|
State of the Industry
| Government Moves Will Help Medical Homes and Accountable Care Organizations Succeed
By David K. Nace, MD |
 |
|
Robust primary care is essential to a high-quality, cost-efficient healthcare system. But in recent years primary care has been declining in the United States because of how we pay providers. Our fee-for-service, volume-based environment has encouraged too many providers to become specialists, while fewer younger providers are going into primary care. Meanwhile, providers have little incentive to coordinate care or provide services outside of office visits because none of that is reimbursed. Read more |
Strategies for Success
| Urban Health Plan Becomes Patient Centered Medical Home
|
| A recipient of the 2009 HIMSS Davies Community Health Award, Urban Health Plan (UHP) is a network of federally qualified community health centers based in the South Bronx and Queens. Its mission is to improve the health status of underserved communities. In 2008, UHP served 31,000 patients through 171,000 patient visits. It has served the Hunts Point, Mott Haven and other surrounding communities of the Bronx since 1974. As a federally qualified health center, UHP plays a vital role in providing health services to medically underserved populations who often have difficulty accessing quality healthcare. Now, UHP has earned recognition as a patient-centered medical home by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. In the video below, UHP's Daniel Figueras, chief technology officer, and Alison Connelly-Flores, clinical systems administrator, provide the components necessary to become a patient-centered medical home(PCMH). Read more |
Meet a Nurse Practitioner
A Preventive and Holistic Approach to Care Delivery
|
 |
|
As we discuss patient-centered medical homes and the role of clinicians in this new environment, we asked a new member of the HIMSS team Juliet A. Santos, MSN, CCRN, FNP-BC, to share her comments on the discussion. Santos is senior director of business-centered systems at HIMSS. Santos holds 25 years experience in healthcare delivery, business management, operations and healthcare consulting. Read more |
Resource in Practice
Accountable Care Organizations: What's the latest?
By Kenneth Bertka, MD, CPHIMS, and Mike Hibbard, RN, MHSA |
 |
 |
On Oct. 5, CMS, FTC and Office of Inspector General co-hosted an "Accountable Care Organization (ACO) Workshop and Listening Session." Following are some takeaways from that session. Read more |
Special Feature
Clinical Informatics Insights Celebrates One Year
By Christel Anderson
|
 |
|
Kudos! Congrats! And most of all thank you! Thank you to the tireless work of our Editor, Cari McLean, and our editorial work group members who develop the theme and content for Clinical Informatics Insights each month. Read more |
HIMSS News
HIMSS to Provide Comment on National Health Care Quality Strategy and Plan
The Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is seeking public input in the development of a National Health Care Quality Strategy and Plan by Oct. 12. HHS has requested specific comments to questions. Read more
Sensmeier Testifies to Subcommittee on Technology & Innovation
With the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in 2009, Congress created programs and incentives to help speed the adoption of health IT, including measures to ensure the establishment of technical standards. The purpose of the congressional hearing held on Sept. 30 in Washington, DC, was to examine the progress by the Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and non-governmental health IT stakeholders in establishing standards for health IT, providing guidance for their implementation, and creating a mechanism to certify that health IT products comply with the established standards. HIMSS Vice President of Informatics Joyce Sensmeier, MS, RN-BC, CPHIMS, FHIMSS, shared the HIMSS perspective on the progress of federal efforts in the standards arena to support the first stage of meaningful use. Watch Sensmeier's testimony.
HIMSS State HIT Dashboard Released
The HIMSS State HIT Dashboard is a public resource that gives healthcare professionals, policy makers and industry leaders a snapshot of major health IT initiatives. It provides a color-coded, easy-to-read visual interface that tracks many of today's key health IT initiatives including regional extension centers, state resources, health information exchanges, as well as HIMSS Chapters and Davies Award recipients. Additionally, users can track key pending health IT legislation and executive orders via the dashboard. HIMSS is currently reaching out to HIEs and HIOs for participation in the dashboard. Please contact Pam Matthews, senior director, regional affairs, with information on an HIE, HIO or other initiatives that should be represented on the dashboard.
Check Out the HIMSS Quality 101 Website
The HIMSS Quality 101 website is a portal into the world of quality measurement and improvement. HIMSS Quality 101 serves as an information aggregator—bringing all resources together. Continuously updated, each section of the website offers background information, current data, metrics, contact information and/or resources covering the basics, key industry players, meaningful use, public reporting, cost relationship, clinical decision support and more.
HIMSS Virtual Conference Education Lineup Announced
The agenda for the next HIMSS Virtual Conference & Expo on Nov. 3-4 features two educational tracks, 22 education sessions, and new day and evening hours so more healthcare professionals can get strategies for achieving meaningful use and health information exchange connectivity in different care settings—including community hospitals and clinical practices. HIMSS added the evening hours to the meet the needs of those who are not available to attend the event's live educational programming during the workday. Evening education hours will run from 6 pm to 8 pm on Wednesday, Nov. 3. Additionally, the educational program is accredited so attendees can earn continuing education credits toward annual licensure, certification, and advancement for physicians, nurses, CPHIMS and HIMSS members. Registration is complimentary to qualified registrants: Non-qualified individuals may attend for a nominal fee ($99 HIMSS Members/$119 non-members). |
