• CHIME Signs HHS Pledge to Improve Information Sharing

    LAS VEGAS, NV – February 29, 2016 — The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) pledged to work with the federal government and other industry stakeholders to implement three core principles aimed at improving health information exchange. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell formally announced the commitments made by CHIME and other industry stakeholders during her opening keynote speech at the Health Information Management Systems Society annual conference in Las Vegas.

    CHIME pledged to address:

    • Consumer access: For patients to be true partners in their care, they must have better access to their health information. CHIME welcomes efforts by the federal government that continue to clarify regulations surrounding information sharing and supports initiatives to remove obstacles that stand in the way of patients accessing their information. As an example, CHIME recently embarked on a partnership with OpenNotes that will greatly expand patient access to the notes that clinicians make in a health record, but that often are not available to the patient.
    • Information sharing among providers: Government and the industry must address interoperability. CHIME believes that longitudinal care records should consist of provider, payer and patient-generated data and be accessible to all members of the care team. As evidenced by a CHIME-KLAS study last year on interoperability, there is growing consensus around key issues that must be addressed to improve the flow of information from one care setting to another. Foundational to driving greater interoperability and better care is the ability to accurately and consistently identify patients. CHIME is at the forefront of a national effort to find a solution to the problem of patient identification. The CHIME National Patient ID Challenge is a $1 million crowdsourcing initiative that aims to find a method for safely, accurately and privately identifying a patient 100 percent of the time. This is a key component to moving the dial forward on interoperability.
    • Standards: CHIME has long championed the need for a clear set of strong and enforceable standards. An information-rich record, supported by widely adopted standards, will improve a patient’s ability to manage consent privileges and diminish privacy concerns related to digitizing their health information. CHIME will continue to work with government and other industry stakeholders to pursue the adoption of clear standards.

    “While we’ve made considerable progress digitizing the industry, we must overcome some significant barriers that impede information sharing and prevent us from realizing the full benefits of health IT,” said CHIME President and CEO Russell Branzell, FCHIME, CHCIO. “Through this pledge, CHIME and its members strengthen their resolve to transform the nation’s delivery system and improve patient care.”

    A full list of organizations and their pledges is available at www.healthit.gov/commitment.

    About CHIME
    The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With m ore than 1,800 CIO members and more than 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 www.chimecentral.org.

    Contact
    Matthew Weinstock
    Director of Communications and Public Relations, CHIME
    734.249.8917
    [email protected]

    Posted 2.29.2016

  • Vital Launches Game-Changing Enterprise Interoperability Platform, Aiding Chief Information Officers Globally

    Non-Disruptive, Adaptable Interoperability Platform

    MINNEAPOLIS,MN – February 26, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Vital Images, Inc., (Vital), a Minneapolis-based advanced medical imaging and informatics company, launched an entirely new product category, Enterprise Interoperability Platform, in what is being coined “the CIO’s best friend.” The company’s Enterprise Interoperability Platform will be presented in the invitation only “VIP Technology Suite” at HIMSS (booth 732), February 29 – March 4, 2016 in Las Vegas, NV. While Vital continues to lead the world in advanced visualization and personalized medicine algorithms, 2016 heralds an increased focus on enterprise informatics and analytics. Vital is committed to bringing the vision and strategy behind advanced algorithm ingenuity into the informatics realm. The approach encompasses targeting informatics related to better outcomes in accountable care and collaborative care while integrating multiple EMR, HIE, VNA, PACS, ECM and more. As with the recently announced second-generation VNA on-demand and data migration solutions, the personalized viewing platform sets forth a next-generation revolution in HIE and EMR access enablement to the marketplace.

    Vitals’ Enterprise Interoperability Platform addresses the missing link in the healthcare enterprise for departmental workflow beyond RIS style systems. This new solution bridges the gap between the HIE/EMR world and the multimedia, ECM, EMR and VNA realm. The platform provides semantic interoperability to all stakeholders in the healthcare enterprise, from healthcare providers, to the myriad of EMR, ESB, VNA and other imaging and multimedia vendors requiring interoperability. The solution was specifically designed to address the semantic interoperability chasm between discreet and structured data sets. This next-generation platform provides a toolkit for chief information officers and information technology vendors alike, to integrate and optimize previously separate or manual processes. This level Enterprise Interoperability Platform communicates with numerous sub-systems, such as ECM, VNA, PACS in synchronicity with EMR, HIE and many other healthcare information systems.

    “We are excited to launch this new solution category to the global marketplace. Our ‘Vital Box’ delivers a toolkit aligned with our customer centered product development ethos,” said President and CEO at Vital, Jim Litterer. “This enterprise Interoperability platform provides an immediate non-disruptive solution in solving enterprise interoperability, always leveraging existing infrastructure, truly changing the face of the enterprise informatics marketplace forever. From an enterprise informatics perspective at Vital, this is our platform to provide enterprise interoperability; allowing for patient engagement; secure access to the patient’s complete health record and more in lockstep with the accountable care environment.”

