eCareSoft, Inc. has received the federal government’s “meaningful use” stamp of approval by earning Complete EHR Ambulatory Certification for its eCS Nimbo solution. The designation officially deems the electronic health record (EHR) software capable of enabling providers to qualify for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Tested and certified under the Drummond Group’s Electronic Health Records Office of the National Coordinator Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB) program, the EHR software is 2011/2012 compliant in accordance with the criteria adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services.

“We’re excited about the certification of eCS Nimbo for physician clinics,” stated Jorge Luis Camargo, Chief Strategy Officer. “Combined with our certified complete inpatient EHR, we can now offer clients a seamless continuity of care between referring physicians and their community hospitals,” added Camargo.

Drummond Group’s ONC-ATCB 2011/2012 certification program tests and certifies that EHRs meet the meaningful use criteria for either eligible provider or hospital technology. In turn, healthcare providers using the EHR systems of certified vendors are qualified to receive federal stimulus monies upon demonstrating meaningful use of the technology — a key component of the federal government’s push to improve clinical care delivery through the adoption and effective use of EHRs by U.S. healthcare providers.

eCS Nimbo(TM), which met the requirements for Complete EHR Ambulatory, offers physicians the security and mobility of eCareSoft’s technology coupled with a seamless integration of practice management, revenue cycle management, EMR, and e-prescribing. Nimbo delivers the industry’s best return on investment for quickly achieving Meaningful Use objectives without the typical workflow disruptions.

“The need to leverage information technology in the healthcare industry is huge – as the quality of care and efficiency benefits that come with computerization can really make a difference in the overall patient experience. We’re ready to help transform the industry by providing the sophisticated software testing services that ensure that vendors and hospitals are offering systems that are capable of meeting the meaningful use standards required to obtain incentive funds as well as the rich functionality required to move the clinical care needle forward,” says Rik Drummond, CEO of the Drummond Group. “We have been testing software for more than a decade and are ready to leverage our extensive experience handling sophisticated systems in complex industries as well as dealing with complicated technical issues such as interoperability and security.”

This Complete EHR Ambulatory is 2011/2012 compliant and has been certified by Drummond Group, an ONC-ATCB approved to certify any complete or modular EHR both ambulatory and inpatient, 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 or guarantee the receipt of incentive payments. eCareSoft, Inc, Certified 11/17/2011, eCS Nimbo Version 2.0, Certification ID #11172011-9383-5, Clinical Quality Measures Certified: NQF0013, NQF0018, NQF0024, NQF0027, NQF0028, NQF0031, NQF0038, NQF0041, NQF0043, NQF0059, NQF0067, NQF0421

Additional software used: FTP

On Friday January 6, 2012 Rio Grande Hospital (“RGH”) in Del Norte Colorado successfully submitted Medicare attestation for an inpatient EHR using the Amrita Hospital Information System.

RGH is a small critical access hospital operating in rural and frontier Southern Colorado. Attestation was a proud accomplishment considering the scope of implementing an inpatient EHR as well as a comprehensive hospital information system. This was done without any additional staff at a hospital with only one IT individual!

“Amrita has been sensitive and responsive implementing a system that is specific for our rural hospital,” said Arlene Harms, CEO of Rio Grande Hospital.  “I have appreciated the availability, the patience and the dedication of the Amrita team.”

To achieve and attest for Medicare incentives, RGH demonstrated 90 days of meaningful use meeting or exceeding the measure thresholds for 14 Core measures and five menu set measures.

Low cost of ownership combined with ease of use and exceptional functionality make AHIS the right choice for Critical Access and community hospitals.

Scalability is a key attribute to Amrita HIS; operating multiple service lines around the core inpatient electronic health record on a single database minimizes the need for costly and difficult to maintain interfaces.

Amrita HIS’s scalability has been demonstrated at some of the world’s largest hospitals.

