HIMSS, AMA Call For Fewer Quality Measures, More Flexibility

Steven Stack, MD, AMA Board Chair-elect

HIMSS’ Electronic Health Record Association and the American Medical Association (AMA) were among the many organizations to submit comments on the proposed rules for Stage 2 of Meaningful Use, with the HIMSS EHR Association calling for fewer clinical quality measures and more time for EHR upgrades, and AMA looking for greater flexibility on timelines. In [...]

Share

What If Vendor Booths At HIMSS Told The Whole Story?

Adam Gale, President, KLAS

I enjoyed wandering the halls at HIMSS this year. Much like Las Vegas, the booths are majestic, the signage is overwhelming, and it feels like a fantasy world. On the last day, I had a strange thought: “What if every booth only messaged the true, unembellished reality of the company? What would the new taglines [...]

Share

Healthcare Is Local, But The Problems Are The Same

Scott MacLean, Deputy CIO and Director of IS Operations, Partners HealthCare

I woke up at 3:30 this morning because I slept half the day yesterday after arriving on a red-eye from HIMSS12 in Las Vegas. We were thrilled that the Annual Conference had record-breaking numbers of attendees and exhibitors. It was a fabulous week of learning and catching up with friends, and I was ready to [...]

Share

Knowing What You Want to Get Out of a Meeting

Kate Huvane Gamble, Managing Editor, hsCIO.com

I’ll never forget it. It was one of my first meetings at my first HIMSS conference, and it was with not one, but five people at a well-known company. As if that wasn’t intimidating enough, the discussion started with one of them asking me, “What would you like to talk about?” I remember thinking, “You [...]

Share

Industry Orgs Recommend MU Program Fixes

Tom Leary, Senior Director for Federal Affairs, HIMSS

Seven industry organizations have collectively taken Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius up on her request to learn “the top five solutions HHS can implement to ensure greater success in meeting Meaningful Use Stage 1 for Eligible Professionals and Eligible Hospitals,” by sending a letter outlining their proposals to the secretary. In [...]

Share

PODCAST: One-on-One w/Trinitas Regional Medical Center VP of IT & CIO Judy Comitto, Chapter 4

Many hospitals started their path toward electronic medical records when HITECH and Meaningful Use became law in February 2009, but Trinitas Regional Medical Center isn’t one of them. Under the leadership of Judy Comitto since it was formed through M&A in 2000, the health system has been continually at work building out its IT environment [...]

Share

PODCAST: One-on-One w/Concord Hospital CIO Deane Morrison, Chapter 3

With the government piling on its Meaningful Use regulations, healthcare CIOs are under a lot of pressure to bring home the incentive bacon. For some, relaxation takes on traditional forms such as vacationing, biking or running. But Deane Morrison is no regular CIO. When he wants to decompress, it’s time to scale a mountain, perhaps [...]

Share

PODCAST: One-on-One w/Overlake Hospital Medical Center VP of IS & CIO Jody Albright, Chapter 3

When Jody Albright took the IT reins at Overlake Hospital in December 2008, she had no idea industry-changing legislation was only a month away. And while HITECH has certainly accelerated some of her plans, Albright never expected the job to be a walk in the park. That’s because Overlake was in need of some heavy-duty [...]

Share

PODCAST: One-on-One w/N. Wellesley CIO Scott MacLean

Working as CIO in one of the most renowned health systems in the country gives Newton-Wellesley Hospital’s Scott Maclean — also a Corporate Director in the overarching Partners HealthCare superstructure — a unique perspective from which to evaluate the HITECH landscape. And though some might think organizations like Partners are ready to meet Stage 1 [...]

Share