• Novarad PACS/RIS has been selected by Texas-based healthcare system

    Neighbors Emergency Center chooses Novarad for ease of use, customization & scalability

    HOUSTON, TX – August 3, 2017 — Novarad Corporation, a leader in the development of medical imaging software, has entered into agreement to provide PACS and RIS software to Texas-based Neighbors Emergency Center. Neighbors Emergency Center operates 35 emergency medical care centers throughout Texas, Colorado, and Rhode Island.

    Neighbors Emergency Center chose Novarad primarily because of the software’s operational simplicity and customizability.

    “We picked Novarad because it was easy to use, and they listen to their users,” said Andrew Joiner, Director of Radiology with Neighbors Emergency Center. “Novarad is doing all sorts of things to make the process easier and making it easy for us to function on a higher level. The ease of use sold us.”

    Another major benefit that Neighbors Emergency Center cited as a reason for picking Novarad was the scalability of the software.

    “We needed software that was scalable and customizable—we needed software that fit to our environment, not just something made to fit hospitals,” Joiner said. “Novarad understood that. That was the biggest selling point—the ability of the software to fit to our patient flow.”

    Neighbors Emergency Center will be implementing Novarad’s software throughout its sites.

    To inquire about Novarad products, or to obtain more information on the companies offerings, please visit our website, novarad.net, or follow us on Twitter, @NovaradCorp. For more information about Neighbors Emergency Center, please visit their website, nec24.com.

    About Novarad
    For over 20 years, Novarad has enabled healthcare providers to solve their imaging problems through its full diagnostic suite. Today, Novarad’s specialized enterprise imaging and workflow solutions continue to improve upon industry standards and empower healthcare providers everywhere to solve problems. Through customizable workflow and imaging solutions, Novarad encompasses medical imaging needs. Visit Novarad at novarad.net for more information.

    Contact
    Kristi Alvarado
    Media Relations Contact at Novarad
    801.642.1001
    [email protected]

    Posted 8.3.2017

  • Acuitas Health Selects Health Catalyst to Support Physicians’ Transition to Value Based Care in New York’s Capital Region

    Physician practices gain access to enterprise-grade data warehousing, analytics & care management technology used by nation’s largest health systems

    ALBANY, NY & SALT LAKE CITY, UT – August 3, 2017 — With physicians under increasing cost pressure from commercial health insurers and government payers, Acuitas Health, LLC today announced it will provide physician groups in New York’s Capital Region with technology from Health Catalyst that is used by the nation’s largest health systems to lower costs while improving quality.

    Acuitas Health, formed of a partnership between CapitalCare Medical Group and Capital District Physicians’ Health Plan, Inc., provides expertise, technology and resources in practice intelligence, care management and advanced analytics to support physicians in transitioning to value based health care. The agreement with Health Catalyst will enable Acuitas Health’s physician clients in the Capital Region to more easily and quickly discover, manage and engage in health outcomes focused initiatives, and to “sprint to value.”

    “The biggest challenge in value based health care, population health and care management is identifying the right patients and engaging them so that the resources invested achieve the greatest improvement in outcomes,’” said Brian Morrissey, President of the Board of Managers for Acuitas Health. “That’s why we’re excited to augment our technology and expertise with Health Catalyst’s proven data analytics and care management solutions. This positions Acuitas Health to significantly streamline and accelerate the population health management and value based capabilities of Capital Region physicians.” The Acuitas Health solution combines years of value based health care expertise and proven processes, powered by market-leading Health Catalyst technology. “We couldn’t be more energized to bring the best to physicians and other providers of care, and the entire Capital Region,” said Joan Hayner, Secretary and Treasurer of the Board of Managers for Acuitas Health. “We are now well positioned to take our years of population health experience to the next level of clinical and financial outcomes.”

