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Health Catalyst Leads the Enterprise Healthcare BI Market in Improving Outcomes in Latest KLAS Report
Enterprise data warehouse & analytics innovator distinguished for its strong customer relationships & ability to deliver better healthcare outcomes
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – January 12, 2016 — Health Catalyst, a leader in healthcare data warehousing and analytics, was recognized as the enterprise BI vendor whose solutions make the most compelling contribution to better outcomes in a report titled “Enterprise Healthcare BI: The Search for Outcomes,” published this month by the respected research firm, KLAS.
The report differentiates 11 enterprise BI vendors based on client reviews, insights and outcomes, and marks the third time in three years that Health Catalyst has been recognized as a top performer in the healthcare BI market by KLAS.
“Health Catalyst is seen as the most consistent and effective BI vendor in achieving outcomes,” wrote the report’s authors, Joe Van De Graaf and April Ridgeway. “[Health Catalyst] consistently demonstrates a high-touch, consultative approach, using their products as facilitators of engagement and deeper work.”
KLAS’ report highlights the shift in emphasis in the market from reporting to delivering actionable insights and driving clinical, operational and financial outcomes. According to KLAS, Health Catalyst’s “strategy of prioritizing client relationships and outcomes results in the highest client reviews of any vendor for insights and outcomes.”
As the report explains, insights and improved outcomes result from “a proactive, customer-focused approach” that goes beyond simply implementing BI technology. Rather, top-performing vendors like Health Catalyst employ “a disciplined, holistic approach to help clients achieve analytics victories that would often not be possible otherwise.” As Health Catalyst’s 58 published case studies attest, the company employs a methodology for achieving outcomes that combines analytics, clinical content and organizational structures to help clients create a data-driven culture of improvement.
KLAS also recognized Health Catalyst’s “clinical leadership and healthcare focus,” reporting that these factors were praised by the company’s interviewed customers. The report emphasizes Health Catalyst’s commitment to partnering with clients to drive results. This includes employing “high-quality resources with clinical expertise who are invested in client success” and who “work beside clients to build an analytics framework and approach to suit their needs.
KLAS interviewed 394 providers to review the performance of BI vendors in healthcare and highlight those who contribute the most value in the eyes of their customers.
Since 2008, Health Catalyst’s Late-Binding™ Data Warehouse and Analytics platform has formed the information foundation for value-based performance at some of the nation’s largest health systems, serving more than 50 million patients overall. The platform can be implemented in a matter of weeks, providing health systems a single source of truth by combining clinical, financial and operational data from electronic health records (EHR) and many other enterprise applications while enabling flexible and fast visualization of the data across all clinical and process domains. Equipped with near real-time data and self-service analytics, health systems can quickly adapt to changing market conditions and identify opportunities for key process improvements.
“We are honored that KLAS’ independent review highlighted our customers’ successes in using our solutions and our unique methodology to improve outcomes,” said Dan Burton, CEO of Health Catalyst. “Our fundamental commitment to our customers is that partnering with us will drive measurable financial, operational and clinical outcomes improvements. We are grateful to see third-party validation from KLAS that our collective work with health system customers is producing significant outcomes improvements.”
The report, Enterprise Healthcare BI: The Search for Outcomes, is available at klasresearch.com/klasreports
About KLAS
KLAS is a research firm on a global mission to improve healthcare delivery by enabling providers to be heard and counted. Working with thousands of healthcare professionals and clinicians, KLAS gathers data on software, services, medical equipment and infrastructure systems to deliver timely reports, trends and statistical overviews. The research directly represents the provider voice and acts as a catalyst for improving vendor performance. Follow KLAS on Twitter at www.twitter.com/KLASresearch.About Health Catalyst
Health Catalyst is a mission-driven data warehousing, analytics and outcomes-improvement company that helps healthcare organizations of all sizes perform the clinical, financial, and operational reporting and analysis needed for population health and accountable care. Their proven enterprise data warehouse (EDW) and analytics platform helps improve quality, add efficiency and lower costs in support of more than 50 million patients for organizations ranging from the largest US health system to forward-thinking physician practices. For more information, visit www.healthcatalyst.com, and follow them on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.Posted 1.13.2016 -
Statement on the Future of the Meaningful Use Program
ANN ARBOR, MI, January 12, 2016 – During a speech at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt suggested that significant changes are instore for the Meaningful Use program. In response to this news, CHIME President and CEO Russell Branzell issued the following statement.
The Meaningful Use program has had a profound impact on the adoption of health information technology and furthering the digitization of the healthcare delivery system. CHIME members have long supported the underlying goals of the program and the industry has made significant progress in implementing IT systems to improve patient care, reduce costs and create a more efficient delivery system.
At the same time, CHIME has been at the forefront of advocating for refinements to the program to ensure that hospitals and physicians — can meet program requirements. We continue to call upon federal regulators to, among other things, better align clinical quality measures and adopt enforceable standards. We also believe that we need a laser-like focus on interoperability to improve health information exchange across the continuum of care. Central to that is finding a safe, accurate and private methodology for patient identification. Interoperable systems, a bigger focus on outcomes and less prescriptive use of how technology is used will better position providers for success in new payment and delivery models of care and ultimately benefit patient care.
