The surgical group purchased the ChartLogic EHR Suite including the ChartLogic EMR (electronic medical record), ChartLogic Document Management, ChartLogic ePrescribe, and ChartLogic Patient Portal.
ChartLogic is a leading provider of EHR solutions to surgical specialists and serves more than 1,000 physicians nationwide, with 164 practices already qualifying for Meaningful Use and receiving incentive payments under the federal government's HITECH Act.

According to TriState Neurological Surgeons office manager Mary Lynn Angelotti, the medical group physicians wanted an EHR that was easy to use and were impressed with ChartLogic's PrecisionVoice dictation system. "We employ our own transcriptionists, but the Precision Voice system will make everyday charting easier and more accurate. This frees our transcriptionists to concentrate on longer narratives such as legal depositions and medical chart review reports," said Angelotti.

"The transition from paper to electronic health records is always a major undertaking," said Brad Melis, founder and executive vice president, ChartLogic. "TriState Neurological Surgeons is a very busy practice that will derive a huge benefit from an EMR. We view ourselves as their partners during this transition, and will work to ensure the process moves forward smoothly."

Contacts:

Eric Sorenson
ericsorenson@chartlogic.com
VP, Marketing
O: 801-365-1815

James Harris
Westside Public Relations
JHarris@westsidepr.com
O: 310-398-5565

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

Aside from EHRs actually affecting the quality of care, most patients expect that their doctors will utilize the technological capabilities available to them, from patient portals to electronic prescribing.

Jason Wolf, executive director of the Beryl Institute, spoke with Healthcare IT News recently regarding the competitive impact health IT can have on a medical practice. "Technology can definitely serve as a positive contributor to improving patient experience at multiple touch points across the continuum of care. Some standard technological improvements in the care setting that expedite reporting, create the ease of capturing data, or provide more efficient access to information, all create more opportunity for quality time at the bedside," Wolf said.

Some doctors are intimidated by digital office technology because they don't want it to take away from the interaction they have with patients. However, with simple, one-screen charting, command-and-control voice capabilities, and customization, ChartLogic EHR helps the doctors do what they do every day, and they help them do it better.

"It may very well be the bold choices of healthcare organizations to implement and apply technology in creative ways with an eye on the patient experience that provide the greatest competitive advantage and most positive impact on the patient experience overall," Wolf said.

To see more of Wolf's comments on health IT and patient engagement, see Healthcare IT News.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

The study found that there was a 10 percent increase in first-fill medication adherence among patients who saw physicians using e-prescribing technology. These physicians were more able to route prescriptions and monitor which of their patients had picked up their prescriptions.

Surescripts concluded that combining e-prescribing with other electronic capabilities could save the US healthcare market between $140 billion and $240 billion over the next 10 years.

"The Surescripts analysis is an important contribution to a growing body of literature on e-prescribing and on medication adherence," said William H. Shrank, MD, MSHS, of Harvard Medical School. "In a huge study, they have shown a clear link between e-prescribing and first fill medication adherence. This speaks to the potential of technology to improve the efficacy of drug therapy, which ideally should promote better health outcomes and reduce costs."

E-prescribing success is expected to grow as more providers adopt certified EHR technology and meet meaningful use requirements. Beginning this year, providers will start to see cuts in their Medicare reimbursements if they aren't prescribing electronically in their practices. See http://www.chartlogic.com/ for more information about e-prescribing.

Source: Market Watch.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

According to Buzz Jeansonne, nurse practitioner and owner of Louisiana Health Care Practitioners, the ChartLogic EMR will enable integration between the clinics, which are 10-25 miles apart from each other. Between the four clinics, Louisiana Health Care Practitioners sees between 150 and 200 patients a day, and is responsible for meeting Medicare and Medicaid rural health clinic reporting requirements. According to Jeansonne, the ChartLogic EHR Suite will make that reporting simpler easier to document and transmit.

"ChartLogic's software is simple to use and the PrecisionVoice component will make dictation and charting much easier. The customizable templates take into account the differing styles of each clinician," Jeansonne said.

The clinics will adopt the ChartLogic EHR Suite including the ChartLogic EMR (electronic medical record), ChartLogic Document Management, ChartLogic ePrescribe, ChartLogic Patient Portal and ChartLogic Practice Management. With these tools, nurse practitioners in the medical group will be able to work from a single database from any clinic, prescribe medications electronically, improve coding accuracy with easily customizable templates, and communicate with patients through a patient portal.

