Quality and Safety

Houston Methodist replaced best-of-breed clinical applications with an integrated EHR. The successful transition involved managing not just technology but, equally as important, employees across multiple teams. Here’s a look at lessons learned. 

Access to healthcare is underpinned in large part on a health consumer’s access to information about available health care services, their location, price, and if the patient is very fortunate to glean, quality. As people take on more responsibility for managing their health care utilization and financing in America, their access to information that is easy-to-find, clear, comprehensive and current is critical to personal and public health outcomes. But consumers are dissatisfied with the state of health care information in their lives, discovered through a survey supported by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Oliver Wyman, and conducted by the Altarum Institute. Results of this study were published in the report, Right Place, Right Time: Health Information and Vulnerable Populations. Oliver Wyman featured these findings in a conversation held at the World Economic Forum in Davos week titled, Vulnerable Populations and the Great Health Divide. The study’s top-line insight was that vulnerable US health citizens are health information-compromised. This group of people tends to be uninsured, Spanish-speaking, caregiving, and enrolled in Medicaid. The lack of health/care information access jeopardizes care access and quality, putting people at-risk for worse health outcomes, eventual higher costs, and greater burden of disease compared with people who enjoy health information access. Health consumers want financial transparency; simpler, direct language; mobile-friendly formats; and, respect. This is a lightbulb moment finding in the survey; see the Hot Points, below. The study’s key findings were that: Consumers demand cost information and mobile-friendly websites Consumers seek improvements to information about cost of care, accessibility, and comparisons Caregivers use the most health care information but struggle to find resources to help themselves Uninsured people have greater difficulty accessing health care information Spanish speaking people struggle with language barriers, and rely on friends and family to offer advice and remedies Patients who feel disrespected by providers are less likely to trust health care information or follow medical advice. For the poll, Altarum Institute interviewed 4,068 consumers via a mail and web survey, and conducted interviews and focus groups with 65 consumers. Research was fielded between June and August 2016. Health Populi’s Hot Points:  The role of respect in the relationship between patient-consumer and provider cannot be underestimated, based on the clinical evidence found in this study. Specifically: feeling disrespected was linked to medication non-adherence. Thirty-two percent of people without health insurance feel disrespected, this study found. People who are sicker tend to feel less respected, as well as those with lower incomes. The Rodney Dangerfield feeling of “can’t get respect” leads to health consumers being three times less likely to trust information provided by their doctors. Furthermore, patients who feel disrespected by providers are twice as likely to be non-adherent to medication regimens. For example, people with diabetes (PWD) who do not feel respected are one-third more likely to have poorly-controlled diabetes compared with PWDs who feel respect from their providers.  User-centered design is mandatory for the health information economy. Health information portals are poorly utilized because they lack good design informed by patients’ values, digital literacy, and life-flows. Empathy is part of this ethos. The report notes that, “Good patient-provider relationships are not just part of good bedside manner…positive patient-provider relationships should be considered a medical priority, and should be encouraged through training, education and, potentially, compensation changes.” Throughout the health/care ecosystem, as we work to incorporate health in all policies and cultures of health, we must be mindful that empathy, caring, and respect are key ingredients in user-centered design. Check out the approach of Dignity Health’s #hellohumankindness as an example of branding and delivering on empathy in healthcare. This post originally appeared on Health Populi.

HIMSS is recognizing Mercy for its EHR optimization, process improvement efforts, use of evidence-based protocols and analytics gains – all of which have helped the health system improve care quality and patient outcomes, lower costs and increased reimbursements.

Peter Basch, MD, senior director of health IT quality and safety, research and national health IT policy for Washington, D.C.-based MedStar Health, has received the 2016 HIMSS Physician IT Leadership Award. Basch provides policy and clinical leadership for the post-regulatory optimization of health IT at MedStar and spends about 20 percent of his time as a primary care internist. Previously, he focused on EHR implementation and regulatory compliance, like Medicare e-prescribing and meaningful use. The award, which is jointly sponsored by AMDIS and HIMSS, recognizes a physician each year who demonstrates leadership in optimizing patient engagement and care outcomes by leveraging health information technology. Both of the organizations' boards of directors selected Basch as the recipient. "Peter Basch is a gentleman physician who demonstrates a perfect combination of clinical compassion, scholarly erudition and wonderful good humor. It is an honor and a privilege to call him a friend," said AMDIS Chair William F. Bria, MD, in a statement. [Also: Physician's IT Symposium at HIMSS17 to focus on interoperability, cybersecurity, precision medicine] "Peter has been highly involved with HIMSS and AMDIS for 15 years," added Pat Wise, vice president, health information systems at HIMSS North America. "He's a deeply respected thought leader and has been a significant contributor to a wide array of HIMSS' committees, task forces and work groups." Basch will be honored for his achievement at the Awards Gal on Feb 21, 2017 at the HIMSS Annaul Confernce & Exhibition.  HIMSS17 runs from Feb. 19-23, 2017 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.  This article is part of our ongoing coverage of HIMSS17. Visit Destination HIMSS17 for previews, reporting live from the show floor and after the conference. Like Healthcare IT News on Facebook and LinkedIn

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services also plans to modify 2017 requirements for eCQM data reporting, in response to some hospitals' challenges with EHR upgrades and replacements.

NorthShore University HealthSystem gained Stage 7 revalidation from HIMSS Analytics for its hospitals and associated clinics, again attaining the highest level on both the acute care Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model and outpatient EMRAM.

Liquid biopsies, opioid addiction biosensors and AI top ECRI's annual list of technologies that will transform the healthcare industry in the year ahead.

The outgoing department head touts big advancements in access to care, quality improvements and cost efficiencies - thanks in large part to health IT and data-driven innovation. But she points to much work still to be done in the years ahead.

The agencies have integrated the eCQI Resource Center with the United States Health Information Knowledgebase, enabling users to compare different versions and metadata of electronic clinical quality measures.

Latest hospital injury fines include crackdown on antibiotic resistant germs.