Some challenges still remain, but government says it will implement integrated health information systems next year.

By Audra Mahlong, Journalist

EMR,The start-up phase for its national electronic health record system will finally begin in 2010, says the Department of Health.

While progress has been slow on the implementation of the system, the department says it will be ready to implement the system next year.

It says all the relevant documentation for the start-up phase of the project has been finalised with the State IT Agency (SITA) and the SITA board. It also reports that consultations with all stakeholders in the private and public sectors have been completed.

SA has embarked on a process of developing a national electronic health record (EHR) for all patients in public hospitals. An EHR is a database of patient health information, which will include demographics, vital signs, medical history, medications, procedures, laboratory data and radiology reports.

SITA and the department were tasked with establishing the requirements for implementing an electronic record system.

The department is also creating an e-health strategy, which will guide all its ICT projects. While noting that existing challenges include adequate ICT infrastructure, bandwidth capacity and meeting approved standards, it says the electronic record is still paramount.

Health minister Aaron Motsoaledi previously stated the current fragmented health information systems and sub-systems would be integrated into a single, national system. The focus of the department would be to establish an integrated national data warehouse for all data sources and tracking of human resources equipment, physical status of facilities and expenditure.

The collection, organisation, reporting, storage and use of data for planning, management and healthcare services would strengthen existing health programmes and help the department achieve its priorities, it notes.

Privacy and confidentiality of individuals' health records will be secured before embarking on the implementation of the system, adds the department. Approved standards, by a recognised body that provides rules and guidelines, would also be in place before the start-up phase.

This would help the department to achieve its priorities and strengthen health programmes through the development of a nationwide integrated system.EMR

Posted by omnimdism at 6:56 AM EST

Updated: Friday, 25 June 2010 7:34 AM EDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink

Tarrytown, NY- OmniMD, one of the leading healthcare information technology companies, which provides Electronic Medical Records (EMR), Practice Management (PMS) and other Healthcare IT products and services to the providers and clinics across the nation, has announced today that Walker Family Medicine (WFM) located in Willcox, Arizona has adopted the companys EMR and PMS solution in order to improve the quality at point of care.

WFM decided to implement an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system from day one to access patient medical records, to improve the quality at point of care, to increase productivity and reduce medical errors. Besides the financial benefits, the major objective was to enhance the quality of care as well as the satisfaction of its patients.

"After comparing many EMRs, I determined that OmniMD was the best software for my new clinic. I run a high volume family practice clinic with two mid-level providers. OmniMD is used for scheduling, reminder calls, medical records, insurance and patient billing. OmniMD is a critical tool for my practice. It is a very good software, but I am also very pleased with the level of service OmniMD provides with their technical support team, Dr. Walker (Board Certified in Family Practice) says.

Dr. Walker is pleased with the performance of the OmniMD solution, which allows her to access and maintain entire patient medical records promptly. The system allows the clinic to customize templates as per their specialty, at the same time multiple providers can access a single chart at once. In case of a Specialty Provider, the system allows the sharing of charts among providers and staff across multiple locations. OmniMD Medical Billing System can electronically track claim status, payments and work flow of the billing team. OmniMD Patient Portal allows patients to register on-line, update and view their information, request an appointment, order an Rx refill and view lab reports.

About Walker Family Medicine
The Walker Family Medicine (WFM) team has worked together for over five years while serving the Willcox community. They are committed to providing patient-centered care in order to maintain their community's health. WFM provides routine healthcare for children, including immunizations. WFM also has associations with pediatric specialists. WFM provides routine women's healthcare. This care includes annual gynecological exams, family planning, pre -and post- menopausal counseling and treatment.

WFM has Urgent Care services. The clinic is available to care for patients basic urgent healthcare needs, such as simple lacerations, sprains, fracture diagnosis and care. They are associated with Charles Leighton Hospice and they provide referrals when appropriate. For more information, please visit www.walkerfamilymedicine.com

About OmniMD
OmniMD is a division of Integrated Systems Management, Inc. (ISM), a leader in software development, system integration, business and technology consulting for fortune 500 companies since 1989.

OmniMD integrated Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Practice Management (PMS) product and services, offers unparalleled reliability, ease-of-use, efficiency, and customizability. The solution is a HIPPA compliant, web-enabled and support device, which can range from tablet PCs, handhelds to desktop computers. The solution is SureScripts Certified, which also provides real-time alerts for drug-drug, drug allergy and other interactions based on a patients EMR. The solution captures complete documentation such as HPI, ROS and Physical Exams, Assessment & Plan to complete patient visits. The system follows HL7 standards for information sharing and integration across practices and hospitals. The solution is secured by Thawte, which uses 128bit encryption and digital certificates to ensure complete data security. OmniMD received a 5-star rating in the AC Group survey in 2006. For more information, please visit Medical Billing Services.

Posted by omnimdism at 6:25 AM EDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink

PHILADELPHIA, PA For years controversy has surrounded whether electronic medical records (EMR) would lead to increased patient safety, cut medical errors, and reduce healthcare costs. Now, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have discovered a way to get another bonus from the implementation of electronic medical records: testing the efficacy of treatments for disease.

In the first study of its kind, Richard Tannen, M.D., Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, led a team of researchers to find out if patient data, as captured by EMR databases, could be used to obtain vital information as effectively as randomized clinical trials, when evaluating drug therapies. The study appeared online last week in the British Medical Journal.

