to help providers prepare their IT systems for emergencies. These initiatives are important because there is always a chance for natural or man-made disasters to strike. A National Coordinator, Karen DeSalvo, MD, MPH, Msc and Greg S. Margolis, PhD NREMT-P explain that HHS is making an effort to help providers prepare for potential disasters and to protect data and patients in the event of an emergency: “The question isn’t whether or not we will have another disaster - it is just a matter of when, where, and how severe it will be.”

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Natural disasters can be devastating events, and hurricanes, earthquakes and other storms can cut off electricity and internet connection which can lead to crisis situations in hospitals. That is why it is key to follow HHS activity and initiatives to prepare for emergencies.

Examples of HHS efforts of preparation are detailed below:
  • First project is a single website that aggregates real-time data from Twitter to identify trends related to public health and incidences of disaster.
  • Second project is another website that is still being developed, and it will include an interactive map to highlight the number of Medicare beneficiaries reliant on electricity on a given zip code level. This map will tie directly to data from the NOAA to warn hospitals and other providers about storms approaching that may cut power at their locations. 

To see more information on HHS efforts to take on EHR and data disaster planning click here.

Tags: healthcare, EMRs, healthIT, Scribe, EMR, emergency