• Health Catalyst Data Operating System Earns ONC Health IT Certification from Drummond Group LLC

    Certification enables physician practice users of the Health Catalyst Data Operating System to participate in CMS value-based care program

    SALT LAKE CITY, UT- May 30, 2019—The Health Catalyst Data Operating System (DOS™) has achieved Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC-Health IT)  2015 Edition Health IT Module Certification via Drummond Group LLC, an Authorized Certification Body (ACB) that has been empowered to test software for compliance with the requirements of the federal government’s program. The stamp of approval designates that the software offers the functionality that enables eligible providers and hospitals to meet the requirements of various regulatory programs that require use of certified EHR technology.

    To earn the certification, DOS was tested to be in accordance with applicable standards and certification criteria put forth by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  The certification enables users of DOS to participate in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Comprehensive Primary Care Plus (CPC+) value-based care program, which rewards ambulatory care providers for improvements in the quality of patient care.

    DOS, which met the requirements for Clinical Quality Measures, is a cloud-based digital platform that enables clinicians to integrate and analyze data from virtually any software system or other data source. DOS contains one of the largest and most comprehensive data assets of its kind with more than 100 million patient records, encompassing trillions of facts sourced from more than 300 distinct siloed sources.

    Use of DOS for quality reporting is expected to deliver considerable financial benefits for provider customers of Acuitas Health, a population health services company, according to Keegan Bailey, the company’s strategy and technology leader.

    “In a healthcare world of small margins, being able to use DOS as a certified quality-reporting solution will yield significant savings for our customers as we replace ineffective legacy tools,” Baily said.

    EHRs no longer the sole system for quality reporting

    Until fairly recently, electronic health records were the only systems that could qualify as a Certified Health IT Product. As a result, many providers were effectively barred from participating in various pay-for-performance programs if their own EHR hadn’t been certified.

    Now that eligibility has expanded to include systems beyond EHRs, providers who want to report quality measures for the CPC+ program can do so directly within DOS. Straight from the system, users can ingest data and run logic for 19 quality measures, create a QRDA file with the click of a button, review a validation front end to confirm that the numerator/denominators by patient/measure is provided, and then import the file into the CMS portal for payment at the end of 2020.

    “We’re excited to have achieved ONC Health IT certification for DOS,” said Dorian DiNardo, Senior Vice President of Operations and Performance Management Technology for Health Catalyst. “Certification for DOS means that physician practices can trust that the data they are submitting to CMS for CPC+ is accurate, secure and transparent. And if a submittal issue does occur, certification also enables Health Catalyst to work with CMS on our client’s behalf, saving them time, potentially shortening the payment waiting period, and maximizing reimbursement.”

    Health Catalyst Data Operating System, version 18, holds certificate number 15.04.04.3034.Heal.18.00.1.181231. For more details about the certification, please read our ONC 2015 Edition Certification disclosures.

    This Health IT Module is 2015 Edition compliant and has been certified by an ONC-ACB in accordance with the applicable certification criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.  This certification does not represent an endorsement by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

    About Health Catalyst

    Health Catalyst is a leading provider of data and analytics technology and services to healthcare organizations, committed to being the catalyst for massive, measurable, data-informed healthcare improvement. Our customers leverage our cloud-based data platform—powered by data from more than 100 million patient records, and encompassing trillions of facts—as well as our analytics software and professional services expertise to make data-informed decisions and realize measurable clinical, financial, and operational improvements. We envision a future in which all healthcare decisions are data-informed. Learn more at www.healthcatalyst.com.

    About Drummond Group LLC

    Drummond Group LLC is a global software test and certification lab that serves a wide range of vertical industries. In healthcare, Drummond Group tests and certifies Controlled Substance Ordering Systems (CSOS), Electronic Prescription of Controlled Substances (EPCS) software and processes, and Electronic Health Records (EHRs) – designating the trusted test lab as the only third-party certifier of all three initiatives designed to move the industry toward a digital future. Drummond Group was founded in 1999, and is an ONC-Accredited Certification Body (ACB) and an Authorized Test Lab (ATL). Drummond Group continues to build on its deep experience and expertise to deliver reliable and cost-effective services. For more information, please visit http://www.drummondgroup.com.

     

    Posted 5.30.2019

  • CitiusTech Wins the 2019 Innovators Award for the Best Value-Based Care Solution

    BI-Clinical RMM has been awarded for its ability to empower healthcare organizations with the flexibility to build, edit and deploy complex quality measures. It also includes the healthcare industry’s largest library of 900+ pre-built clinical quality measures and KPIs.

