Lutheran Medical Center and Medsphere Systems Corporation today announced the successful implementation of Medsphere’s OpenVista® electronic health record (EHR) solution throughout the hospital. The full service 476-bed teaching hospital is now on track to achieve meaningful use and qualify for millions of dollars made available by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Since implementing OpenVista only a few weeks ago, LMC has embraced the comprehensive open source health IT system throughout the facility. Clinician adoption of the system, the key to meeting meaningful use and true clinical transformation, is virtually universal. Now in its first stage toward a paperless environment, LMC physicians are entering 93 percent of medications through OpenVista’s Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE) Module, far surpassing the 30 percent required by the federal government for meaningful use.

“I am so proud of the way Lutheran Medical Center, as an institution, has adopted the OpenVista EHR and is making it an integral part of the care we provide,” said Wendy Z. Goldstein, president and CEO of Lutheran Medical Center. “It took a lot of work to get here, but the transition has gone very smoothly; the clinicians and staff deserve endless praise. I have no doubt that, with Medsphere’s valuable assistance, we will be prepared for meaningful use next year.”

Managing over 627,000 outpatient and 66,000 emergency room visits annually, the 687 attending physicians, 200 residents and 600 nurses at LMC can now access a range of OpenVista features: CPOE, medication order management (pharmacy), laboratory, radiology, and nutrition and food service. Enhanced emergency room efficiency is also part of the solution through an ED Tracking Board that LMC developed and Medsphere will share with other clients through the Healthcare Open Source Ecosystem. The entire system becomes interoperable with third-party applications through Medsphere’s Interface Suite. (Visit http://www.medsphere.com/solutions/openvista-for-the-enterprise for more on OpenVista applications and benefits to clinical workflow and patient care.)

Improved clinician collaboration and communication facilitated by OpenVista also enabled LMC providers to transition to an EHR environment with minimal workflow disruptions. Reductions in administrative paperwork create more time for patients to receive increasingly efficient, well-informed medical care.

“Now medications go straight from the doctor’s head to the pharmacy—it’s wonderful,” said Helen Buckel, R.N., a nurse manager at LMC. “Doctors and nurses are able to focus more on what we were trained to do instead of paperwork. And I don’t have a crowd of people at my station every morning looking for meds and paper charts.”

With OpenVista in place, LMC is better able to maximize teaching opportunities in real time.

“The residents have a better sense of what medication reconciliation is, because it’s gone from disjointed information on several sheets of paper to one screen with all relevant data,” explained Beth Raucher, M.D., LMC’s chief medical officer. “Recently, when there was a question about the medication a resident ordered, we were able to have a whole discussion about that in real time, and we were able to see and decipher exactly what happened. Several days ago, it would have taken hours to get the same information.”

Added Chief Operating Officer Claudia Caine, “We saw an immediate improvement in efficiency and access to information. Our EHR clearly improves our ability to take care of patients. We don’t have handwriting issues for doctor orders. If there’s a medication allergy, there’s an instant alert in the system. It’s also easier and faster for the pharmacy or laboratory to double check things as well––for each department to be better partners in care.”

“Moving forward, we expect the improvements from CPOE to position us for rapid adoption of our next two phases of implementation: clinical documentation and barcode medication administration,” said LMC Chief Nursing Officer Rosanne Raso, R.N. “All combined, these will go a long way toward overall enhancements in quality and efficiency.”

“Medsphere congratulates Lutheran Medical Center on OpenVista go live and, more importantly, moving so quickly to embrace the solution clinically and organizationally,” said Mike Doyle, Medsphere president and CEO. “As is already demonstrated, the ultimate beneficiaries will be LMC patients. This shows quite clearly that OpenVista is just as effective in large urban clinical environments as it is in rural community hospitals.”

In the greater New York area, Lutheran will soon be joined by New Jersey’s Meadowlands Hospital, which is going live this week, and Hoboken University Medical Center, scheduled to go live in the first quarter of next year. Regionally, Medsphere has already implemented OpenVista in Silver Hill Hospital, a nationally recognized psychiatric facility in New Canaan, Conn., and the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, a seven-facility acute, long-term and psychiatric care network.