RGH operates Amrita HIS on a local server network but will soon be shifting to a cloud based/hosted solution. Amrita’s modern web based architecture supports both cloud and local hosting.

Healthland, a company that specializes in providing healthcare information technology solutions for rural hospitals, has announced that six more rural hospitals across Texas have achieved Stage 1 Meaningful Use. After a successful 90-day reporting period of their comprehensive electronic health record (EHR) capabilities, the healthcare providers will now receive funding under the Medicare EHR Incentive Program. The hospitals include:

• Atlanta Memorial Hospital
• Ballinger Memorial Hospital
• Coryell Memorial Hospital
• Plains Memorial Hospital
• Scott and White — Llano Hospital
• W.J. Mangold Memorial Hospital

“Physician adoption is the most important hurdle to overcome when looking to achieve Meaningful Use,” said Lance Keilers, Ballinger Memorial Hospital CEO and National Rural Health Association President. “Healthland understands that and has a product that is intuitive and adheres to rural clinician workflows because it is designed with input from rural community hospitals. With our Healthland EHR solution, the service and support team, and our dedicated staff, we are happy to report we’ve achieved Stage 1 Meaningful Use. We encourage other hospitals to find a healthcare IT partner who understands and supports the rural healthcare market.”

Healthland has been in rural healthcare, and only rural healthcare, for over thirty years. With hundreds of clients across the country — many contributing to the company’s product development — Healthland has the most experience in healthcare IT for rural America today. Healthland not only has the solution to get hospitals to Meaningful Use, but also provides reporting capabilities and educational tools to help clients qualify for incentive funds — quickly and easily.

Keilers adds that Stage 1 Meaningful Use is just the beginning. “Healthcare IT is becoming more important to meet the needs for our patients and maintain our independence. Our patients in rural America deserve to have access to healthcare where they live; urban areas can’t do it all. Often times it is not feasible for people to travel for their healthcare. Rural hospitals need to be preserved for the 62 million people who call rural America home.”

Healthland clients across the country are experiencing success in meeting Meaningful Use, with numerous attestations in the state of Texas.

“We are thrilled to be complete with our Stage 1 Meaningful Use attestation,” said David Byrom, Coryell Memorial Hospital CEO. “Healthland was extremely helpful in the process, providing us with excellent web-based support as well as one-on-one assistance when we needed it. The Healthland team also provided opportunities for education regarding all aspects of Meaningful Use implementation and attestation.”

Ballinger Memorial Hospital also cites Healthland education and training capabilities as keys to their success. “I call Healthland Support and Services part of our team,” said Cindy Spreen, IT Coordinator, Ballinger Memorial Hospital. “They had so many tools to help us during the attestation process including webinars, eLearning tools and reporting capabilities. They provided us with everything we needed to deploy our certified EHR and equip our hospital to achieve Meaningful Use. I also can’t stress enough the importance of management and staff support within the hospital. We had the support from our administration and we involved our entire team from day one. We are very pleased with the results.”

“The state of Texas is vast, with many rural areas, making it a great example of just how important healthcare is at the local level,” said Jim Anderson, Healthland Senior Vice President, Sales and Services. “We couldn’t be more proud of our Texas clients and the work they are doing to help care for their communities and we are happy to support them in their efforts to achieve Meaningful Use and qualify for those critical incentive funds.”

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have announced that the number of physicians and hospitals to have registered for the Medicare or Medicaid electronic health record incentive program has increased to over 176,000 through the end of 2012.  Total incentive payments issued during the year exceeded $2.5 billion.

According to a report available on the CMS website there were 124,089 medical professionals and hospitals that signed up for the Medicare program and 49,126 that signed up for the Medicaid program.  2,834 hospitals were eligible for both programs which brings the total registrants to 176,049.  That number increased by over 50% during the 4th quarter of 2011.

Total incentive funds paid out through year end now exceed $2.5 billion with $700 million of that having been paid out in the month of December.   The breakdown of the $2.5 billion paid out so far is as follows:

• Payments under the Medicare Program $1.38 billion
• Payments under the Medicaid Program $1.15 million

The CMS reports these numbers a few days after the close of each month.