We are encouraged that Acting Administrator Slavitt and CMS are open to improving the Meaningful Use program. It is important that we maintain momentum in digitizing healthcare. Robust IT systems are a cornerstone for achieving the Triple Aim — better population health, an improved patient experience and lower costs.
The Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act of 2015, along with other reforms being pursued by CMS, aim to dramatically shift healthcare toward value-based payment. Through these changes, we’ll see greater alignment between physicians and hospitals. CHIME believes that it is essential that we create more synergy between Meaningful Use requirements for hospitals and physicians if we are going to fully realize the potential that health IT has in promoting better patient care across the continuum.
We look forward to working with CMS as it begins to refine the Meaningful Use program.
About CHIME
The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With more than 1,700 CIO members and over 150 healthcare IT vendors and professional services firms, CHIME provides a highly interactive, trusted environment enabling senior professional and industry leaders to collaborate; exchange best practices; address professional development needs; and advocate the effective use of information management to improve the health and healthcare in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.
Contact
Matthew Weinstock
Director of Communications and Public Relations, CHIME
734.249.8917
[email protected]Posted 1.12.2016 -
Iatric Systems Partners with MindLeaf Technologies
Partnership will offer Iatric Systems Security Audit Manager™ & MindLeaf consulting services to stand-alone clinics & physician offices
BOXFORD, MA – January 12, 2016 — Iatric Systems, Inc., a comprehensive healthcare IT integration company, and MindLeaf Technologies, Inc., a medical compliance and medical support services company, have partnered to offer Iatric Systems Security Audit Manager™ to urgent care clinics, community clinics, group practices, and outpatient clinics.
MindLeaf will offer its medical compliance and support services in conjunction with Security Audit Manager, which integrates and correlates data of all access to Protected Health Information (PHI) from diverse systems to proactively detect breaches and automate patient privacy monitoring. To ease the burden on clinic IT staff while also reducing upfront costs, Security Audit Manager will be delivered to clinics via a Software as a Service (SaaS) model.
By combining MindLeaf’s consulting services with Security Audit Manager, which was named KLAS Category Leader in the Patient Privacy Monitoring segment in 2014, clinics and other practices can replace manual monitoring with automated processes that better protect patient privacy.
“Providers are looking for affordable, easy-to-use privacy and security solutions that allow them to focus more attention on patients and productivity, while also helping their organization remain compliant in the areas of privacy, security and breach notification,” says Paresh Shah, President of MindLeaf Technologies. “As a leader in healthcare compliance services, it is important that we partner with a company whose software reflects a keen understanding of these issues. This is exactly what we found in a partnership with Iatric Systems and its Security Audit Manager solution.”
The partnership between Iatric Systems and MindLeaf is particularly powerful because it brings sophisticated privacy solutions to smaller healthcare providers that might otherwise not be able to adopt such robust systems.
“Healthcare organizations of all shapes and sizes need tools and services to help protect patient privacy, show who is accessing patient data at all times, and detect any inappropriate behavior or breaches. This is exactly what Security Audit Manager was designed to do, and this partnership affords us the opportunity to bring our leading software to a new market segment,” said Marc Andiel, Senior Vice President of Professional Services of Iatric Systems. “Partnerships are key in the current healthcare technology environment. MindLeaf Technologies is a leader in compliance and support consulting, and we are excited for this partnership.”
Iatric Systems will be exhibiting at the HIMSS16 tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nevada, Feb. 29-March 4 in booth #7730. To schedule a meeting, contact Iatric Systems at [email protected]. For information about the HIMSS16 conference, please visit www.himssconference.org.
About MindLeaf Technologies, Inc.
MindLeaf is a Medical Compliance and Medical Support Services company. Headquartered in Bedford, MA, MindLeaf currently serves provider(s) operations in 35 states. MindLeaf has 11 years’ experience providing Medical Support and Medical Compliance services to the Department of Defense at more 60+ Treatment Facilities. It has won numerous awards for its services and growth including INC 500/5000 and the Boston Business Journal. ISO 9001:2008 certified, MindLeaf has assembled the resources and domain knowledge to deliver unparalleled process oriented compliance solutions.About Iatric Systems
Iatric Systems is a healthcare technology company dedicated to helping healthcare organizations enhance their IT investments. We do so with their diverse healthcare experience, an extensive partner network, and their proven capabilities in patient privacy, analytics, EHR optimization, and interoperability. For more than 25 years, Iatric Systems has delivered solutions to more than 1,300 healthcare organizations and has integrated more than 800 vendor solutions. For more information, contact [email protected] or visit www.iatric.com. Connect with Iatric Systems on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.MindLeaf Media Contact
Anne Marasa
781.275.1845
[email protected]Iatric Systems Media Contact
Allison Klingsick
Jetstream PR for Iatric Systems
972.788.9456 x 303
[email protected]Posted 1.12.2016 -
Health Catalyst Leads the Enterprise Healthcare BI Market in Improving Outcomes in Latest KLAS Report
Enterprise data warehouse & analytics innovator distinguished for its strong customer relationships & ability to deliver better healthcare outcomes
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – January 12, 2016 — Health Catalyst, a leader in healthcare data warehousing and analytics, was recognized as the enterprise BI vendor whose solutions make the most compelling contribution to better outcomes in a report titled “Enterprise Healthcare BI: The Search for Outcomes,” published this month by the respected research firm, KLAS.
