Data from a new report suggest that excellence in patient experiences, clinical outcomes and financial profitability often occur together. The 2011 Pulse Report from Press Ganey analyzed public data on hospital profitability and scores from the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey. According to the report, 25 percent of U.S. hospitals with the highest scores on the HCAHPS question about performance were, on average, the most profitable and had the highest clinical scores. Read »

The Arizona Regional Extension Center (REC) announced on Nov. 8 the launch of its Vendor Alliance Program as part of overall efforts to help eligible healthcare providers achieve meaningful use of certified EHRs. The Arizona REC said the program would offer strategic guidance and recommendations on EHR vendor selection, yet still allows providers flexibility and choice in their decision-making. Read »

On Nov. 8, the EHR/HIE Interoperability Workgroup, an organization of states and vendors focused on eliminating the barriers to sharing EHRs issued a set of technical specifications to standardize connections between healthcare providers, health information exchanges (HIEs) and other data-sharing partners. The group said its objective is to define a single set of easy-to-implement connections to increase the adoption of EHRs and HIE services. Read »

Public health initiatives in New Orleans got a boost on Nov. 7 with the launch of Healthy NOLA Neighborhoods, a website that offers resources and tools to help increase public engagement in community health improvement activities. The Neighborhood Partnership Network (NPN); Concordia, an urban planning and architectural firm; and the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI) jointly announced the site “to create greater community awareness of factors that influence personal and community health outcomes in New Orleans.” Read »

 Medicomp Systems of Chantilly, Va., announced on Nov. 3 that its newest documentation and patient management application, Quippe, has been embedded into the InteGreat EHR from MED3000. Quippe is powered by the MEDCIN Engine, a knowledge engine that adapts to the unique clinical presentation of each patient and provides all of the codes needed for compliance and reimbursement, according to Medicomp Systems. Read »

Guest commentary While many Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) programs try to measure the impact of their program and their Clinical Documentation Specialists (CDSs), there is still some confusion over how this is best measured. Consultants are eager to show that their efforts are benefiting the hospital, and CDI program managers are similarly motivated to show benefits to upper management. Inappropriate use of baseline metrics may be inadvertent, but can result in reports that show an inflated and unrealistic impact. This is compounded by the fact that many CDI programs leave the data analysis to an outside organization or software package, without understanding the origin or meaning of the data and metrics that are returned to them. Read »

 athenahealth and Medley Health announced on Nov. 3 that the two companies will work together to benefit physician practices with automated, cloud-based business services that strengthen doctor-patient collaboration and communication. athenahealth provides cloud-based practice management, EHR and care coordination services to medical groups. Medley Health provides membership practice marketing and communications services for independent primary care physicians and their patients. Read »

Eastland Memorial Hospital and Hamlin Memorial Hospital are the latest facilities that have leveraged the Prognosis Health Information Systems EHR solution to qualify for their share of the government's EHR incentive fund. So far, 14 rural and community hospitals have used the Prognosis HIS solution to meet the federal government's meaningful use requirements, the company reported on Nov. 1. Read »

Northwest Specialty Hospital, a 34-bed, physician-owned hospital located in Post Falls, Idaho, announced on Nov. 1 that it would begin using portable health record technology from LifeNexus, Inc., developer of the Personal Health Card. The card will expedite the hospital’s admissions process and securely exchange private healthcare information with medical staff members. Read »

 DYMO Labeling has applied its technology to the healthcare market with this week’s launch of a high-resolution scanner designed to streamline workflow and help facilities meet HIPAA Privacy Rule guidelines for EHRs. The new scanner captures color images and patient information from driver’s licenses and insurance cards, and then stores it within a practice’s digital records. DYMO noted that the device eliminates the need to make unsecured photocopies of such ID cards. Read »