    PRINCETON, NJ– CitiusTech, a leading provider of healthcare technology services and solutions, today received the 2019 Innovators Award in the Value-Based Care category for its BI-Clinical RMM (BIC-RMM) solution. For more than a decade, Healthcare Innovation has honored those on the forefront of healthcare IT innovation with its Innovators Awards.

    As the industry continues the transition towards value-based care, there is an increasing need for organizations to measure and report clinical quality metrics. One of the key challenges facing providers and payers today is tracking hundreds of these complex and ever-changing clinical quality measures (CQMs) and KPIs. BIC-RMM enables healthcare organizations to build, edit and manage multiple rule types – CQMs, alerts, cohorts – with an easy-to-use, do-it-yourself interface without any dependency on IT/technical teams.

    “Regulatory requirements are overwhelming in themselves, but additional contractual and value-based payments are forcing payers and providers to extend their quality strategy,” says Jeffrey Springer, SVP of Healthcare Solutions at CitiusTech. “With BIC-RMM, healthcare organizations now have the ability to build a comprehensive quality strategy with the flexibility to manage all of their quality rules through a unified solution.”

    BIC-RMM has been adopted by several large health systems and leading health plans to manage their quality initiatives and lower turnaround time for building and deploying quality measures by up to 40 percent and improve efficiency by up to 60 percent. By leveraging the BIC-RMM solution, these organizations are better positioned to drive their quality initiatives and value-based care programs.

    A core strength of BIC-RMM is its ability to support major regulatory programs including NCQA and CMS. It also simplifies rules management by providing 900+ pre-built CQMs and KPIs (including MIPS / MACRA, HEDIS®, QCDR) as well as custom quality measures.

    *HEDIS is a registered trademark of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

    About CitiusTech
    CitiusTech (www.citiustech.com) is a specialist provider of healthcare technology services and solutions to medical technology companies, providers, payers and life sciences organizations, with over 3,500 professionals worldwide. CitiusTech’s services and solutions include healthcare software development, healthcare interoperability, regulatory compliance, BI/analytics, consumer engagement, care coordination and population health management. CitiusTech helps customers accelerate innovation in healthcare through solutions and accelerators for clinical quality reporting, healthcare big data, cloud computing, mobile health and predictive analytics. With cutting-edge technology expertise, world-class service quality and a global resource base, CitiusTech consistently delivers best-in-class solutions and an unmatched cost advantage to healthcare clients worldwide.

    Contacts

    Priyal Shah
    CitiusTech
    [email protected]

    Posted 5.30.2019

  • 3 Health IT Leaders in Congress to Address CHIME’s Advocacy Summit

    5.30.2019
    By Leslie Krigstein – VP, Congressional Affairs

    In recent years, congressional interest in health IT issues has skyrocketed. From what was the Meaningful Use Program (now the Promoting Interoperability Program) to patient identification, cybersecurity to telemedicine, there is something for just about everyone in Congress. (We have all of you to thank for this new phenomenon; health IT leaders are becoming a force to reckon with in D.C.!)

    At the second annual CHIME Advocacy Summit, held in Washington, D.C., from June 26-28, attendees will hear from three health IT thought leaders from Capitol Hill: Congresswoman Doris Matsui (D-CA-6th District), Congressman Bill Johnson (R-OH-8th District) and Congressman Greg Gianforte (R-MT-at large.) Let’s meet these three:

    Congresswoman Doris Matsui

    Doris Matsui has represented the city of Sacramento and its surrounding areas in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2005. She was instrumental in crafting the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee. She is a leader in Congress on the rapidly growing issue of telehealth and is the author of the bipartisan Excellence in Mental Health Act, which was signed into law in 2014. She also serves on the bipartisan Telehealth Working Group, helping to open up reimbursement for telehealth within the Medicare program.

    Matsui is a co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Spectrum Caucus and continues to focus on promoting the deployment of next-generation wireless technologies such as 5G. As the co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional High Tech Caucus, she advocates for policies to expand the innovative use of technology across every sector of the economy. She also is an ardent supporter of advancing STEM education, especially for women and girls.

    Congresswoman Matsui has sponsored or co-sponsored bills of interest including:

    Congressman Bill Johnson

    Bill Johnson represents the U.S. House of Representatives Sixth Congressional District in Ohio. A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force, he served as director of the Air Force’s Chief Information Officer Staff at U.S. Special Operations Command. In that role, he worked directly with senior congressional and Secretary of Defense representatives as well as top leaders within the various U.S. intelligence communities to ensure America’s Special Operations forces were adequately equipped to carry out critical national security missions. He sits on the powerful House Energy and Commerce Committee, which plays a key role in developing America’s energy, healthcare and telecommunications policies (among others), while providing oversight on the administration’s implementation of these laws.