The report differentiates 11 enterprise BI vendors based on client reviews, insights and outcomes, and marks the third time in three years that Health Catalyst has been recognized as a top performer in the healthcare BI market by KLAS.
“Health Catalyst is seen as the most consistent and effective BI vendor in achieving outcomes,” wrote the report’s authors, Joe Van De Graaf and April Ridgeway. “[Health Catalyst] consistently demonstrates a high-touch, consultative approach, using their products as facilitators of engagement and deeper work.”
KLAS’ report highlights the shift in emphasis in the market from reporting to delivering actionable insights and driving clinical, operational and financial outcomes. According to KLAS, Health Catalyst’s “strategy of prioritizing client relationships and outcomes results in the highest client reviews of any vendor for insights and outcomes.”
As the report explains, insights and improved outcomes result from “a proactive, customer-focused approach” that goes beyond simply implementing BI technology. Rather, top-performing vendors like Health Catalyst employ “a disciplined, holistic approach to help clients achieve analytics victories that would often not be possible otherwise.” As Health Catalyst’s 58 published case studies attest, the company employs a methodology for achieving outcomes that combines analytics, clinical content and organizational structures to help clients create a data-driven culture of improvement.
KLAS also recognized Health Catalyst’s “clinical leadership and healthcare focus,” reporting that these factors were praised by the company’s interviewed customers. The report emphasizes Health Catalyst’s commitment to partnering with clients to drive results. This includes employing “high-quality resources with clinical expertise who are invested in client success” and who “work beside clients to build an analytics framework and approach to suit their needs.”
KLAS interviewed 394 providers to review the performance of BI vendors in healthcare and highlight those who contribute the most value in the eyes of their customers.
Since 2008, Health Catalyst’s Late-Binding™ Data Warehouse and Analytics platform has formed the information foundation for value-based performance at some of the nation’s largest health systems, serving more than 50 million patients overall. The platform can be implemented in a matter of weeks, providing health systems a single source of truth by combining clinical, financial and operational data from electronic health records (EHR) and many other enterprise applications while enabling flexible and fast visualization of the data across all clinical and process domains. Equipped with near real-time data and self-service analytics, health systems can quickly adapt to changing market conditions and identify opportunities for key process improvements.
“We are honored that KLAS’ independent review highlighted our customers’ successes in using our solutions and our unique methodology to improve outcomes,” said Dan Burton, CEO of Health Catalyst. “Our fundamental commitment to our customers is that partnering with us will drive measurable financial, operational and clinical outcomes improvements. We are grateful to see third-party validation from KLAS that our collective work with health system customers is producing significant outcomes improvements.”
The report, Enterprise Healthcare BI: The Search for Outcomes, is available at klasresearch.com/klasreports
About KLAS
KLAS is a research firm on a global mission to improve healthcare delivery by enabling providers to be heard and counted. Working with thousands of healthcare professionals and clinicians, KLAS gathers data on software, services, medical equipment and infrastructure systems to deliver timely reports, trends and statistical overviews. The research directly represents the provider voice and acts as a catalyst for improving vendor performance. Follow KLAS on Twitter at www.twitter.com/KLASresearch.About Health Catalyst
Health Catalyst is a mission-driven data warehousing, analytics and outcomes-improvement company that helps healthcare organizations of all sizes perform the clinical, financial, and operational reporting and analysis needed for population health and accountable care. Their proven enterprise data warehouse (EDW) and analytics platform helps improve quality, add efficiency and lower costs in support of more than 50 million patients for organizations ranging from the largest US health system to forward-thinking physician practices. For more information, visit www.healthcatalyst.com, and follow them on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.Posted 1.12.2016 -
UPMC & Health Catalyst Partner to Lower the Cost of Healthcare
PITTSBURGH, PA & SALT LAKE CITY, UT – January 11, 2016 — UPMC, a leading, integrated health care provider and insurer, and Health Catalyst announced today a strategic partnership to combine technologies and front-line personnel in an unprecedented effort to help health systems solve one of their most vexing and urgent problems – how to measure and analyze the true cost of healthcare delivery for each patient.
Unlike other industries, healthcare has struggled to precisely calculate the cost of its activities and services because of the complexity of human illness, and a limited ability to systematically share, store and analyze data. The agreement between UPMC and Health Catalyst, the first of its kind, builds upon an activity-based cost management system developed by UPMC for commercial use and Health Catalyst’s proven Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) infrastructure, analytics expertise, and professional services.
“Thanks to our ability to compare outcomes and costs across a patient’s entire care experience—and by service line, hospital and physician–UPMC is identifying and adopting best practices that enhance quality while reducing spending, a convergence that is the ‘Holy Grail’ of healthcare,” said Robert DeMichiei, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of UPMC. “This strategic partnership with Health Catalyst will significantly accelerate that effort by leveraging the experience and know-how of both organizations to benefit UPMC’s patients and others across the country.”