    “Based on direct feedback from customers seeking to solve interoperability challenges between numerous EMR, VNA, PACS and other multimedia sources, there was a definite need for a next generation enterprise style approach to departmental workflow,” said General Manager, Enterprise Informatics at Vital, Scott Galbari. “The need for rapid access to multiple vendor PACS and other multimedia content, from one viewer, was evident. Simplicity is mandatory for technology providers, in a marketplace steeped in growing government regulations, pressure on shared saving programs, increased focus on chronic disease management, bundled payments, Accountable Care Organizations and the HIPAA.”

    About Vital Images, Inc.
    Vital Images, Inc., a Toshiba Medical Systems Group Company, is a leading provider of health imaging diagnostic, management and imaging intelligence solutions, to help healthcare organizations deliver exceptional care while optimizing resources across multi-facility organizations. The company’s solutions are scalable to meet the unique needs of hospitals and imaging centers and are accessible throughout the enterprise anytime and anywhere. For more information, visit www.vitalimages.com or join the conversation on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

    At Vital Images
    Dr. Paul A. Markham
    952 487.9704
    [email protected]
    www.vitalimages.com

    Posted 2.29.2016

  • Vital Launches Unique Personalized HIE/EMR Viewing Platform

    Patient Centric, Accountable Care Ready, Interoperability Platform

    MINNEAPOLIS,MN – February 26, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Vital Images, Inc., (Vital), a Minneapolis-based advanced medical imaging and informatics company, launched their personalized viewing platform to the global marketplace. The company’s personalized viewing platform will be one of several solutions featured at HIMSS (booth 732), February 29 – March 4, 2016 in Las Vegas, NV. While Vital continues to lead the world in advanced visualization and personalized medicine algorithms, 2016 heralds an increased focus on enterprise informatics and analytics. Vital is committed to bringing the vision and strategy behind advanced algorithm ingenuity into the informatics realm. The approach encompasses targeting informatics related to better outcomes in accountable care and collaborative care while integrating multiple EMR, HIE, VNA, PACS, ECM and more. As with the recently announced, second generation VNA on-demand and data migration solutions, the personalized viewing platform sets forth a next generation revolution in HIE and EMR access enablement to the marketplace.

    Vital’s personalized viewing platform sets forth the first example of a next generation universal viewer solution, based on lessons learned in first generation universal viewer platforms. This next generation platform allows chief medical information officers and their clinicians to rapidly access images and other content, no matter what underlying systems are deployed. Furthermore, it provides an experience-based upon the role of the user in conjunction with the type of patient being reviewed.  The solution provides a platform to drive more rapid physician adoption due to the personalized nature of the content.

    “We are excited to launch our personalized viewing platform to the global marketplace. This new product development is aligned with our customer centered product development ethos. The personalized viewing platform provides an immediate non-disruptive solution to accessing underlying systems, leveraging existing infrastructure, truly changing the face of the enterprise informatics marketplace forever. From an enterprise informatics perspective at Vital, this is a necessary, yet incremental step, in our vision to provide unique solutions in enterprise interoperability;  patient engagement; secure access to the patient’s complete health record and more in lockstep with the accountable care environment,” said President and CEO at Vital, Jim Litterer.

    “Based on direct feedback from our customers using our universal viewer, there was a definite need to begin development of a next generation extension of the universal viewer concept. The need for rapid access to multiple vendor PACS and other multimedia content, from one viewer, was evident. Simplicity is mandatory for technology providers, in a marketplace steeped in growing government regulations, pressure on shared savings programs, increased focus on chronic disease management, bundled payments, Accountable Care Organizations and the Patient Privacy Accountable Care Act (PPACA),” said General Manager, Enterprise Informatics at Vital, Scott Galbari.

    About Vital Images, Inc.
    Vital Images, Inc., a Toshiba Medical Systems Group Company, is a leading provider of health imaging diagnostic, management and imaging intelligence solutions, to help healthcare organizations deliver exceptional car  e while optimizing resources across multi-facility organizations. The company’s solutions are scalable to meet the unique needs of hospitals and imaging centers and are accessible throughout the enterprise anytime and anywhere. For more information, visit www.vitalimages.com or join the conversation on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.

    At Vital Images                                              
    Dr. Paul A. Markham
    952.487.9704
    [email protected]
    www.vitalimages.com

    Posted 2.29.2016

  • Stoltenberg Consulting Launches Annual HIT Industry Outlook Survey at HIMSS

    PITTSBURGH, PA – February 25, 2016 (Marketwired) — Stoltenberg Consulting, Inc., a leading healthcare information technology consulting firm, today announced the start of its Fourth Annual Health IT Industry Outlook Survey, which it will conduct and center around the upcoming Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) annual conference at the Sands Expo and Convention Center in Las Vegas, March 1-3.