    Following his retirement from military service, Johnson co-founded Johnson-Schley Management Group, Inc., an IT consulting company, and founded J2 Business Solutions, Inc., where he focused on providing executive-level IT support as a defense contractor to the U.S. military. From 2006 through 2010, Johnson served as CIO of a global manufacturer of highly engineered electronic components for the transportation industry headquartered in Northeast Ohio. He was elected in the U.S. House in 2010 and is now in his fifth term.

    Since joining Congress, Johnson has been a leading voice on technology issues. He has been a telehealth leader, serving on both the Energy and Commerce Telehealth Working Group and the bipartisan, bicameral Congressional Telehealth Caucus that recently issued a request for information to stakeholders on how to expand access to telehealth and remote patient monitoring.

    He’s sponsored a number of telehealth bills in recent years, including:

    Congressman Greg Gianforte

    Greg Gianforte represents Montana’s at-large congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Sworn into Congress in 2017, Gianforte serves on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. The committee has the broadest jurisdiction of any authorizing committee in Congress, with a portfolio that includes telecommunications, consumer protection, food and drug safety, public health and research, environmental quality, energy policy, and interstate and foreign commerce. He serves on subcommittees on communications and technology, consumer protection and commerce, and health.

    Gianforte is a businessman and entrepreneur who launched and ran five successful companies before his election to Congress. He and his wife, Susan, founded RightNow Technologies in their Montana home over 20 years ago. The company grew into Bozeman’s largest commercial employer.

    He is very interested in telehealth and expanding access to and quality of care delivered in rural areas. He is the only Republican to join the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee for the 116th Congress.

    We hope you’ll consider joining us in our nation’s capital June 26-28 for the second annual CHIME Advocacy Summit. To see our impressive list of speakers and to register, click here.

    More Inside CHIME:

    Posted 5.30.2019

  • CHIME Opioid Task Force Publishes Playbook for Health IT Executives

    5.30.2019
    By Ed Kopetsky – CIO, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital
    Patricia Lavely – Sr. Vice President and CIO Gwinnett Health System
    Dave Lehr – CIO, Anne Arundel Medical Center

    The CHIME Opioid Task Force met a milestone recently with the publication of a playbook to help senior healthcare IT executives, providers and others combat the opioid epidemic. This resource is freely available to anyone looking for strategies to combat the opioid crisis. But as a guide written by CIOs and CMIOs, it should be especially helpful for members of CHIME and their IT teams as they roll out opioid initiatives.

    Several CHIME member organizations are featured in the playbook, which offers best practices and real-world examples that illustrate how healthcare IT can be used to reduce unnecessary opioid prescriptions that are a leading cause of opioid addiction and deaths in the U.S. It is divided into eight chapters. They are:

    • Creating an opioid stewardship committee
    • Creating a dashboard
    • Provider education and change management
    • Order set maintenance and care pathways
    • Electronic prescribing of controlled substances
    • Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs)
    • Patient education
    • Community outreach and collaboration

    It concludes with results from a survey of EHR companies about their PDMP strategies. It is available on the CHIME website as a flipbook and can be downloaded as a PDF document.

    The Opioid Task Force serves as a model for collaborations that bring CIOs and their partners in industry together to address significant healthcare challenges, and the playbook shows how fruitful these interactions can be. CHIME members and CHIME Foundation members worked together, in many cases in teams assigned to a chapter. Each playbook author brought valuable knowledge and perspective to their assignment. These members deserve a special thanks for their contributions.

    The playbook is designed to be easy to use and easy to update. This is important because the opioid epidemic is constantly changing, with progress made in some areas and new challenges arising in others. The task force intends to continue to identify and share innovative strategies while also eliminating practices that may no longer be relevant.

    The CHIME Opioid Task Force Playbook is free and available on CHIME’s website here. We welcome your thoughts, and if you have anything you would like to share in the playbook or through our ongoing webinar series, please let the task force know by emailing [email protected].

    More Inside CHIME:

    Posted 5.30.2019

  • Vocera Webinar Explores Impact of Meaningful Mobile Rounding

    Upstate University Hospital to share strategies for improving physician communication and patient experience

    SAN JOSE, CA., May 29, 2019 — Vocera Communications, Inc. (NYSE:VCRA), a recognized leader in clinical communication and workflow solutions, today announced that it will host a webinar with Upstate University Hospital about Strategies for Improving Physician Communication and Patient Experience on Tuesday, June 11, at 1 p.m. ET.  The free online event will be moderated by Bridget Duffy, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Vocera. 

