HIMSS16 Post-show roundup

Respondents found that the technologies implemented within hospital settings positively impacted capabilities to communicate with patients along with the ability to deliver a higher standard of care. In addition, 69 percent of respondents whose hospitals are utilizing mobile-optimized patient portals indicated that the attention to a mobile environment expands the capability to send and receive data securely. Given these positive impacts, it’s understandable why healthcare organizations are looking to increase their investment in these tools for the future.

The survey was conducted in partnership with the Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHA). Insights are reflective of 227 IT, informatics, and clinical professionals in U.S. hospitals and health systems with regard to their organization’s current and future use of connected health technologies. Currently, 52 percent of hospitals indicated the use of three or more of these technologies, including:

• 58 percent mobile-optimized patient portals
• 48 percent apps for patient education/engagement
• 37 percent remote patient monitoring
• 34 percent telehealth – audio-visual fee for service
• 33 percent SMS texting
• 32 percent patient-generated health data
• 26 percent telehealth – concierge service

Nearly half (47 percent) of respondents indicated their hospitals are looking to expand the array of connected health technologies they use. Another 5 percent of respondents expect their hospitals to become first-time users of at least one of the connected health technologies outlined in this report. The commonly cited technologies they plan on adding involve telehealth (concierge service) and patient-generated health data solutions.

Download the complete 2016 HIMSS Connected Health Survey at www.himss.org/2016-connected-health-survey.

Policies and Procedures

AHIMA: Information governance is key to HIT

Information governance (IG) is a business and strategic imperative for healthcare and essential to successful health information technology (HIT) initiatives such as electronic medical record (EMR) implementation, data analytics, privacy and security, and data sharing, according to an American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) presentation at the HIMSS16 Conference and Exhibition.

In their presentation, “Taking a Pulse on Information Governance in Healthcare,” AHIMA’s Deborah Green, RHIA, MBA, Executive Vice President, Chief Innovation and Global Services Officer, and Kathy Downing, Senior Director IG Advisors, said IG is central to the successful implementation of reliable electronic data and information as well as improved usability. Based on analysis of 500 organizations that participated in AHIMA’s IGPulseRate Web-based tool to assess IG maturity, the presenters shared insights on how IG can assure successful implementation of organizational initiatives such as EMR implementation.

“Information, rather than technology infrastructure, must be at the center of EMR implementation,” Green said. “Planning and implementation of EMRs under an information governance framework assures that the focus is the information and includes input from clinicians and clinical workflows, ensuring the user’s needs are met. We cannot lose sight of the fact that the information is the reason organizations invest in infrastructure and systems improvements.”

A commitment to IG must be organization-wide and requires the adoption of principles to guide decisions about how information is governed, said the presenters. Organizations should assess their competency levels and establish goals for competency levels needed given their strategy, mission, role, and resources.

In addition to IGPulseRate, AHIMA has developed two other offerings in a suite of IG products and services. IGHealthRate is its newest product to help organizations assess and score their maturity in adopting IG, and IGAdvisors offers expert consultation with a variety of IG services including implementation services and gap assessment. AHIMA also offers a toolkit sharing best practices and resources for starting and implementing IG within an organization.

HIMSS16 Product Picks

ACO performance monitoring and operational management

Designed and built in consultation with Scottsdale Health Partners, a physician-led clinical integration network and accountable care organization in Arizona, the MSSP Management application helps ACOs gain the maximum savings available from the CMS MSSP program. This solution seamlessly integrates data into the reporting and monitoring workflows of all user types while preserving central oversight of quality measure thresholds and scoring. Key features include real-time MSSP dashboards to track and improve clinical quality measures, a common interface for data capture and data sharing, customizable worklists, drag-and-drop file management, and advanced data integration. Orion Health

