... because it's a construction worksite. (It's a bit more evident from the second photo in the linked post.)
Morning Headlines 7/18/13
Quality Systems to Nominate New Directors to Board
Quality Systems, Inc. parent company of NextGen, has announced that it will add three new directors to its board to avoid a proxy fight initiated by activist investor Clifton Group. The deal will send Clifton Group nominees James C. Malone, Peter M. Neupert, and Morris Panner to the board. In exchange, the Clifton Group will withdraw both its call for the current board to be replaced as well as its series of bylaw proposals that would have been up for vote at the next shareholder meeting on August 15.
An EHR replacement trends report predicts a 50 percent reduction in the crowded field of EHR vendors by 2017 or the implementation Meaningful Use Stage 3. The study polled 880 EHR consultants, analysts, managers, and support team members on the state of affairs in what it calls the "Year of the Great EHR Switch."
Sen. Hatch calls for pausing meaningful use program
In a finance oversight meeting with Farzad Mostashari, MD, Senator Orrin Hatch proposed a pause to the Meaningful Use program to evaluate whether the program may have "set the bar too low." He says the program should be judged not by how much incentive money has been spent, but on demonstrable improvements in patient care.
PeaceHealth making cuts to close $130 million budget gap
Vancouver, WA-based PeaceHealth is targeting $130 million in spending cuts to account for reduced reimbursement rates and a planned $350 million EHR implementation that will take place across its health system over the next few years. Cost-saving strategies will include voluntary furloughs, early retirement, reduced travel, leaving vacant positions unfilled, and consolidating the number of contractors.
Senator Orrin Hatch proposed a pause to the Meaningful Use program to evaluate whether the program may have “set the bar too low.”
The incentives have resulted in the slamming in of systems that meet the letter of the law, but with poor usability and flimsy interoperability, both of which have existed for decades, few honestly believe they have made our care better. It is not an issue of setting the bar too low. They set the wrong bar.