As the most fully commercialized version of the Department of Veterans Affairs VistA EHR system, OpenVista is a responsible reapplication of the VA’s $8.5 billion VistA investment. OpenVista is proven to enhance medical care and remove the cost barrier to EHR implementation that hospitals typically encounter when considering proprietary, closed-source products. Medsphere’s subscription-based and transparent pricing model for implementation, maintenance and support services make effective health IT resources financially possible for every hospital, clinic and integrated care system in the United States.

About Lutheran Medical Center

A Level I Trauma Center and Stroke Center, Lutheran Medical Center (LMC) has cared for Brooklyn communities since 1883. As a full service 476-bed teaching hospital, LMC is the hub of Lutheran HealthCare, a network of primary, acute and long-term care centers in southwest Brooklyn. Learn more about LMC and its commitment to patient care excellence, community service, health education and research online at www.LutheranMedicalCenter.com.

About Medsphere and OpenVista

Founded in 2002 and based in Carlsbad, Calif., Medsphere Systems Corporation is an award-winning organization of clinical and technology professionals working to make quality health IT solutions accessible to organizations of virtually any size, shape or budget. Medsphere’s OpenVista® is a portfolio of clinical support products and professional services that leverages an electronic health record (EHR) system developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. This VistA EHR is widely credited with helping transform the VA into the nation’s most efficient and clinically effective healthcare organization. OpenVista, the most fully commercialized VistA offspring, is a responsible reapplication of the VA’s $8.5 billion investment, which recent studies show have yielded $3.09 billion in benefits, primarily from the near elimination of medication administration issues and duplicate testing.

Medsphere’s subscription-based pricing model enables hospital, clinic and integrated delivery network customers to pay for OpenVista from their operating budget with no upfront costs or back-end balloon payments. Expert implementation and other services facilitate fluid and rapid transition to a paperless clinical environment focusing on best practices and evidence-based medicine in six to nine months. Medsphere also actively nurtures the Healthcare Open Source Ecosystem, a global community of customers, partners, developers and other online collaborators who drive OpenVista innovation, and provide a parallel development and support structure.

Learn more about Medsphere at www.medsphere.com / www.medsphere.org.

A recent NaviNet survey shows that over two thirds of participant physicians practices have either started EMR adoption or intend to do so during the next 12 months.  According to Brad Waugh, president and CEO of Navinet, “Physician practices are getting more serious about IT adoption. Federal incentive programs are playing a greater role in provider IT adoption.”

The graphical results of the survey are available here.

Of course planning to adopt an EMR system and actually adopting an EMR system are two different things. If you are still struggling with what EMR solution is right for you and your practice  download our requirements comparison checklist as a great way to get started.

Three of the largest Front Range health care organizations are taking an unprecedented leap forward in health care reform by improving care for more than a million Coloradans with an interconnected electronic patient record exchange system.

The Children’s Hospital, Kaiser Permanente Colorado and Exempla Healthcare are now live with an electronic health record (EHR) “health information exchange” system. It allows patients to show up at any one of the organizations’ hospitals and clinics and have their records instantly available to doctors with the click of a button.

Being able to see and share this information enhances the quality and continuity of care for patients, as doctors share vital patient medical information through secure, encrypted Internet connections. As a result, health information exchanges such as this one will allow doctors to more efficiently and accurately diagnose patients and recommend treatments.

“We no longer have to listen to voice-mail messages or try to decipher unclear faxes,” said David Kaplan, MD, chief medical information officer for The Children’s Hospital. “Doctors now have instant access to a patient’s up-to-date health records, which saves time and reduces errors.”

The partnership is a pioneering example of three independent health care organizations sharing patient health records electronically, and is a concrete example of how health care reform is taking place in Colorado. All records are up-to-date and changes are logged in real time, helping the quality of patient care, no matter where and by whom they are seen.

