HEALTHCARE NEWS FLASH November 1, 2013
Table of Contents Sales & Marketing ................................................................................................................. 3 Finance ............................................................................................................................... 10 Technology .......................................................................................................................... 13 Strategy .............................................................................................................................. 20
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Sales & Marketing Eliza's Star multi-modal programs address gaps in healthcare October 30, 2013 | News Medical http://www.news-medical.net/news/20131030/Elizas-Star-multi-modal-programs-address-gapsin-healthcare.aspx Eliza Corporation ("Eliza"), the pioneer and recognized leader in Health Engagement Management, today announced "Star 2014", a proactive member communication solutions suite that addresses key areas of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Star programs. Based on Eliza's award-winning 2013 Star Year in the Life Solution, Eliza Star 2014 offers new features such as Active Monitoring and Micro-targeting. Eliza's carefully constructed Star multi-modal programs address gap closure and other top Star challenges that Medicare Health Plans face, such as: •
Boosting key Star measures in the areas of clinical care, preventive screenings, medication adherence, post hospital discharge, and HOS/CAHPS;
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Driving brand loyalty and retention with tailored outreach, intelligently triggered throughout the calendar year; and
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Generating unique population-level insights and messaging strategies that positively influence member behaviors and outcomes.
Independent Health, for example, initiated a 'Staying Healthy' campaign integrating best practices and proprietary behavioral intelligence insights from Eliza's Star solution. The population-based preventive health outreach, delivered through Eliza's multi-modal platform, engaged Medicare members in conversation across mediums with a data-driven approach designed to uncover barriers and motivations, and drive behavior change. As a result of the 'Staying Healthy' campaign, members' health measurably improved – with the interactions yielding quantifiable outcomes for key clinical measures (based on claims data and compared to a control group that didn't receive the intervention), including: •
32.4 percent increase in breast cancer screenings;
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20.9 percent increase in colorectal cancer screenings;
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28.3 percent increase in glaucoma screenings;
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17.5 percent increase in LDL; and
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13.2 percent increase in osteoporosis screenings.
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"Our approach to health engagement management naturally lends itself to driving Star metrics. In fact, Eliza has addressed many of the key clinical and operational measures for years –well before the introduction of Star ratings. As a result, our comprehensive Star solution has been recognized by industry organizations like URAC for its ability to close gaps in care and drive key Star measures," said John Shagoury, President and CEO of Eliza Corporation. "Given the significant financial and business consequences our Medicare Advantage clients face, we remain intensely focused on impacting critical CMS Star ratings with incredible specificity to close gaps, hit key Star thresholds, and safeguard associated bonus payments." Active Monitoring and Micro-Targeting Close Gaps in Care Eliza's Active Monitoring is a new component of Star 2014 that adds greater quantifiable value to customers running Preventive Screening, Diabetes Care, Heart Health or HOS/CAHPS programs. Active Monitoring provides monthly reporting to 'actively' identify gaps in Star measures. Active Monitoring also adds a data layer (derived by an Eliza proprietary algorithm) to identify members that would benefit most from Micro-targeted outreach to close remaining gaps in care and meet goals. The actionable member data can be delivered to a health plan in pre-defined file format, or Eliza can use that data to define and implement on-demand Micro-targeted engagement strategies to deliver "last-mile" gap closure. Data, Analytics and Behavioral Intelligence Drive Better Targeting and Messaging With the national conversation focused on consumer choice in healthcare, health plans must assume the role of a trusted advisor – one that works to understand and address members' healthcare needs, while addressing their own costs and quality. According to Gartner, Inc., "As consumers become more Web- and mobility-savvy, they will expect their preferred providers to "know" them and to provide better service by anticipating their needs and proactively communicating with them… Proactive communications applications and services can enable faster responses to events and conditions. They also can improve sales, customer service and customer loyalty by anticipating customers' desire to be communicated with under select conditions."[1] Eliza has spent more than a decade engaging people in conversations about their health and has amassed one of the largest data assets of attitudes, behaviors, and motivations that drive health and healthcare decisions. The resulting proprietary Behavioral Intelligence insights from this data asset are a key element of Eliza's Star 2014 design. "At Eliza, we never assume that a broad-sweep solution is going to work on an individual level. Our job is to uncover what makes people tick and support them in ways that are tailored and relevant to them," said Alexandra Drane, Founder, Chief Visionary Officer and Chair of the Board at Eliza Corporation. "Our unmatched Behavioral Intelligence influences well-designed, proactive communication strategies that establish legitimate, valuable, loyal relationships with individuals – and inspire the positive behavior change that drive year-over-year improvements in Star performance."
