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The Rise Of mHealth And EHR Use, And The World Of Telehealth – Around Healthcare Scene

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mHealth is on the rise, and it looks like usage of smart phones among physicians is following that same trend. A recent study shows that usage rose about nine percent in 2012, which shows that it is becoming more accepted in the medical world. It will be interesting to see if it increases even more this year (I have a feeling it might.)

Similar to the increase in doctors using smartphones, there has been a jump in EMR and HIE use as well. A survey from Accenture found that over 90 percent of doctors are using an EMR in either their practice or at a hospital, and over 50 percent are using an HIE. This increase was highest among doctors in the United States. Be sure to read more of the interesting facts this survey found about EMR and HIE use in the U.S., and around the world.

Even though 90 percent of doctors are using an EMR at one point or another, only about 55 percent have actually adopted an EHR into their practice. It can be nerve-racking trying to find the perfect EHR. If you are finding yourself at that crossroad, be sure to read these five tips from ADP AdvancedMD on how to have a successful EHR implementation.

Still, some of you may be hesitant to implement an EHR. You may ask, is it worth it? Does it takeaway from healthcare? There is debate from both sides, each with compelling arguments. John believes that technology is overall positive in any industry, and discusses his thoughts, and some of the challenges that faces the industry.

Telehealth and medicine is so huge, it can be hard to digest. Neil Versel recently attended the American Telemedicine Association’s annual conference in Austin, Texas, and saw just how huge this market was. Be sure to check out this video he created from his experience, and to perhaps get a better idea about the many types of telehealth. Similar to the increase in doctors using smartphones, there has been a jump in EMR and HIE use as well. A survey from Accenture found that over 90 percent of doctors are using an EMR in either their practice or at a hospital, and over 50 percent are using an HIE. This increase was highest among doctors in the United States. Be sure to read more of the interesting facts this survey found about EMR and HIE use in the U.S., and around the world.

With summer quickly approaching, it’s more important than ever to stay hydrated. But if you need a little reminder, be sure to look into the Jomi Band.  It gives you warnings when you might be on the brink of dehydration, and makes it easy to keep track of how much water you’ve consumed in a day’s time.

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May 12, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: EHR  EHR Benefits  Electronic Health Record  Electronic Medical Record  EMR  EMR Selection  EMR Technology  Healthcare  Healthcare Communication  Healthcare Devices  HealthCare IT  Hospitals  Medical Privacy  Patients  Personal Musings
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EHR Backlash, ACO, and Center of Care – #HITsm Chat Highlights

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Topic One: What’s your take on the emerging #EHRBacklash? A post-Meaningful Use fad, or a movement with actual potential?

 

Topic Two: Will patients ever take their place at the center of the care team? Do they know that they should care about it?

 

Topic Three: What does #ACO mean to you? Does anyone understand what will make them sustainable? Does human behavior even permit such things?

 

Topic Four: Open Forum. What topics are you tuned into right now? #healthIT

 

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May 11, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: ACO  EHR  EMR  Healthcare  HealthCare IT
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EHRMagic, EHR Certification, and the Great EHR Switch — #HITsm Chat Highlights

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Topic One: What lessons can be learned from the ONC’s decision to revoke #EHR Incentive Program certification of EHRMagic? #HealthIT

Topic Two: Does this action make EHR certification more meaningful or does it reduce confidence in certified products?

Topic Three: Who suffers the most from the ONC’s decision? The vendor or the physicians who purchased the product?

#HITsm T4: ”2013 is the year of the great #EHR switch.” With data migration and implementation hassles, is this truly a possibility?

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May 4, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: EHR  Electronic Health Record  Electronic Medical Record  EMR  EMR Analyst  HealthCare IT  HIE
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User-friendly EMRs, Meaningful Use Fraud, and DietBet – Around Healthcare Scene

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Many are concerned with the user experience in Health IT – particularly regarding the user-friendliness of EMRs. While it is easy to be overwhelmed by the negative reports, there are businesses and providers working hard to resolve these issues. McKesson is one of those companies, and they were recently recognized for their work at HIMSS13. Will more companies start making efforts like this? 

One step toward making EMRs more user-friendly is, well, making them accessible to patients. Unfortunately, according to a recent Accenture study, 65 percent of doctors believe patients should only have limited access to their health records, and 4 percent believe records should be totally closed. Reasons range from self-consciousness of what a doctor says in a record, to being uncomfortable with using digital records. Allowing patient-access may very well be a huge cultural shift for doctors everywhere.

In order to pass Meaningful Use stage 1, one must indicate which EMR was adopted. But, according to BuildYourEMR.com’s CEO, Mike Jensen, 74 percent of the providers who stated they were using his EMR…weren’t. If this is similar across the board, around 5.4 billion dollars were paid in error for incentives. While this isn’t likely to be the case, it’s pretty sad the lengths people will go to in order to get some extra money. EMR vendors need to start going over their CMS data in order to help prevent this fraudulent behavior.

