OneClickMed Community

CHICAGO – Allscripts on Wedenesday, named two independent members to its board of directors. The board had been left decimated last month after its chairman Phil Pead was fired and three board members resigned in protest after a turbulent quarterly meeting.

Allscripts moved quickly to name a new board chairman – Dennis Chookaszian, a member of Allscripts’ board since September 2010, formerly chairman and CEO of CNA Financial Corporation.

[See also: Web First: QA with Allscripts CEO Glen Tullman]

Now, Allscripts has named Paul M. Black, former chief operating officer of Cerner Corp., and Robert J. Cindrich, former senior vice president and chief legal officer for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), as directors, effective immediately.  Black will serve on the board’s compensation committee and Cindrich will serve on the board’s audit committee. The Board is now set at seven directors.

“We are pleased to add two new independent directors of such a high caliber,” said Chookaszian. “Paul and Robert bring an outstanding combination of operational, governance and healthcare industry experience, which make them excellent additions to our Board. We believe their contributions and insights will be invaluable as the Company executes on its plan to deliver value for our customers, drive long-term growth and build shareholder value.”

“Allscripts has well-respected solutions, a broad and unique client base, and a compelling vision for an open, connected, community-based, individually coordinated level of care,” said Black. “I’m optimistic about the market opportunity before us and looking forward to collaborating with the board and management to execute the company’s plan to enhance the client experience, improve healthcare outcomes and deliver value for customers, team members and shareholders.”

[See also: Allscripts in skid mode as shares plunge, chairman ousted]

“Allscripts has an exciting opportunity to build on its leading position in the growing market for healthcare information technology,” added Cindrich. “Having spent years with one of the largest and most respected integrated delivery networks in the world, I believe I can bring a unique client perspective to management and the board. I look forward to working with my fellow directors and drawing upon my experience to help the Board and management team implement the Company’s strategic plans.”

Black currently serves as operating executive of Genstar Capital, LLC, a private equity firm, and as senior advisor at New Mountain Finance Corp., an investment management company. Prior to joining Genstar, Black spent more than 13 years with Cerner and retired as its chief operating officer in 2007 after helping build it into a $1.5 billion company. He also served as chief sales officer and is credited as instrumental in the company’s double-digit organic growth. Prior to Cerner, Black was with IBM from 1982 to 1994 in a number of senior sales and professional services leadership positions.

Black was most recently elected to the board of directors of Haemonetics Corporation, a global healthcare company dedicated to providing innovative blood management solutions. He also serves on the boards of Saepio, Inc., Truman Medical Centers, and Genstar portfolio company, Netsmart Technologies. He has served as a director with several New Mountain portfolio companies.

Prior to UPMC, Cindrich served as a judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania for 10 years. Prior to that appointment, he was active as an attorney in both government and private practice. His government practice includes serving as chair of the Pennsylvania Legislative Reapportionment Commission, 1992-93; United States District Attorney, Western Pennsylvania District, 1978-81; and Assistant District Attorney, Allegheny County, 1970-72. While in private practice, he served as defense counsel in business and commercial litigation.

Cindrich currently serves as a director of Mylan Inc., a leading generics and specialty pharmaceutical company. 

Allscripts’ incumbent directors, including Black and Cindrich, will stand for re-election at the annual meeting of stockholders on June 15. Stockholders of record as of the close of business on April 24, 2012, will be entitled to vote. Information on all director nominees can be found in the company’s proxy statement, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and will be mailed to all stockholders of record.

[See also: Allscripts: Debacle or silver lining?]

Article source: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/two-new-directors-join-allscripts-board

InterSystems has launched the next generation of its InterSystems HealthShare, a strategic informatics platform for interoperability and active analytics. Designed originally for public HIEs, officials say the technology has been extended and rearchitected for use by integrated delivery networks (IDNs).

Philips announced the implementation of it enterprise-wide clinical informatics technology at Baptist Health South Florida (BHSF), the largest faith-based, not-for-profit health care organization in the region. Its network of services extends throughout Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties with Baptist Cardiac and Vascular Institute, Baptist Hospital of Miami, Baptist Children’s, South Miami Hospital, South Miami Heart Center, Homestead Hospital, Mariners Hospital, Doctors Hospital and West Kendall Baptist Hospital.