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Eliza Star 2014 data and analytics combine Eliza's member-level interaction data and Behavioral Intelligence with traditional HEDIS completion data to provide prospective insight into the actions an individual is likely to take. Star 2014 also benefits from both the Eliza Engagement Index™ (EEI) and the Vulnerability Index™ (VI). The EEI evaluates a population as a distribution of not just cost or risk but also engagement in three areas – clinical health, member marketing and plan administration. Eliza's Vulnerability Index is a way to identify and support members regarding life-context conditions. These predictive Behavioral Intelligence instruments contribute to more accurate and holistic views of both clinical and retention risk at the member level, and yield targeting and messaging strategies that drive year-over-year improvements in Star performance. Eliza Star 2014 data is refreshed monthly allowing for trend analysis to reveal positive, negative or neutral momentum toward goals. Over the course of the year, Eliza's Active Monitoring delivers rich analytic views that serve as proxies for actual Star metrics and other key business objectives. Drane concludes, "Our Star 2014 active insights and actions elevate Star ratings because they are focused on delivering the best outcomes -- not only for the health plans we serve, but also for the individuals they serve." Additional key features of Eliza Star 2014 include: •
Targeting for Star measures across all domains
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Flexible modular approach to align with customer needs
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Personalized multi-modal, multi-touch and micro-touch interactions
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Relevant, engaging content, and data-driven segmentation
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Active Monitoring and tracking for key HEDIS related Star measures
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Dynamic list generation for Micro-targeting
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Support for live one-to-one Micro-targeted interactions
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Response data tracking for HOS related issues (i.e. bladder control, risk of falling, mental and physical)
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Seamless adaptation to CMS Star program changes throughout the year
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Beebe changes name to reflect it's more than hospital October 29, 2013 | delawareonline http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20131030/HEALTH/310300048/Beebe-tweaks-its-nameto-reflect-a-broader-mission?nclick_check=1 Beebe Medical Center, the hospital and physician network based in Lewes, is changing its name to Beebe Healthcare, CEO Jeffrey M. Fried announced Tuesday at the opening of a new Beebe medical complex in Georgetown. “Beebe Medical Center has become more than just a stand-alone hospital on Savannah Road,” Fried said during a grand opening event at the College Park Medical Pavilion, where Beebe recently opened a suite of outpatient offices. “As we’ve grown into a community health system, we really have outgrown our name.” Beebe was founded in 1916, at the time the first private hospital in Delaware outside of Wilmington city limits. At first a three-bed affair, it grew significantly in 1921 when it added a nursing school. Beebe is now a 210-bed hospital in Lewes, along with labs, rehab clinics and surgery centers at six other Sussex County locations. The hospital’s website changed Tuesday from beebemed.org to beebehealthcare.org, and its logo also was updated to reflect the new name and a new color scheme, switching from a teal-and-red motif to a blue-and-yellow logo, not unlike the blue-and-gold colors of the state flag. Focus group sessions conducted in 2012 led Beebe’s board to decide on the name change, Fried said, along with a new resolve “to not only take care of people when they’re sick, to provide good care, but also to keep people healthy.” The Georgetown location for Beebe, in a newly built building near Delaware Technical Community College, holds a lab, imaging department, rehab wing, physician’s office and walk-in center. “I’m glad that Georgetown is going to get the level of health care it’s deserved for some time,” said William Swain Lee, chairman of Beebe Healthcare’s board of directors. The nonprofit hospital’s supporting fundraising group, Beebe Auxiliary, donated $310,000 toward the Georgetown expansion. The name change means all three hospital networks operating in southern Delaware now include the word ‘health’ in their names. The others are Nanticoke Health Services, which operates Nanticoke Memorial Hospital in Seaford, and Bayhealth, which owns Milford Memorial Hospital.
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State medicaid program to cover more telemedicine services October 23, 2013 | The Baltimore Sun http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/blog/bal-medicaidtelemedicine,0,1773313.story#ixzz2j28kot7K The state Medicaid program is expanding the types of doctors and other medical providers it will reimburse for providing consultation to patients remotely. In the past, Medicaid only reimbursed such telemedicine services for mental health consultation. Now the program will pay for other specialists as well. The patient must be in the office with their physician when the consultation is given. The program is meant to provide better care in areas, such as rural parts of the states, where there is a shortage of specialists. Community health center hospitals, health departments, nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, physicians and renal dialysis centers are among the providers eligible for reimbursement. Under a rural part of the program, patients who live in certain counties can call providers for consultation. The counties considered rural are: Allegany, Calvert, Cecil, Charles, Dorchester, Garret, Kent, St. Mary's, Somerset, Talbot, Queen Anne's Worcester, Wicomico and Washington. A cardiovascular disease and stroke component of the program allows providers to provide consultation from anywhere in the state, but the call must originate from a hospital emergency department. The new program expands on telemedicine reimbursement first implemented in 2010.
KidsLink enters into healthcare market October 18, 2013 | News Medical http://www.news-medical.net/news/20131018/KidsLink-enters-into-healthcare-market.aspx KidsLink, an online family management platform used to organize important documents, events, and milestones, announces its entry into the healthcare market in partnership with Piedmont Medical Center (PMC), a Tenet Healthcare hospital based in Rock Hill, South Carolina.