    “Building trusted relationships between patients and their nurses and doctors starts with effective communication,” said Dr. Duffy, who will lead a discussion with Amit Dhamoon, MD, PhD, internist at Upstate University Hospital and associate professor of medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University; and Karen Wentworth, MPH, MSW, RRT, Director of Patient Experience at State University of New York and Upstate University Hospital. 

    Dr. Dhamoon worked closely with Wentworth to design a unique way to improve physician communication and patient experience using real-time feedback captured with Vocera Rounds, a mobile application that enables clinicians to customize patient-centric questions, easily capture answers and observations, and track trends per person and department. Physician communication rounding is one of many rounds customized, implemented and hardwired across more than 30 units at Upstate University Hospital.  

    Wentworth collaborates with Dr. Dhamoon and nurse leaders throughout the organization to design questions specific to each type of round. Webinar participants will learn how using a patient-centric, mobile solution can improve clinician communication and patient engagement, which impacts care experience, compliance and outcomes.

    “The Vocera Rounds solution helps clinicians have meaningful conversations with patients and their families, which help improve engagement, education and understanding,” said Dr. Dhamoon.

    More than three million rounds have been conducted across the country in hospitals using the Vocera Rounds solution. To register for this complimentary webinar, click this link.

    About Vocera

    The mission of Vocera Communications, Inc. is to simplify and improve the lives of healthcare professionals and patients, while enabling hospitals to enhance quality of care and operational efficiency. In 2000, when the company was founded, we began to forever change the way care teams communicate. Today, Vocera offers the leading platform for improving clinical communication and workflow. More than 1,850 facilities worldwide, including nearly 1,600 hospitals and healthcare facilities, have selected our clinical communication and workflow solutions. Care team members use our solutions to communicate and collaborate with co-workers by securely texting or calling, and to be notified of important alerts and alarms. They can choose the right device for their role or task, including smartphones or our hands-free, wearable Vocera Smartbadge and Vocera Badge. Interoperability between the Vocera Platform and more than 140 clinical and operational systems helps reduce alarm fatigue; speed up staff response times; and improve patient care, safety, and experience. In addition to healthcare, Vocera is at home in luxury hotels, aged care facilities, nuclear power facilities, schools, libraries, retail stores, and more. Vocera solutions make a difference in any industry where workers are on the move and need to connect instantly with team members and access resources or information quickly. In 2017, Vocera made the list of Forbes 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America. Learn more at http://www.vocera.com and follow @VoceraComm on Twitter.

    Vocera® and the Vocera logo are trademarks of Vocera Communications, Inc. registered in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other trademarks appearing in this release are the property of their respective owners.

    MEDIA CONTACT
    Shanna Hearon
    Vocera Communications, Inc.
    [email protected]
    669-999-3368

     

    Posted 5.29.2019

  • News of Note

    5.30.2019
    By Candace Stuart – Director, Communications & Public Relations

    Members encouraged to complete diversity and inclusion survey: CHIME’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee is conducting a short benchmarking survey to assess and better understand the state of diversity and inclusion in the healthcare IT space. All responses will be anonymous. Members can access the survey here.

    Webinar to feature innovation leaders from CHIME: CHIME Innovation Executive Director Jonathan Fritz will be joined by members Cara Babachicos and Myra Davis for the webinar “Becoming Innovative: From Bleeding Edge to the Beginner.” HealthsystemCIO.com’s Anthony Guerra will host the free event, which is at noon ET on June 4. Register here.

    CHIME is taking nominations for public policy award: CHIME is accepting nominations for the 2019 CHIME Federal Public Policy Award for CIO Leadership. Members can nominate themselves or a peer. Nominations close on June 10, and the winner will be honored at the CHIME Advocacy Summit, which runs June 26-28 in Washington, D.C. Learn more about the award and nominate someone here.

    Most Wired Domestic Hospital survey deadline extended to June 14: The CHIME HealthCare’s Most Wired Domestic Hospital survey deadline has been extended to June 14. Any healthcare organization that wants to participate but still needs credentials should email [email protected] with a request. You can learn more about Most Wired here.

    CHIME Focus Group Committee holds its first meeting: The CHIME Focus Group Committee held its first meeting on April 30. Designed to enhance the experience of in-person and online focus groups, the committee to will review and address both Foundation and CHIME member input on the CHIME focus group experience. Read more here.