"As rural communities struggle with recruiting and retaining physicians, providing the latest EHR technology is important. ChartLogic's EHR meets the unique needs of rural clinics which are often remote and lacking in IT staff," said Brad Melis, founder and executive vice president, ChartLogic.

The ChartLogic EHR is fully certified for the federal meaningful use program and more than 164 customers have qualified for payments to date.

Contacts:

Eric Sorenson
ericsorenson@chartlogic.com
VP, Marketing
O: 801-365-1815

James Harris
Westside Public Relations
JHarris@westsidepr.com
O: 310-398-5565

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

In a report released by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), healthcare leaders identified best practices in health IT so far and how health information technology can be used to further improve patient care and the physician work force. "Health information technology (IT) plays a critical role in supporting new models of care and payment that are designed to achieve health care's triple aim: improve health, improve the experience of care for patients and families, and reduce the cost of care," the report stated.

Some progress has been made in each of these three categories, but further education on EHRs and health information exchanges, as well as heightened awareness of protecting patient records, is needed in order for the US to achieve more efficient and quality healthcare.

"EHRs are a foundational component of the health IT capabilities needed for new models of care. EHRs bring to the point of care important information about the patient from across the multiple settings where care is delivered and tests are performed. They also incorporate evidence-based clinical guidelines to support good decision-making," the report stated.

Consumers should also be made aware of the many electronic tools available, BPC points out. Patients need to be engaged in their own care for these tools to have the biggest impact on healthcare.

"Today, coordinated, accountable and patient-centered models of care delivery -- previously implemented by only a handful of organizations -- are poised for more widespread adoption to promote much-needed improvements in the cost and quality of health care." Even small practices and rural hospitals are jumping on board, thanks in part to the efforts put forth by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT.

The Bipartisan Policy Center's full report can be accessed here.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

This "pledge" was met with mixed reactions throughout the healthcare sphere, but most physicians continued to roll forward with their ICD-10 plans.

This month, the American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) urged the healthcare industry to continue working toward ICD-10 implementation, despite AMA's effort to block it. "Without ICD-10 data, there will be serious gaps in our ability to extract important patient health information that will give physicians and the health care industry measures for quality of care, provide important public health surveillance, support modern day research and move to a payment system based on quality and outcomes," said Dan Rode, AHIMA's VP for advocacy and policy.

Halting the program now would have significant negative financial impact on those already preparing for the change. Rode also points out that providers would risk missing the deadline if they halt preparation while waiting to see if Congress intervenes.

Some electronic health records vendors, like ChartLogic, are already working toward ICD-10 to ensure that physicians will be able to meet new coding guidelines when the deadline arrives. Some changes can coincide with other health IT initiatives, such as meaningful use.

Many providers have already made progress on ICD-10 even though the compliance date isn't until October 2013. That date isn't as far away as it seems, though, so clinics are encouraged to begin preparation as soon as possible, if they haven't started already.

See iHealthBeat for more information.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

Over a period of four years, researchers studied 14,051 adult diabetic patients across 34 primary care practices within the HealthTexas Provider Network, a subsidiary of Baylor Health Care System. Of those patients, 6,376 went to a clinic that used an EHR. The study showed mixed results, but these patients enjoyed better outcomes in blood pressure management, aspirin use, and smoking cessation than those patients whose physicians did not use an EHR. Two measured outcomes, lipid control and blood sugar management, did not show significant improvement.

Jeph Herrin, co-author of the study from Yale University, explained that the better outcomes for EHR users was largely due to electronic decision support tools and improved documentation. Alerts helped physicians stay on top of medications and other treatments, and better documentation kept physicians, staff, and patients better informed.

The authors concluded that the results of this study are promising, but more research should be done to further evaluate how EHRs can help the diabetic population.

Source: iHealthBeat.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

"My prediction is that at least 100,000 providers will receive Medicare or Medicaid EHR incentive payments by the end of 2012," Mostashari stated. "But, in order for my prediction to come true, the entire health IT ecosystem, including technology vendors, physician and hospital leaders, Regional Extension Centers, state-level health IT coordinators, public health agencies, and many others need to pull together toward getting as many providers to Meaningful Use as possible."

