• Computing cluster speeds targeted treatments for childhood cancer

• FCC to vote on broadband space for patient monitoring

• Another IT deadline: HIX plans due Nov. 16

Announcements HOA HIMSS Announcements Thank you for joining us for the "The Mobile Device Experience" on May 11th. For links to the presentation please visit our homepage. Please stay tuned for events coming in June.

Heart of America HIMSS Held The Mobile Device Experience on May 11th

  
 

In case you missed this very informative event you can download the slides below:

Click Here  for Carl Wilhelm's presentation: "Right Service, Right Access, and Right Protection"

Carl Wilhelm discussed clinicians, physicians and administrative staff wanting information available to them on their own terms, beyond being chained to their traditional desktop experience. They want access at the point of care, in their hands. They want to use tablets and iPhones to take advantage of rich electronic medical records systems, see x-ray images, use evolving social/business media and achieve seamless integration with all their existing systems. In this presentation he discussed how achieving this vision isn’t a “Big Bang” approach. It is a phased strategy that starts with identifying the right services to provide and delivering secure and appropriate access with the right data protection.

 Click Here  for Dr. Blatt's presentation: Right Device. for links to Dr. Blatt's Presentation "Right Device"

Items discussed were delivery costs are rising; Patient Center Medical Home (PCMH) is reshaping care delivery models; and Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) are reforming how you will get paid. Change is the one thing you can count on.

Going mobile is no longer an option, it’s an expectation. Collaborative workflows (where providers of all types not only share data but collaborate in streamlined LEAN care delivery models) are where you need to go to deal with these combined pressures to reform. Looking up data on your smart mobile device is a good first step but the end game is collaboration. Collaboration means changing the way you work now. 

 

Celebrating the life of John Wade
 

Dear Friends and Family Members,

It is with deepest sympathy that we inform you of the passing of John Wade on April 28, 2012.

An Enduring Memories Online Tribute has been created to celebrate John's life and accomplishments on the Johnson County Funeral Chapel and Cemetery web site. You can access John's Enduring Memories Online Tribute  here.

You will be able to:
- Read the online memorial - a story of John's life.
- Obtain service details - including directions and times.
- Share your memories of John in the online memory book.
- Light a candle in John's memory.
- Enjoy and contribute photos.
 

Making Meaningful Use "Meaningful" to Your Practice Event Held

On April 21st. 2011 the HOA HIMSS Chapter in collaboration with CMS Region VII, the HIT Regional Extension Centers from Kansas and Missouri, and six Kansas City area healthcare professional associations teamed up to provide an event for the physician and practice manager community.

Watch the sessions from this very successful and informative event online at anytime by clicking the links below: 

April 21 2011 Physician Event Introduction


CMS Presentations Links

CMS Presentation 1 – PHYSICIAN QUALITY REPORTING SYSTEM
CMS Presentation 1 – ELECTRONIC PRESCRIBING PROGRAM
CMS Presentation 2 – ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD INCENTIVES (clip 1 of 2)
CMS Presentation 2 – ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORD INCENTIVES (clip 2 of 2)
CMS Presentation 2 – VERSION 5010 TRANSACTION STANDARDS & ICD-10 CODES
CMS Presentation Q&A (clip 1 of 2)
CMS Presentation Q&A (clip 2 of 2)


Physician Panel Links

Physician Panel Q&A (clip 1 of 4)
Physician Panel Q&A (clip 2 of 4)
Physician Panel Q&A (clip 3 of 4)
Physician Panel Q&A (clip 4 of 4)
   

  Looking for Information on Missouri and Kansas Regional Extension Centers?

Click here for the Missouri Extension Center - Curators of The University of Missouri.

Click here for the Kansas Regional Extension Center - Kansas Foundation for Medical Care.
    

HIMSS Policy Summit
Washington D.C.
June 16 - 17

Micah Trotti, HOA HIMSS Advocacy Chair
The 9th annual HIMSS Policy Summit was held in Washington, D.C., this June. Each year, the focus of this gathering is to establish and help shape the advocacy goals of HIMSS as an organization. The release of regulatory rules in the wake of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (“ARRA”) guided the discussion on a broad range of issues at the Policy Summit. Although conversation amongst participants varied across an array of topics, the organized program focused primarily on the three “asks” for HIMSS advocacy:

•That any future policy pertaining to the electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs under ARRA appropriately balance meaningful use criteria/measures with industry readiness without delaying the timeline for implementation;

•That Congress enable the study of an informed patient identity solution; and

•That Congress work with the Obama Administration to make permanent the current physician self-referral regulation exemptions (Stark exemptions) and anti-kickback safe harbors for EHRs.

The first “ask” related to the regulations released under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH). Although it is widely recognized that change is needed to move forward with the modernization of healthcare in the United States, the specifics of any such program have been hotly debated. Many organizations, including the American Hospital Association (AHA), the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) and others have advocated a delay in the implementation of the HITECH program requirements along with a reevaluation of the requirements themselves. HIMSS, on the other hand, believes that the current timeline for implementation should remain intact, but also, like the AHA and CHIME, that there be an evaluation of the balance between the “Meaningful Use” criteria and industry readiness to implement those criteria (or, perhaps more correctly, its lack of readiness to implement such criteria). HIMSS, as an organization, believes that the Office for the National Coordinator for Healthcare Information Technology should scale back the “Meaningful Use” requirements. Specifically, HIMSS would push for the payment of partial incentives for the partial achievement of “Meaningful Use” criteria rather than the all-or-nothing approach currently in place under the interim final rule.

The second “ask” focused on the need for a study of an informed patient identity solution. Although the idea of a uniform patient identifier has never been popular, with the ever-increasing mobility of patients along with the rise of interoperable EHR systems the need for a comprehensive and reliable means of identifying patients will become crucial. It is important to note that HIMSS is not advocating that a universal patient identifier be adopted but, rather, that a study into the efficacy of such a system be made. It is, however, inescapable that a uniform identify solution will eventually be required as EHR systems are implemented and required to be increasingly interoperable.

The final “ask” is “that Congress should work to make permanent the current physician self-referral regulation exemptions (Stark exemptions) and anti-kickback safe harbors for EHRs.” Many health care providers have their practice management or EHR systems provided to them by larger member networks or hospitals they serve. Under the current but soon to expire exemptions, the provision of those systems (under certain circumstances) falls within a safe harbor under anti-kickback laws. HIMSS expects that these arrangements will continue to drive the advancement of the use of EHR technology and that without these safe harbors a significant source of innovation will go dry. This, thankfully, will be the easiest of the suggested policy commitments as it requires only that exemptions currently in place be extended rather than re-crafting regulations (some of which are already in place) or establishing a study on a politically unpopular program.

The three “asks” that were developed for the Policy Summit represent three key advocacy objectives and areas of emphasis for HIMSS chapters in the coming year. Although ARRA and other projects such as healthcare reform and the implementation of new standards such as 5010/ICD-10 are already well under way, through a concerted effort at the federal, regional and local level, HIMSS and its members have the ability to shape the outcomes achieved.