    “Stoltenberg’s Health IT Industry Outlook Survey focuses on helping healthcare providers and health IT vendors identify industry trends and looming concerns to turn provider obstacles into actionable answers for better patient care quality and cost savings,” said Stoltenberg CEO and Founder Sheri Stoltenberg.

    Completed by project managers, CIOs, IT directors and consultants, last year’s survey revealed that most (51 percent) showed confusion toward what and how much healthcare data to actually collect in data analytics initiatives. A majority (34 percent) also felt that the lack of buy-in across their healthcare organizations was the largest barrier to IT initiatives, including data analytics and achieving meaningful use. The full results from 2015 can be found here.

    This year’s survey presents six questions focusing on healthcare leaders’ top initiatives and concerns for the remainder of 2016. By participating in the fourth annual survey, individuals can enter into a drawing for a $200 Amazon gift card. Survey responses will remain anonymous. For those unable to attend the HIMSS16 annual conference, participate and enter the raffle by completing the survey here.

    Stoltenberg will also celebrate its 20 years as strategic health IT advisors at HIMSS16 through exhibition at booth #3621, social media channels with the campaign hashtag #20inHIT, and website and blog updates. For more information about Stoltenberg Consulting at HIMSS16, visitwww.stoltenberg.com.

    About Stoltenberg Consulting
    Founded in 1995, Pittsburgh-based Stoltenberg Consulting, Inc., a seven-time Inc. 5000 list of US fastest-growing private companies honoree, provides healthcare organizations with a variety of services including project management, implementation support, optimization and integration between systems. Stoltenberg consultants hold skills in both financial and clinical systems, offering expertise for Cerner, Siemens, Epic, Meditech, NextGen, Allscripts, McKesson, Infor and Qlik customers. For more information call 1-888-724-1326 or visit www.stoltenberg.com.
    Media Contact
    Shana Tachikawa
    Stoltenberg Consulting
    [email protected]
    419.617.8341

    Posted 2.26.2016

  • CHIME, OpenNotes Partner to Spur Patient Engagement, Support Advances in Precision Medicine

    open notesANN ARBOR, MI, February 25, 2016— The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and OpenNotes today unveiled a unique partnership to accelerate information sharing between patients and providers. The collaboration, which will help empower patients to become advocates in their care, was announced as part the Obama administration’s Precision Medicine Initiative Summit.

    “We are seeing a tremendous swing toward value-based care and consumerism in healthcare,” said CHIME President and CEO Russell Branzell, FCHIME, CHCIO, who is participating February 25 summit at the White House. “Patient engagement is a big part of that movement, but to be true partners in their care, patients must have access not only to their basic health records, but the notes that clinicians make during appointments. This partnership with OpenNotes is a terrific opportunity to promote innovative change in medical practice designed to increase patient engagement.”

    The collaboration supports goals laid out in President Obama’s Precision Medicine Initiative, Branzell said. First announced during the president’s 2015 State of Union address, the Precision Medicine Initiative aims to promote new research and clinical care models built around individuals rather than a one-size-fits all approach to treating disease. The summit, which can be viewed via live stream, is scheduled for February 25, between 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM EST.

    Neither a software program nor a new technology, OpenNotes is an initiative that urges health systems and clinicians to offer patients easy and secure access to the medical notes that are part of their electronic health record. The goal is to improve communication and engage patients, and often their families, far more actively in their care. While there has been a proliferation in the use of electronic health records, making it easier for patients to see such things as lab results and medication history, physician notes often are not available. These notes contain important insights that can better guide patients in their care decisions.

    The power of OpenNotes first came to light in a 2010 study involving 105 primary care physicians and 20,000 patients at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Geisinger Health System in rural Pennsylvania and Harborview Medical Center, a safety net hospital in Seattle. Patients were invited to read the notes in their health record using a secure patient website. The study found that two-thirds of patients who accessed their physicians’ notes reported feeling more informed about their medical condition. Additionally, more than 85 percent of patients said that having access to notes would influence their future choice of providers.

    “We’re learning that patients who read their notes feel more in control of their healthcare and are more likely to understand the treatment plan,” said Tom Delbanco, M.D., the co-founder, along with Jan Walker, R.N., MBA, of OpenNotes. Delbanco is the Koplow–Tullis Professor of General Medicine and Primary Care at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. “OpenNotes represents a culture shift, and we’re hopeful that our relationship with CHIME will help us move closer to our goal of making openness the standard of care for all patients.”

