FOS

IRS: Non-profit hospitals may subsidize physician adoption of EHR.

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a memorandum clarifying its position on the subsidization of physicians by not-for-profit hospitals to encourage physicians to implement interoperable electronic health records (EHR) systems. In summary, the IRS will allow hospitals to provide EHR software and technical support services to physicians with staff privileges without violating federal anti-kickback laws. The relevant section states: “We will not treat the benefits a hospital provides to its medical staff physicians as impermissible private benefit or inurement in violation of section 501(c)(3) of the Code if the benefits fall within the range of Health IT Items and Services that are permissible under the HHS EHR Regulations and the hospital operates in the manner described below.” A PDF file of the complete memorandum can be viewed at:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/ehrdirective.pdf

New tool from CMS helps physicians adopt EHR.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has announced the launch of an interactive Web site designed to educate solo and small- to medium-sized medical practices in the use of health information technology, including electronic health records (EHR). The Doctor’s Office Quality Information Technology University (DOQ-IT U) is free and will also include lessons on culture change, vendor selection and operational redesign, along with clinical processes. For more information:

http://tinyurl.com/2cls8d

Physicians can register for the DOQ-IT U Web site at:

http://elearning.qualitynet.org/

CCHIT Announces 18 New Products Earn Certification

In January, the Certification Commission for Healthcare Informaiton Technology (CCHIT) announced the certification of 18 additional EHR products for physician practices.  This brings the total number of products achieving the CCHIT Certification to 55.  A complete list of all the certified products can be found on their website, www.cchit.org. 

Study: EHR triples rate of osteoporosis screening

A study by the Geisinger Health System found that using EHRs to identify and notify women who had not received bone density screening for osteoporosis during the last two years resulted in a trebling of the rate of those who underwent testing. Women whose records were flagged were contacted by mail and telephone to arrange the screenings, and about half of those screened were determined to be at high risk for the disease. Some experts consider proactive examination of records to be one of the benefits of EHRs. For more information:

http://www1.geisinger.org/ghsnews/articles/ElectronicHealthRecordtripl4209.html

Study Suggests Small Practices Getting Left Behind in IT Implementation?

Clinical IT gap increasing between small, large physician practices.

A study comparing surveys of physician access to clinical information technology (IT) during the years 2000-2001 and 2004-2005 shows that, although IT adoption has increased across all practice settings, the gap between large and small practices is growing. In the earlier survey, 8 percent of physicians in small practices reported IT access for prescription writing, compared to 19 percent of physicians in large practices. By the time of the later survey, those numbers had grown to 13 percent and 47 percent respectively. Experts fear that smaller practices may run the risk of being left behind in the transition to electronic health records. For more information:

http://www.hschange.org/CONTENT/892/

The FOS and Bones Society of Florida recently conducted an IT survey of orthopaedic practices in Florida.  Click here to view the survey results.

FOS Releases IT Survey Results

The Florida Orthopaedic Society and Bones Society of Florida recently conducted a survey to assess our members' implementation of technology in their practices.  The survey included questions on Practice Management Systems, EMR, and PACS.  The survey collected some extremely useful information on the systems currently being used throughout Florida and some key issues when considering such an investment.  We had 56 practices respond to the survey. 

To participate in the survey, please click here. 

To view the survey results, please click here.