“As a fully integrated network with an expansive health plan, UPMC is a recognized leader in activity-based cost management and we are delighted that it has selected Health Catalyst to refine and deploy its cost management excellence more broadly across the UPMC network, and to commercialize it for the good of healthcare in general,” said Dan Burton, CEO of Health Catalyst. “We are grateful to add UPMC as a customer and as a partner. This is a unique opportunity to join forces with one of the nation’s most advanced health systems to create a cost-improvement process and infrastructure that we believe will serve as a prototype to guide other health systems in developing their own data-driven cultures of proactive healthcare transformation.”
The agreement with UPMC marks Health Catalyst’s third deep partnership with a major health system in 2015, following similar agreements with Partners HealthCare and Allina Health.
Under the agreement, Health Catalyst is licensing technology, content and analytics innovations developed by UPMC as part of the health system’s effort to advance patient care while lowering costs. Health Catalyst intends to commercialize these innovations to further enhance UPMC’s cost management programs, and to benefit other health systems.
Additionally, UPMC will partner with Health Catalyst to further develop the cost-management program and implement the Health Catalyst Late-Binding™ EDW and Analytics platform to enable more seamless retrieval and aggregation of data from multiple information systems at UPMC. The UPMC employees currently working in cost management have become Health Catalyst team members.
Since deploying its cost management tool in 2014 to blend quality data with physician- and patient-specific cost data, UPMC and its physician leadership have been able to drive significant changes in clinician behavior leading to improved care at lower cost. For example, the number of “open” hysterectomies, compared with vaginal or minimally invasive versions of the surgery, has fallen 30 percent across the system, reducing patient complications, lengths of stay, readmissions and costs. In addition, UPMC clinicians are using the cost management tool to assess practice standardization opportunities associated with alternative payment mechanisms, such as the impending Medicare Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Program.
UPMC’s costing system models relevant clinical, operational and financial information from multiple information systems at UPMC to provide patient-specific cost on a repeatable, monthly basis. Sophisticated computer modeling tools, along with internally developed algorithms, allow UPMC’s financial analysts to match supplies, blood products, equipment use, and more than 50 clinical activities — such as time in the operating room, intensive care unit or rehabilitation facility — to specific patients. In the past, because of limitations of existing technology, general formulas were applied to account for costs, sometimes leading to imprecise conclusions about specific treatments, service lines or facilities.
UPMC’s agreement with Health Catalyst was led by UPMC Enterprises, the commercialization arm of UPMC, whose mission is to solve complex health care challenges through innovative ideas and technologies, while creating new jobs and companies in western Pennsylvania. By partnering with innovators like Health Catalyst, UPMC Enterprises is focused on creating and commercializing solutions in four key areas: clinical tools that will transform the delivery of care, population health management that will be essential in health care’s move from volume to value, consumer-centric health care, and business services and infrastructure that improve efficiency.
About UPMC
A world-renowned health care provider and insurer, Pittsburgh-based UPMC is inventing new models of accountable, cost-effective, patient-centered care. It provides more than $888 million a year in benefits to its communities, including more care to the region’s most vulnerable citizens than any other health care institution. The largest nongovernmental employer in Pennsylvania, UPMC integrates 60,000 employees, more than 20 hospitals, more than 500 doctors’ offices and outpatient sites, a 2.8-million-member health insurance division, and international and commercial operations. Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC ranks No. 13 in the prestigious US News & World Report annual Honor Roll of America’s Best Hospitals. For more information, go to UPMC.com.About Health Catalyst
Health Catalyst is a mission-driven data warehousing, analytics and outcomes-improvement company that helps healthcare organizations of all sizes perform the clinical, financial, and operational reporting and analysis needed for population health and accountable care. Their proven enterprise data warehouse (EDW) and analytics platform helps improve quality, add efficiency and lower costs in support of more than 50 million patients for organizations ranging from the largest US health system to forward-thinking physician practices. For more information, visit www.healthcatalyst.com, and follow them on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.For more information contact
Wendy Zellner
UPMC
412.586.9777
[email protected]Todd Stein
Amendola Communications for Health Catalyst
916.346.4213
[email protected]Posted 1.11.2016 -
UPMC & Health Catalyst Partner To Lower The Cost of Healthcare
UPMC & Health Catalyst Partner to Lower the Cost of Healthcare
PITTSBURGH, PA & SALT LAKE CITY, UT – January 11, 2016 — UPMC, a leading, integrated health care provider and insurer, and Health Catalyst announced today a strategic partnership to combine technologies and front-line personnel in an unprecedented effort to help health systems solve one of their most vexing and urgent problems – how to measure and analyze the true cost of healthcare delivery for each patient.
Unlike other industries, healthcare has struggled to precisely calculate the cost of its activities and services because of the complexity of human illness, and a limited ability to systematically share, store and analyze data. The agreement between UPMC and Health Catalyst, the first of its kind, builds upon an activity-based cost management system developed by UPMC for commercial use and Health Catalyst’s proven Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) infrastructure, analytics expertise, and professional services.