If money was at stake for you to lose weight, would that motivate you? For most people, it probably would. DietBet takes the desire people have to lose weight and pairs it with the innate desire to have money, and creates a weight-loss game. If you lose 4 percent of your body weight in four weeks, you get part of the money pot for the group you are in. If you don’t, you lose the amount you paid to participate in the first place.

John recently had the opportunity to go to TEDMED as a guest of the Breakaway Group (A Xerox company)
. It was a great experience for him, and highlights can be found @ehrandhit or searching #simplehealth on Twitter. John recounts some of key takeaways from TEDMED, and suggests some of the major themes that will likely be seen in healthcare.

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April 21, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: EHR  EHR Benefits  EHR Stimulus  Electronic Health Record  Electronic Medical Record  EMR  EMR Consulting  EMR Technology  Healthcare  Healthcare Devices  Healthcare Social Media  Hospitals  Meaningful Use
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Traditional Marketing, Drug Companies, and Behavioral Scientists – #HITsm Chat Highlights

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Topic One: @bjfogg behavior model has become well known in tech around engagement. How is this or other models applicable to patient care?

Topic Two: Outside #healthcare, “engagement” is largely about marketing. What can traditional marketing teach us about patients?

Topic Three: Engagement is closely tied to influence and by who you are trying to influence. What are biggest drivers of influence in hc?

Topic Four: Drug companies are masters of influence, how can we improve the influence of engagement?

Topic Five: @nationalehealth and @ONC_HIT work with top behavioral scientists. When does a nudge toward behavior change become a shove?

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April 20, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: EHR  Electronic Health Record  Electronic Medical Record  EMR  Healthcare  HealthCare IT  Hospital EHR  Hospitals
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EHR Debates and The Growth of mHealth – Around Healthcare Scene

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With the dissatisfaction that many have felt from EMR, providers and patients alike, outside healthcare companies are coming up with new ideas on how to help. Healthpons, a healthcare version of Groupon, recently launched and aims to help people find affordable care, and allow providers to market themselves. Is this “cash for care” model a trickle down effect of EMR Dissatisfaction?

Among the debates related to EHRs, one of the biggest is about purging data. On one side, people believe that all data from a person’s life in order to give the best care possible. Another camp believes that keeping EHR data opens up the door for the institution being held liable. What do you think?

Hospitals are implementing EMRs left and right. However, who is it that pays for it? Some argue that it’s the consumer, others sometimes even say it’s the insurance companies. In the end, it’s the hospitals themselves.

How do you measure the quality of a doctor? In same ways, it’s impossible. Ideally, there would be a way to determine whether the quality of care a doctor provides is worth the cost they charge. However, there are risks involved in this, and really, it’s hard.  Don’t we all want the best doctor possible, for the lowest price? How can we keep doctor’s accountable for the care they provide?

If you have a hard time deciding the quality of a doctor, why not take matters into your own hands? Most people know that Google contains a plethora of health information, and that smartphones have a variety of health-related apps. The digital health market is growing at a fast rate and more technology is being released each day. What do you think the future holds for mHealth?

The past few weeks, some well-known names in health IT have lost dear family members. Remember these people in your thoughts.

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April 7, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: EHR  Electronic Health Record  Electronic Medical Record  EMR  EMR Technology  Healthcare  HealthCare IT  Hospitals  Meaningful Use
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Communication With Providers, Patient Alert Fatigue, and #HealthIT — #HITsm Chat Highlights

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#HITsm T1: How do you WANT to communicate with your healthcare provider? How does it differ from what’s available?

 

#HITsm T2: How can we avoid patient alert fatigue as we move toward engaged care and #mHealth acceptance?

 

#HITsm T3: Will the shortage of qualified #healthIT professionals to fill openings force a delay in meeting Meaningful Use requirements?

 

#HITsm T4: Open Forum> What #healthIT topic has interested you most this week?

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April 6, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: EHR  Electronic Health Record  EMR  HealthCare IT  HITECH  Hospitals
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NetPulse, HIEs, and The Importance of Reliable EMRs — Around Healthcare Scene

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Have you ever wished that all your fitness and food trackers were in one place? Well, look no further. NetPulse is trying to do just that. The new platform is working with some of the hottest apps, as well as fitness equipment makers, to make taking control of your health easier and more convenient.

A group of researchers recently published an opinion in the Journal of the American Medical Association regarding cloud-based health records versus HIEs. The verdict? They feel that the cloud-based health records might be a better way of sharing health records. What they had to say was rather interesting, so don’t miss the recap of it over at EMR and EHR.

Still looking to use HIEs, rather than Cloud-based health records? The ONC has recently released a toolkit to help different healthcare professionals use them more efficiently. This toolkit includes several guides and a spreadsheet to help determine costs and savings that are associated with implementing an EHR.

