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HIStalk Guide to HIMSS13

February 12, 2013 News 1 Comment

Download a printable PDF of the guide here.

Accent on Integration® (AOI®)

Booth: Interoperability Showcase, Use Case #8

Contact: Marc C. Andiel, Co-founder, President and CEO
MAndiel@AOI.biz
972.422.8609, 214.417.3618

Accent on Integration® (AOI®) enables data sharing by interconnecting disparate technology systems and patient care devices for hospitals and healthcare systems of all sizes to improve patient care by enhancing clinical workflows, eliminating error-prone processes and removing data silos. AOI’s Accelero Connect® integration platform is vendor, manufacturer and modality neutral and used to openly communicate clinical data between a multitude of systems and devices.

AOI was selected to participate in the HIMSS Interoperability Showcase and demonstrate live how Accelero Connect can integrate vital signs monitors, smart infusion pumps and telemetry beds with an HIS. At the show, AOI can be found in the demo area for Use Case No.8, which will illustrate the role integration plays as a patient moves through a hospital from the ED to ICU and then discharge.

AOI’s team of seasoned professionals is dedicated to uniting people, process and technology, and they look forward to meeting with you at HIMSS to discuss your integration goals.

Acuo Technologies

Booth 2859

Contact: Mike Dolan, Vice President of Sales
mdolan@acuotech.com
952.905.3448

Acuo Technologies® is the world leader in clinical content management and data migration technology. Our Universal Clinical Platform (UCP) is an enterprise solution built on a next-generation vendor neutral archive (VNA). UCP helps healthcare organizations achieve full interoperability across multiple disparate systems by consolidating long-term data management. UCP unlocks clinical content held captive in departmental systems, providing extreme data liquidity that eliminates migration headaches and accelerates patient data to the point of need. With VNA implementation experience that spans all major PACS vendors and storage providers, Acuo is focused on making all components of a healthcare ecosystem work better together.

In January 2013, Acuo became part of Perceptive Software from Lexmark. The combination of Perceptive’s content management capabilities and Acuo’s VNA platform provides the ability to capture, manage and access all unstructured content to clinicians exactly where and when they need it. The combined offerings provide capabilities to quickly search and extract relevant information from this captured content, and deliver it in the context of the clinical applications. It allows Acuo and Perceptive to bring “high definition” to the EMR and is unique in the healthcare space.

Acuo brings clinical content into the context of the patient record in the EMR, just as Perceptive Software brings unstructured content into the context of the EMR or other enterprise application. Together Perceptive Software’s rich process and content solutions, combined with Acuo’s Universal Clinical Platform, gives users an enterprise-wide view of all patient medical information from within the EMR system. This gives physicians immediate and convenient access to all patient information—from x-rays, ultrasounds, CT scans and more, regardless of the department in which it was conducted or the proprietary technology used to create and store it.

Access

Booth 1023

Contact: Lindsey Eaton, Senior Inside Sales Representative
lindsey.eaton@accessefm.com
913.752.9938

Hundreds of hospitals worldwide use Access solutions to integrate e-forms, electronic patient signatures and clinical data into EHRs without paper or user effort. See Access solutions in action at HIMSS Booth 1023. Oh, and we’ll have free Starbucks coffee, so that’s a win, win for you and your caffeine habit. Watch our customers’ video testimonials here: http://www.youtube.com/accesseforms. And check out our website to learn how we can help your hospital improve patient care and safety while saving you time, money and paper: www.accessefm.com.

Advisory Board Company

Booth 4669

Contact: Meghan Fassl, Manager
FasslM@advisory.com
202.266.6528

The Advisory Board Company is a global research, technology, and consulting firm partnering with 150,000 leaders in 3,700+ organizations across health care. Stop by booth #4669 to meet our team of IT experts, schedule a one on one session with analyst on your topic of choice, pick up our newly released research, attend an education session, and learn more about our Health Care IT Suite memberships.

Allscripts

Booth 3441

Contact: Ariana Nikitas, Director of External Relations
ariana.nikitas@allscripts.com
312.506.1236

The changes underway in healthcare require provider organizations to be Open. Open to change. Open to collaboration. Open to innovation. And Open to the information and insights that lead to improved outcomes. Allscripts Open architecture connects both clinical and financial data across every setting – whether you’re interested in care coordination, revenue cycle, performance management or mobility improvements. This openness brings us closer to our vision of a Connected Community of Health. Join us in booth #3441 to learn more how being Open is driving amazing outcomes across the healthcare industry.

AirStrip

Booth 1721

Contact: Kimberly Kuzawa, Executive Assistant
kimberlykuzawa@airstriptech.com
832.330.4419

AirStrip is guided by a bold vision: harness the power of mobile communications to change the way healthcare is practiced. The AirStrip™ ONE™ mobility solution can improve the quality and timeliness of care, can increase patient and clinician satisfaction, can enhance financial performance, and reduce risk. Headquartered in San Antonio, Texas, AirStrip is empowering the nation’s leading health systems to compete and succeed in today’s rapidly changing environment.

Sign up for a demo or meeting with us at HIMSS – visit www.airstriptech.com for more information. Also make sure to stop by the AirStrip booth and enter our drawing to win a free iPad.

Aprima Medical Software

Booth 6323

Contact: salesinfo@aprima.com
866.960.6890

Aprima Offers a Lifeline to Customers of Allscripts MyWay ™, including Community settings. If your organization is currently using Allscripts MyWay ™ for individual practices, or across an entire Community, you’ll want to stop by Aprima Booth 6323 at HIMSS and learn about the Aprima Rescue Program for customers of Allscripts MyWay™. With this program, you’ll be able to take advantage of free Aprima licenses – up to an $8,500 savings per provider! Plus, Aprima can easily handle your interfaces and interoperability needs. The Allscripts MyWay™ product was originally based on source code that Allscripts licensed from Aprima in 2008, so Aprima EHR and PM have the same look and feel with nearly 1,000 enhancements since 2008. When you upgrade to Aprima, you’ll enjoy a minimal learning curve and minimal to no downtime. For more information, please visit www.aprima.com/rescue or email salesinfo@aprima.com.

Aspen Advisors

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Daniel Herman, Founder and Managing Principal
dherman@aspenadvisors.net
412.370.4900

We know that technology is a means to an end and have a razor-sharp focus on helping you make progress toward the IHI’s Triple Aim of better health, better healthcare, and lower per capita costs. From strategy to execution to optimization, we can help you:

Develop your technology roadmap to support the shift from volume-based to value-based care
Evaluate EMR vendors and plan for implementation
Streamline governance and decision making
Plan for mergers, acquisitions and other outreach strategies
Implement clinical systems, drive adoption and achieve Meaningful Use
Complete ICD-10 implementation and audit compliance
Make real progress on teleHealth, eHealth and mHealth initiatives
Implement infrastructure changes to your technology roadmap
Leverage information and big data to create a data-driven culture
Realize value from EHR and other systems investments
Lead change and support performance improvement initiatives
Optimize IT service delivery
Plan for long-range IT workforce needs

Visit www.aspenadvisors.net to learn more.

AT&T

Booth 3727

Contact: Deborah Sunday, Marketing Director
ds823e@att.com
678.230.3440

Join the AT&T ForHealth team in Booth #3727 at HIMSS13 in New Orleans, March 3 -7. AT&T ForHealth is committed to serving the technology needs across the continuum of care – from hospitals to physicians to patients. Our suite of innovative wireless, cloud-based and networking services and applications empower clinicians by placing vital patient health information at their fingertips. Medical images are stored and shared through the cloud, across multiple care settings, highly-secure and on demand. With telehealth, patients get greater access to specialty care and physicians and specialists reach more patients. And with mobile health solutions, patients become more engaged in their own care.

Aventura

Booth 4011

Contact: Jon Cooper, VP of Strategic Initiatives, Co-Founder
jon.cooper@aventurahq.com
303.912.7623

For clinicians, technology can be a real pain in the distal orifice of the alimentary canal.And the more information clinicians need at the point of care, the worse the pain is going to get. Stop by booth #4011 and Suite #202 to see how this pain can be treated.

We know a thing or two about giving caregivers the mobility they need. It’s all about context! Who you are, where you are, and what you need. Aventura’s context- and location-aware intelligence improves the workflow of doctors and nurses by delivering the right information instantly based on clinician location and credentials.

Aventura improves clinician satisfaction, increases EMR use at the point of care, and allows focus on the quality of care. We make your EMR live up to the promises in the owner’s manual.

Awarepoint

Booth 6918

Contact: Carlene Anteau VP, Product Marketing
canteau@awarepoint.com
858.345.5000 x742

Awarepoint optimizes healthcare workflow by offering the industry’s only cloud-based, RTLS solution including software, technology, and managed services. Awarepoint’s experience, reliability and proven solutions drive positive clinical and financial outcomes. Organizations leverage current IT investments to improve communication, enhance coordination, streamline workflow, improve staff efficiency, optimize patient throughput and increase patient and staff satisfaction. Attendees should visit Awarepoint’s booth to learn how RTLS can improve patient flow in a variety of ways ranging from simple automation, such as documenting activities and time stamps based on caregiver, patient and equipment location, to complex milestone management that relates the interactions between caregivers, patients and equipment, to care ordered in the electronic medical record (EMR). The ability to interpret activities and anticipate roadblocks in the patient’s care plan supports proactive communication to drive action.

New product alert: Awarepoint will be demonstrating a new "Bed and Bay Sensor" that enables precise tracking of mobile equipment and patient and caregiver interactions in locations with tight-bed spacing, such as the emergency department (ED) and pre- and post-anesthesia care.

Beacon Partners

Booth 4729

Contact: Jeannette Pforr, Marketing Associate
jpforr@beaconpartners.com
781.681.7493

Beacon Partners is one of the largest healthcare management consulting firms in North America. We focus on helping organizations enhance operational performance to deliver the highest level of patient care. For more than two decades, healthcare leaders have chosen Beacon Partners to optimize clinical productivity and financial performance, ultimately leading to improved quality, safety and patient outcomes. Our team of industry executives, physicians, nurses, administrators, allied healthcare professionals and analysts brings a unique, multi-disciplinary approach to the challenges you face. We are healthcare professionals just like you. That’s the Beacon Partners difference. Be sure to stop by our booth to find out how Beacon Partners can help your organization.

BESLER Consulting

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Jim Hoffman, Chief Operating Officer
jhoffman@besler.com
732.233.5008

For over 25 years, BESLER has helped hospitals recover otherwise lost revenue, increase reimbursement, ensure compliance, improve efficiency and reduce costs. BESLER’s deep domain experience in revenue cycle, reimbursement, compliance and unmatched software solutions has resulted in more than one billion dollars in additional revenue for our clients. If you’d like to discuss our products or partnership opportunities at HIMMS, please contact Jim Hoffman at 732-233-5008 or jhoffman@besler.com.

Billian’s HealthDATA / Porter Research

Booth 2317

Contact: Jennifer Dennard, Social Marketing Director
jdennard@billian.com
678.569.4872

Billian’s HealthDATA and Porter Research offer a broad spectrum of market intelligence solutions at HIMSS13:

Provider Solutions
ID referral partner opportunities
Compare peer performance
Review patient market share
Vendor Solutions
Broadest lead & email coverage
Integrated health market coverage
In-depth data in flexible formats

Need help with your go-to-market strategy? Let actionable feedback from target C-suite buyers guide you with custom market research programs from Porter Research. Schedule your show-floor demo or consultation and get a Starbucks gift card at the booth: http://ow.ly/hjHqw,

Bottomline Technologies

Booth 2619, Hall D

Contact: Michael Kortan VP, Healthcare
mkortan@bottomline.com
603.501.5185

Bottomline’s intuitive, data-driven solutions for patient access and financial process automation are used by 900+ U.S. hospitals. Customers apply our products for patient registration, mobile data and e-signature capture, and cash management to deliver positive patient experiences, improve data and operational efficiencies, and enhance organizational health. Stop by HALL D Booth 2619 for your free Data DNA test and enter to win one of our daily prizes.

CAP Professional Services

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Bruce R. Cattie, Senior Managing Director
CAPSTS@cap.org
847.832.7700

CAP Professional Services provides best practice health IT strategies, clinical informatics, and terminology services for clients striving to achieve semantic interoperability and high-quality, robust electronic medical records (EMR).

CapSite

Booth 4929 and across from registration in Lobby D

Contact: Gino Johnson, VP, Business Development & Consulting, HIMSS Analytics; Founder, CapSite
Gino.Johnson@himssanalytics.org
802.922.9971

CapSite, now part of HIMSS Analytics, provides detailed health IT data via the CapSite Database, as well as strategic and tactical consulting services. Visit the HIMSS Analytics – CapSite booths in Lobby D and on the exhibit floor (#4929) for a CapSite Database demo to see how our pricing, packaging and positioning information can help with your capital planning and procurement processes or competitor analysis.

Capsule Tech, Inc.

Booths 3711, 3185, and 8711

Contact: Brianna Roy, Marketing and Events Coordinator
briannar@capsuletech.com
978.482.2339

Capsule is the leading global provider of medical device connectivity solutions for hospitals and healthcare organizations. Capsule enables hospitals using electronic medical records and other information systems to reduce costs, increase efficiency and improve patient care through the direct capture and delivery of patient vitals at the point-of-care. Capsule’s solutions are flexible and scalable, offering a variety of deployment options to meet the needs of any healthcare delivery organization. Founded in 1997, the Company has established strong partnerships with leading medical device manufacturers and installed enterprise-wide solutions in over 1200 hospitals in 36 countries.

For more information, visit www.capsuletech.com or call +1 978-482-2337 (US), or +33 1 5334 1400 (France). Over 1,100 hospitals have chosen Capsule for device integration because our solutions are:

RELIED ON by nurses
Capsule’s solution was designed with nurses, for nurses to fit current workflows and eliminate charting duplication
WANTED by I.T. teams
Capsule works with existing devices, systems and infrastructures
NEEDED by patients – Capsule reduces nurse charting time allowing for greater focus on direct patient care.

Caradigm

Booth 1323

Contact: Debbie Wolti
info@caradigm.com

Formed by GE Healthcare and Microsoft Corp. in June 2012, Caradigm is a joint venture focused on enabling health systems and payers to drive continuous improvements in care. Caradigm software helps healthcare professionals across care settings to use data to gain critical insights, collaborate with each other and with patients, and to develop and implement innovative care solutions to address some of healthcare’s biggest challenges.

Come by booth #1323 to see:

EXCITING DEMOS – Check out new Caradigm and partner offerings.
ENLIGHTENING CUSTOMER PRESENTATIONS – Come hear theater presentations about industry trends and best practices from your peers.
INFORMATIVE CARADIGM PRESENTATIONS – Learn about Caradigm’s vision, new products we’re delivering and plans for the future.
CARADIGM PERSONNEL – Stop by the booth to chat with our team, get your questions answered and learn more about new Caradigm.

CareTech Solutions

Booth 1911

Contact: Colleen Hanley, Vice President, Marketing
colleen.hanley@caretech.com
248.823.0950

CareTech Solutions is a healthcare IT services company providing 24x7x365 IT support for more than 200 hospitals/health systems in the U.S.

HIMSS13 attendees should visit CareTech’s booth (1911) to experience, first-hand, the company’s Clinical Help Desk and how it resolves clinical IT issues fast – getting doctors and nurses back to what matters most, providing quality patient care. From iPad video stations, attendees can watch and listen to CareTech analysts resolving EMR application issues in a matter of seconds, not minutes.

Certify Data Systems

Booth 717

Contact: David Caldwell, Chief Marketing and Sales
sales@certifydatasystems.com
408.236.7494

Certify Data Systems, Inc., is a pioneer in health information exchange (HIE) technology. The company’s HealthLogix™ Enterprise HIE platform has been adopted by the nation’s leading hospitals, physicians and laboratories. Certify’s HIE platform provides bi-directional community-wide semantic interoperability between disparate Electronic Health Record (EHR) systems, enabling all healthcare providers to exchange essential health information in real-time. In addition to processing electronic orders and results, the HealthLogix HIE platform delivers Continuity of Care Documents and Clinical Document Architecture seamlessly across a healthcare ecosystem. Certify’s industry leading “network approach” is easy to deploy, scale, manage and support.

Visit us at HIMSS13 in booth 717. Certify is partnering with the local New Orleans YMCA chapter to support their Strong Communities Campaign. Stop by our booth to learn how you can help promote their goal of living a healthier lifestyle. For more information, please visit http://www.certifydatasystems.com. Follow us on Twitter at @CertifyData.

ChartWise Medical Systems, Inc.

Booth 1961

Contact: Michael Backus, Director of Sales
mbackus@chartwisemed.com
317.774.4414

Visit us at HIMSS to see the first and best computer-assisted clinical documentation improvement application on the market.

ChartWise:CDI brings clinical documentation intelligence to your documentation improvement program. A comprehensive web-based software solution, it utilizes innovative built-in expertise to streamline the documentation improvement process by translating clinical terms, labs, and medications into the diagnostic terms needed for coding.

Featuring electronic queries, a flexible workflow, workflow management, help screens and videos, and reference materials from Coding Clinics and DRG Desk Reference, ChartWise:CDI has all the tools a clinical documentation specialist requires. Role-based functionality, robust on-demand multi-level reporting (from the hospital system down to the nursing unit), and optional Advanced Reporting utilizing business intelligence provide the tools an administrator requires. HL7 interfacing, rigorous data security, and no software to install help ease the burden on the IT department.

ChartWise:CDI changes the world of clinical documentation improvement like no other product or service on the market today.

CIC Advisory

To schedule a meeting:

Contacts: Cynthia Davis, Marcy Stoots, or Robert Johns
cynthiadavis@cicadvisory.com
727.772.3340

CIC Advisory helps hospitals use technology to provide more effective, efficient and safer patient care. Founders Cynthia Davis and Marcy Stoots are former critical care nurses with decades of experience leading fast-track clinical EHR projects. Our methodologies result in high rates of physician and clinician satisfaction and adoption, coordinated patient care processes and improved clinical outcomes.

Call us at 1.727.772.3340 or email cynthiadavis@cicadvisory.com for your invitation to the CIC Advisory hospitality suite at HIMSS13.

Clinithink

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Nathan Skorick, Business Development
nathan.skorick@clinithink.com
978.296.5282
Robert Miller, VP Sales and Marketing
robert.miller@clinithink.com
978.296.5282

Find out how to turn data into information…

Clinithink was founded in 2009 by two clinicians with 20 years of combined healthcare IT and EHR experience who understood what was possible if you could unlock the unstructured clinical data within an patient records and return it as structured, usable clinical information. The result of their pioneering work is CLiX, Clinithink’s Clinical Natural Language Processing (CNLP) solution.

CLiX intelligently unlocks unstructured data, while preserving its original meaning, to help healthcare organizations access the information they need to improve financial management, improve quality measures and enhance clinical and operational processes.

Cornerstone Advisors Group LLC

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Mary Berchtold, Vice President
mberchtold@cornerstone-advisors.com
781.254.4013

Cornerstone will have experienced senior level representatives from the EPIC, MEDITECH and Advisory/Strategies consulting service lines at HIMSS. They will be available to meet and discuss services during the conference. Meeting times may be scheduled by contacting Mary Berchtold (mberchtold@cornerstone-advisors.com).

Craneware

To schedule a meeting:

Ann Marie Brown, Executive Vice President of Marketing
a.brown@craneware.com
913.548.2810
Craneware will not be exhibiting at HIMSS but will have several senior executives available to discuss the company, our products, and the role we play in helping hospitals achieve revenue integrity though data normalization.

Craneware is the leader in automated revenue integrity solutions that improve financial performance for healthcare organizations. Craneware’s market-driven, SaaS solutions help hospitals and other healthcare providers more effectively price, charge, code and retain earned revenue for patient care services and supplies. This optimizes reimbursement, increases operational efficiency and minimizes compliance risk. By partnering with Craneware, clients achieve the visibility required to identify, address and prevent revenue leakage.

Founded in 1999, Craneware’s mission is to stop the loss of legitimate revenue owed to healthcare organizations by establishing a culture of revenue integrity within these organizations. Our vision is to be the partner that can be relied on to improve and sustain our customers’ strong financial performance.

Over our history we have come a long way towards achieving this. Today, Craneware has a total of nine core products, spanning four product families: Revenue Cycle, Access Management & Strategic Pricing, Supply Management and Audit & Revenue Recovery. One in four registered U.S. hospitals has chosen Craneware products to help them optimize reimbursement, improve operational efficiency, and minimize compliance risk. To support this growing client base and the company’s future growth prospects, Craneware now employs more than 200 professionals across the US and UK.

CSI Healthcare IT

To schedule a meeting:

Kate Mays, Vice President of Sales
kmays@thecsicompanies.com
904.716.1209

CSI Healthcare IT will be hosting a cocktail reception and dinner at Broussards on Tuesday night March 5 starting at 6:00 pm. Please contact Kate Mays to join.

CSI Healthcare IT is committed to providing the highest standard of consultants and consulting services in the Industry. Our track record speaks for itself. We have a long record of supporting the Project Management, Training, Build, Report Writing, Go Live Support and Interface functions of Health systems nationwide. Today, CSI Healthcare IT has more than 500 permanent and contract staff of experienced, knowledge-based professionals. CSI has been recognized by Inc. Magazine and Staffing Industry Analysts as one of fastest growing privately held companies in the nation. Being privately held enables creativity and flexibility to meet the specific consulting needs of our clients. CSI has the ability to enact quick adjustments to accommodate the ebb and flow of our clients’ staffing and project needs.

Join us for live music and networking Tuesday night at Broussards.

CTG Health Solutions

Booth 3663

Contact: Amanda LeBlanc, Managing Director, Marketing & Communications
amanda.leblanc@ctghs.com
225.772.8865

Computer Task Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CTGX) is an international IT solutions and services company with over 3,800 employees in North America and Western Europe. Its healthcare division, CTG Health Solutions (CTG), is a leading IT consulting firm dedicated solely to helping provider and payer clients achieve strategic, clinical, financial, and operational objectives by more effectively leveraging IT.

CTG’s comprehensive solution suite includes advisory, implementation, IT and strategic sourcing services— including planning and assessments, vendor selection, EMR implementation and optimization, clinical/business analytics, physician adoption, integration/technology solutions, revenue cycle strategies, legacy and production application management, support and upgrades, and solutions addressing regulatory requirements of ICD-10, meaningful use, and accountable care. CTG has provided technology and business solutions to more than 600 healthcare clients for over 25 years.

Visit CTG at HIMSS booth 3663 for conversations on “getting health IT right.”

dbMotion

Booth 5229

Contact: Kate Kolbrener, Director of Marketing
katek@dbmotion.com
412.802.2248

The dbMotion™ Solution is a proven, connected healthcare, SOA-based interoperability platform that enables healthcare organizations and health information exchanges (HIEs) to meaningfully integrate and leverage their information assets, driving improvements in the quality, safety and efficiency of patient care. dbMotion transforms care through the creation of a virtual patient record that integrates patient information to connect care providers and settings.This robust solution is field-proven, having been implemented in some of the world’s most demanding healthcare IT environments since 2001.

Our dbMotion™ Solution is helping clients:

Access HIE within the Physician Workflow
Connect the Ambulatory Environment
Link the Affiliate Community
Prepare for MU2 and Build an ACO
Harmonize Clinical Data for Analytics

Come see us at Booth 5229 for a demo! www.dbmotion.com

Dearborn Advisors, LLC

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Mary Kiley, Revenue Development Coordinator
MKiley@DearbornAdvisors.com
773.255.0749.

Dearborn Advisors would like to chat with you about what’s going on in your organization regarding physician adoption of technology. Although we have no booth, we’ll spring for Starbucks coffee and have hundreds of chocolate bars to give away. Email Mary Kiley (mkiley@dearbornadvisors.com) or call 773-255-0749.

Deloitte

Booth 1863

Contact: Samantha Gordon, National Life Sciences & Health Care Marketing Leader
smgordon@deloitte.com
212.436.4987

By imagining the possible, we help you innovate and seize opportunities. Deloitte can help you in your efforts to define a vision for your organization in the constantly changing world of health care. Through the use of analytics, we can help you in your efforts to make decisions about the future. To do things differently – or make a new way forward.

While you are at HIMSS13, stop by our booth to interact with our analytics products, including Recombinant by Deloitte, the newest addition to our portfolio. Our solution specialists will be available to discuss your pressing issues: Accountable Care, Health Outcomes Management, ICD-10 implementation, Security & Privacy, Meaningful Use, Revenue Cycle, Mobile Health and more.

Visualize clarity through analytics and innovation. For more information visit us at www.deloitte.com/us/himss13.

Direct Consulting Associates

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Frank Myeroff, Managing Partner
fmyeroff@dc-associates.com
440.996.0051

Direct Consulting Associates (DCA) provides a broad range of IT Consulting and Staffing solutions including staff augmentation, temp-to-perm, and permanent placement for healthcare IT initiatives. Whether you’re an IT professional searching for that perfect opportunity or a client company looking for the very best IT talent, we would like to meet you at HIMSS 2013!

Direct Recruiters, Inc.

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Mike Silverstein, Director of Healthcare IT
mike@directrecruiters.com
440.996.0594
440.667.8334

Direct Recruiters specializes in recruiting, staffing, search, placement and consulting solutions for the Healthcare Information Technology (IT) Industry.

Divurgent

Booth 5948

Contact: Keri DeSalvo, Marketing Coordinator
keri.desalvo@divurgent.com
757.213.6875

Visit booth #5948 and help Divurgent raise $5,000 to donate to a local New Orleans Children’s Hospital. All we need is your signature!

Divurgent is not the typical healthcare IT consulting firm. As a nationally recognized company, we strive to be different, to think outside of the box for innovative healthcare solutions. Our goal is simple. To transform healthcare to our clients and the communities they serve. Focused on the business of hospitals, health systems and affiliated providers, Divurgent believes successful outcomes are derived from powerful partnerships. Recognizing the unique culture that every organization offers, we leverage the depth of our experienced consulting team to create customized solutions that best meet our client’s goals. Utilizing best practices and methodologies we help improve our client’s operational effectiveness, financial performance and quality of patient care.

Elsevier Clinical Decision Support

Booth 6129

Contact: Che Dildy, Sr. Manager, Product Marketing
c.dildy@elsevier.com
215.239.3795

By integrating insight and action, Elsevier Clinical Decision Support empowers meaningful care through our world-class healthcare information technology solutions, providing a patient-centered approach for organizations to achieve the triple aim.

Emdeon

Booth 5027

Contact: Brian C. Young, Director of Marketing
bcyoung@emdeon.com
404.432.9419

Emdeon provides interoperable information exchange uniting healthcare communities to help improve business and clinical outcomes. Come by booth 5027 to discover how Emdeon can help you achieve your business goals through Emdeon Universal Exchange, and also learn how you can win one of eight iPad minis that will be given out during the show.

Emdeon is the single largest clinical, financial and administrative health information network in the nation. In 2012, we processed nearly 7 billion health information exchanges. Our network moves information between physicians, hospitals, labs, pharmacies and payers through our interoperable connectivity to their software systems. This creates opportunities for access to big data, making it possible to apply intelligent analytics which help drive key programs like care collaboration, accountable care, medical home and pay for performance – all to help you achieve improved quality of care and lower costs with less capital expense.

Emdeon will have 4 in-booth speaking sessions this year, and two iPad minis will be given away at each session!

Session 1: Epic Orders Through Emdeon: Removing the Barriers to Clean Electronic Orders Monday March 4th, 3:00PM – 3:30PM Eric Reynolds, Vice President, Sales and Strategy, Emdeon
Session 2: The Future of Coding is NOW: Maximizing Coding Efficiency and Accuracy Using Big Data and Analytics Tuesday March 5th, 11:00AM – 11:30AM Manjula Iyer, Director of Product Management, Atigeo
Session 3: Breaking the Cycle: How Big Data and Real-Time Analytics Can Help You Intelligently Manage Readmissions Tuesday March 5th, 3:00PM – 3:30PM Gene Boerger, Vice President, Product Innovation, Emdeon
Session 4: Interoperability: The Key to ePrescribing Success Wednesday, March 6th, 11:00AM – 11:30AM Lathe Bigler, Sr. Director, Clinical Services, Emdeon

e-MDs

Booth 6413

Contact: James Foster, Client Data Operations Manager
jfoster@e-mds.com
512.623.6960

Stop By e-MDs Booth Daily for a Chance to Win an iPad Mini!!!

Let e-MDs help you Master Healthcare Strategies. As a consistently top-ranked vendor, clients count on e-MDs to give them the edge they need in meeting tomorrow’s challenges. e-MDs is well-known for our award-winning integrated EHR/PM solutions and services for ambulatory healthcare providers.

We’re introducing exciting new products and initiatives at HIMSS®13 to help you make the right moves to meet the challenging healthcare landscape. Join us at HIMSS®13 where our executive management team will be available to share our vision with you. Learn more about the innovative technology and services we’re delivering that help clients achieve clinical excellence, attain interoperability, drive improvements in patient engagement, and deliver stronger quality measures that support value-based performance, PQRS and MU criteria.

We welcome existing clients, prospects, business partners and other healthcare leaders to visit with us and discuss our latest innovations.

EMRConsultant.com

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Donna Flynn, Director of Healthcare Technology Solutions
DonnaF@EHRScope.com
888.519.3100 ext. 114

Some things in life truly are FREE! In this case, its receiving the BEST QUALIFIED EHR, PM, Billing and/or Voice Recognition recommendations for your practice, absolutely FREE. How? Use the Comparison Chart, Select Individual Consultant on EHRScope.com, or contact us today with any questions!

Enovate

Booth 7429

Contact: Kevin Dougherty, Marketing and Events Manager
kdougherty@enovateit.com
248.655.0548 ext.154

Enovate is an international manufacturer of mobile and wall mounted computer workstations for the healthcare environment. We provide multiple vehicles for medication delivery, computerized physician order entry, and the implementation for clinical documentation.

We understand that caregivers have enough to worry about. That’s why we work hard to build products that are worry-free—so that caregivers can focus on what really matters, the patient. With comfortable ergonomics, infection control and sustainable materials, Enovate’s products are setting a new standard in the Health Information Technology industry. Light weight, soft corners, and manufactured with antimicrobial materials — these are just a few of the many reasons hospitals choose Enovate products.

Enovate – advancing health information technology For more information, please contact Enovate at (877)258-8030 or visit www.enovateusa.com.

ESD

Booth 5213

Contact: Jessica St. John, Business Development Director
jstjohn@contactesd.com
419.841.3179

ESD is dedicated to assisting healthcare organizations successfully implement health information technology. Experienced, clinical professionals help make that happen thorough full-scale implementation services that assist organizations before, during and after the go-live process to ensure a successful transition to a new or upgraded software. We work with all major systems, such as Allscripts, Cerner, Epic, McKesson, Meditech, NextGen and Siemens.

Stop by and see how we can help make your system work for you!

Etransmedia Technology, Inc

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Connie Smith, Sales and Marketing
Connie.Smith@etransmedia.com
518.283.5418 ext. 2262

Etransmedia provides comprehensive RCM platform service solutions, including an integration EHR/PM solution, patient identity tools, discrete clinical data repository, provider portal, community patient portal, analytics tools supporting financial, clinical, and quality of care reporting. Delivering RCM and Revenue Analytics services to health systems nationwide, serving 12,000+ providers and 40,000+ users.

FDB (First Databank)

Booth 4241

Contact: Denise Apcar, Brand Communications Manager
dapcar@fdbhealth.com
800.633.3453

First Databank (FDB) provides drug knowledge that helps healthcare professionals make precise medication-related decisions. Come to our booth 4241 at HIMSS13, have a cup of gourmet coffee with us, and meet with FDB specialists to learn more about:

Achieving Meaningful Use Stage 1/ 2 criteria for medications; get our tip sheet at www.fdbhealth.com/MU2
AlertSpace®, our latest innovation for better managing alerts within your HIS system – now includes dosage range checking capabilities (in addition to drug allergy, drug-disease, drug-drug interaction and duplicate therapy alert customization capabilities)
Our State and Federal Controlled Substances Module to simplify compliance with regulations related to controlled substances prescribing and more
Our High Risk Medication Module™ to identify medications with Box Warnings and/or Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS)

With thousands of customers worldwide, FDB enables our information system developer partners to deliver a wide range of valuable, useful, and differentiated solutions. For a complete look at our solutions and services please visit www.fdbhealth.com.

Forward Health Group

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Michael Barbouche, Founder/CEO
FHGtalk@forwardhealthgroup.com
608.729.7530

Let the good times and Fresh Data roll in the Big Easy! Forward Health Group, the Health Care Measurement Company, is intentionally booth-less at HIMSS13 so we can get down, roll up our sleeves and make rich, brainstorming music with health systems, payors and all you newly-minted ACOs. If your focus is population health, you’re going to need tools and help with all that messy data – call us at 608 729 7530 or email us at FHGtalk@forwardhealthgroup.com. We’re on the HIMSS13 show floor – we’ll be right back to you. Let’s have a cafe au lait, spiced with Fresh Data.

With FHG, your data is as fine as the Duck and Andouille Gumbo at Galatoire’s. No, really.

GetWellNetwork, Inc.