    More Inside CHIME:

    Posted 5.29.2019

  • CHIME Task Force Produces Free Playbook to Support Opioid Initiatives

    ANN ARBOR, MI, May 24, 2019 – The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) Opioid Task Force has published a free playbook to help senior healthcare IT executives, providers and others combat the opioid epidemic. The CHIME Opioid Task Force Playbook includes resources, best practices and real-world examples that illustrate how healthcare IT can be used to reduce unnecessary opioid prescriptions that are a leading cause of opioid addiction and deaths in the U.S.
    According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, more than 130 people in the U.S. die each day from opioid-related drug overdoses. A 2019 report by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development ranked the U.S. top for opioid-related deaths among the 25 countries tracked. In 2017, the U.S. recorded more than 42,000 deaths from opioid overdoses.
    “The Opioid Task Force Playbook focuses on what we know best, which is applying healthcare IT to help improve patient outcomes,” said Patricia Lavely, task force co-chair and senior vice president and CIO at Gwinnett Medical Center. “Our task force members identified successful strategies throughout the U.S. and compiled them in a playbook that can be used as a framework to launch and sustain opioid initiatives.”
    The playbook includes eight chapters with background, real-world examples, key takeaways and links to resources. The chapters dovetail, beginning with creating an opioid stewardship committee, creating a dashboard, provider education and change management, order set maintenance and care pathways, electronic prescribing of controlled substances, Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs), patient education, and community outreach and collaboration. It concludes with results from a survey of EHR companies about their PDMP strategies. It is available on the CHIME website as a flipbook and can be downloaded as a PDF document.
    “We have designed the playbook to be easy to use and easy to update with new and innovative IT-based solutions,” said Dave Lehr, task force co-chair and CIO at Anne Arundel Medical Center. “The opioid crisis is constantly changing; we see progress in some areas and new challenges in others. Because the playbook is an electronic document, we can make revisions at any time to reflect the current state of the opioid epidemic.”
    The playbook details steps that several different healthcare systems have taken to reduce opioid prescribing by physicians, which lessens or eliminates patients’ exposure to the drugs and reduces the number of pills that might be used illicitly or stolen. Recently the amount of prescribed opioids has declined in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But fentanyl, a potent synthetic opioid that can be manufactured clandestinely, is on the rise and may require different approaches to help those at risk of addiction.
    The playbook is one of several educational programs launched by the Opioid Task Force since its inception in January 2018. Other resources include an ongoing webinar series, public policy outreach and the CHIME Opioid Health IT Action Center, which is under development. “The playbook illustrates the passion and commitment of our task force members,” noted Ed Kopetsky, founding task force co-chair and CIO of Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and Stanford Children’s Health. “We are dedicated to using our experience and expertise to make a difference. The opioid crisis is an immense challenge, but by sharing and learning from each other we can help turn the tide.”
    The CHIME Opioid Task Force Playbook is available for free here. For more information about the CHIME Opioid Task Force, go here.
    About CHIME
    The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) is an executive organization dedicated to serving chief information officers (CIOs), chief medical information officers (CMIOs), chief nursing information officers (CNIOs) and other senior healthcare IT leaders. With more than 2,900 members in 51 countries and over 150 healthcare IT business 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 care in the communities they serve. For more information, please visit chimecentral.org.
    Contact
    Candace Stuart
    Director of Communications and Public Relations, CHIME
    734.665.0000
    Posted 5.24.2019

  • The Chartis Group Releases Paper “Bridging the Digital Divide in the Healthcare C-Suite”

    CIOs must be positioned as true thought partners with executive leadership

     

    CHICAGO, IL – May 23, 2019 – Within many healthcare delivery enterprises, CIOs are not well positioned as thought partners within the executive team regarding strategic decisions (many of which are centered on technology itself or have meaningful technology implications), nor are CIOs fully leveraged as change agents. The digital industrialization of healthcare and its dependence on informatics and technology makes the organizational model of the past no longer tenable. This paper, “Bridging the Digital Divide in the Healthcare C-Suite” provides a new model for how health systems must reframe the role of the CIO within the C-suite to bridge the digital divide.

    Leading healthcare CEOs are painting a future which promotes a single vision and endorsement of digital starting at the top. Healthcare delivery enterprises that truly embrace digital will transform all aspects of their business, from care models to business operations to consumer engagement. Health systems require a clear vision around the role IT will play to inform and advance strategic imperatives in the near and long term, acknowledging that the bright-line distinction between strategy, operations and IT will converge in the coming years.  This may require deliberate changes to accountabilities across the executive team, but the results can be powerful.

