Morning Headlines 1/31/14

DoD Healthcare Management Systems Modernization (DHMSM): Draft Request for Proposal

The DoD publishes an open solicitation for a new EHR that will replace all of its existing legacy systems. The usability testing scenario’s outlined within the proposal describe a medic calling up evidence-based guidelines and documenting care while providing emergency treatment to a wounded marine in the field. Subsequent scenarios describe field surgeons using the system to coordinate care delivery once the Marine arrives back at the forward operating base, then medications being administered by nurses during an air medevac to a larger hospital in the US, and finally the transfer of care from the DoD to a VA rehabilitation facility. The last scenario requires vendors demonstrate the exchange of medication lists and narrative care summaries between DoD/VA facilities.

Thousands of providers rank healthcare software and services in annual Best in KLAS report

athenaHealth dethrones Epic from the top spot on the Best in KLAS 2013: Software and Service report. Epic had held the number one position for the past eight years.

eHealth Exchange Survey Reveals Dramatic Increases in Participation and Online Transactions

The eHealth Exchange, a non-profit, public-private HIE collaborative, reports that its membership has grown to include 800 hospitals, 6,000 mid-to-large medical groups, 800 dialysis centers, and 850 retail pharmacies.

Hospital’s new IT system ‘has increased waiting times and led to lost patient data’

In England, staff at Croydon University Hospital are blaming their recent Cerner go-live for increased waiting times and lost patient information. The university’s director of quality maintains that the implementation of Cerner went well in technical terms, but members of the board were not convinced and are insisting that "patient care has definitely suffered."