“Thanks to our ability to compare outcomes and costs across a patient’s entire care experience-and by service line, hospital and physician–UPMC is identifying and adopting best practices that enhance quality while reducing spending, a convergence that is the ‘Holy Grail’ of healthcare,” said Robert DeMichiei, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of UPMC. “This strategic partnership with Health Catalyst will significantly accelerate that effort by leveraging the experience and know-how of both organizations to benefit UPMC’s patients and others across the country.”
“As a fully integrated network with an expansive health plan, UPMC is a recognized leader in activity-based cost management and we are delighted that it has selected Health Catalyst to refine and deploy its cost management excellence more broadly across the UPMC network, and to commercialize it for the good of healthcare in general,” said Dan Burton, CEO of Health Catalyst. “We are grateful to add UPMC as a customer and as a partner. This is a unique opportunity to join forces with one of the nation’s most advanced health systems to create a cost-improvement process and infrastructure that we believe will serve as a prototype to guide other health systems in developing their own data-driven cultures of proactive healthcare transformation.”
The agreement with UPMC marks Health Catalyst’s third deep partnership with a major health system in 2015, following similar agreements with Partners HealthCare and Allina Health.
Under the agreement, Health Catalyst is licensing technology, content and analytics innovations developed by UPMC as part of the health system’s effort to advance patient care while lowering costs. Health Catalyst intends to commercialize these innovations to further enhance UPMC’s cost management programs, and to benefit other health systems.
Additionally, UPMC will partner with Health Catalyst to further develop the cost-management program and implement the Health Catalyst Late-Binding™ EDW and Analytics platform to enable more seamless retrieval and aggregation of data from multiple information systems at UPMC. The UPMC employees currently working in cost management have become Health Catalyst team members.
Since deploying its cost management tool in 2014 to blend quality data with physician- and patient-specific cost data, UPMC and its physician leadership have been able to drive significant changes in clinician behavior leading to improved care at lower cost. For example, the number of “open” hysterectomies, compared with vaginal or minimally invasive versions of the surgery, has fallen 30 percent across the system, reducing patient complications, lengths of stay, readmissions and costs. In addition, UPMC clinicians are using the cost management tool to assess practice standardization opportunities associated with alternative payment mechanisms, such as the impending Medicare Comprehensive Care for Joint Replacement Program.
UPMC’s costing system models relevant clinical, operational and financial information from multiple information systems at UPMC to provide patient-specific cost on a repeatable, monthly basis. Sophisticated computer modeling tools, along with internally developed algorithms, allow UPMC’s financial analysts to match supplies, blood products, equipment use, and more than 50 clinical activities – such as time in the operating room, intensive care unit or rehabilitation facility – to specific patients. In the past, because of limitations of existing technology, general formulas were applied to account for costs, sometimes leading to imprecise conclusions about specific treatments, service lines or facilities.
UPMC’s agreement with Health Catalyst was led by UPMC Enterprises, the commercialization arm of UPMC, whose mission is to solve complex health care challenges through innovative ideas and technologies, while creating new jobs and companies in western Pennsylvania. By partnering with innovators like Health Catalyst, UPMC Enterprises is focused on creating and commercializing solutions in four key areas: clinical tools that will transform the delivery of care, population health management that will be essential in health care’s move from volume to value, consumer-centric health care, and business services and infrastructure that improve efficiency.
About UPMC
A world-renowned health care provider and insurer, Pittsburgh-based UPMC is inventing new models of accountable, cost-effective, patient-centered care. It provides more than $888 million a year in benefits to its communities, including more care to the region’s most vulnerable citizens than any other health care institution. The largest nongovernmental employer in Pennsylvania, UPMC integrates 60,000 employees, more than 20 hospitals, more than 500 doctors’ offices and outpatient sites, a 2.8-million-member health insurance division, and international and commercial operations. Affiliated with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC ranks No. 13 in the prestigious US News & World Report annual Honor Roll of America’s Best Hospitals. For more information, go to UPMC.com.About Health Catalyst
Health Catalyst is a mission-driven data warehousing, analytics and outcomes-improvement company that helps healthcare organizations of all sizes perform the clinical, financial, and operational reporting and analysis needed for population health and accountable care. Their proven enterprise data warehouse (EDW) and analytics platform helps improve quality, add efficiency and lower costs in support of more than 50 million patients for organizations ranging from the largest US health system to forward-thinking physician practices. For more information, visit www.healthcatalyst.com, and follow them on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.Posted 1.11.2016 -
CynergisTek Declares 2015 Record Year for Revenue & Company Growth
Healthcare Information Security & Privacy Firm Attributes Growth to Increased Demand for Trusted, Outsourced Support in Protecting Sensitive Patient Data
AUSTIN, TX – January 7, 2016 — CynergisTek™, an authority in health information security, privacy, and compliance, today announced that it achieved record growth in 2015, with a more than 50 percent increase in revenue over the last calendar year, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 37 percent over the last three years. Additionally, the company saw approximately 80 percent increase in bookings, representing a CAGR of nearly 70 percent over the last three years. CynergisTek attributes this continued growth to increasing demand by healthcare organizations and business associates for its specialized services that address the latest data security challenges and government regulations.