    Parrish Aharam, Chartis Principal, and co-author of this paper stated, “CIOs must be viewed as a solution partner and an integral contributor to the executive council. For this reframing to work, CIOs must immerse themselves in the business and stay apprised of broader industry trends to connect the dots between their enterprise strategy, emerging tech and IT capabilities.”

    The paper discusses six tactics that CIOs should consider when reframing their IT model.

    • Define new roles and recruit new capabilities to bridge the digital divide
    • Assign an associate CIO, or comparable, responsible for all IT operations
    • Form a stronger relationship with the CSO, COO, patient engagement officer and other executives
    • Outsource the non-strategic aspects of IT
    • Shift the organizational structure to align competencies
    • Develop an integrated governance model around innovation

    Ryan Bertram, Chartis Associate Principal and co-author of the paper noted, “Executive leaders must work together to collectively embrace change, collaborating to establish novel models and processes that help shepherd their organizations and cultures toward a new norm where ‘digital health’ will simply become ‘health.'”

    About The Chartis Group

    The Chartis Group® (Chartis) provides comprehensive advisory services and analytics to the healthcare industry. With an unparalleled depth of expertise in strategic planning, performance excellence, informatics and technology, and health analytics, Chartis helps leading academic medical centers, integrated delivery networks, children’s hospitals and healthcare service organizations achieve transformative results. Chartis has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York, Minneapolis and San Francisco. For more information, visit www.chartis.com.

    SOURCE The Chartis Group

    Posted 5.23.2019

  • Impact Advisors Named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s Top Places to Work in Healthcare List

    Firm recognized for exceptional culture, engagement and growth

    CHICAGO, IL – May 22, 2019 – Impact Advisors, a leading provider of clinical, revenue cycle and information technology services to the healthcare industry, announced today that it has been named to Becker’s Hospital Review’s 150+ Top Places to Work in Healthcare list. This is the fourth time the firm has received this prestigious recognition.  

    “It is a great honor to be named to Becker’s 150+ Top Places to Work in Healthcare list,” said Andy Smith, President and Co-Founder of Impact Advisors. “Creating a culture of caring and collaboration is one of our greatest guiding principles and it is reflected every day by our team of passionate professionals. We look forward to celebrating this award with our team.”

    The list highlights hospitals, health systems and healthcare companies that promote diversity within the workforce, employee engagement and professional growth. The organizations featured on the list offer benefits and opportunities for employees to build successful careers above and beyond what is offered by the average healthcare provider or company. They also encourage professional development, promote leadership from within, and support volunteerism and community outreach events.

    “Our firm prioritizes culture as we believe it is the foundation of any vibrant organization,” said Michael Nutter, Vice President and Happyologist. “Happy associates lead to happy clients, and ultimately exceptional results for the organizations we have the great honor of serving.”

    Impact Advisors is committed to maintaining and enhancing firm culture and associate satisfaction. The firm continuously invests in opportunities for its team to enhance their capabilities and provides year-round employee engagement events and activities, including an annual associate retreat, VIP (Value Interview Process) Calls and Happy Checks. Associates are encouraged to participate in the firm’s team-focused health and wellness program, Health Waves, and its virtual “fun” program, Culture Waves, featuring themed activities related to events like the Oscars, March Madness and the Kentucky Derby. Additionally, Impact Advisors celebrates each associate by prioritizing professional development, as well as offering a formal coaching program.

    The 150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare list is developed from nominations and editorial research. To view the complete list, which includes individual organization profiles, click here.

    About Impact Advisors

    Impact Advisors is a nationally recognized healthcare consulting firm and trusted partner of industry leaders focused on delivering clinical, revenue cycle, and information technology services to solve some of healthcare’s toughest challenges. Our comprehensive suite of patient access, clinical and revenue cycle services spans the lifecycle of our clients’ needs. Our experienced team has a powerful combination of clinical, revenue, operations, consulting and IT experience. The firm has earned a number of prestigious industry and workplace awards: Best in KLAS® for 12 consecutive years, CRN Solution Provider and CRN Fast Growth 150, Modern Healthcare’s Largest Revenue Cycle Management Firms, Healthcare Informatics HCI 100, as well as “best place to work” awards from: Modern Healthcare, Consulting Magazine, Becker’s Hospital Review and Achievers. For more information about Impact Advisors, visit www.impact-advisors.com.

