Posts Tagged EMR System
The difference between interoperability and integration
Posted by Ken Bradley in Health Information Technology, Integration, Interoperability on November 23rd, 2009
“What’s so hard about interoperability, anyway? Lots of hospitals and physician practices already have integrated practice management (PM) and electronic medical record (EMR) systems…” That’s the kind of comment heard quite often in this business, from all manner of intelligent, informed professionals.
Unfortunately, an important matter of semantics sometimes unwittingly leads us to heated debate or a dismissive, “They don’t know what they’re talking about!” attitude. It’s imperative to be aware that discussions of “interoperability” and “integration” can easily leave people talking apples and oranges without ever knowing it.
Here’s the reason: People from so many disparate backgrounds – technological, clinical, business, regulatory, governmental – all play a role in the current push to better automate healthcare. Everyone understands the generalities behind the idea of one HIT system “talking” to another, but most folks have no need to delve into nitty-gritty technical specifics. As a result, “interoperability” and “integration” have become broad-brush terms many of us use synonymously as a way to express the general concept of data connectivity. Read the rest of this entry »
The times they are a’changing
Posted by Jim Denny in ARRA/Stimulus, EMR, Health Information Technology, Practice Management System, Revenue Cycle Management on August 25th, 2009
There is no way Bob Dylan could have been thinking about HIT when he released his 1964 album predicting a new vision for America. Yet his words seem remarkably appropriate as healthcare leaders from coast to coast wonder how best to prepare themselves for the game-changing technology initiatives that loom on the horizon.
The passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) in February 2009 created unprecedented interest in electronic medical records – and with good reason. The legislation promises incentives for providers implementing an EMR system within the next few years and penalties against slow adopters shortly thereafter. Physicians have naturally begun worrying about how to select the “right” system – and how they would pay for it. HIT vendors added to the frenzy by intensifying marketing efforts in order to grab a piece of the EMR pie sooner rather than later.
But amidst the noise and confusion of early reactions to the ARRA, both healthcare and technology leaders may have overlooked the overarching objective behind the push for EMRs: To increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the healthcare system. This is an opportunity to improve clinical outcomes while reducing cost to all stakeholders, including patients. Read the rest of this entry »