Emdat announced a partnership with Illinois Bone and Joint Institute (IBJI). A premier provider of orthopaedic, rheumatologic and podiatric services, IBJI is using a host of Emdat applications to increase productivity, accuracy and continue to provide the best care possible, including Emdat Mobile, which will allows to IBJI to bridge the gap between physicians and their EHRs.

MediRevv announced a new client-partner: Bon Secours Charity Health System, a health system that serves nearly a million people in the seven-county, tri-state area that includes Rockland, Orange and Sullivan counties in New York, Bergen, Passaic and Sussex counties in northern New Jersey and Pike County in Pennsylvania.

Anoto and NextGen Healthcare Information Systems announced that Pacific Cataract and Laser Institute is capturing new patient registration information with their joint solution, resulting in more efficient operations and the added benefit of immediate access to patient health history.

WebPT has teamed with ActiveRx to support their nationwide rollout. ActiveRx provides a proactive, wellness-oriented health care model centered on strength, time and care for the aging population. The company uses physical therapists as “gatekeepers” within their patient-centric system. They needed a software solution that would enable their PTs to spend maximum quality time with each patient during evaluations and treatment, and less time on administrative tasks outside of the clinic.

CynergisTek announced that it has expanded its solutions portfolio and partnerships. Officials say heightened regulatory requirements and enforcement, coupled with increased awareness of the company through CynergisTek’s ongoing speaking and writing for industry associations and publications, have led the company to expand its portfolio of solutions to help organizations adopt best practices for managing IT privacy and security.

NextGen announced a new agreement with Norton Sound Health Corporation (NSHC) to deploy NextGen® Ambulatory EHR, NextGen Practice Management, NextGen Inpatient Solutions, and other NextGen solutions throughout the organization. Officials say the deal bolsters NextGen Healthcare’s position as a provider of IT solutions for tribal health services nationwide.

ICA announced it has contracted with Chesapeake Regional Medical Center in Chesapeake, Va. to develop interoperability and data exchange for this regional integrated delivery network (IDN) located in southeastern Virginia.

Mosaica Partners has been selected to assist the State of Arizona in updating its health information exchange (HIE) strategic and operations plans.
 
Sanofi US announced that the iBGStar Blood Glucose Monitoring System, consisting of the iBGStar blood glucose meter and iBGStar Diabetes Manager App, is commercially available in the U.S. iBGStar directly connects to the iPhone and iPod touch, offering accurate blood glucose monitoring that integrates into the lives of people with diabetes.

SRS announced that Southern Brain Spine has selected the SRS EHR for its 10 providers and 3 locations. The physicians at Southern Brain Spine provide high-quality, compassionate neurosurgical care to residents of the Greater New Orleans area.

TeleCommunication Systems announced the availability of its Enterprise Security Protection (ESP) cyber security portfolio designed to meet the needs of enterprise organizations with distributed networks, including wireless operators and organizations in the energy and financial sectors.

Craneware announced the availability of new features to InSight Medical Necessity, its all-payer medical necessity verification solution. Because medical necessity is one of the greatest causes of denials, representing a threat to provider organizations’ revenue integrity, Craneware has enhanced InSight Medical Necessity to help healthcare organizations save staff time in ensuring compliance with medical necessity and prior authorization requirements, officials say.

The TriZetto Group announced that CDPHP a not-for-profit health plan serving nearly 400,000 members in upstate New York, is fully live on TriZetto’s care management software solution to support its population health management and member engagement initiatives.

McKesson has released the 2012 update of its InterQual clinical criteria and software, meant to help payers and providers determine the appropriate use of healthcare resources and improve the quality of care. Enhancements this year include the extension of a “condition-specific” model to the full InterQual Acute Care suite, driving the further efficiency and effectiveness of care management processes

Philips announced the availability of CardioCare Wireless Arrhythmia Services, the latest addition to the company’s remote diagnostic arrhythmia and remote patient monitoring portfolio. Officials say the new service, available only in the U.S., is designed to streamline the complex process of remotely monitoring cardiac patients and capture critical information sooner.