Booth 2363

Contact: Tony Cook, Vice President, Marketing
tcook@getwellnetwork.com
240.482.4212

GetWellNetwork provides patient engagement solutions that help health care providers engage, educate and empower patients along the care continuum. Our patient-centered platform, delivered across multiple technology platforms including mobile devices, computers and televisions, enables providers to implement a revolutionary care delivery model called Interactive Patient Care™ to improve performance and patient outcomes. The company further extends the value of existing IT investments by integrating seamlessly with electronic medical record and patient portal applications.

For the third consecutive year GetWellNetwork is recognized by KLAS® as the leader in the Interactive Patient Systems category and exclusively endorsed by the American Hospital Association.Today GetWellNetwork solutions facilitate over 7 million patient interactions.

GetWellNetwork will be showcasing it’s newest solutions – myGetWellNetwork, Interactive Patient Whiteboard and GetWellNetwork for VA Medical Centers. Giveaway – iPads!

Learn more at www.GetWellNetwork.com.

Greenway Medical Technologies

Booth 3941

Contact: Leeann Fleming, National Trade Show Manager
leeannfleming@greenwaymedical.com
866.242.3805

Visit Booth 3941 to learn about the market’s first Cerner-certified interoperability solution for health system alignment and data exchange, and the first EHR to achieve Stage 2 certification. Learn about our high-scoring PCMH service as recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance, and our advanced, clinically-driven RCM solutions, all part of the PrimeSUITE platform.

Please visit one of our kiosks located in the Interoperability Showcase, Meaningful Use Pavilion – booth 149/Kiosk C13, or GA HIMSS booth 5500 to receive a key and code that will be taken to our main booth for an opportunity to unlock our safe. Prize value up to $2,000.

About Greenway and PrimeSUITE Greenway Medical Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: GWAY) delivers smarter solutions for smarter healthcare™. PrimeSUITE® — Greenway’s certified and fully integrated electronic health record, practice management and interoperability solution — helps improve care coordination, quality and cost-efficiency as part of a smarter, sustainable healthcare system. Thousands of providers across more than 30 specialties and sub-specialties use on-premise or cloud-based Greenway® solutions in healthcare enterprises, physician practices, clinics and ambulatory clinics nationwide. To learn more, go to www.greenwaymedical.com, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube.

Greythorn

Booth: 5358

Contact: Mary Beth Seaman, Director, Healthcare IT Practice
marybeth.seaman@greythorn.com
425.387.8848

Greythorn is a market leading technology recruitment specialist. Founded in 1976, it has established an excellent reputation for the authoritative and personable service it provides to both its clients and candidates. Since our inception, we have grown globally to provide expertise in Asia, Australia, Ireland, North America, South America and the UK.

With demand in the Healthcare IT sector continually increasing, our commitment to providing an expert and ethical service remains strong, ensuring we remain your ‘consultancy of choice’. Greythorn is part of the global multi-brand recruitment family, FiveTen Group, one of the world’s fastest-growing specialist recruitment consultancies. Visit booth #5358 to discuss industry data gathered from Greythorn’s annual Healthcare IT Market Report, learn about our staffing expertise with various types and volumes of projects and take a moment off of your feet. We look forward to meeting you!

Halfpenny Technologies

Booth 5223

Contact: Brian Muck, Sr. VP of Sales and Marketing
bmuck@halfpenny.com
855.277.9100

Are you using CPOE for lab, diagnostic imaging, pathology, cardiology and other ancillary services? Are your results delivered separately or as one cohesive bundle? Are you able to make business and clinical decisions based on referral patterns and clinical data?

Visit Halfpenny Technologies in booth #5223 at HIMSS13. Learn how your referral base can submit orders and receive customized bundled results with Halfpenny’s ITF-HUB solution. You will gain an additional benefit from the built in business intelligence! You can leverage "true interoperability" with the multi-vendor systems you already have in place, and quickly extract key data allowing you to turn it into actionable intelligence to deliver higher-quality healthcare and gain a competitive edge.

Halfpenny offers solutions for hospitals, health plans, physicians, independent laboratories, diagnostic imaging centers, ancillary healthcare services, HIEs, ACOs and physicians. Stop by to play our “True Interoperability” game, meet our team and win prizes.

Hayes Management Consulting

To schedule a meeting:

Pete Butler, President and CEO
pbutler@hayesmanagement.com
781.414.6099

Hayes Management Consulting is a leading, national healthcare consulting firm focused on healthcare operations. This includes strategic planning, interim leadership, revenue cycle optimization, clinical optimization, project management, IT consulting, and preparation for federal initiatives such as ICD-10, Meaningful Use, and HIPAA compliance. We also provide software such as MDaudit and other proprietary tools to ensure our clients are operationally efficient.

HCI Group

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Cherity PIerce, Marketing Coordinator
cherity.pierce@thehcigroup.com
904-224-9388

HCI is a leading provider of IT personnel and solutions to healthcare enterprises across the United States, United Kingdom, and Middle East. Our specialties include:

EHR Planning, Implementation, & Training
Sustaining Support Models
Optimization & Clinical Adoption
Go-Live Support
Health System/Hospital Community IT Offerings

What makes HCI the best choice for your HIT project? Everything from our collaborative solutions to our rates that translate into real cost savings for your institution. Here’s how we deliver our comprehensive services and expertise:

Strategic thinking across the entire spectrum of project engagement
Clinical Leadership and an experienced engagement team to meet your needs in an efficient and timely manner
Knowledge of industry best practices
A fully dedicated recruitment team, exclusively focused on Healthcare IT to secure for you the very best resources to make your project a success

HealthCare Anytime

Booth 3869 (ICA)

Contact: Jesse Klick, Vice President – Operations
jesse.klick@healthcareanytime.com
619.243.8333

HealthCare Anytime’s cloud-based enterprise patient portal helps healthcare organizations achieve meaningful patient engagement. Our robust patient portal is delivered in a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, which means we handle hosting, implementation, training, and support, thus reducing the demand on your IT resources.

HealthCare Anytime – Powering Patient Engagement Through the Cloud.

Healthcare Growth Partners

Booth 3845

Contact: Christopher McCord, Managing Director
chris@hgp.com
312.445.8750

Healthcare Growth Partners provides investment banking and strategic advisory services to small and mid-size, high-growth companies with an exclusive focus on healthcare technology and healthcare services. HGP was founded in 2005 with the goal of providing top tier strategic consulting and investment banking services to companies outside of typical middle-market investment bank parameters. Services include mergers and acquisitions, capital formation, strategy, and valuation.Since inception, HGP has closed over 50 transactions. With this focus, the firm leverages its experienced management team, strong execution capabilities, and deep network of contacts within the industry to provide efficient and high value processes for clients, all with the objective of growing companies, realizing value.

Health Catalyst

Booth 7721

Contact: Chris Keller, Marketing Director
chris.keller@healthcatalyst.com
801.230.9223

Health Catalyst (formerly Healthcare Quality Catalyst) delivers a proven, agile data warehouse platform that actually works in today’s transforming healthcare environment.

Currently 81 hospitals caring for 20 million patients utilize Health Catalyst’s Adaptive Data Warehousing platform and solutions. Founded by healthcare veterans who developed their solution after struggling for years to try to make non-healthcare data warehousing solutions work, the Health Catalyst data warehouse utilizes an adaptive approach designed specifically to address the complex nature of healthcare data.Health Catalyst’s platform combines technology solutions and clinical expertise borne out of repeated successful implementations that significantly improved quality of care and reduced healthcare costs.

Health Catalyst’s proven solutions are deployed at leading health systems including Allina Health, Indiana University Health, MultiCare Health System, North Memorial Health Care, Providence Health & Services, Stanford Hospital and Clinics, and Texas Children’s Hospital.

Health Language

Booth 4559

Contact: Marc Horowitz, Senior Vice President, Business Development
Marc.Horowitz@healthlanguage.com
720.320.6663

Health Language, Inc. (HLI) provides software for managing and updating standard and localized healthcare terminology. Health Language also offers clinical content and professional services to enable interoperability, ICD-10 conversion, web-based terminology mapping, and Meaningful Use compliance. Come visit us at booth 4559 to learn more about our robust, innovative solutions for payers, providers, government payers, and healthcare IT and EMR vendors. The HLI solution can assist with your ICD-10 conversion, analytics, and clinical research needs, as well as with pharmaceutical and international applications.

Stop by and see us to learn more, watch one of our informative demos and register to win one of our daily giveaways.

HealthMEDX

Booth 1075

Contact: Denise Johnson, Marketing Coordinator
Denise.Johnson@Healthmedx.com
417.799.6703

The HealthMEDX Vision solution provides an integrated, person-centric CRM, clinical and financial EMR, across the entire LTPAC care continuum including: Long Term Care (SNF, Assisted Living, and Independent Living), Rehab, Homecare, and Hospice. The SaaS based architecture supports interoperability with hospitals, physicians and payers to address readmission management and care coordination challenges across the continuum.

Come see how we embedded the AHRQ On-Time Readmission Prevention program into our solution! HealthMEDX Vision is both CCHIT and ONC-ATCB Certified.

Healthwise

Booth 3885

Contact: Michael Lauber, Account Executive
mlauber@healthwise.org
208.331.6995

Experience the Healthwise Difference. Get an insider’s perspective on what makes the Healthwise® Patient Engagement Solution your best choice for clinicians and their patients. Meet the people behind the Healthwise mission. Experience:

Trusted information
Tested interaction
True innovation

Visit Healthwise at booth 3885. Since 1975, our singular mission has been to help people make better health decisions. Healthwise leads the way with patient-friendly education and ONC-ATCB–certified technology. With Healthwise as your single source for patient education, you meet the criteria for Meaningful Use now, and you’re well positioned for whatever changes the future brings. The Healthwise Patient Engagement Solution.

Henry Elliott & Company Inc.

Booth 3217

Contact: Ken Wagner, President
kwagner@henrye.com
781.820.6697

Henry Elliott & Company, Inc., for over 20 years, has specialized exclusively in the provision of Caché and Healthcare I.T. Professionals for staff augmentation and direct hire nationally. We are a long standing partner of InterSystems and several of our Consultants are Caché Certified Experts who represent an elite level of knowledge of InterSystems products. Our professionals are experienced with Caché based third party software. This includes Epic, Veterans Affairs VistA, Indian Health RPMS, Antrim/Sunquest, IDX(GE) & InterSystems Ensemble, CSP, Zen and others.

We also partner with large-scale Professional Services and Systems Integration Organizations in support of Healthcare I.T. and Caché based technology development and implementation efforts. Our partners provide the project management while we provide the highly skilled professionals. We have grown to 50+ technical resources and 8 Account Management and Operational personnel. Our aim is to match the skills, experience and interests of our professionals with our clients’ specifications.

Holon Solutions

Booth 4020

Contact: Worth Roberts, Vice President Business Solutions
wroberts@holonsolutions.com
678.324.2060

At Holon, we believe that a patient’s experience is improved when their care team can seamlessly collaborate on their care. We understand that information in the right hands, at the right time and place, is key to providing it. We focus on facilitating a collaborative care environment by providing access to information at the point of care – without forcing anyone in the care team to change their current systems or processes.

Visit Holon and our partners in booth 4020 at HIMSS to learn more about how we can help you build a collaborative care environment from the bottom up. Remember when the focus was on patient care? It can be again with Holon!

Booth 7459

Contact: Patricia Kellicker, Director of Marketing
patricia.kellicker@humedica.com
617.475.3800

Humedica is the foremost clinical intelligence company that provides private cloud-based solutions to the health care industry. Humedica’s sophisticated analytics platform transforms disparate data into actionable, real-world insights. Powered by the largest and most comprehensive clinical database, Humedica empowers its partners and customers to make confident, value-based decisions about patient care in a rapidly changing health care market.

Iatric Systems, Inc.

Booth 6613

Contact: John Danahey, Sr. Vice President, Sales and Marketing
john.danahey@iatric.com
978.805.4153

Join Iatric Systems in Booth #6613 at HIMSS 2013. Iatric Systems helps healthcare providers achieve success by delivering the most comprehensive healthcare IT integration. You’ll see how more than 1,000 hospitals are using our data integration, systems integration, and process integration solutions to…

Achieve a scalable and affordable Enterprise HIE
Meet ACO objectives
Support Meaningful Use initiatives

Booth #6613 is going to be entertaining as well as educational, with Chef Anton – the two-time National Pool Trick-Shot Champion – lining up one amazing shot after another and giving out great prizes like Visa gift cards and Apple iPod shuffles after each show.

Make sure you visit us in the HIMSS 2013 Meaningful Use Experience booth #149 / Kiosk #6 and #21. Each day, the first 150 people to visit our kiosks can receive a coupon for $2 off at Starbucks.

ICA

Booth 3869

Contact: John Tempesco, Chief Marketing Officer
john.tempesco@icainformatics.com
615.866.1465

ICA’s CareAlign® interoperability and informatics platform solves data and communication challenges for healthcare entities, including IDNs, hospitals, IPAs, HIEs, and payers. CareAlign delivers a flexible architecture to connect, collect, consume and intelligently distribute data through Direct, IHE, HL7, and custom methods for use in EHRs, third party applications, and ICA’s applications. Our solution and booth partners are CSC, Healthcare Anytime and Futrix Health. Visit booth #3869 for product demonstrations, and to participate in our food bank raffle. Learn more at www.icainformatics.com, and follow us on Twitter, ICA HITme Blog, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube.

ICSA Labs

Booths: 5613 (Verizon); 149 (HIMSS13 Meaningful Use Experience); Interoperability Showcase (IHE USA Certification)

Contact: Amit Trivedi, Healthcare Program Manger
amit.trivedi@icsalabs.com
312.882.1558

ICSA Labs, an independent division of Verizon, offers third-party testing and certification of security and health IT products, as well as network-connected devices, to measure product compliance, reliability and performance for many of the world’s top security vendors. ICSA Labs is an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 accredited and 9001:2008 registered organization. ICSA Labs is NVLAP accredited as a Health IT Test Lab and is also an ONC-Authorized Certification Body (ONC-ACB) accredited by ANSI to ISO/IEC Guide 65. Visit http://www.icsalabs.com for more.

ICSA Labs will the following presentations at the MU Experience Welcome Theater:

March 5th @ 1:10 pm: Are You Experienced? 2014 Edition Testing – Your Questions Answered
Join Michelle Knighton, Healthcare Testing Manager for ICSA Labs for an interactive Q&A-style discussion focusing on the meaningful use testing process, guidance and tips on how to have a successful test to help your system achieve certification in the ONC 2014 Edition Health IT Certification Program.
March 6th @ 11:15 am: Are You Experienced? Looking Beyond Meaningful Use and Incentives
Join Amit Trivedi, Healthcare Program Manager for ICSA Labs for an informative discussion focusing on helpful tips and guidance on system selection, implementation, and training to get the most out of your certified EHR technology.

iMDsoft

Booth 7729

Contact: Steve Sperrazza, VP Sales
steve.sperrazza@imd-soft.com
781.449.5567

iMDsoft is a leading provider of Clinical Information Systems for critical, perioperative, and acute care environments. The company’s flagship family of solutions, the MetaVision Suite, was first implemented in 1999. It captures, documents, analyzes, reports and stores the vast amount of patient-related data generated in a hospital. Hospitals worldwide – including 4 of the top 10 US hospitals and 13 of the top 50 European hospitals – use MetaVision to improve care quality, enhance financial results, support research and promote compliance with government, payor, and hospital protocols.

Visit us at Booth #7729 and discover myAnesthesia, our new cloud-based mobile solution for anesthesia documentation featuring a native iPad user interface. Find out about high-impact results reported by MetaVision clients, including:

30% reduction in mortality rate
100% billable anesthesia procedures
$1.5M in financial benefits
100% elimination of prescription errors

Imprivata

Booth 3717

Contact: Ed Gaudet, Chief Marketing Officer
edgaudet@imprivata.com

Imprivata, the leader in healthcare IT security, enables secure access and collaboration for over two million care providers in more than 1300 healthcare organizations worldwide. Imprivata is the #1 rated SSO Vendor in the 2012 Best in KLAS and Category Leaders Report and SSO market share leader according to HIMSS Analytics. Imprivata Cortext™ is the fastest growing free, HIPAA compliant text messaging solution in healthcare.

Take #MeaningfulSteps with Imprivata at #HIMSS2013

Take #MeaningfulSteps to Imprivata’s booth (#3717) to pick up your free pedometer and enter to win a Jawbone UP every hour. At any time during HIMSS, tweet how many #MeaningfulSteps you’ve taken towards a healthcare IT initiative and you will automatically be entered to win a Jawbone UP. For example, “I’ve taken 3,433 #MeaningfulSteps towards CPOE #HIMSS13”. In addition, Imprivata will be giving away one Kindle every 30 minutes after its booth theatre presentations.

Infor

Booth 2525

Contact: Becky Adams, Director, Global Healthcare Marketing
Becky.Adams@infor.com
651.767,4257

You’ve known us as Lawson. Now, get to know us as Infor. The Infor Healthcare suite of solutions is backed by more than 25 years’ experience creating healthcare-specific technology solutions – as well as major new investments in cloud and mobile technologies that are changing the way healthcare IT works.

Visit us in Booth 2525 at HIMSS and let us show you the solutions that will set your organization on the right path, move your IT strategy forward, and prepare you for wherever tomorrow takes you. While you’re there, enjoy free custom-made espresso drinks and popcorn, and enter to win one of four iPad Minis. If you’d like to learn more about your organization’s path forward for Financials, Supply Chain, HCM, Analytics, and Integration & HIEs, visit go.infor.com/himssdemo to schedule one-on-one time with an Infor representative. When you preschedule and attend a HIMSS demo, you’ll receive a $25 Amazon.com gift card as our thanks.

Informatica Corporation

Booth 5005

Contact: Jonathan Shafer, Healthcare Field Marketing Manager
jshafer@informatica.com
650.385.4434

Stop by Informatica booth 5005 and meet Jonathan Stevenson, Director of Analytics at Ochsner Health System based in New Orleans. Jonathan will be on-site sharing how Oschner has enhanced care coordination through an investment in data. Through their use of Informatica, Ochsner is one of the very first healthcare delivery systems to migrate and integrate large volumes of historical data from a homegrown, legacy EMR into Epic, resulting in a single real-time source for complete patient records, improved visibility for providers, enhanced interactions between patients and providers and rapid and successful migration of clinical data from 38 systems into Epic.

Stop by our booth 5005 and learn why over 4,500 customers, including 84 of the Fortune 100 and hundreds of healthcare organizations have turned to Informatica to help manage their data needs.

Innovative Healthcare Solutions

Booth 3059

Contact: Laura Hudman, VP, Marketing and Sales
Lhudman@ihsconsulting.com
863.602.1787

Innovative Healthcare Solutions (IHS) provides a cost-effective, proven approach to guide and assist healthcare organizations in transitional support, implementation and management of information systems and services. Our expertise includes Planning, Implementation, Project Management, Support and Interim Transitional Services as well as System Assessment, Process & Workflow Design and Optimization for Financial and Clinical systems.

Intellect Resources

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Tiffany Crenshaw, President and CEO
tcrenshaw@intellectresources.com
336.420.1178

Intellect Resources would love to meet with you!

Intellect Resources is proud to offer comprehensive consulting, recruiting and hiring solutions within the healthcare IT market.Our talent offerings include recruiting, project management, implementation, upgrading and optimization of EMR systems, training and go-live support and the revolutionary Big Break hiring process.Big Break is patented American Idol style audition process where candidates compete to become a healthcare IT trainer. Big Break offers hospitals systems a unique and innovative talent pool at a fraction of the cost of traditional hiring solutions.

In 2012 Intellect Resources was named to The Triad Business Journal’s Fast 50, which adds to a growing list of industry awards Intellect Resources has received including Modern Healthcare Magazine’s Best Places to Work in Healthcare, HITconsultant.net naming Intellect Resources’ President and CEO Tiffany Crenshaw as one of the Top 12 Women to Know in Healthcare IT and the London Times recognizing Intellect Resources’ Big BreakTM as the solution to the healthcare IT talent shortage. A unique approach to standard service offerings sets Intellect Resources apart and allows us to constantly find new and experienced talent.Through relationship-driven, hands-on services, Intellect Resources connects employers and healthcare IT professionals.

For more information visit www.intellectresources.com or www.irbigbreak.com.

Intelligent InSites

Booth 8025, Kiosk #10 in the Intelligent Hospital Pavilion

Contact: Marcus Ruark, Vice President
Marcus.Ruark@intelligentinsites.com
512.541.0737

If you would like to learn how we help healthcare organizations transform their operations with real-time operational intelligence—please come visit us at HIMSS13!

Stop by to experience how our enterprise healthcare software platform will be used across 152 VA Medical Centers to help improve operational efficiency, quality, satisfaction, and compliance—decreasing operational costs, reducing delays in patient care, and increasing clinical efficiencies and staff productivity.

Who we are: Intelligent InSites helps transform healthcare with real-time operational intelligence that improves care, enhances the human experience, and increases efficiency. Through its open, real-time, healthcare platform, Intelligent InSites automatically collects and processes data from multiple data sources such as EHRs, financial systems, building systems, sensory and real-time location systems (RTLS), mobility solutions, and other healthcare IT solutions—then provides actionable intelligence to achieve cost savings, operational excellence, and better care. By utilizing the enterprise-wide architecture of the InSites platform, healthcare systems can leverage all legacy, current, and future data sources to optimize their technology investments across the entire organization, then have the flexibility to meet changing organizational, regulatory, and compliance needs.

For more information, please visit http://www.intelligentinsites.com.

IMO – Intelligent Medical Objects Inc.

Booth 6223

Contact: Dennis Carson, Director, Marketing/Tradeshows
dcarson@e-imo.com
847.272.1242

IMO® – Intelligent Medical Objects will show you how to ‘Work Smarter with IMO’ through the latest developments in interface terminologies that allow clinicians to better capture and preserve true clinical intent and achieve Meaningful Use. Visit us at Booth 6223 at HIMSS13 for our presentations then enter our daily drawings for one of several Bose® QuietComfort® 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling® headphones.

Presentation topics are:

Working Smarter with IMO
All About IMO® Problem (IT)®
All about IMO® Procedure (IT)®
Achieving Meaningful Use with IMO
ICD-10 – How Do I Get There?
Harnessing the Power of the Semantic Highway

Click to reserve your spot: http://www.e-imo.com/imohimss13.aspx www.e-imo.com

iSirona

Booth 6549 and the Interoperability Showcase

Contact: Peter Witonsky, President & Chief Sales Officer
peter.witonsky@isirona.com
610.772.7648

Visitors to the iSirona booth can register to win one of several Nike+ FuelBands! Stop by to learn about how we’ve been helping clients connect devices to their EMR for several years. It’s their satisfaction that has made our software solution Best in KLAS in device integration for two years running. Don’t forget to hear The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center on Monday at 9:45! They’ll be sharing their success with medical device integration.

Kareo

Mobile Health Knowledge Center

Contact: Terry Douglas, Director of Brand Marketing
terry.douglas@kareo.com
949.856.7269

If you believe small practices power healthcare and want to see the only company at HIMSS committed to the success and health of small medical practices, then Kareo is the right stop for you! From A/R to mHealth and everything in between, Kareo is the medical office platform of the future.

Check us out in the Mobile Health Knowledge Center, online at www.kareo.com or tweet-out at us @GoKareo.

LDM Group

Booth 5022

Contact: Todd Helmink, VP of Business Development
thelmink@ldmgrp.com
312.391.4233

LDM Group, LLC (LDM), is a leading provider of behavior based prescription management programs. As a targeted healthcare communication company, LDM connects prescribers, pharmacists, and patients. LDM’s network is made up of e-prescribing, electronic medical record (EMR), and electronic health record (EHR) applications, chain and independent pharmacies, and sponsors of healthcare related educational materials. LDM provides timely and clinically relevant healthcare messaging through its patented process which serves to improve patient compliance, persistence and outcomes, while preserving privacy. For more information, please visit www.ldmgrp.com.

Legacy Data Access, LLC

Booths 4611 and 1621

Contact: John Hanggi, Director, Customer Services
jhanggi@legacydataaccess.com
678-232-7922 (cell)

With a singular focus on the healthcare industry, Legacy Data Access stores data from applications – Clinical, Revenue Cycle, ERP, Ancillary, Practice Management and EMR – that are being retired and provides secure, web-based access to the information. Our solutions support financial and clinical processes and strategies by maintaining all detail, minimizing costs, improving productivity, and maximizing ROI.

As a vendor-neutral archive provider, LDA has extensive experience in retiring numerous clinical applications including orders/results, nursing documentation, ancillary applications and in many cases provides a Legal Medical Record for the stored data. Revenue Cycle solutions include receivables functionality so that those systems may be retired earlier. In addition, LDA has retired various PM / EMR systems as well as many ERP applications.

We look forward to seeing you at our booth (4611) and our Partners collaboration booth (1621).

Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc. (LRS)

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Ron Peel, Technical Advisor
913.948.3646
ron.peel@lrs.com
Laurie Eldridge, HP Global Alliance Representative
610.850.1237
laurie.eldridge@lrs.com

Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc. (LRS) is a leader in software for managing care-related documents and other business critical information. Some of the largest healthcare providers in the U.S. use LRS output management solutions. LRS provides documented and supported interfaces to integrate our proven output management software with best-of-breed EMR applications. Contact LRS to learn how we can improve your downtime reporting capabilities and streamline document-related processes to provide better patient care.

Lifepoint Informatics

Booth 7623

Contact: Vincent Gryscavage, Senior Vice President of Sales
vgryscavage@lifepoint.com
201.447.9991 x730

Lifepoint Informatics is a leader in health IT focusing on laboratory outreach connectivity, health information exchange and clinical data interoperability. Since 1999, Lifepoint has enabled over 200 hospitals, clinical labs and anatomic pathology groups to grow their market share and extend their outreach programs through the deployment of its ONC-ATCB certified Web Provider Portal and its comprehensive portfolio of ready-to-go EHR interfaces. For more information visit www.lifepoint.com.

Please Note: Hourly drawings will be made during exhibit hours with a chance to win an Odyssey Golf Putter.

maxIT-VCS

Booth 3027

Contact: Cyndi Vely Cahill, Senior Vice President
Ccahill@getvitalized.com
610.444.1233

maxIT Healthcare and VCS, wholly owned subsidiaries of SAIC, provide a wide variety of clinical, business, and IT solutions for healthcare enterprises across the United States and Canada. With nearly 3,000 consultants, we provide implementation expertise for the Allscripts™, Cerner, Epic, McKesson, MEDITECH, NextGen®, and Siemens systems. We also provide Project Management Professionals (PMP® Certified) and management consulting to assist our clients with their strategic planning and governance needs, tactical project planning, and assistance with their MU, ACO, Revenue Cycle, and ICD-10 project needs.

McKesson

Booth: 4341, Exhibit Hall F

Contact: Erin McNealy, Lead Management
Erin.McNealy2@mckesson.com
404.338.3910

At McKesson, we’re committed to better health for patients, our customers, and the nation’s healthcare system. We’re committed to helping create a new future in which the business of health is better, and the outcomes improved for all. McKesson’s Paragon® “Best in KLAS” hospital information system is an intuitive, single-database system featuring fully integrated clinical and financial applications. Learn more by visiting our HIMSS booth (#4341) or at www.mynewHIS.com.

MED3OOO – Now Part of McKesson

Booth 3068 (Medicomp)

Contact: Nicole Contardo, Corporate Marketing Director
marketing@MED3000.com
888.811.2411

MED3OOO – Now a Part of McKesson, is a leading provider of healthcare management and technology services that improve outcomes for providers, health plans, and the patients and employees they serve. The Company provides a broad array of proprietary solutions for physician groups, hospitals, health systems, health risk organizations, and state and local municipalities, enabling them to reach their maximum potential with respect to operational, financial, and clinical results. Through the integrated application of systems, operations, analytics and domain expertise, MED3OOO serves as the premier strategic operations partner for the healthcare community.

The Company’s depth of knowledge across its services, economies of scale, infrastructure, and ability to offer and manage disparate information systems provide MED3OOO with a distinct competitive advantage in the rapidly evolving healthcare industry. Each of the components of MED3OOO’s product and services suite is a critical competency for moving toward the delivery of accountable care.

MED3OOO will be giving demos of our InteGreat EHR with Quippe in the Medicomp booth (3068).

MedAptus

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Jennifer Crowley, Marketing Director
jcrowley@medaptus.com
617.896.4030

MedAptus is the Gold Standard in the healthcare revenue cycle for achieving effective charge management, compliance and workflow efficiency. With offerings that include powerful and easy-to-use charge capture and management technologies, it is no wonder that many of the nation’s most prestigious healthcare organizations rely on MedAptus for financial optimization. Our full-scale Professional, Facility and Infusion applications increase revenue, enhance EMR investments, re-engineer manual processes and yield substantially improved productivity.

For more information, visit www.medaptus.com or call 617.896.4000.

MedAssets

To schedule a meeting:

Contact:
solutions@medassets.com
888.883.6332

MedAssets (NASDAQ: MDAS) partners with healthcare providers to improve their financial strength by implementing revenue cycle, spend and clinical resource management solutions that help capture revenue, control cost, improve margins and cash flow, increase regulatory compliance, and optimize operational efficiency. MedAssets serves more than 4,200 hospitals and 100,000 non-acute healthcare providers. The company currently manages $48 billion in supply spend and touches over $340 billion in gross patient revenue annually through its revenue cycle solutions. For more information, go to www.medassets.com.

Medicomp Systems

Booth 3068

Contact: James Aita, Product Manager
jaita@medicomp.com
703.945.2482

Back by popular demand, Medicomp Systems will once again host Quipstar, World’s Favorite HIT Quiz Show, live at Exhibit 3068. Contestants and those seated in the studio audience will have a chance to win one of fifty iPads and other prizes. Best of all, you’ll see how Quippe, backed by the powerful MEDCIN Engine, takes care documentation requirements without burdening the clinician. You can also experience the MEDCIN Engine, Using Medicomp’s new interactive MEDCIN Engine touchscreen you can also experience the MEDCIN Engine to see how MEDCIN can successfully manage the data tsunami and even make SNOWMED easy to use. Register for an opportunity to attend and play Quipstar at www.medicomp.com/quipstar-registration.

Medicomp is also the proud sponsor of HIStalkapalooza, which will be held at the iconic Rock n’ Bowl. Register at www.histalkapalooza.com.

Medicomp Systems is the inventor of clinical content, technologies, and mappings that improve EHR usability at the point of care while taking care of all documentation requirements including Meaningful Use stages 2, 3 and beyond as well as ICD-10.

MediQuant

Booth 5649

Contact: Mindy Morris
mindym@mediquant.com
440.746.2300 x245

MediQuant provides Data Transition Management Solutions that embrace healthcare’s transitory nature. Simplify your IT world and reduce the cost of system conversions with DataArk®, an Active Archiving solution that allows you to decommission old systems, maintain interoperable access to old data, and realize up to 80% cost savings. As the retirement home for the legacy data from retired systems, DataArk® allows users to easily access and view clinical, patient financial, ERP and other data that had been left orphaned in legacy systems. For patient accounting records, users may still bill accounts, post payments and produce itemized statements among other functions.

MediQuant serves a large client base across the nation, including large multi-facility IDN’s (40+ hospitals, 100+ ambulatory practices), academic healthcare organizations and community facilities. FirstComply™ and AccuRules™ are software and content solutions for medical necessity/ABN compliance.

Merge Healthcare

Booth 5725

Contact: Jennifer Jawor, Director, Segment Marketing
jen.jawor@merge.com
312.565.6825

Merge Healthcare is a leading provider of clinical systems and innovations that seek to transform healthcare. Managing over 13,000 billion images, Merge was named the world’s largest vendor-neutral archive (VNA) market leader in a recent InMedica study. As the industry’s first true standalone vendor-neutral archive, iConnect(r) Enterprise Archive has been successfully integrated with over seventy-five PACS vendors and specialty workstations at over 350 sites across the United States. And with MU2 requirements, mandating images available to the referring physician through a certified EHR, Merge’s iConnect Enterprise Clinical Platform can help organizations image-enable the EHR while improving operational efficiencies, reducing costs and increasing revenue potential.

So are you ready for the next level of interoperability? Learn more about enterprise imaging at merge.com or visit us at HIMSS in Booth #5725.

M*Modal

Booth 6647

Contact: Lisa McCormick, Corporate Events Planner
lisa.mccormick@mmodal.com
267.535.7222

Expect More. More from your EHR.

Maximize physician adoption More time for your physicians.
Easily capture the complete patient story More meaningful, higher quality patient care.
Drive more intelligent, effective actions

Surprise Your Favorite Children‘s Charity. Visit M*Modal at HIMSS13, Booth #6647, and enter for a chance to win $800 in toys for the children‘s charity of your choice.

Nordic Consulting Partners

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Natalee Cruse, Director of Technical Marketing
natalee.cruse@nordicwi.com
608.334.2998

Nordic is ranked #1 in KLAS for Epic services. We’re the largest consulting firm in the country focused exclusively on Epic. Our team of more than 225 elite consultants, two thirds of whom are former Epic, average nine years of industry experience and four certifications. We partner with over 50 clients across the country.

