Mar 1, 2010 | Laboratory Management and Operations, Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Clinical pathology laboratories may soon handle lab test orders entered by scribes on behalf of physicians
Along with the growing adoption of electronic medical record (EMR) systems comes robust demand for a new healthcare job: scribes! That is a bit ironic, since many advocates of EMRs believed that physicians would do the primary entry. In fact, the acronym CPOE (computerized physician order entry) was coined to describe this process.
The trend of hiring scribes to interpose between physicians and EMRs is an unanticipated consequence of wider adoption of EMR and EHR (electronic health record) systems. Wider utilization of scribes will directly affect clinical laboratories and pathology groups, because the scribe generally becomes the individual to place orders for clinical laboratory tests at the direction of physicians and track receipt of the lab test results into the EMR.
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Jan 8, 2010 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Clinical laboratory test ordering and results reporting is needed for AMA’s physician web platform to have wide appeal with physicians
In the drive to achieve clinical integration and a universal electronic health record (EHR), a credible new player with deep financial pockets is poised to enter the field. The American Medical Association (AMA) announced that it is preparing to launch a web-based platform that will deliver a host of clinical and practice management tools to physicians. Included will the capability for clinical laboratory test ordering and lab test reporting.
Last month, the AMA entered into an agreement with LifePoint Informatics of Glen Rock, New Jersey. The AMA will utilize the LifePoint.WEB clinical order entry and results to support medical laboratory test ordering/results reporting with its web-based platform.
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Oct 26, 2009 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Advanced use of EHRs is one characteristic of nation’s quality leaders
It’s a new study and ranking of top-performing health systems that Dark Daily readers will find interesting and useful. Thomson Reuters announced its latest Top 10 rankings, and identified three main ingredients for attaining higher-quality outcomes. They were: 1) a corporate-level coordinating committee; 2) ample involvement in planning from front-line caregivers; and a system-wide electronic health record system (EHR).
Thomson-Reuters evaluated 252 health systems, representing 1,720 hospitals. Its findings were published exclusively in Modern Healthcare. Its rating was based on five clinical performance measures: mortality, complications, patient safety, length-of-stay and use of evidence-based medicine. No attempt was made to measure financial performance. The health systems study used 2007 information from two public databases, the Medicare Provider Analysis and Review and Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Hospital Compare.
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Apr 13, 2009 | Laboratory News, Laboratory Pathology
Recent consensus sets stage for further progress with universal patient health records (PHRs)
Efforts to advance use of a universal electronic patient health record (PHR) got a boost recently. The creation of a Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) moved closer to reality with announcement of consensus among more than 100 stakeholders on guidelines for ensuring consumer-friendly features, operational efficiencies, privacy, and security.
Connecting for Health, a public-private collaboration of health sector organizations and technology innovators, developed a common framework for building a network of networks. The framework provides specific technology, practice and policy approaches for consumers to securely obtain copies of their personal health records (PHRs) from various provider sources that support an online PHR service. Once stored on services like GoogleHealth or Healthvault, PHRs can be instantly shared with trusted health providers.
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Jun 15, 2007 | Compliance, Legal, and Malpractice, Laboratory News
To hasten the day when all Americans have an electronic health record (EHR), last year, on August 8, 2006, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”) issued regulations that would allow hospitals to provide certain software and technical support services to physicians without violating federal antikickback law. Because many physicians have been slow to invest in electronic health record systems, this new regulation is designed to encourage hospitals and health systems to step into the gap and offer software and services that support EHR systems.
This is a significant development for hospital-based laboratories. It creates new opportunities to build relationships with referring physicians. But it also creates new compliance exposure for laboratories which fail operate within the parameters of the law.
Recently the IRS weighed in on issue to provide further clarification. Titled “Hospitals Providing Financial Assistance to Staff Physicians Involving Electronic Health Records”, the IRS memo spells out the circumstances necessary to meet the safe harbor requirements of the HHS policy on the provision of software and technical support services by a hospital to physicians on staff.
Since the IRS lingo is complicated, to say the least, we asked Jane Pine Wood, attorney for McDonald Hopkins and a specialist in clinical laboratory and anatomic pathology legal matters, how this change would affect hospital laboratories. Wood responded, saying:
“The IRS memorandum offers greater assurance to tax-exempt hospitals that they can provide EHRs to members of their medical staffs, in compliance with the applicable Stark exception and the applicable safe harbor under the Medicare and Medicaid anti-kickback law, without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status. It is important to note that this memorandum provides approval only to those arrangements which comply fully with the numerous criteria of the Stark exception and anti-kickback law safe harbor.”
We also asked Wood if hospital laboratories should take any special steps to react to this memo. “For many laboratory clients, particularly gastroenterology and endoscopy providers, EHRs are increasingly important,” said Wood. “So,this IRS memorandum is of significant benefit to those tax-exempt hospitals who wish to make EHRs more accessible for their clients.”
And there you have it. Hospital laboratories that want to take advantage of the memo should carefully study the Stark exception and the applicable safe harbor under Medicare and Medicaid anti-kickback law to ensure full compliance. Once this due diligence is complete, hospital laboratories can safely make EHRs more accessible to their medical staff.
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Hospitals Providing Financial Assistance to Staff Physicians Involving Electronic Health Records