Small medical practices across the country are starting 2012 with an extra $18,000 in the bank as a reward for making the transition from paper records to an Electronic Health Record system. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), part of the 2009 Economic Stimulus Plan, is promoting the national shift to EHR systems in an effort to reduce deadly medical errors, coordinate care and cut healthcare costs.

Practice Fusion has made EHRs affordable for small and midsized medical practices, especially in primary care. These private practice physicians have led the charge during the first year of Meaningful Use and have been outspoken in sharing their experiences using Practice Fusion’s free, web-based EHR to qualify for Meaningful Use payments. Investments in technology and devices for patient care were common plans for the stimulus money:

The majority of Practice Fusion users working toward Meaningful Use completed their 90-day attestation in December 2011, relying on the company’s free EHR and free support resources to navigate the demanding process.

“I am planning to invest in patient care and to upgrade computers with the stimulus money.” – Dr. Abraham – Bakersfield, CA

“Against all predictions, small medical practices and solo providers are embracing Meaningful Use. There is no doubt that the availability of affordable, or free, EHR systems such as Practice Fusion made this possible for doctors,” said Ryan Howard, CEO of Practice Fusion. “Thanks to the CMS program these medical practices are enabled to provide better care for their patients and can reinvest their incentives back into their communities.”

There are currently 1,096 certified ambulatory EHR systems on the market, many of which take a 10 to 25 percent cut of the stimulus money physicians receive on top of the steep costs for the EHR technology. Practice Fusion does not take a cut of incentives and does not charge users. With a Live in Five® set-up guarantee, Practice Fusion allows doctors to sign up for free today and immediately start working toward Meaningful Use.

Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has announced that, beginning January 23rd and throughout 2012, it is offering to eligible physician practices discounts of 85% off the retail price of its popular Care360® Electronic Health Record solution.

Through the Quest Diagnostics Grant program, physicians can receive a full, certified EHR solution, including EHR and Practice Management System licenses, training, hosting, maintenance and 24/7 support and training for less than $100 per month. New York and Missouri physicians are not eligible for the program and eligibility in New Jersey is limited in accordance with state law requirements.

Specifically, the Quest Diagnostics Grant offer includes:

Care360 EHR and PMS (Practice Management System) licensing, hosting, maintenance and support – The Grant program will donate 85 percent of the retail price of the EHR and PMS subscription price for eligible recipients during the Grant period.

Training and implementation – The Grant program will cover 85 percent of the retail price of standard training and implementation.

“Physicians are feeling economic pressure like never before,” said Richard Mahoney, vice president of Healthcare Information Solutions for Quest Diagnostics and president of its healthcare IT subsidiary MedPlus. “Quest Diagnostics wants to remain their trusted partner for all activities within their offices, and EHRs are one of the most top-of-mind challenges for physicians today.”

“As a longtime partner to independent physicians, we continue to look for opportunities to help them tackle EHR adoption challenges and achieve meaningful use of patient information,” Mahoney continued. “When thousands of physicians responded to our 2011 Grant program, we knew we’d found a way to encourage physicians to adopt an easy-to-implement, easy-to-use EHR–which can benefit their practices and their patients.”

Based on positive physician experiences with Care360 EHR resulting from the 2011 regional Grant program, Quest Diagnostics is now expanding the Grant program to be available to eligible physician practices in most states nationally.

“Our national Grant program means that for only 15 percent of the retail cost, eligible physicians can have a certified EHR that is up and running in approximately 45 days,” Mahoney said. “Not only can they save thousands of dollars, but they can earn tens of thousands more in Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) incentives.”

This offer represents a potential value of up to $9,400. Eligible grantees include any non-hospital-owned physician practice and any independent nurse practitioner practice that has not had an EHR in place. Other restrictions may apply.