We pride ourselves on having high standards and a partnership-oriented philosophy with our clients and consultants, which has created great rapport and allowed us to attract the best and brightest to Nordic. We take pride in providing the right resource for a given opportunity.

Need help installing? Upgrading? Optimizing? Rolling out to affiliates? We do it all. We’re also an Epic-credentialed provider of Community Connect implementation and support. There will be a fleet of our green-shirted folks at HIMSS – come chat with us about how your Epic project is going!

For more info, go to www.nordicwi.com

nVoq Incorporated

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Debbi Gillotti, Vice President and General Manager
deborah.gillotti@nvoq.com
720.562.4507 or 206.465.1765

SayIt(TM) from nVoq is a secure cloud-based voice recognition service that’s easy to use, easy to deploy, and has been endorsed by the American Hospital Association. SayIt works directly with your EMR to convert speech to text within seconds – no integration required. Access your SayIt voice profile whenever and wherever you need to work – no software to install on each device.

nVoq is a Boulder, CO based provider of cloud-based voice recognition solutions for the Healthcare and Customer Care industries. In business since 2000, nVoq supports a wide variety of enterprise and health system organizations through a growing channel partner network. We’re building this network daily in support of real-time (front end) dictation and embedded (back end) voice processing for mobile forms or other applications. A well-documented SDK is available for both Windows and iOS platforms.

While attending HIMSS, we welcome the opportunity to meet with organizations who buy, build or implement applications platforms for Healthcare users, and are interested in cloud-based, voice-enabled workflow at an affordable price point. Our primary focus is North America, but we welcome inquiries from other venues.

NTT DATA Healthcare Technologies

Booth 1041

Contact: Larry Kaiser, Senior Marketing Manager
lawrence.kaiser@nttdata.com
631.824.5318

NTT DATA Healthcare Technologies offers healthcare organizations a complete IT solution with applications that increase efficiency, reduce medical errors, and enhance the revenue cycle. NTT DATA’s solutions include ONC-ATCB certified Optimum, featuring one of the industry’s leading RCM solutions, comprehensive clinicals, EHR, general financials, and post-acute solutions. Healthcare Technologies that:

Empower the Patient
Improve Care
Drive Outcomes

Stop by the booth for a chance to win an iPad Mini.

Nuance Communications, Inc

Booth 4025

Contact: Mark Erwich
mark.erwich@nuance.com
781.565.5000

At HIMSS 2013 Nuance will show how to improve the entire clinical documentation process, from the capture of the complete patient record to clinical documentation improvement, coding, compliance and appropriate reimbursement. Nuance will share latest information on how to prepare to transition to ICD-10, how we support Meaningful Use, how we support Mobile health and the transition to Accountable Care.

Optum

Booth 7041

Contact: Steven Loewy, Associate Director, Marketing
steven.loewy@optum.com
801.982.3468

Optum innovations, analytics and expertise help health care organizations navigate the journey from providing care to managing health. Our solutions and services are used at nearly every point in the health care system, from patient access to diagnosis and treatment; from coding and clinical documentation improvement to reimbursement; and from quality measurement and performance benchmarking to network management, administration and payment.

Every day, Optum solutions help shape how health care is managed, and how information and technology drives improvements in the system. Optum works with our clients and partners to improve the delivery, quality and cost effectiveness of health care in ways that support and empower more patient-centered, value-driven care. Visit us at HIMSS13, booth #7041 to learn how Optum can help you reduce costs, while increasing patient care quality and satisfaction.

Make your steps count at HIMSS13! For every mile you walk, Optum will donate $1 to charities that improve health and wellbeing in the City of New Orleans. Stop by the Optum exhibit for a free pedometer and more information.

Orchestrate Healthcare

Booth 529

Contact: Charlie Cook, President
charlie@orchestratehealthcare.com
877.303.3377

We focus on four core competencies: EMR Clinical Implementation, HIE Consulting, Integration and Staff Augmentation. Why? Because QUALITY is our mantra.

We listen to our clients, and our 15+ year experienced consultants are make-it-happen, kind of people that deliver on-time, on-schedule and on-budget. Without errors or excuses. Our client referrals and three Best In KLAS awards in the last five years affirm this. Come see us at booth 529 to learn more about how we can help you. While you’re visiting, check out our new pad and register to win a pair of really cool Beats by Dr. Dre. Listening has never been so much fun!

Orion Health

Booth 3161

Contact: Kristin O’Neill, Senior Marketing Manager
kristin.oneill@orionhealth.com
857.488.4740

Visit booth 3161 at HIMSS 2013 and see for yourself why clinicians, hospitals, health systems, public health organizations and OEM partners in more than 30 countries worldwide rely on Orion Health to provide solutions to their biggest health information exchange (HIE) and data integration challenges. Be sure to mark your calendar for all the Orion Health activities while at the show, including: – Joining us for morning coffee or a sweet afternoon treat at the booth. – Meeting our clients and learning how they are using our solutions. – Entering our raffle to win an iPad mini 4G. – Attending a “Lunch and Learn” session with Shahid Shah, The Healthcare IT Guy, on Data Integration and Analytics: The Future of Healthcare Information Management. – Networking with Orion Health executives over breakfast in our hospitality room.

Orion Health™ HIE facilitates data exchange between hospitals, health systems, regional HIEs, and affiliated providers, resulting in improved care coordination, increased cost savings and efficiencies, and enhanced quality of care. Orion Health™ Rhapsody® Integration Engine provides seamless connectivity between legacy and next-generation health systems, rapidly enabling organizations to deliver high-quality patient care and population health. Rhapsody provides a comprehensive set of tools to simplify healthcare integration and is easily extensible to meet the requirements of each unique healthcare environment.

Ormed Information Systems Inc.

Booth 1041 (with NTT Data Health Solutions)

Contact: Bill Hockstedler, VP Sales and Marketing
bill.hockstedler@ormed.com
512.971.2885

Ormed’s software and services are designed exclusively to continuously improve on the business processes of hospitals in the areas of supply chain management, finance, cost accounting, human capital management, decision support and systems management.

Saving time, reducing waste, cutting expenses, understanding costs, creating a positive experience and peace of mind. In the world of accountable care and new regulations, wouldn’t it be nice to have a set of tools in your hands that were always designed around expense management and accountablility. A powerful Cost Accounting system alone can make all the difference for you!

Come and see what we have to offer to make the changes ahead less stressful!

Park Place International

Booth 2674

Contact: Christine Mellyn, Manager of Product Marketing
christine.mellyn@parkplaceintl.com
508.970.8704

Park Place International provides technology integration, technical consulting, and OpSus|Cloud Services designed to help customers achieve operational sustainability with their MEDITECH Electronic Health Record. Park Place is an approved provider of technology solutions for all versions of the MEDITECH HCIS and offers the full selection of MEDITECH-certified server and storage platforms. The Park Place team has extensive MEDITECH experience and technology expertise, and is uniquely qualified to architect, deliver and support MEDITECH solutions.

Stop by booth #2674 to learn more about Park Place International and enter our raffle for a chance to win an Amazon.com gift card!

Passport Health Communications, Inc.

Booth 3310

Contact: Scott Bagwell, Senior VP, Sales & Marketing
Scott.Bagwell@passporthealth.com
888.661.5657

Founded in 1996, Passport now serves more than 2,400 hospitals in addition to more than 8,900 physicians, clinics and ancillary offices across all 50 states. The company processes more than 300 million transactions annually through its Passport eCare™ brand of patient access and payment certainty solutions. Recently ranked the nation’s third largest revenue cycle management company by Modern Healthcare, Passport was honored as the “Technology Company of the Year” by the Nashville Technology Council in October 2012. Passport’s patient access & payment certainty solutions are delivered through Passport eCare NEXT; an integrated, SaaS-based platform that can be seamlessly integrated into existing work flow. Accountable Care solutions, including ACO MemberMatchTM, can be used to manage patients’ entire course of care, from initial diagnosis through full recovery and can be seamlessly integrated into existing workflow through the Passport eCare NEXT platform.

Visit Passport at Booth #3310 to see a product demonstration and speak to a Passport representative.

PatientKeeper Inc.

Booth 2210

Contact: Kathy Ruggiero, Senior Director, Corporate Marketing
kruggiero@patientkeeper.com
781.373.6433

PatientKeeper is the leading provider of healthcare applications for physicians, with over 50,000 users across North America and the UK. At HIMSS13, visitors can see PatientKeeper software in action and speak with customers who are actively using our CPOE, mobile CPOE, physician documentation, electronic charge capture and other applications that streamline physicians’ workflow. PatientKeeper runs as a native app on popular smartphones and tablets, as well as on desktop and laptop computers. While you are at our HIMSS13 booth (#2210), enter our daily drawing for an Apple iPad mini.

PatientPay

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: David Bond, EVP, Sales & Marketing
db@patientpay.com
919.830.2798

PatientPay is a patented innovative solution that makes healthcare billing, payment and reconciliation faster, easier and less costly. PatientPay is a simple way for practice management software vendors to allow their physicians to bill patients while reducing costs, increasing productivity and patient satisfaction. PatientPay eliminates the costly and complicated paper-based billing method used by the overwhelming majority of healthcare providers. It drives down the expense and drives up the productivity associated with this activity by at least a factor of two. Since PatientPay reduces the time to payment in half, healthcare professionals realize improved cash flow and reduced accounts receivables.

PDR Network

Booth 7740

Contact: Amy Lombardi, Senior Director, Marketing
Amy.Lombardi@pdr.net
201.358.7200

PDR Network® has developed innovations to deliver critical drug information to providers within workflow that are easily integrated into partner EHR systems and deliver a better end user experience. PDR interactive drug information services allow providers to have their PDR in their EHR with services provided at no cost to partner EHRs and their providers, enhancing the overall EHR experience while supporting Meaningful Use (MU) requirements.

PDR® BRIEF: Supporting providers by delivering the key information needed at the point of prescribing. Instead of accessing multiple sources outside of workflow, providers have access to the information they need within workflow when they need it.
PDR® Search: This on-demand resource provides access to a host of medication-specific resources covering regulatory, provider and patient information tools, as well as aggregated manufacturer resources. Before providers would leave your environment for these tools, NOW they have integrated access to the information they need.
RxEvent: PDR offers a quick and easy digital reporting tool that can be easily integrated into any EHR or ePrescribing system.

Ping Identity

Booth 2470

Contact: Linda Bowers, Healthcare Market Leader
lbowers@pingidentity.com
978.844.4105

Ping Identity is The Identity Security Company. Our identity and access management platform gives enterprise customers and employees one-click access to any application from any device. Over 900 companies, including 45 of the Fortune 100, rely on our award-winning products to make the digital world a better experience.

Prognosis HIS

Booth 7423

Contact: Melanie Thompson,Director of Marketing
mthompson@prognosishis.com
713.469.1501

Prognosis Health Information Systems provides an enterprise solution, including EHR and financial systems, to rural and community hospitals. At HIMSS, Prognosis is launching a new version of its highly ranked ChartAccess® EHR and unveiling our ED and ambulatory solutions. We’re introducing the new era of EHRs. Our system allows for configurability at both the organization and user level, helping every person interact with the system in the way that works best for him or her. We invite you to stop by our booth and see an EHR like you’ve never seen before.

Qlik Technologies

Booth 8121

Contact: Kerry Talbot, Event Marketing Senior Manager
kerry.talbot@qlikview.com
617.331.5284

QlikTech (NASDAQ: QLIK) is a leader in Business Discovery—user-driven Business Intelligence (BI). Its QlikView Business Discovery solution bridges the gap between traditional BI solutions and inadequate spreadsheet applications. The in-memory associative search technology QlikTech pioneered created the self-service BI category, allowing users to explore information freely rather than being confined to a predefined path of questions. Appropriate from SMB to the largest global enterprise, QlikView’s self-service analysis can be deployed with data governance in days or weeks. The QlikView Business Discovery platform’s app-driven model works with existing BI solutions, offering an immersive mobile and social, collaborative experience. Headquartered in Radnor, Pennsylvania, QlikTech has offices around the world serving approximately 26,000 customers in over 100 countries.

We will have multiple demos, videos and customer presentations in our large booth amphitheater with solutions experts on hand to answer all of your questions. Registerhere for a personalized VIP Booth Tour and be entered for a chance to win an iPad Mini!

Quantros

Booth 7940

Contact: Amy Lee, Director of Marketing and Sales Operation
info@quantros.com
408.957.3300

Quantros helps healthcare providers improve quality and patient safety by empowering organizations, at every level, with the actionable intelligence they need to improve outcomes and reduce risk. Quantros provides cloud based tools and resources for the healthcare industry in the areas of safety and risk management, quality and performance improvement, accreditation and compliance, and centralized decision support. Today more than 2,000 healthcare facilities use Quantros solutions to capture meaningful data to effectively drive the decisions that improve the safety and quality of care.

Visit our booth to learn more about IRIS and enter to win an iPad. IRIS is a leading-edge clinical quality and patient safety dashboard that leverages data from the Quantros Safety and Risk Management (SRM) solution, the Regulatory Reporting Management (RRM) solution, and your organization’s billing data. IRIS Executive presents this data via a highly configurable, role-based dashboard. The result is real-time visibility into safety and quality events and trends in your facility. This enables you to chart improvement with an authoritative source of truth.

Quest Diagnostics (Care360 Healthcare IT Suite of Solutions)

Booth 3927

Contact: Rohit Nayak,Vice President, Physician Technology Solutions
RNayak@MedPlus.com
800.444.6235

A special 2013 HIMSS invitation to all HIStalk readers: Visit the Quest Diagnostics Healthcare IT Theatre – Booth 3927.

Quest Diagnostics team members will be featuring educational presentations and industry insights from key opinion leaders on technology topics including:

Interoperability
Top Strategies for Accelerating Your ACO and Care Collaboration Strategy
Mobile Health – featuring Travis Good, MD, MBNA, MS, HIStalk Mobile Health contributor
Industry Standards/HL7
Elevating Your Enterprise Content Management (ECM) with a SOA Platform
Enhancing business processes/streamlining registration programs
Our Health IT Quality Solutions Program to ensure quality Lab-EHR interoperability

ChartMaxx and Care360 with Data Exchange, part of the Care360 Suite of Healthcare IT Solutions from Quest Diagnostics, are exhibiting together to showcase the strengths of the company’s entire HCIT portfolio. EHR vendors can learn how our Health IT Quality Solutions Program benefits them through streamlined interfacing and promotion of their quality EHR solutions by us.

We are focused on “Empowering Better Health: Quest Diagnostics Healthcare IT Solutions.”

Quest Diagnostics booth representatives will be holding drawings for iPads and other exciting giveaways following each 20-minute presentation.

For more information and a schedule of the presentations, visit Care360.com.

RazorInsights

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Reed Liggin, President & CEO
rliggin@razorinsights.com
404.578.1362

Based in Kennesaw, Georgia, RazorInsights is a dynamic healthcare information technology company. In keeping with the principle of Occam’s Razor, they have created a simplified HIS solution for Rural, Critical Access and Community hospitals. Introducing ONE (ONC-ATCB 2011/2012) — a single-database, cloud solution offering a simple user experience with cutting-edge clinical tools and industry-standardized data. Hospitals can expect to improve their performance and bottom line with ONE from RazorInsights. To register for a live product demo or for more information, visit www.razorinsights.com or call 770-308-4111.

RelayHealth

Booth 4640

Contact: Lynette Corte, Lead Qualification Manager
lynette.cortez@relayhealth.com
888.743.8735

RelayHealth is proud to be a featured exhibitor at HIMSS13 March 3-7 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. If you plan to attend this important annual industry event, we’d like the opportunity to learn more about your goals and challenges for the upcoming year, and explore how RelayHealth can help you succeed in 2013 and beyond with the Right Connections for Better Health.

RelayHealth provides solutions that can help you satisfy requirements for Meaningful Use Stage 2, and meet your objectives for providing accountable care. As the healthcare industry continues to experience substantial change, RelayHealth is also at the forefront of developments in areas such as health information exchange, patient engagement, and readmission management. Check out the exhibition hall floor map and make plans to stop by for a visit with us in Booth #4640. We look forward to meeting with you in New Orleans.

Salar, Inc.

Booth 6754

Contact: Greg D. Wilson, Director of Sales
gwilson@salarinc.com
860.294.9877

Salar offers physician clinical documentation and charge capture solutions to hospitals and health systems nationwide. Our flagship product, TeamNotes, has recently been entirely rewritten allowing our customers to deploy the solution faster, easier, and to a wider array of devices than ever before. At HIMSS, Salar will showcase this latest release, TeamNotes v6, and within that demonstration special attention will be focused on front end computer assisted coding for ICD-10 compliant documentation, physician charges as derived by the notes themselves, care team collaboration of notes, physician hand off, and related CDI workflows.

In lieu of yet another iPad giveaway or a similar free gizmo, at this time Salar is planning to offer a charitable donation in the name of one visitor to the booth. Details are forthcoming.

Sandlot Solutions

Booth 2063

Contact: Derek Plansky, Senior Director, Client Solutions
dplansky@sandlotsolutions.com
202.747.4502

Sandlot Solutions has a proven, deployed system managing more than 2.8 million lives. Sandlot manages risk, drives clinical management and provides business analytics. All of the things that are required by MU2, and beyond and all the things an Accountable Care Organization (ACO) must do. Sandlot provides all the tools to manage against risk-based payment systems. Most application systems only use claims data for analysis – Sandlot merges clinical and claim data to manage care and manage risk. Sandlot using a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS or cloud computing platform) is very fast, built on reliable technology – system changes for your information systems and changes for any of your affiliated entities are not required . . . also connects to non-affiliated trading partners in your trading area. The combination of Healthcare Information Exchange (HIE), Care Management and Analytics makes Sandlot the Fourth Generation Technology.

Santa Rosa Consulting

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Doug Hires, Executive Vice President, Strategic Advisory and Sales & Marketing
doughires@santarosaconsulting.com
214.546.0895

Santa Rosa Consulting is a national provider of management consulting and information technology services to the healthcare industry. Through our unique blend of strategic advisory services and technical consulting expertise across the full range of healthcare IT vendor products and systems, we deliver solutions specifically designed to address your business needs.

Seamless Medical Systems

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Frank Grant, Vice President, Sales
frank@seamlessmedical.com
760.533.1520

Seamless Medical is solely focused on improving the patient’s experience in medical practices at the point of care. Our mission is to leverage technology in patients’ hands to simplify the front end of the practice workflow, engage the patient in the registration process, and provide the patient with educational content relevant to his/her scheduled appointment and medical conditions. Our team’s decades of combined experience in the medical, healthcare administration, and business arenas has led to the formation of the company and dedication to our solution.

Shareable Ink

Booth 3568

Contact: Suzanne Cogan, Vice President, Sales and Marketing
scogan@shareableink.com
877.572.7423 x 802

Shareable Ink is the enterprise cloud-based platform that transforms point-of-care clinical documentation to structured data and analytics. By incorporating natural input tools, such as iPads and digital pen and paper technology, clinicians can continue documenting in the fastest, most efficient manner. The resulting structured and clinically-rich output populates the EHR with discrete data, as if typed in directly. Predictive analytics give hospitals and practices unprecedented insight into their operations – from a clinical, quality, and efficiency standpoint.

Visit us at HIMSS – # 3568 – for an interactive demo of our applications that automate areas where electronic documentation has traditionally been challenging – from anesthesia to patient-generated history to ambulatory sites. We’ll also have a special unveiling of our iPad App – you won’t want to miss it! For everyone who mentions ‘LIBERATE’ at our booth, we’ll be making a donation to one of our favorite NOLA charities.

Siemens Healthcare

Booths 2640 and 2641

Contact: Roger May, Senior Director, Marketing
roger.may@siemens.com
610.219.1874

Join us to learn how a growing number of healthcare organizations—both large and small—are using Soarian® to connect top-of-the-line patient care with the bottom line. Hear the story of how Soarian unites the revenue cycle for seamless financial performance using contract-driven processing. See how Soarian helps foster collaboration by connecting clinicians to patient data and to one another with integrated clinical workflow.Learn how more people in more places can connect… with Soarian. See the new Soarian Ambulatory offering in our main booth and our MobileMD HIE in our adjoining booth.

Stop by the Siemens booth and we will make a contribution to Hope For The Warriors® whose mission is to enhance the quality of life for post-9/11 service members, their families, and families of the fallen who have sustained physical and psychological wounds in the line of duty. www.hopeforthewarriors.org

SpeechRecognition.com

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: William Holliman, Dragon Medical Adviser
William.Holliman@1450.com
888.848.1450 ext. 210

Is your EHR doing all of the dictating? Take back control, and the ability to dictate your notes, with the most accurate speech recognition software yet, Dragon Medical Practice Edition. Visit SpeechRecognition.com to schedule a free demo today!

Streamline Health Solutions, Inc.

Booth 1821

Contact: Michael Schiller, Senior Vice President, Sales, Marketing & Account Management
solutions@streamlinehealth.net
303.316.0696

Streamline Health offers specialized solutions that will:

Get you closer to Meaningful Use with EHR-integrated enterprise content management solutions
Provide actionable insight into your organization’s true financial performance with Business Intelligence solutions
Help facilitate the transition to ICD-10 with our suite of integrated computer assisted coding (CAC) and CDI solutions

Stop by booth 1821 at HIMSS to view a live demonstration of AccessAnyWare™, OpportunityAnyWare™ and/or Collabra™ and learn how Streamline Health Solutions, Inc., can help your healthcare organization successfully face today’s challenges.

SuccessEHS

Booth 4411

Contact: Dante Rankart, Vice President of Sales
marketing@successehs.com
888.879.7302

SuccessEHS is a nationally acclaimed vendor providing Electronic Health Record (EHR) and Practice Management solutions with Integrated Medical Billing Services. SuccessEHS also provides Electronic Dental Record (EDR) and Dental Imaging solutions. Founded in 1995, SuccessEHS established itself as a leader in the emerging practice management applications market by delivering an innovative blend of clinical, operational and financial software paired with a suite of specialized integrated success services. SuccessEHS, entirely in-house developed and supported, has achieved multiple certifications from CCHIT.

Visit us at booth #4411 to learn how SuccessEHS can help practices improve care, increase revenue, successfully manage the ICD-10 transition and earn incentives through Meaningful Use and the Physician Quality Reporting System. While you’re there, spin our wheel to win fun prizes, including cash! We look forward to seeing you in the Big Easy!

Sunquest Information Systems, Inc.

Booth 911 and MU Booth 149, Kiosk 85

Contact: Tracey Eddy, Marketing Event Planner
tracey.eddy@sunquestinfo.com
520.570.2333

Sunquest delivers market-leading diagnostic information technology and outreach solutions, designed and implemented to fulfill the business objectives of today’s healthcare leaders. Sunquest Laboratory is the leader in the market, enabling labs to operate with optimized performance and deliver quality diagnoses, while meeting regulatory and interoperability standards. Our solutions demonstrate a commitment to patient safety, workflow excellence, predictive and personalized medicine, and physician and patient affinity, serving users worldwide. Through outreach, we extend the lab to the community and provide the tools that turn information into intelligence.

At Booth 911:

Monday March 4th @ 2:00 pm
Guest Speaker Representative Gayle B. Harrell, President and CEO of Health IT Strategies, LLC ONC HIT Committee Member, Florida House of Representatives
Subject: Meaningful Use

Tuesday March 5th @ 10:30 AM and 3:00 pm
Guest Speaker Patty Sollman, Blood Bank Supervisor/LIS System Manager, Deaconess Health System
Title: In the age of the Integrated EHR, why SUNQUEST is the RIGHT choice as your Laboratory/Pathology System…..a user perspective

To request a meeting with a member of the Sunquest team at HIMSS please complete a request form: http://info.sunquestinfo.com/HIMSS2013_HIMSS2013v1.html.

Our give away this year will be a miniature plush toy – Sunquest Lab.

Surgical Information Systems (SIS)

Booth 6429, Intelligent Hospital Kiosk 8711-33

Contact: Emmy Weber, VP of Marketing
info@sisfirst.com
678.507.1727

Surgical Information Systems (SIS) provides software solutions that are uniquely designed to add value at every point of the perioperative process. SIS’ singular focus in the OR helps hospitals drive both greater efficiency and better patient outcomes while integrating with your information systems environment. Visit SIS at Booth #6429 to learn how the fast, mobile, connected SIS Solution can help you achieve a "Slam Dunk" in your OR. Rapidly achieve remarkable outcomes with a proven implementation approach by the perioperative experts. Speed user adoption with mobile documentation and analytics that simplify OR management. Seamlessly connect to the enterprise, enabling providers to share information, prevent duplicate documentation, and analyze performance.

SIS is proud to be the only perioperative information management system vendor to participate in the HIMSS Intelligent Hospital Showcase. We will demonstrate our comprehensive perioperative software solution, showcasing interoperability between medical devices, hardware, and software.

TeleTracking Technologies, Inc.

Booth 6619

Contact: Amie Podolak, Director, Marketing
amie-podolak@teletracking.com
412.391.6395

TeleTracking, Booth #6619, will preview its Real-Time Capacity Management™ (RTCM) platform, which removes wasted time in hospitals much more efficiently by combining advanced patient flow, business intelligence, and real-time location technologies. The platform integrates the just-released Capacity Management Suite™ system version 3.0 and TeleTracking’s Real-Time Locating System, with the goal of progressively removing delays to the management and execution of critical business processes. Also, enter for a chance to win a Tag Heuer watch (valued at $2,500)!

TeraRecon

Booth 341

Stop by TeraRecon’s booth to learn all about the new iNtuition Enterprise Medical Viewer (iEMV), iNtuition SHARE and iNtuition Cloud. While there, enter a drawing to win a new iPad Mini!

iEMV provides a simple, intuitive, browser-based client which requires no download, no installation, and no plugin. A completely zero-footprint viewer, which supports a wide range of browsers dating back to IE7.

iNtuition SHARE makes possible CD-free transport and distribution of images between medical facilities and peers, or patients. When a healthcare facility deploys an iNtuition SHARE server, it is able to offer free access to network upload of images to institutions that need to send images into the facility, while removing the need to burn CDs for outgoing images.

iNtuition CLOUD is a self-contained solution which allows the full capability of iNtuition to be deployed via a web browser, either as an externally-hosted managed service, or as an in-house Private Cloud.

The McHenry Group

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Lisa Gatto, Director of Client Development
lisag@mvp4u.biz
815.923.2500

Celebrating nearly 22 years in business, The McHenry Group (TMG) has become the most successful and most experienced International Executive Search Firm solely dedicated to serving the healthcare software vendor market. How successful? Since 1991, TMG has successfully placed over 2,000 candidates within the healthcare technology vendor industry.How experienced? Our Team of ten (10) search consultants has an average tenure with our firm that exceeds 11 years!

One of our Clients put it best: “Even though I was expecting great things from The McHenry Group, I was surprised by the extra effort TMG expended to understand our company, its corporate goals and our goals for our open position.I will definitely seek your help whenever our needs mesh with your services.”

TMG’s recruiting efforts focus on healthcare software vendors in the Provider and Payor (Payer) spaces. We identify superb talent for the C-level, VP Sales, regional sales, territory sales, channel marketing, client account executives, client services and implementation, sales support, consulting, marketing, product management, product development, clinical informatics, physician executives, clinical liaisons, nursing (RN) informatics and more! TMG is equipped to quickly tap into the hidden candidate market and recruit Top Talent that are not active on the market. Additionally, we can delve into our extensive proprietary database of candidates, coded by specific title, areas of expertise, etc.

TrustHCS

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Jeff Johnston, Executive Director, Business Development, President
jeff.johnston@trusthcs.com
760.277.1190

TrustHCS provides consulting and services to address Clinical Documentation Improvement (CDI) programs, ICD-10 preparation, revenue cycle improvement, coding services, auditing and cancer registry. Visit www.trusthcs.com for more information!

T-System, Inc

Booth 2219, MU Experience booth 149/kiosk 42

Contact: Corinne Tso, Vice President, Marketing
ctso@tsystem.com
469.791.5540

This year at HIMSS, T-System will highlight solutions proven to help hospitals across the country achieve Meaningful Use and reduce avoidable readmissions through better patient transition management. In the T-System main exhibit booth #2219, leadership from Baptist Health of Kentucky and Cox Medical Center Branson in Missouri will discuss their experiences. In the HIMSS13 Meaningful Use Experience, a new special demonstration area for certified EHRs, T-System will demonstrate how an emergency department information system can help hospitals attest to Meaningful Use specifically highlighting the workflow for capturing patient history and documentation.

T-System, Inc. advances the practice of emergency medicine with solutions proven to solve clinical, financial, operational and regulatory challenges for hospitals and urgent care clinics. More than 40 percent of the nation’s emergency departments rely on T-System for gold-standard documentation, revenue cycle management, and performance-enhancing solutions.

Valence Health

Booth 772

Contact: Kevin Weinstein, Chief Marketing Officer
kweinstein@valencehealth.com
312.771.7883

If you’re an executive overseeing a Medicare ACO, interested in population health, or pursuing value-based reimbursement opportunities, Valence Health would like to help. Valence Health is among the nation’s leading companies in helping healthcare providers better manage their patient populations and accept financial responsibility for the quality of the care they provide. With unique data collection and analysis tools, Valence Health has emerged as a leader in population management, serving dozens of clients from small physician groups to the Cleveland Clinic.

At the same time, in-depth actuarial analysis combined with operational excellence allows Valence to not only advise but also provide ongoing services to provider organizations operating under various value-based reimbursement models. From risk-based contracting to accountable care organizations (ACOs) to administering provider-sponsored health plans, Valence has been helping providers appropriately accept and manage financial responsibility while improving clinical quality since 1996.

With headquarters in Chicago, and three other office locations, Valence Health’s 300 employees help support the health of more than 13 million patients nationwide.

Velocity Data Centers

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Steve Jacobs, President
steve.jacobs@velocitydatacenters.com
734.323.3075

We enable healthcare IT organizations to achieve their strategic goals through our innovative solution to deliver cloud computing infrastructure. This innovative approach delivers incredible benefits at reduced cost. Allowing healthcare organizations to grow revenue, reduce operating costs and leverage current and future technology trends.

VersaSuite

Booth 3121

Contact: Tushar Jain, Regional Sales Manager
tj@versasuite.com
718.316.2254

VersaSuite is an innovative HIS and EHR solution designed to adapt to your hospital’s and clinic’s needs, no matter how complex. We offer a single database solution designed with identical and intuitive user interfaces for inpatient, outpatient and emergency department environments.

Versus Technology

Booth 3463

Contact: Stephanie Bertschy, Director of Marketing
info@versustech.com
231.946.5868

If you’re looking for awesome IT, we’ve got it at booth #3463. Our Real-time Locating System (RTLS) powers multiple time- and money-saving applications, from Asset Tracking to Patient Flow—and even, Hand Hygiene. We’re unveiling the first of its kind, RTLS-integrated dispenser, part of an overall hand hygiene safety program that will help your facility improve compliance by creating a culture of safety and accountability.

Added bonus — we’ll be conducting in-booth RTLS sessions, where you can learn directly from Versus clients, patient flow experts, and our own executives. Delve into implementation, integration and technology-related questions about patient flow, analytics, asset tracking, hand hygiene and more. Space is limited, so learn more and sign up now at http://versustech.com/himss13.

Don’t be led down the path of promises, get experience and proven results with Versus Advantages™ — visit with us at Booth #3463.

Virtelligence Consulting

Booth 3320

Contact: Akhtar Chaudhri, CEO
akhtar@virtelligence.com
952.548.6601

Virtelligence is a privately held premier Healthcare IT consulting firm that offers solution advisory and Healthcare IT consulting services to payors and providers organizations nationwide. Vi Through our unique consulting model providing an implementation-oriented partnership with clients, we offer consulting expertise across the full range of Healthcare IT vendor products and we deliver solutions specifically tailored to address the business needs of the healthcare IT industry.

Project Management & Strategic Guidance
Meaningful Use and ICD-10 Projects
System Implementation & Upgrades
Clinical Workflow & Process Optimization
Revenue Cycle Improvement
Business Intelligence & Data Analytics
Health Information Exchange Adoption

PLEASE STOP BY OUR BOOTH #3320 TO WIN LATEST IPAD.

VitalWare, LLC.

Booth 6654

Contact: Kelly Jorgensen, VP Business Development
kellyjorgensen@vitalware.com
855.464.2310

Visit booth #6654 and enter to win a free iPad including a license to our new application, Doc Sherpa! A complementary ICD-10 financial risk assessment will also be available for those who sign up!

VitalWare leads the market in transforming healthcare intelligence into useful and actionable information so our clients can focus their time and resources on core business. VitalWare will be launching two new products to assist in provider ICD-10 implementation and beyond:

DocSherpa, an innovative iPad app designed to guide physicians through documentiation requirements utilizing an easy to understand user interface. By helping physicians document missing concepts, DocSherpa alleviates physician productivity constraints today and well beyond the ICD-10 implementation.
VitalSigns, the claims analytics solution and retrospective coding & auditing tool using TrueShift analytics over predictive modeling to identify actual ICD-10 risk.

