Releasing Health Information to Patients: My Observation in the Changing Attitudes of Healthcare Professionals
What an interesting year it’s been as oncology practices started releasing health information to their patients using the Navigating Care patient portal. I witnessed a significant shift within clinics as their initial apprehension grew into a sense of relief and achievement. This was apparent while working with individual clinics and across the board with all […]
Patient Engagement and the Patient Engagement Framework
One of the many aspects of healthcare reform is the concept of patient centered care, whether it’s HITECH, medical home or accountable care organization. To provide patient centered care, healthcare professionals must engage with their patients and provide tools and resources to their patients. About the Patient Engagement Framework The Patient Engagement Framework is a model created to […]
Patients Receiving Education Through Portal Technology Validated By Recent Survey
With healthcare reform, specifically HITECH and Meaningful Use, healthcare providers are now giving patients access to parts of their health record. This started for some practices in 2011 but it’s becoming commonplace in 2012. About 20% of practices are providing online access for their patients via a secure patient portal, the majority of practices are […]
Patient Survey Results Validate The Benefits of a Secure Patient Portal
With healthcare reform, and specifically HITECH, healthcare professionals are now giving patients’ access to parts of their health information either via printing out paper or through a secure patient portal. In 2014, an online secure portal will be required for practices to give patients electronic access to their health information to view and download. In […]
Final Stage 2 Meaningful Use rules
The Stage 2 Meaningful Use rules require more care coordination, better clinical decision support, more information exchange, and more patient engagement. These increased measures make it clear that EHRs alone will not be enough to provide patients and their healthcare team with an easy-to-use means of communication.
Technology’s Role in the Oncology Medical Home
New care models, such as the Oncology Patient Centered Medical home, are being piloted to provide coordinated care across organizations to reduce costs and improve care. This will require new systems to track performance for quality measures that may be tied to financial incentives for improved care.
New Commission on Cancer Standards Provide More Patient Centered Care
The new Commission on Cancer standards for oncology practices feature a more patient centered approach to care. While most practices are currently focused on solving the Meaningful Use objectives, savvy administrators will be looking at the big picture and considering how technology solutions can help them meet multiple needs, such as the new CoC standards.
HITECH Act Meaningful Use Incentives timeline
The HITECH Act Meaningful Use incentives peak in 2012. It’s not too late to qualify, but time is running out to achieve the maximum incentive payment as practices must begin the 90-day attestation period by October 1. The chart below shows the dollar amount practices can qualify for based on what year they implement certified […]
How Oncologists Can Navigate the Meaningful Use Waters
Navigating the waters of Meaningful Use, Patient Centered Medical Home, Accountable Care Organizations and the ACoS Commission on Cancer standards is a full time task for community oncology clinics to manage. To ensure you make the best decision that will support current and future practice needs, you should take a broader, long-term view as you compare technology solutions.
Giving Patients Access to their Health Information
The first step in patient engagement is providing them with access to their health information. We review the new workflow to release patient information from your EHR with our Patient Engagement Portal.