A Perfect Storm For Health IT?
Although many U.S. regions escaped significant snowfall this season, experiencing relatively mild winters, the same cannot be said for the landscape of health IT. In fact, it seems to be in the midst of the perfect storm.
One winter development was the announcement that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will, as of press time, most likely delay the ICD-10 implementation timeline.
That news was quickly eclipsed by the release of the Office of National Coordinator for Health IT’s proposed rule for Stage 2 meaningful use, which dominated the buzz at the annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference in Las Vegas. The announcement about the delay for meeting the requirements of Stage 1 was promptly overshadowed by some expectations for Stage 2, including the call for hospitals to make records available for patients to view online, download and transfer and eventually prove that 10 percent of patients are doing so.
Although not specifically mentioned in meaningful use regulations, this requirement, along with increased use of mobile devices, are driving increased use of telehealth. Ever-increasing data, more tech-savvy patients and clinicians, as well as higher rates of several chronic disease states make telehealth ripe for effective use. Chronic conditions, such as diabetes, require ongoing monitoring for the best possible patient outcomes. Careful tracking and reporting can even prevent those at high risk of developing diabetes from becoming a full-fledged diabetes patient. This ability to prevent a disease, let alone successfully manage it, makes such a program worthy of serious consideration. Meanwhile, CMS issued a final rule last year implementing a credentialing and privileging process for physicians and practitioners providing telemedicine services to hospitals and critical access hospitals.
While telehealth has shown to improve outcomes for a host of chronic diseases in patients living in any environment, it obviously offers even more benefits for those who live in rural areas, far from primary care providers, let alone specialists. Read our cover story for more on this continually evolving topic.
Is your hospital working on offering remote healthcare options? Please share your experiences by dropping me a line.
One winter development was the announcement that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will, as of press time, most likely delay the ICD-10 implementation timeline.
That news was quickly eclipsed by the release of the Office of National Coordinator for Health IT’s proposed rule for Stage 2 meaningful use, which dominated the buzz at the annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) conference in Las Vegas. The announcement about the delay for meeting the requirements of Stage 1 was promptly overshadowed by some expectations for Stage 2, including the call for hospitals to make records available for patients to view online, download and transfer and eventually prove that 10 percent of patients are doing so.
Although not specifically mentioned in meaningful use regulations, this requirement, along with increased use of mobile devices, are driving increased use of telehealth. Ever-increasing data, more tech-savvy patients and clinicians, as well as higher rates of several chronic disease states make telehealth ripe for effective use. Chronic conditions, such as diabetes, require ongoing monitoring for the best possible patient outcomes. Careful tracking and reporting can even prevent those at high risk of developing diabetes from becoming a full-fledged diabetes patient. This ability to prevent a disease, let alone successfully manage it, makes such a program worthy of serious consideration. Meanwhile, CMS issued a final rule last year implementing a credentialing and privileging process for physicians and practitioners providing telemedicine services to hospitals and critical access hospitals.
While telehealth has shown to improve outcomes for a host of chronic diseases in patients living in any environment, it obviously offers even more benefits for those who live in rural areas, far from primary care providers, let alone specialists. Read our cover story for more on this continually evolving topic.
Is your hospital working on offering remote healthcare options? Please share your experiences by dropping me a line.
Beth Walsh,
Editor
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.