    Acuitas Health’s agreement with Health Catalyst gives the area’s physicians access to the health care industry’s first end-to-end value based health care solution, supported by a proven data warehousing, analytics and decision support platform. As part of the platform, Acuitas Health customers will be enabled by the Health Catalyst Care Management Suite™ which synthesizes advanced analytics and concepts from Customer Relationship Management and social networking to automate the five key elements of care management:

    • Integrating data from up to 150 different IT systems including multiple practice management systems, and acute and ambulatory electronic health records
    • Stratifying and enrolling patients
    • Coordinating patient care across multiple settings
    • Engaging patients in their own care including creating a social support network
    • Measuring the program’s performance

    A Full-Spectrum Solution for Care Management
    To empower the care management process, physicians and care team members need access to data from multiple EHRs and other IT systems that span the continuum from doctor’s offices, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, payers and patients themselves. Acuitas Health will deploy the Health Catalyst Data Warehousing and Analytics Platform™ to integrate, analyze and make this data available to the right care team members at the right time within the Health Catalyst Care Management Suite™.

    Among the most important innovations within the Health Catalyst Care Management Suite is the Patient Impact Predictor™, a unique process and technology that dynamically generates portfolios of patients, prioritized by actionable suggestions for risk intervention.

    The Patient Impact Predictor dynamically generates portfolios of patients, prioritized by actionable suggestions for risk intervention. The solution takes stratification to the next level with advanced client-configurable algorithms and variable weighting that analyze not only claims and EHR data together, but also socio-economic determinants, high-risk medication utilization, acuity of conditions, high-utilization predicted, HCC scores, and the ability to develop trusted risk models. This innovative approach uses sophisticated analytics to be able to reveal additional, normally hidden, subsets of patients who might benefit from care management, or other health interventions more than some of the traditionally selected high-risk or rising-risk patients.

    About Acuitas Health, LLC
    Acuitas Health is an outcomes driven organization that empowers physicians to make the transition to a value based care delivery system. The company supports practices by preparing them to engage in value-based payment arrangements. Acuitas Health also provides the necessary expertise and resources in practice intelligence, care management and advanced analytics to successfully deliver high-value health care. For more information about Acuitas Health, visit acuitashealth.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

    About Health Catalyst
    Health Catalyst is a next-generation data, analytics, and decision-support company committed to being a catalyst for massive, sustained improvements in health care outcomes. We are the leaders in a new era of advanced predictive analytics for population health and value-based care with a suite of machine learning-driven solutions, decades of outcomes-improvement expertise, and an unparalleled ability to integrate data from across the healthcare ecosystem. Our proven data warehousing and analytics platform helps improve quality, add efficiency and lower costs in support of more than 85 million patients for organizations ranging from the largest US health system to forward-thinking physician practices. Health Catalyst’s technology and professional services help to keep patients engaged and healthy in their homes and workplaces, and to optimize their care when it becomes necessary. We are grateful to be recognized by Fortune, Gallup, Glassdoor, Modern Healthcare and a host of others as a “Best Place to Work” in technology and healthcare. Visit healthcatalyst.com, and follow us on Twitter, (@HealthCatalyst), LinkedIn and Facebook. 

    Contacts
    Keegan Bailey
    Acuitas Health
    [email protected]

    Todd Stein
    Amendola Communication
    916.346.4213
    [email protected]

    ###

    Posted 8.3.2017

  • Inside CHIME: Cletis Earle on Getting Congress (and You) Engaged in Solutions

    Inside CHIME - header

    8.3.17
    By Cletis Earle, CHIME Board Chair-elect, VP & CIO, Kaleida Health

    I recently had the honor of representing you, the members of CHIME, at the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health in Washington, D.C. As your chairman-elect, I was invited to speak about H.R. 3120, legislation to reduce the volume of future EHR-related significant hardship requests. If passed, the bill would eliminate a mandate that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services impose increasingly stringent requirements for meeting Meaningful Use.

    The challenge, as we well know, is the disconnect between the time it takes to develop and integrate new technologies into a hospital’s workflow and the pace set by the current legislation. For many of our hospitals and health systems, the inability to meet targets set in 2009 has had painful consequences, usually in the form of a financial penalty or the time-consuming task of seeking a hardship exemption.

    Subcommittee Chairman Michael Burgess, a physician who represents Texas and the sponsor of the bipartisan legislation, summarized the consequences of the issues the bill aims to correct this way: “The best of intentions have made your lives more difficult and as a consequence the patients on the receiving end have suffered.”

    Public policy can seem like a quagmire of rules with long names and obscure acronyms buried in documents that can exceed hundreds of pages. But it behooves us to pay attention and be proactive, for the two reasons Rep. Burgess offered and more.