Less than two percent of health care facilities nationally are using fully electronic health records, and only a handful are exchanging health information in this integrated manner — highlighting the uniqueness of the relationship between the three providers.

“The Obama administration has made it very clear that improving the nation’s health care system hinges partly on modernizing our industry with electronic health records, and then encouraging these systems to become more connected,” said Robert Miller, MD, of Kaiser Permanente. “As a pediatrician, I’ve seen the benefits of health-IT exchange first-hand. With quicker access to more information, I can now diagnose, treat and care for the children in my practice with even greater confidence and improved results.”

The three providers are in the process of an extended pilot program to test the system, and officially went online with the CareEverywhere electronic health care record software system this summer.

Access to patient records are secure and require authorization.

The foundational systems making this exchange possible are commonly referred to as EHRs or electronic medical records (EMRs), and can hold a wide variety of information including immunization records, blood type, lab results, X-rays, allergies, medical histories, current and past medications and dosages.

While investing in the switch from paper to electronic records costs millions of dollars, the result leads to more efficient, cost effective health care with improved safety, quality and communication.

Dr. Kaplan of Children’s Hospital adds that throughout the process, providers have kept a clear focus that while EHR is an important tool, it will never replace the doctor-patient relationship. A doctor will always make the diagnosis and prescribe treatment, not a computer. Having EHR available to health care providers will only complement that relationship.

“Traditionally, getting medical records from other organizations has been time consuming and inconvenient to the degree that clinicians are often forced to make decisions without complete information,” said Joe Heaton, vice president and chief medical information officer at Exempla Healthcare. “The systems we have put in place now allow for faster and more efficient access to clinical information, which ensures that our patients have uninterrupted continuity of care between the doctor’s office and the hospital.”

About The Children’s Hospital
The Children’s Hospital has defined and delivered pediatric healthcare excellence for more than 100 years. Founded in 1908, The Children’s Hospital is a leading pediatric network entirely devoted to the health and wellbeing of children. Continually recognized as one of the nation’s outstanding hospitals by U.S. News & World Report, The Children’s Hospital is known both for its nationally and internationally recognized medical, research and education programs as well as the full spectrum of everyday care for kids throughout Colorado and surrounding states. With more than 1,000 healthcare professionals representing the full spectrum of pediatric specialties, The Children’s Hospital network of care includes its main campus, sixteen Children’s Care Centers and more than 400 outreach clinics. For more information, visit www.thechildrenshospital.org.

About Kaiser Permanente Colorado
Kaiser Permanente Colorado is the state’s largest nonprofit health plan, proudly working to improve the lives and health of Denver, Boulder, and Southern Colorado area residents for 40 years. Kaiser Permanente Colorado provides comprehensive health care services to over 480,000 members through 20 medical offices and a network of affiliated hospitals and physicians. The health plan was recently named “Highest in Member Satisfaction” among Commercial Health Plans by J.D. Power and Associates for the second year in a row. Kaiser Permanente was also named the top-ranked commercial health plan and Medicare plan in Colorado by US News & World Report/NCQA. In 2008, Kaiser Permanente proudly directed more than $75 million to community benefit programs to improve the health of all Coloradans. For more Kaiser Permanente news, visit kp.org/newscenter or follows us on twitter @kpcolorado.

About Exempla Healthcare
Exempla Healthcare, formed in 1998, serves metropolitan Denver through its three hospitals – Exempla Good Samaritan Medical Center, Exempla Lutheran Medical Center, Exempla Saint Joseph Hospital – and the Exempla Physician Network of primary care, occupational medicine and specialty physicians. Exempla’s mission is to foster healing and health for the people and communities it serves. www.exempla.org

e-MDs Solution Series Chart electronic health record (EHR) received the top overall score in the American Academy of Family Physicians’ (AAFP) Family Practice Management (FPM) 2009 EHR User Satisfaction Survey. The survey, previously conducted in 2005 and 2007, was markedly expanded this year to include responses from 2,012 family practice physicians using a total of 22 EHR systems.