    Media Contact:
    Karli Smith
    Chartwell Agency
    815-977-5343
    [email protected]

    Posted 5.22.2019

  • The Chartis Group Publishes White Paper “EHR Benefits: Unlocking the Secrets of Successful Organizations”

    Best practices to achieve measurable, strategic benefits from EHR

    CHICAGO, IL – May 21, 2019 – In the five years since most U.S. hospitals reached Stage 4 on the HIMSS EMR Adoption Model scale – the stage at which clinical decision support capabilities begin to make substantial benefits possible, most hospitals have not realized these benefits. The increased costs of operating more sophisticated EHRs leave some hospitals further behind financially, leading critics to claim that EHRs have been a huge waste of time and money. This paper “EHR Benefits: Unlocking the Secrets of Successful Organizations” compares the EHR implementation and optimization methods of health systems that do and do not achieve measurable strategic benefits and shows how any organization can drive value from their EHR investment.

    Doug Thompson, Chartis Principal and co-author of the paper noted, “Those organizations that secure strategic benefits from their EHR investments are those that do a superior job of planning, designing, building, implementing and optimizing their EHRs, beginning with the premise behind their purchase.”

    After reviewing the cases of hundreds of hospitals in scores of health systems and from their experience working with several hundred other hospitals, the authors identified the practices that allow successful providers to realize strategic benefits from their EHR initiatives, including:

    • Commit to a “Short List” of Strategic Benefits  
      Organizations that get measurable value from their IT investments are those that purchase technology to achieve specific strategic outcomes and manage the implementation and subsequent optimization to deliver those outcomes. 

    • Clearly Define Benefit Mechanisms
      The most significant EHR benefits are not the result of merely implementing and operating the system (automation); instead, they result from using new EHR capabilities to change the way work is done (innovation).

    • Establish Formal Organization and Governance
      Without a formal structure, benefits realization is left to chance. Dedicated resources, well-defined roles and robust governance are required to maximize EHR benefits. 

    • Implement an “Operational” Measurement System
      Benefit measurement is important to guide the ongoing improvement efforts that produce EHR benefits. If you don’t measure it, you won’t achieve it.

    Tonya Edwards, MD, Chartis principal and co-author of the paper said, “While the majority of health system EHRs have not delivered on the clinical and business objectives of their technology investments, there is ample evidence that with clear goals, careful planning, good governance, and ongoing measurement and commitment, any organization can expect substantial benefits from EHR use.”

    About The Chartis Group

    The Chartis Group® (Chartis) provides comprehensive advisory services and analytics to the healthcare industry. With an unparalleled depth of expertise in strategic planning, performance excellence, informatics and technology, and health analytics, Chartis helps leading academic medical centers, integrated delivery networks, children’s hospitals and healthcare service organizations achieve transformative results. Chartis has offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, New York, Minneapolis and San Francisco. For more information, visit www.chartis.com.

    Media Contact
    Jim Brown
    National Marketing Director
    The Chartis Group
    Office: +1 312 932 3051
    [email protected]

    Posted 5.21.2019

  • Nuance Drives Tangible Results for Healthcare Customers Through Cloud-based Clinical Documentation Excellence

    New and Existing Customers Experience Productivity, Financial, and Quality Gains with Combination of Nuance AI-Powered CAPD and CDI Solutions

    BURLINGTON, MA – May 21, 2019 – Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN), an industry-leading provider of AI-powered solutions, today announced the company’s sustained momentum and strong ability to drive productivity, financial, and quality results for customers. Nuance has a proven track record of optimizing workflows and increasing collaboration between physicians, clinical documentation specialists, coders, quality directors, and case managers, thanks to its cloud-based solutions.

    As part of its global user community of more than 500,000 clinicians across 10,000 global healthcare organizations, Nuance supports a growing list of customers turning to computer-assisted physician documentation (CAPD) and clinical documentation improvement (CDI) technology to ensure appropriate reimbursement, improve physician retention, manage costly denials, and achieve superior quality ratings. Customers that have made the transition to Nuance’s cloud-based CDI solutions, CDE One and CDE Triage, have experienced smart, efficient workflows, enhanced productivity, and improved CDI and care team satisfaction with cloud-based encounter prioritization, workflow management, collaboration, and insights.

    “Our clinically-based approach to CDI is backed by thirty years of experience and is deeply embedded in workflows to maximize program impact and resources,” said Michael Clark, senior vice president, general manager of provider solutions at Nuance. “We are focused on delivering productivity, revenue, and quality improvements for our growing base of customers, and proud to say 85 percent of customers achieve top-quality ratings, and 90 percent of clinicians agree that Nuance helps improve the quality of clinical documentation.”