    As I pointed out in the written testimony that was submitted before the hearing, our members want to participate in the program. We want to keep the momentum that HITECH, or the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, has created. We know technology can improve patient care. What we’ve asked for is a pause in regulations to allow us the time to work at giving the right technology to our providers so they can deliver optimal care.

    We also want to help our hospitals and providers avoid unfair penalties, and educating legislators and their staff can help us achieve that goal. CMS reported that 171,000 Medicare providers faced a 3 percent negative payment adjustment for failing to demonstrate Meaningful Use in 2017. H.R. 3120 could help mitigate that.

    We have a choice: to be part of the conversation when policies affect healthcare IT or be silent and wait for the consequences. As your representative, I voiced our collective support for H.R. 3120. The experience shows what we as an organization can accomplish, but we shouldn’t be complacent. After all, H.R. 3120 has not passed yet.

    If you would like to get involved, contact Mari Savickis and Leslie Krigstein, CHIME’s public policy staff. They can be reached by email at [email protected]. Be sure to check out their weekly updates every Monday in the Debrief newsletter.

    More Inside CHIME Volume 2, No. 16:

     

    Posted 8.3.2017

  • Inside CHIME: Making the Most of Most Wired – Share Your Thoughts on Future Directions

    Inside CHIME - header

    8.3.17
    By Gretchen Tegethoff, FCHIME, CHCIO, VP, CHIME Technologies, Inc.

    In late July, CHIME announced our acquisition of the annual “HealthCare’s Most Wired” hospitals study from the American Hospital Association. Most of our members are familiar with Most Wired’s survey and its annual recognition program. We are delighted to add Most Wired as a resource for you.

    We know it can be better, and we want to hear your ideas on how that can be done. We already have begun looking at opportunities to update and improve on the process Most Wired applies to track and chronicle how hospitals use healthcare IT. But no one has greater insights on what it takes to build and maintain a quality IT program than our members. With your input, we can make sure that Most Wired captures the most relevant metrics and that it evolves in parallel with changes in the industry and health systems.

    The Most Wired winners’ list has increased recognition of the value you and your IT teams bring to your institutions and to healthcare. This is important, because a well-functioning IT department can be invisible to users, working in the background as a facilitator. Most Wired will allow our community to continue the tradition of recognizing quality, and with your guidance ensure that the it reflects the best in healthcare IT.

    Most Wired also will let us track and analyze the use of healthcare IT over time, valuable information that will help you be more effective and efficient in your job. Besides helping to identify current trends and project future directions, the data will help our community identify best practices that support high-quality, cost-effective care.

    The acquisition of Most Wired is one more way that we can serve you and provide you with the knowledge and tools to be outstanding healthcare leaders. We have great plans for Most Wired, and you will hear more about them in the future. In the meantime, please let us know how you see this resource working for you. You can submit your ideas to [email protected].

    More Inside CHIME Volume 2, No. 16:

     

    Posted 8.3.2017

  • Inside CHIME: Cybersecurity Bill Takes Aim at Vulnerabilities in Medical Devices

    Inside CHIME - header

    8.3.17
    By Leslie Krigstein, VP of Congressional Affairs, CHIME

    On July 27, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Medical Device Cybersecurity Act of 2017, a bill that CHIME supports. The legislation, S.1656, would make the cybersecurity capabilities of medical devices more transparent to providers, clarifies expectations concerning security enhancements and maintenance of medical devices and establishes a cybersecurity emergency response team.

    “The security of medical devices is in critical condition,” Blumenthal said in a statement. “My bill will strengthen the entire healthcare network against the ubiquitous threat of cyber attacks. Without this legislation, insecure and easily-exploitable medical devices will continue to put Americans’ health and confidential personal information at risk.”

    The bill would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to provide cybersecurity protections for medical devices by:

    • Increasing transparency of medical device security by creating a cyber report card for devices and mandating testing prior to sale;
    • Bolstering remote access protections for medical devices in and outside of the hospital;
    • Ensuring crucial cybersecurity fixes or updates remain free and do not require FDA recertification;
    • Providing guidance and recommendations for end-of-life devices, including secure disposal and recycling instructions; and
    • Expanding the DHS Computer Emergency Readiness Team (ICS-CERT) responsibilities to include the cybersecurity of medical devices.