Perminova has launched a strategic alliance with LifeWatch to expand interoperability between medical monitoring devices and information technology in cardiac electrophysiology. Under the arrangement, Perminova EP, the information system designed for electrophysiology, will integrate reports from LifeWatch’s cardiac monitoring and telemetry products directly into Perminova’s cloud-based system.

eClinicalWorks announced that College Park Family Care Center, the largest non-hospital owned multi-specialty group in the Kansas City-area, has chosen eClinicalWorks comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) solution for its 91 providers across 12 locations.

Article source: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/vendor-notebook-intersystems-retools-healthshare-platform

WASHINGTON – States must provide details to the federal government by Nov. 16 – just 10 days after the presidential election – on how they will run online insurance marketplaces, according to guidance released May 16.

Those that don’t meet the deadline – or that can’t operate their own marketplaces, called exchanges  – will have it done for them by the federal government, starting in January 2014.

[See also: HHS issues final rule on insurance exchanges]

The marketplaces, which are mandated by the 2010 health law, are designed to increase competition among insurers and to make coverage more affordable. States can choose to run the exchanges, elect to perform only some services or cede control to the federal government, officials said Wednesday. The Department of Health Human Services “will seek to harmonize … policies with existing state programs and laws wherever possible,” according to a separate report offering a few details on what a federal exchange might look like.

While the guidance does not indicate whether there will be a governing board overseeing the federal exchanges, it does say the federally-overseen marketplaces will accept any insurer that meets the basic requirements.

Some consumer groups, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network wanted the federal government to be more selective, in hopes that it would drive insurers to compete harder on pricing and quality measures.

[See also: Health insurance exchanges mired in political battle]

But Steve Larsen, the federal official overseeing the federal exchange effort, said the initial approach would be an open marketplace, but he told reporters that in future years other options may be explored.  States that run their own exchanges are free to choose whichever model they prefer.

While many states are moving forward  – 34 have received federal grants to pay for planning efforts – others are moving slowly or not at all.  Six states — Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington — received additional grants on Wednesday totaling more than $181 million.

According to news reports, officials in some state say they are holding back pending the Supreme Court’s decision on the constitutionality of the health law, expected at the end of June.  The court could uphold the entire law, strike it down entirely or eliminate some parts of it.

Other state lawmakers have said they want to hold off on creating the marketplaces until after the results of the November election are known.  Larsen reiterated the government’s stance that the court will uphold the law and that the president will be re-elected, and he said “states should turn their attention to moving forward.”

This article was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

[See also: HHS awards $185M more for insurance exchanges]

Article source: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/another-it-deadline-hix-plans-due-nov-16

WASHINGTON – Federal officials will soon consider a plan to set aside broadband spectrum for wireless healthcare monitoring devices, opening the door to more and better uses both inside and outside the hospital setting.

At a Thursday morning press briefing at George Washington University Hospital in Washington D.C., Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski said the FCC would, at its May 24 meeting, vote on allowing the healthcare industry to use designated broadband space to develop and deploy mobile body area networks (MBANs). The wireless technology is used to continuously monitor physiological signs, including pulse rate, blood pressure and glucose measurements.

[See also: FCC's broadband plan lauded as critical to health IT]

Calling MBANs “the next big step” in healthcare, Genachowski said the FCC’s action would make the United States the first nation in the world to devote broadband spectrum to healthcare.

“MBANs will improve patient care, increase patient mobility and improve innovation,” he said.

According to federal officials, the FCC and the Food and Drug Administration, which has regulatory control over mobile medical devices, are working together to streamline the approval process for medical devices that use the wireless spectrum. While the FDA is regulating how those devices are used in a medical setting, the FCC is regulating the devices as a means of communication.

[See also: Broadband investments to boost 900 healthcare facilities]

The suggestion to develop healthcare-specific broadband spectrum was first made by GE Healthcare and Philips Healthcare, both of which have been collaborating with GWU Hospital on a number of MBAN projects. The two companies enlisted the help of the Aerospace Flight Test Coordinating Council (AFTRCC) and the American Society for Healthcare Engineering of the American Hospital Association (ASHE) to pinpoint a range of broadband spectrum that could be designated for MBANs.