Whether you ten-code your claims in VitalSigns, or opt to take advantage of our Quick Start offering to begin building your repository of claims, the TrueShift identified is critical in understanding true financial risk, documentation deficiency risk and payer contracting opportunities.

Vitera Healthcare Solutions

Booth 6113

Contact:
events@viterahealthcare.com

Vitera Healthcare Solutions provides end-to-end clinical and financial technology solutions so physicians and medical professionals can work with patients instead of paperwork. Serving more than 400,000 healthcare professionals including 80,000 physicians, Vitera Healthcare Solutions provides electronic health records and practice management systems, processes 33 million transactions and 1.8 million e-prescriptions monthly, and serves several specialties including primary care, OB/GYN, pediatrics, cardiology and orthopedics in all sized practices and Community Health Centers. Don’t miss seeing Vitera Healthcare up close and personal! Stop by our booth # 6113 to say "hello" and learn more about our industry leading healthcare software solutions.

VMWare

Booth 851

Contact: Tisa Murdock
tmurdock@vmware.com
831.818.6095

VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization and provider of vCloud for Healthcare; the healthcare industry’s first end-to-end cloud computing platform, is proud to sponsor HIStalk.

VMware vCloud for Healthcare is the first comprehensive framework and partner ecosystem supporting the entire health IT environment – from point of care to the most critical patient care systems. Helping to safely accelerate healthcare reform and the transition to truly connected care, this new innovative platform enables organizations to exchange information and deliver secure, agile, and reliable patient care products and services. A private cloud platform with hybrid cloud capability, VMware vCloud for Healthcare meets the growing needs of healthcare both today and tomorrow.

Vocera Communications, Inc.

Booth 6329, Intelligent Hospital Pavillian Booth 8711

Contact: Mauricio Cornejo, Sales Support
MCornejo@vocera.com
877.790.4190

Vocera provides mobile communication solutions focused on addressing critical communication challenges facing hospitals today. We help our customers improve patient safety and satisfaction, and increase hospital efficiency and productivity through our Voice Communication, Secure Messaging, and Care Transition solutions. Exclusively endorsed by the American Hospital Association, the Vocera solutions are installed in more than 800 hospitals and healthcare facilities worldwide.

Join Vocera in our booth for a Beignet Break on Wednesday morning.

Wellcentive, Inc.

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Rich Walsh, Vice President of Corporate Strategy
rhwalsh@wellcentive.com
678.367.8187

Senior Management will be located at the Hilton Riverside in an Executive Suite conducting presentations and open discussions! We look forward to seeing you there!

Wellcentive delivers population health management solutions that enable quality improvement throughout the continuum of care. Wellcentive’s Advance™ platform transforms disparate data into actionable insights that facilitate coordinated preventive care and chronic disease management, physician alignment, clinical integration, and success with value-based reimbursement and incentive programs. Wellcentive empowers healthcare organizations to improve both clinical and financial outcomes.

Wellsoft Corporation

Booth 3158

Contact: Denise Helfand, VP, Sales & Marketing
dhelfand@wellsoft.com
800.597.9909

Consistently ranked #1 Emergency Department Information System (EDIS) by KLAS, (most recently awarded Best in KLAS 2012) Wellsoft EDIS offers an exceptional combination of experience, extensive workflow analysis and award winning customer support. Wellsoft EDIS is certified for Meaningful Use. Software features include Patient Tracking, Clinical Documentation, CPOE/Results, Charge Capture including Infusion Charge Capture, Risk Management and CCD Document exchange. Wellsoft is EDIS at its BEST!

Visit Wellsoft at Booth #3158 to have a brief demonstration and discuss how Wellsoft EDIS fully integrates with HIS and ancillary systems AND can help with your roadmap to Meaningful Use attestation.

Winthrop Resources

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Dan Mandy, Director of Business of Development
dmandy@winthropresources.com
952.656.7687

Winthrop specializes in healthcare technology finance.The realities of today’s healthcare market demand a finance solution that can change with you as your strategic direction dictates.Please reach out to Winthrop to learn more on how we can partner with you to deliver a future of efficient care/systems and improved patient outcomes.

Wolters Kluwer Health

Booth 1740

Contact: Alyssa Downing, Marketing Coordinator
Alyssa.Downing@wolterskluwer.com
612.313.1500

A leader in point of care information, Wolters Kluwer Health Clinical Solutions provide best of breed offerings focused on improving the quality of care & driving clinical productivity. Hospitals, ASCs, physicians offices, payers, labs & retail pharmacies turn to us as their trusted partner for the content & tools they rely on every day. From Clinical Documentation, to Clinical Drug Information, to Clinical Informatics & Surveillance, to Clinical Decision Support, our products deliver meaningful solutions clinicians value. Facts & Comparisons, Lexicomp, Medi-Span, ProVation Medical, ProVation Order Sets, Sentri7, Health Language & UpToDate. Visit our booth for a chance to win one of five iPad minis.

ZirMed

Booth 4469

Contact: Kent Rowe, VP of Sales
sales@zirmed.com
877.494.1032

We’re ZirMed and we’re one of the nation’s leading providers of revenue management solutions for healthcare providers. Offering claims management, eligibility verification, electronic remittances, patient statements, payment processing, and business analytics, our solution suite simplifies the complexities of payments for providers and their patients. We resolve many problems with one simple solution – and one great relationship.

News 2/13/13

February 12, 2013 News 5 Comments

Top News

Greenway announces Q2 results: revenue up 12 percent, EPS $0.00, missing both revenue and earnings estimates substantially, guiding fiscal year earnings to the low end of the range on lower revenue. Shares were down eight percent in Tuesday’s after-hours trading. From the earnings call:

The company is moving rapidly to a recurring revenue model, with revenue recognition changes hurting short-term results
750 providers were added in the quarter, up 30 percent year over year
Training and consulting revenue dropped 35 percent because large accounts pushed training out into January
The company’s new RCM platform is in its early stages, but has over 300 customers

Reader Comments

From Judy: “Re: our HIMSS promo. I thought about you. We’ve secured 25 New Orleans merchants to offer discounts to HIMSS attendees wearing our Iatric Systems branded slap bands. Merchants range from restaurants to spas to jewelry to clothing and to two stores specializing in shoes and boots. You can wine, dine, shop, tour, and spa in between all the HIMSS activities.” Judy had me at shoes and discount, but wine and spa, too? Look for the bands in the LeSack hotel drop Sunday night or at the Iatric booth.

From Alberta Gator: “Re: HIStalkapalooza. I am assuming I did not make the cut for HIStalkapalooza since I didn’t get an invite. It’s OK. I’ll still bring sexy shoes in your honor.” Don’t fear: the invites have not yet been sent even though the registration has closed! The official HIStalkapalooza invitations will be e-mailed to several hundred of our BFFs around February 18. And I can’t wait to see all the sexy shoes. If you didn’t sign up, sorry, but we’re full.

From The PACS Designer: “Re: Selective Disturbance App. Our fellow HIStalker Inga has helped a developer name a new mobile app by calling it ‘Selective Disturbance.’ It will be on TPD’s List of iPhone Apps with the next update.” I asked Inga what this was about and it turns out she helped choose the rather brilliant name attached to the app, which lets you selectively set a “Do Not Disturb” status by groups of individual contacts, so maybe you let your child get through 24×7 but block casual acquaintances during work hours.

From Ralph Samuelson: “Re: Allscripts. I am not sure how it is for everyone, but the company is allowing everyone in my group (programming for one of the legacy products) to stay on until August 1. We have until then to relocate or find another job outside the company. I probably can’t move, but I am grateful I have some time to consider my options.”

From Alert Reader: “Re: revisiting old announcements. How about Deborah Peel saying they would post Form 990 on the Patient Privacy Rights website, which was in HIStalk on January 3, 2011?” I’ve invited her to respond.

From Code Monkey: “Re: old systems vs. new. The experience haven’t changed since the early 2000s. Example: our hospital got reports that several patients weren’t seen within several hours after admission. That’s the responsibility of residents, who are entered as consulting physicians. The chief resident opened 10 tickets with no response from the application team saying that patients were disappearing from our portal lists. We had just applied a McKesson Horizon patch, so we checked the new Perl audit feature, which showed a new routine called ChopConsult, which started with: ‘Temp fix to remove [root@hcilink perl]# cat ChopConsult #Temp fix to remove consulting physicians beyond 8 from ADT.’ If you have more than eight consulting physicians, sorry, you now have zero. I use this as an example that many of these systems are hacked together and stability is an issue, without even looking into the database design. Pay no attention to what’s behind the curtain (or cloud).”

From Smarty Marty: “Re: Aetna. Will brand its Accountable Care Solutions assets (Medicity, iTriage, ActiveHealth, PracticeiQ) under the Healthagen name, possibly to separate these solutions from their core commercial insurance business. I found this when I went looking for the Medicity booth on the HIMSS website and could not find anything. Medicity’s website has brief information about it in the Events section.” Aetna quietly acquired Healthagen, which developed the iTriage consumer health app, in December 2011. Above is what is apparently the placeholder web page for the new Healthagen organization, with the four company names listed at the bottom. The Healthagen HIMSS exhibitor listing has three of the company names, omitting PracticeiQ.

HIStalk Announcements and Requests

I wonder how many other people got this same e-mail from LinkedIn? I felt incredibly special for about 30 seconds until Mr. H told me he got the same notification. I knew it had to be bogus / a marketing ploy / a waste of my time when LinkedIn sent me the same notice for my personal LinkedIn account.

We acknowledge and appreciate the support of Deloitte, a brand new Platinum sponsor of HIStalk. The company is, of course, a premiere, worldwide professional services firm headquartered right here in the USA (New York) with a strong healthcare IT presence and a list of awards to prove it. Deloitte’s provider practice supports organizations working on tough problems: quality improvement, ICD-10, business intelligence and analytics, system implementation and optimization, disease management, and HIEs. You can keep up with big-picture developments by reading updates from Paul Keckley, PhD, executive director of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions. A bunch of us who’ve been around awhile know Mitch Morris, MD, who leads the company’s health IT practice, and I’ll be talking to him soon about industry trends. Thanks to Deloitte for supporting HIStalk.

I always hit YouTube to see what I can find out about a new sponsor and my search for Deloitte turned up a winner: a brand new report on the 2013 health outlook.

HIMSS Conference Social Events

Going to HIMSS? We’ll post social events that are (a) interesting, and (b) open to all HIStalk readers who care to attend. Send yours to be listed.

Alego Health will host a cocktail reception on Tuesday, March 5 from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. at their booth (#141). They’ll have hurricanes, beer, wine, an infused hydration station (what the heck is that? sounds like an IV), and some nice food that includes mini po’ boys.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Enterprise HIS vendor RazorInsights announces $11 million in Series A funding from Bluff Point Associates. One of its customers was announced in the press release – Alliance HealthCare System (MS). CEO Reed Liggin mentioned the upcoming investment in my February 8 interview.

Teleheath company INRange Systems raises $1.6 million for its remote medication management device that administers single doses of meds to patients and transmits adherence data to physicians and pharmacists.

Employees of the Barcelona, Spain office of Picis (Optum / UnitedHealth Group) say they will go on strike beginning Thursday to protest the amount of severance they’ll receive as the company moves most of their jobs to India. According to the employee spokesperson who contacted us, “First, the UHG negotiators don’t have a firm plan to transition Picis development and support to India and we’ve asked them to let us help sort out how to successfully do it. Second, the compensation package is drastically lower than what we could win in court.” Spain’s legally-mandated employee benefits are extensive, but the employees say most companies that move jobs to India provide more than the minimum separation benefits. UPDATE: the response from Optum: “Picis Spain is engaged in good faith negotiations with employees at its Barcelona office, as it evolves its local workforce to better align with changing customer needs. We don’t anticipate any business disruption and hope this issue can be resolved fairly and quickly.”

Sales

Greater Baltimore Medical (MD) will implement Amcom Software’s Mobile Connect smartphone texting solution with their existing Amcom communications system.

The Michigan Department of Community Health Medical Services Administration awards Cognosante the Medicaid IT Architecture State Self-Assessment contract.

Tanner Health System (GA) selects Besler Consulting to conduct a transfer DRG underpayment recovery audit.

Arnot Ogden Medical Center (NY) will implement Merge Healthcare’s cardiology solution suite to capture, manage, and display multi-modality cardiac images, along with hemodynamics and ECG data.

Southeastern Health (NC) expands its relationship with eClinicalWorks to include the company’s Care Coordination Medical Record.

Dignity Health Medical Foundation (CA) chooses MediRevv for A/R management services.

People

Trinity Health CEO Joseph Swedish is named CEO of WellPoint, the country’s second-largest insurer, replacing former CEO Angela Braly.

Russell Branzell (Colorado Health Medical Group) is named president and CEO of CHIME.

Athenahealth COO Ed Park joins the board of directors of analytics vendor Kyruus.

Vitera Healthcare Solutions hires Kermit Randa (Surgical Information Systems) as EVP of sales and marketing.

TransforMED, the AAFP subsidiary that supports practices transitioning to PCMHs, announces the retirement of president and CEO Terry McGeeney, MD.

MedeAnalytics promotes Steve Lerch to SVP/GM of the provider business unit, Scott Paddock to SVP/GM of the payer business unit, and Sal DeTrane to CFO.

Hello Health names Barry Holleman (Cardinal Health) COO and VP.

Aspen Advisors promotes Jody Cervenak to principal.

CVS Caremark appoints Brian Tilzer (Staples) SVP/chief digital officer.

Health Care DataWorks promotes CFO Jeffrey Wilkins (left) to CEO, replacing founder Herb Smaltz (right), who will continue to serve as board chair.

Announcements and Implementations

Over 60 ACOs from 15 states form the National Association of ACOs, which will focus on helping organizations to increase the quality of care and improve health in their communities.

The Mount Sinai Medical Center (NY) reports that its Epic EMR has resulted in improved quality of care for patients, including a 56 percent reduction in Medicare readmissions and improvements in quality measures such as discharge instructions for patients and antibiotic administration prior to surgery.

The Huntzinger Management Group assists Hanover Hospital (PA) in its successful Stage 1 MU attestation.

API Healthcare introduces its Talent Management Solution to improve employee engagement while addressing the industry challenges of healthcare reform and an aging workforce.

SimplifyMD launches its simpleStart program that will allow practices to move from EHR demo to live clinical use on the same day.

Mobile platform application development provider Kony Solutions announces support for the BlackBerry Z10 and Q10 smartphones.

Stilwell Memorial Hospital (OK) goes live on Medsphere OpenVista.

Government and Politics

The government’s healthcare fraud prevention and enforcement efforts recovered $4.2 billion in FY2012, up from last year’s $4.1 billion. Over the last three years, fraud and abuse investigations recovered $7.90 for every dollar spent.

President Obama re-nominates Marilyn Tavenner as permanent administrator for CMS.

Anybody who follows the VA/DoD EHR saga knows that the story changes weekly, flip-flopping on whether they’ll write new separate systems, write one new system, buy off-the-shelf applications, or just patch together what they have. Sometimes DoD has one story and the VA another, illustrative of just how vast the gulf is that separates their philosophies. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta spoke of the “one EHR" project in the past tense a week ago, saying definitively that the departments were giving up on that idea in favor of just getting their respective systems to talk to each other. Not so fast, says VA CIO Roger Baker, now clarifying that the integration project is a stopgap toward the original goal that will continue. All I know is that whatever they do will be horrifically expensive and behind schedule, especially on the DoD side that has paid contractors billions to develop AHLTA, and all the conflicting announcements have made me lose interest yet again. The OSEHRA community is talking if you can understand what they’re saying, meaning you’d better speak VA geek talk and appreciate decades-old VistA history, which I do on occasion. Some of those pontificating speculate that DoD will end up buying Epic, looking back to 2011 when five Wisconsin Congressmen (including eventual Republican VP nominee Paul Ryan) lobbied for the home team.

ONC’s Doug Fridsma participates in a Google + Hangout.

Federal Health Architecture releases version 4.0 of its open source Connect HIE-enabling platform. It supports higher message throughput, larger files, newly support server environments, and improved logging.

HIMSS urges HHS to stick to the October 1, 2014 implementation date of ICD-10, saying it will reduce the cost of prior authorization, enable Meaningful use, improve population health, reduce waste, and save money.

Technology

UC Irvine says medical students given free iPads with digital textbooks are scoring 23 percent higher on exams than students in previous classes, also noting that the students have formed their own technology group and developed 19 healthcare-related iPad apps in a 10-day Med App Jam. The iMedEd program was named a 2012-2013 Apple Distinguished Program this week.

Other

Cerner, Epic, and Siemens earn the highest ratings in ICD-10 preparedness according to KLAS, while Allscripts and Meditech score lowest. Among firms providing ICD-10 consulting, The Advisory Board earns top marks for high-quality roadmaps and best-practice sharing among firms providing ICD-10 consulting, while Deloitte has the most engagements. The majority of the market is looking to 3M and computer-assisted coding technology to aid in the transition.

Here’s the latest cartoon from Imprivata.

A local medical center in Rhode Island pitches a move to the Amazing Charts EMR to earn Meaningful Use money, adding that health services board members with medical backgrounds could help with the conversion. Several audience members objected, saying they don’t want board members seeing their medical information. The board deferred the EMR decision until its next meeting.

New Jersey Economic Development Authority approves creation of a life sciences and healthcare IT accelerator that will offer the usual seed money, boot camp, mentorship, and pitch showcase.

In Canada, Saskatchewan’s privacy commissioner is investigating three cases in which health authority employees inappropriately accessed the electronic medical records of their co-workers, including one where an employee found that her name had been replaced with a vulgarity and “RIP” at the end.

A Houston medical student files suit against his school, claiming it illegally viewed his hospital medical records and expelled him based on a physician’s speculation that he had tried to commit suicide.

Weird News Andy speculates that perhaps not all things go better with Coke. Like cardiac arrhythmia, for example, in a 30-year-old mother of eight in New Zealand whose death was ruled by the coroner as being partially caused by her 2.2 gallon per day Coca-Cola habit. The sugar water liver had damaged her liver, caused all her teeth to rot out, and addicted her to the point that she experienced withdrawal symptoms when her supply ran out. Her family says they thought Coke was OK because the bottle carries no warnings, while the company complains that the coroner himself wasn’t really sure that Coke killed her.

Sponsor Updates

Emdat posts its spring trade show and conference schedule.
Hayes Management Consulting posts case studies of some of its projects.
HealthCare Anytime and ICA partner to leverage ICA’s interoperability technology with HealthCare Anytime’s patient portal.
Informatica’s Chief Product Officer Girish Pancha participates in this week’s Pacific Crest Emerging Technology Summit in San Francisco.
Truven Health Analytics adds enhanced reporting functionality and flexibility to the latest versions of its pharmacy intervention and infection prevention products.
Unity Health System (NY) executives will share details of how they leveraged public and private HIEs to enable a community diabetes collaborative during a March 21 Webinar hosted by dbMotion.
Capario realizes double-digit revenue growth from its provider base in 2012 and increased adoption of its portal application.

Contacts

Mr. H, Inga, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan, Dr. Travis.

More news: HIStalk Practice, HIStalk Connect.

HIStalk’s Guide to HIMSS13 Meet-Ups

February 12, 2013 News Comments Off

Download a printable PDF of the meet-up guide here.

Aspen Advisors

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Daniel Herman, Founder and Managing Principal
dherman@aspenadvisors.net
412.370.4900

Develop your technology roadmap to support the shift from volume-based to value-based care
Evaluate EMR vendors and plan for implementation
Streamline governance and decision making
Plan for mergers, acquisitions and other outreach strategies
Implement clinical systems, drive adoption and achieve Meaningful Use
Complete ICD-10 implementation and audit compliance
Make real progress on teleHealth, eHealth, and mHealth initiatives
Implement infrastructure changes to your technology roadmap
Leverage information and big data to create a data-driven culture
Realize value from EHR and other systems investments
Lead change and support performance improvement initiatives
Optimize IT service delivery
Plan for long-range IT workforce needs

Visit www.aspenadvisors.net to learn more.

BESLER Consulting

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Jim Hoffman, Chief Operating Officer
jhoffman@besler.com
732.233.5008

For over 25 years, BESLER has helped hospitals recover otherwise lost revenue, increase reimbursement, ensure compliance, improve efficiency, and reduce costs. BESLER’s deep domain experience in revenue cycle, reimbursement, compliance, and unmatched software solutions has resulted in more than one billion dollars in additional revenue for our clients. If you’d like to discuss our products or partnership opportunities at HIMMS, please contact Jim Hoffman at 732-233-5008 or jhoffman@besler.com.

CAP Professional Services

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Bruce R. Cattie, Senior Managing Director
CAPSTS@cap.org
847.832.7700

CIC Advisory

To schedule a meeting:

Contacts: Cynthia Davis, Marcy Stoots, or Robert Johns
cynthiadavis@cicadvisory.com
727.772.3340

Call us at 1.727.772.3340 or e-mail for your invitation to the CIC Advisory hospitality suite at HIMSS13.

Clinithink

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Nathan Skorick, Business Development
nathan.skorick@clinithink.com
978.296.5282
Robert Miller, VP Sales and Marketing
robert.miller@clinithink.com
978.296.5282

Find out how to turn data into information.

Cornerstone Advisors Group LLC

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Mary Berchtold, Vice President
mberchtold@cornerstone-advisors.com
781.254.4013

Cornerstone will have experienced senior level representatives from the Epic, Meditech, and advisory/strategies consulting service lines at HIMSS. They will be available to meet and discuss services during the conference. Meeting times may be scheduled by contacting Mary Berchtold.

Craneware

To schedule a meeting:

Over our history we have come a long way towards achieving this. Today, Craneware has nine core products spanning four product families: revenue cycle, access management and strategic pricing, supply management and audit and revenue recovery. One in four registered US hospitals has chosen Craneware products to help them optimize reimbursement, improve operational efficiency, and minimize compliance risk. To support this growing client base and the company’s future growth prospects, Craneware now employs more than 200 professionals across the US and UK.

CSI Healthcare IT

To schedule a meeting:

Kate Mays, Vice President of Sales
kmays@thecsicompanies.com
904.716.1209

CSI Healthcare IT will be hosting a cocktail reception and dinner at Broussards on Tuesday night March 5 starting at 6:00 pm. Please contact Kate Mays to join.

CSI Healthcare IT is committed to providing the highest standard of consultants and consulting services in the industry. Our track record speaks for itself. We have a long record of supporting the project management, training, build, report writing, go-live support, and interface functions of health systems nationwide. Today, CSI Healthcare IT has more than 500 permanent and contract staff of experienced, knowledge-based professionals. CSI has been recognized by Inc. magazine and Staffing Industry Analysts as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in the nation. Being privately held enables creativity and flexibility to meet the specific consulting needs of our clients. CSI has the ability to enact quick adjustments to accommodate the ebb and flow of our clients’ staffing and project needs.

Join us for live music and networking Tuesday night at Broussards.

Dearborn Advisors, LLC

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Mary Kiley, Revenue Development Coordinator
MKiley@DearbornAdvisors.com
773.255.0749.

DIrect Consulting Associates

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Frank Myeroff, Managing Partner
fmyeroff@dc-associates.com
440.996.0051

Direct Consulting Associates (DCA) provides a broad range of IT consulting and staffing solutions including staff augmentation, temp-to-perm, and permanent placement for healthcare IT initiatives. Whether you’re an IT professional searching for that perfect opportunity or a client company looking for the very best IT talent, we would like to meet you at HIMSS13.

Direct Recruiters, Inc.

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Mike Silverstein, Director of Healthcare IT
mike@directrecruiters.com
440.996.0594
440.667.8334

Direct Recruiters specializes in recruiting, staffing, search, placement, and consulting solutions for the healthcare information technology (IT) industry.

EMRConsultant.com

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Donna Flynn, Director of Healthcare Technology Solutions
DonnaF@EHRScope.com
888.519.3100 ext. 114

Some things in life truly are fre. In this case, it’s receiving the best qualified EHR, PM, billing, and/or voice recognition recommendations for your practice, absolutely free. How? Use the comparison chart, select individual consultant on EHRScope.com, or contact us today with any questions.

Etransmedia Technology, Inc

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Connie Smith, Sales and Marketing
Connie.Smith@etransmedia.com
518.283.5418 ext. 2262

Etransmedia provides comprehensive RCM platform service solutions, including an integration EHR/PM solution, patient identity tools, discrete clinical data repository, provider portal, community patient portal, analytics tools supporting financial, clinical, and quality of care reporting. Delivering RCM and revenue analytics services to health systems nationwide, serving 12,000+ providers and 40,000+ users.

Forward Health Group

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Michael Barbouche, Founder/CEO
FHGtalk@forwardhealthgroup.com
608.729.7530

Let the good times and Fresh Data roll in the Big Easy. Forward Health Group, the Health Care Measurement Company, is intentionally booth-less at HIMSS13 so we can get down, roll up our sleeves, and make rich, brainstorming music with health systems, payors, and all you newly-minted ACOs. If your focus is population health, you’re going to need tools and help with all that messy data. Call us at 608.729.7530 or e-mail us at. We’re on the HIMSS13 show floor – we’ll be right back to you. Let’s have a cafe au lait, spiced with Fresh Data.

With FHG, your data is as fine as the duck and andouille gumbo at Galatoire’s. No, really.

Hayes Management Consulting

To schedule a meeting:

Pete Butler, President and CEO
pbutler@hayesmanagement.com
781.414.6099

HCI Group

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Cherity PIerce, Marketing Coordinator
cherity.pierce@thehcigroup.com
904-224-9388

HCI is a leading provider of IT personnel and solutions to healthcare enterprises across the United States, United Kingdom, and Middle East. Our specialties include:

EHR planning, implementation, and training
Sustaining support models
Optimization and clinical adoption
Go-live support
Health system/hospital community IT offerings

Strategic thinking across the entire spectrum of project engagement
Clinical leadership and an experienced engagement team to meet your needs in an efficient and timely manner
Knowledge of industry best practices
A fully dedicated recruitment team, exclusively focused on healthcare IT to secure for you the very best resources to make your project a success

Intellect Resources

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Tiffany Crenshaw, President and CEO
tcrenshaw@intellectresources.com
336.420.1178

Intellect Resources would love to meet with you.

Intellect Resources is proud to offer comprehensive consulting, recruiting, and hiring solutions within the healthcare IT market.Our talent offerings include recruiting, project management, implementation, upgrading and optimization of EMR systems, training and go-live support, and the revolutionary Big Break hiring process.Big Break is patented “American Idol”- style audition process where candidates compete to become a healthcare IT trainer. Big Break offers hospitals systems a unique and innovative talent pool at a fraction of the cost of traditional hiring solutions.

In 2012, Intellect Resources was named to The Triad Business Journal’s Fast 50, which adds to a growing list of industry awards Intellect Resources has received including Modern Healthcare‘s Best Places to Work in Healthcare, HITconsultant.net naming Intellect Resources’ president and CEO Tiffany Crenshaw as one of the Top 12 Women to Know in Healthcare IT and the London Times recognizing Intellect Resources’ Big Break as the solution to the healthcare IT talent shortage. A unique approach to standard service offerings sets Intellect Resources apart and allows us to constantly find new and experienced talent.Through relationship-driven, hands-on services, Intellect Resources connects employers and healthcare IT professionals.

For more information visit www.intellectresources.com or www.irbigbreak.com.

Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc. (LRS)

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Ron Peel, Technical Advisor
913.948.3646
ron.peel@lrs.com
Laurie Eldridge, HP Global Alliance Representative
610.850.1237
laurie.eldridge@lrs.com

Levi, Ray & Shoup, Inc. (LRS) is a leader in software for managing care-related documents and other business critical information. Some of the largest healthcare providers in the US use LRS output management solutions. LRS provides documented and supported interfaces to integrate our proven output management software with best-of-breed EMR applications. Contact LRS to learn how we can improve your downtime reporting capabilities and streamline document-related processes to provide better patient care.

MedAptus

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Jennifer Crowley, Marketing Director
jcrowley@medaptus.com
617.896.4030

MedAptus is the gold standard in the healthcare revenue cycle for achieving effective charge management, compliance, and workflow efficiency. With offerings that include powerful and easy-to-use charge capture and management technologies, it is no wonder that many of the nation’s most prestigious healthcare organizations rely on MedAptus for financial optimization. Our full-scale Professional, Facility and Infusion applications increase revenue, enhance EMR investments, re-engineer manual processes, and yield substantially improved productivity.

For more information, visit www.medaptus.com or call 617.896.4000.

MedAssets

To schedule a meeting:

Contact:
solutions@medassets.com
888.883.6332

MedAssets (NASDAQ: MDAS) partners with healthcare providers to improve their financial strength by implementing revenue cycle, spend, and clinical resource management solutions that help capture revenue, control cost, improve margins and cash flow, increase regulatory compliance, and optimize operational efficiency. MedAssets serves more than 4,200 hospitals and 100,000 non-acute healthcare providers. The company currently manages $48 billion in supply spend and touches over $340 billion in gross patient revenue annually through its revenue cycle solutions. For more information, go to www.medassets.com.

nVoq Incorporated

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Debbi Gillotti, Vice President and General Manager
deborah.gillotti@nvoq.com
720.562.4507 or 206.465.1765

SayIt from nVoq is a secure cloud-based voice recognition service that’s easy to use, easy to deploy, and has been endorsed by the American Hospital Association. SayIt works directly with your EMR to convert speech to text within seconds – no integration required. Access your SayIt voice profile whenever and wherever you need to work – no software to install on each device.

nVoq is a Boulder, CO based provider of cloud-based voice recognition solutions for the healthcare and customer care industries. In business since 2000, nVoq supports a wide variety of enterprise and health system organizations through a growing channel partner network. We’re building this network daily in support of real-time (front end) dictation and embedded (back end) voice processing for mobile forms or other applications. A well-documented SDK is available for both Windows and iOS platforms.

While attending HIMSS, we welcome the opportunity to meet with organizations who buy, buildc or implement applications platforms for healthcare users and are interested in cloud-based, voice-enabled workflow at an affordable price point. Our primary focus is North America, but we welcome inquiries from other venues.

PatientPay

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: David Bond, EVP, Sales & Marketing
db@patientpay.com
919.830.2798

PatientPay is a patented innovative solution that makes healthcare billing, payment and reconciliation faster, easier, and less costly. PatientPay is a simple way for practice management software vendors to allow their physicians to bill patients while reducing costs, increasing productivity and patient satisfaction. PatientPay eliminates the costly and complicated paper-based billing method used by the overwhelming majority of healthcare providers. It drives down the expense and drives up the productivity associated with this activity by at least a factor of two. Since PatientPay reduces the time to payment in half, healthcare professionals realize improved cash flow and reduced accounts receivables.

RazorInsights

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Reed Liggin, President & CEO
rliggin@razorinsights.com
404.578.1362

Based in Kennesaw, Georgia, RazorInsights is a dynamic healthcare information technology company. In keeping with the principle of Occam’s Razor, they have created a simplified HIS solution for rural, critical access, and community hospitals. Introducing ONE (ONC-ATCB 2011/2012) — a single-database, cloud solution offering a simple user experience with cutting-edge clinical tools and industry-standardized data. Hospitals can expect to improve their performance and bottom line with ONE from RazorInsights. To register for a live product demo or for more information, visit www.razorinsights.com or call 770.308.4111.

Santa Rosa Consulting

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Doug Hires, Executive Vice President, Strategic Advisory and Sales & Marketing
doughires@santarosaconsulting.com
214.546.0895

Seamless Medical Systems

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Frank Grant, Vice President, Sales
frank@seamlessmedical.com
760.533.1520

SpeechRecognition.com

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: William Holliman, Dragon Medical Adviser
William.Holliman@1450.com
888.848.1450 ext. 210

The McHenry Group

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Lisa Gatto, Director of Client Development
lisag@mvp4u.biz
815.923.2500

Celebrating nearly 22 years in business, The McHenry Group (TMG) has become the most successful and most experienced international executive search firm solely dedicated to serving the healthcare software vendor market. How successful? Since 1991, TMG has successfully placed over 2,000 candidates within the healthcare technology vendor industry. How experienced? Our team of 10 search consultants has an average tenure with our firm that exceeds 11 years.

One of our clients put it best: “Even though I was expecting great things from The McHenry Group, I was surprised by the extra effort TMG expended to understand our company, its corporate goals and our goals for our open position. I will definitely seek your help whenever our needs mesh with your services.”

TMG’s recruiting efforts focus on healthcare software vendors in the provider and payor spaces. We identify superb talent for the C-level, VP sales, regional sales, territory sales, channel marketing, client account executives, client services and implementation, sales support, consulting, marketing, product management, product development, clinical informatics, physician executives, clinical liaisons, nursing (RN) informatics, and more. TMG is equipped to quickly tap into the hidden candidate market and recruit top talent that are not active on the market. Additionally, we can delve into our extensive proprietary database of candidates, coded by specific title, areas of expertise, etc.

TrustHCS

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Jeff Johnston, Executive Director, Business Development, President
jeff.johnston@trusthcs.com
760.277.1190

TrustHCS provides consulting and services to address clinical documentation improvement (CDI) programs, ICD-10 preparation, revenue cycle improvement, coding services, auditing, and cancer registry. Visit www.trusthcs.com for more information.