In addition to record revenue and bookings, CynergisTek also expanded its client base in 2015, adding notable providers such as Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital, Methodist Le Bonheur and Vermont Information Technology Leaders to its roster. Further, the company doubled the number of organizations that utilize its Compliance Assist Partner Program (CAPP), which builds on CynergisTek’s standalone Risk Assessment Service with ongoing technical testing, advisory services and executive reviews that provide insight on technical program maturity. CAPP contract growth represents a CAGR of 135 percent over the last three years.
To support both new clients and expanded contracts in 2015, CynergisTek also added additional staff last year, increasing its total number of employees by 30 percent. “2015 was another amazing year of growth for the company,” said Mac McMillan, CEO of CynergisTek. “When I look around at all the new faces and talent that have joined us I can’t help but be excited for 2016.”
“This has been another tremendous year for CynergisTek with growth across our entire business. As threats to protected healthcare information increase and become more sophisticated, the need for the specialized support we offer has become critical,” said Dr. Michael Mathews, COO, CynergisTek. “We owe our continued success to the dedication of our excellent personnel that have been truly exemplary in delivering the highest level of service to each and every one of our clients. We are proud to end 2015 on such a positive note and look forward to what 2016 holds for us.”
About CynergisTek
CynergisTek is a top-ranked information security and privacy consulting firm. The company offers solutions to help organizations measure privacy and security programs against regulatory requirements and assists in developing risk management best practices. Since 2004 the company has served as a partner to hundreds in the healthcare industry. CynergisTek is also dedicated to supporting and educating the industry by contributing to relevant associations such as HIMSS, AHIMA, HFMA, HCCA, AHIA, AHLA, IAPP and CHIME. CynergisTek was recognized by KLAS®, as one of three firms provider organizations turn to most for privacy and security assistance in its groundbreaking report released in May 2014, entitled “Security and Privacy Perception 2014: High Stakes, Big Challenges.” For more information visit www.cynergistek.com, call 512.402.8550 or email [email protected].Media Contact
Chanel Benoit
Senior Account Executive
Aria Marketing
617.332.9999 x 209
[email protected]Posted 1.7.2016 -
Inside CHIME: Solving the Patient Identification Problem, Once and For All
1.7.16 by Russell Branzell, FCHIME, CHCIO
CHIME President and CEOCHIME is poised to launch a $1 million global competition with the goal of a fixing one of healthcare’s most challenging problems.
There’s no doubt about it, we’ve made considerable progress implementing technology solutions that make our hospitals more efficient and patient care better — bar coding at the bedside to improve medication administration, portals that give both providers and patients greater access to medical records, remote monitoring for chronic disease patients and so much more.
But there’s one problem that we still struggle to overcome, one for which we have yet to find a universally agreed-upon solution: Knowing, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we can correctly identify every patient every time they visit a clinic, hospital or doctor’s office.
For years, we relied on manual processes to overcome the shortcomings in patient identification. As healthcare has become a largely digital environment, the problem has become more complicated.
Last spring, CHIME unveiled plans to embark on a global competition to solve the problem of patient identification once and for all. I am excited to announce that on January 19, at a Washington, D.C., press conference, we will formally launch the CHIME National Patient ID Challenge. The $1 million competition will hopefully inspire creative minds around the world to think of innovative ways to solve this problem.
We are fortunate to be partnering with HeroX for this competition. Co-founded in 2013 by XPRIZE CEO Peter Diamandis, HeroX has considerable expertise in inspiring innovation. In fact, it was a conversation with Peter at the CHIME14 Fall CIO Forum that really spurred us to take this on. Sitting backstage before his rousing keynote address, Peter asked a few of us what keeps CHIME members up at night. Patient identification quickly rose to the top.
We all have stories about the vast resources our organizations waste annually dealing with inaccurate patient identification, not to mention the limitations it causes in information exchange. CHIME Board of Trustees Chair Marc Probst estimates that as recently as five years ago, Intermountain Healthcare was spending between $4 million and $5 million annually on technologies and processes to try to ensure proper patient identification.
We know from a 2012 CHIME survey that a significant number of members can attribute adverse medical events to patient identification woes. Our patients deserve better. The nation deserves better.
Already, 200 innovators have expressed interest in following the challenge. In May, we’ll announce those who are moving on to the Concept Blitz Round. Finalists will be named in the fall and a winner of the $1 million competition will be honored at the 2017 CHIME/HIMSS CIO Forum.
The CHIME board and staff are fully committed to making sure this initiative is a success. It is an exciting time for CHIME, our members and our industry.
The press conference will be available via live stream on the CHIME website, January 19, from 12-12:30 pm (ET). For those in the D.C. area wishing to attend, please visit the event registration page. To find out more information, or see how you can get involved, visit the CHIME National Patient ID Challenge page.
More Inside CHIME Volume 1, No. 8:
- It’s Time to Share the Wealth – Marc Probst
- Input Needed on Quality Measures and Certified EHRs – Mari Savickis
- Health IT Policy Forecast – Leslie Krigstein
Posted 1.7.2016 -
Inside CHIME: Health IT Policy Forecast
1.7.16 by Leslie Krigstein
CHIME Vice President of Congressional Affairs
From Meaningful Use and interoperability to cybersecurity, health IT issues will get a lot of attention in Washington, D.C. this year.