At Thursday’s briefing, Barry Wolfman, CEO and managing director of GWU Hospital, and Richard J. Katz, MD, director of the hospital’s cardiology division, said GWU has been working with wireless mobile technology for several years, using it to monitor everything from diabetic patients and those with heart problems to the progress of wound care. The hospital recently received a grant from the CTIA, Katz said, to use wireless technology to transmit ECG readings from ambulances to the hospital.

“MBANs represent the future of wireless technology in healthcare,” Wolfman said.

Michael Harsh, vice president and chief technology officer for GE Healthcare, said patients now coming into a hospital’s intensive care unit are attached to a dozen cables or more, thus restricting their mobility and comfort level and making it difficult for clinicians to treat them or move them to another department. In addition, he said the monitoring of vital signs only occurs when the cables are attached to the patient.

With MBANs, he said, “patients stay connected to their clinicians” at all times, allowing for the continuous monitoring of vital signs even while the patient is being moved from unit to unit. In addition, he said, patients can be monitored before they reach a hospital and after they’re sent home.

Anthony Jones, chief marketing officer for patient care and clinical informatics at Philips Healthcare, said the current form of monitoring patient vital signs is expensive, inefficient and open to the risk of hospital-acquired infections and other adverse events. With studies indicating at least half of all hospital patients in the United States aren’t having their vital signs monitored, he pointed out, “minor issues could become major events” and lead to more extensive medical care and even death.

The proposal before the FCC would designate the 2.36-2.4 GHz spectrum for MBANs and would be shared with aerospace manufacturers and the government, which use the 2.3 GHz spectrum to test aircraft and missiles. Neither use would conflict with the other, officials said.

Genachowski said the FCC’s action is part of a broad-based federal effort launched in 2009 to develop a national broadband plan – and one of the goals of that plan is to make mobile communications an independent universal service goal. An estimated 18 million Americans, he said, currently live in areas without broadband access.

He talked of seeing examples of mobile healthcare technology all over the nation, from wireless devices that monitor heart rate and blood glucose levels to smart pillboxes that tell patients when to take their medications and how much to take. This technology, he said, is essential to reducing the costs of healthcare and giving patients and their care providers an uninterrupted portal through which to share information.

As an example, he pointed out that the survival rate for people who suffer a heart attack while being monitored is 48 percent – but that rate drops to 6 percent for those who aren’t monitored.

‘If patients aren’t connected, well, they’re just off the grid,” he said.
 

[See also: FCC's broadband plan lauded as critical to health IT]

Article source: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/fcc-vote-broadband-space-patient-monitoring

Hi, Mike

I read your computer clustering for childhood cancer treatment with a great deal of interest, since “big “data” computing is required to efficiently analyze such large quantities of data.

A major university hospital in Berlin, Charité University Hospital, can analyze terabytes of data in a matter of seconds and provide near real-time reporting by utilizing SAP HANA in-memory appliance software and SAP BusinessObjects Explorer® software.

The great speed of producing diagnostic reports is of tremendous advantage to doctors and patients alike, and eliminates redundant treatment.

Article source: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/computing-cluster-speeds-targeted-treatments-childhood-cancer

ANN ARBOR, MI – Health Level Seven International (HL7) announced Wednesday the inception of its pilot membership program, and launched a website aimed at increasing caregivers’ participation in the development of electronic health record (EHR) standards.

“For several years, the HL7 leadership has voiced its concerns about the typical first encounter with the standards development process,” said Charles Jaffe, MD, CEO of HL7. However, he added, “Now we are in a better position to translate the practical clinical expertise of these caregivers into tangible improvements in the interaction with the health record technology.”

[See also: EHR alliance to help physicians adopt IT.]

Feliciano Yu, MD, a practicing pediatrician and chief medical information officer at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, and co-chair of the HL7 Child Health Work Group, explained that his engagement in HL7 has allowed him “to make a tangible impact on how technology is used in healthcare.” He went on to say, “I reap the benefits in a very practical way as I apply technology within my institution.”

With an HL7 Caregiver Membership, clinicians can:

• Help ensure that standards adopted for healthcare IT (HIT) offer real and practical value in supporting the information exchange between health providers essential to coordinating patient care;
• Improve the quality and usability of the HIT standards developed by HL7 and, ultimately, the EHR products that use them;
• Network with HL7 members who are nationally recognized experts in HIT;
• Share knowledge and gain insight on how the use of data standards affects clinical practice in supporting patient care and improving quality and efficiency;
• Have the information they need to make informed decisions in EHR purchases, and know what to request from vendors.?