    Since the 2010 pilot, a rapidly growing number of health systems have adopted this striking change in practice, including the entire Department of Veterans Affairs. As leaders in their organizations, CHIME members are dedicated to using information technology to transform care delivery and strive for the Triple Aim of a better patient experience, improved population health and lower costs. Facilitating information exchange among patients and providers is essential to reaching those goals, Branzell said. CHIME will collaborate with the OpenNotes team to bring greater awareness of OpenNotes and other patient-facing technologies to CIOs and other health IT leaders and support the spread of OpenNotes across the United States.

    “We started with 20,000 patients, and now more than five million patients have ready access to the notes their clinicians make in their medical records. Our goal is to expand OpenNotes to 50 million within three years,” said Homer Chin, M.D., former Associate Medical Director for Clinical Information Systems at Kaiser Permanente Northwest and Affiliate Professor in Medical Informatics and Outcomes Research at the Oregon Health and Sciences University, a widely recognized health IT expert and member of the OpenNotes team. “We are continuing to explore new strategies to spread the reach of OpenNotes and improve patient engagement.”

    The collaboration with OpenNotes continues CHIME’s efforts to improve information exchange across the healthcare continuum, including advancing interoperability and ensuring the accuracy of patient identification. In January, the CHIME Healthcare Innovation Trust, along with HeroX, officially launched the $1 million crowdsourcing competition aimed at finding a solution to patient identification. Accurate patient identification is foundational advancing information exchange and improving patient safety, Branzell said.

    About CHIME
    The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With more than 1,800 CIO members and more than 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.

    About OpenNotes
    OpenNotes is a national movement that invites patients, families and clinicians to come together and improve communication through shared clinicians’ notes and fully transparent medical records. The movement is led by clinicians and researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, and supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Cambia Health Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and Peterson Center on Healthcare. To learn more, visit opennotes.org.

    Contacts

    CHIME:
    Matthew Weinstock
    734.249.8917
    [email protected]    		 OpenNotes/BIDMC:
    Kelly Lawman
    617.667.7305
    [email protected]
    Posted 2.25.2016

  • Dimensional Insight Business Intelligence Solution Delivers Improved Healthcare Quality and Reduced Costs for Western Maryland Health System

    Successfully navigating new world of value-based care with healthcare analytics brings more than $1.3 million in ROI

    Burlington, MA – February 24, 2016 — Dimensional Insight, a developer of business intelligence (BI) solutions for complex and highly regulated industries, today announced Western Maryland Health System’s successful shift from a fee-for-service to a value-based care model was facilitated by implementing the company’s award-winning business intelligence solution, the Diver Platform. Western Maryland Health System was able to identify ways to reduce costs while concurrently improving the health of its patients. Executives from both organizations will be available at HIMSS16 February 29 – March 4 to discuss the journey to value-based care at the Dimensional Insight booth #5237.

    Western Maryland Health System, a 205-bed hospital in Cumberland, MD that services a rural population across Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, achieved an increase of $1.3 million in quality-based reimbursements from the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission (HSCRC). The state of Maryland was the first in the nation to be granted a waiver from Medicare rules, providing flexibility to implement its own quality-based program under the HSCRC. Most notably, the health system went from last place out of 46 Maryland hospitals in terms of in quality-based reimbursement measures to first place in the state. This turnaround was due in part to the implementation of the Diver Platform, which enhanced the integrity of the data submitted.

    “With Maryland being the first state in the US to reimburse healthcare providers according to a value-based care model, Western Maryland saw the immediate need to implement a business intelligence solution to better leverage our data and improve revenue and the overall health of our population,” said Tracey Davidson, quality manager at Western Maryland Health System.

    “After looking at a number of major business intelligence players, our organization ultimately selected Dimensional Insight’s Diver Platform, which allows our health system to make critical care adjustments based on care delivery trends and enhance both our quality-based reimbursement as well as our overall quality of patient care,” added Colby Lutz, business intelligence analyst for Western Maryland Health System.

    Using Diver, the health system was able to create a discharge discrepancy report that compares data from multiple systems in order to highlight and resolve patient inconsistencies. Prior to implementing the report, there were approximately 150 patient mismatches per month. This has now been reduced to zero after implementing the Diver Platform and has significantly shrunk the care gap. In addition, because Western Maryland was able to reduce unnecessary patient readmissions, it was able to avoid HSCRC penalties.

    “As we continue to see more healthcare organizations shift from a fee-for-service model to a value-based model, the need for an effective business intelligence solution is greater than ever,” said Fred Powers, co-founder and CEO at Dimensional Insight. “By allowing Western Maryland to showcase the value and ROI that they have experienced through the Diver Platform during HIMSS16, it is our goal that similar organizations will start to realize the value of an actionable data analytics platform and the benefits it can bring to one’s healthcare facility.”