Velocity Data Centers

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Steve Jacobs, President
steve.jacobs@velocitydatacenters.com
734.323.3075

We enable healthcare IT organizations to achieve their strategic goals through our innovative solution to deliver cloud computing infrastructure. This innovative approach delivers incredible benefits at reduced cost. Allowing healthcare organizations to grow revenue, reduce operating costs, and leverage current and future technology trends.

Wellcentive, Inc.

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Rich Walsh, Vice President of Corporate Strategy
rhwalsh@wellcentive.com
678.367.8187

Senior management will be located at the Hilton Riverside in an executive suite conducting presentations and open discussions. We look forward to seeing you there.

Wellcentive delivers population health management solutions that enable quality improvement throughout the continuum of care. Wellcentive’s Advance platform transforms disparate data into actionable insights that facilitate coordinated preventive care and chronic disease management, physician alignment, clinical integration, and success with value-based reimbursement and incentive programs. Wellcentive empowers healthcare organizations to improve both clinical and financial outcomes.

Winthrop Resources

To schedule a meeting:

Contact: Dan Mandy, Director of Business of Development
dmandy@winthropresources.com
952.656.7687

HIStalk’s Guide to HIMSS13 Exhibitor Giveaways

February 12, 2013 News Comments Off

Download a printable PDF version of the giveaway list here.

AirStrip

Booth 1721

Enter our drawing to win a free iPad.

Billian’s HealthDATA / Porter Research

Booth 2317

Schedule your show floor demo or consultation and get a Starbucks gift card at the booth.

Bottomline Technologies

Booth 2619, Hall D

Stop by for your free Data DNA test and enter to win one of our daily prizes.

Divurgent

Booth 5948

Help Divurgent raise $5,000 to donate to a local New Orleans children’s Hospital. All we need is your signature.

Emdeon

Booth 5027

Come by to learn how you can win one of eight iPad Minis that will be given out during the show.

e-MDs

Booth 6413

Stop by the e-MDs booth Daily for a chance to win an iPad Mini.

FDB (First Databank)

Booth 4241

Come have a cup of gourmet coffee with us and meet with FDB specialists.

GetWellNetwork, Inc.

Booth 2363

Giveaway iPads.

Greenway Medical Technologies

Booth 3941

Please visit one of our kiosks located in the Interoperability Showcase, Meaningful Use Pavilion – booth 149/Kiosk C13 or GA HIMSS booth 5500 to receive a key and code that will be taken to our main booth for an opportunity to unlock our safe. Prize value up to $2,000.

Halfpenny Technologies

Booth 5223

Stop by to play our “True Interoperability” game, meet our team, and win prizes.

Health Language

Booth 4559

Stop by and see us and register to win one of our daily giveaways.

Iatric Systems, Inc.

Booth 6613

Make sure you visit us in the HIMSS 2013 Meaningful Use Experience booth #149 / Kiosk #6 and #21. Each day, the first 150 people to visit our kiosks can receive a coupon for $2 off at Starbucks.

Finally, we have teamed up with more than 25 New Orleans retailers to enhance your HIMSS experience by offering special offers and discounts in the area. Stop by booth #6613 to receive your slap band and discount card. The participating retailers can be found here. The Crazy Lobster Restaurant (located steps from The Hilton Hotel) will hand out slap bands and promo cards during their business hours on Saturday and Sunday. This will be exclusively for CIO Forum attendees and early arrivals.

ICA

Booth 3869

Visit out booth to participate in our food bank raffle.

Imprivata

Booth 3717

Take #MeaningfulSteps to Imprivata’s booth to pick up your free pedometer and enter to win a Jawbone UP every hour. At any time during HIMSS, tweet how many #MeaningfulSteps you’ve taken towards a healthcare IT initiative and you will automatically be entered to win a Jawbone UP. For example, “I’ve taken 3,433 #MeaningfulSteps towards CPOE #HIMSS13”. In addition, Imprivata will be giving away one Kindle every 30 minutes after its booth theatre presentations.

Infor

Booth 2525

Visit us and enjoy free custom-made espresso drinks and popcorn, and enter to win one of four iPad Minis. If you’d like to learn more about your organization’s path forward for Financials, Supply Chain, HCM, Analytics, and Integration & HIEs, schedule one-on-one time with an Infor representative. When you preschedule and attend a HIMSS demo, you’ll receive a $25 Amazon.com gift card as our thanks.

IMO – Intelligent Medical Objects Inc.

Booth 6223

Visit us for our presentations, then enter our daily drawings for one of several Bose QuietComfort 3 Acoustic Noise Cancelling headphones.

iSirona

Booth 6549 and the Interoperability Showcase

Visitors to the iSirona booth can register to win one of several Nike+ FuelBands.

Lifepoint Informatics

Booth 7623

Hourly drawings will be made during exhibit hours with a chance to win an Odyssey Golf Putter.

Medicomp Systems

Booth 3068

Back by popular demand, Medicomp Systems will once again host Quipstar, World’s Favorite HIT Quiz Show. Contestants and those seated in the studio audience will have a chance to win one of 50 iPads and other prizes.

M*Modal

Booth 6647

Surprise your favorite children‘s charity. Visit M*Modal at HIMSS13 and enter for a chance to win $800 in toys for the children‘s charity of your choice.

NTT DATA Healthcare Technologies

Booth 1041

Stop by the booth for a chance to win an iPad Mini.

Optum

Booth 7041

Make your steps count at HIMSS13. For every mile you walk, Optum will donate $1 to charities that improve health and wellbeing in the city of New Orleans. Stop by the Optum exhibit for a free pedometer and more information.

Orchestrate Healthcare

Booth 529

Come see us to check out our new pad and register to win a pair of really cool Beats by Dr. Dre.

Orion Health

Booth 3161

Orion Health activities while at the show include morning coffee and sweet afternoon treat at the booth plus a raffle to win an iPad Mini 4G.

Park Place International

Booth 2674

Learn more about Park Place International and enter our raffle for a chance to win an Amazon.com gift card.

PatientKeeper Inc.

Booth 2210

Enter our daily drawing for an Apple iPad Mini.

Qlik Technologies

Booth 8121

Quantros

Booth 7940

Visit our booth to learn more about IRIS and enter to win an iPad.

Booth 3927

A special invitation to all HIStalk readers. Visit the Quest Diagnostics Healthcare IT Theatre. Quest Diagnostics booth representatives will be holding drawings for iPads and other exciting giveaways following each 20-minute presentation.

Salar, Inc.

Booth 6754

In lieu of yet another iPad giveaway or a similar free gizmo, we will offer a charitable donation in the name of one visitor to the booth.

Shareable Ink

Booth 3568

For everyone who mentions “Liberate,” we’ll be making a donation to one of our favorite NOLA charities.

Siemens Healthcare

Booths 2640 and 2641

Stop by the Siemens booth and we will make a contribution to Hope for the Warriors, whose mission is to enhance the quality of life for post-9/11 service members, their families, and families of the fallen who have sustained physical and psychological wounds in the line of duty.

SuccessEHS

Booth 4411

Visit us and while you’re there, spin our wheel to win fun prizes, including cash.

Sunquest Information Systems, Inc.

Booth 911 and MU Booth 149, Kiosk 85

Our giveaway this year will be a miniature plush toy – Sunquest Lab.

TeleTracking Technologies, Inc.

Booth 6619

Enter for a chance to win a TAG Heuer watch valued at $2,500.

TeraRecon

Booth 341

Stop by TeraRecon’s booth to enter a drawing to win a new iPad Mini.

Virtelligence Consulting

Booth 3320

Please stop by our booth to win the latest iPad.

VitalWare, LLC.

Booth 6654

Visit booth #6654 and enter to win a free iPad including a license to our new application, Doc Sherpa. A complementary ICD-10 financial risk assessment will also be available for those who sign up.

Vocera Communications, Inc.

Booth 6329, Intelligent Hospital Pavilion Booth 8711

Join Vocera in our booth for a Beignet Break on Wednesday morning.

Monday Morning Update 2/11/13

February 9, 2013 News 15 Comments

From Potsie: “Re: McKesson reorg. The customer announcement is attached. They’ve said they won’t force Horizon customers to convert to Paragon, but now with Pesce over both Paragon and Horizon, the writing is on the wall. I’ve also heard they’re encouraging Horizon employees to take jobs at Relay, which would seem to be scaling back by attrition rather than by layoff.” The customer e-mail from McKesson Technology Solutions EVP/Group President Pat Blake says RelayHealth will expand to over 1,000 employees, but more germane to Potsie’s comment, Paragon, Horizon Clinicals, Revenue Cycle, and Managed Services will be combined in a new organization called Enterprise Information Services, with Jim Pesce from the Paragon business (above left) serving as president. Rod O’Reilly (above right) will become SVP of strategy for MTS.

From Ellingham: “Re: HIStalkapalooza. How can readers have missed the announcements? Presbyopia?” Beats me, but Inga and I get e-mails every day from people who swear they’ve study HIStalk intently each day without seeing the large HIStalkapalooza announcements I’ve run three times now. Maybe they’re not really HIStalk readers and just want an invitation, but I think they’re conditioned by the rags and other sites that trumpet non-newsworthy stories with a come-on headline and 10 paragraphs of padded prose that I would have summarized in one sentence without missing anything important. Skim HIStalk and you’ll miss stuff for sure. It takes me a lot of time to write in a way that wastes a lot less of yours. That’s why I guarantee that if you’ll give me 5-10 minutes of attentive reading each day, you’ll know more than almost everybody in the industry.

An HIStalkapalooza menu update for readers who asked: Chef Brad confirms that he will have vegetarian and gluten-free items available.

The HIMSS conference will enjoy a net attendee gain this year compared to last if you believe that my poll is statistically reliable. Doing the math suggests an attendance of 33,450 based on last year’s count, but of course New Orleans can’t match Las Vegas as a draw. New poll to your right, from CHIME’s comments about ONC’s patient safety plan: should the federal government issue a national patient identifier?

Nuggets from the athenahealth earnings call Friday:

Jonathan Bush says the company reduced physician documentation per encounter to less than five minutes.
He acknowledges that athenahealth has low physician visibility and the Epocrates acquisition will be a way of promoting the company’s other businesses given its 90 percent awareness.
He said “athenaCoordinator had a rough year,” referring to the care coordination platform developed from the July 2011 Proxsys acquisition. He did not specifically reference the announced March 6 layoff of 36 employees from that group, but said the Proxsys system had to be rewritten from scratch, which hurt sales, and getting pre-certifications from payers is hard because each has different rules.
The company has integrated six products into athenaNet through its “More Disruption Please” program and plans to add another 25 in 2013, but is collecting no fees from those vendors.
They will launch athenaResearch next month to use the company’s database to provide insight back to clients.
While the company has developed turnkey rip-and-replace programs, they don’t push them because the data in the EMRs of clients isn’t reusable, or as Jonathan Bush said, “We’re going to get better at delivering it and develop the confidence to make promises that we’re good at delivering it more convincingly where we’re just going to have to get better at explaining to people why their Flock of Seagulls EMR is going to go to the same place that their Flock of Seagulls vinyl albums went.”
The company says they may dabble in the inpatient EMR business after reviewing a vendor’s implementation manuals and concluding, “That’s it? That’s what all the fuss is about?” and raised the possibility that athenahealth could replace the EpicCare ambulatory part of an Epic implementation and interface to Epic’s inpatient systems.

Medical facilities are necessarily extensive at Kumbh Mela, a Hindu pilgrimage held every 12 years in India that is drawing 30 million people as the largest human gathering in history. The military-like clinics were set up in two months and will be gone by the end of March. Medical records are basic and scrawled on paper. A team from Harvard School of Public Health created an iPad-based system for documenting the chief complaints and medications of the thousands of emergency patients seen each day. It also transfers data to a server to help detect public health outbreaks such as diarrhea. As stated by Logan Plaster, managing editor of Emergency Physicians Monthly:

So far the Harvard team has gathered more than 15,000 patient records, an impressive number by any research standards, and arguably the largest public health dataset ever gathered on a transient population. Their findings have been stable and predictable; most complaints are of cough and cold, and most prescriptions are for anti-inflammatory drugs, like ibuprofen. That’s good news to everyone’s ears as millions of new pilgrims enter Allahabad in preparation for February 10, the holiest bathing day on the calendar.

In China, a doctor’s social network warnings about a particular medication used in children causes shares of the drug’s manufacturer to drop 10 percent in a week, losing $160 million in value. It turned out that the doctor was wrong, having incorrectly recalled government literature. He has only 2,000 followers, but his message was reposted by a Chinese celebrity to his 26 million followers. The doctor apologized and clarified several times, but his original message continued to spread. Public relations analysis determined that a company’s response to publicly disseminated incorrect information must be issued within eight hours to be effective and must be distributed online rather than via traditional media.

The State of California fires SAP Public Services from its state employee payroll and medical benefits computer project after the new system was found to be making errors at 100 times the rate of the 1970s-era system it was supposed to replace. The project is years behind schedule and costs have piled up at triple the original estimate, with $371 million spent so far. SAP Public Services has been paid more than $50 million after the state fired BearingPoint three years ago.

An employee of Xerox/Affiliated Computer Services and an accomplice are indicted in Kentucky for using patient information collected in managing CVS’s Medicare Part D prescription plan to file fraudulent tax returns.

In England, the CEO of Royal Berkshire Hospital reports to the hospital’s board that implementation of its $47 million Cerner Millennium system need an extra $6 million to cover staff time required to navigate through patient scheduling screens that take up to 15 minutes per appointment. He warns that Millennium-related expenses will cause the hospital to move from a financial surplus to a loss for the year. According to the executive, Millennium crashes regularly, including this past Tuesday when it was down all day and the hospital had to revert to paper. The hospital’s 2013 implementation costs are projected at $10 million vs. its budget of $4 million due to unplanned manual data correction and extra staff time. The CEO said in a prepared statement to the Council of Governors, “The level of issues the trust faces having implemented Cerner Millennium is a significant drain on management capacity, despite robust risk mitigation plans. This has a significant impact on the trust’s financial performance and cash position, being the key driver between a surplus and forecasted deficit.”

Tennessee health department officials trying to manage a September meningitis outbreak were forced to develop an electronic workaround to their usual manual hospital data collection process due to the urgency of the situation. The agency had to convince hospitals to give it electronic access to their systems given restrictive federal privacy laws. Vanderbilt University Medical Center was identified as “becoming a substantial hindrance to our investigation” because its permission lagged that of all other area hospitals. The health department is considering proposing legislation to give it easier access in an emergency.

ORNGE, the air ambulance service of Ontario, is under fire for paying its physician CEO $4.6 million over two years. Taxpayers also paid questionable expenses that included European travel with $2,400 per night hotel rooms, a $1,200 dinner, limousines, minibar champagne, in-room movies, and trips with his girlfriend, who he had promoted to VP of the organization.

The CEO of the public healthcare system in Maricopa County, AZ defends her $125,000 salary increase, saying her $500,000 salary is “always the lowest of any hospital CEO in the entire state, even the little-bitty hospitals.” The board chair voted against the increase, saying the CEO has done a great job, but, “A $125,000 raise in a year when we give our janitors maybe a 1 percent raise or lay off people? It just doesn’t make sense.”

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (MA) pays its former chief of anesthesia $7 million and will name its pain clinic after her to settle her charges of gender discrimination. Carol Warfield, MD says the former surgery chief, along with former hospital CEO Paul Levy, forced her out when she complained about being ignored in meetings. The Boston Globe says the hospital probably wanted to avoid reopening anything related to Levy since the woman’s attorneys had already claimed that the inappropriate relationship Levy had with a hospital employee was evidence that he ignored workplace rules.

A Truthout article says EMR adoption poses new challenges to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) populations who will have to decide whether to share their status without knowing how that information will be handled digitally. One advocate says she doesn’t want to have to bring up her status in every medical encounter, saying, “I’m out to everyone, but I don’t want to have to come out to doctors over and over again.” Ares of EMR concern: (a) questions ask status like “gay” or “bisexual” instead of specifically identifying a patient’s relationships, since “sexual orientation is not useful medical information”; (b) EMRs should be able to identify same-sex partnerships instead of just checking “married”; (c) a label of “transgender” is not sufficient without more details; and (d) equal protection is not guaranteed in all states and an EMR-related outing can create problems. In an interesting twist on the tired HIE argument of “unconscious patient in the ED while on vacation” example, LGBTs say that their shared information could be a disaster in LGBT-hostile areas or facilities. An IOM study was mentioned whose conclusion was that the best course of action is to allow LGBTs to self-identify and opt out of answering related questions.

A hospital in Australia will discipline five employees, one of them a nurse, for posting in information to Facebook that it says violated patient confidentiality. The nurse posted the nursing home photo above, which she labeled as, “Randomly stripping for the oldies at work.” She also posted a patient’s pelvic x-ray showing an embedded object with the caption, “Take a guess what this is kids!”

Weird News Andy summarizes this story thusly: “I’ve heard of butt-dialing, but not answering.” A Sri Lankan prisoner who is startled by guards demanding to search his cell shoves a cell phone and two hands-free accessories into his rectum. The guards are surprised to hear a cell phone ring during the search, followed by the prisoner’s complaints of back pain. They take him to the prison hospital, where he tells doctors that his pain was caused by guards beating him. When the doctors reviewed x-rays and announced plans for surgery, he produced the contraband voluntarily.

Contacts

Mr. H, Inga, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan, Dr. Travis.

More news: HIStalk Practice, HIStalk Connect.

News 2/8/13

February 7, 2013 News 8 Comments

Top News

The VA and Department of Defense give up their contentious, expensive, and multi-year effort to develop a common EMR, deciding instead to keep their existing VistA and AHLTA systems and settle for a common user interface and unstated interoperability. They plan to launch a pilot in the summer of 2013 with a general rollout in 2014. The now-abandoned project, begun in 2011 with the declaration that VistA and AHLTA were outdated and lacking functionality, was supposed to have been completed in 2017. According to Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta:

We recognize that bringing together two large bureaucracies, trying to make those bureaucracies work together to form a seamless support system for all service members and veterans is not an easy challenge … It’s been inefficient for service members to have to hand-deliver records from one system to another when they get out of the military. It doesn’t make a hell of a lot of sense … Our goal had been to complete this effort by 2017 … our worry is, how long is it going to take to get to that goal? And what is going to be the price tag to get to that goal? And how many times is it going to be delayed? … Rather than building a single integrated system from scratch, we will focus our immediate efforts on integrating VA and DoD health data as quickly as possible, by focusing on interoperability and using existing solutions. This approach is affordable, it’s achievable, and if we refocus our efforts, we believe we can achieve the key goal of a seamless system for health records between VA and DoD on a greatly accelerated schedule. We’re now directing our departments to do just that.

The reaction of Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME), ranking member of the House veterans committee:

We have just witnessed hundreds of millions of dollars go down the drain. I’m disappointed that our nation’s two largest government agencies – one of which is the world’s foremost developer of high-tech machines and cyber-systems – could not come together on something that would have been so beneficial to those that served.

Reader Comments

From Billy East: “Re: McKesson Provider Technologies. Major re-org, with changes in leadership over Horizon Clinicals and other changes in Analytics and Relay divisions.” Unverified.

From Printgeek: “Re: McKesson. Has rolled its Physician Practice Solutions business into its RCM business along with Medisoft, Lytec, Practice Partner, Practice Choice, and now MED3OOO.” Unverified. The e-mail include the departure of an executive I won’t name at the moment, along with predictions of product sunsetting that are speculation at this point. I’ve seen no announcements, changes in the company’s Web pages, or updates to the LinkedIn profiles of those named.

From Tar Heal: “Re: UNC Health Care. Rolling out its Epic plan.” Not only did UNC avoid choosing a gimmicky name for its Epic project, they created a project logo that incorporates Epic’s identity along with their own. Go-live is planned for the spring of 2014.

From Primus: “Re: HIPAA. It’s halfway between sad and embarrassing when folks who lecture on HIPAA spell it incorrectly.” They hedged their bets by sometimes spelling it HIPPA, sometimes HIPAA.

HIStalk Announcements and Requests

My BFF Dr. Jayne and I are already working on our HIMSS party calendar. She has tasked me with securing the invites while she works on the logistics of how to attend the most events in a limited amount of time. We are partial to soirees that are open to all HIStalk readers, such as Divurgent’s summHIT Balcony Party on Sunday, March 3. If your organization is sponsoring an event that is open to all of our readers, we are happy to mention it on HIStalk and of course add ourselves to the attendee list.

A few must-read items from HIStalk Practice from the last week: CAGH launches an EFT enrollment tool that allows providers to enroll with multiple payers through a single online process. The Boston Globe profiles eClinicalWorks and its new patient engagement inititative. The percentage of medical claims filed electronically has nearly doubled between 2002 to 2011. Denial rates for established office visits range from 44 to 65 percent. HIT adoption by FQHCs is associated with significant improvements in care. Brad Boyd of Culbert Healthcare Solutions offers thoughts on practices shifting to a core vendor prior to ICD-10 implementation. Dr. Gregg wonders if Meaningful Use is getting lost in translation. I like to think of myself as a gal who doesn’t require much to keep her smiling: a hot pair of shoes, a nice glass of wine, and a few new HIStalk Practice readers every month. Make me smile. Thanks for reading.

What we like: (a) people who subscribe to our e-mail updates on HIStalk, HIStalk Practice, and HIStalk Connect; (b) connecting with readers via Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter; (c) seeing nice stats indicating that readers are interested in the ads of our sponsors and are clicking them for more information, as well as checking out the Resource Center and Consulting RFI Blaster; (d) getting rumors and news online, by e-mail, or on the Rumor Line telephone, with details to your right; and (e) getting support for what we do from readers, contributors, and sponsors. All of us (Inga, Dr. Jayne, Travis, Lt. Dan, Donna, and I) do this part time after work, and that wouldn’t be possible without help of a variety of types, for which we say thanks.

On the Jobs Board: Healthcare Industry Solutions Director, Software Product Development Manager, Senior Applications Engineer, Director of Marketing.

I keep getting e-mails asking for HIStalkapalooza details that I’ve already spelled out on HIStalk twice, so here’s one final notice for the skimmers: registration is still open. Sign up and then read HIStalk and watch your e-mail for details – please don’t e-mail me with questions or requests because I barely have time to sleep as it is (not to mention I would be spending time replying to people who don’t read HIStalk anyway). So far it looks like maybe 100 or so presidents and CEOs have signed up from my quick scan down the list. My favorite attendee title: “CEO Wife/Mistress” (should we hold one spot or two?) while one (male) attendee volunteered that, “I am willing to wear high heels just to get in.” The event draws the most interesting crowd of anything at HIMSS because not only are HIStalk readers smarter, funnier, and sexier (scientific proof available on request), we get a stimulating mix of internationally known executives, CIOs, CMIOs, trench warriors, consultants, clinicians, investment bankers, sponsor people, and government officials who know their stuff and also know how to have a good time. I’m also happy to report that next year’s HIStalkapalooza in Orlando is already sponsored, as is the 2015 version in Chicago.

HIStalkapalooza sponsor Medicomp Systems will once again host its Quipstar game show in the HIMSS exhibit hall, offering fun competition, tee shirts, prizes, and cold drinks (beer and Ingatinis are mentioned, and I had the former last year). Register to play here. The grand prize is super cool: two business-class airfares to Bangkok, a 10-day stay in Medicomp’s corporate apartment, and two executive physicals at Bumrungrad International Hospital. Thai food is among my favorites and it’s shockingly cheap there, which just might be reason enough to go. Check out a disguised Inga at 0:25 in the video from last year above.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Athenahealth reports Q4 results: revenue up 26 percent, EPS $0.29 vs. $0.26, beating earnings estimates by $0.01.

Analytics vendor Health Data Vision raises $2.8 million in Series A funding.

Nuance reports Q1 results: revenue up 28 percent, EPS –$0.07 vs. $0.03, falling short on revenue and earnings. Shares are down more than 15 percent in after-hours trading. On the earnings call, Chairman and CEO Paul Ricci said reduced transcription volumes due to increased EMR adoption and the company’s own Dragon Medical software will hurt the company’s healthcare growth until business picks up for its computer-aided coding and clinical documentation offerings.

Mobile health technology provider Diversinet Corp. is awarded two US and Canadian patents related to “bring your own device” security .

Sales

Vancouver-based Fraser Health contracts for dbMotion’s interoperability platform.

Mercy Health System (MO) selects MModal Fluency for Coding workflow platform for its network of 26 hospitals and clinics.

Huron Valley Physicians Association (MI) chooses e-MDs as a preferred EMR partner for its 700 members.

The OneBlood, Inc. (FL) blood center licenses Mediware’s HCLL Transfusion software.

The HealtheConnections RHIO (NY) selects Mirth’s HIE technology.

People

Rose Ann Laureto (UNC Health Care) is named CIO of ProMedica (OH).

Acusis promotes KB Anand to CEO.

Hearst Media extends the responsibilities of First Databank President Gregory Dorn, MD, MPH to deputy group head of Hearst Media, where he will oversee business-to-business services in the automotive, electronic, and finance industries along with the company’s healthcare brands MCG (the former Milliman Care Guidelines), First Databank, Zynx Health, and Map of Medicine. I interviewed him in September 2012.

Health Catalyst appoints John Haughom, MD (PeaceHealth) CMO and SVP.

AHIMA hires Deborah Green (LaVie Care) as EVP/COO and promotes Denise Froemming to EVP/CFO.

Announcements and Implementations

QuadraMed will offer Q-Matic’s self-service technology for managing patient flow through its enterprise Access Management suite.

EClinicalWorks will invest $25 million over the next year to enhance and expand its patient engagement tools in its healow business unit.

OSF HealthCare System goes live on sharing its seven-hospital Epic information with other participants in the Central Illinois HIE using ICA’s CareAlign exchange platform.

Cogdell Family Clinic (TX) implements scanning technology from EDCO Health Information Solutions to eliminate its paper-based medical records.

Truven Health Analytics launches HIE Advantage Analytics for the analysis of HIE utilization and population management.

ICSA announces a mobile app testing program to help enterprises determine if their supported apps are properly protecting sensitive data.

Government and Politics

CMS will develop a new records systems to facilitate quality reporting for long-term hospital care.

What ever happened 2 #blueButton Health assistant developed back in 2010 4 patients 2 download EHR data ? adobe.ly/TRhKNe

— Sherry Reynolds (@Cascadia) February 8, 2013

Good question. Adobe won a VA prize in 2010 for a slick Blue Button project using Adobe Air. It would be fun to revisit old announcements occasionally to see which turned out to be fluff, BS, or wishful thinking.

CHIME’s comments on ONC’s proposed patient safety plan emphasize that methods of matching patients to their data are inconsistent and a growing problem with HIEs, although it fell short of providing the obvious but politically deadly solution of a national patient identifier. CHIME also expressed concern that patient safety event data collection might take a lot of provider time and urged ONC to turn implementation of the patient safety plan to an organization that isn’t under direct government control.

ONC’s Farzad Mostashari throws down the gauntlet to the minority of EHR vendors that aren’t forthright in their pricing, that write unfair contracts, and that hold customer data hostage to prevent them from moving to another system, warning that if those vendors don’t step up, “We will go back to the regulatory process.”

Secretary of the Army John McHugh visits the National Center for Telehealth and Technology in Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA. It offers video chat-based mental health consultations to soldiers in remote locations.

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), new chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, acknowledges that he tried to intervene in a billing dispute between CMS and his largest political donor, a Florida ophthalmologist who was ordered to replay $8.9 million for overbilling Medicare for an eye drug. The Senator, who also admitted to inappropriately using the doctor’s private jet, tried to convince CMS that the billing rules were confusing.

Other

A national survey finds that the most-hated job in America, as scored by those holding the position, is IT director. Sales and marketing director came in at #2, product manager at #3, senior web develop #4, technical support analyst at #8, and marketing manager rounding out the list at #10. Companies should probably be concerned if their sales and marketing executives are that miserable.

AHRQ and CMS announce a new EHR format for children’s health that includes recommendations for child-specific data elements such as vaccines, prenatal and newborn screening tests, growth data, and child abuse reporting.

A study in Health Affairs finds that care costs averaged $88 less per episode when delivered via an online clinic versus traditional settings, with strong effectiveness indicators and a 98 percent “would recommend” consumer rating.

A county commissioner and Tea Party leader in Michigan casts the lone dissenting vote in considering the health department’s request for new Medicaid billing software, explaining, “My worry is that if it’s part of (electronic health records or EHR)—which is Obamacare. I’d like to make sure our information is not being collected. You’d be selling your health care and your liberty to Big Brother. We should make darn sure this is not part of the EHR system … I feel our records would be better off kept in private hands.”

A KLAS report finds that ED physicians believe best-of-breed ED systems offer better clinical decision support, usability, and documentation accuracy compared to enterprise ED systems. The highest-ranked best-of-breed vendors are Wellsoft, Picis, T-System, and Medhost, while Epic takes the top spot among enterprise vendors.

The ECRI Institute Patient Safety Organization looks at HIT-related safety events, identifying five problem areas:

Inadequate data transfer between systems
Entering data on the wrong patient
Making data entry mistakes
HIT system bugs
Configuration errors

Security analysts find a vulnerability in Internet-connected devices manufactured by Honeywell that could allow hackers to take control of large-business environmental systems, some of which they identified as belonging to hospitals. Hacking the device could also provide direct access to a hospital’s network since they are often direct connected via Ethernet.

World-renowned Johns Hopkins neurosurgeon Ben Carson, MD (played by Cuba Gooding Jr. in 2009’s “Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story”) makes his fellow presenter President Obama squirm at the National Prayer Breakfast with his suggested alternatives to Obamacare: “We spend a lot of money on health care, twice as much per capita as anyone else in the world, and yet not very efficient. What can we do? Here’s my solution. When a person is born, give them a birth certificate, an electronic medical record, and a health savings account to which money can be contributed pre-tax from the time you’re born to the time you die.” He also said that the government is fiscally irresponsible and needs to place more emphasis on education.

Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (CA) is fined $100,000 after patient dies after going into cardiac arrest without receiving treatment for nine minutes. The patient’s monitor leads had become disconnected and the technician called for a nurse via overhead page at 1:27 a.m., but the nurse said she didn’t hear it. The hospital, thankfully, says it has developed a better way to notify nurses. Google tells me that Vocera’s headquarters building is less than two miles from the hospital in San Jose and the hospital is a Vocera customer, so that’s probably a much better solution than waking patients up with middle-of-the-night overhead pages that could be missed.

Twelve patients file suit against North Shore University Hospital (NY), claiming that medical records face sheets were stolen and their information used to file fraudulent tax returns, charge credit cards, and open cell phone accounts since 2010. The suit claims that a theft ring operated for more than a year, but patients weren’t notified.

The top 10 executives of non-profit Carolinas HealthCare System (NC) each earned more than $1 million in 2012, including $4.76 million for the CEO.

I was amused that Dr. Jayne uses the word “pop” below in referring to fizzy sugar water, which I know is a regional term since I’m fascinated by stuff like that (calling the midday meal “dinner,” referring to a rubber band as a “gumband,” declaring the side of the road to be a “berm” instead of a curb, etc.) Then I remember that there’s an Internet, meaning someone has devoted their very existence to studying the “pop” phenomenon, so that’s the graphic above. The yellow parts of the country call it “pop,” the blue say “soda,”and the purple refer to it generically as “Coke” (although my favorite is the unlisted variant I always heard from my Southern relatives, “Co-Cola.”)

Perhaps this OB-GYN shouldn’t have chastised her tardy patient on Facebook. The hospital has reprimanded her and is reviewing her posts after reports that some may have contained patient information. I would add that she should be reprimanded for starting a sentence with “so,” an appallingly lame and unnecessary verbal crutch that seems to be ubiquitous these days.

Sponsor Updates

SuccessEHS says it has doubled in size since January 2011 with the hiring of 295 new employees.
Surgical Information Systems demonstrates interoperability for each IHE profile at the 2013 IHE Connectathon.
Forbes recognizes iSirona, Kareo, and Ping Identity on its list of the country’s most promising privately-held, high-growth companies.
Levi, Ray & Shoup opens a branch office in Westchester, IL.
Elsevier launches the MEDalternatives database, which gives users access to drug cost savings options through access to information on alternative therapies.
Vocera donates its communication technology to MedShare (GA), a non-profit that recovers and redistributes surplus medical supplies and equipment to developing countries.
Access hosts a February 12 Webinar profiling Norman Regional Hospital (OK) and its use of Access products to advance paperless initiatives.

EPtalk by Dr. Jayne

HIMSS alert: For those of you who may be out cavorting with vendors or clients in the Big Easy, a recent study shows that mixing alcoholic drinks with diet pop may lead to higher blood alcohol levels than using regular pop. The study was small with only 16 participants and attributes the effect to diet pop moving more quickly through the stomach.

Speaking of vendors, clients, and cocktails: CMS released the final rule on the Sunshine Act this week. Starting March 2014, pharmaceutical and medical device must report payments to providers for consulting fees, honoraria, gifts, food, entertainment, travel, and charitable contributions. There will be a 45-day review period for physicians to ensure the accuracy of any information submitted. The rule is 287 pages long and it’s already been a long day, so anyone who wants to send me highlights is welcome. Instead of stale pickup lines accompanying offers to buy me a drink, I’m sure I can look forward to, “Hey baby, what’s your NPI?”