    Both CHIME Board Chair Liz Johnson and AEHIS Board Chair Deborah Stevens voiced support for the bill. Johnson, CIO of Acute Care Hospitals and Applied Clinical Informatics at Tenet Healthcare, noted that cybersecurity remains a top priority for members. Stevens, chief security officer at Tufts Health Plan, pointed to the WannaCry and Petya cyber attacks as proof of the need for such legislation.

    The Health Care Industry Cybersecurity Task Force Report delivered to Congress on June 2, 2017, highlighted the critical state of the healthcare industry’s cybersecurity posture. Among many other issues, the report offered a number of suggestions to improve medical device cybersecurity, some of which have been included in the Medical Device Cybersecurity Act of 2017.

    We will continue to monitor this bill and provide updates. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected].

    More Inside CHIME Volume 2, No. 16:

     

    Posted 8.3.2017

  • MHA Ventures Endorses Clearwater Compliance for Its Cybersecurity Preparedness Solution

    Clearwater Compliance Earns Exclusive Endorsement as Cybersecurity Threat Factors Become New Focus of MHA Ventures

    NASHVILLE, TN – August 2, 2017 — Clearwater Compliance, a leading provider of hospital and health system cybersecurity and compliance solutions, today announced it will be the recommended cybersecurity provider of MHA Ventures’ Endorsed Services Program. Clearwater was awarded the preferred provider status by MHA Ventures, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Montana Hospital Association. The new endorsement will offer education, solutions and services to the hospital members of MHA throughout Montana which includes 48 critical access hospitals, thirteen prospective payment system organizations, nine long-term care facilities, eight home health and hospice agencies, six governmental organizations, and one treatment facility.

     

    “There’s an immediate need to empower healthcare organizations to avert the threat of modern cyberattacks,” said Kelly Casey, Director of Shared Services at MHA Ventures. “Clearwater’s expertise and education will help members improve information security by addressing today’s threat factors proactively and comprehensively within their existing IT systems.”

    “Clearwater is honored to help Montana’s healthcare organizations continuously prepare and evolve to meet the cybersecurity threat environment of today,” said Bob Chaput, CEO of Clearwater Compliance. “MHA Ventures is way ahead by understanding that cybersecurity requires an enterprise strategy set by the organization’s board of directors and executive team. So many hospitals are still stuck in a tactical, technical and spot-welding mode and have adopted a compliance mindset toward information security or a check-list approach.”

    Clearwater’s solutions are already exclusively endorsed by the American Hospital Association and Georgia Hospital and Health Services, and the company is a member of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) National Cybersecurity Excellence Partnership at NIST’s National Cybersecurity of Excellence.

    About Clearwater Compliance
    Clearwater Compliance, LLC is a leading provider of hospital and health system compliance and cybersecurity management solutions. Its mission is to empower hospitals and health systems to successfully manage healthcare’s evolving cybersecurity risks and ensure patient safety. Exclusively endorsed by the American Hospital Association, Clearwater solutions have been deployed within hundreds of hospitals and health systems, Fortune 100 organizations and federal government institutions. More information about Clearwater Compliance is at Clearwatercompliance.com.

    About Montana Hospital Association (MHA) Ventures
    MHA Ventures is the for-profit subsidiary of the Montana Hospital Association. Established in 1987, MHA Ventures has been committed to bringing value to the members of MHA for nearly 30 years by providing relevant and timely solutions. MHA Ventures helps its membership improve patient care, reduce operating costs and strengthen their financial viability through customizable and flexible programs tailored to fit each member’s individual need. Continuously developing both business and healthcare solutions with endorsed partners, MHA Ventures works to advance the operations of its membership and improve the health status of communities throughout Montana.

    Contacts
    Clearwater Compliance, LLC
    Kelly Motley
    615.483.0365
    [email protected]

    Posted 8.2.2017

  • Vail Valley Medical Center Selects Spok Care Connect® to Streamline Care Team Workflows and Elevate Patient Care

    SPRINGFIELD, VA – August 1, 2017 — Spok, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPOK) and the leader in healthcare communications, announced that Vail Valley Medical Center (VVMC) has selected Spok Care Connect® to improve workflows for its care teams and strengthen patient care through enhanced clinical communications. VVMC is a 58-bed community hospital accredited by The Joint Commission and designated by the state of Colorado as a Level III Trauma Center. The hospital serves as the official medical provider for world-class athletes, including the U.S. Ski, Snowboarding, Free Skiing, and Climbing teams.