Adoption of the Care360 EHR web-based solution continues to grow among primary care physicians operating in small to medium-sized physician practices across the nation. Approximately one third of U.S. physicians and many of the country’s leading hospitals, health plans and regional health exchanges currently rely on healthcare information solutions offered by Quest Diagnostics and MedPlus to document and monitor diagnostic, prescription and clinical data to provide better patient care.

Care360 EHR allows physicians to adopt an EHR quickly–on average, within 45 days after contract completion. Care360 EHR is a certified complete EHR solution*, meaning it can be used to help qualify each physician for up to $44,000 in Medicare incentives or $63,750 in Medicaid incentives through an EHR adoption program offered by CMS. As a web-based solution, Care360 gives physicians complete, secure EHR capabilities via the Internet and mobile devices such as iPad®, iPhone®, BlackBerry® and most other smartphones. As the first certified EHR to leverage the Direct Project specifications, physicians are able to easily and securely share information with other physicians, patients and hospitals – both those on the Care360 platform and with other technology solutions.

*This Complete EHR is 2011/2012 compliant and has been certified by the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT®), an ONC-ATCB, 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 or guarantee the receipt of incentive payments. Quality measures certified are all 44 Eligible Provider measures.

Date certified: December 15, 2010. Product version: 2011.2. Certification number: CC-1112-936980-1.

ChartLogic Inc has announced that 164 of its physician customers have qualified to receive payments under the federal government’s Medicare meaningful use program as of Dec. 1, 2011.

The company serves some 1,000 physicians nationwide. The total estimated amount of the payments to be awarded to the qualifying ChartLogic customers is $2.9 million.

“We are very proud that a significant percentage of our customers have qualified for meaningful use payments. This is a major achievement given the fact that most of our physicians are specialists in small medical groups. It is a testament to the ease-of-use of the ChartLogic EHR and our high level of customer support,” said Brad Melis, founder and executive vice president of ChartLogic.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced recently that 10,155 physicians had qualified nationwide for meaningful use payments under the Medicare program as of Dec. 1, 2011.

“Qualifying for MU is a major test of value for physicians when evaluating EHRs. We have two more stages of meaningful use payments coming in the next three years. In addition, there are a number of other incentive programs that have similar requirements for recording and sharing clinical data, so having an EHR that is easy to use is very important for physicians today,” Melis added.

The Stage 1 meaningful use program began on April 18, 2011, and physicians may continue to apply for those incentives through 2014. If a physician completes Stage 1 in 2011 or 2012, he will need to complete Stage 2 requirements by 2014.

As of Dec. 1, 2011, a total of $182 million in Stage 1 payments had been made to physicians under the Medicare program. Medicaid physicians are eligible for payments under a similar, separate program.

ACOM Health has announced a new program that will guarantee chiropractors purchasing their certified RAPID EHR software solution will receive EHR adoption incentive payment for 2012. Under the new program, eligible chiropractors are guaranteed to qualify for the government’s EHR incentive payment for 2012 or they will be entitled to cancel their purchase and receive a 100 percent refund of the purchase price paid for the software.

“It’s tough to sort through all the different vendors and to know who can really help chiropractors succeed with their transition to EHR,” says Sam Mikhail, vice president of sales for ACOM Health. “Helping chiropractors through the Meaningful Use attestation process is a serious part of ACOM Health’s solution and services delivery mission, that’s why we are making this guarantee – to show our commitment to the marketplace and to provide our customers with peace of mind and security.”

ACOM Health has worked to create a program that they claim is practically foolproof. It provides a Chiropractic software solution that is proven to fully meet the government’s meaningful use criteria to ensure stimulus payment; and it makes it easy to meet these requirements with a simple step-by-step training program and exclusive visual dashboard.

This holistic approach has enabled ACOM Health to guide more chiropractors to payment of the stimulus dollars than any other Chiropractic focused organization. More than one dozen chiropractors have been paid the full first-year stimulus of $18,000 and over 200 additional chiropractors are in the attestation period.

