Following this morning’s announcement by CMS administrator Marilyn Tavenner that there will be no further delays or extensions with regards to Stage 2 meaningful use, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) has issued the following response:
Statement from CHIME president and CEO Russell P. Branzell, FCHIME, CHCIO, and CHIME board chairman Randy McCleese, FCHIME, CHCIO:
“The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) welcomes CMS Administrator Marilyn Tavenner’s announcement this morning, acknowledging the need to provide relief for our nation’s providers. Such relief is vitally important for the future success of Meaningful Use, as ICD-10 deadlines and continued shifts in payment policies demand an ever-increasing amount of IT and workforce resources. If the expansion of the office’s EHR Hardship Exceptions provides the kind of relief the industry desperately needs, CHIME pledges to assist policymakers in every way possible. Should CMS choose to define the new hardship exceptions in a way that does not address the core concerns of our industry we will continue to seek the kind of flexibility that nearly 50 national healthcare organizations communicated to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius on February 21, 2014.
“Policy leaders at CHIME pledge to continue their work with CMS and ONC to chart a course that drives interoperability and patient engagement, and facilitates delivery transformation. It will be CHIME’s highest policy priority to ensure that providers receive the kind of relief they need in order to deliver quality care.”
Don’t forget that the end-of-the-year reporting of Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) breaches of unsecured protected health information (PHI) discovered in 2013 is due Saturday, March 1, 2014.
Healthcare providers and health plans that are covered entities under HIPAA must report breaches of unsecured PHI affecting fewer than 500 individuals annually to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights (OCR). These small breaches should already have been reported to each of the affected individuals, and reports to the OCR should include the actions to mitigate and remediate any breaches, even those affecting a single individual. Reports to the OCR of large breaches (those affecting 500 or more individuals) are made at the time of reporting to the affected individuals—that is, without unreasonable delay and in no case greater than 60 days.
Covered entities may report small breaches electronically at the OCR’s website: www.hhs.gov/ocr/privacy/hipaa/administrative/breachnotificationrule/brinstruction.html.
In a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and 47 other of the nation’s largest healthcare provider organizations issued a joint call for additional time and flexibility in the meaningful use program to ensure its continued success.
While underscoring the meaningful use program’s invaluable role in advancing technology adoption among hospitals and physicians, the letter states that strict adherence to current program requirements endangers overall success of the EHR program, disrupts providers’ healthcare operations and potentially jeopardizes patient safety.
“Given that we have just celebrated the anniversary of HITECH, we can look back at the last five years with great pride and take stock of how far we’ve come – as an industry and as a nation,” said CHIME President and CEO Russell P. Branzell FCHIME, CHCIO. “But we must look ahead and recognize the immense work in front of us. Now is the time to make much-needed course corrections to ensure that we continue this success well past HITECH’s 10th anniversary.”
The letter reiterates many points made by several organizations dating back to May 2013, including letters from CHIME; the American Hospital Association (AHA); the American Medical Association (AMA); the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA); the American College of Physicians (ACP); the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP); and the National Rural Health Association (NRHA).
The latest letter, the first to be issued jointly by more than 40 organizations, comes in response to concerns that the nation’s 5,000 hospitals and 550,000 eligible professionals must adopt the latest certified versions of EHR technology and meet more difficult program requirements to remain in compliance with the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record Incentive Program. Hospitals only have until July to adopt, implement, test and train staff to meet either Stage 1 or Stage 2 Meaningful Use requirements in 2014. Eligible professionals have until October to begin collecting data to attest to meeting program requirements.
At the HIMSS Annual Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, HIMSS released the results of the 2014 HIMSS Nursing Informatics Workforce Survey, which examines the roles, responsibilities and outlook for nursing informatics professionals. The 2014 Survey captures current professional status and practice trends, while identifying changes that have occurred over the last nine years in the nursing informatics workforce.
The survey, supported by the HIMSS Nursing Informatics Community, continues to suggest that nurse informaticists play a crucial role in the development, implementation and optimization of information systems and applications including clinical documentation, computerized practitioner order entry (CPOE) and electronic medical/health records.
Another key finding of the survey is the overall growth in the nursing informatics field. Based on the responses of more than 1,000 nursing informatics specialists, 70 percent have titles that specified an informatics position, which is double the amount from the last HIMSS Nursing Workforce Survey conducted in 2011. The survey results also showed that professionals in the nursing informatics field experienced an increase in salaries and interest in pursuing additional training within the field.
“The industry demands for more robust clinical documentation and analytics – such as those associated with meaningful use – have increased the need for informaticists across the entire care spectrum. This year’s Survey showed a marked growth across the field of nursing informatics, as well as a deeper understanding and recognition of informatics as a nursing specialty,” said Joyce Sensmeier, vice president of informatics for HIMSS. “Nearly two thirds of respondents have a post-graduate degree and 28 percent have a Master’s degree or PhD in informatics which points to the fact that the field is rapidly maturing. System optimization/utilization was a new option in the 2014 Survey and selected by 39 percent of respondents, suggesting that we may be moving beyond simply implementing systems towards leveraging their value.”