The FPM 2008 EHR survey serves as a valuable and current resource to family physicians looking to purchase or replace an EHR system for their practice. Survey participants were asked to respond to 13 questions on topics such as: “Overall the EHR is easy and intuitive to use,” “Documenting care is easy and effective with this EHR,” “Finding and reviewing information is easy with the EHR,” etc. The responses were totaled and overall e-MDs had the highest score amongst 22 vendors.

This marks the third time this survey has been conducted by Family Practice Management. e-MDs Solution Series Chart also received top rankings on the two prior surveys conducted in 2005 and 2007.

“We are deeply honored to have performed so well in such a carefully designed, thorough and objective survey of family practice physicians using electronic health records.” said Dr. Michael Stearns, President and CEO of e-MDs. “The quality of care benefits of health information technology will never be realized until physicians are satisfied with how EHRs perform at many levels. As before, we will use the information garnered from this survey to help us guide continued improvements to our EHR and the services we provide.”

The HIMSS Electronic Health Record Association (EHR Association) provided written testimony at last week’s public hearing of the HIT Standards Committee Implementation Workgroup. This workgroup, which advises the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), is charged with bringing forward “real-world” implementation experience, with special emphasis on strategies to accelerate the adoption of proposed standards and mitigate barriers.

“We feel it is essential for the EHR software provider community to be represented in these important deliberations” said Justin Barnes, EHR Association Chairman and Vice President of Greenway Medical Technologies. “Our collective expertise, along with the experiences of our customers, in implementing standards to support the effective and secure exchange of clinical information among healthcare organizations – both acute care facilities and ambulatory care sites of all sizes – is unmatched by any other stakeholder group. Our commitment to interoperability is backed by thousands of hours and millions of dollars spent developing software, implementing and supporting standards.”

Mark Segal, Ph.D., Vice Chair of the EHR Association and Director of Government and Industry Relations for GE Healthcare IT, summarized the written statement for the workgroup during the October 29th meeting in Washington DC. “I was pleased to have the opportunity to speak to this group, emphasizing that the number one standards implementation priority over the short term is clarity and consistency on what vendors and providers are expected to implement for ARRA HIT incentives, leveraging our huge investments in harmonized standards. Segal went on to emphasize the importance of a single standard for exchange of clinical summaries, stating, “The use of the powerful and flexible CCD standard, which has been accepted by major standards organizations and federal agencies, is central to data liquidity, vendor neutrality and interoperability.”

Recognizing the urgent need for clarity regarding how to implement ARRA-required standards, Segal introduced an EHR Association proposal for collaboration among several key federal and private sector organizations responsible for standards. “Knowing the enormous challenges and effort required to achieve ‘meaningful use’, we believe this proposal places the right emphasis on technical support and documentation, identification of applicable open source tools, and enabling an ARRA focus for the upcoming Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise ((IHE) Connect-a-thon.”

“The Association has contributed to ONC’s work on standards since the inception of the Health IT Standards Panel (HITSP) in 2004,” Barnes went on to say. “We published the first version of our Interoperability Roadmap in 2005 based on the assumption of incremental implementation of a single standard for the exchange of clinical documents. We continue to believe that this roadmap-based approach is the right way forward for the industry.”

The EHR Association represents 45 member companies who are the major suppliers of electronic health record systems in the United States. EHR Association members have worked closely with physician practices and hospitals to successfully deploy thousands of EHRs, helping their customers to improve the quality and efficiency of healthcare delivery. “Our commitment to standards is reflected in the work we do everyday with standards development organizations, ONC initiatives and our customers to ensure that the most pragmatic, flexible and vendor-neutral approach to the complex area of healthcare data and communications standards is taken — an approach that will truly advance care delivery in the United States.” Barnes concluded.