    About Dimensional Insight
    Dimensional Insight is a leading provider of business intelligence (BI) solutions. The company offers a complete portfolio of BI capabilities ranging from data integration and modeling to sophisticated reporting, analytics, and dashboards. Founded in 1989, Dimensional Insight has thousands of customer organizations worldwide. Dimensional Insight’s Diver Platform consistently ranks as a top performing business intelligence platform by customers and industry analysts in its core market segments including healthcare, manufacturing and beverage alcohol industries. For more information, please visit www.dimins.com.

    Dimensional Insight and The Diver Platform are trademarks or registered trademarks of Dimensional Insight or its subsidiaries in the US and other countries. Other company names, product names and company logos mentioned herein are the trademarks, or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

    Posted 2.24.2016

  • Huntzinger Management Group Announces Ed Fisher as Practice Executive, Technical Services

    SCRANTON, PA – February 23, 2016 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Huntzinger Management Group, Inc. (Huntzinger), a leader in healthcare IT advisory, implementation and staff augmentation services, announced Ed Fisher as Practice Executive, Technical Services. Robert Kitts, Chief Executive Officer and Founding Partner of Huntzinger, made the announcement.

    As the Practice Executive for Technical Services, Fisher will be responsible for managing Huntzinger’s Technical Services and Interim Executive Management services to clients. These offerings complement Huntzinger’s other strategic consulting practices and provide a much-needed suite of advisory, architecture, technology implementation, operational efficiency and interim management assistance for healthcare organizations seeking to fully leverage their technology without compromising their objectives.

    Fisher is a senior IT executive who has consistently blazed a trail of transformation in healthcare technology, strategic thought, creative innovation and visionary leadership. He has demonstrated success in directing highly complex projects involving leading-edge technology and is renowned for his ability to work collaboratively with senior executives, physicians, board members and communities, to advance enterprise initiatives and educate organizations through complex culture change. He has held senior leadership positions during his 30-year career including CIO of multi-hospital organizations, CTO of a multi-hospital academic organization, Oklahoma City HIE formation, and IT Strategic Planning. Fisher is well versed in technology requirements and operational controls for designing, implementing and maintaining complex EHR systems such as Epic, Cerner and Meditech.

    “My role as Technical Services Executive is designed to provide our clients with much needed expertise in the complex space of technology and innovation in healthcare. Many of our clients are challenged with rapidly advancing technology such as unified communication, big data analytics, security threat resolution, mobile device and BYOD requirements while dealing with aging infrastructure and just in time funding. I have the privilege of leading a talented team of technical experts at Huntzinger who can equip our clients with actionable roadmaps to navigate through these issues while providing the necessary education/support to their Executive Leadership,” said Fisher.

    “Ed’s background is a great fit for leading our Technical Services practice and working with our clients to help them leverage their IT investments. The value of Ed’s experience, expertise and leadership to our organization, our clients and the Technical Services team is beyond measure and we welcome him enthusiastically,” said Robert Kitts, CEO of Huntzinger.

    Fisher is an active member of Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and sought after as a featured speaker/presenter at many technology conferences and healthcare IT roundtables. He earned a BS in Healthcare Administration from New England College.

    About Huntzinger Management Group, Inc. (Huntzinger)
    Huntzinger provides IT Advisory, Implementation and Staff Augmentation services to the healthcare industry. Through a client delivery model designed to provide both immediate and sustained impact, Huntzinger conducts detailed assessments, recommends strategies and provides implementation plans for improved functional alignment, operational performance and financial results. Their consultants have deep healthcare experience with expertise to assist their clients with improving their IT performance and leveraging their IT investment. For more information, visit www.huntzingergroup.com.

    Contacts
    Huntzinger Management Group
    Craig Kasper, VP Sales & Marketing
    570.824.4721
    [email protected]

    Posted 2.23.2016

  • Timothy Zoph Joins Impact Advisors

    Executive leader to provide growth strategies & thought leadership

    Tim Zoph crop1 (002)CHICAGO, IL – February 23, 2016 — Impact Advisors, LLC, a leading provider of healthcare information technology services, announced today that Timothy Zoph has joined the organization as a Strategic Advisor and Client Executive.

    Zoph will develop growth and retention strategies and identify and qualify new business opportunities within health delivery organizations. In addition, he will serve as an industry thought leader for the firm. Zoph has extensive healthcare IT experience and a proven track record of success leading the technology efforts of one of the nation’s leading health systems.

    “We are excited to have Tim on our team,” said Andy Smith, President and Co-Founder of Impact Advisors. “I have had the pleasure of working alongside Tim for the last 20 years and I am so honored that he is joining our team. We are looking forward to his contributions as we know they will be crucial to our continued success.”