Eliminate tedious manual image transfer

Ricoh Electronic Data Exchange (Ricoh EDE) is a subscription-based service that helps improve the overall patient experience by transferring protected data, including clinical photography and images, to an intended destination. This workflow solution enables healthcare facilities to capture, store, and manage protected information, whether structured or unstructured, within an EHR or enterprise content management (ECM) system. Ricoh EDE helps providers eliminate tedious manual image transfers, image identification, and human error – ultimately boosting overall accuracy, efficiency, and productivity. At HIMSS, this solution was demonstrated leveraging Ricoh’s healthcare camera. Ricoh

On-demand marketplace for healthcare talent

With the need for qualified healthcare human resources spiraling upward, MyConsultQ allows healthcare employers to benefit from the skills of freelance consultants without compromising on financial and management efficiency, or on quality of service. Healthcare organizations of all types and sizes – from delivery systems to payers to vendors and many other support services – can rely on the on-demand online MyConsultQ marketplace to fill both temporary and permanent positions with the best executives, information technology professionals, project managers, and physicians. Instead of wading through traditional recruiting and hiring processes, which are notoriously time and labor intensive, healthcare employers can access resources that provide the same level of expertise as the top consulting firms at a fraction of the cost through MyConsultQ. Best of all, organizational leaders can rest easy, knowing that these resources are thoroughly vetted, having gone through a five-point screening process. MyConsultQ

Caradigm Intelligence Platform delivers actionable interoperability

Open Exchange is a set of interoperability capabilities available to healthcare providers that use the Caradigm Intelligence Platform (CIP). Open Exchange encompasses a range of interoperability solutions and standards (such as IHE.NET standards, DIRECT, and a REST architecture) to support provider population health initiatives. The big standout feature of this interface engine is that it is able to both ingest and codify data, and then deliver this information to anyone anywhere within the healthcare community. In making Open Exchange available to its CIP customers, Caradigm also announced that it has received certification from ConCert by HIMSS, a testing and certification program that assures secure and reliable transfer of data among EHRs, HIEs, and HIS services providers within and across organizational and state boundaries. Caradigm Open Exchange provides the ability to efficiently exchange information across the healthcare community by leveraging the Authentication, Authorization, Patient Consent, Auditing and Reporting, and Role-Based Access Control features of CIP. Caradigm

Make patient check-in a snap

Touchscreen terminal provider Posiflex is helping to bridge the gap between healthcare hardware and software through a partnership with Clearwave. Clearwave is the provider of a state-of-the-art patient self-check-in system, a cloud-based self-service technology that runs on the Posiflex XT-series of touchscreen terminals. The Clearwave self-serve medical check-in system improves workflow, streamlines the check-in process, and increases patient engagement. Additional benefits include improved patient satisfaction and overall experience. Clearwave

Enhance medication ordering in CPOE

FDB OrderSpace is a Web-based software tool that enables hospital informatics teams to customize the medication ordering content in CPOE systems to optimally reflect the characteristics of the institution’s patient population and preferred practices. The solution also tracks medication orders over time, so that customizations are recorded in an auditable change history record that all designated users at a hospital can view. Users can also review FDB updates to medication ordering content and compare these to their local customizations, ensuring all new clinical evidence is taken into account. Once customizations are made and published, they are stored in a custom file and incorporated into the HIS in a seamless fashion during a regular update process. The McKesson Paragon electronic health record is the first to deploy FDB OrderSpace, with the goal of making ordering medications easier and more satisfying for clinicians. FDB (First Databank)

As part of a five-month pilot, 60 residents at Ohio Masonic Home’s Springfield campus tested a new technology solution combining software from Reemo and smart connected devices. By combining the Samsung Gear S2 smartwatch and Samsung’s SmartThings connected home technology, Reemo’s software enables the older adults at the assisted living facility to perform everyday household tasks with a flick of the wrist. Using simple hand gestures, they can operate lights, locks, thermostats, and other appliances with SmartThings plugins. Meanwhile, the solution enables Ohio Masonic to remotely monitor residents’ health and well being. Staff can view biometric and behavioral data in real time from an online dashboard, while Reemo also tracks data and alerts the organization to potential problems and troubling trends. Reemo, Samsung