“HL7 standards are the most widely used in the industry,” said Don Mon, chair, HL7 board of directors. “Caregiver members will not only gain first-hand exposure to the standards and technology that drive clinical summaries, laboratory results, prescriptions, and public health and quality data, they will have a direct channel to influence the clinical technology requirements that support an increasingly patient-centered healthcare system.”

[See also: HL7 offers standard for clinical research in an EHR.]

Standard development projects currently under way that will benefit from caregiver input include HL7:

• Electronic Health Records System Functional Model, Release 2
• Preoperative Domain Analysis Model (DAM)
• Emergency Medical System DAM
• Neonatal Functional Profile
• Cardiovascular DAM

Functional models and profiles describe requirements for EHR system capabilities. DAMs describe workflow and data requirements within specific domains of care.

Article source: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/new-hl7-program-spurs-ehr-participation

WASHINGTON – The states of Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Washington will receive $181 million in grants from the Health and Human Services Department to help them establish health insurance exchanges.

This round of awards brings the total of exchange grants provided to states over the last two years to more than $1.1 billion, and 34 states and the District of Columbia have received establishment grants to further their progress toward building exchanges, according to a May 16 HHS announcement.

The state online marketplaces that aim to let consumers shop for and compare health coverage are scheduled to go live Jan. 1, 2014, under the health reform law. Deadlines for state exchange plans are fast approaching, including one for a state’s blueprint due later this year.

[See also: HIX deadline ‘less than 600 days’.]

Illinois, Nevada, Oregon, South Dakota and Tennessee have been awarded Level One Exchange Establishment grants, which provide one year of funding to states that have begun the process of building their exchange. Washington is the second state to be awarded a Level Two Establishment grant, which is provided to states that have demonstrated progress in building their exchange and offers funding over multiple years.

States can apply for more rounds of exchange grants through the end of 2014, and these funds are available for states to use beyond 2014 as they continue to expand functionality in their exchanges to serve their residents.

HHS also has a new map tool that breaks down what each state plans to do with its exchange funding. For example, Nevada is using its grant funds to develop a rules-based eligibility engine that will be the single, streamlined eligibility process for all medical assistance programs, including Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program and the exchange. It will also prepare business and IT systems requirements for non-eligibility functions of the exchange.

[See also: Insurance exchange rule unveiled.]

HHS has also offered guidance to help states construct their exchanges. “In 2014, consumers in every state will have access to a new marketplace where they will be able to easily purchase affordable insurance,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

HHS released an Exchange Blueprint that states may use to demonstrate how their exchange will work to offer a wide range of competitively priced private health insurance options. The blueprint also details the application process for states seeking to enter into a partnership exchange with the government.

If a state chooses to operate its own exchange or a partnership exchange, HHS will review and potentially approve or conditionally approve the exchange no later than Jan. 1, 2013, so it can begin offering coverage one year later.

States must submit a blueprint for approval during the fall of 2012 and demonstrate operational readiness through virtual or onsite readiness review, according to a May 16 announcement in the Federal Register.

If a state decides not to operate an exchange for its residents, HHS will operate a federally-facilitated exchange (FFE). The guidance describes how HHS will consult with a variety of stakeholders to establish such an exchange and how states can partner with HHS to handle selected functions in a federally facilitated exchange, and important policies organized by exchange function.

HHS will provide forums to help states with how to build exchanges. More information about health insurance exchanges is at http://cciio.cms.gov/programs/exchanges/index.html.

Article source: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/hhs-gives-6-more-states-181m-hix-funding

At the Connecting Healthcare + Social Media Conference, Lee Aase, director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media, and Farris Timimi, Medical Director for the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media, shared stories and expertise on the ways social media can impact the moral imperative of healthcare.

[View the story "Twitter recap: Lee Aase talks social media in healthcare" on Storify]

Article source: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/twitter-recap-lee-aase-talks-social-media-healthcare

WASHINGTON – The American Medical Association (AMA) has asked the federal government to delay the implementation deadline for ICD-10 from Oct. 1, 2013, until Oct. 1, 2015, “at a minimum.”