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Using the platform's innovative family dashboard and mobile app, parents can import, aggregate and share important documents—such as health insurance, immunization records, report cards, and activity forms—on their smart phone, tablet or desktop. The new KidsLink mobile application provides parents a tool to capture and store hard-copy documents for easy future access, all with their smartphone's camera. In Rock Hill, KidsLink provides local users quick access to PMC's patient portal to access their medical and billing records. Parents will also receive alerts regarding community healthcare events, tailored health awareness updates—such as flu shot availability—and schedules for wellness classes and support groups open to the public. "We created KidsLink, in part, to streamline paperwork management and help parents connect with their children's healthcare providers and community organizations in a more meaningful way," says Chris Morocco, CEO of KidsLink. "The PMC partnership realizes what we've always envisioned: utilizing the latest technology as a starting point to guide parents through managing their family's life in the 21st century." Specifically designed for busy parents, KidsLink is particularly beneficial to new moms by providing a central, curated set of tools that walks parents through the process of tracking documents, milestones, memories, and wellness for their babies and young children. It will debut its mobile app and sync with PMC's network October 20, 2013. "A baby's birth is a milestone we are proud to be a part of here at PMC," says Bill Masterton, CEO of Piedmont Medical Center. "KidsLink allows us to stay connected with that family over time and remain easily accessible if a medical need arises. It also provides a channel for us to communicate important and valuable content with them."
Big opportunities, still, for IT vendors October 17, 2013 | Healthcare IT News http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/big-opportunities-still-it-vendors As industry struggles with massive change, technology must help smooth the way forward. The healthcare market, especially health IT, remains "highly fragmented," with lots of openings for entrepreneurs who can solve providers' "pain points," according to the latest trend report from Berkery Noyes. The report analyzes merger and acquisition activity for the healthcare sector during the first three quarters of 2013 and compares it with data from 2012. This market includes information and technology companies servicing the pharmaceutical, healthcare payer, and healthcare provider spaces.
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"The healthcare market remains highly fragmented, with lots of opportunities for entrepreneurs with unique ideas looking to start companies that solve important pain points along the healthcare continuum," said Tom O'Connor, managing director at Berkery Noyes, in a press statement. "Large strategic buyers are also looking to acquire unique content/software solutions that are solving challenges in the healthcare market and are growing rapidly, offering exit opportunities for entrepreneurs at very attractive prices." He added that "healthcare deal flow continues to be strong for companies developing proprietary technology/content, of scale in their markets, high revenue (double digit) growth, high percentage of recurring revenue and large total addressable market opportunity." The health IT industry underwent a 56 percent volume increase on a quarterly basis, according to the report. It also accounted for nearly half of the industry's aggregate M&A volume, as opposed to 31 percent in the prior quarter. The largest healthcare IT transaction in third quarter 2013, as well as the overall industry's highest value deal in the quarter, was Vitera Healthcare Solutions' announced acquisition of Greenway Medical Technologies for $632 million. Other notable deals included Zotec Partners' acquisition of billing company Medical Management Professionals, for $202 million, and Medtronic's acquisition of CardioCom, which develops clinical telehealth technology, for $200 million. Another big area of growth was the revenue cycle management subsector, which saw a 67 percent increase in volume on a quarter-to-quarter basis. "There are a lot of healthcare IT companies experiencing operating momentum as healthcare providers, payers and life science competitors increasingly rely on them to structure and analyze data as well as engage patients," said Jonathan Krieger, managing director at Berkery Noyes, in a news release. "The M&A markets are currently an attractive exit option as the buyer universe has never been bigger and the debt markets are contributing to high valuation multiples." "Attractive intellectual property-centric companies have been a primary focus for M&A activity," stated Jeff Smith, managing director at Berkery Noyes. "This includes solutions for drug discovery and development; clinical trials; regulatory compliance; CRM; population health; provider clinical, financial and operational data analytics; and new payment models."
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Finance Cigna Q3 Profit Up 19% October 31, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/payer-issues/cigna-q3-profit-up-19.html Third-quarter net income at health insurer Cigna increased by nearly 19 percent, from $466 million in 2012 to $553 million this year. Cigna reported total revenue of $8 billion in the third quarter, a 10 percent increase from about $7.3 billion in the third quarter of 2012. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, Cigna reported revenue of about $24.2 billion, a nearly 13 percent increase from about $21.5 billion in the first nine months of 2012. However, for the first nine months of this year, the insurer also reported net income of $1.1 billion, an 8 percent decrease from $1.2 billion last year. Profit from the group disability and life segment decreased by 13 percent, from $223 million in the first nine months of 2012 to $194 million this year. The decline in profits during the first nine months of 2013 is also partly due to Cigna's $781 million transaction with Berkshire Hathaway to exit its reinsurance business, which it had been running in run-off mode seeking no new business since 2000.