    Zoph has more than 30 years of healthcare and IT experience with expertise in leadership development, security, strategy, IT consolidation, and facility design and construction.

    Prior to accepting the position with Impact Advisors, Zoph was the Senior Vice President of Administration at Northwestern Medicine. In this role, he was responsible for technology strategy and delivery of information systems and had oversight for designing, building and activating over $1B of new facility projects. In addition, he had management responsibility for the Facility Design and Construction team and Enterprise Project Management Office for the past five years. He also served as the organization’s CIO for 20 years. Under his leadership at Northwestern Medicine, the organization was named one of the “100 Most Wired Hospitals” 12 times.

    Zoph earned his Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University, his Master of Science Accounting from Georgetown University and his Bachelor of Science in Meteorology from the University of Utah.

    In addition, Zoph serves as a Member of the Advisory Board for KLAS Research, serves as a Senior Executive Lecturer at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and participated as the Program Director and faculty member of CHIME’s Healthcare CIO Boot Camp™ for nearly a decade.

    He was the recipient of the John Gall “CIO of the Year” award in 2003 and was named the 2008 “CIO of the Year” by the Executives’ Club of Chicago along with the Association of Information Technology Professionals. He also received the Legacy Award from CHIME in 2014.

    For more information on Impact Advisors, visit www.impact-advisors.com or visit the company on Facebook www.facebook.com/impactadvisors.

    About Impact Advisors, LLC
    Impact Advisors, a distinguished healthcare information technology consulting firm, improves its clients’ healthcare delivery through technology. As a trusted healthcare leader, the firm helps hospitals and health systems maximize clinical and operational performance with its Best in KLAS® strategic advisory, implementation and optimization services. Since its inception, Impact Advisors has consulted to more than 140 hospitals and health systems nationally and internationally. The firm has earned a number of industry and workplace quality awards including Best in KLAS® for six consecutive years, Healthcare Informatics HCI 100, Crain’s Chicago Business Fast Fifty and Modern Healthcare’s Best Places to Work. For more information about Impact Advisors, visit www.impact-advisors.com.

    Media Contact
    Karli Smith Chartwell Agency
    815.977.5343
    [email protected]

     

    Posted 2.23.2016

  • Orion Health Appoints Wayne Oxenham as its President, North America

    After 13 Years of Service to Orion Health, Oxenham to Now Oversee Strategic Initiatives and Drive Company’s Continued Growth

    Wayne Oxenham

    BOSTON, MA – February 23, 2016 — Orion Health™, a population health management and healthcare integration company, today announced it has appointed Wayne Oxenham as President, North America.

    Oxenham previously held senior management positions at Orion Health, most recently serving as Executive Vice President of Orion Health’s EMEA (Europe, Middle East, Africa) region. As President of North America, he will now oversee several strategic initiatives across the US and Canada, leading Orion Health’s continued growth across both markets.

    “We have witnessed Wayne’s tremendous career growth throughout his time working at Orion Health,” said Graeme Wilson, Chief Operating and Chief Financial Officer, Orion Health. “Over the past 13 years, he has demonstrated a proven track record of excellence in a wide range of roles in areas including global services, product management and sales. In 2016 alone, he has significantly accelerated the EMEA business, and will act as a forward thinking, growth-focused leader as President.”

    “I’m thrilled to lend my in-depth institutional knowledge of Orion Health’s solutions and services to the team in North America,” said Oxenham. “My strong commitment to the healthcare industry coupled with my new appointment affords me an opportunity to deliver our customers industry targeted analytics, care coordination and patient engagement tools as our journey to enabling precision medicine continues.”

    Orion Health solutions bring together previously unconnected patient health, personal, social, familial, and financial information to create a rich longitudinal record. As such, caregivers are enabled to consider many factors in order to deliver the best care possible for individuals.

    Prior to joining Orion Health in 2003, Oxenham worked in many areas across the healthcare sector, including working with organizations such as public hospitals, health insurance companies and various IT consulting companies. Oxenham holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Waikato, and a Bachelor of Management Studies in Accounting and Finance from Massey University. In 2012, Oxenham received a Prime Minister’s Business Scholarship in New Zealand and completed Harvard Business School’s advanced management program.

    Oxenham began his new role in February and will be based at Orion Health’s North American headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona.

    About Orion Health
    Orion Health’s open technology platform seamlessly integrates all forms of health and relevant personal data to deliver population health and precision medicine solutions across the entire health community. Orion Health makes healthcare information available anywhere by providing healthcare IT connectivity in every US state and in over 30 countries worldwide –facilitating care for tens of millions of patients every day. With an inherent ability to interconnect a wide variety of healthcare information systems, Orion Health’s Amadeus, with Rhapsody Integration Engine, facilitates data acquisition and aggregation within and among payer and provider organizations, accountable care organizations, governments and health information exchanges. Amadeus stands alone as the foundation for population health management initiatives or can be combined with Orion Health’s own seamlessly integrated applications for analytics, care coordination, and patient engagement to enable end to end population health management, improve care coordination, enhance quality of care and help reduce costs. For more information, visit www.orionhealth.com. Connect with them on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.