The Quantum Group, Inc. announced that the third version of PWeRTM (Personal Wellness electronic RecordTM), PWeR 3.0, has deployed according to schedule. PWeR is the one patient, one record™ medical record platform that the Company believes is a relevant and real solution to meet current federal healthcare mandates and stimulus programs. This SaaS (Software as a Service) platform features multiple applications including electronic medical records (EMR), practice management, e-Labs and e-prescriptions.

Current federal regulations require physicians that provide care to Medicare patients adopt electronic medical records systems by the year 2014, or face penalties. Industry surveys reveal that less than 20% of physicians in the U.S. currently use an EMR creating a fertile market for sales. The federal stimulus (ARRA) program has already allocated $19.2 billion that will go towards the funding of EMRs at practices and hospitals. Noel J. Guillama, President & CEO commented, “With the heavy focus on healthcare reform in our country, we believe we have deployed the right business model and technologies to be a leader in the 21st century of healthcare.”

Pete Martinez, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology & Innovations Officer noted, “PWeR is a natural solution for providers and hospitals for several reasons. 1) It is low cost. PWeR is Software as a Service, so there is no need to purchase expensive servers as all of the data is accessed, entered and shared via the web. 2) Data is secure. The banking industry has taken a firm stance on protecting data while providing accessibility to your account information and transactions in a real-time environment. Healthcare should follow suit and patient health information (PHI) should be available wherever and whenever it is needed. 3) One patient, one record. Shared access of PHI for the entire patient care team (including primary care physicians, specialists and hospitals) is vital to creating comprehensive medical records.”

Martinez continued, “It is exciting to demonstrate how we can connect physicians, hospitals, payers and patients through PWeR. Shared access to one patient record is critical to defining the 360 degree view of the patient. Eyes light up when we present PWeR because it is something the industry has not seen before. Our cloud computing approach and software as a service (SaaS) methodology provides for low cost, rapid deployment that is scalable for the solo practioner to groups with hundreds, even thousands, of providers. We believe the possibilities are endless as the data we begin to mine has relevance for clinical trials, governmental agencies and drug companies. Ultimately, the greatest reward comes for the patient as PWeR empowers them to take a proactive approach to their own wellness.”

New functionality and enhanced user experience features dominate the upgrades for the new version of PWeR. The PWeR technology is enriched by 19 provisional patent applications that create state-of-the-art visual interfaces, knowledge wealth and predictive modeling in line with the Federal direction of evidence based medicine.

Tangent Inc., www.tangent.com, a leading provider of healthcare technology  is shipping the Medix 10T, a state-of-the-art 10.4” tablet that weighs only  3.3 lbs., is built on the highly-acclaimed Intel Health Architecture, includes enhanced touch screen functionally, contributing  greater workflow efficiencies in EMR and other point-of-care applications.

The Medix 10T competes directly with Motion and other industry leaders by offering much lower pricing and unique features such as  dual, hot-swappable batteries instead of a single battery; a touch-screen that responds to finger and stylus instead of stylus only; the popular  “Digital Persona” biometric fingerprint reader, and a more powerful CPU (Core Duo vs. ATOM).

“The Medix 10T is a key entry into a market poised to explode in the next few years in response to the federal economic stimulus legislation to modernize health care systems,” stated Tangent President Doug Monsour.

“Its  low weight and mobility make it the true portable access point for healthcare database applications. It is ideal as a Medical Clerical assistant, on nursing carts, for EMR and for all point-of-care applications,” Monsour noted.

The new point-of-care MCA  meets the UL60601 medical grade certification for patient safety. Its five-wire resistive touch screen responds to either stylus, finger or gloved-hand input, and implements positive palm rejection.

In addition, it has a highly accurate fingerprint reader and an excellent docking cradle solution for charging up to two batteries.  Its rugged construction provides protection from accidental drops and most other work-place damage.

The thin silhouette TFT touch screen display has 1024 x 768 pixel XGA resolution and provides anti-glare treatment and good readability in all lighting conditions.
The medical grade, point of care tablet meets IP-54 standards for a dust-free, waterproof operation and can be sprayed and wiped down without the risk of damaging the computer.  Its fan-less operation makes it easier to clean using a 10% bleach/water disinfectant solution, whereas the competition uses fans and exposed ventilation holes, which makes it difficult to spray with cleaning agents.