    “Spok Care Connect was the clear choice to standardize our communications, enhance care team collaboration, and support our mission to deliver superior health services with compassion and exceptional outcomes,” said Darrell Messersmith, CMIO, CIO, and VP of Information Technology at VVMC. “We are excited that we can now work with one vendor to improve multiple workflows across our care teams.”

    Spok Care Connect, an enterprise healthcare communications platform, will introduce secure mobile messaging for VVMC care teams. The unified platform replaces several existing methods of communication, automates manual and paper processes for on-call scheduling and code calls, and improves collaboration and care team communication in an outpatient setting.

    “With one enterprise healthcare communications platform unifying the hospital and providing real-time access to colleagues, systems, and patient information, Vail Valley Medical Center care teams can focus on providing excellent patient care,” said Hemant Goel, president of Spok, Inc. “We’re looking forward to providing the solutions VVMC caregivers need to make informed decisions, respond quickly, and improve outcomes.”

    VVMC will work closely with Spok in the coming months to roll out Spok Care Connect solutions for secure mobile messaging, clinical alerting, emergency notification, physician on-call scheduling, and contact center efficiency. The Spok Care Connect platform features a centralized enterprise directory that will serve as the source of truth throughout VVMC’s various locations, departments, and clinics. Hundreds of VVMC care team members will be able to access the directory and on-call schedules, and they will have the ability to send and receive clinical information securely as they coordinate care via the enterprise Spok Mobile® application on their mobile devices. These messages may be conversations with colleagues, alerts from clinical systems, or emergency notifications that require staff to respond to a critical code or trauma activation.

    About Vail Valley Medical Center
    Founded in 1965, VVMC has grown into one of the world’s most advanced mountain healthcare systems, providing 24/7 emergency care, Olympic-quality sports medicine, evidence-based research, modern cancer care and extensive cardiology services. An independent, nonprofit medical center, VVMC keeps nearly 900 jobs and resources local, better serving our community and visitors. Providing superior health services with compassion and exceptional outcomes, VVMC offers low infection rates, free community services and top-rated patient satisfaction scores.

    About Spok
    Spok, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Spok Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPOK), headquartered in Springfield, Va., is proud to be the global leader in healthcare communications. We deliver clinical information to care teams when and where it matters most to improve patient outcomes. Top hospitals rely on the Spok Care Connect® platform to enhance workflows for clinicians, support administrative compliance, and provide a better experience for patients. Our customers send over 100 million messages each month through their Spok® solutions. When seconds count, count on Spok. For more information, visit spok.com or follow @spoktweets on Twitter.

    Spok is a trademark of Spok Holdings, Inc. Spok Care Connect and Spok Mobile are trademarks of Spok, Inc.

    Contact
    Jill Asby
    952.230.5363
    [email protected]

    Posted 8.1.2017

  • 8 in 10 Hospitals Stand Pat on Population Health Strategy, Despite Uncertainty Over the Affordable Care Act’s Future

    National survey of healthcare executives reveals strong support for strategy of managing health across populations

    SALT LAKE CITY, UT – August 1, 2017 — More than 80 percent of healthcare executives say the effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act has not caused them to pause or otherwise change their approach to population health management, a cornerstone of the Obama administration’s strategy to address the quality and cost of healthcare.

    Healthcare leaders also expressed strong faith in the future promise of population health management (PHM), despite continuing uncertainty over the fate of the federal healthcare program under the Trump administration, according to a July survey of US healthcare executives by Health Catalyst®. Sixty-eight percent of healthcare executives surveyed report that PHM is “very important” to their healthcare delivery strategy during the next two years, while fewer than 3 percent assign it no importance at all.

    Those responses from 199 executives within hospitals, health systems, physician groups and insurance companies from across the country indicate widespread agreement that the underlying factors driving PHM growth, such as the move to value-based care, will persist no matter what happens with the Affordable Care Act. Value-based care policies, which reward doctors and hospitals for patients’ health outcomes rather than for each service they provide, has broad bipartisan support in Congress. Population health management, a key enabler of value-based care, equips providers to monitor and improve the health of large groups of patients such as those with a particular chronic disease or combination of disease states.

