- According to The Ponemon Institute, hospitals spent $6 billion annually because of patient data breaches, and Federal regulations (i.e. HIPAA) have not improved the safety of patient records. Research showed:
o hospitals are not protecting patient data
o hospitals admit to being vulnerable to data breaches
o breaches are occurring frequently and often go unreported
o only a small percentage of healthcare organizations rely on security technology
- ScImage Inc. of Los Altos, CA announced that it has developed software to integrate EMR software systems with Konica Minolta ImagePilot digital radiography systems, using HL7 communications and web-viewing technologies.
- Former employee, Cam Giang, pled guilty to stealing personal information (name, date of birth and Social Security numbers) from 218 coworkers while at University of California San Francisco Medical Center. Mr. Giang was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison.
- A skin printer? The Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the Armed Forces Institute for Regenerative Medicine announced they have developed an inkjet printer that deposits skin cells directly onto a wound to help it heal faster.
- Results of survey conducted by CompTIA:
o 34% of healthcare providers report using EHR system
o 16% report using a partial EHR system
o 29% are evaluating their options
o 20% have not yet started research
- More reason why healthcare firms should use biometric finger vein reader options:
o 100 times more accurate than finger print scans
o Nearly impossible to hack
o Scanner converts subcutaneous vein pattern into thousands of zeroes and ones
o All data encrypted and hidden behind firewall
o Encrypted to AES 128 bit
o You can not leave your vein pattern at a crime scene
o Prevents medical records overlays and merging
o Prevents identity theft
o Prevents lack of ID for unconscious patients
- Allscripts announced it won an EHR system contracts from:
o United Hospital Systems of Kenosha, Wisconsin.
o Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital of New York
o Martin Memorial Health Systems of Florida
- Allscripts CEO, Glenn Tullman stated that the federal government will spend as much as $27.4 billion between 2011 and 2021 to encourage health professionals to install EHR systems.
- Epic wins more EHR contracts:
o $56 million from New Hanover Regional Medical Center (which is receiving $13.7 million in federal incentive money)
o $450 million system at the 28 hospital Sisters of Mercy Health System in Arkansas
o Fairview Northland Medical Center in Minnesota
o Fairview Lakes Medical Center in Minnesota
o Pen Bay Healthcare of Maine
- According to survey conducted by KLAS, the most popular EHR providers for community hospitals:
o For small hospitals of 1 to 150 beds = Meditech
o 151 to 300 beds is Cerner
o 300+ beds is Epic
- Meditech reported that its last quarter’s revenues were up 23%.
- Meditech announced it has certified Canon & Kyocera MFPs as printers for its system.
- Sage Intergy wins contract for 90 radiation therapy centers in 16 states for 21st Century Oncology, headquartered in Florida.
- NextGen announced:
o wins EHR system contract from ACT Health Management Services of North Carolina with 400 locations and 70 clinicians
o wins HER system contract from Methodist Hospital of Texas (5 hospitals and 289 physicians)
o reported that its revenue was up 14% to $81.5 million during last quarter.
- Athenahealth wins a EHR system contract from Holy Cross Hospital of New Mexico.
- EHR federal government timeline:
o Fall of 2010 = certified EHR technology available and listed on ONC website
o January, 2011 = Registration for EHR incentives begin
o January, 2011 = State Medicaid providers may launch the programs
o April, 2011 = Attestation for EHR incentive programs begins
o May, 2011 = incentive payments begin
o November 30th, 2011 = last day for hospitals to register and attest to receive incentive payment for FY2011
o February 29, 2012 = last day for physicians to register and attest to receive incentive payments for CY2011
o 2014 = Last year to initiate participation in program
o 2015 = Medicare payments are reduced for those that have not installed EHR system and shown meaningful use
o 2016 = last year to receive incentive payments and last year to initiate participation
o 2021 = last year to receive incentive payment
- Microsoft reported that only 150 hospitals worldwide are connected to its HealthVault personal health platform.
- McKesson, provider of EHR systems, announced it is buying US Oncology for $2.16 billion. US Oncology of The Woodlands, Texas, makes EHR systems for 1,300 community-based oncologists.
- Cerner wins contract for EHR system at Regional Medical Center in South Carolina. Also has install at Eastern Maine Medical Center.
- After originally not being selected, Missouri healthcare officials are giving Cerner a second change after the Kansas City based company failed to make a two-state list of preferred EHR vendors.
- eClinicalWorks announced it won an EHR systems contract from the San Francisco Department of Public Health, for its 800 doctors.
- A survey of hospital medical records departments conducted by CapSite found:
o 3M Health Information Systems has 30% marketshare
o Meditech has 22% marketshare
o 41% plan to invest in new applications during next 24 months
- The 2010 HIMSS (health information management systems society) Security Solutions Survey found:
o 50% spent 3% or less of their IT budgets on security
o 14% of hospitals have yet to conduct a risk analysis
o 33% of clinics have yet to conduct a risk analysis
o 31% have encrypted data on laptop computers
o 16% have not encrypted any laptop computers
o 69% have plan in place to respond to a data breach
o 33% of hospitals have fulltime chief security officer
o 8% of clinics have fulltime chief security officer
o 38% have designated a staffer to handle security responsibiities
- Surescripts Inc., which operates a nationwide e-prescribing network, announced that it will now support and enable the electronic exchange of all types of clinical information.
- Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller has sued health insurer WellPoint Inc. for $300,000, alleging the firm took too long to notify Indiana residents affected by a HIPAA data breach, affecting 32,000 people. The breach was related to a website that inadvertently exposed personal financial info and SS#’s.
- FormFast Software announced it won contract for electronic forms software from Capital Region Medical Center of Jefferson City, MO.
- Scientists from the University of Oxford have shown that they can improve a person’ math abilities for up to 6 months by applying an electrical current to the human brain.
- A document management survey conducted by Version One revealed:
o 86% of senior IT professionals are still reliant on paper records
o 51% stated that they are “very reliant” on paper based records
o 1% stated that they “hardly ever” rely on paper
o 13% stated that they are “occasionally reliant” on paper
o 32% would switch to document management system (DMS) to improve customer service
o 20% said that assurance that electronic documents are legally admissible would be key driver for eliminating paper
o 48% want to be assured that DMS would provide enough security
- WorkflowOne announced it won a document management solutions contract from the Albert Einstein Healthcare Network in Dayton, Ohio.
- Survey results from Medical Group Management Association (MGMA):
o Hospitals with EHR systems reported $49,916 greater total medical revenue after operating cost per physician than practices using paper
o After 5 years of use, practices reported an operating margin 10.1% greater than practices in their first year of EHR
-=Greetings from Sandy Hook=-