I’ve received lots of reader comments on my recent piece regarding hospital budget cuts and administrative ridiculousness. Some of my favorites:

“I thought it was bad when they stopped emptying our trash daily and told us all food-type trash needed to go to the kitchen and that if any varmints or bugs appear, each department would be charged for pest control.”
“They started vacuuming during the day because it is cheaper. So you are on conference calls or any type call and along comes the high-powered vacuuming. Also lights have been dimmed, so you practically need a flashlight.”
“My most ridiculous administrative experience occurred smack dab in the middle of the current recession. Senior management felt our product was so critical they decided to raise prices. I could only shake my head in amazement and easily forecast the impending carnage to come… and did it ever come! Our competitors had a field day as clients dropped us like a bad habit!

Keep the stories coming. I really do enjoy reading your comments and knowing that our hospital isn’t the only one that has totally lost its collective mind.

ICD-10 challenge: I had a patient present this morning with eye pain which she attributes to staying up all night reading Fifty Shades of Grey. The best part of the encounter was that my scribe had never heard of it, and watching his face as the patient tried to explain what the book was about was priceless. I guess I’m stuck with a nonspecific code for exposure to other specified factors. Any suggestions?

Contacts

Mr. H, Inga, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan, Dr. Travis.

More news: HIStalk Practice, HIStalk Connect.

The Advisory Board Company Acquires 360Fresh

February 6, 2013 News 1 Comment

The Advisory Board Company announced this afternoon that it has acquired clinical analytics vendor 360Fresh of Palo Alto, CA.

360Fresh offers two products. Pulse360 uses text and data mining to extract information from existing systems such as EMRs to answer clinical and quality questions. Track360 is a clinician care coordination and workflow tool that streamlines provider handoffs, provides alerts, and improves patient communications. Both systems are targeted for use by academic medical centers, independent community hospitals, and large-scale ambulatory providers.

We spoke to CEO Paul Roscoe of The Advisory Board Company’s Crimson group ahead of the announcement. He says Crimson provides its members with analytics solutions for retrospective data review, while the additional of 360Fresh’s technology will create the next generation of analytics capable of capturing real-time information for hospitalized patients, including both discrete and free-text EMR data, and then using predictive analytics to identify opportunities to improve outcomes.

”360Fresh’s technology uses data mining techniques to gain access to the data that exists and in many cases is locked up in the electronic medical record,” he told us. “It performs text analytics and NLP processing, and then adds to that very advanced mathematical and predictive modeling capability that allows you to analyze structured and unstructured clinical data – progress notes, admission records, text results, billing information – and glean from that the salient clues to a patient’s behavior and clinical trajectory to create a comprehensive view of their risk factors for certain negative outcomes.”

Roscoe says Crimson members will be able to use existing rich data sets to identify areas of opportunity, including in accountable care-type models that require the ability to manage population health and chronic diseases. He refers to the new capabilities as “dynamic clinical intelligence,” which he contrasts to clinical decision support in that instead of running fixed rules to identify possible ordering errors, predicts future events such as the likelihood of a post-surgical patient being transferred out of the ICU within eight hours.

J. Sairamesh (Ramesh), PhD, 360Fresh CEO, president, and founder, led business solutions for IBM over 14 years, working on technologies that included Early Warning Systems and Watson. Roscoe says 360Fresh is working with several large medical centers that have not yet been publicly identified. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Morning Headlines 2/6/13

February 6, 2013 News 2 Comments

Cerner Reports Fourth Quarter 2012 Results

Cerner beats estimates with earnings per share of $0.67 vs. $0.55 a year ago, with revenues up 15 percent.

DOD, VA to Speed Integration of Health Records

The Integrated Electronic Health Record, originally scheduled for a 2018 rollout, is on track for go-live by the end of 2014.

Can computers predict medical problems? VA thinks maybe.

The VA solicits bids for a pilot program that will analyze information in its VistA electronic medical record using natural language processing and machine learning to uncover patterns that can be used to improve outcomes and efficiency.

Health care venture in Leawood plans to generate 200 jobs

Startup eLuminate Health, which offers a consumer site for pricing elective surgeries and choosing providers, says its planned Kansas headquarters will create 200 jobs over the next five

News 2/6/13

February 5, 2013 News 7 Comments

Top News

Cerner announces Q4 results: revenue up 15 percent, EPS $0.67 vs. $0.55, beating estimates of $0.64. Shares rose five percent in after-hours trading Tuesday. The company’s market cap is $14.3 billion. From the earnings call:

Q4 bookings were just over $1 billion, a record
System sales were $252 million of the $710 million in revenue
Thirty percent of the bookings came from non-Millennium clients
The company says it had nearly double the number of new HIMSS EMRAM Stage 6/7 users as its closest competitor, presumably Epic
It claims that Epic is pushing back on Meaningful Use Stages 2 and beyond because it will be challenged to meet them
EVP Jeff Townsend said the industry needs to step up to the challenges of interoperability, including use of a patient identifier
The company says it thinks even Epic clients that have paid a lot of money can be convinced to change systems if their reimbursement is threatened due to quality problems
The company signed four deals worth $40 million or more, with the showcase being LA County
Neal Patterson said the market is really a choice between two companies, presumably Cerner and Epic
The company says 85 percent of its customer base has completed Stage 1 attestation

Reader Comments

From Mike Tomlin: “Re: Rich Goldberg. He is leaving McKesson/MED3OOO to run marketing for GE reseller Virtual OfficeWare.” Unconfirmed, but the source is good and his departure would not be surprising given McKesson’s recent acquisition of MED3OOO.

From Bean Enumerator: “Re: Brigham and Women’s CIO position. Not filled yet.” A reader reported on January 30 that Joe Schmitt was taking the job, but that was not verified. The opening remains posted.

From MedWreck: “Re: Innovation Institute. Color me skeptical.” St. Joseph Health (CA) launches for-profit The Innovation Institute that will include includes an incubator, shared services, and an investment portfolio. The primary motivator seems to be to commercialize the intellectual property of large academic medical centers. The only hospital member named is St. Joseph Health, which provided almost all the institute’s executives, including former St. Joseph Health SVP/CIO Larry Stofko, who will run the Innovation Lab. Larry let me know about the Institute’s formation last summer, at which time I mentioned it and his new job there.

From Incredulator: “Re: HIMSS e-mail blast. A customer forwarded this e-mail they received from a company pitching their HIMSS booth. Check out the last line.” It’s easy to doctor a forwarded e-mail, so I’ll assume that’s the case since surely the company whose identifiers I’ve blurred wouldn’t be stupid enough to end an otherwise button-down e-mail blast with a puzzling grand finale. Although if they did, I’ll be interested to see if they own up to it as either a horrific faux pas or an overly bold attention-getter.

HIStalk Announcements and Requests

We did a good interview with Vocera Chairman and CEO Bob Zollars on HIStalk Connect.

Welcome to new HIStalk Platinum Sponsor Cornerstone Advisors Group. The five-year-old Georgetown, CT-based professional services firm, in its own words, “provides high-value consulting, advisory, implementation, and staffing services to the healthcare delivery middle and lower market segments at a fair and reasonable price” around its core principles of partnership, integrity, commitment, and value (remember “value” because it’s coming up again). The company took the #1 spot in “Planning and Assessment” and #2 in “Vendor Selection” in the 2012 Best in KLAS awards, with its customers scoring it with a sweet 98.4 and 96.1, respectively, also giving Cornerstone stellar marks for value with a 9.0 in the all-important “Money’s Worth” score in both categories. Cornerstone’s leaders and associates are former Big Six consultants, CIOs, and physicians, and I notice that President and Founder Keith Ryan has a distinguished industry history on the front lines as VP/CIO of Stamford Health (CT) and Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare (IL) as well as having held executive positions with top consulting firms, not to mention that I notice he is an HIStalk Fan Club member, which carries a lot of weight (with me, anyway). I’ve seen the company’s revenue and FTE numbers by year and it’s a steep curve up, earning it a spot on the Inc. 5000 with 431 percent three-year growth. Some of its clients include HCA, William Backus, Chilton Memorial, and Finger Lakes. If you need help with advisory, implementation, or staffing services, consider giving Cornerstone Advisors Group a chance to earn your business. I appreciate their support.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Oak Investment Partners invests $40 million in xG Health Solutions, an independently operated venture that will market intellectual property and expertise developed by Geisinger Health System, including healthcare IT optimization, consulting services, population health data analytics, and care management. We announced the news on January 11 when phony-named reader Jerry Aldini forwarded a copy of the internal announcement.

CTG acquires etrinity, a provider of IT services to the healthcare market in Belgium and the Netherlands.

Michael Dell will regain control of the fading company he founded as Dell announces plans to be taken private in a $24 billion leveraged buyout that also includes taking a loan from Microsoft. The company plans to move its focus from low-margin and low-demand PCs to enterprise services, which worked for IBM years ago as it moved away from hardware. That same strategy hasn’t done much for HP, which is now discussing breaking the company up in hopes of finding shareholder value hidden somewhere in its diverse offerings. The Dell change could be good for its healthcare consulting folks, most of whom were brought on board with its 2009 Perot acquisition that included the former JJ Wild.

Startup eLuminate Health announces plans to open its headquarters in Leawood, KS and create 200 jobs over the next five years. The company offers a network for imaging and surgical providers to provide transparent pricing, clinical quality, and customer satisfaction ratings for consumers (sounds pretty much like an Angie’s List for elective surgery). CEO Tami Hutchison came from Cerner, which you probably guessed given the company’s location and line of business.

Speech technology vendor Vestec raises $1.5 million in capital from V. Raman Kumar, founder and former CEO of MModal. The company offers a speech recognition engine and a Natural Language Understanding system, with a text-to-speech engine planned. The products seem to be small-vocabulary systems for specific voice commands for use in devices such as TVs, GPSs, and PBX-type setups, although Kumar says he’ll help the company move into healthcare.

Sales

CHRISTUS Continuing Care (TX) selects HEALTHCAREfirst’s homecare, hospice, and CPO solutions.

MDH Radiology chooses Sectra’s Breast Imaging PACS, Merge Healthcare’s CADstream, and other tools to create a national telemammography solution.

MD Anderson (TX) chooses Oracle Health Sciences applications and Oracle technology for an organization-wide analytics initiative to develop personalized cancer treatments.

CMS awards Emdeon a contract to define the process for testing new HIPAA and ACA transaction standards.

Kentucky Medical Services Foundation and UK Healthcare sign a five-year agreement for Opportunity AnyWare, the business analytics platform from Streamline Health Solutions.

Kalispell Regional Medical Center (MT) selects EDCO Health Information Solutions for its day-forward scanning technology and services.

Middletown Community Health Center (NY) chooses EHR, PM, and EDR (dental) solutions from SuccessEHS for nine service locations and two mobile health units, announcing plans to go live within 90 days.

Parkview Health (IN) selects ProVation Medical from Wolters Kluwer Health for gastroenterology procedure documentation and coding.

People

Kasey Fahey joins Direct Recruiters as project coordinator in its healthcare IT practice.

Announcements and Implementations

Covisint launches Covisint Healthcare, an integrated solution for analytics across multiple systems and stakeholders that includes enhanced data capture and reporting, real-time admission and discharge notifications, and patient outreach and scheduling.

Reading Hospital (PA) goes live on its $150 million Epic implementation.

Four hospitals of Bassett Healthcare Network (NY) go live with Epic.

LHP Hospital Group (TX) implements McKesson Paragon at five hospitals.

Cox Medical Center Branson (MO) completes activation of T-System’s PerformNext Care Continuity solution to facilitate patient transitions and improve communication and access to clinical data.

ZirMed launches Clinical Link, a nationwide provider-to-provider information exchange platform.

Awarepoint Corporation launches Bed and Bay Sensor for precise tracking of mobile equipment and patient and caregiver interactions in locations with tight bed spacing such as the ED and PACU.

Government and Politics

The VA solicits bids for a pilot program to test how advanced clinical reasoning and prediction systems can use its VistA patient data to improve care, efficiency, and outcomes.

Brian Ahier reports that a new federal law will be published this Friday that will require drug, device, and medical supply managers to publicly disclose gifts given to physicians or teaching hospitals. The Physician Payment Sunshine Act, part of the Affordable Care Act, charges HHS with collecting information about consulting fees, gifts, honoraria, food, entertainment, and travel from companies that are covered by any federal health program.

Innovation and Research

The Washington Post looks at the burgeoning field of geomedicine, which uses geographic information system technology to correlate environmental conditions with health risks. One example is an inhaler device from Asthmapolis that is equipped with Bluetooth to track when and where patients use their inhalers.

A Germany-based company develops an intelligent armchair that contains health-monitoring technology that constantly measures the health of its occupant, also displaying the user’s historical health measurements via a tablet PC to the TV using Bluetooth. A virtual health assistant uses the information to develop and monitor a personalizes health plan, for which the chair transforms into a rowing machine. The company plans to add mental games to encourage participation and increase alertness.

Fast Company covers the just-concluded MIT Health and Wellness Hackathon, which focuses on commercially viable products. Some of the entrants: an app that encourages HIV/AIDS patients to take their meds, a sensor-based home monitor for congestive heart failure, an endometriosis surgery app for patients, home Parkinson’s monitoring tools built into gloves and a coffee cup, a blood pressure pill bottle reminder, and a diet tracker for epileptics.

Other

I don’t see the point of “pass a test, earn some paper” certifications like the ones offered by HIMSS and some for-profit companies, but this one really puzzles me. HIMSS introduces CAHIMS, designed for “emerging professionals” with less than five years’ experience in healthcare IT. I would be doing all I could to try to hide my newbie status on my resume rather than proudly waving around a paid-for certificate that boasts of my relative inexperience.

Baltimore-based startup Parallax Enterprises, founded by a physician who is also a military pilot and an Air Force major, raises $1 million to develop a heads-up display of surgical checklists. I’m intrigued that Jeff Woolford, MD has booked 1,000 hours in the single-seat, low-level combat A-10 Thunderbolt II tank killer, which is ugly, slow, low-tech, cheap, and scary as heck for the pilot but the most reassuring sight imaginable for ground troops, at least those on the same side. I’ve seen live exhibition flights of just about every modern-era US warplane and the A-10 was the most memorable. Hats off to Dr. Woolford for his service as a Wart Hog driver over Afghanistan.

Former HealthStream executive Luther Cale offers 33 Ways to Reboot Your Life, free on Amazon through midnight Wednesday. Judging from the “Look Inside” feature, you won’t get much out of it if you don’t believe in non-traditional medical techniques like spiritual psychotherapy and healing tonics.

Unverified rumors claim that Cerner and McKesson will open up interoperability between their systems to try to compete with the Epic juggernaut, with a potential announcement planned for the HIMSS conference. I’m skeptical that two large, publicly traded competing companies would agree to such cooperation, so if you have details, please share.

Seattle-based Carena launches its CareSimple program, offering Webcam-based virtual visits with one of its 15 physicians and nurse practitioners for limited conditions for a cost of $85 or for $5 with a family membership of $35 per month.

Texas Medicaid tries to revise its “pay and chase” policies after a TV station’s investigation finds that taxpayers were charged for $705 million over three years for orthodontics. The state is holding the payments of 91 dentists suspected of fraud.

Sponsor Updates

MedAssets pledges support to employees who serve in the National Guard and Army Reserve.
Chris Tackaberry, co-founder and CEO of Clinithink, shares details of how Clinithink came about and the challenges along the way in an interview.
SimplifyMD reports that 100 percent of its customers choosing to file for MU attestation have completed the process.
The Advisory Board Company hosts senior policy makers on Capitol Hill to discuss efforts to improve care under new Medicare value payment programs.
Cerner will integrate Gateway EDI’s claims and remit systems with its PM solutions.

Contacts

Mr. H, Inga, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan, Dr. Travis.

More news: HIStalk Practice, HIStalk Connect.

Monday Morning Update 2/4/13

February 3, 2013 News 10 Comments

From HIStalk Fan: “Re: HITPC/HITSC testimony of Karen Van Wagner, executive director of North Texas Specialty Physicians. The Pioneer ACO shares results of its community HIE.” She talks about successful efforts to increase EMR usage (eCW, Allscripts, NextGen) and the results of the exchange (Sandlot Solutions), which was launched in 2006. She says traditional healthcare IT isn’t providing cost and quality improvements because it focuses on retrospective data, often from claims databases, and the optimal solution involves both retrospective and current clinical information. They did a discharge transitions project study that exceeded targets for PCP follow-up, having discharge summaries available for the follow-up PCP visit, and readmissions. Her specific recommendations to the government: (a) simplify consent and disclosure rules; (b) expedite adoption of IHE standards; (c) require laboratory diagnoses to delivered by LOINC standards; (d) require hospital EMRs to send a “just admitted” notice to community providers via their own EMRs; and (e) require pharmacy systems to communicate with HIEs and provide their information at no charge.

Hospitalist DZA MD left an insightful comment on my Time Capsule article about doctors getting lost in the barrage of generally useless information cluttering up EMRs. Excerpting:

Anything that is templated has exactly zero clinical information value to me. I don’t care if Osler himself dropped in “dyspnea improved,” “no diarrhea” … If I want to know the validity of that kind of thing, I will look at the narrative part of the nursing note … The only data I look at that actually represents signal is the vital signs and lab data. The rest of the discrete data is noise … The narrative and visual graphics (including graphic displays of lab and vital signs data) are for us (clinicians). The templated stuff is for the suits and insurance grifters. QED.

From The PACS Designer: “Re: Microsoft Office 365. Microsoft is making a dramatic switch by selling its enhanced Office products in the cloud. They are calling it Office + Office 365, and will be offering a monthly subscription service with pricing based on business size and features selected by the customer. It’s a big gamble on users satisfaction with cloud services which as we know can experience interruptions in service at inappropriate times of the business cycle.” The good thing about Office is that the once-touted Office killers, especially Google Apps, are vastly inferior flops. The bad thing is that home Office users aren’t likely to lock themselves into a $100 ongoing subscription for something they formerly bought or stole once, although it’s a pretty good deal if you have a bunch of PCs since the home license covers up to five (less likely now that everybody’s using iPads and phones instead of extra PCs). And, you can temporarily load and run it to a non-licensed PC. I think it can work – antivirus software moved subscription software for home users to the mainstream, not to mention that Microsoft can just jack up the price of the box version to move people toward the cloud-based offering, which would also kill the bootleg business (possibly their primary motivation). It won’t help that Office 365 had an outage almost immediately after its launch, allowing the boxed software users to work merrily along while the leasers couldn’t even get to Outlook.

From Godzilla: “Re: [hospital name removed]. Filing suit against [vendor name removed]. Unhappy with the products, implementation, and project management.” A hospital media spokesperson replied on the record to my inquiry, “Nothing could be further from the truth. Inaccurate on all counts.”

From Unbeatable: “Re: [vendor name removed]. Laid off 31 developers and outsourced all work to India and the Ukraine. The Chicago office lost the largest number of staff.” I’ll see what I can find out.

From IndustryBnkr: “Re: OptumHealth. Rick Jelinek is leaving as CEO to pursue another opportunity outside the company, with Larry Renfro taking over.” Unverified, but his former “About Us” page has been deleted. He took the CEO job a year ago.

From HITEsq: “Re: MMR. Made good on its threats to sue someone for patent infringement in January, going after Walgreens. MMR’s theory is that displaying a list of your prescriptions infringes on its patents. I seem to remember having access on Walgreens before 2005 when the MMR patent was filed.” Patent trolls love the US system because (a) the Patent Office is overwhelmed, they don’t have the knowledge required to understand highly technical patent requests, and will approve just about anything and let the courts sort it out later; and (b) lawyers are so expensive that mounting a legal defense can bankrupt a defendant even when they are clearly right since our legal system requires the winner to pay their own legal costs. Unfortunately lawyers often morph into politicians and are predictably loathe to bite the hands (as inserted into the pockets of others) that once fed them and may again, so we are required to be collectively complacent about the status quo.

Speaking of despicable patent trolls, let us hear from our new hero, Lee Cheng, Newegg chief legal officer and extortionist squasher.

In related patent troll news, billionaire bad boy Mark Cuban endows “The Mark Cuban Chair to Eliminate Stupid Patents” at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which he funded because, “Dumbass patents are crushing small businesses. I have had multiple small companies I am an investor in have to fight or pay trolls for patents that were patently ridiculous.” Mentioned in the article is Acacia Research, which I’ve railed about here many times, which claims to own the process of sending medical images over the Internet.

Yale-New Haven Hospital (CT) went live with Epic on January 31. Above: Sue Fitzsimons, RN, PhD (SVP, patient services); James Staten (EVP, finance); Marna Borgstrom (CEO); Daniel Barchi (CIO, health system and medical school); Lisa Stump (VP, Epic project); Peter Herbert, MD (chief medical officer); and Richard D’Aquila (president and COO).

The stock-pickers among us like Cerner and athenahealth just about equally. New poll to your right: did you go to the HIMSS conference last year, and are you going this year?

Speaking of those stocks I listed, I decided to see how they’ve done in the past year: athenahealth (up 40 percent), Allscripts (down 45 percent), Quality Systems (down 57 percent), Cerner (up 34 percent), and Merge (down 49 percent).

Thanks to the following sponsors, new and renewing, that have recently supported HIStalk, HIStalk Connect, and HIStalk Practice. Click a logo for more information.

Psychology scientists from Brigham and Women’s Hospital perform an interesting study in their research into “inattentional blindness.” Radiologists were asked to examine the CT scans of five patients and click on whichever of the 10 known nodules they could find. The final case included a gorilla image that was 50 times the size of the nodule, which 20 of the 24 radiologists did not notice even though eye-tracking instruments showed they had looked right at it. I don’t see this as necessarily bad – a lot of the work in medicine is tuning out the noise to focus on what you’re looking for. However, it does reinforce the idea that in general it’s good to get a second opinion from someone less focused on the problem at hand, and if you’re a patient or lesser expert, you still might detect the forest that the tree-obsessed people have missed. It may also touch on confirmational bias, where people tend to place higher value on information that matches what they already believe (like brains not containing gorillas).

A New York Times op-ed piece observes a “casual lack of transparency” in that drug and device companies make sure that only positive studies are published, with the trigger being Johnson & Johnson’s recalled artificial hip that was marketed despite known problems that the public wasn’t told about. It observes two attempted fixes that have failed: (a) the FDA requires new clinical trials to have summaries posted on a federal site, but an audit found that 80 percent of the trials ignored the requirement and no fines have been levied; and (b) the medical journal industry promised to publish only pre-registered studies, but an audit found that more than half of published articles involved trials that weren’t registered correctly and one-fourth covered studies that weren’t registered at all.

Good luck explaining healthcare pricing to the public. A graduate student’s gallbladder removal was billed at $60,000 by an out-of-network provider. His insurance paid what it defined as a reasonable rate: $2,000. The average commercial price is $12,292, while Medicare would have paid $958. An advocacy group stepped in and the surgeon accepted $340. The article says the Affordable Care Act does nothing to limit out-of-network fees, which are almost always a surprise to patients since buildings and white coats don’t come with “I’m in your network” labels. I’ve known people burned by in-network EDs that used out-of-network doctors or lab companies, and of course nobody volunteered that information, not that you really have a choice in the ED anyway. The comments left on the New York Times article are fascinating and often insightful. The graphic above is from a new AHIP report.

A foundation employee of Fairbanks Memorial Hospital (AK) is charged with diverting $12,000 in donations that had been collected online via PayPal.

GE Healthcare is working with the VA to develop surgical robots that can locate, sterilize, and deliver instruments.

Meditech files its annual report. For the year, revenue was up 9.7 percent, EPS $3.55 vs. $3.41. Neil Pappalardo owns nearly 39 percent of the company, holding shares worth around $650 million. CEO Howard Messing’s shares are valued at around $18 million. Share values are probably low given that the company is not publicly traded – I just used the most recent per-share acquisition price, but if the company were to be sold or IPO’d, the value would probably be a lot higher.

Nuggets from the McKesson earnings conference call late last week:

Technology Solutions revenue was flat
Margins of the Technology Solutions numbers was hurt by a required revenue recognition change for the System C UK business McKesson acquired in 2012
RelayHealth and the payor software business contributed more than half of the profits of Technology Solutions
More legacy customers than expected have either already moved to Paragon or have committed to do so instead of moving to competitor systems
The Paragon ED solution is close to being generally available
Both Horizon and Paragon will support Meaningful Use Stages 2 and 3

Contacts

Mr. H, Inga, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan, Dr. Travis.

More news: HIStalk Practice, HIStalk Connect.

News 2/1/13

January 31, 2013 News 9 Comments

Top News

McKesson announces Q3 results: revenue up one percent, non-GAAP EPS $1.41 vs. $1.40, missing earnings expectations of $1.63 and guiding earnings slightly down for FY2013. Operating costs rose 10 percent, while technology solutions revenues were flat.

Reader Comments

From AphexTwin: “Re: Allscripts. Laid off five percent of its workforce (350 people) in testing and development roles. All remote development staff are being forced to relocate or be terminated.” An Allscripts spokesperson provided this response:

We internally announced the creation of R&D Centers of Excellence to enable us to better serve our clients, reduce complexity, and save costs. By making this move, we’re aligning with industry best practice and will be more agile in delivering results for our clients. Many team members will have the opportunity to relocate and some to work remotely. Unfortunately, there will be some team members whose positions will be adversely impacted, and they will be offered a severance package. In addition, we anticipate there will be Development jobs created in the North American locations with the majority of those in our Raleigh and Boston locations.

From The PACS Designer: “Re: iPad with Retina display. Apple keeps making the iPad more brilliant and powerful with the announcement of the iPad with Retina display. This new version also has 128GB of storage and a selling price of $799. The communications options now include both Wi-Fi and iPad with Wi-Fi+ Cellular as added features.”

HIStalk Announcements and Requests

Highlights from HIStalk Practice this week include: Epic, Allscripts, and eClinicalWorks accounted for 42 percent of all EP MU attestations through October, 2012. iPractice Group confirms that it has ceased operations. AMGA says it now represents 430 group practices and 130,000 FTE physicians. The HIStalk Practice Advisory Panel shares details of their practices’ social media policies and privacy and security measures. As always, thanks for reading.

On the Jobs Board: Director of Marketing, Epic Experienced Providers, Product Marketing Manager.

January, which isn’t quite over yet as I write this, will set an HIStalk record for the most monthly visits ever at 140,000, up 25 percent over January 2012.

Welcome to new HIStalk Platinum Sponsor VitalWare, a market leader in healthcare intelligence and regulatory compliance. The Yakima, WA company’s offerings include VitalView (ICD-10 planning and status between hospitals and vendors), VitalSigns (supports real-time retrospective coding to ICD-10 for starting efforts now to estimate impact on reimbursement and cash flow), VitalCoder (next-generation coding and revenue cycle resource), the just-announced CDM Navigator (charge master maintenance), and ICD-10 consulting and implementation. The company also offers VitalVendors, a vendor ICD-10 readiness rating system that’s part of the HIMSS ICD-10 Playbook. A guest post by Founder and CEO Kerry Martin provides a sobering update on the stage of vendor readiness for the October 1, 2014 ICD-10 compliance date. Thanks to VitalWare for supporting HIStalk, which thanks to its support will be fully ICD-10 ready.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

CommVault announces Q3 numbers: revenue up 24 percent, non-GAAP EPS $0.39 vs. 0.27.

Aetna announces Q4 numbers: revenue up 16 percent, EPS $0.56 vs. $1.02.

CPSI announces Q4 results: revenue up 14 percent, EPS $0.83 vs. $0.59, falling short of consensus estimates of $0.88. Shares are down nearly nine percent in after-hours trading.

Sales

Wenatchee Valley Medical Center (WA) and Central Washington Hospital select NextGate’s EMPI and provider registry systems.

Huron Valley Physicians Association (MI) chooses eClinicalWorks EHR for its 600 providers.

People

AHRQ Director Carolyn Clancy, MD announces plans to step down.

API Healthcare expands General Counsel Hayden Creque’s role to include vice president of human resources.

Announcements and Implementations

The VA completes integration and testing between VistA and Authentidate’s Electronic House Call and Interactive Voice Response telehealth systems.

The 24-bed Melissa Memorial Hospital (CO) completes implementation of its EMR.

Piedmont Newnan Hospital (GA) goes live this week on Epic.

Welch Allyn will distribute the EarlySense proactive patient care solutions to US hospitals.

Good Samaritan Hospital (NY) goes live on Epic March 9.

The University of California at Irvine uses the dbMotion interoperability platform to connect with the Orange County Partnership RHIO.

Quantum Health integrates the Healthwise Care Management Solution into its Patient Information Virtual Integration Tool to provide real-time healthcare education to its members.

Stellaris Health Network (NY) goes live on PatientKeeper Charge Capture at five of its clinical practices group.

Government and Politics

The VA enhances Blue Button to give patients access to their Continuity of Care Document and the VA’s OpenNotes provider documentation.

Innovation and Research

A University of Washington graduate student develops FoneAstra, an Android phone app that monitors the pasteurization of donated breast milk. It’s being tested in South Africa. Other versions are used to ensure that vaccines remain refrigerated in developing countries.

Technology

Lt. Dan summarizes what the BlackBerry10 announcement means for mHealth and healthcare on HIStalk Connect.

University of Missouri-Kansas City’s Innovation Center will launch the partially federally funded Digital Sandbox KC IT accelerator on Friday, with officials from Cerner and other businesses on hand.

Other

Fifty-seven percent of Canada’s primary care physicians are using EMRs, which is almost double 2006’s adoption rate. Almost half routinely e-prescribe compared to 11 percent six years ago.

KLAS and EHI, a UK-based HIT research firm, partner to improve transparency and performance measures for the UK health technology market and to cross-market their research products.

Michael Dell’s family foundation donates $50 million to build Dell Medical School in Austin, TX.

The Minnesota Supreme Court rules that calling a doctor “a real tool” on a doctor rating site is protected speech.

Here’s an example of how technologically backward healthcare is. A body shop in Canada has been receiving faxed medical information for three years because its fax number is one digit different from that of the local health center. Says the body show owner, “In this day and age, why are they still using fax machines? It seems odd to me.”

I’m fascinated that this happens regularly in India. Twelve angry relatives of a teen who died after a bicycle accident trash the ICU and beat doctors and security guards. Medical residents then go on strike to demand better security and the arrest of the family members, which requires patients to be diverted and surgeries to be cancelled when only 20 doctors remain to care for 300 inpatients.

WNA thinks a hospital parody video makes him wonder whether ACO stands for Abridged Care Organization. Fox Business News says the video “mocks how health reform can make more money for doctors and hospitals” by showing staff blocking the admissions department door, handing out stacks of cash, and giving free laptops to employees. I didn’t see it that way – it looked like fun way to get the ACO idea across to otherwise learning-indifferent employees. The hospital says the video was a contest winner. Fox claims the video was “leaked,” which apparently means “posted to YouTube under the hospital’s name and still there but copied to Fox’s servers and covered with self-promoting graphics to make it look like the result of crack investigative reporting.”

Sponsor Updates

ESD joins ANIA as a Gold Level member.
dbMotion hosts a February 7 seminar in Dallas on connecting communities through clinical integration.
Laura DeBusk from White Plume Technologies will co-present an ICD-10 session at the Becker’s Hospital Review Fourth Annual Meeting in Chicago in May.
2012 highlights for Aspen Advisors include the addition of 26 clients and the development and deployment of a population HIT planning methodology, a data governance maturity model, and an EHR value realization maturity model.
DynaMed showcases how Memorial Hermann Healthcare System (TX) utilizes technology to allow physicians to practice evidence-based medicine in a journal article.
Emdat Mobile usage has quadrupled from January 2012 with the rapid adoption of smartphones.
Lucca Consulting Group posts new client, consultant, and trainer testimonials on it website.
Macadamian CEO Frederic Boulanger says he is impressed with the new BlackBerry 10 and the company has developed 10 apps for it.
Truven Health Analytics announces that staff members Eboney White and Jillian Thomas have been presented with the unique credential of Accredited Health Care Fraud Investigator.
CareTech Solutions added five Service Desk clients in 2012 and experienced a 75 percent uptick in the use of its help desk services overall.

EPtalk by Dr. Jayne

Earlier this month, Virginia Senator Stephen J. Martin introduced SB 1275, “Medical data in an electronic or digital format; limitations on use, storage, sharing, & processing.” As a medical informaticist, all I can ask is what was he thinking? It would prohibit anyone who stores medical data in an electronic or digital format from participating in the Nationwide Health Information Network; performing analysis or statistical processing on medical records for purposes of diagnosis or treatment, including population health management; processing medical data within Virginia where a majority of the patients do not live in Virginia; and storing data on more than 10,000 patients in a single database, It also prevents providers who refuse to implement EHRs from being penalized and prohibits Virginia from authorizing or operating a health information exchange. I’d be interested to hear from anyone in Virginia who can tell us more about what’s really behind this besides anti-ARRA posturing. It’s been sent to committee where it will likely die, but still makes for good cocktail party conversation (at least among HIT folks).