Q3 Profit at Universal Health Services Soars 60% October 30, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/racs-/-icd-9-/-icd-10/q3-profit-at-universal-healthservices-soars-60.html The third quarter for King of Prussia, Pa.-based Universal Health Services was healthy, as net income increased 60 percent from the third quarter of 2012 to $114.6 million. UHS' operating income similarly was strong at $224.9 million, or a 33 percent increase from last year. Third-quarter net revenue totaled $1.82 billion, up more than 8 percent from 2012. The positive third-quarter earnings came from several sources, UHS officials said in a news release. UHS' acute-care hospitals in Texas benefited from a boost in Medicaid disproportionate share hospital payments, and the for-profit operator also recorded millions from the government's electronic health record incentive program.
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UHS consequently raised its full-year earnings guidance, saying net income per diluted share is estimated to be $4.58 compared with its previous estimate of $4.52. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, profit at UHS climbed more than 25 percent to $386.2 million. Net revenue in the first nine months exceeded $5.48 billion, up 5.5 percent from the same period a year ago. EBITDA rose to $303.3 million and $986.7 million in the third quarter and first nine months, respectively. UHS mostly operates behavioral health facilities — 182 as of Sept. 30 — but it also owns and operates 23 acute-care hospitals. Its newest hospital, 140-bed Temecula (Calif.) Valley Hospital, officially opened earlier this month. In the third quarter of 2013, same-facility adjusted admissions at UHS acute-care hospitals increased 3.6 percent, while adjusted patient days rose 4.1 percent. The average operating margin at a UHS acute-hospital stood at a solid 12.8 percent.
Aetna Q3 Net Income Rises 4% October 29, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/payer-issues/aetna-q3-net-income-rises-4.html Third-quarter net income at health insurer Aetna increased nearly 4 percent, from $499.2 million in 2012 to $518.6 million this year. Aetna's revenue for the third quarter was approximately $13 billion, a 46 percent year-over-year increase driven partly by the insurer's acquisition of Coventry Health Care. The Coventry merger was valued at $5.7 billion when announced in August 2012. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, , Aetna reported net income of approximately $1.54 billion, a 5.2 percent increase from $1.47 billion in the first nine months of 2012. Revenue for the first nine months of 2013 totaled about $34.1 billion, a 28 percent increase from nearly $26.7 billion in the first nine months of 2012.
LifePoint Posts Big Q3, Profit Soars 71% October 25, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/racs-/-icd-9-/-icd-10/lifepoint-posts-big-q3-profit-soars71.html Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Hospitals recorded $32.8 million of profit in the third quarter of this year, a 71 percent jump from the third quarter of 2012 and the best quarter of the company's 2013 fiscal year.
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LifePoint's revenue and EBITDA in the third quarter both increased significantly as well. Revenue soared 9.7 percent to $899.7 million, and adjusted EBITDA increased 25.1 percent to $134.3 million. Outpatient volumes drove much of the positive movement for LifePoint in the third quarter, while the inpatient side remained soft. Same-hospital outpatient surgeries increased 3.5 percent, while inpatient surgeries dropped 5.2 percent. Admissions fell 4.3 percent. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, LifePoint's profit is still lagging due to poor first and second quarters. Net income totaled $92.6 million, down almost 20 percent from the first nine months of 2012. Revenue, however, increased 9.1 percent to $2.73 billion. Bill Carpenter, chairman and CEO of LifePoint, said the company was "pleased" with the thirdquarter results. He thinks LifePoint is poised to enter 2014 with a strong financial profile, and more hospital acquisitions are expected in the near future. "While the overall volume environment remains challenging, our strategic initiatives drove growth in outpatient volumes. Our M&A program remains active, with all pending acquisitions on track to close within the next six months," Mr. Carpenter said. "Our recently acquired hospitals are performing well, and we have a strong pipeline of potential opportunities. We have the processes and people in place to maximize enrollment on healthcare exchanges and in government programs, and we believe we are well positioned to benefit from the new healthcare environment."
WellPoint Q3 Net Income Down 5.1% 23-Oct-13 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/payer-issues/wellpoint-q3-net-income-down-5-1.html Third-quarter net income at health insurer WellPoint declined by 5.1 percent, from $691.2 million in the third quarter of 2012 to $656.2 million this year. WellPoint reported total revenues of about $18 billion in the third quarter of 2013, up 17 percent from $15.4 billion in the same quarter last year. However, total expenses also increased 19.3 percent from $14.3 billion in the third quarter of 2012 to $17 billion this year. For the nine months ended Sept. 30, WellPoint reported a net income of $2.3 billion, up 6.9 percent from about $2.2 billion in the first nine months of 2012. Total revenues increased by 15.8 percent, from about $46.2 billion in the first nine months of 2012 to $53.5 billion this year.