The AMA asked for this two-year compliance deadline in a May 10 comment letter to the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services (CMS). “A two-year delay of the compliance deadline for ICD-10 is a necessary first step,” AMA officials wrote to CMS Acting Administrator Marilyn B. Tavenner.

[See also: ICD-10 deadline do-over?.]

During the delay AMA proposes, officials urge CMS to institute a process to engage all relevant, stakeholders including physicians, to assess whether an alternative code set approach is more appropriate than the full implementation of ICD-10.

Earlier this year, CMS nodded to rolling back the deadline from Oct. 1, 2012, to Oct. 1, 2013, delaying compliance by one year.

In November 2011, AMA’s House of Delegates voted to call for a  repeal of the federal requirement to move to ICD-10 so that physicians and other stakeholders could assess an appropriate alternative.

[See also: ICD-10 deadline extended two years to 2013.]

Physicians will be overwhelmed with the financial and administrative burdens of a transition to ICD-10 while they are also facing implementation of “a number of inadequately aligned” federal programs, AMA officials wrote. The burdens are further compounded by a proposed 31 percent Medicare reimbursement cut proposed for Jan. 1, 2013.

Article source: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/ama-calls-2-year-extension-icd-10-deadline

ARLINGTON, VA – By the end of 2011, 58 percent of office-based physicians were using e-prescribing, with solo practitioners contributing the most significant growth, according to Surescripts, which released today “The National Progress Report on E-Prescribing and Interoperable Healthcare Year 2011.”

Included in the report is data analysis that documents the prevalence of e-prescribing adoption and use in the United States from 2008 through 2011.

The report is the only one of its kind in the U.S. that tracks adoption and frequency of e-prescribing nationwide. Two studies also included in the report measure both the effects of e-prescribing on medication adherence and examine e-prescribing use to determine the attainability for the e-prescribing measure in both Stage 1 and Stage 2 of meaningful use.

[See also: EHR incentive payments tally $4.5B to date.]

By the end of 2011, 58 percent of office-based physicians were using e-prescribing. Adoption rates were shown to be the highest – at 55 percent – among smaller practices with six to 10 physicians, and practices with two to five physicians totaled to 53 percent.

Solo practitioners contributed the most significant growth to physician adoption – from 31 percent in 2010 up to 46 percent in 2011.

Among specialty groups, e-prescribing adoption rates were highest among internists at 81 percent, endocrinologists at 78 percent, cardiologists at 76 percent and 75 percent for family practitioners.

Other highlights from the report include:

• The number of electronic prescriptions in 2011 increased to 570 million, up from 326 million e-prescriptions in 2010. By the end of 2011, an estimated 36 percent of prescriptions dispensed were routed electronically, up from 22 percent at the end of 2010.
• A recently completed analysis shows that of the physicians who adopted and began using e-prescribing in 2008, up to 60 percent have successfully met the Stage 1 meaningful use e-prescribing measure and 38 percent of these early users would meet the proposed Stage 2 meaningful use e-prescribing measure if it were now in effect. Also observed in the results was the increase in e-prescriptions per active e-prescriber over time. In first quarter 2008, there was an average of 49 per month. By fourth quarter 2011, the study group averaged 213 per month.
• In 2011, Surescripts partnered with PBMs and retail pharmacies to compare the effectiveness of e-prescriptions and paper prescriptions on first-fill medication adherence. The data showed a consistent 10 percent increase in patient first-fill medication adherence (i.e., new prescriptions that were picked up by the patient) among physicians who adopted e-prescribing technology. The analysis suggests the increase in first-fill medication adherence combined with other e-prescribing benefits could lead to between $140 billion and $240 billion in healthcare cost savings and improved health outcomes over the next 10 years.

[See also: E-prescribing can earn docs an extra 2 percent.]

In addition to tracking numerous measures of health IT adoption and use, the report also discusses the future of e-prescribing, the value of prescription benefit information and how industry collaboration is driving continuous improvements in electronic prescription quality. For a downloadable copy of “The National Progress Report on E-Prescribing and Interoperable Healthcare, Year 2011″ go to www.surescripts.com/report.

Article source: http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/national-report-shows-surge-e-prescribing-among-health-practitioners