    Nuance customers moving to the cloud:

    Magnolia Regional Health Center in Corinth, Mississippi recently migrated to the cloud with CDE Triage. Building on an already successful deployment of Nuance’s CDI program, CDE Triage further optimizes CDI team productivity and program efficiency with AI-powered encounter prioritization. “The Nuance solutions help our care teams get back to the bedside, while ensuring that the full patient story is documented and reflected in the medical record,” said Jill Tays, vice president of clinical documentation, Magnolia Regional Health Center. “The advanced analytics allow us to monitor productivity, quality, and financial impact. One of the greatest benefits of the Nuance solution is the ability to share the analytics with our executive leadership and board on a monthly basis—helping us demonstrate how we’re making a difference for the organization.”

    TriHealth in Cincinnati, Ohio was at the forefront of quality and core measures and seeking a modern cloud-based CDI program that would further improve their CDI team’s productivity and efficiency. “We implemented Nuance CDE One with CDE Triage which made a world of a difference in prioritization,” said Sharon Krug, clinical documentation system manager, TriHealth. “We evaluated several solutions and quickly discovered that none of them were able to demonstrate the same caliber of outcomes that Nuance has consistently delivered for our organization.” With a clinically-based approach, and user-friendly and intuitive interface, these solutions capture key information all in one place, allowing the CDI team to easily look at classifications and access all diagnoses, along with complication or comorbidity and major complication or comorbidity, and secondary diagnoses paramount to accurate severity of illness.

    Nuance will demonstrate the effectiveness of its CAPD and CDI solutions at ACDIS 2019 Booth #407 from May 20-23, 2019. For more information about these AI-powered solutions, click here.

    About Nuance Healthcare
    Nuance provides intelligent systems that support a more natural and insightful approach to clinical documentation, freeing clinicians to spend more time caring for patients. Nuance healthcare solutions capture, improve and communicate more than 300 million patient stories each year, helping more than 500,000 clinicians in 10,000 global healthcare organizations to drive meaningful clinical and financial outcomes. Nuance’s award-winning clinical speech recognition, medical transcription, CDI, coding, quality and medical imaging solutions provide a more complete and accurate view of patient care.

    About Nuance Communications, Inc. 
    Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN) is the pioneer and leader in conversational AI innovations that bring intelligence to everyday work and life. The company delivers solutions that can understand, analyze and respond to human language to increase productivity and amplify human intelligence. With decades of domain and artificial intelligence expertise, Nuance works with thousands of organizations – in global industries that include healthcare, telecommunications, automotive, financial services, and retail – to create stronger relationships and better experiences for their customers and workforce. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com.

    Trademark reference: Nuance and the Nuance logo are registered trademarks or trademarks of Nuance Communications, Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks referenced herein are the property of their respective owners.

    Media Contact Information
    Finley Hines
    Senior Manager, Corporate Communications – Healthcare
    Nuance Communications, Inc.
    Tel: 781-565-5438
    Email: [email protected]

    Posted 5.21.2019

  • The New CHIME Career Center Leverages Resources to Assist in Hiring Talent


    5.21.2018
    By Ashley Jester – Specialist, Membership & Professional Development

    We are pleased to announce the new CHIME Career Center webpage that hosts a variety of resources for hospitals and healthcare systems to find talented CIO candidates. The Career Center is accessible to CHIME Foundation partners and should be of interest to those who specialize in staffing, recruiting and hiring. 

    In one convenient location, CHIME Foundation partners can now view job descriptions, submit relevant healthcare provider-oriented job postings, and view resumes of qualified CHIME members looking for new opportunities. This new resume feature allows CHIME Foundation partners to log in and view resumes of CIOs and executive leaders who are looking to launch or advance their careers.   

    CHIME Foundation partners that provide staffing/hiring/recruiting services can help connect CHIME Members to new opportunities by viewing resumes, posting jobs, and expediting the hiring process for these qualified individuals. This service is not intended for CHIME Foundation partners to identify future staff for internal hiring. 

    Another tangible benefit for those who have pursued and earned the certification is that the CHIME Foundation Certified Healthcare Executive (CFCHE) list is easily accessible on the CHIME Career Center page. This will help to further bolster and raise awareness of the CFCHE certification among CHIME members. Additional resources found on the CHIME Career Center webpage include access to the Certified Healthcare CIO (CHCIO) list and Knowledge Hub.   

    Help build the network of expert provider leaders today by visiting the Career Center at chimecentral.org/career-center, and support CHIME as we encourage CIOs, CMIOs, CNIOs and more to pursue their next professional pursuits!

    More Foundation Insight: 

    Posted 5.21.2019
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