Interoperability
Just one in five full-time health information technology employees say they're "very satisfied" with their current job, a recent survey finds; a substantial 12 percent, meanwhile, say they're "very dissatisfied." But this is in marked contrast with IT consultants.
Jonathan Bush, former ambulance driver, founder of birthing centers in San Diego and co-founder and CEO of athenahealth, a public company valued at nearly $5 billion, can add author to his list of achievements.
As David Blumenthal, MD, sees it, Stage 2 is where the rubber meets the road for the Meaningful Use EHR Incentive Program -- the government's grand scheme to drag the American healthcare system, kicking and screaming, into the 21st Century. But, is it proving to be just too much for most providers?
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is adding momentum and new capabilities to its interoperability and population health initiatives.
On paper, it sounds easy. Eligible hospitals that refer patients to another care setting must electronically transmit "a summary of care record for more than 10 percent of such transitions and referrals." One hospital's experience shows it's harder than it might look.
CMS and ONC revealed the latest statistics on Tuesday morning, showing that 1 percent of eligible providers and 3 percent of eligible hospitals have attested to Stage 2 to date.
Darrel Whitmill, RN, manager of physician informatics and meaningful use at Cumberland Medical Center in Crossville, Tenn., wanted to beat the rush to Stage 2 meaningful use attestation, and he did.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded a three-year, $162 million contract for upgrades to its VistA electronic health record. The announcement comes just as government officials assert in a news release Thursday that the multi-billion dollar acquisition to modernize the Department of Defense electronic health record is on track.
Anne Arundel Medical Center has been expanding in recent years, and as part of the challenge of optimizing 49 ambulatory practices as part of its network, the health system has had to integrate IT systems -- including the Epic EHRs used at hospitals and the cloud-based athenahealth technology at many of the practices.
Another group of health IT powerhouses is joining forces to compete with Epic and IBM for the Department of Defense's lucrative $11 billion system modernization contract.