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Technology Michigan HIEs set to exchange data October 31, 2013 | Fierce Health IT http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/michigan-hies-set-exchange-data/2013-10-31 Michigan's two largest health information exchanges have agreed to begin exchanging patient data effective immediately. The agreement between Great Lakes Health Information Exchange and Michigan Health Connect, the largest of six HIEs in Michigan, will connect more than 3,000 physician offices and 96 hospitals, reports Crain's Detroit Business. "It means that most of the clinical information exchanged electronically throughout Michigan will be handled by this new, expanded network. Such coordination is vital to improving healthcare in this state and beyond," Doug Dietzman, executive director of Michigan Health Connect, said in an announcement. Up to now, hospitals in close proximity often have been on different HIEs. The University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor, for instance, is part of Great Lakes Health Information Exchange. St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor is a member of Michigan Health Connect. "Now both hospitals, serving the same community, can exchange clinical information with no technological barriers. Being part of this agreement is important because it's the logical next step to providing optimal patient care," said Carol Parker, Great Lakes' executive director. The state's nine original sub-state health information exchanges have shrunk to six, but the goal remains for them to eventually be interconnected with health insurance companies through the Michigan Health Information Network. The Michigan Health Information Network (MiHIN) earlier this month announced it will provide its services and solutions in an expansion of Southeast Michigan Beacon Community's HIE, BeaconLink2Health. The East Tennessee Health Information Network also is adopting the MiHIN technology to create its own provider directory. A study from the Office of the National Coordinator of Health IT found increasing use of electronic data exchange among physicians, but found room for improvement. "While most physicians possess the capability to meet certain HIE-related meaningful use requirements such as e-prescribing, physicians are less prepared to meet other upcoming stage 2 core HIE requirements such as clinical care summary exchange. It will be important to monitor these key measures of exchange capability," the study said.
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An online guide to 'self-health' trackers and apps October 28, 2013 | Fierce Mobile Healthcare http://www.fiercemobilehealthcare.com/story/online-guide-self-health-trackers-and-apps/201310-29 Partners HealthCare's Center for Connected Health in Boston has announced the launch of Wellocracy, aiming to guide consumers in their use of health apps. Wellocracy is described as a "clinically-based source of impartial, easy-to-understand information on new personal 'self-health' technologies such as health and fitness trackers and mobile apps." Based on experience from connected health programs at Harvard Medical School-affiliated teaching hospitals, including Boston's Brigham and Women's and Massachusetts General Hospitals, the goal of Wellocracy is to "empower consumers to self-manage their health, create and maintain individual wellness goals and achieve a greater quality of life." The initiative comes at a time when almost half of Americans (48 percent) report that it is hard to stay motivated to live a healthy life, and only 22 percent are very confident in their ability to keep track of their own health, according to a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of Wellocracy. The survey, conducted online between October 17 and 21, among a nationally representative sample of 2,014 U.S. adults, found that the majority of consumers (56 percent) have never used any type of health tracking device, app or website. "There are dozens of activity and health trackers on the market today, and literally thousands of health apps available for consumers. Yet, instead of getting people moving towards a healthy lifestyle, most feel paralyzed by all these choices and the technology can be dizzying," said Joseph Kvedar, M.D., founder and director of Partners HealthCare's Center for Connected Health, in a written statement. "Wellocracy is focused on inspiring and empowering individuals to self-manage their health and wellness by providing up-to-date information, expert guidance and innovative ideas to help people get the most out of personal health technologies." The Harris Interactive survey revealed that personal health information and the right motivation can help people achieve their health and wellness goals. Consumers are interested in more data about themselves as a way to improve their health, as evidenced by the fact that 86 percent of those surveyed believe that feeling informed about their own health is empowering. "Easy to use, accurate and effective health and wellness trackers are readily available, yet most consumers are not using them," said Kvedar, a member of the FierceHealthIT Advisory Board. "Wellocracy will fill that void and help individuals select the right health technology best suited to their preferences and goals, and figure out the personal motivation that will keep them on track to best manage their health."
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When it comes to consumers' obsessive use of mobile devices to run mHealth apps and get health information, this kind of technology "addiction" might not be a bad thing, argued Kvedar in an August blog post. In fact, he believes that the addictive properties of these devices can be harnessed to make health addictive in the future.
GAO: Incentive payments more than doubled from 2011 to 2012 October 25, 2013 | Fierce EMR http://www.fierceemr.com/story/gao-incentive-payments-more-doubled-2011-2012/2013-10-25 More than twice as many providers successfully attested to meaningful use of their EHRs in 2012 than in 2011, according to a new report issued this week by the Government Accountability Office. The 50-page performance audit of the Meaningful Use program, distributed to Congressional Committees, the Department of Health and Human Services and other interested parties, found that 48 percent of hospitals successfully attested to Meaningful Use, up from 16 percent in 2011, and received $6.9 billion in incentive payments, more than twice the $2.3 billion hospitals received in 2011. The incentive payments ranged from $4,827 to $4.7 million. Almost one third (31 percent) of eligible professionals received payments in 2012, up from 10 percent in 2011. However, there continues to be wide variation as to which providers were successful attesters. For example, hospitals and professionals in southern states were more likely to have earned the incentive payment than in the western states. And urban, acute care hospitals successfully attested in greater proportion than rural or critical access hospitals. "Identifying the number and characteristics of providers that participated during the first and second years of the Medicare EHR program can provide important information on whether certain types of providers were more likely than others to participate. This information could also provide an early indication of the types of providers that may be more likely to receive payment reductions in future years of the program," the report states. Almost $15.9 billion in Meaningful Use incentive payments have been awarded to providers since the program's inception. However, concerns have been raised that providers with fewer resources and tech savvy will fall even further behind once the industry moves to Stage 2 of the program.