If 2015 was the year that many health IT issues became mainstream for policymakers, 2016 could be the year that they are forced to the brink of needing to take action. (That is until D.C. goes into full-election mode and we then table all “meaningful” conversation until the next administration.)
I anticipate the topics of interest on Capitol Hill and within the administration will remain largely the same as 2015 and I’ve outlined some policy expectations for Meaningful Use, interoperability, cybersecurity and delivery system reform:
- Meaningful Use
Congressional interest in Meaningful Use will intensify as the groundswell of provider and patient frustration grows louder. The fact that the provider community is largely in agreement that the program needs important revisions to generate the healthcare transformation envisioned by HITECH will certainly not go unnoticed by policymakers. Any program changes, specifically to Stage 3, will come in the payment rules set to be released in late spring/early summer.
- Interoperability
This will remain a priority for both the administration and Congress. I anticipate patient identification will become an issue that can no longer be ignored. The quantity of digital data and patient expectations for exchange can’t become a reality until all stakeholders, including the federal government, can come to the table to discuss how we link patients to their data. The administration will continue to use the Interoperability Roadmap as the framework for their actions and solicitation of commitments from the public and private sectors to advance a variety of initiatives. Meanwhile, Congress will focus on arming EHR customers with resources they need to be educated consumers, and purse mechanisms to hold those perceived to be guilty of “information blocking” accountable.
- Cybersecurity
Data breaches or the threat of intrusions will continue to keep CIOs and CISOs up at night. The conversations about cybersecurity in the healthcare sector have only really begun and I think all players along the healthcare continuum will need to engage in a sincere dialogue about risk tolerance and how we can keep patient data and devices secure. In response to the cyber information sharing law that was enacted last December, and the growing clamor from providers and patients alike, the administration will increase its focus on preparing the healthcare industry for cyber threats. There’s already early action in 2016: NIST has released an RFI on the “Framework for Improve Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity” and the FDA is hosting a device security workshop in the coming weeks.
- Payment and Delivery System Reform
Starting up a new payment mechanism for physicians seems like a daunting task, but it is an opportunity to truly modernize healthcare delivery. I look forward to seeing how federal IT programs, including Meaningful Use, are ultimately woven into new payment models, including MIPS. The administration has a huge opportunity to offer a course correction to the Meaningful Use program and enable telehealth (remote monitoring, etc.) to flourish as we make the important shift to value over volume with a heightened focus on outcomes. Further, as demonstrated by the CMS RFI released on December 31 on electronic clinical quality measurement, I anticipate conversation to pick-up not just on the role of certified EHRs in generality quality measures, but greater reporting harmonization and an emphasis on outcomes-focused measures in specific use cases.
But, all of these predictions I offer under the caveat of 2016 being an election year, so truly all bets are off!
Cheers to a great 2016!
More Inside CHIME Volume 1, No. 8:
- It’s Time to Share the Wealth – Marc Probst
- Input Needed on Quality Measures and Certified EHRs – Mari Savickis
- Solving the Patient Identification Problem, Once and For All – Russell Branzell
Posted 1.7.2016 -
Inside CHIME: It’s Time to Share the Wealth
1.7.16 by Marc Probst, CHIME Board of Trustees Chair;
Vice President and Chief Information Officer, Intermountain Healthcare
Instead of reinventing the wheel to navigate today’s health IT landscape, let’s tap into the collective knowledge that exists within CHIME.
Happy New Year! I hope everyone is ready for what will certainly be a busy 2016. I am excited to serve as chairman of your board of trustees this year.
As health IT leaders, we face a multitude of challenges — meeting Meaningful Use criteria, utilizing IT systems to advance value-based care, protecting patient records from cyberattacks, engaging patients in their care and much more. All too often though, we seem to waste a lot of valuable time and resources trying to reinvent the wheel as we take on these issues.
The reality is, there’s a wealth of information available to us through CHIME and our professional connections. One of my priorities this year is to focus on improving CIO-to-CIO interaction and knowledge-sharing. Whether it is through digital means, conferences or informal gatherings, we need to find new ways of spreading ideas and creating strong support structures for our profession.
CHIME is well positioned to leverage the knowledge and experiences of our members — both domestic and international — to share best practices and insights on new innovations. In February, CHIME will unveil KnowledgeHub, a new online tool that will serve as a one-stop-shop to access case studies and solutions for navigating today’s complicated health IT landscape. We’ll continue to look for other ways to share the wealth of talent that exists within the membership. We are stronger when we work together.
It’s also important that we find more opportunities for members to get involved in CHIME. Serving the organization and the industry are the basis for growth and development. As part of that, we’ll seek out your feedback to help mold CHIME to the needs of our membership.
One area where member involvement continues to be invaluable is public policy. Thanks to the tireless efforts of the D.C. staff and many members, CHIME has become a valuable resource for policymakers. That activity won’t slowdown in 2016; we will continue our solutions-oriented approach and advocate for smart health IT policy, but we’ll need your support and involvement.