    The survey results are the first to reveal the impact of the current political unrest on healthcare organizations’ willingness to commit to a long-term PHM strategy. The results coincide with recent studies showing growth in the use of PHM technologies, including a July 2017 study from Signify Research that predicted the number of lives managed by PHM solutions in the US and Canada will rise to 245 million in 2021, up more than 80 percent from 135 million lives in 2016.

    82 percent of respondents on course: 4 percent accelerating PHM plans
    Eighty-two percent of survey takers indicated they are continuing with their PHM strategy in spite of uncertainty over the future of ACA. Four percent of respondents said their organizations were actually accelerating their PHM plans.

    When asked to clarify why they were accelerating their plans, survey takers generally mirrored the answer of a physician leader at a large multispecialty physician group near Boston, who wrote, “Accelerating your PHM strategy has never been more important given uncertainty and expanding hurdles to achieving quality care and outcomes.”

    Another 4 percent of respondents answered that they were “pausing” their PHM plans in response to the current political situation. 10 percent of survey takers said they were undecided on the question.

    Fewer organizations than expected taking on risk-based contracts
    While enthusiasm for population health management remains high, relatively few organizations have taken on PHM contracts with payers that put them at risk of a financial loss if they fail to meet goals such as improving the health of their patient population.

    When asked how soon they expect to have more than 30 percent of their patient population covered by such risk-based contracts, most survey takers (37%) said achieving that level of risk would take between 3 and 5 years. The next largest group put the date within the next 1 to 2 years. Fourteen percent estimated it would take 6-10 years.

    Only 13 percent of respondents—the smallest share for this survey question—said their organizations have already achieved the threshold of having 30 percent of their patients covered by contracts with downside risk.

    Top barriers to PHM success: Financial and data issues
    The survey revealed that the most common impediment to starting a PHM program or succeeding with an existing program is “financial issues” such as “getting paid for our efforts” and “balancing competing contract incentives.” That answer, selected by 37 percent of survey takers, reflects the pressures that healthcare organizations face as they attempt to operate under the dominant fee-for-service reimbursement model while simultaneously transitioning to value-based care.

    The next most significant impediment to starting or realizing success from PHM, according to the survey, is access to high-quality data and analytics (17%). Data access also figured into the fifth most commonly selected barrier to PHM, “risk evaluation issues” (9%), including “access to the right data useful to evaluate at-risk contracts.”

    Healthcare experts have identified several sources of data that are critical for success with PHM, including insurance claims data; electronic health record (EHR) clinical data; socioeconomic data about the social determinants of health; patient-generated health data; and data on prescription medication adherence. Most healthcare organizations lack electronic access and integration of these data sources, which must be collected from payers, hospitals, primary care providers, specialists, pharmacies, public health organizations, and patients themselves.

    Additional barriers: Care models, leadership and governance
    Other impediments to PHM success identified by the survey were “care model issues” (16%), such as getting buy-in for change and driving meaningful improvements once changes are made; and “leadership and governance issues” (12%), including lack of a cohesive strategy, prioritization and accountability.

    “The big picture takeaway from this survey is that healthcare executives view the move to value-based care as inevitable, regardless of the current political situation, and population health management is seen as critical to their success in transitioning to the new reimbursement structure,” said Marie Dunn, MPH, vice president of population health strategy for Health Catalyst. “Despite the momentum, basic competencies related to data aggregation and analysis are still a barrier. Organizations in the pilot phase need to ensure that their investments are not just one-off efforts, but helping them to build a foundation for a broad base of future efforts.”

    Amy Flaster, MD, MBA, vice president of population health management and care management for Health Catalyst, added, “The bottom line is, providers see population health management as something they need to do and that they want to do to provide better care for patients, but they are struggling with the economics of operating in both the fee-for-service and value-based care worlds – having one foot in each canoe.”

    Methods
    Survey results reflect the opinions of 199 healthcare executives who responded to an online survey in June and July, 2017. Respondents included CEOs, chief information officers, chief financial officers, and chief medical or nursing officers, as well as a variety of other executive leadership roles. They work for organizations ranging from some of the nation’s largest integrated delivery systems to national health insurers and independent physician practices.