It’s about time: Medicare will look at the facility fees charged by ambulatory medical practices. Many feel that these hospital-owned practices are driving up the cost of health are with this billing practice. Many of the groups in my area are now doing this. It’s not only annoying, but also feels dishonest.

Lots of buzz this week about the HIPAA update and the impending September compliance date. Looking forward to reading hundreds of pages of fun during my free time, whenever that is.

Although I thankfully don’t have any direct reports, before our recent hiring freeze I was often asked to interview potential employees for other managers. I’m going to keep this list of bizarre interview questions tucked away for when administration figures out we’re dangerously short-handed on some of our teams.

Bad news for Inga: an increasing number of young women are having issues with their feet that require surgery. Some blame is being placed on genetics, but the phenomenon is at least partially attributed to high heels and pointy-toed shoes. She’s always telling me I’m too conservative in the shoe department, so maybe for HIStalkapalooza I’ll be more inspired this year.

Contacts

Mr. H, Inga, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan, Dr. Travis.

More news: HIStalk Practice, HIStalk Connect.

News 1/30/13

January 29, 2013 News 10 Comments

Top News

Medecision, which just announced plans to lay off 83 employees, acquires Cerecons, a provider of care coordination, population management, and quality outcomes and reporting applications for ACOs.

Reader Comments

From Greenway Rep: “Re: iPractice Group. During the last few days, we did learn that iPractice Group, one of Greenway’s resellers, ceased operations effective last Friday, January 25. This reseller represents a very small percentage of our provider base. We look forward to continue working with these sites, which will have the option to either transition to another Greenway partner or choose to work directly with us for implementation and/or support services.” Greenway confirmed that iPractice Group has ceased operations, as reported by reader Nasty Parts this past weekend. The company claimed to have almost 1,000 provider clients, so the impact to Greenway remains to be seen. The CEO of the three-year-old iPractice blamed its closure on poor Q4 sales. The company moved into a new headquarters building in October 2012 that was more than triple the size of its former location, increased headcount by 800 percent to 70 employees since 2011, and acquired a competitor in 2011. Greg Bolan, who runs the healthcare equity research arm of brokerage firm Stern Agee, credited HIStalk with the initial rumor in an investor flash note, also expressing concern about the impact on Greenway’s sales. Greenway was among the ten biggest percentage decliners on the NYSE Tuesday, with shares dropping 7.7 percent.

From Tom: “Re: [inpatient vendor name omitted]. Is laying off 75 percent of its staff. All IT staff gone, most implementation and some development staff gone.” Unverified, so I’ve left the vendor’s name off for now. Usually someone leaves a comment saying, “Yep, that’s my company and it’s true,” so we’ll see.

From Mrs. Te’o: “Re: Joe Schmitt, previous CIO of Steward Health Care. Will be named new CIO of Brigham and Women’s.” Unverified, but the forwarded second-hand e-mail insists that’s the case.

From CIO Tracker: “Re: Barry Blumenfeld, MD, MS. Leaving as SVP/CIO of MaineHealth less than 60 days after bringing Epic live at the main hospital. The planned rollout to seven member hospitals is being pushed back while the main hospital consumes all resources. The CIO is a casualty of exceptionally wide scope without commensurate resources.” CIO Tracker provided a genuine-looking memo purporting to be Barry’s notice to staff that he’s leaving as of January 30, but I’ve heard that he actually left early. They’re looking for an interim CIO, rumors say.

From The Amish Avenger: “Re: GE/IDX. I want to pare back its use for scheduling and registration and use the EMR instead. I keep hearing that GE/IDX isn’t selling well and has had job cutbacks. What can I expect to see? Fewer code updates? Less support?” I’ll step aside and let readers chime in.

From Danbury Whaler: “Re: Norwalk Hospital. Getting swallowed up by Western Connecticut Health System. Rumored layoffs of 200+.” Norwalk signed the affiliation agreement last week. Layoffs weren’t mentioned, but are certainly likely.

HIStalk Announcements and Requests

The window for expressing interest in attending HIStalkapalooza is closing. Sign up now if you’re interested in a March 4 evening of food, drink, HISsies, bowling, and Zydeco music.

Welcome to new HIStalk Platinum Sponsor Dearborn Advisors, LLC. The Chicago-area professional services firm, founded in 2001, is a trusted advisor to clients who need help with clinical systems strategy, adoption, and deployment. Its services fall into three groups: strategy and value, clinical, and engagement and project management. All of those help clients maximize the return on investment of their clinical systems. The company’s consultants are experts in Allscripts, Cerner, Epic, GE, McKesson, Meditech, and NextGen, while the company maintains a close working relationship with Epic and Meditech. I’m impressed by the quality of their blog posts, such as this one on medication management. You surely know some of their executive team members if you’ve been around the industry for a while: Rick Mager, Jay Toole, Sally Akers, Bruce Bowers, John Brill, and quite a few more highly experienced people, with a significant number of them clinicians. Thanks to Dearborn Advisors for supporting HIStalk.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Intuitive Health, which offers a platform that connects providers with at-home patients and their personal health devices, raises $3.8 million.

Informatica’s Q4 results: revenues up three percent; non-GAAP EPS of $0.41, down from $0.47 last year. The consensus EPS estimate was $0.37.

Roper Industries announces Q4 results: revenue up 10 percent, EPS $1.44 vs. $1.23, beating expectations on earnings while falling short on revenue. Chairman, President, and CEO Brian Jellison said the integration of Sunquest, which the company acquired this past summer, is on track, with Sunquest being a strong performer with high single-digit growth. The company’s CFO did note in explaining a tax rate adjustment, “Sunquest as a US-based company generates most of their earnings in the United States, which is the highest tax rate in the world.”

Lexmark announces Q4 results: revenue down nine percent, EPS $0.10 vs. $0.94. Its Perceptive Software unit was the bright spot, reporting revenue that increased by 40 percent over 2011.

Startup Ringadoc, which offers after-hours triaging of physician calls for $50 per month with no contract, raises $1.2 million in seed funding. I believe that’s a reflector thingy in its logo.

Philips announces that it will exit the consumer audio and video business to focus on home appliances and healthcare.

Margo Hendrickson, athenahealth VP of human resources, responded to our query about the company’s announced plans to lay off 36 employees of its Birmingham, AL office on March 6. That office is the site of the former care coordination platform vendor Proxsys that athenahealth acquired in July 2011:

“As a high growth company, we are always looking to apply efficiencies to the way we work. While it is incredibly difficult to let people go from what otherwise is a growing employee base, our intent and commitment to shareholders is to align investment with business growth opportunities. This focused set of employee restructuring will allow us to achieve several critical business scaling and financial objectives that otherwise we would struggle to meet. At athenahealth, we are committed to ongoing team growth; in the past year alone the Company has grown its US employee base 28 percent, adding a total of 473 new employees to its US total of 2,140.”

Sales

Sidra Medical and Research Center in Qatar selects Amcom’s emergency notification and call center solution and Omnicell’s G4 automated medication management system.

Scripps Health (CA) will implement Wolters Kluwer Health’s ProVation Order Sets software as its electronic order set solution.

Pioneer Medical Group (CA) signs an agreement with McKesson’s MED3OOO division to jointly own and operate an advanced management services joint venture.

Holyoke Medical Center (MA) expands its relationship with eClinicalWorks to include the eCW Care Coordination Medical Record for advancing ACO and PCMH objectives.

University of Virginia Health System will deploy MModal Fluency Direct and MModal Catalyst for Quality to speech enable its EHR systems.

People

HealthTech Holdings hires Tom Mitchell (MModal) as VP of marketing for its HMS, MEDHOST, and PatientLogic companies.

HIMSS recognizes James L. Holly, MD (UT Health Science Center) with its 2012 Physician IT Leadership Award and Robin S. Raiford (The Advisory Board Company) with its 2012 Nursing Informatics Leadership Award.

MedAssets appoints Keith L. Thurgood (US Army Reserve) president of its Spend and Clinical Resource management segment.

Streamline Health adds Richard D. Nelli (OptumInsight) as SVP/CTO and Herb Larsen (Edifecs) as SVP of client services. Streamline also announces the resignation of SVP/COO Gary Winzenread.

HL7 appoints Joyce Sensmeier (HIMSS) and Walter Suarez, MD (Kaiser Permanente) to its advisory council.

Randy Gaboriault, VP/CIO of Christiana Care Health System (DE), is named by Computerworld as a 2013 Premier 100 IT Leader.

Former Barnabas Health (NJ) SVP/CIO Joseph Sullivan is named “client in residence” by management print services vendor Auxilio.

Announcements and Implementations

CPSI announces the formation of TruBridge, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary that will provide business services, consulting services, and managed IT services to rural and community healthcare organizations.

Intelligence InSites announces integration of its real-time intelligence platform with ScheduleAnywhere, an online employee scheduling software from Atlas Business Solutions.

Gottlieb Memorial Hospital (IL), part of Loyola University Health System, goes live with Epic.

TriZetto announces that BCBS of Tennessee is using its benefits solution to offer value-based insurance benefits to members.

Government and Politics

ONC publishes research to help providers putting HIEs in place, including findings on query-based exchange, HIE-driven notifications and subscription services, provider directory solutions, master data management, and consumer engagement and consumer-mediated exchange.

The operator of the leading cord blood bank settles FTC charges that it lacked policies and procedures to protect patient information in a 2010 breach involving unencrypted computer equipment stolen from an employee’s car containing the information of 298,000 patients. The company avoided a financial penalties by agreeing to improve IT security and to conduct a security audit every other year.

Technology

State auditors cite University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics for not encrypting laptops. The hospital responded by saying it encrypts “where technically possible,” but the state official refused to back down, saying, “If it’s not technically possible, then they need to tweak the system a bit so that it is technically possible.”

Other

This patent troll story doesn’t involve healthcare, but it provides a good lesson. A fake company set up by a lawyer who bought some old patents and created a business based entirely on suing big companies for infringing on its claimed patent on online shopping carts finally gets its butt kicked, courtesy of online retailer Newegg. The company had shaken down big online retailers, demanding a percentage of annual revenues. Victoria’s Secret and Avon had already been ordered to pay $18 million and one percent of their annual online revenue, while Amazon had paid the patent troll an amazing $40 million. Newegg, which has vowed that it will never settle with a patent troll, successfully had the company’s patents invalidated on appeal. You have to admire Lee Cheng, Newegg’s chief legal officer (above):

”We basically took a look at this situation and said, ‘This is bullshit.’ We saw that if we paid off this patent holder, we’d have to pay off every patent holder this same amount. This is the first case we took all the way to trial. And now, nobody has to pay Soverain jack squat for these patents … Just think about the dynamic if you’re a juror … Everyone wants to go home. It’s not their money. Defense oriented jurors are more likely to compromise and say, ‘Maybe we’ll just split the baby. Maybe we’ll just give them $2.5 million and call it a day.’ … We’re competing with other economies that are not burdened with this type of litigation. China doesn’t have this, South Korea doesn’t have this, Europe doesn’t have this. Just in our experience, we’ve been hit by companies that claim to own the drop-down menu, or a search box, or Web navigation. In fact, I think there’s at least four that claim to ‘own’ some part of a search box … Then they pop up and say, ‘Hello, surprise! Give us your money or we will shut you down!’ Screw them. Seriously, screw them. You can quote me on that.”

Guam Memorial Hospital says a software bug introduced by its vendor NTT Data caused it to underbill drugs by $1.9 million since May 2012. It found the problem as part of a financial improvement initiative and says NTT Data has confirmed and fixed the bug.

Zoll Medical says it’s the first defibrillator vendor to promise that it will share patient data from its devices, providing tools that allow other vendors to share the information it collects for patient care, such as in emergency medicine.

A small town in Australia loses its Internet connectivity for the third or fourth time in a month, with some of the previous outages having lasted days. Merchants can’t charge credit cards, but the medical clinic brings up more pressing problems: “We receive all our pathology results, specialist letters and discharge summaries through the Internet. If a patient comes to us needing treatment after they have just been discharged from hospital and we don’t know what they need or what they’ve had done, that’s a real problem.”

HIT incubator Rock Health rolls out a single online employment and internship form for applying to work at any of its 49 portfolio companies.

Weird News Andy finds this story amazing: researchers at Texas Heart Institute are building replacement human hearts from pig hearts, saying animal organs “reanimated” with human stem cells can be used in emergencies. The lead scientist also predicts being able to reverse aging at some point, storing stem cells from patients while they’re healthy as replacements for when they aren’t. She says she’s regularly called Dr. Frankenstein.

Sponsor Updates

Intellect Resources offers tips for job seekers hoping to get the attention of online recruiters.
Infor Healthcare and NTT DATA host a February 13 webinar to discuss Lawson Financials and the effective interaction between legacy and new technology systems.
CommVault announces details of its fifth annual WTG Customer Seminar March 13 in Boston.
Truven Health Analytics hosts a January 31 Webinar highlighting coverage challenges under the ACA.
First Databank releases the FDB State and Federal Controlled Substances Module, which facilitates the e-prescribing, dispensing, tracking, reporting, and claims processing of controlled substances.
Vitera Healthcare Solutions will give practices using its Vitera Stat PM/EHR product access to DiagnosisOne’s CDS content and patient education materials at the point of care.

Contacts

Mr. H, Inga, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan, Dr. Travis.

More news: HIStalk Practice, HIStalk Connect.

Monday Morning Update 1/28/13

January 26, 2013 News 12 Comments

From Optumized: “Re: Optum’s acquisition of Humedica. Confirmed by Lazard Capital Markets.” I appreciate that the update from Steven Halper, managing director of equity research, credited HIStalk as the original source (as I, in turn, should thank Embers and another couple of readers who tipped me off). A Boston Business Journal article says the acquisition is valued by an insider in the hundreds of million dollars. I interviewed Humedica President and CEO Michael Weintraub a year ago. I notice that the Boston paper is getting credit for breaking the news with its Friday afternoon article even though I ran and confirmed it Tuesday evening with the help of readers.

From False Positive: “Re: Farzad’s rebuttal that talks about ‘cynical critics.’ Who are they? How does he know that they don’t like paper?” The cynical critics, at least those constantly seeking attention, are easy to spot because they sing only one loud and sustained note. When I read an emotional, overwrought restaurant review on Yelp, I always click that person’s profile to see if they have a mix of positive and negative reviews and ignore them if not. Likewise, I twit filter the monotonic EMR whiners and cheerleaders alike, placing a lot more value on the 80 percent who don’t flaunt their blinders publicly. Farzad was right about the RAND study – they said their original projections about EMR savings were wrong because EMR adoption was less than expected and payment incentives are still screwed up. The job of EMRs is to support reform, not to create it. He’s also right that those cynical critics haven’t written smug and pedantic articles extolling the virtues of paper medical records, so they’re leaving us to breathlessly anticipate their suggested alternative. And if they’re intentionally avoiding EMR-using doctors and hospitals for their own care, they aren’t blowing that horn either. What they should be criticizing is the healthcare system that created the current batch of EMRs that conform precisely to its ridiculousness.

From The PACS Designer: “Re: TPD’s List. The recent update of TPD’s List of iPhone Apps that added a HIStalk Sponsors section has created new interest amongst them to recognize their iPhone apps. Vitera informed us about an app (above) that provides healthcare providers access to their Intergy EHR solution enabling anytime, anywhere access to schedules, tasks, patient records, and e-prescribing. Humetrix alerted us to several iBlueButton apps they developed with HHS. These new apps will be added to the next TPD’s List update.”

From Ear-Ground Continuum: “Re: MEDecision. Huge downsizing – they let 83 people go last month with another round this week and next.” Unverified. Recent comments on Glassdoor are certainly interesting. UPDATE: Verified by a reader’s link.

From Nasty Parts: “Re: Greenway reseller iPractice Group. Closed its doors today. Sources say cash flow problems despite strong sales, so the board pulled the plug.” Unverified. I e-mailed the company but haven’t heard back.

Speaking of the RAND study, more readers think it was naïve rather than biased (and yes, RAND should be capitalized, at least if you buy the idea that it’s OK to make up acronyms solely to create a conveniently pronounceable word, in this case Research ANd Development.) Anyway, new poll to your right: if you had to buy a vendor’s stock, which of the five listed would you choose?

Several readers (me included) expressed an interest in hearing more from Robert D. Lafsky, MD, whose guest articles always contain an impressive mix of medical knowledge, wry cynicism, and grammatical excellence (he always e-mails me when he finds my mistakes, and the threat of incurring his gentle wrath caused me to double-check the spelling of RAND). He has agreed to elevation to regular contributor under the nameplate The Skeptical Convert, with his first installment running this weekend.

Here’s a new Spotify playlist of what I’m listening to: new Aaron Neville, The Cardigans, 4 Non Blondes, Alabama Shakes, Imperial Teen, and a few more.

Welcome to new HIStalk Platinum sponsor The McHenry Group, an executive search firm focused entirely on the healthcare software and services vendor market. TMG’s team of search consultants averages more than 11 years with the company, having placed over 2,000 candidates since 1991. TMG has developed the industry’s largest candidate database of hard-to-find talent, including the hidden candidate market. The company conducts videoconference interviews with every candidate and forwards the videos of the strongest to the client for their review which moves things along faster and gives a better fit, enabling TMG to offer an extra-long 12-month replacement guarantee. TMG has filled positions for CEO, COO, CMO, CMIO, SVP, business development, sales VP, and informatics roles for companies such as RelayHealth, McKesson, Orion Health, and Health Language. They have conducted searches across the entire US as well as for non-US companies building their US operations. Featured business development stars are experts in clinical software, Meaningful Use, and payor technology, while project manager and implementation candidates are available in EMR, multi-hospital implementations, and client services. TMG provides well-screened candidates, ethical search consultants, and a promise to understand the client’s business needs. Thanks to The McHenry Group for supporting HIStalk.

Athenahealth files notice with the State of Alabama that it will lay off 36 employees at its Birmingham office on March 6. The company has not announced what types of workers are affected, although Birmingham was the location of Proxsys, the care coordination systems vendor athenahealth acquired in 2011 to boost its athenaCoordinator product.

Compuware turns down the $2.3 billion buyout offer of Elliott Management Corp and says it will instead spin off Covisint as originally planned.

Weird News Andy says this is better than die-alysis. A kidney patient in China who can’t afford dialysis treatments has lived for 13 years so far by dialyzing himself three times each week using a machine he built from kitchen tools and old medical equipment. He recently declined the Chinese government’s offer of free dialysis that was extended after his story was picked up worldwide, saying the hospitals are too far away and too crowded. He’s not worried that two of his friends died after trying a similar setup.

WNA also likes the RP-VITA iPad-controlled medical robot that just received FDA approval.

Farzad Mostashari can bask in the knowledge that he’s a big enough name to be featured in a CAP News parody (it’s like The Onion, but not as well done). I think they probably chose him randomly for the article Toilet Sizes Expand to Meet Needs of Obese Nation, quoting him in describing a new HHS standard called “Ass Cheek/Toilet Seat Ratio.”

Gartner says Big Data has reached the Trough of Disillusionment stage of its ingenious Hype Cycle, of which I’ve been a long-time fan. If the author is correct – and I would say she is – the previously Big Data-fawning press will start running negative articles, which is OK since once that negativity has been purged, it’s on to the Trough of Enlightenment, where organizations whose interest is more than fad-chasing start delivering results. A Wall Street Journal blog post on the Gartner item quotes Aurelia Boyer, CIO of New York Presbyterian Hospital, who says they’re using Hadoop with natural language processing to analyze millions of patient records to find, for example, how many of them have mentioned a gunshot wound.

A study looks at why patients may think doctors who use clinical decision support are less capable. Apparently patients worry more about doctors using non-human tools rather than having a doctor who seeks external advice.

New Hanover Regional Medical Center (NC) goes to paper downtime procedures for seven hours Thursday when its Epic system goes offline due to an AT&T regional outage.

An online publication HITECH article elicited interesting comments. Granted some of them veer into death panel nut job territory, but they’re still fun to read and some are insightful.

“EMRs encourage doctors and nurses to cheat and lie. EMRs have made medical records inaccurate and unreliable. When I read medical records nowadays, I often can’t tell what the hell happened.”
“In an EMR, every URI is an average URI.”
On the use of surgical case templates: “… worked out with the hospital risk management department to describe what should happen, and entered in the EMR with one click of a mouse. What actually happened? No one can tell.”
“The response calling this idiocy a step in the right direction apparently fails to get the point, which is that EMRs make crappy doctors look like decent ones by giving them the same well-written notes as the good ones.”
“It seems to me that this isn’t exactly the unintended consequences of EMR; it’s the unintended consequences of the government incentivizing bad EMR by incentivizing the wrong things: the ACA encourages rapid adoption of immature or awkward technologies without clear benefits; medicare, medicaid, ACA, and the employer-provided health insurance tax exemption incentivize egregious billing practices. EMR and provider companies respond to the incentives; the problem isn’t the software per se, but the incentives. There’s no inherent reason why an EMR system should require more data entry on the part of doctors, or why the data entry should take longer than updating a paper chart. Systems could be designed that work better and provide consumer benefits, but they aren’t appearing because the system incentives really aren’t designed to serve the customer.
A physician on not customizing template-created notes: “I like to think most of us are pretty honest, and this doesn’t feel like a lie, more like the best that can be done with the time available and the limits of the EMR. I don’t know if I am only humoring myself about the honesty. I do know the job can’t be done except by the copy and paste method.”
“This article misses a key point. If they’re fine falsifying electronic records, why wouldn’t they be comfortable falsifying written records? Moreover, electronic records are easier to falsify, but they’re also easier to catch.”
“I think physician associations need to reemphasize that documentation by exception is not appropriate for physicians, perhaps even take it a step farther and officially declare it outside the standard of practice. The great potential benefit of EMR’s (along with the requirement that they be able to produce data in a standard format) is that medical charting will stop being primarily about stories and start being primarily about data. This will not only make treatment of patients more scientific, it will energize evidence-based medicine. Right now, about half of medical treatment is done despite no evidence of efficacy. Of course, if the data is unreliable, we have GIGO. So the use of charting by exception leading to bad data is a huge problem.”
“EMR’s are the vehicle for corporate and government direction of medical care. I predict that within 5 years, it will be illegal to provide medical care to a patient unless it is through an Electronic Medical Record … this idea will be advanced as important to preventing waste, fraud and abuse.”
“Simply put, doing a thing, and documenting the doing of a thing, are two separate, and not particularity related skills (I would figure that journalists would understand this better than anyone), and it is unlikely that a person who is good at the former is also good at the latter, and when we ask him to do both, this is what we get. Cheer up, we could get the people who do amazingly good documentation to do the surgery. I suspect that would be much worse.”

I’m scooping Weird News Andy on this story: a drunken Englishman is hospitalized after the paramedics he called found his frigid sexual partner dismembered in a snowy field. The partner was a snowman; the man’s injury involved frostbite of his manhood, which nearly required amputation.

It’s NextGen Part 3 from Vince this week as he covers Opus Healthcare Solutions.

Sponsor Updates

SimplifyMD is running cartoons and videos looking at the humorous side of medical practice at “Easy Street Family Practice.”
Nuance announces that the electronic medical records systems used by hospitals and clinics in the United Arab Emirates will be voice-enabled using Dragon Medical.

Contacts

Mr. H, Inga, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan, Dr. Travis.

More news: HIStalk Practice, HIStalk Connect.

News 1/25/13

January 24, 2013 News 9 Comments

Top News

Quality Systems (NextGen) reports Q3 results: revenue up two percent, EPS $0.26 vs. $0.36, missing analyst estimates on both. The company reported a 29 percent drop in system sales revenue as operating expenses rose six percent. The earnings call transcript is here. The results were announced before Thursday’s market open, with shares closing down only 0.16 percent by the market’s close.

Reader Comments

From Kojak: “Re: Intuit Health changes. Medfusion founder Steve Malik is retiring in June and Sanjiv Waghmare is taking over as Intuit Health’s new GM.” The e-mail announcement was attached. Malik (above) was named president of the Intuit Health Group when Intuit purchased Cary, NC-based portal vendor Medfusion for $91 million in 2010. Waghmare is a VP of product marketing.

From WHIMSSical: “Re: booth demo stations. PowerPoint or video? Should vendors use PPT since nobody can hear the video?” I say video and/or a live demo backed by a credible and engaging demonstrator, but perhaps also a fast-paced and highly graphical looping PowerPoint on a big projection screen as a billboard to grab attention as attendees streak by. Readers, what would get your attention?

From Doc Tari: “Re: Allina. Did know if you heard Allina having a bit of restructure. CMIO Shrift left to Cleveland and now CIO over all the IS areas.”

From Carrie Prejean: “Re: HIStalkapalooza. What exactly does one wear to HIStalkapalooza this year? Bowling shoes? I want to come prepared because I am determined to win the ‘Inga Loves My Shoes’ contest!” When I first heard that this year’s bash was going to be in a (very cool) bowling alley, I was also perplexed on the proper attire. We are fine-tuning things, but suffice it to say that just about anything will go. We will once again have a red carpet, so arriving in stiletto heels and sequins will be totally acceptable. Alternatively, if you own a vintage bowling shirt, this could be the time to pull it out of the back of the closet. The shoe contest will include categories for those partial to high fashion as well as those who choose to adorn more functional bowling shoes. We will also be crowning a HIStalk King and Queen based on their total fashion package. Winners will be awarded amazing prizes, so don’t show up in your “straight off the exhibit floor” attire, especially if the look includes a company logo’d tee shirt.

From RFP: “Re: MD Anderson. Posts an EHR RFP.” The RFP strongly suggests that prospective bidders attend the pre-proposal conference on Wednesday, January 30 just in case you want to thrown your electronic hat into the ring.

From Slim: “Re: Optum. I read your update confirming that Humedica was bought by Optum. Wouldn’t it have to be announced since Optum is part of UnitedHealth Group, which is publicly traded?” I’m not an expert, but I believe SEC disclosure requirements cover only “material events,” meaning companies must file an 8-K form only if a merger, loss of a key customer, or policy change could reasonably be expected to impact share price in the company’s subjective judgment. UnitedHealth Group’s market cap of $58 billion and annual revenue of $111 billion would make all but a huge acquisition non-material.

From Bill O’Plenty: “Re: SB 1275. Crazy law introduced in Virginia.” Virginia State Senate Bill 1275, introduced January 14, would prohibit any organization that stores electronic medical information from (a) participating in the Nationwide Health Information Network; (b) performing analytics on multiple patient records for diagnosis, treatment, or population health management; and (c) processing medical data within Virginia if most of the patients represented live out of state. It also mandates that providers cannot be penalized for refusing to implement EHRs, that patient consent for electronically storing their information is valid only for healthcare coverage purposes, and that the state is prohibited from starting or operating an HIE. I e-mailed the office of the bill’s sponsor, Republican Senator Stephen H. Martin, to ask what he’s trying to accomplish with the bill, but I haven’t heard back. Senator Martin is running for lieutenant governor, which could ironically pit him against Democrat Aneesh Chopra, former White House CTO and advocate for all the items that the bill would prohibit, so perhaps he’s just trying to pick a fight.

From Wearing Dad’s Suit: “Re: Epic’s non-compete. Does it cover this?” Applicants for the head football coaching job posted on the University of Wisconsin’s HR website include a Walgreens pharmacist whose only relevant experience was as a season ticket holder, a Fedex driver who said he’d take $60K to lead the Badgers, and a financial analyst with Epic whose college athletics experience consists of having been a practice player for Tulane’s basketball team. I give our young Epic friend credit for trying even though he lost the $2 million job to a more experienced candidate who responded to the online posting, Utah State Coach Gary Andersen.

HIStalk Announcements and Requests

The latest highlights from HIStalk Practice include: Epocrates says its app has helped clinicians avoid more than 27 million adverse drug events. Farzad Mostashari, MD highlights some of the ONC’s 2012 achievements. Pharmaceutical companies and other businesses embrace advertising opportunities within cloud-based EMRs. E-visits may be as effective as in-person office visits for uncomplicated ailments. Dr. Gregg describes a day in the office in the Year 2063 (quite fun.) You know the drill: catch up on all the latest ambulatory HIT news, click on a few sponsor ads to find a goodie or two that might improve your life, and sign up for the e-mail updates. Thanks for reading.

On the Jobs Board: Cerner Experienced Providers, Product Marketing Manager, Healthcare Strategy Communications Specialist, Project Specialist.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Healthcare social networking site iMedicor acquires iPenMD, which offers a digital pen solution to capture clinical data. iPenMD apparently bought the intellectual property of nextEMR this past July per a reader’s rumor report.

Merck Global Health provides $6 million in growth capital to eHealth Technologies, a provider of continuity of care solutions.

Praesidian Capital invests second lien debt capital in eTransmedia Technology to replace debt and fund growth.

Revenue cycle systems vendor Recondo Technology receives a $20 million growth investment from private equity firm Bregal Sagemount.

Healthcare Growth Partners releases its 2012 HIT Market and M&A review that summarizes capital markets, M&A, and capital raising activity for the healthcare IT and services sector.

Sales

Tampa General Hospital (FL) selects Merge’s CTMS for Investigators solution for enterprise management of clinical trials.

People

Huron Consulting Group adds Jim Agnew (Navigant Consulting) and Jeffrey McLaren (VHA, Inc.) as managing directors in its Huron Healthcare practice.

HIMSS promotes Thomas M. Leary to VP of government relations, taking the place of Dave Roberts, who was elected to the San Diego Board of Supervisors.

Iatric Systems promotes Frank Fortner from SVP of software solutions to president.

The Northeast Business Group on Health honors Truven Health Analytics president and CEO Mike Boswood at its 18th Annual Tribute to Leadership.

Clinical data integration provider Apixio hires Jonathan Murray (Aetna) as chief business development officer.

Intellect Resources announces triple-digit growth in 2012 and announces several promotions and hires, including the promotion of Eileen Dick to VP of technology and Cindy Orr to VP of go-live services.

Robert Rowley, MD (Practice Fusion) is named medical advisor for personal health care vendor LifeNexus.

Announcements and Implementations

CareCloud and HealthTronics partner to combine CareCloud’s PM product with HealthTronics’ UroChart EHR and meridianEMR urology-specific EHR platforms.

Fletcher Allen and Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (above) announce the creation of OneCareVermont, the nation’s first statewide ACO that includes 13 hospitals and hundreds of primary care physicians. We announced their plans in September.

Three Ontario hospitals go live on PatientKeeper Physician Portal, Mobile Clinical Results, and NoteWriter, including Alexandra Marine & General Hospital and two hospitals in the Huron Perth Alliance.

The RFID in Healthcare Consortium and Intelligent Hospital.org recognize six organizations for their advanced use of healthcare technology solutions.

GE Healthcare introduces Centricity Practice Solution 11.

Other

Winthrop Resources is conducting a survey on cloud solutions and bring-your-own-device practices. If you’d like to take about 10 minutes to help them out, the survey is here.

HIMSS finds yet another way to offer preferential treatment for its higher-ranking provider members whose purchasing influence makes its vendor members salivate. Healthcare Transformation Project offers “exclusive access” to services, meaning of course that someone has to be excluded (like the rest of us dues-paying members). For example, invitation-only HTPers get “up-front VIP seating at the HIMSS13 Keynote Address by President Bill Clinton” (I was going to insert a cigar joke, but decorum prevailed). The Transformers who are willing to spend $295 of their employer’s money to attend its annual forum at the HIMSS conference get to hear a bizarrely HIT-unrelated group of political speakers – former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile, and former Nixon speechwriter Pat Buchanan. HIMSS says that “participants will make commitments that will translate goals into meaningful and measurable results in their own organization or community,” so we can all look forward to seeing how those work out for patients. Meanwhile, HIMSS offers vendors a bunch of expensive ways to get in or near those decision-making faces, with $50K buying you a podium speaking slot and free tickets for prospects who would be impressed by Pat Buchanan.

Cerner and Sporting KC take heat for failing to keep their promise to build a $35 million youth soccer complex in return for the $200 million in taxpayer-funded incentives they received to build their professional soccer stadium and Cerner office buildings. The youth fields were supposed to in use by now, but work hasn’t started.

Spain’s leading newspaper says it was duped when it ran a fake photo of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez in his hospital bed, which the paper was told had been taken illicitly by a hospital nurse. The image, widely panned as unconvincing, turned out to be a screen shot of a YouTube surgery video from 2008 featuring an acromegaly patient being intubated.

The local TV station covers the use by Georgetown University Hospital (DC) of the iPad-based patient data collection system from Tonic Health that replaces paper forms in the doctor’s office. The story says other Tonic users include Mayo, UCLA, the VA, and Kaiser. The company says the product integrates with EHRs via HL7 or can send a CCD record. It offers a free version with limited functionality. Founder and investment information is here.

As tweeted by @Cascadia: a Virginia medical practice charges patients for using its patient portal, billing $125 per year for Gold access to make appointments and refill requests, while the $250 per year Platinum plan adds three electronic visits. That’s the opposite of every other industry, where free online services encourage customers to do it themselves without tying up an expensive employee. This is like banks offering free teller service but charging for ATM access, or maybe McDonalds adding a drive-through surcharge.

A Texas judge orders the deposition of two partners of a CPA firm accused by a medical practice of failing to secure the accounting system it installed in the practice, which the practice says allowed an employee of the practice to embezzle $1 million over five years.