Health information exchange is another big trend Mostashari predicts for this year. "With the foundation we have built in [meaningful use] Stage 1, increasingly rigorous health information exchange requirements in Stage 2 and payment reform as a constant drumbeat, I think exchange will take off in 2012."

Other trends include consumers becoming more involved with their health (primarily through mobile capabilities), continued healthcare payment reform, and further innovation in electronic health records and other useful technologies. "Innovation is the lifeblood of technology, whether we are talking about health IT or otherwise," Mostashari said. "Mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets are being directly integrated into health IT systems, and I expect this trend will continue to pick up speed as capabilities such as voice recognition are perfected." Innovation continues to make EHRs better for doctors, as well as for patient outcomes.

Mostashari concludes with the following statement: "I see 2012 as the year in which health IT truly comes of age. . . . The groundwork is firmly in place for what promises to be a breakthrough year in the adoption and widespread use of health IT in ways that improve care for individuals, improve health outcomes for populations, and increase the value we get from our health care dollars."

Read Mostashari's comments in full here.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

Stage 2 requirements have been under scrutiny since the release of the final rule for stage 1 requirements (released in July 2010), and will continue to be a popular topic in the ensuing months. Several sessions at HIMSS 2012 will focus on meaningful use, specifically focusing on stage 2 issues.

Early attesters of meaningful use (those who attest during 2011 or 2012) will not have to meet stage 2 requirements until 2014. It is expected that stage 2 requirements will be similar to stage 1 requirements, only more stringent. The proposed rule written by HHS includes standards, implementation guidelines, and certification criteria electronic health records must meet in order to continue to support meaningful use.

Living up to its pioneer legacy, ChartLogic was the first certified EHR in the nation and will certainly be prepared to help its providers meet stage 2 requirements when the time comes. The proposed rule for stage 2 is expected to be released some time in February.

Source: Health Data Management.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

Physicians may appeal if they fall in any of the following categories:

• The physician was deemed ineligible for meaningful use because of circumstances beyond their control;
• the physician has demonstrated meaningful use of certified EHR technology but was denied a payment; and
• the physician feels that meaningful use payment was incorrectly calculated.

Appeals must be submitted through Provider Resources Inc. (PRI), a company that offers compliance and billing services. Providers will be able to submit appeals and reconsideration requests through PRI's portal. Providers can also check in to this portal to view the status of their appeal.

Providers should take note of the following deadlines:

• Physicians seeking to appeal their eligibility determination have until March 30, 2012, to file their appeal;
• physicians seeking to appeal their meaningful use status must submit an appeal within 30 days after receiving the letter detailing their meaningful use audit; and 
• physicians seeking to appeal their incentive payment calculation must file an appeal within 60 days of when the incentive payment was issued.

Once appeals have been submitted, CMS will review requests and make a final decision within 10 days. Decisions will be posted on the CMS website beginning in February.

See Government Health IT for more information on the meaningful use appeals process.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

The website, updated about once a month, shows how many providers have registered/attested for the meaningful use programs, the number of hospitals and providers who have received incentive payments, and which program (Medicare or Medicaid) awarded the incentive.

Data is displayed in detailed maps to give a more interactive look into how various parts of the country are progressing with meaningful use. Information is broken down into more detail in PDF documents.

So far, most states have received incentive funds, though the Medicare program has progressed further than Medicaid. For a more detailed summary, be sure to check out CMS' website.

The data for 2011 meaningful use isn't complete yet, as providers have until the end of February to attest for a 2011 payment. See here for more information on the final deadlines for 2011.

If you are unsure whether your practice qualifies for meaningful use, or if you need assistance getting started, ChartLogic offers a free meaningful use consultation. Click here for more information.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

Providers using certified EHR technology have until the end of February to attest for a 2011 payment; otherwise, providers are encouraged to start meaningful use early this year to help ensure they will qualify for the full $44,000 offered through Medicare.

Some other notable MU changes that took place toward the end of 2011 include

• the revised MU timeline, which gives early attesters an extra year to demonstrate meaningful use under the easier stage 1 requirements,
• the establishment of a certifying body for the permanent certification program, which should begin this summer, and
• more states launching the Medicaid EHR incentive program, which is now in place in 41 states.

Additionally, regional extension centers (RECs) helped thousands of providers transition to electronic health records, interoperability made progress with the Direct project, and patients became more interested in their electronic medical records, not to mention ONC's efforts to monitor safety and usability of EHRs.