I look forward to an exciting year!
More Inside CHIME Volume 1, No. 8:
- Input Needed on Quality Measures and Certified EHRs – Mari Savickis
- Solving the Patient Identification Problem, Once and For All – Russell Branzell
- Health IT Policy Forecast – Leslie Krigstein
Posted 1.7.2016 -
Inside CHIME: Input Needed on Quality Measures and Certified EHRs
1.7.16 by Mari Savickis
CHIME Vice President of Federal AffairsCHIME to host member calls on CMS and ONC requests for information.
The Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Office of the National Coordinator in late December published a Request for Information (RFI) seeking input on several items related to the certification of health information technology, including electronic health record (EHR) products used for reporting to certain CMS quality programs such as the Hospital Inpatient Quality Reporting (IQR) Program and the Physician Quality Reporting System (PQRS). They are also seeking input on a host of issues, including how often to require recertification, the number of clinical quality measures that a health IT module should be required to certify to and testing of certified health IT modules. The comment deadline is Feb. 1.
CHIME has arranged two calls next week to discuss the RFI — Monday, Jan. 11 and Wednesday, Jan. 13, both at 2 pm (ET). If you are interested in providing feedback to shape CHIME’s comment letter please contact me at [email protected].
More Inside CHIME Volume 1, No. 8:
- It’s Time to Share the Wealth – Marc Probst
- Solving the Patient Identification Problem, Once and For All – Russell Branzell
- Health IT Policy Forecast – Leslie Krigstein
Posted 1.7.2016 -
Vocera Names Benjamin Kanter, MD, as Chief Medical Information Officer
SAN JOSE, CA – January 3, 2016 — Vocera Communications, Inc. (NYSE:VCRA), the leading healthcare communications company, today announced that Benjamin Kanter, MD, FCCP, has been named Chief Medical Information Officer (CMIO). Prior to joining Vocera, Dr. Kanter worked as an industry consultant and thought leader with innovative healthcare IT companies, including Extension Healthcare, where he was the CMIO. In 2013, while the CMIO of Palomar Health in San Diego, Dr. Kanter worked with Extension Healthcare to create a reverse look-up smartphone app that allows physicians to search for patients and immediately identify and contact their assigned nurse.
As CMIO at Vocera, Dr. Kanter will continue improving patient care and physician-nurse communication by working closely with a team of clinical experts, including Chief Medical Officer Bridget Duffy, MD, and Chief Nursing Officer Rhonda Collins, MSN, RN. He will split his time between working with hospital customers to understand their technology needs and translating those needs into Vocera’s product roadmap and development priorities.
“Dr. Kanter has a successful track record of intersecting medicine and mobile technology. We are delighted to add him to our team of clinical innovation experts. With his in-depth knowledge of clinical systems and technologies, he will provide valuable insight into what physicians and care teams need to improve workflows and communication,” said Brent Lang, Vocera President and CEO. “We are very fortunate to add Dr. Kanter to our leadership team as we expand the interoperability of the Vocera Communication Platform and grow our market reach.”
“I’m looking forward to collaborating with a diverse and impressive team of innovators and industry leaders at Vocera,” said Dr. Kanter. “With so much talent behind an intelligent communication platform, Vocera is sure to make a significant and lasting impact on how care teams connect, communicate and collaborate. My mission remains clinical, improving the lives of caregivers and patients, and Vocera is aligned with that goal. It’s a joy to combine my work with this purpose.”
Dr. Kanter earned his medical degree and completed internal medicine training at Northwestern University. He is board-certified in internal medicine, pulmonary disease and medical informatics. Dr. Kanter has been a member of several corporate advisory boards including Cisco, Nuance, AirStrip Technologies, and Spyglass Consulting. He is a published author and frequent speaker on how to seamlessly and securely integrate technology with practicing medicine.
About Vocera
Vocera Communications, Inc. offers the most robust clinical communications system in healthcare. Vocera delivers secure, integrated and intelligent communication solutions that enable care teams to collaborate more efficiently by delivering the right information, to the right person, on the right device, in the right location, at the right time. Vocera solutions provide hands-free voice communication, secure text messaging, patient engagement tools, and integrated clinical workflow with EHRs, nurse call systems and physiologic monitors. These solutions help improve operational efficiency, quality of care, safety and satisfaction across the continuum of care. In addition to technology solutions, Vocera drives thought leadership and new standards in care to elevate patient, family, nurse and physician experiences via the company’s research collaborative, the Experience Innovation Network. Vocera is led by President and CEO Brent Lang and is headquartered in San Jose, California, with offices in San Francisco, Tennessee, Indiana, Canada, India, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. Robert J. Zollars is the Chairman of the Board. For more information, visit www.vocera.com and @VoceraComm on Twitter.The Vocera logo is a trademark of Vocera Communications, Inc. Vocera® is a trademark of Vocera Communications, Inc. registered in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other trademarks appearing in this release are the property of their respective owners.
Contacts
Investors and Analysts:
Sue Dooley
Vocera
408.882.5971
[email protected]Media
Tara Stultz
Amendola Communications
440.225.9595
[email protected]Posted 1.3.2016