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‘Boston Globe’ frames meaningful use in terms of patient s

We’ve heard plenty comments about how CMS should weaken or delay regulations for meaningful use of EMRs because so many hospitals and physician offices simply won’t be able to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid bonus payments by 2012 or even 2015, when penalties for non-use kick in. Nearly all of those critiques have come from organizations representing providers in some capacity. So far, we’ve heard of a coalition of consumer groups speaking in favor of keeping the deadlines as is and the regulations as stringent as in the current proposal. HIMSS also has argued against watering down the regulations. (Cynics may note that the vendors that comprise much of HIMSS’ membership would rather see their sales increase sooner rather than later.) Put the editorial board of the Boston Globe into the latter camp, which frames the argument in terms of patient safety. “Under no circumstances should the administration backtrack on its threat,” a Globe editorial says of the prospect of payment cuts for those that haven’t adopted EMRs by 2015. “Even with the incentive of billions of federal dollars to cover much of the cost of the transition [to EMRs], doctors and hospitals have been slow to take even the first steps toward conversion. Apparently, they feel little or no responsibility for symptoms that get misdiagnosed because of inadequate information about a patient’s past medical care, let alone the tests that get repeated because no one has a record of the previous results,” the paper editorializes. “[T]he ultimate responsibility belongs to the doctors and hospitals who are putting their own habits ahead of the clearly demonstrated needs of their patients–and of the taxpayers who foot the cost of many medical bills.” For more: - have a look at this Boston Globe editorial

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Accenture report: Healthcare embracing cloud computing at same high rates as other sectors

Posted by admin | Posted in Healthcare EMR | Posted on 28-06-2010

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About 32 percent of healthcare organizations already use some form of cloud computing, and 73 percent report that they plan to move more applications to the cloud, according to a study from consulting firm Accenture.

While healthcare trails most other sectors of the economy in terms of IT adoption, those numbers are in line with what Accenture found in other industries. In manufacturing, 32 percent said they currently were using cloud-based applications, compared to 35 percent in retail and 29 percent in education. Similarly, 75 percent of survey respondents in the technology and government sectors have plans to make greater use of cloud computing in the future.

“Cloud computing is a newer technology and compared to existing IT is newer and more cost advantageous,” particularly for small physician practices, Accenture senior research analyst Dadong Wan says in an interview with InformationWeek. The cloud offers the kinds of “economies of scale” that customers can’t get with in-house servers, according to Wan.

The Accenture analyst also says that security with cloud computing actually is tighter than what typical healthcare organizations might find within their own walls because vendors can’t afford to have vulnerable systems. “Cloud players’ livelihood is protecting data,” Wan explains.

IDC backs up Accenture’s findings by reporting that cloud computing in general will grow by 27 percent a year, generating $55 billion in revenue by 2014, compared to $16 billion today. IDC sees 5 percent growth for on-site IT services in that same time frame.

To learn more:
- check out this InformationWeek story
- see this news brief from EDL Consulting

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