Journal of AHIMA - October 2011

Bulletin Board what’s happening in healthcare

ESSENTIALS OF THE US HOSPITAL IT
MARKET—6TH EDITION
www.himssanalytics.org
A report from HIMSS Analytics outlines
the top health IT issues that will have
a significant impact on the industry
in the next few years. It finds that
revenue cycle management, HIEs,
and Massachusetts health system are
among the healthcare topics that every
organization should have in mind for
2011 and beyond.

IMPROVING CONSUMER HEALTH IT APPLICA-
TION DEVELOPMENT: LESSONS FROM OTHER
INDUSTRIES
http://healthit.ahrq.gov
A report from the Agency for Health-
care Research and Quality finds that
considering consumer preferences is
key to developing successful mobile
healthcare applications. The report
identifies several criteria that vendors
should take into account when devel-
oping apps for patients or healthcare
providers.

CMS Revamps QIO Program

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has revamped the Quality Improvement Organization (QIO) program. It is moving from smaller efforts to focus on leading large-scale initiatives that aim to produce rapid, substantial and widespread improvement in health quality.

QIO program contractors are established in each US state and some territories and charged with improving the quality of care for Medicare beneficiaries through various local measured healthcare improvement projects.

An article included in a recent CMS QIO News newsletter states the program’s projects will now be shorter— 18 months or less—which will give CMS the flexibility to change its clinical focus and priorities as needs evolve.

CMS identified four major aims for
the revamped program:
x Make care beneficiary- and family-
centered by actively engaging pa-
tients and their families in decision
making and empowering them to
actively participate in managing
their own healthcare
x Improve individual patient care by
reducing healthcare-associated
infections in hospitals and nursing
homes
x Integrate care for populations and
communities by supporting transi-
tions of care that reduce unneces-
sary rehospitalizations
x Improve health for populations
and communities by leveraging the
power of EHRs for better data re-
porting and care management
The program will continue to focus
on lowering the number of hospital-
acquired infections through quality
measures that include monitoring cen-
tral line-associated bloodstream infec-
tions, catheter-associated urinary tract
infections, and surgical site infections.

INCREASING ADOPTION OF COMPUTERIZED
PROVIDER ORDER ENTRY, AND PERSISTENT
REGIONAL DISPARITIES, IN US EMERGENCY
DEPARTMENTS
www.annemergmed.com
A study published August 1, 2011 in
the Annals of Emergency Medicine
finds that rural emergency depart-
ments lag behind urban emergency
departments in adopting electronic
prescribing systems. It found that
in 2008, 30 percent of emergency
departments in four states had “fully
implemented” e-prescribing systems.
However, researchers found a large
gap between urban and rural EDs.

NQF Endorses Pediatric Care Standards

MOBILE DEVICES AND HEALTHCARE: WHAT’S
NEW, WHAT FITS, AND HOW DO YOU DECIDE?
www.gil-global.com
A white paper from Frost & Sullivan
finds that the healthcare industry
should move away from antiquated
computer platforms and support the
use of mobile devices. It notes that ex-
isting smartphone applications include
drug and clinical reference programs,
diagnostic tools, and real-time patient
record-keeping applications. ¢

In August the National Quality Forum endorsed 41 quality measures concerning child health. The measures, listed in the draft report “National Voluntary Consensus Standards for Child Health Quality Measures 2010: A Consensus Report,” cover the full spectrum of care from prenatal care to standards designed for adolescents.

In November 2009, at the request of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, NQF convened a committee to identify, evaluate, and endorse additional measures suitable for public reporting and quality improvement that address outcomes of child health. The Child Health Outcomes Project identified gaps in existing outcome measures. The project was completed under a Health and Human Services-funded contract with NQF.

In all, 75 measures were evaluated for their suitability as voluntary consensus standards for accountability and public reporting using NQF’s standard evaluation criteria. Of these, 41 are now endorsed.

“These 41 process measures are a timely addition to the portfolio of pediatric and perinatal measures endorsed by NQF. The measures underwent a rigorous review by a panel of providers, measurement experts, and consumer representatives,” said Thomas K. Mc-Inerny, MD, associate chair for Clinical Affairs at the Golisano Children’s Hospital and co-chair of the Child Health Quality Measures Steering Committee, in a press release.