Revisiting the Issue of Health Data Interoperability Amidst ONC Rule Pushback
Epic, the largest electronic health record (EHR) company in the nation, raised some eyebrows (and ire) recently when it launched an aggressive campaign to block finalization of the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) rules mandating interoperability across electronic health records and software applications. They have been joined by sixty (60) health care systems urging ONC to re-evaluate the rule, citing concerns for patient privacy, data security, and transparency as to how such data may be used.
The controversy and public discourse over what had previously been a largely non-political issue has provided an opportune moment to revisit the broader issues surrounding lack of data interoperability.
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Emtiro’s Take on NC DHHS’s Latest Medicaid Transformation Policy Papers: Part Two
This article is Part Two of a two-part series on NC DHHS’ recent policy papers on value-based payment and Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations.
On February 10, 2020, we presented our high level concerns about the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services’ (Department) recent policy papers on value based payment and Accountable Care Organizations as components of Medicaid Transformation.
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Emtiro’s Take on NC DHHS’s Latest Medicaid Transformation Policy Papers: Part One
This article is Part One of a two-part series on NC DHHS’ recent policy papers on value-based payment and Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations.
On January 8, 2020, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (Department) issued two significant Medicaid Transformation policy papers. In these papers, the Department explains its value-based payment strategy for standard prepaid health plans and its related Medicaid Accountable Care Organization (ACO) model. Review of the timeline and targets outlined in these policy papers raised concern for us at Emtiro Health, in regard to its feasibility, implementation fidelity, and the potential of unintended consequences, particularly as it relates to provider consolidation and the current rural health care crisis.
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Placebos: What Do You Believe?
In medicine, treatments are typically tested in what is called a randomized control trial. In the trial, a proposed new treatment is tested against “care as usual” in a carefully controlled manner wherein patients are randomly assigned to either receive the new treatment or care as usual. When randomly sorting patients into treatment groups, within the control group (“care as usual”) it is preferred that the patients be of similar age, gender, race, severity of condition and the like to those in the treatment group so that those variables are controlled and only the treatment effects the outcome. If the new treatment is shown, statistically, to have better outcomes than “care as usual” then, in theory, the new treatment becomes the new standard of care. It is important to note that “care as usual” suggests that it uses the most up-to-date understanding of what works best for treating the condition under study.
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North Carolina: First in Flight, Second in Patient Centered Recognition…42nd in Public Health Spending
When it comes to things like flight and patient-centered recognition, the state of North Carolina (NC) has proved itself ahead-of-the-curve. Back in December 1903 in Kitty Hawk, a 12-second-long flight in an aircraft created and manned by Orville and Wilbur Wright served as the first sustained flight in the aviation race of the early 1900’s, landing NC the “First in Flight” accolade.
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A Closer Look at the Actual Cost of a Data Breach
Our world is increasingly digital. Data breaches are a common occurrence in our news feeds, and for good reason. According to HIPAA Journal’s October 2019 Healthcare Data Breach Report, 38 million health records have been stolen or impermissibly disclosed in 2019 alone: an increase of over 20% since last year. Ransomware through phishing attempts is the most common cause of these breaches.
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NC Providers: 4 Lessons for Making Progress in a Time of Uncertainty
Last month the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced that implementation of Medicaid Transformation will be further delayed pending the approval of a department budget. In this context, subjected to a myriad of unknowns and surprises, it is important to focus your attention and resources on the things that you can impact and leverage for greatest impact. For North Carolina providers, the most important and impactful area of control in this moment is how they contract with the Prepaid Health Plans (PHPs). For that reason, we are dedicating this Knowledge and News article to outlining four important insights and lessons regarding contract negotiation that we hope can inform your pending discussions.
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The Critical Support Role Peer Support Specialists Can Play in Holistic Health Care
Over the years, the idea of who exactly comprises a “Health Care Team” has evolved a great deal. Historically, one might describe their Care Team as simply a physician and perhaps a nurse. However, as health care continues to evolve there is an increased emphasis on treating the “whole person” by addressing not only physical ailments, but psychological and social needs as well. With that shift in emphasis, the definition of a Care Team has become more inclusive of a multitude of health care professionals including, but not limited to, specialists, behavioral health clinicians, and pharmacists. All of these potential Care Team members typically work with the patient in a clinical setting; however, 90% of health care happens outside clinic walls. So, what happens to a patient’s treatment plan once they leave their doctors office? This is precisely where the use of Peer Support Specialists (PSS) can be a vital part of the Care Team by supplementing in-office visits with critical support in the community setting.
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The Time Has Come for Practice Transformation: What You Need to Know
Over the last three years or so, a new buzz phrase has emerged in healthcare: Practice Transformation. Many healthcare organizations around the country have asked, “What exactly IS practice transformation and what does it mean at the practice level?”
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Emtiro’s Prescription for Provider Performance
As our healthcare system shifts away from fee-for-service and towards value-based payment models, providers must focus on interventions designed to meet performance metrics. This emphasis ensures quality performance improvement and ultimately optimizes patient outcomes. Payers have proposed a wide array of interventions in an effort to improve performance metrics, but many of these interventions are not practical or do not meet the needs of primary care practices. As a result, many of the providers that Emtiro works with have become disillusioned with the “move-to-value” and have shared some of their concerns with our team.
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Value-Based Contracting is Coming To Behavioral Health: Prepare Yourselves to Prosper!
Physical health providers are well on their way down the path of value-based contracting. Many primary care providers receive bonus payments under pay-for-performance payment models. Medicare Accountable Care Organizations are participating in shared savings programs. Some orthopedists are being paid a single bundled payment for hip replacements. Out of this bundled payment, they must cover all care from the admission to the hospital through post-surgery rehabilitation in the community.
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Vaccinations: What You Need to Know
One of the greatest stories in public health can be traced back to the use of vaccinations to prevent disease. Here’s what you need to know.
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A Robot and A Pig: The Answer to Your Patient Engagement Problem
Learn more about Emtiro Health’s latest partnership with Pyx Health: A Mobile Care Solution.
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Medication Concordance – What Does It Mean and Why is It Essential to the Care We Provide at Emtiro Health?
The famous quote from former United States Surgeon General, C. Everette Coop, certainly still holds true today that “drugs don’t work in patients who don’t take them.” A vast majority of the population takes one or more medications for chronic conditions and just 50% of those medications end up being taken as prescribed (with nearly a quarter of new prescriptions never being filled at all).
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Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Hope or Hype?
Forms of Artificial Intelligence (AI) have been around since the 1950s. Until recently, development has been slow, and the technology has not been altogether reliable and also very expensive. But advances in processing capability, analytics, and big data have changed much of that. We take it for granted that our smart phone can accurately hear us when we ask about a restaurant and then provide us with step-by-step driving directions to that restaurant. Soon, some predict that our “smart” car will actually drive us there with no involvement on our part at all. These abilities are all due to various systems using AI.
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