Medsphere Systems Corporation and Midland Memorial Hospital have jointly announced that Midland Memorial has met the requirements for Stage One Meaningful Use with Medsphere’s OpenVista system, the empowering electronic health record, and has received an initial reimbursement from the federal government. According to Midland Memorial administrators, the hospital has received initial disbursements of $2.3 million from the Medicare side of the program and $1 million in Medicaid compensation.

Having gone live in early 2006, well before the federal reimbursement program was established, Midland Memorial is Medsphere’s long-standing partner and a true pioneer in the adoption of open source EHRs derived from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ VistA system, the most widely used EHR in the world. The 320-bed West Texas hospital will ultimately receive in excess of $7 million, significantly more than the initial investment cost of OpenVista, from the federal government over the life of the Meaningful Use reimbursement program established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

“When Midland Memorial embarked on their EHR journey, there was no federal Meaningful Use reimbursement program, clearly demonstrating both the foresight and commitment to quality of Midland hospital administrators,” said Medsphere President and CEO Irv Lichtenwald. “It is so gratifying to see our valued partner receive this financial reward for their extensive efforts to improve patient care and control costs.”

Lawson Software has announced the Lawson Cloverleaf® Integration Suite v5.8 has received the federal government’s “Meaningful Use” stamp of approval by achieving Modular Ambulatory EHR and Modular Inpatient EHR certification.

This means the Cloverleaf Integration Suite can enable healthcare providers to qualify for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Cloverleaf Integration Suite is a leading healthcare data integration engine that facilitates the movement of patient data and electronic health records  within and outside organizations.

Through ARRA, the federal government provides financial incentives to encourage healthcare organizations and physicians to adopt and use certified EHR technologies in a meaningful way to improve clinical care delivery. A healthcare organization or physician must use certified EHR technology and meet the defined criteria to be eligible for incentive payments.

In September alone, $90 million was distributed to compliant hospitals and physician offices that met the Meaningful Use requirements. “Meaningful Use is driving significant Healthcare IT efforts to exchange patient data in standardized formats in a secure manner,” said Jim Catalino, senior vice president and general manager, Lawson Healthcare. “Lawson Cloverleaf is an integral part of the steps required for full Meaningful Use qualification. This certification status provides our customers the peace of mind that their healthcare information exchange initiatives are supported by an integration platform that has successfully passed defined criteria.”

Tested and certified under the Drummond Group’s Electronic Health Records Office of the National Coordinator Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ONC-ATCB) program, the Lawson Cloverleaf Integration Suite is 2011/2012 compliant with the criteria adopted by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. This certification program tests and certifies that EHRs meet the Meaningful Use criteria for eligible provider or hospital technology. In turn, healthcare providers using the EHR systems of certified vendors are qualified to receive federal stimulus funding after they demonstrate Meaningful Use of the technology.

The Lawson Cloverleaf Integration Suite was tested and certified on the following modules: Ambulatory Certification ID – 10132011-1282-6 (security modules 170.302 O, P, S – V and modules 170.304 F, I); and Inpatient Certification ID – 10132011-1283-6 (security modules 170.302 O, P, S – V and modules 170.306 D, F). These tests certified the solution’s integrity, encryption capabilities, access control and emergency access, and its ability to copy and exchange health information and patient summary records.

The Lawson Cloverleaf Integration Suite is a leading healthcare data integration platform that is used in thousands of facilities around the world, including 40 percent of all large integrated delivery networks and 33 percent of all hospitals in North America. It facilitates the movement of data through disparate systems within and outside organizations to help improve efficiency, reduce administrative costs and save time so physicians can focus on delivering quality care.

Lawson Healthcare is the information technology partner that helps manage and connect the clinical, financial and operational information that allows providers to concentrate on their mission of delivering the best patient care possible. Lawson Healthcare has the combination of software, people and industry know-how to help improve the business of healthcare.