For those that missed HIMSS, check out the video that John filmed of the Metro point of care solutions. It gives you a first person perspective of what you could have seen demoed at HIMSS if you were able to attend. Plus, it’s pretty cool to see the point of care and BCMA technologies in action.

It’s important for an EMR to be usable. However, this isn’t always the case, and it can be extremely frustrating. Dr. Shirie Leng, an anesthesiologist, is someone who feels that way. In a recent piece over at KevinMD.com, Dr. Leng discusses her EMR usability wish list. Be sure to check it out, and see if you agree. What is your usability wish list?

And, how smart is your current EMR? According to John, it might just be stupid. While they may have value, most EHR software is just full of dumb data repositories. Despite the negativity of this perspective, the future of EHRs does have hope. With the help of entrepreneurs innovators, current EHRs will be turned smart.

Finally, in order for EMRs to make the changes needed, to improve usability and become more “smart,” the vendors need to get it together.  KLAS recently put several popular EMRs head-to-head, reviewing their usability and efficiency. Although names weren’t listed, they found that some EMRs were very difficult to learn, and it’s not necessarily the physician who is using its fault. Perhaps it’s time that physicians and hospitals demand higher quality products.

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March 24, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: EHR  EHR Benefits  Electronic Health Record  Electronic Medical Record  EMR  Healthcare  HealthCare IT  HIE  Hospital EHR  Hospitals
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Patient Education, Cloudalization of Healthcare, and EHR Vendors – #HITsm Chat Highlights

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Topic One: How valuable do you see the use of gaming as a vehicle for patient education and engagement? #mHealth

Topic Three: Is healthcare departing from the client/server architecture toward the cloud? AKA, “The cloudalization of healthcare.”

Topic Three: Is HITECH to blame for introducing false demand for #EHRs? What will happen after all the money is flushed out of the system?

Topic Four: If an #EHR vendor fails, how will their customers migrate to another product if their data is locked in a proprietary system?

 

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March 23, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: EHR  Electronic Health Record  Electronic Medical Record  EMR  Healthcare  Meaningful Use
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Around Healthcare Scene: EMRs and Health Technology Talk

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EMRs are supposed to increase efficiency and patient care. However, because of the amount of data they contain, sometimes the opposite happens. Anne Zieger discusses a recent report in Modern Healthcare, which talks about how nearly 30 percent of PCPs claim that they missed notifications of test results, leading to a delay in care, thanks to the over-abundance of information the EMR collects.

Would the use of mHealth technology such as tablets and smart phones cause harm like this as well? We’re sure to find out soon with mobile technology advancing among providers. Research shows that some providers are “gradually shifting their use of smart mobile devices from business functions like e-mail and scheduling to a much wider range of activities. Be sure to read some of Anne’s thoughts on the matter, and find out if this growth will continue at this pace.

And speaking of tablets, around 4,000 home care staff will be receiving a brand new Android tablet. Bayada, a national home care agency has recently sent out Samsung Galaxy Tabs to therapists, medical social workers and other home health professionals. Considering the fact that iPads are often the tablet of choice, this was an interesting move. The workers can document information while at a patient’s home, as well pull up data before going to the house. Will more healthcare providers be taking on the Android tablets, because of their lower cost? Chime in over at Hospital EMR and EHR.

There’s always some kind of new app being created to help people keep track of their health. Now, people can use uChek, an at-home urinanalysis, to keep their health in check. The mobile app, along with the uChek kits, allow people to test their urine for a variety of different markers. While it shouldn’t be used to replace a necessary visit to the doctor’s office, it could help prevent certain issues from getting worse by catching them early on.

With all this talk of technology in the healthcare world, one might wonder how it affects patient engagement. We recently switched pediatricians for my house, and while the last office was very tech savvy, this new office doesn’t have a computer in the offices, they give out paper prescriptions, and they have paper files. And to be honest, I love this office way more because of how personal the visit was, with no technology to distract the doctor. At our old office, the doctor stood far away from us, only looked at the computer the majority of the time, and it just wasn’t personal. However, because a lot of the mHealth technology does a lot of good, Dr. West over at the Happy EMR Doctor has some suggestions. He has created a list of 7 tips to help improve EHR etiquette, and this is definitely something all healthcare providers should follow. Just because there’s technology, doesn’t mean the importance of patient engagement should disappear as well.

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March 10, 2013 I Written By

Katie Clark is originally from Colorado and currently lives in Utah with her husband and son. She writes primarily for Smart Phone Health Care, but contributes to several Health Care Scene blogs, including EMR Thoughts, EMR and EHR, and EMR and HIPAA. She enjoys learning about Health IT and mHealth, and finding ways to improve her own health along the way.

Filed Under: EHR  Electronic Health Record  Electronic Medical Record  EMR  Healthcare  Healthcare Devices  HealthCare IT
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