Day 2 at HIMSS14 was much the same as day 1: Lots of walking, talking and great meetings with great organizations. I can’t thank enough vendors like Verisk Health, Omnicell, Amazing Charts and SAS for the great information they’ve shared, and for the perspectives about the market, trends and what’s ahead (and what’s behind).
Electronic health records are now foundational, and in many cases, they’ve lost their sex appeal. Though there’s an obvious and huge presence by them here, this year’s HIMSS doesn’t seem to have the same energy around the technology, from my point-of-view, that they did two or three years ago, for obvious reasons. Though their importance is still great, as we all know, other issues are taking center stage. ICD-10 is the obvious elephant in the room.
“Risk” is the biggest buzz word I’ve heard here in Orlando. I’ve heard it dozens of times. “Patient engagement” seems overcooked, according to those I’ve spoken to; an aspirational concept, yes, but actionable in an an entirely different story. Lofty goals and strategy, fewer practical best practices approaches for proceeding.
Patient engagement has only just begun, or at least is just developing past its infancy, and I look forward to seeing how it matures as a concept. Remember, just a couple years ago, those with vested interest claim patient portals would solve the ever elusive patient engagement issue. Portals clearly have not done so. Why would they? I remain skeptical that the actual patient is at the heart of this conversation rather how a systems can implement “best practices.” We’ll see, I suppose.
That said, HIMSS14 remains a wonderful experience and I’m glad to be here and meeting some wonderful people. I look forward to what today brings. Likely, more walking!
Travelers through the trade show floor at HIMSS14 continue to find themselves in the city of senses that is the HIMSS conference. From flashy devices, bright lights, loud music, champagne by the glass and interesting architecture, in many ways this show reminds me of the last time the show was in Orlando. Same energy and excitement, and much the same feel from the show floor. Though it seems like little has changed from the exhibitor perspective, it’s still a nearly overwhelming experience here.
This year, more than 35,500 are here in Orlando, up from 32,500 last year.
The following are some images of the more than 1,200 vendors at the show.
Alere has one of the most visually interesting booths at the show:
Today I attended a press briefing by HIMSS at the annual conference and exhibition in Orlando, high lighting the results of the 25th Annual 2014 HIMSS Leadership Survey. The survey examines a wide array of topics including IT priorities, issues driving and challenging technology adoption and IT security.
According to the results of the HIMSS survey, some of the most notable findings from this year’s survey concerns the perceived impact financial resources are having on IT implementations. A majority of the survey participants (65 percent) reported IT budget increases – which is likely a contributing factor to the transition to a paperless environment—a lack of adequate financial resources now tops the list of barriers to successful IT implementation. This is a shift from the past two years when the primary IT challenge was insufficient and untrained staffing resources.
As with previous years, this year’s survey continues to explore the progression of healthcare organizations from paper-based systems to a near paperless environment where medical data is fluidly and securely shared between providers. This year’s respondents suggest that government efforts to encourage providers to adopt health IT initiatives across the country – such as Meaningful Use (MU) – have been successful. For example:
According to new research from Accenture, despite slower-than-expected growth, the global market for electronic health records (EHR) is estimated to reach $22.3 billion by the end of 2015, with the North American market projected to account for $10.1 billion or 47 percent, released today at the annual HIMSS Conference in Orlando.
According to Accenture, although the worldwide EHR market is projected to grow at 5.5 percent annually through 2015, Accenture’s previous research shows that would represent a slowdown from roughly 9 percent growth during 2010. Despite the slower pace of growth globally, the combined EHR market in North and South America (The Americas) is expected to reach $11.1 billion by the end of 2015, compared to an estimated $4 billion in the Asia Pacific region and $7.1 billion in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
“Although the market is growing, the ability of healthcare leaders to achieve sustained outcomes and proven returns on their investments poses a significant challenge to the adoption of electronic health records,” said Kaveh Safavi, global managing director of Accenture Health. “However, as market needs continue to change, we’re beginning to see innovative solutions emerge that can better adapt and scale electronic health records to meet the needs of specific patient populations as well as the business needs of health systems.”
Driven by consolidation and the federal Meaningful Use guidelines, the United States is expected to remain the largest EHR market in the Americas and globally, with a projected annual growth rate of 7.1 percent and will total $9.3 billion by the end of 2015. Along with increasing U.S. market demand, Brazil, projected at $0.4 billion, may represent the greatest relative growth opportunity as a country-wide federal initiative, the Unified Health System, is expected to drive 9.7 percent annual growth over the next several years.
In a letter to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and 47 other of the nation’s largest healthcare provider organizations issued a joint call for additional time and flexibility in the meaningful use program to ensure its continued success.
According to new research from