    Media Contact
    Kristina Markos
    Aria Marketing
    [email protected]
    617.332.9999 x238

    Posted 2.23.2016

  • Vocera to Showcase Enterprise Solutions for Communication & Collaboration at HIMSS16

    SAN JOSE, CA – February 18, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Vocera Communications, Inc. (NYSE:VCRA), the leading healthcare communications company, will showcase the Vocera Communication Platform at the 2016 HIMSS Conference and Exhibition in Las Vegas, Feb. 29 through March 4, 2016. The enterprise- grade solution enables HIPAA-compliant communication via voice and secure text messaging on a variety of mobile devices. The Vocera Communication Platform also integrates with more than 70 clinical systems, including electronic health records, nurse call, and physiologic monitoring systems.

    Vocera arrives at HIMSS16 with strong momentum after recently announcing the selection of its communication solutions at Franciscan Alliance and Massachusetts General Hospital. That energy will continue at HIMSS16 with two Vocera customers sharing their success stories at the health IT event.

    On Wednesday, March 2, from 2:30-3:30 pm PT, Liz Michael, Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer at Stillwater Medical Center, will discuss how integrating communication technology with Stillwater’s computerized physician order entry system has improved patient, physician and care team experience. Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Dominicci, Chief Information Officer and Director of Health IT for the Colorado Springs Military Health System, will speak on Thursday, March 3, from 1-2 pm PT and share how Evans Army Community Hospital uses hands-free communication to improve care team collaboration, patient care, and safety.

    “More than half a million healthcare workers around the world use Vocera solutions to quickly communicate, collaborate and deliver care,” said Brent Lang, President and CEO of Vocera. “HIMSS16, the largest meeting for healthcare IT leaders, is an ideal setting to showcase the positive global impact that Vocera’s enterprise communication solution is having on the healthcare experience for patients, families, nurses, physicians and other care team members.”

    For product demonstrations and to learn more about the Vocera Communication Platform, system integrations and mobile partners, HIMSS16 attendees can visit the Vocera Booth (#1338). More information is also available on the Vocera HIMSS16 microsite.

    About Vocera
    Vocera Communications, Inc. offers the most robust clinical communications system in healthcare. Installed in more than 1,300 organizations worldwide, 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 physiological 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 headquartered in San Jose, California, with offices in San Francisco, Tennessee, Canada, India, United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.vocera.com and@VoceraComm on Twitter.

    Media Contact
    Jessica Donnelly
    Edelman
    323.202.1051
    [email protected]
    Posted 2.22.2016

  • Sunquest to Showcase New Precision Medicine & Connectivity Solutions at HIMSS16

     Exhibit will highlight combined capabilities of Sunquest with Atlas Medical, Data Innovations & GeneInsight

    TUCSON, AZ – February 18, 2016 — Sunquest Information Systems Inc. today announced that it will highlight solutions that enable a fully connected diagnostic community at the HIMSS16 Conference & Exhibition, Feb. 29 – March 4, 2016 in Las Vegas.

    At HIMSS 2016, Sunquest will showcase the Sunquest Diagnostic Communities™ solution in a newly designed exhibit that combines laboratory information system functionality with connectivity and precision medicine solutions from recent acquisitions Data Innovations, Atlas Medical and GeneInsight. Additionally, the exhibit will feature:

    • New solutions Sunquest VUE™, a diagnostician’s workstation designed to improve clinical workflow and reduce lab test costs, and Sunquest Clinical™ Connect, a mobile point-of-care solution designed to improve patient safety and support positive patient identification.
    • In-booth presentations that highlight how Sunquest solutions reduce costs, improve patient safety and optimize patient outcomes.
    • A live presentation by Jitin Asnaani, executive director of the CommonWell Health Alliance, on how Sunquest solutions enable interoperability.
    • Sunquest’s new branding and logo, which was designed to signal innovation, growth and an improved client experience.

    “HIMSS provides the perfect opportunity for us to celebrate Sunquest’s commitment to advancing technology in this era of healthcare innovation,” said Matthew Hawkins, president of Sunquest. “Our clients are looking to us to address important challenges, such as interoperability with the lab and lab instruments, lab order optimization that reduces costs and improves patient outcomes, and precision medicine that enables better patient care.”

    Sunquest recently announced other changes benefitting their employees. Later this year, they plan to relocate their headquarters to allow for future expansion. They also announced hiring new executives, including Rob Atlas, founder of Atlas Medical, as Sunquest’s senior vice president of strategic solutions.