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iPhone has new benefits for health IT October 20, 2013 | Healthcare IT News http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/iphone-has-new-benefits-health-it?single-page=true The nifty security feature may not be all it's cracked up to be, but the new phone's hardware and software offer new advances in note-sharing and wellness apps. The new iPhone 5s– and especially the new iOS 7 software that comes with it – has some new things to offer the healthcare industry. The one that's gotten the most attention is the 5s' home-button fingerprint sensor, which at first blush might appear to solve some of the more vexing privacy and security issues with regard to mobile device management – helping make sure (quite literally) that the wrong hands don't get access to sensitive patient information. It seemed that way at first, at least. Then, in short order, it came out that Apple's Touch ID technology was hacked. Sure, doing so "relies upon a combination of skills, existing academic research and the patience of a crime scene technician," Marc Rogers, principal security researcher at Lookout, wrote on his blog. Nonetheless, it is possible. Indeed, as one researcher at Berlin's Security Research Labs wrote, "the iPhone 5s's fingerprint sensor does not only appear to provide no additional protection, its use even undermines other security mechanisms" and enables identity theft. A much bigger benefit to health and healthcare might be the iPhone's M7 motion coprocessor, which gleans data from the device's various sensors, as Eric Wicklund pointed out this past September on the Healthcare IT News website. "Drawing data from the compass, GPS, gyroscope and accelerometer, the phone works with a new 64-bit A7 CPU to track a user's movements and activity, determining when a user is walking, running, stationary or driving, even when the phone's not in use," he writes. The processor will enable development of new health and wellness apps that "won't have to rely on sensors embedded in wristbands or other accessories." iOS 7 has also offered new capabilities in the clinical realm. We've written before about the iPad based electronic health record developed by Mountain View, Calif.-based drchrono. Back in 2011, it became one of the first iPad EHRs to be certified as a complete EHR by an Office of the National Coordinator Authorized Testing and Certification Body for Stage 1 meaningful use.
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The company is still working on its Stage 2 certification, says drchrono CEO Michael Nusimow, but one of its new innovations goes a long way toward furthering that stage's emphasis on patient engagement. Just as iOS 7 was released to the public, drcrhono released its updated application, billed as the first mobile EHR to support the new operating system. One of the new features of iOS 7 is AirDrop, which allows the easy sharing of photos and other files between two devices on the same Wi-Fi network. drchrono's free EHR app allows physicians to share iPad-to-iPad (or iPhone, or iPod Touch) info with patients and with their colleagues. "If they have an iOS device, you can AirDrop it right to the patient," says Nusimow. "The doctor can use it to share a chart, as opposed to the old way of actually printing something out. Instead of giving a poorly-photocopied hand-out, the physician can AirDrop you this beautiful colored PDF and video you can watch on your iPhone. That just increases the likelihood that the patient will care about their health and follow up." Offering an intuitive and, yes, eye-pleasing, way to share medical records, images or text documents with patients and fellow physicians alike is another step towards more integrated care, according to drchrono, and can lead to some exiting visions of the future. "The new AirDrop functionality will change the game of healthcare forever, now that doctors can share data with patients faster than ever before," said Daniel Kivatinos, the company's cofounder and COO, in a press statement. "We see a future of physicians in operating rooms all with iPads; imagine the head of the surgery expressing concerns or giving advice to the surgeons via the AirDrop. We are looking to create a future where collaboration between physicians should be as simple as pressing a button." Exciting, sure, but also potentially concerning. Doesn't the ease with which two devices can share patient data pose a big HIPAA risk? Even if the fingerprint authentication of the iPhone 5s is working? Not according to drchrono officials, who point to AirDrop features that ensure only appropriate parties are able to view shared information, noting that iOS 7 users must put their devices into a detectable mode, and can limit who they share with. "AirDrop is secure," says Nusimow. "It's over a local WiFi network and it's encrypted end-to-end. It's perfectly secure, sharing one device to the other." One potential risk – "and we're trying to work with doctors on this," he says – might stem from user error, however. "If it were a very crowded environment and there were a hundred device on the network, it might be confusing who you're AirDropping to," he says. But most encounters with patients and colleagues take place in an exam room, between two people.
