University Radiology Group works to meet meaningful use qualifications
University Radiology Group in East Brunswick, N.J., is working with MedInformatix Inc. to implement federal government-certified technology to achieve Stage 1 meaningful use goals and objectives under The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for Health Information Technology.
The focus of Stage 1 meaningful use is primarily electronic data capture. University Radiology provides subspecialty radiology and teleradiology services and it is a long-time user of the MedInformatix RIS, which includes an electronic health records (EHR) module that facilitates and enables practices to meet Stage 1 meaningful use requirements.
The RIS is a single-package, rather than a modular system. Modular systems from multiple vendors need additional set-up and integration, which can slow a practice’s ability to achieve Stage 1 meaningful use. MedInformatix provides fully integrated RIS, electronic health records, and enterprise practice management and billing software.
“Most solutions easily address data storage. The key to achieving meaningful use is data retrieval across each of a medical practice’s groups and departments,” says Alberto Goldszal, chief information officer at University Radiology.
Goldszal highlights the ability of MedInformatix to integrate the product in a managed framework that enables radiologists, the front desk, and the IT department to retrieve and work with patient and practice data in accordance with best practices. Weekly working sessions with MedInformatix enable the practice to implement various Stage 1-required database metrics, such as patients’ smoking habits, vaccination histories, and allergies.
With every component of information, clinicians can make informed healthcare decisions, Goldszal says. University Radiology and MedInformatix have installed and enabled 15 of approximately 25 identifying data entries for patients. Staff at the practice will be prompted automatically and required to enter data to ensure that radiologists have the necessary information for proper diagnosis and treatment. The EHR application will guide users toward collecting patient information, down to the correct spelling of names and addresses.
“If something isn’t entered, or is entered incorrectly, the data entry process cannot move forward,” Goldszal says.
Some people critical of ARRA’s meaningful use provision have expressed reservations with the overseeing aspects of Stage 1, which requires capturing personal patient data. However, Goldszal disagrees with the perception.
“Meaningful use establishes a process to measure and report key health information,” he says. “When you think about such things as influenza and the potential for outbreaks of current and future esoteric diseases, the more information that’s available, the letter from a national health perspective. Smaller practices may also express concern over the capital investments that meaningful use requires.
However, “the cost savings and benefits of a digital, as opposed to an analog, records system is sizable with respect to a lessened need for record-keeping staff and the time required to search for analog-based records, which translates to more money spent,” says Goldszal.
These factors, combined with government incentive payments as high as $44,000 per provider for medical facilities implementing certified technology by 2012, can escalate the return-on-investment curve as meaningful use improves practice workflow across all areas, including scheduling appointments and exams, and billing. In addition to improving treatment and patient outcomes, the sooner that radiologists implement meaningful use technology, the better from a financial incentive perspective.
Facilities that wait until 2013 and 2014 to receive lower incentives, and those that fail to comply with the provisions by 2015, may face financial penalties up to 5 percent in the form of CMS reimbursement reductions. Stages 2 and 3 of meaningful use will address additional information exchange capabilities, including overall quality, safety, and efficiency toward improving overall health in the United States.
“For us, there are only benefits. There are no disadvantages to meaningful use certification,” Goldszal says.