With its emphasis on improved workflow, the Medix 10T incorporates numerous data-capture technologies, including a fingerprint reader and options for a barcode scanner, which allows you to use the tablet in high volume application environments, and a RFID reader  for asset and patient tracking.

The new Tangent solution has dual lithium ion batteries that allow hot-swappable operation. They recharge in less than three hours. Security options include HDD User Password Protection and BIOS I/O lock.

The optional docking station incorporates a locking feature that provides a safe and secure stand when the unit is not in portable use. One LAN port and four USB 2.0 ports allow connectivity while the unit is in dock.

Base MSRP is $2,295.

For more information, visit www.medicalcomputer.tangent.com/medix10t_allinone.htm.

Keys to EMR Success: Selecting and Implementing an Electronic Medical Record (Amazon Affiliate Link), written by Ronald Sterling, CPA, MBA, has won the (HIMSS) Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society 2008 Book of the Year Award.

Nancy Collins, President of Greenbranch Publishing says, “We are honored that Ron Sterling’s book has been chosen as Book of the Year.  This prestigious Award honors a book that, in the opinion of the joint HIMSS Board of Directors, offers outstanding practical guidance and strategic insight for healthcare information.”

In Keys to EMR Success, Sterling translates his experience into a step-by-step process any medical practice can follow with ease, from first considering an EMR, all the way through post-implementation training and updates.  As a nationally recognized expert on practice-based computer systems, Ron Sterling has helped many medical practices evaluate whether an EMR investment makes sense.  From there, he helps them define requirements, choose the right system, get physician and staff buy-in, and take the system “live” as smoothly as possible.

“There is no question,” says Sterling “that the selection and implementation of an EMR is a ‘bet-the-practice’ proposition.  If you fail, you end up with more costs and greater frustration.  On the other hand, few practices will be able to avoid implementing EMRs as these tools become necessary to meet patient expectations, payer quality requirements and pay-for-performance demands.”

Medico announced today that it has entered into an agreement with VitalsSM, the leader in extensive, searchable physician databases. This partnership gives iMedicor the ability to access Vitals’ database of more than 700,000 practicing physicians in the United States to streamline physicians’ registration on the iMedicor portal.

“One of the most precious commodities in a physician’s day is time,” said Fred Zolla, CEO of iMedicor. “Through this partnership, Vitals’ detailed database of physicians practicing in the United States will expedite physicians’ registration on our portal. After logging on, and authenticating their identity, doctors will be able to access their own, pre-populated Curriculum Vitae and begin using the portal immediately to take advantage of all the benefits it has to offer.”

iMedicor is the first free, HIPAA compliant health information exchange portal, offering a proprietary technology solution that addresses the long-standing and widespread inability of disparate Electronic Medical Records (EMR) systems to communicate, collaborate and exchange medical records in a HIPAA compliant environment. iMedicor provides access to product-specific CME (Continuing Medical Education) resources, and facilitates e-prescribing and ordering refills.

“Vitals is delighted to be working with iMedicor. By combining their unique technology and our comprehensive database of virtually all the physicians in America, this partnership will benefit hundreds of thousands patients,” said Mitch Rothschild, CEO of Vitals, Inc. “With the Obama Administration’s focus on improving patient care and reducing the cost of healthcare, we are proud to be contributing in this space and look forward to leveraging our assets to participate in additional ways.”

Dozens, perhaps hundreds of vendors and products to choose from.  Hardware, pricing and implementation questions.  Do I use notebooks, tablets or desktops in exam rooms.  What do I do with my room full of paper charts.  These are the questions thousands of Doctors are asking themselves when considering an EMR implementation.   Rosemarie Nelson, a principal with the MGMA Healthcare Consulting Group, tries to help navigate those questions and more in a great article on Selecting an EMR Product at the medpagetoday.com website.