    About Health Catalyst
    Health Catalyst is a next-generation data, analytics, and decision-support company committed to being a catalyst for massive, sustained improvements in healthcare outcomes. We are the leaders in a new era of advanced predictive analytics for population health and value-based care with a suite of machine learning-driven solutions, decades of outcomes-improvement expertise, and an unparalleled ability to integrate data from across the healthcare ecosystem. Our proven data warehousing and analytics platform helps improve quality, add efficiency and lower costs in support of more than 85 million patients for organizations ranging from the largest US health system to forward-thinking physician practices. Health Catalyst’s technology and professional services help to keep patients engaged and healthy in their homes and workplaces, and to optimize their care when it becomes necessary. We are grateful to be recognized by Fortune, Gallup, Glassdoor, Modern Healthcare and a host of others as a “Best Place to Work” in technology and healthcare. Visit healthcatalyst.com, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. 

    Media Contact
    Todd Stein
    Amendola Communications
    916.346.4213
    [email protected]

     

    Posted 8.1.2017

  • Mercy Health Services Center Selects Bernoulli for Medical Device Integration into Epic

    Bernoulli will be part of perioperative EHR go-live in 2018

    MILFORD, CT – August 1, 2017 — Mercy Health Services in Baltimore chose Bernoulli, the leader in real-time patient safety, to deliver medical device connectivity to the health system’s perioperative suite.

    The company will implement its Bernoulli One™ architecture in anesthesia devices. The work will be completed during the health system’s transition to Epic.

    “Bernoulli has a great deal of experience working with Epic,” said John Goldbeck, Senior Programmer Analyst for Mercy Health Services. “They possess the capabilities to deliver a fully integrated, system-wide platform with comprehensive device connectivity.”

    Bernoulli One offers detailed data schemes, functional assessment and clinical support for myriad medical devices. It uses a standard HL7 interface and existing network infrastructure to automatically capture and distribute data into interfaces and EHR systems.

    In addition, Bernoulli One offers the lowest overall cost of ownership and highest level of patient data security and privacy. It also features plug-and-play connectivity and integrated clinical mobility.

    “Installing a new EHR requires a collaborative relationship between solutions providers and multiple stakeholders,” said Bernoulli CEO Janet Dillione. “We are excited to play a critical role in Mercy’s journey toward improved clinical workflows and patient safety.”

    Founded in 1874, Mercy Medical Center is a university-affiliated medical facility with a national reputation for women’s health. Mercy is home to the nationally acclaimed Weinberg Center for Women’s Health and Medicine as well as the $400+ million, 20-story Mary Catherine Bunting Center. Learn more about Mercy online and MDMercyMedia on Facebook and Twitter.

    About Bernoulli
    Bernoulli is the leader in real-time solutions for patient safety, with more than 1,200 installed, operational systems. Bernoulli One™ is the market’s only real-time, connected healthcare platform that combines comprehensive and vendor-neutral medical device integration with powerful middleware, clinical surveillance, telemedicine/virtual ICU, advanced alarm management, predictive analytics and robust distribution capabilities into ONE solution that empowers clinicians with tools to drive better patient safety, clinical outcomes, patient experience, and provider workflow. For more information about Bernoulli, visit bernoullihealth.com. Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn. Visit our Resource Center to download case studies, white papers and articles.

    Media contact:
    Matt Schlossberg
    Amendola Communications for Bernoulli
    630.935.9136
    [email protected]

     

    Posted 8.1.2017

  • Optimum Healthcare IT Supplements Epic Service Desk at The Guthrie Clinic

    Provides Pre & Post Go-Live Call Center Support

    JACKSONVILLE BEACH, FL – August 1, 2017 — Optimum Healthcare IT, a Best in KLAS healthcare IT consulting services company, today announced the successful completion of level 1 call center support for The Guthrie Clinic go-live. Beginning in January 2017, Optimum Healthcare IT provided an Epic call center staffed by experienced call center experts with direct experience supporting Epic applications. Optimum’s call center provided operational EHR application support which included receiving and recording calls, initial triaging, skillset for each Epic module, level 1 support and ticket routing based on defined policies and procedures.

    “Optimum was part of the family. Every request was handled promptly and professionally. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner.” said Terri Couts, VP, Clinical Systems and Epic Applications Program.

