EHR Meaningful Use by 2011                    February 2010
Breast Cancer Screening                                    Vol. 5
Guidelines

Rhode Island Prevention Connection

Your resource for optimizing the use of your electronic health record (EHR) system to improve the quality and frequency of preventive health care services

Attaining Level 1 Meaningful Use -2011

Excerpts from a Healthcare IT News article date 2-04-10:

On December 30, 2009, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released documents shedding light on what physicians and hospitals must do to qualify for electronic health record (EHR) incentive payments under the HITECH Act. To qualify for incentives, physicians and hospitals must be using "certified EHR technology" in a "meaningful manner."

These documents give us the clearest picture yet on what features physicians and hospitals need to look for in their EHR technology. They also tell us how that technology needs to be used to meet the definition of meaningful use during the Stage 1 (2011) EHR adoption period.

Among other things, these documents show us:

How physicians and hospitals can achieve meaningful use in Stage 1;
What software features your EHR technology needs to become certified; and,
What the final rulings mean for CCHIT certification.

We'll also look at a few points that the rulings didn't address.To read the article in its entirety and view a table version of the criteria for meaningful use click here.

Doctor's Corner

by Christopher Campanile, MD, PhD

Interpreting Guidelines for Breast Cancer Screening and Developing Your Own Approach

There has been much discussion and debate, since this past November, when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) published updated guidelines regarding mammography for breast cancer screening. Unfortunately, it was also dragged into the highly contentious and politicized atmosphere of the U.S. Congress as they worked to fashion a health care reform bill.

The USPSTF now recommends biennial screening mammography for women aged 50 to 74 years. Other organizations involved in breast cancer care or research recommend starting breast cancer screening at 40 years of age at either 1 or 2 year intervals, depending on the organization. Why so much variation? It's not hard to understand if you take into account .....................

............The greatest challenge is not facilitating this discussion with a patient, but having the time to do it. However, with the use of well-worded education material and the assistance of other members of the health care team, I believe it can be accomplished. To read the article in its' entirety click here.

In the News

New Prescribing Information on Zostavax

In a communication to providers dated January 25, 2010, Merck & Co. Inc., stated that 'Zostavax and Pneumovax 23 should not be given concurently because concomitant use resulted in reduced immonogencity of Zostavax.

In a double blind study, controlled clinical trial, 473 adults, 60 years of age or older, were randomized to receive Zostavax and Pneumovax 23 concomitantly (N=237), or Pneumovax 23 alone, followed 4 weeks later by Zostavax alone (N=236). At 4 weeks postvaccination the VZV antibody levels following concomitant use were significantly lower than the VZV antibody levels following nonconcomitant administration (GMTs of 338 vs. 484 gpELISA units/mL, respectively; GMT ratio= 0.70 (95% Cl:[0.61,0.80]). Merck is not reccomending revaccination for patients who previously received Zostavax and Pneumovax 23 concurrently.'

Merck suggests directing any questions to the Merck National Service Center at 877-637-2521.

Prevention Update

In general, the Quarter 5 and Quarter 6 data for the Power Up for Prevention practices reflects a slow progression of entering care provided through breast and colorectal cancer screenings and vaccinations into the appropriate, discrete data field. The influenza rates for Quarter 6 however, remain at sub-baseline for many of the practices. The prevention team is working with external partners to improve communication back to the PCP, when patients are vaccinated outside of their offices. Please ensure there is a working process in place for a designated staff member to scan that faxed or mailed vaccination information into the patient's EHR and most importantly, enter it into the discrete data field in the patient's record.

The Quarter 6 data reports are ready to be shared. We are contacting the offices to arrange a meeting time to present your data and to provide free consultation to address any existing barriers. Please contact us with any questions or to arrange an appointment today.

Sharing Best Practices

Improving Patient Satisfaction and Understanding through Health Literacy Awareness

According to a 2004 report from the Institute of Medicine, ninety million Americans have difficulty understanding and acting on health information. The Health Literacy Collaborative of the Iowa Health System used this information as an opportunity to create change. The processes they implemented resulted in the staffs' heightened awareness of health literacy issues, improved communications between patients and providers, and increased patient satisfaction. Click here to find out how they did it.

Please contact us with your best practices and we will share your successes in our newsletter.

Tip of the Month

It's not too late to immunize your patients, especially those over 65, against seasonal and H1N1 flu. Contact us today to find out how you can receive additional vaccine supply!

Coming Soon......

March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month

This material was prepared by Quality Partners of Rhode Island, the Quality Improvement Organization for Rhode Island, under contract with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

In This Issue

Doctor's Corner

In the News

Prevention Update

Best Practices

Tip of the Month

Quote of the Month

The strength of the team is each individual member...the strength of each member is the team.

~Coach Phil Jackson,

Chicago Bulls

Events

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