Our findings show that if you do studies using EMR databases and you conduct analyses using new biostatistical methods we developed, we get results that are valid, Tannen says. That�s the real message of our paper this can work.

In January 2009, President Barack Obama unveiled plans to implement electronic medical records nationwide within five years, arguing that such a plan was crucial in the fight against rising health care costs. Of the nearly $900 billion in Obama�s planned stimulus package currently before the United States Senate, $20 billion is proposed for electronic health records.

Tannen says he and his group recognized that the large EMR databases containing compiled medical information could potentially give researchers the ability to study groups reflective of the total population, not just those who participate in clinical trials, and circumvent studies too costly or unethical for clinical trials. However, such databases contain observational information, which critics argue do not offer the same level of control as randomized trials.

Our study cautiously, yet strongly, suggests that enormous amounts of information within electronic medical records can be used to expand evidence of how we should or shouldn�t manage

healthcare, Tannen says.

To address criticisms of observational studies, Tannen�s group had to first determine a way to use EMR databases for insights on therapy efficacy and then prove the results they found were valid.

Beginning six years ago, Tannen�s team selected six previously performed randomized trials with 17 measured outcomes and compared them to study data from an electronic database the UK general practice research database (GPRD), which included the medical records of roughly 8 million patients. Treatment efficacy was determined by the prevalence of cardiovascular outcomes, such as stroke, heart attack and death.

After using standard biostatistical methods to adjust for differences in the treated and untreated groups in the analysis of the database information, Tannen found that there were no differences in the database outcomes compared to randomized clinical trials in nine out of 17 outcomes.

In the other eight outcomes, Tannen�s group used an additional new biostatistical approach they discovered that controlled for differences between the treated and untreated groups prior to the time the study began. By using the new biostatistical method instead of the standard approach, the researchers showed there were no differences between the outcomes in the EMR database study compared to the randomized clinical trials.

Though Tannen warns the ability to use EMR databases from the United States to measure the efficacy of therapies will take more than 10 years of national data, he says the results of his study should serve as a catalyst for more researchers to explore the accuracy of the information that can be obtained using EMR database studies.

An appropriately configured EMR database could offer an invaluable tool, but we need to get to work now on how to configure it properly, Tannen says. If we don�t worry about this issue right now and promote a higher investment in the area of EMR research, we�ll lose an opportunity, an enormous health opportunity.

Posted by omnimdism at 12:13 PM EDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | Permalink

Mood:  lucky

The OmniMD™ Electronic Medical Record software (EMR) aims to automate and simplify the patient record documentation, storage, and retrieval process. This EMR acts as the backbone to delivering immaculate patient care, establishing efficient processes, and maximizing profitability for any office.

 The OmniMD™'s Internet-based Electronic Medical Record System (EMRS) runs on the user's web browser. This enables universal accessibility from any desktop, tablet PC, or handheld. Compared to a conventional windows application, OmniMD™ EMR offers the user easy accessibility across locations. The doctors can view or edit patient data from a desktop, PDA handheld device, or tablet PC as per their convenience.

By ensuring swift patient record documentation at the point of care the EMR eliminates the burden of illegible writing, paper processes or unorganized records. A one-click search allows instant retrieval of patient notes, medications and vital documents ensuring that the physician makes the best-informed clinical decisions.

 The Patient data is captured in forms customized to each specialty e.g. Cardiology, ENT, neurology. The point and click format data capture in these forms reduces the transaction time by over 60%. And the specialties covered by OmniMD™ are many and include: Cardiology, Dermatology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Neurology, OB/GYN (Gynecology), Ophthalmology, Orthopedics, Pain Management, Pediatrics, Psychiatry, Pulmonology, and Urology.

Working in a high volume, high-pressure environment it is often possible to overlook minute details in patient documentation. By ensuring secure, detailed documentation, accurate chart coding and diagnosis, the OmniMD™ EMR ensures compliance with HIPAA and HCFA norms. This also ensures reduction in malpractice insurance premiums.

Additionally, OmniMD™ reporting system is an essential tool for business analysis and future planning. The system allows users to formulate exhaustive reports by demographics, insurance, ICD/CPT Codes, data accessed etc. With exhaustive electronic documentation clinics can invest in clinical research. Access to complete patient records, clinical data and reports helps clinics to pursue intensive research with ease.

The system ensures superior coordination among doctors, nurses and other staff. Multiple user rights dictate the features available to every user and ensure seamless workflow with minimal coordination hassles.

OmniMD™'s EMR Features include: Point & Click Forms with macros, a Patient Dashboard, detailed Medical History, complete Visit Records, thorough Insurance Records, Quick Records Search, Referral Tracking, Patient Intake Forms, Immunization and other Alerts, and much more -

Nick Pronko, the office manager for the Clinic of David Liskov, M.D., said after their implementation of the software, "OmniMD™ has increased our efficiency as a small outpatient facility. The web-based server allows us to access records anytime, from anywhere. Our patient records are more complete and thanks to OmniMD™, we now can rest assured that our billing is accurate and timely. OmniMD™ helped us take the next step towards a paperless office."

Posted by omnimdism at 2:48 PM EDT

Updated: Monday, 25 August 2008 10:21 PM EDT

Share This Post

Post Comment | View Comments (2) | Permalink