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"If you're in the same room is should be easy to confirm" who's sharing what with whom, he says. "There are UI guidelines that we're working on" for the drchrono app, "and it's our job to make sure it's less confusing. But the actual technology standard is perfectly secure. It's encrypted in transit from device A to device B." So far, since gaining Stage 1 meaningful use certification, drchrono has set more than 50,000 free user accounts and has paying customers in every state and internationally. About a third of its users are in family practice, "and the other two thirds are a really long tail of specialties," says Nusimow. The see the iPad EHR as combining "the best of both worlds," he says – "the latest and greatest consumer-friendly features of iOS, with the strong government certification that doctors see as a sign of quality," he says. "They know it's not just a toy." iOS 7 represents "a really big paradigm shift," says Nusimow. "It's a much bigger improvement over the previous iteration." And drchrono prides itself in being the first EHR company to embrace it. "I think there's going to be a real distinction between companies that are really mobile focused, like us, and companies that aren't." At least one customer agrees. "With iOS7's AirDrop, the world of healthcare has just changed," James Andrew Rieger, MD, a drchrono user, said in a press statement. "For the first time I can share medical data in real time with a patient at the point of care."
VA mHealth pilot runs into scheduling conflicts October 17, 2013 | Fierce Mobile Healthcare http://www.fiercemobilehealthcare.com/story/va-mhealth-pilot-runs-app-schedulingchallenges/2013-10-17 A U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mHealth pilot has run into problems with its ability to efficiently schedule appointments. The VA Mobile Health Veteran Appointment Request Pilot is an attempt to provide more than 600 Veterans with the ability to request primary care and mental health care appointments. However, the Appointment Request App does not work with scheduling software across VA medical centers and does not operate within the VA's varying business processes, officials said. Neil Evans, M.D. (pictured right), Co-Director of the Veterans Health Administration's Connected Health Office, told FierceMobileHealthcare that the vision long term is to "get to the point where we display schedules and allow Veterans to book [appointments] directly," instead of the pilot's current practice of having the VA's scheduling clerks schedule appointments. Evans said the VA is working on this "significant technical challenge," particularly for a "healthcare system with more than 1,400 sites of care and 250,000 plus employees."
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"We developed an application that lets patients tell us their preferences for when they want an appointment," he said. "If the VA can meet those times, the appointment is made [for them] and the Veteran receives a notification that the transaction is finished." As part of the pilot, the VA requires its scheduling clerks to review every request and every response sent to them by Veterans via the app. "Appointment clerks work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET weekdays and will respond to requests as quickly as possible," states the VA's website. "During the pilot phase, requests submitted after 5 p.m. will not be answered until the next business day." Earlier this year, the pilot was launched at the Washington, D.C. VA Medical Center and VA Palo Alto Health Care System in California.
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Strategy Alameda Health System Officially Acquires San Leandro Hospital October 31, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-transactions-and-valuation/alameda-healthsystem-officially-acquires-san-leandro-hospital.html Oakland, Calif.-based Alameda Health System has officially assumed ownership of San Leandro (Calif.) Hospital from Sutter Health in Sacramento, Calif. Alameda will continue operating the current hospital services and intends to create a new acute rehabilitation center for patients with multiple traumas, brain injuries and strokes, according to a news release. Additionally, Alameda Chief Administrative Officer James Jackson has taken over dayto-day management of San Leandro Hospital in addition to his current role at Fairmont Hospital, which is also located in San Leandro. Alameda signed a letter of intent with Sutter Health to acquire the hospital in May, and the two organizations signed a definitive agreement in July. Sutter also created a $22 million fund to keep the hospital running through the transition period. Alameda has assumed control of the fund.
Aetna selects Swiss Life to offer international health care benefits and services October 31, 2013 | News Medical http://www.news-medical.net/news/20131031/Aetna-selects-Swiss-Life-to-offer-internationalhealth-care-benefits-and-services.aspx Aetna (NYSE: AET), a leading global diversified health care solutions company, has been selected by Zurich-based Swiss Life, a leading life and pension insurer, to offer international health care benefits and services for expatriates out of Singapore to its roster of multinational customers, effective immediately. Aetna's expatriate health care plans replace Swiss Life Singapore's in-house expatriate health care benefit plans. The deal builds on the relationship announced in July that named Aetna as the United States partner for the Swiss Life Network, a global association of 60 insurance companies and business partners operating in 70 countries. Swiss Life offers comprehensive international and local employee benefit packages to multinational companies through the Swiss Life Network.