    The call center provided support for the following Epic modules: Ambulatory, Anesthesia, ASAP, BedTime, HIM, Kaleidoscope, OpTime, Radiant, Willow Inpatient, Epic Inpatient, Beaker, HB, PB, Claims, and Grand Central. This project concluded with successful knowledge transfer to maintain services and support for first call resolution and successful training of all staff directly involved with the Epic Call Center.

    “Optimum is thrilled to serve as Guthrie’s go-live partner for call center support. Our team’s knowledge and commitment to our clients have allowed us to deliver many successful projects like this,” explains Jason Mabry, Chief Executive Office of Optimum Healthcare IT. “With the incredible staff at Guthrie, we were able to achieve a successful call center program that left the staff with the knowledge and skills needed to maintain the system.”

    About The Guthrie Clinic
    Guthrie is a non-profit integrated health care delivery system that currently includes four hospitals, more than 295 physicians and 175 mid-levels, 32 regional provider offices in 23 communities, home health and home care services, and a research institute. Guthrie manages more than 1,000,000 patient visits a year. Guthrie is located in north central Pennsylvania and south central New York. Guthrie is a patient centered facility with the motto “Every patient, every time.”

    About Optimum Healthcare IT
    Optimum Healthcare IT is a Best in KLAS healthcare IT staffing and consulting services company based in Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Optimum provides world-class consulting services in advisory, implementation, training and activation, Community Connect, analytics, security, managed services, laboratory services, and ERP – supporting our client’s needs through the continuum of care. Our excellence is driven by a leadership team with more than 100 years of experience in providing expert healthcare staffing and consulting solutions to all types of organizations.

    Visit optimumhit.com or call 1.904.373.0831 to find out how your organization can take advantage of our solution offerings.

    Contact
    Larry Kaiser
    VP of Marketing
    Optimum Healthcare IT
    [email protected]
    516.978.5487

    Posted 8.1.2017

  • CHIME & AEHIS Leadership Support Medical Device Cybersecurity Act

    ANN ARBOR, MI, Aug. 1, 2017 – On July 27, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Medical Device Cybersecurity Act of 2017 (S.1656). The legislation would make the cybersecurity capabilities of medical devices more transparent to providers, clarifies expectations concerning security enhancements and maintenance of medical devices and establishes a cybersecurity emergency response team.

    Below are statements by Liz Johnson, CHIME Board Chair and CIO of Acute Care Hospitals and Applied Clinical Informatics at Tenet Healthcare and Deborah Stevens, AEHIS Board Chair and Chief Security Officer at Tufts Health Plan on the introduction of the Medical Device Cybersecurity Act of 2017.

    “CHIME members continue to identify cybersecurity as their top priority. The potential risks that networked medical devices pose to patients have been of great concern for our membership,” said CHIME Board Chair Liz Johnson. “We appreciate Senator Blumenthal’s leadership and interest in this complicated issue as providers try to ensure that patients get the benefits that medical devices offer without exposing them to potential safety risks. CHIME is pleased to endorse this legislation. We look forward to continuing a dialogue with members of Congress, the administration and industry partners on this critical issue.”

    “The recent cyber attacks underscore the importance of this legislation. WannaCry and Petya shined a bright light on the vulnerabilities in the healthcare sector and more specifically with medical devices. On behalf of the AEHIS membership we applaud Senator Blumenthal for taking on this important issue,” said AEHIS Board Chair Deborah Stevens.

    The Health Care Industry Cybersecurity Task Force Report delivered to Congress on June 2, 2017, highlighted the critical state of the healthcare industry’s cybersecurity posture. Among many other issues, the report offered a number of suggestions to improve medical device cybersecurity, some of which have been included in the Medical Device Cybersecurity Act of 2017.

    About CHIME
    The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers (CIOs) and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With over 2,400 CIO members and over 150 healthcare IT vendor partners 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 AEHIS
    The Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Security (AEHIS) was launched in 2014 in order to provide an education and networking platform to healthcare’s senior IT security leaders. With more than 650 members, AEHIS is advancing the role of the CISO through education, collaboration and advocacy in support of secure health information for the protection of both healthcare organizations and consumers. For more Information, please visit aehis.org. 

    Contact
    Candace Stuart
    Director of Communications and Public Relations, CHIME
    734.665.0000
    [email protected]

    Posted 8.1.2017
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