    “The new logo represents an emphatic statement about our commitment to our clients and to diagnostic innovation. The circle, in a bright green, represents our global impact and focus on uniquely changing healthcare,” said Corinne Tso, vice president of marketing for Sunquest. “Our new go-to-market approach helps define how we can help our clients succeed, setting us apart from other HCIT vendors, and increases awareness as the market notices that there is a transformation happening at Sunquest.”

    Sunquest will offer private meetings in booth #1925 with key executives at HIMSS. To request a meeting, visit bit.ly/1WhKGdn.

    About Sunquest Information Systems
    Sunquest Information Systems Inc. provides diagnostic and laboratory information systems to more than 1,700 laboratories. For the past 30 years, Sunquest has delivered solutions that optimize financial results, enhance efficiency and improve the quality of patient care. The company’s pathology-focused mission, point of care solution and belief that technology should enable better communication across the community, establishes Sunquest as a leader in the healthcare information technology industry. Headquartered in Tucson, AZ, Sunquest also has offices in the United Kingdom and India.

    Contact
    Stephanie Clohessy
    Sunquest Information Systems Inc.
    520.570.2599
    [email protected]

     

    Posted 2.22.2016

  • Lancaster General Health/Penn Medicine Partners with MRO for Release of Information

    Technology supports higher levels of service; improved ROI workflow efficiencies, accuracy and compliance levels

    NORRISTOWN, PA – February 18, 2016 — MRO, a leader in the secure, compliant and efficient exchange of Protected Health Information (PHI), released today results from its six-month partnership with Lancaster General Health/Penn Medicine (LG Health/Penn Medicine), a 689-bed health system in Lancaster, PA. By leveraging MRO’s Release of Information (ROI) services and MROeLink® technology, LG Health/Penn Medicine successfully integrated MRO’s ROI Online® solution with its Epic electronic medical record (EMR), enhancing ROI workflows and mitigating breach risk. The organization also reported strengthened customer service and improved morale among the health information management (HIM) staff.

    LG Health/Penn Medicine is one of MRO’s first clients to implement MROeLink, a suite of health information technology (HIT) integrations that automates multiple ROI workflow steps and removes the need to dual-log ROI requests in the MRO and Epic systems. This technology has cut logging and additional processing times in half, in addition to reducing errors by eliminating the need to re-key information into two systems.

    Additional quality assurance (QA) was realized from MRO’s proprietary IdentiScan® data integrity application within the ROI Online platform. The application, which uses optical character recognition technology to identify and correct comingled patient records, further secured LG Health/Penn Medicine’s risk mitigation process and has prevented 11 potential breaches in the six months since go-live.

    “As a HIMSS7 organization, our health system prides itself in staying on top of technology,” said Charlotte Walton-Sweeney, RHIT, director of HIM for LG Health/Penn Medicine. “We found an opportunity to be a part of something new and great with MRO and saw immediate improvements. By eliminating dual data entry and automating so many steps of the ROI workflow with our MRO and Epic integration, the whole process is more efficient and there is a decrease in errors. Plus, the added QA with IdentiScan has brought our compliance to new levels.”

    “With LG Health/Penn Medicine’s reputation and fervor in helping patients, and other requesters of medical records, receive their health information in a timely and protected manner, we are honored to partner with them to help improve their ROI process,” said Steve Hynes, CEO for MRO. “Sharing common interests in service and technology, we anticipate this partnership with LG Health/Penn Medicine to continue to ensure the highest standards of quality are provided to their community.”

    To learn more, read LG Health/Penn Medicine’s story here.

    About Lancaster General Health/Penn Medicine
    Lancaster General Health/Penn Medicine (LG Health/Penn Medicine), a member of the University of Pennsylvania Health System (Penn Medicine), is a 689-licensed bed not-for-profit health system with a comprehensive network of care encompassing Lancaster General Hospital (LGH), Women & Babies Hospital and the Lancaster Rehabilitation Hospital (in partnership with Kindred Healthcare). Their membership in Penn Medicine brings together the strengths of a world-renowned, not-for-profit academic medical center and a nationally recognized, not-for-profit community healthcare system.

    About MRO
    MRO empowers healthcare organizations with proven, enterprise-wide solutions for the secure, compliant and efficient exchange of Protected Health Information (PHI). These solutions include a suite of PHI disclosure management services comprised of release of information, government and commercial payer audit management and accounting of disclosures. MRO’s technology-driven services reduce the risk of improper disclosure of PHI, ensure unmatched accuracy and enhance turnaround times. MRO additionally supports its clients’ current and future initiatives, including interoperability, meaningful use and health information exchange. To learn more, visit www.mrocorp.com.

    Posted 2.18.2016
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