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It would put $6.5 billion toward the creation of an agency tasked with federal research and development geared toward healthcare innovation, and includes a $25 million raise for ONC.

Electronic medical records (EMRs) can play an important role in the reduction of medication errors, but they should not be considered the be-all, end-all solution. Healthcare organizations, in fact, are discovering that simply implementing single-platform EMR systems is not enough to truly protect patients from the medication errors that cost the U.S. healthcare system close to $20 billion annually.1 In fact, 25% of the 250 healthcare professionals who recently participated in a HIMSS Media survey agreed that expecting the EMR to address the medication management process can be a significant barrier to medication management success, while another 52% said this expectation could act as a moderate barrier.2 To have a greater impact on patient safety, hospitals and health systems should consider supporting connected medication management initiatives that integrate information from a variety of systems and devices to provide more comprehensive information to clinicians. To accomplish this, healthcare leaders need to ensure that EMRs are utilized as part of a connected medication management system that links a variety of systems and devices including computerized physician order entry (CPOE), pharmacy, barcode medication administration (BCMA), automated medication dispensing, inventory management, and electronic medication-administration applications. Such connectivity can provide clinicians with a comprehensive view of the patient’s medication profile and can help close some of the gaps that exist when various technologies are used in isolation. As a result, “clinicians have vital information and safety checks available to them and are much more comfortable administering medications, as they are less likely to commit an error,” said Philip Bradley, who currently serves as regional director of the Americas, HIMSS Analytics, and  formerly worked in IT leadership positions at healthcare provider organizations. The value associated with having access to integrated information comes to light when considering the risk commonly associated with intravenous (IV) infusion pumps, which rapidly introduce drugs into a patient’s bloodstream. An estimated 56% of medication errors are IV-related, and 61% of these errors are life-threatening.3 Manually programming order parameters into the infusion pump can open up the possibility for programming errors. By connecting the infusion pump with the EMR, you can enable bidirectional data flow, sending the order parameters directly to the pump to increase medication safety, while also ensuring timely and accurate documentation. This integration is crucial to a connected medication management system. “It isn’t economical to have a nurse standing there collecting data every 10 minutes on five reference values,” Bradley concluded. “However, integrated devices can do that and then provide the data that helps physicians and other caregivers make more informed decisions. That’s extremely important when working with high-risk medications.” To fully optimize the EMR as a patient safety tool, healthcare leaders need to strive to connect these solutions with other technologies as part of a connected medication management system. This connectivity is designed to improve the efficiency and safety of medication management processes while also generating robust analytics and alerts to help drive decisions about medication management and patient care. References Andel, C. et. al. The economics of health care quality and medical errors. Journal of Health Care Finance, 2012 Fall; 39(1):39-50. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23155743 HIMSS Media. Transforming medication management: Insights on connected medication management. December 2019.  Prusch, A., Suess, T., Paoletti, R., Olin, S. et al. Integrating technology to improve medication administration. Am J Health-Syst Pharm, May 2011, 68(9):835–842   The need for connectivity which improves the efficiency and safety of medication management processes while also generating robust analytics extends across various health care settings, including the pharmacy. On June 16, attend a two-part virtual event hosted by BD where Visante C-suite will reveal how pharmacy programs can help to achieve organizational goals, and an experienced pharmacy panel will discuss how quality pharmacy analytics correlate to high performing pharmacy programs. Learn more and register now.

The company points to telehealth and virtual care as areas of vulnerability, and sees ransomware attacks as an ongoing threat.

The project uses a platform powered by Avaya Spaces to directly connect patients to doctors.

The Vaccine Collaboration Hub will help track Okinawa City’s vaccination progress in real-time, managing a variety of COVID-19 vaccination processes from end to end.

A Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General audit found that the Veterans Health Administration underestimated the cost of its electronic health records modernization project to the tune of billions of dollars. The report, released earlier this week, noted that the preparation for the deployment of the Cerner EHR at VA facilities required significant physical infrastructure upgrades, such as electrical work, cabling, heating, ventilation and cooling.   Although VHA developed two cost estimates for those necessary upgrades, the OIG team found that these estimates were not reliable.    "To be reliable, the estimates should be comprehensive, well documented, accurate and credible," wrote the OIG team in its report.    "Neither estimate reviewed fully met these four characteristics."   WHY IT MATTERS   The OIG audit found that formal cost estimates "differed significantly" from a higher draft estimate that relied on more detailed information.   In fact, its team projected that the VHA's two formal estimates for infrastructure costs could be off by as much as $1 billion and $2.6 billion.   "The OIG team found that several factors contributed to the lack of reliable estimates, including that an independent cost estimate was not completed as required by VA financial policy," noted the report.   It pointed to insufficient planning at the start of the program. It wasn't until six months after the start of the contract award to Cerner, for example, that key VHA staff were "first made aware" of a need for physical infrastructure upgrades.   "Only in November 2019 did [the Office of Electronic Health Record Modernization] and VHA agree on an initial set of infrastructure requirements, and as of January 2021, requirements continued to be defined," read the report.   The team also found that OEHRM did not include the VHA-provided $2.7 billion estimate for physical infrastructure upgrade costs in the life cycle cost estimate it reported to Congress.   "The costs associated with these upgrades should have been transparently disclosed to Congress as part of the program’s life cycle cost estimate to help alleviate members’ cost uncertainty concerns and advance meaningful oversight and budgeting of the program," read the report.   The OIG made five recommendations:   OEHRM’s executive director should ensure an independent cost estimate is performed for program life cycle cost estimates.  VA’s assistant secretary for management and chief financial officer should make certain that this independent cost estimate of EHRM program life cycle cost estimates is performed.  VHA’s director of special engineering projects for the Office of Healthcare Environment and Facilities Programs should develop a reliable cost estimate for physical infrastructure upgrades in accordance with VA cost-estimating standards. That director should also continuously update physical infrastructure cost estimates based on emerging requirements and identified project needs. OEHRM’s should disclose the costs for physical infrastructure upgrades funded by VHA or other sources in its life cycle cost estimates presented to Congress.   The OIG team noted that OEHRM’s executive director, VA’s assistant secretary for management and chief financial officer and VHA’s acting under secretary for health concurred with the recommendations, and provided action plans with target completion dates within 12 months. THE LARGER TREND   The VA's EHR modernization initiative has been hindered by delays and mishaps over the last year. Although the COVID-19 pandemic certainly didn't help matters, the VA had already announced that it planned to delay its Cerner rollout in February 2020. Then, after its October 2020 rollout at the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, triggered stakeholder concerns, the agency said it would not move forward with a go-live at a second site in Columbus until a strategic review had been completed.   It is not clear whether these delays will contribute to the cost underestimations outlined in the OIG report.   ON THE RECORD   "Reliable cost estimates for these upgrades are imperative to ensuring that Congress has the information needed to make informed budgetary and investment decisions," wrote the OIG in its report.    "Within VA, senior leaders depend on estimates to plan program budgets, conduct acquisition activity, and monitor program execution. For these reasons, reporting all program-related costs and ensuring cost estimates are reliably developed [are] critical to the program’s success."   Kat Jercich is senior editor of Healthcare IT News. Twitter: @kjercich Email: kjercich@himss.org Healthcare IT News is a HIMSS Media publication.

The system for communicating COVID-19 status also saved Nova Scotia Health's public health team more than 10,000 hours of phone time over the past year.

The clinical content and technology company has announced a multi-year partnership with leading Saudi hospital information system, OASIS.

Providers learn valuable lessons that can help them deliver effective digital care in the future.

Also, X-on completes deployments of Surgery Connect cloud-telephony system in London and Greater Manchester.