To view a more in-depth look into what was happening during the last quarter of 2011, see iHealthBeat.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

Important dates

December 31, 2011. Reporting year for 2011 ended, meaning that EPs should have completed their 90-day reporting period by this date.

February 29, 2012. EPs have until this date to register and attest to meeting MU requirements. The payment will count toward the 2011 year.

February 29, 2012. This date is also the last day for EPs to submit pending Medicare Part B claims from calendar year 2011. EPs are given 60 days to submit these claims. "If the EP did not meet the $24,000 threshold in Part B allowed charges by the end of calendar year 2011, CMS expects to issue an incentive payment for the EP in April 2012 for 75% of the EP's Part B charges from 2011."

CMS also reminds Medicaid providers that those incentives will be paid out by the states, "but the timing will vary."

Over 160 physicians using ChartLogic electronic health records have already qualified for a 2011 incentive payment, with more providers gearing up for 2012. Providers starting the meaningful use process this year should implement changes as soon as possible to ensure that if any problems arise, there will be sufficient time to resolve them.

Source: Health Data Management.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

"Physician practices may need to redesign and reorganize their office routines so that they can successfully and efficiently adopt health IT," said Peter W. Carmel, MD, president of AMA. "The AMA created these tutorials to help physicians understand how to best implement new technologies, such as ePrescribing, into their practices."ch

The three tutorials cover pre-visit planning and point-of-care documentation in addition to ePrescribing. The tutorials consist of videos and other downloadable tools that aid physicians in using health IT at its utmost capacity, explaining benefits and giving implementation tips. The ePrescribe tutorial, for example, describes the increased efficiency and accuracy of electronic prescriptions versus handwritten ones, and "allows physicians to identify opportunities for medication management improvement while enhancing physician and patient convenience."

See Healthcare IT News for more information, or access the tutorials directly here. Be sure to also check out ChartLogic's services, including the free meaningful use consultation.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

ChartLogic serves some 1,000 physicians nationwide. The total estimated amount of the payments to be awarded to the qualifying ChartLogic customers is $2.9 million.

"We are very proud that a significant percentage of our customers have qualified for meaningful use payments. This is a major achievement given the fact that most of our physicians are specialists in small medical groups. It is a testament to the ease-of-use of the ChartLogic EHR and our high level of customer support," said Brad Melis, founder and executive vice president of ChartLogic.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced recently that 10,155 physicians had qualified nationwide for meaningful use payments under the Medicare program as of Dec. 1, 2011.

"Qualifying for MU is a major test of value for physicians when evaluating EHRs. We have two more stages of meaningful use payments coming in the next three years. In addition, there are a number of other incentive programs that have similar requirements for recording and sharing clinical data, so having an EHR that is easy to use is very important for physicians today," Melis added.

The Stage 1 meaningful use program began on April 18, 2011, and physicians may continue to apply for those incentives through 2014. If a physician completes Stage 1 in 2011 or 2012, he will need to complete Stage 2 requirements by 2014.

As of Dec. 1, 2011, a total of $182 million in Stage 1 payments had been made to physicians under the Medicare program. Medicaid physicians are eligible for payments under a similar, separate program.

Contacts:

Eric Sorenson
801-365-1815
ericsorenson@chartlogic.com

James Harris
310-398-5565
jharris@westsidepr.com

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

This feature has been used, especially in primary care practices, to ensure that patients are getting their flu shots. "EHRs are perfect for this sort of thing," said Dr. Jen Brull, a family practitioner based in Plainville, KS. "With one push of a button, we know who needs our efforts and can target the population from top to bottom." Doctors can use the data in electronic health records to more proactively reach out to high-risk patients. "We could never do this kind of management with paper [records]!" said Dr. Christopher Tashjian, physician from Ellsworth, WI.

Sending out appointment reminders is one of the menu set objectives for meaningful use, another good reason to utilize this nifty EHR capability. Visit chartlogic.com to learn more about meaningful use requirements.

Source: Health IT Buzz.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

Historically, African Americans are more likely to have high blood pressure than whites. This study confirmed this fact -- at least, when doctors used a paper-based system. For offices using paper systems, 69 percent of blacks and 75 percent of whites reported having their blood pressure under control, but in offices in which EHRs were used, 75 percent of blacks and 78 percent of whites had acceptable blood pressure levels.