Weird News Andy says this man wears his nose on his sleeve, also wondering if he will pick his nose in public. British scientists are using a man’s own cells to grow a new nose to replace the one he lost to cancer. They have two noses underway (“just in case someone drops one,” the researcher said) and the patient will chose one of them to be implanted under the skin of his arm until it’s ready to transplant.

I had a feeling where WNA’s story was going when I saw his best-ever headline, “Nothing like having a cold one after work,” but I still nearly choked on my soda when I saw the story, in which a male hospital nurse is arrested on suspicion of having sex with the body of a deceased patient.

Sponsor Updates

Nuesoft Technologies CEO Massoud Alibakhsh discusses data security and Nuesoft’s technology platform in the video above.
Awarepoint celebrates its tenth anniversary and recaps key successes.
GetWellNetwork Founder and CEO Michael O’Neil delivered Thursday’s keynote address on interactive patient care technologies at the IPC Symposium at Hasbro Children’s Hospital (RI).

EPtalk by Dr. Jayne

Your tax dollars at work. On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court rejected an attempt to reopen Medicare claims that are more than two decades old. The hospitals assert that CMS miscalculated payments between 1987 and 1994 that were intended to compensate their treating large numbers of low-income patients. Based on the fact that it took my local academic medical center over a year to settle the bill for a routine eye care visit, it doesn’t surprise me that it takes years for hospitals to figure out they’re missing money.

Attention vendors: Mayo Clinic releases a new list of the top reasons for visiting US health care providers. Maybe you should use this as a starting point for your primary care office visit templates rather than some of the bizarre things I sometimes see on your screens. Granted the data is from Olmsted County, MN, but it looks surprisingly similar to my clinic roster this week except for the absence of “flu” and “freaking out that spouse has the flu.”

I received my first HIMSS-related mailing today. It was so underwhelming I can’t even remember who it was from. When I went to dig it out of my recycling bin, I couldn’t find it – which means it was nondescript as well. Great job, marketing team!

A wise man once told me to always spend a small amount of time “looking for your next gig” because things are constantly shifting in the world of medicine. For those of you who think the same way, ONC is looking for a policy advisor “who knows meaningful use policy backwards and forwards.” I was curious, so I checked out the link and got the best laugh of the day. The low end of the salary range is $123,758. Leave it to the federal government to specify it down to a bizarre dollar amount.

I had lunch with four of the smartest women in the world today. Three have been my boss in the past while the fourth who taught me everything I know about billing. Here’s a shout out for leaders who not only know their fields but “get it” as far as motivating employees to excellence. Thanks for keeping me grounded and reminding me that although I currently work in chaos, I can always count on your listening ears. And your unbiased opinions when I text you pictures of shoes I’m thinking of buying. And your assistance with crafting the “Typhoon Jayne” cocktail for HIStalkapalooza. Salud!

Contacts

Mr. H, Inga, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan, Dr. Travis.

More news: HIStalk Practice, HIStalk Connect.

News 1/23/13

January 22, 2013 News 5 Comments

Top News

The Nebraska Health Information Initiative, Kansas HIN, and Missouri Health Connection connect their exchanges to share Direct secure messages across state lines.

Reader Comments

From Embers: “Re: Humedica. Being bought by Optum, I’ve heard. I wonder what will become of the Allscripts deal that frankly brought Humedica some business, but also had them running in circles (true for anyone dealing with Allscripts in the past few years)? Also, the new Optum research center in Cambridge is gathering steam and they are putting together a nice team to be a healthcare think tank. Hope you had a nice few days off – my imagination puts you on the podium with Obama and not sipping drinks by the pool.” A couple of readers told me they’ve heard that clinical data vendor Humedica has been acquired, one of them specifically saying it happened last week with no public announcement planned. Wednesday morning update: I’ve confirmed via a reader that the company has been sold to Optum. I’m happy to say that my mini-vacation consisted of the latter and not the former, as I took Mrs. HIStalk out of the country for some magnificent and rare downtime sprawling under 80-degree blue skies, swaying palms, and very small paper umbrellas that didn’t protect our white-to-red skin but did make our tropical drinks look even more fetching. I’m paying for the break today after getting home in the early morning, heading off to work just five hours later, and now sitting here with no break or bedtime in sight after 17 hours of non-stop catching up.

From EHR Watchdog: “Re: MedLink. See attached. Unfortunately customers can’t reach the company as its top two executives are being investigated by the SEC. The company’s EHR is certified and customers are no doubt trying to figure out what to do. One physician has a contractual requirement that records for his 6,000 patients will be available digitally, but he’s having to go through them one by one to either print or save to an external device as he shops for another EHR after spending thousands of dollars on MedLink.” The reader attached the SEC’s October 2012 complaint against Medlink and its two executives, Ray Vuono and Jameson Rose. It claims the company filed a Form 10-K audit report bearing the name of an auditing firm that had in fact not audited the company’s books, with that same SEC form bearing the electronic signature of one of the company’s directors who had not reviewed the form or authorized that his signature be attached. Lastly, the SEC claims an investor asked to have his check returned, but the company deposited it instead. In the SEC’s words, MedLink “purports to be a healthcare information technology company” and Vuono is “a recidivist securities law violator.” I know what that word means because Raising Arizona is one of my all-time favorite movies.

From Iconic Reader: “Re: Allscripts. The smoking doc, at least the reflector part of his attire, is apparently the model for the isolation icon in an Allscripts product!” I give them the nod for going old school, with a doc sporting a reflector thingy and a nurse wearing a starched white cap with a red cross on it.

From Pinky Toe: “Re: vendor shakeup. The vendor is Allscripts. Major reorg in the development group, which includes product management and testing, in which 200+ remote employees are being required to move to Raleigh, Chicago, or Burlington VT or face termination. This move not initiated by Paul Black, but he has sanctioned. This is a RIF, but instead of calling it a RIF, management is calling it a consolidation of resources to ‘centers of excellence.’” More convincing (but also unverified) were reader declarations that the vendor referenced in a reader’s earlier comment about employee layoffs is in fact NextGen, but I don’t have confirmation on anything since companies rarely announce or confirm personnel actions.

From Ben Dover: “Re: NextGen. Cutting personal days for employees, sent out the week of January 16 but backdated to January 1, which means employees who took personal days for the holiday will be back-charged for vacation.” Unverified, but the source is non-anonymous and has a copy of the internal communication. The backdating, which adds a bit of sting to the slap in the collective employee face, seems indicative of either an impulsive management decision or inability to get the corporate act together.

From THB: “Re: Edward Hospital & Health Services. Merging with Elmhurst Memorial Healthcare to create a $1 billion system that would be among the largest in the Chicago area. Edward is going through an Epic implementation.” Verified in a Tuesday announcement. I interviewed Edward VP/CIO Bobbie Byrne a year ago. Edward seems to be the dominant would-be partner, so I expect the Epic implementation will continue and Elmhurst will drop Meditech.

From Idol Observer: “Re: Greenway’s announcement of meeting ONC 2014 criteria as an EHR Module. According to the announcement, they only met two criteria, a safety-enhanced system and a quality management system. The first requires the vendor to simply name their testing methodology for the features already required by the 2011 feature – no programming is required. The second is to just identify the quality management system being used, with no programming required there either. In other words, it’s just meaningless PR that will get physicians even more confused.” I get lost in all the certification minutiae, so I’ll defer to Frank Poggio.

From Rand Reader: “Re: the recent Rand report. It said EMRs remain costly without good outcomes because doctors haven’t re-engineered their workflows to accommodate electronic systems. Why would they want to do that when the change could be averse to safe care? Just an idea for your next poll.” My opinion is that many doctors will never accept EMRs because to do so would implicitly accept the idea of process standardization and repeatable processes everywhere, and doctors are trained to be confident in their individual abilities and wary of any process that doesn’t involve their own brains and hands. Patients are usually on the side of doctors since everybody likes to think they’re getting extra-special treatment and not being managed by a corporate algorithm. I don’t know that either side has proved its point convincingly.

From Just Wonderin: “Re: ONC’s HIT Safety and Surveillance Plan of December 21. The ‘public comments’ solicited by HHS are not so public after all since they are not being presented for the public to see. Is it because HHS and ONC don’t want the public to see the comments offered by the Cerner and Epic ilk?” It appears that comments can be submitted only via e-mail.

HIStalkapalooza 2013, Sponsored by Medicomp

HIStalkpalooza will be Monday, March 4, 2013 at Rock ‘n’ Bowl, New Orleans, LA. Medicomp CEO Dave Lareau, one of the coolest guys I know, wanted to bring you some real New Orleans flavor for Medicomp’s return as HIStalkapalooza sponsor. He’s ably assisted by the ultra-professional crew who engineered the 2011 event: Patrice at bzzz productions, Shannon and Cindy from Thomas Wright Partners, Anthony from Istrico Productions, and of course the Medicomp stars like Roy and James that you saw on the stage and at the Quipstar event on the HIMSS show floor.

Medicomp sponsored the 2011 event at BB King’s in Orlando (video is here, although I doubt anyone has forgotten that bash). They said then they wanted to return this year, so naturally I’m super happy to have them back and expecting them to rise to the challenge of a superb 2012 HIStalkapalooza in Las Vegas courtesy of ESD (I still play their video every now and then because it’s so cool).

Rock ‘n Bowl is equal parts bowling alley, dance hall, live music venue, and old-school Cajun-Zydeco shrine, which sounds kind of low-brow until you notice that it has earned a 4.5 average review on both Yelp and Tripadvisor. Beats the heck out of a cookie cutter hotel ballroom or a Disney-like fake Cajun place. It’s a big place even though the layout makes it hard to tell in pictures. Some details:

Buses will take HIStalkapaloozans from the convention center to Rock ‘n’ Bowl and back to the key hotels.
You’ll be offered the chance to once again execute your perfect red-carpet strut while having an Ingatini thrust into your parched palm and being surrounded by industry glitterati.
You will have the option to sip (or guzzle) the aforementioned Ingatinis and Typhoon Janes, not to mention just a lot of drinks in general. The ladies are providing guidance on how they want their namesake potions prepared (I’ll bet there’s a lot of alcohol involved), so details on those will come later.
You’ll be entertained by Brian Jack and the Zydeco Gamblers, with instructors leading you in Zydeco dance lessons if you so choose.
You’ll be fed you authentically and well with red beans and rice, jambalaya, crawfish etouffee, and retro bowling alley food like pizza, wings, and fried seafood. No tray-passed mini-quiches or two-per-person drink tickets here, folks.
Inga will be overseeing our usual shoe and attire contests, best bowling shirt judging, and some other categories I’m not privy to but that I expect will result me spending excessive money on beauty queen sashes and prizes. She can chime in later on the particulars.
The inestimable Jonathan Bush will once again preside over the not-to-be-missed HISsies awards at 7:30, the role he created at the first HIStalkapalooza in 2008 and has held since. I have it on good authority that the people you chose for all of the important and serious awards (Industry Figure of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, etc.) will be there, which would be quite an assemblage of industry talent.
There will be a fun bowling tournament, but since I haven’t bowled since college (translation: I’ve never bowled sober nor seen any reason to) I’ll let Medicomp explain how that will work later. I know some of Medicomp’s partner companies will be hosting individual lanes, so I’m sure we’ll have some fun folks there.
You will have networking opportunities like crazy given the remarkable number of CEOs, VPs, investment bankers, press, and lower-ranking but generally amiable grunts like me who’ll be hanging around and lowering their guard to conduct frank and possibly slightly slurred conversations. Deals will be made, jobs will be offered, and a variety of propositions will be extended and considered. A good time will be had by all.

The registration page is now open. Since demand always exceeds supply, registration puts your name on the “I want to come” list. If we have enough capacity, everybody on the list will get an invitation in mid-February. If not, then I’ll have to channel my velvet rope bouncer technique in choosing who gets an invitation (providers and long-time HIStalk supporters get picked first, then I just try to make it interesting by employer and role). Every HIStalk reader is important to me, so I sure hope we can squeeze everybody in since it’s your night.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

Kareo raises $20.5 million in series F funding led by Stripes Group.

Shares in Scotland-based revenue software vendor Craneware jump after the company said it expects half-year revenue to increase by seven percent.

Compuware reports Q3 results: revenue up two percent, EPS $0.12 vs. $0.10. The company says its Covisint HIE business grew 30 percent. The board says it will make a decision shortly about an unsolicited takeover offer of $11 per share, equal to the current share price.

Sales

King Saud University in Saudi Arabia contracts with Cerner to provide Millennium to two of its hospitals.

Lowell General Physician Hospital Organization (MA) selects HDS, athenahealth’s healthcare data management service for population-based cost and quality data analysis and reporting.

The New Mexico Health Information Collaborative will implement Orion Health’s HIE platform for its statewide exchange.

Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital (CA) selects Accent on Integration’s Accelero Connect platform to integrate its Philips IntelliVue patient monitors with its Meditech HIS and EDM solution.

Hong Kong and Tsuen Wan Adventist Hospitals select First Databank’s International Drug Knowledge.

El Camino Hospital (CA) chooses data warehouse and analytics solutions from Health Care DataWorks.

People

Mobile health provider Glooko hires Rick Altinger (Intuit Health) as CEO and Dean Lucas (Epocrates) as VP of product development. Glooko, which Dr. Travis included in a recent review of tools for diabetics, just received FDA 510(k) clearance for its mobile logbook device.

Amplion Clinical Communications names Tom Stephenson (Health Management Systems) president and COO.

Wendy Penfield (RealMed) joins Intellect Resources as VP of consulting services.

The Carroll County Chamber of Commerce (GA) names Greenway Medical founder W. Thomas Green as its 2012 Entrepreneur of the Year.

Rich Boehler, MD (MedeAnalytics) is named president and CEO of St. Joseph Healthcare (NH).

Announcements and Implementations

HIMSS awards 10 scholarships to students enrolled in HIT and management system degree programs.

Kansas City area hospitals form the Cerner-hosted Lewis and Clark Information Exchange (LACIE), originally created by Heartland Health.

Wheeling Hospital (WV) deploys PeriGen’s PeriCALM Plus in its obstetrical department.

UNC Health Care’s Rex Hospital (NC) implements Merge Hemo to automate cath lab processes into its EHR.

UPMC Beacon Hospital (Ireland) implements BridgeHead Software’s integrated backup solution for Meditech.

Neighborhood Health Plan and Partners HealthCare (MA) will provide $4.25 million in grants to 49 community health centers to expand HIT systems, train on Meaningful Use and medical coding, and train and build capacity for performance improvement.

HealthSparq launches its consumer health shopping platform (patient reviews, cost estimator, provider search, and social media forum) to health insurers.

The Government of Cantabria, Spain will deploy the initial phase of a European-wide e-health service from Texas-based Prodea Systems.

Other

Brian Ahier and a couple of privacy experts will discuss the new HIPAA rules in a Google Hangout streaming video session on Wedneday, January 23 (which is “today” for most readers) at 2:00 p.m. Eastern.

KLAS looks at clinical decision support tools and finds that more providers are turning to third-party order set and care plan vendors. Key findings:

Almost half of providers using third-party products previously tried to build a solution from scratch.
Among providers using third-party order sets, half use for reference content only because of an inability to move built pieces into the EMR.
Most providers would like more ability to customize medication alerts.

Sponsor Updates

SRS reports a 94 percent increase in revenues from 2011 to 2012 and the addition of 56 new employees.
AT&T Healthcare’s Christine Furjanic will speak at the Western Physicians’ Alliance (NV) January 29 seminar on accountable care.
Orchestrate Healthcare expands and relocates its corporate headquarters to Carbondale, CO.
Greenway Medical Technologies, Inc., announces that Greenway PrimeSUITE 2014 (17.0) is compliant with the ONC 2014 Edition criteria and has earned certification as an EHR Module.
Shareable Ink reports 300 percent year-over-year growth and a twofold increase in employees since January 2012.
PatientPay CEO Thomas Furr offers advice on managing practice A/Rs and cash flow in a guest articl.
API Healthcare announces a 60 percent increase in year-over-year sales bookings and record bookings in the fourth quarter of 2012.
T-System will offer the PayRight Health Solutions patient collection system with its RevCycle+ solution.
CynergisTek and managed security service provider Solutionary partner to offer outsourced security monitoring.

Contacts

Mr. H, Inga, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan, Dr. Travis.

More news: HIStalk Practice, HIStalk Connect.

Monday Morning Update 1/21/13

January 19, 2013 News 10 Comments

From Jean Valjean “Re: Vendor shake-up. A major EHR vendor plans to dismiss between 10 and 20 percent of its workforce aimed at development, product management, marketing, and testing groupings. Employees also say the organization is taking initial measures to remove all personal days and compelling employees to use vacation time. Morale is very low and several key employees are leaving on their own. Issues stem from the recent appointment of a key executive whose management style is unknown.” This email contained just enough details (which I removed) to identify the company. However, the accusations are incredibly vague, though if any of it is true, employees may recognize their employer. If you can identify the company and want to share some verifiable details, drop me a note.

A dozen health systems earn a spot on Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For 2013, including Southern Ohio Medical Center (29), Meridian Health (39) , and Mayo Clinic (41). I liked the perk offered by Methodist Hospital System (67): every employee received a $200 debit card to recognize their efforts and to promote the hospital’s ICare philosophy.

Speaking of great employers, Mr. H is taking a few days off so I am flying solo. I’m not sure whether he is sitting on a beach with an umbrella drink or skiing down a mountain, but I am sure he is putting together a few new Spotify playlists for your music diehards. I don’t have a playlist to share, but I can recommend Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty if are interested in hitting the movie theater. Especially Zero Dark Thirty, which stars Jessica Chastain as a very smart, tough, and attractive CIA operative committed to finding Osama Bin Laden. Really, who doesn’t love a smart, tough, attractive woman? I’ll also mention for the HIMSS-attending fun seekers that we will be sharing details of HIStalkapalooza this week, including a link to request an invite.

United Airlines did not make the Best Companies list, but offers a nice perk by providing free health services at several of its hubs, including a just-opened employee health clinic at Chicago’s O’Hare airport. It’s one of five Walgreens-managed facilities available for all employees.

athenahealth announces it will offer an anesthesia-specific billing solution for hospitals and independent practices. MedOasis will provide the capabilities for anesthesia coding, charge-entry, contract management, and compliance.

The VA again awards HP Enterprise Services a $543 million contract for RTLS, three months after IBM contested the original award granted in July. The GAO upheld the protest, saying the VA had made several prejudicial errors in evaluating the original offers from HP, IBM, and four other vendors. The VA re-opened the bid process in October and again selected HP to equip 152 medical centers.

Audax Health, which recently signed a strategic alliance with Cigna to develop a digital engagement platform, raises $21 million through a mix of debt, options, and other securities. The company also names four new executives including Optum alums Doug Celebi, MD (SVP of informatics) and Brian Dolan (chief customer solutions officer).

Saint Anthony’s Health Center (IL) will offer emergency tele-neurological services in partnership with Specialists On Call.

The local business journal profiles UCSF Medical Center and its $160 million Epic EMR, which went live in June. The reporter includes a few details that UCSF would likely rather forget, such as the project taking a year longer than originally estimated and costing $100 million more.

Contacts

Mr. H, Inga, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan, Dr. Travis.

More news: HIStalk Practice, HIStalk Connect.

News 1/18/13

January 17, 2013 News 4 Comments

Top News

HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announces the final omnibus rule that substantially changes HIPAA regulations for the first time in 15 years. It (a) expands HIPAA’s reach to business associates such as contractors who will now be directly liable; (b) increases penalties to a maximum of $1.5 million per violation; and (c) clarifies the HITECH breach notification requirements. Patient provisions include (a) the right to request their own information in electronic form; (b) allowing cash-paying patients to instruct providers to not share their treatment information with their insurance company; and (c) limiting the use and sale of a patient’s information without their permission. The 563-page document has considerable detail including a discussion of feedback received, so feel free to leave a comment with nuggets you run across.

Reader Comments

From Digital Probe: “Re: headline. One of the rags ran a headline all day saying Health Information Exchange over a story about health insurance exchanges.” Indeed they did, and they’ve since quietly corrected their mistake, I see. I’m slightly mystified by their confusion, but even more so at their running a lengthy article on health insurance exchanges in an IT publication intended for a provider audience who I can’t image cares one iota about them.

From Android Powered: “Re: TPD’s list of iPhone apps. Anybody want to share their list for Android?”

From Boy Gary: “Re: Anthem CA Blue Cross. Their electronic eligibility system is down, so they e-mailed providers telling them to e-mail subscriber and patient information to check eligibility. They’re asking for the subscriber’s Social Security number to be sent by unsecured e-mail.” That’s such a bad idea that I’ll overlook their less-egregious omission of the apostrophes in the possessive occurrences of “subscriber’s.” They get credit for at least putting a manual step in place to help providers get paid.

From The PACS Designer: “MakerBot at CES. An addition to MakerBot’s product line that TPD posted about was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in the form of a 3D plastic design system. The MakerBot Replicator 2X 3D printer uses melted plastic to form objects based on available 3D pattern software. So, for example you want a new coffee mug, you use your pattern design software to create the desired result. Maybe one of our adventurous readers will buy the Replicator to design a new shoe for Inga!” Pretty fascinating – the $1,749 device can replicate household hardware parts, antiques, and who knows what else.

From Lumpy Rutherford: “Re: former NextGen President Pat Cline. He has resigned from the QSI board effective immediately and on his LinkedIn page lists himself as CEO of newly incorporated Delaware corporation Lightbeam Health Information Systems. I don’t know the connection, but I suppose you could draw conclusions.” Indeed you could. I was interested in the corporation’s other officers, but couldn’t turn them up on Delaware’s corporations page (at least not without paying).

HIStalk Announcements and Requests

My inbox has been filling up with inquiries about HIStalkapalooza. Here’s what I can share for now. We will post a link to the invite sometime in the next couple of weeks, so keep reading HIStalk. We will again have the Inga Loves My Shoe contest as well as a crowning of the HIStalk King and Queen for best attire. Translation: if you needed a legitimate excuse for splurging on a new outfit, you now have one. However, you might want to wait for more details on the event because it may influence your final selection. The date again is Monday, March 4 at 6:30 p.m.

The latest goodies from HIStalk Practice include: the HIStalk Practice Advisory Panel discusses the various resources they use when purchasing HIT system to compare vendors and products. Bruce Henderson of Aetna Accountable Care Solutions suggests some factors that practices should consider before committing to an ACO model. Rob Drewniak of Hayes Consulting Management overviews and defines data governance. SRS CEO Evan Steele expresses concern about the future of the EHR incentive program. Proposed legislation would provide SBA loan guarantees for the purchase of clinical IT systems. A study suggests that projected primary care physician shortages could be eliminated if practices used EHRs and shifted more care to non-physician providers. EHR adoption by family physicians is expected to exceed 80 percent by the end of 2013. Most physicians don’t find online physician ratings helpful, though the vast majority believe their own ratings are at least partially accurate. Thanks for reading.

I’m taking a short beach break, leaving Miss Inga in charge of the Monday Morning Update. You can occupy your time by (a) connecting with us via our non-Catfished social not-working profiles; (b) porting intently and clicking methodically over the ads to your right from the folks who underwrite your HIStalk habit, if such a thing exists for anyone but me; (c) signing up for spam-free e-mail updates; (d) reviewing more in-depth sponsor information and filling out a two-minute form to solicit consulting help; and (e) evangelizing to your colleagues who won’t see our slick marketing campaigns and ads since we don’t have any. Seriously, you are the best.

On the Jobs Board: Product Marketing Specialist, Expert Solution Consultant – Revenue Cycle Specialist, Healthcare Vertical Solutions Director, Sr. Applications Engineer – EMR.

Acquisitions, Funding, Business, and Stock

PE firm Primus Capital Funds invests in Emmi Solutions, a provider of patient engagement solutions.

MIT Media Lab spinout Atelion Health will commercialize one of the lab’s project, a care coordination system that’s being tested at Boston Medical Center, Joslin Diabetes center, and Mayo Clinic.

Cleveland-area data archiving vendor MediQuant, which says its revenue is growing at 45 percent per year, moves into a larger space for its 40 employees and the 10 additional it plans to hire this year.

A hedge fund shareholder of Compuware criticizes the company for “intentionally dragging your feet” by not yet responding to a $2.3 billion December 18 takeover offer from Elliott Management Corp. Just after it received that offer, Compuware announced plans to conduct an $200 million IPO of its Covisint HIE business unit by the end of March.

Sales

Centra Health (VA) selects Wolters Kluwer Health’s ProVation software for cardiology procedure documentation and coding.

HP Enterprise Services announces that it has been chosen by the VA for a $543 million, five-year, 152-hospital RTLS contract, being issued the bid again after competitor protests of last year’s award. Subcontractors are CenTrak, Intelligent InSites, and WaveMark.

People

The Society of Health Systems and HIMSS award Dean Athanassiades, senior director of software customer services for Philips Healthcare, the 2012 SHS/HIMSS Excellence in Healthcare Management / Process Improvement Award for leadership in implementing synergies between the process improvement and IT professions.

Symphony Health Solutions names Frank Lavelle (Siemens Medical Solutions, Medquist) CEO.

Doug Cusick (HP, IBM) joins Clinovations as a partner, tasked with leading the expansion of the company’s payer, life sciences, and technology service lines.

Dann Lemerand is promoted to EVP of strategic alliances for The HCI Group.

Announcements and Implementations

Greenway Medical Technologies unveils its interactive Developer Portal and API to facilitate creation of apps that interoperate with Greenway’s EHR and PM platform.

Siemens Healthcare offers consulting services for value-based purchasing, preventable readmissions, and healthcare-acquired conditions.

A Dell-sponsored study finds that the family medicine residency program of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare (FL) saved $600,000 and enhanced productivity by implementing the company’s Mobile Clinical Computing solution, which includes desktop virtualization, single sign-on, and strong authentication.

Government and Politics

ONC selects four winners of its Health Design Challenge to develop patient-friendly designs for printed health records to help patients better understand and use their EHRs. The winners shared $31,000 in prize money.

ONC publishes several reports on HIEs.

In the UK, Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt calls on NHS to become paperless by 2018, making it “the most modern digital health service in the world.” The physician’s union replied, “The biggest challenges to making the NHS paperless by 2018 are down to funding, resources, prioritization, and the choice of systems in secondary care. Although there may potentially be some efficiency savings, technology will not necessarily create huge cost savings. As well as ongoing hardware and software funding, sufficient resources will be required to support evolving training, IT support and admin support.” Other goals the Secretary set: (a) every patient will have online access to their own records by March 2015; (b) referrals will be paperless; (c) patient records held in different locations will be linked; and (d) records will follow patients throughout NHS and social care.

Technology

A NIH-funded University of Pittsburgh study of four skin lesion apps finds that three of them weren’t very good at diagnosing a test set containing 53 images of lesions known to be cancerous. The apps incorrectly concluded that 30 percent of the lesions weren’t cancerous. The fourth app, which sends the image to a dermatologist for review, missed only one of the samples. The conclusion is to not trust unregulated apps with important medical decisions.

Other

The Leapfrog Group retracts the “F” grade it gave to Texas County Memorial Hospital (MO) after the hospital complains that its score was based on incorrect data. The 25-bed hospital opted not to participate in Leapfrog’s survey because it did not have the resources required to complete the 80-page questionnaire. It says Leapfrog applied “questionable methodology” and used information that was not confirmed by NQF or independently assessed for reliability and validity. The hospitals has retained legal counsel.

Siemens Health Services CEO John Glaser, who served as an ONC senior advisor helping craft Meaningful Use in 2009 while still VP/CIO at Partners HealthCare, agrees with several member organizations in calling for a slowdown of its rollout. He says, “The pace is too damned high. People are just cramming this stuff in.” Johns Hopkins Vice Provost for IT/CIO Stephanie Reel says the “one size fits all” approach is causing headaches for specialists and the Meaningful Use program needs to be evaluated for effectiveness, saying, “To keep moving ahead with such an aggressive strategy strikes me as foolish. We don’t know what’s working and what’s not working.” Obviously pushback is escalating.

Sporting Kansas City, partly owned by Neal and Cliff of Cerner, parts ways with its charity partner, Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong. ESPN says Livestrong cancelled the stadium-naming deal because the soccer team owed it money, while Sporting KC takes advantage of the Dope Pedaler headlines by loudly announcing the breakup with perfect timing. Livestrong’s name gets yanked down from the Livestrong Sporting Park sign and it loses its percentage of the gate, worth $8-10 million over six years.

An article in a security magazine says Australian security researcher have found “dangerous, unpatched flaws” in the Philips Xper cardiovascular imaging system that allow them free access to patient information. The researchers said they weren’t able to connect with someone at Philips, so they got in touch with the Department of Homeland Security and the FDA instead. They claim Homeland Security told them the agency was taking over all aspects of software vulnerabilities related to medical devices and software. Philips says the flaw is present only in old versions of its software. The researchers also played around with an iPad-based patient monitoring and found problems.

Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago sues a web design firm, seeking the return of the $859,000 it paid the company to design a site to promote its new $915 million hospital.

The Dallas paper profiles Robert Abbate, DO, who started One Touch EMR, an iPad-based EMR.

A reader once swore she would never read HIStalk again if I mentioned the term “fecal transplant” again, so here’s a sad but necessary wave goodbye to her from Weird News Andy, who subtitles the story “May I borrow some Grey Poopon?” A study finds that the unsavory procedure works better than antibiotics for treating diarrhea due to C. Diff. WNA adds, “When they figure out how to put them in a pill, maybe,” which I might argue is even more disturbing.

Sponsor Updates

Columbia Valley Community Health (WA) chooses Access Evolution for creating and managing paperless forms and workflow.
Craneware offers VP-and-above healthcare finance executives a chance to win a $250 Amazon gift card if they answer a 10-question Executive Industry Survey by February 5.
HMS will participate in the HFMA Region 11 conference in Las Vegas January 27-30 and the THA 2013 Annual Conference February 13-14 in Austin.
dbMotion shares the agenda for its February 7 seminar in Dallas on connected healthcare.
Emdat adds Carmichael Business Systems, Northland Business Systems, and Integrated Data Technology as resellers of its digital dictation software.
The Advisory Board Company offers an infographic that addresses accountability gaps and best practices for improving teamwork among frontline staff.
The City of Springfield (OH) renews its contract with MED3OOO for EMS billing services through January 31, 2014.
The US Army Network Enterprise Technology Command issues CommVault a Certificate of Networthiness for its Simpana 9 data and information management software.
Santa Rosa Consulting’s Carl Jaekel discusses issues practices will need to consider to accommodate PCMHs in a blog post.
T-System offers its T Sheets flu documentation template free to hospitals to help EDs manage the national flu epidemic.

EPtalk by Dr. Jayne

Every day is a good day to be anonymous, especially for the HIStalk team. Sometimes I marvel that I haven’t been outed at the office. I and am grateful that apparently I have enough of a filter so that my superhero identity isn’t revealed. I do have to be especially vigilant to ensure I’m logged into the correct Facebook and Twitter accounts so I don’t inadvertently post as the “wrong” me.

I’m just one of thousands of physicians using social media and was excited to see this article in the Annals of Internal Medicine. The authors sent hypothetical social media situations to various state medical boards to evaluate whether there was consensus on which situations might lead to a disciplinary evaluation. Not surprisingly, the riskiest posts included misleading clinical or credentialing information, using patient images without permission, and inappropriate contact with patients such as contacting them on dating sites. There was low consensus for sharing clinical anecdotes (as long as confidentiality was maintained) and for “showing alcohol use without intoxication.”

I do have some latent Victorian sensibilities, so I’m not sure photos of anyone drinking belong on Facebook. I have been friended by some of my colleagues and I think that either they have forgotten that their posts are visible to the workplace or perhaps they simply don’t care. Working for a conservative non-profit, I’d be a little concerned that those posts could someday be an issue (if not for the current workplace then for a potential or future employer.)

Many organizations have social media policies or codes of conduct, but it’s not a bad idea to find out if there are “informal” policies in play as well. Is it frowned upon for subordinates to “friend” their supervisors? Is there a difference between connecting on Facebook and connecting on LinkedIn? What about posting to social medial during typical business hours? Depending on an employee’s role and career goals, some of these are less than appropriate.

Having TMI (Too Much Information) seems to have become the norm. I’m not advocating for a return to the days of inkwells and quill pens, but I do miss having a little mystery in the world. I don’t need a photo of your lunch every day, unless of course if includes an awesome martini. If you have pictures of those, feel free to e-mail me.

Contacts

Mr. H, Inga, Dr. Jayne, Dr. Gregg, Lt. Dan, Dr. Travis.

More news: HIStalk Practice, HIStalk Connect.

typo, sorry. hundreds of billions.

Carol Harris, the GAO representative testifying, seemed comfortable estimating hundreds of millions of dollars to get the remaining 94% of…

Re: VA and a Federal EHR. There were comments from the Reps and OIG / GAO yesterday about DoD's independent…

**What is “agentic AI”?** In very simple terms, **“agentic AI” refers to artificial intelligence systems that can act autonomously toward…

Re: Hard drives containing patient medical records This is not surprising to me. At all. Billions of mass storage devices…

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