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"We are pleased to expand our role in the Swiss Life Network to provide its customers in Singapore with high-quality expatriate employee benefits solutions and services tailored to meet their specific needs," said Derek Goldberg, Aetna International's general manager, Southeast Asia. "With our onthe-ground presence in Singapore and our strong global reach, we can provide the personalised, comprehensive service that multinational companies require to ensure their mobile employees have access to quality medical treatment so they can maintain good health." Aetna has been licensed to sell health insurance in Singapore since June, 2012. Aetna offers a variety of individual and group plans in the Singapore market, including its flagship International Health Care Plan for customers who need coverage across the globe and Aetna Healthy Aessentials for customers who need coverage across the Southeast Asia region. Margrit Schmid, CEO of Swiss Life Network, said, "We are pleased to work with Aetna to offer our customers high-quality expat employee benefits in Singapore in addition to the U.S. As a leader in health care solutions in America and for the expatriate market, Aetna is known for its strength in care management, wellness and technology and its commitment to empowering people to live healthier lives. Our expanded relationship will allow us to enhance our ability to provide multinational companies with the very best in employee benefit packages." In December 2012, the Forum for Expatriate Management honored Aetna with an Asia-Pacific EMMA award for the most innovative use of technology in global mobility.
Duke LifePoint, WestCare to Form Partnership October 30, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/hospital-transactions-and-valuation/duke-lifepointwestcare-to-form-partnership.html WestCare Health System, based in Sylva, N.C., has decided to partner with Duke LifePoint Healthcare, a joint venture of Durham, N.C.-based Duke University Health System and Brentwood, Tenn.-based LifePoint Hosptials. WestCare and Duke LifePoint will enter into a nonbinding memorandum of understanding to signify their intent to execute a partnership, according to a news release. After due diligence is completed, Duke LifePoint will purchase WestCare members Harris Regional Hospital in Sylva, N.C., and Swain County Hospital in Bryson City, N.C. Financial details and the deal's estimated date of completion were not disclosed. It appears the acquisition will end WestCare's ties with Haywood Regional Medical Center in Clyde, N.C., according to a report from The Mountaineer. WestCare and Haywood teamed up several years ago to become MedWest Health System, which Charlotte, N.C.-based Carolinas HealthCare System has operated as a unit. However, there was no merger of assets, and the funds generated and spent by WestCare and Haywood remained separate, according to the report.
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athenahealth adds safety reporting October 29, 2013 | Healthcare IT News http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/athenahealth-adds-safety-reporting athenahealth is now adding patient safety reporting to its EHR workflow. The cloud-based health technology company teamed up with Milpitas, Calif.-based patient safety organization Quantros to make it happen. As a result, thousands of clinical providers and provider organizations across the country will gain free access to what athenahealth executives describe as "a safe, privileged environment in which they can easily submit patient safety concerns and findings as well as share best practices to enhance safety and improve care." athenahealth will implement Quantros' safety reporting solution throughout athenahealth’s national network of ambulatory clinics, serving approximately 47,000 healthcare providers. As part of this partnership, athenahealth's EHR clients will be able to submit patient safety data as part of the EHR workflow to a federally sanctioned patient safety organization, the Quantros Patient Safety Center. "At athenahealth, we are teachers and learners," athenahealth CEO Jonathan Bush said in a news release. "We fundamentally believe that highly productive work and ongoing improvement comes from a culture of safety and from within an environment where continuous collaboration and advancement can happen." "Partnering with Quantros," Bush added, "strengthens our delivery of cutting-edge technology and services and differentiates the environment in which our clients can iterate, collaborate and improve. Safety and innovation in healthcare go hand and hand; this is a natural and exceptional partnership." Bush noted that the partnership comes before the implementation of federal mandates related to safety reporting, and is aimed at protecting and advancing patient care and the medical practice workflow. The initiative lines up with calls on patient safety from the Office of the National Coordinator, he added, and it also delivers upon the third pillar of athenahealth's Code of Conduct, published earlier this year, in which the company committed to proactively work with clients to identify, report on, and resolve all patient-safety related events via a PSO. "At a time when our healthcare market is moving towards greater transparency and greater accountability, this partnership will set a higher standard for safety and collaboration," Keith Hagen, president and CEO at Quantros, said in a statement. "Credible data is critical to driving improvement. Pair that data with athenahealth's stellar patient care coordination, and we are set to enhance health care performance on a national scale."
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Boice-Willis Clinic, Cigna Launch Accountable Care Initiative October 17, 2013 | Becker's Hospital Review http://www.beckershospitalreview.com/accountable-care-organizations/boice-willis-clinic-cignalaunch-accountable-care-initiative.html Health insurer Cigna and the Boice-Willis Clinic, a multispecialty physician-owned practice in Rocky Mount, N.C., have launched a collaborative accountable care initiative, Cigna's version of an accountable care organization. The program will include any individual covered by a Cigna health plan who receives care from one of Boice-Willis Clinic's 30 primary care physicians, 27 specialists or 5 health educators. As part of the CAC initiative, registered nurses will serve as care coordinators, helping patients schedule appointments and providing health education. Cigna will provide patient-specific data to Boice-Willis Clinic to enhance care coordination. Providers in the program can be rewarded in a pay-for-value reimbursement model if they meet certain quality and cost targets. This CAC initiative, along with others Cigna launched Oct. 1, bring the payer's total number of CAC initiatives to 75.
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