More research is needed to determine why that gap is reduced when doctors use EHRs, said Lipika Samal, one of the study's authors from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. However, it is highly likely that EHRs and other health IT tools aid doctors in making better decisions, which has a direct effect on the health of patients.

See Reuters.com for more information on the study.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

More specifically, $1.38 billion has been paid out through the Medicare incentive program, while $1.15 billion was distributed through Medicaid. Nearly 5,000 eligible professionals (EPs) have received payments, including many ChartLogic users, and nearly 3,000 providers have received funds through Medicaid. During 2011, 176,000 providers registered for meaningful use.

"December was a strong month for performance, not only in terms of providers who registered, but were paid and came to our website to attest," said Robert Tagalicod, director of CMS' Office of eHealth Standards and Services. "We're seeing an upward trend, and that's good news."

These numbers don't tell the full story of 2011 meaningful use, however. Providers technically still have until the end of February to attest for a 2011 payment. MU payouts increased significantly each month during the last half of 2011, so it will be interesting to see how many more providers attest as they try to beat the February 29 deadline.

EPs can still qualify for the full $44,000 under Medicare if they attest this year. 2011 was a big year for both meaningful use and EHR adoption, but 2012 is expected to be an even bigger year as early attesters continue to demonstrate meaningful use and as other providers rise to meet stage 1 requirements.

See Government Health IT for more information.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

Meaningful use took off with a bang last year, and ONC plans to do everything it can to make this year even more successful. "In the last two years more doctors adopted electronic health records than adopted them in the 20 years before that," Mostashari said. "Adoption doubled in two years. It's intense." Receiving incentives is a great motivator to adopt an EHR, but Mostashari often reminds us that it is the end result, "delivering care that is inconceivably better in all ways," that is the most important driver behind the meaningful use program.

The exchange of patient information didn't quite get the rep meaningful use did last year, but is equally, of not more, important. However, the cost of exchanging that information has hampered its progression. "The bottom line is that the cost of exchanging patient information has to be less than the value that the provider gets from moving that information," and that is where ONC is going to focus its efforts regarding interoperability.

Consumers of healthcare are becoming more interested in the way their care is managed, which is why more patients than ever have a vested interest in not only having, but seeing, their electronic medical records. In an all-too-common scenario, a patient goes to see a specialist for the first time and that specialist doesn't have any information on the patient. "One thing that no one would question is that it's a problem that doctors and hospitals don't talk to each other." Sharing records -- with patients, family members, and other doctors -- is crucial in establishing a more efficient and workable healthcare solution for the entire country.

Sharing records always bring up the security issue, which is the other main topic ONC will focus its efforts on this year, working with hospitals, physician offices, and certified EHR vendors to make sure every party is meeting HIPPA requirements. "It has to be a shared responsibility," Mostashari said.

Read the full Q&A here.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.

Up to this point, most of the work on patient safety in ambulatory care has focused on identifying errors. Some of the most common are listed below:

1. Medication errors
2. Diagnostic errors
3. Lab errors
4. Communication errors 
5. Administrative errors

Many tools and strategies have been used in the past to monitor ambulatory care safety, EHR technology among them. "The use of electronic health records has the potential to improve patient safety and early research shows promise," the report stated. However, because many practices are still switching over to electronic medical records, little research has been done on the extent to which practices use health IT to improve patient safety, so the report takes a "wait and see" stance on EHR effectiveness.

That being said, however, fully functional EHRs like ChartLogic have already shown that the errors listed above can be reduced through proper use of e-prescribe, EMR, and practice management software. It is impossible to eliminate human error completely, but drug-check alerts and appointment-scheduling tools can enhance communication and improve patient safety greatly.

In addition, certain meaningful use measures were designed to help monitor patient safety, and can be used in an ambulatory care setting. Some of those requirements include

• maintaining active problem and medication lists in an EHR,
• e-prescribing, 
• providing patients with a summary of care after each visit, and 
• sending reminders for follow-up care.

Providers can qualify for up to $44,000 if they successfully meet the meaningful use requirements, but only if they are using a certified EHR like ChartLogic. The meaningful use incentive program was launched to encourage providers to use an EHR, but the end result has always been patient safety.

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About ChartLogic, Inc.