MDNews - Central New York

and is working to connect 15 community hospitals by July 2011. By the end of 2011, a total of 19 hospitals from the 11-county area will be connected for data exchange, along with approximately 300 physicians from regional practices. Beginning in 2012, HealtheConnections will expand to include other medical practices and diagnostic centers, with the goal of connecting the entire continuum of care, such as nursing homes, home health care and others, in time. Patients must provide consent to each of their participating health care pro- vider organizations for their medical information to be viewed by authorized physicians. In New York state, providers can share information; however, access is governed through patient consent. If a patient has not yet signed a consent form but is involved in a life-threatening emergency situation, physicians are able to access HealtheConnections on an emergency basis unless the patient has specifi cally declined consent. To opt out of HealtheConnections, patients need to specifi cally decline access to each of their health care providers. Enhancing Patient Care Exchanging clinical information in real- time is paramount to improving the quality of health care. Better coordination of care among physicians leads to multiple patient benefi ts, including fewer duplicate tests and procedures, faster second opinions, and a reduced risk of errors. Physicians benefi t from having all patient information — including past procedures, medications, allergies, tests and lab results — at their fi ngertips electronically. “Utilizing HealtheConnections improves care and convenience for both patients and physicians alike,” says Rob Hack, Executive Director of HealtheConnections. “Through collaborative care and regional clinical information sharing, we expect effi ciencies that will benefi t the patients and providers and contribute to cost savings over time.” Hospitals contribute registration infor- mation and lab, radiology and transcribed reports. Through a secured Web portal, clinicians will have access to integrated EHR Adoption Services and Achieving Meaningful Use In addition to connecting area health medical information on a patient, includ- ing diagnostic quality images. With EHR integration, health care providers have the ability to exchange data bi-directionally with the HIE, with the following capabilities: + Provider on record: As reports are delivered to the HIE from its data sources and a provider is noted on the report as the patient’s primary care, attending, referring or consulting physician, reports will be routed elec- tronically to the provider’s EHR. + Medication reconciliation: Through integration with Surescripts, access to a patient’s medication history is available through the HIE. Medication warnings and alerts occur during the prescription process, including drug-to-drug and drug-allergy fl ags and warnings. + e-Referral: Primary care physicians (PCPs) can route referral information to a specialist, and the specialist can route the encounter summary report back to the PCP through the HIE. + Computerized physician order entry: Physicians will have the ability to place orders for items, such as lab and radiol- ogy, and the order will be electronically routed to the health care provider. Once the order is completed, results will be routed back through the HIE to the ordering physician. care providers and enhancing patient care, HealtheConnections offers services to assist physicians with the process of implementing electronic health records (EHRs). Adoption of EHR technology and connecting to the HIE is a primary goal of HealtheConnections. Adoption has been accelerated by government mandates that require health care facilities to achieve “meaningful use” through EHRs. As defi ned in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, meaningful use requires health care providers to use the technology for electronic exchange of information and to meet required objec- tives. These objectives include a set of 20 measures, along with the use of a system that is certifi ed by a Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)-designated entity, to obtain funding. HealtheConnections assists practices in attaining their incentive payments regardless of where they are on the path of reaching meaningful use. Offering advisory and consulting services to physi- cians, HealtheConnections routinely assists physicians with topics, such as understanding and meeting meaningful use, Medicare and Medicaid incentives, EHR certifi cation and implementation, and connecting to the HIE. Using an EHR is essential for physicians to attain the full benefi t of the HIE. In time, the HIE will be the primary way information will be communicated and used, aggregating all patient information from multiple sources to the point of care. To assist physicians as they transition to EHRs, Medicare is providing incentive and penalty programs that involve over the next few years. The incentives are time- sensitive, and physicians who do not use an EHR in a “meaningful way” will begin losing Medicare incentive money starting in 2013. For physicians to receive the full benefi t of meaningful use incentives, EHRs must be put into effect by 2012. Medicare and Medicaid offer two incen- tive programs. The Medicare program will pay $44,000 per physician over a fi ve-year period. It also begins penalties in 2016 MDNEWS.COM  MD NEWS Central New York | 9

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