Washington Report- January 5, 2012

January 5, 2012 ―Veterans of all eras are depending on us to get the right information to the right person at the right time.‖  Brandon Friedman, the director of online communications for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), remarking on the VA announcing the launch of Facebook pages for all 152 VA medical centers.  Top Five Aspects of Health IT to Focus on in 2012 – by Andrew W. Litt, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Dell Healthcare & Life Sciences  Can Healthcare in Ireland Heal the Recession Blues? – by Jamie Coffin, Ph.D., Vice President & General Manager, Dell Healthcare & Life Sciences  HealthWatch – A weekly digest of the latest news in the healthcare industry  #TopTweets – A few tweets worth noting this weekTop Five Aspects of Health IT to Focus on in 2012by Andrew W. Litt, M.D., Chief Medical Officer, Dell Healthcare & Life SciencesI hope, like me, you were able to physically and mentally spend the last 10 days away fromwork, taking time to relax and enjoy the holidays with your loved ones. Now, whilemaintaining your willpower to keep up your New Year’s resolutions and trying to find the timeto pack up the holiday decorations before Valentine’s Day sneaks around the corner, you’relikely trying to prioritize your organization’s goals for 2012. If you could only focus on fiveaspects of health IT in 2012, this is what I would suggest: 1. Ensure your information is secure. There is no doubt about it, your information is vulnerable and increasingly so every day. On a daily basis, you face internal threats, external threats and threats to your (or your employees’) mobile devices and smartphones. It is important not only to be proactive in preventing security breaches, but also be ready to be reactive in case your security measures are compromised. Your risk is not only financial (although the fines can be huge), but reputational as well. There are many layers of security to help you proactively guard against attacks. Implementing identity authentication, password aging, multi-step verification and role-based access control mechanisms and monitoring your network and logs continually for suspicious activity will likely prevent major attacks. However, in the event proactive security measures are compromised, having a Computer Incident Response Plan (CIRP) in place can help prevent security breaches from getting out of hand, and repair the damages quickly.

2. If you haven’t already, deploy Electronic Health Record (EHR) technology early to take full advantage of incentive payments. The early bird really does get the worm, so even though the start date for Stage 2 was delayed until 2014, if you’ve already met Stage 1, why not begin taking the steps to meet Stage 2 rather than waiting? If you are still working to fulfill the requirements of Stage 1, you were likely relieved by the delay. However, keep pushing forward because the sustained national budget crisis could threaten the longevity of Meaningful Use payments. In addition, your institution can’t even think about responding to health reform (ACOs, bundled payments, readmission penalties, etc.) without an EHR.3. Consider moving to the cloud. If you’re a little foggy on the topic of cloud computing, this would be a good time to do some research and decide if the cloud is a viable option for your organization’s networking and storage needs. Cloud computing opens a world of opportunities to improve healthcare, while enhancing security and reducing capital costs. Recently, Dell made a commitment to support pediatric cancer research programs globally, partnering with the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) by providing a cloud-based IT infrastructure. The cloud will reduce tumor mapping and analysis time from months to days and provide a secure, cloud-based framework for the pediatric oncology community to store, move and analyze genomic data effectively and efficiently. The cloud will help scientists and physicians investigate new technologies that accelerate genetic analysis and identification of targeted treatment for each pediatric cancer patient participating in the personalized medicine clinical trial.4. Optimize your storage options. We are just seeing the early rainfall in terms of healthcare data. The flood is coming! Storage is expected to grow 650 percent in the next five years. It may seem daunting to find storage options that keep up with your influx of data while staying within your budget. Cloud storage, such as unified clinical archiving, allows you to view every diagnostic image for a patient from one device at the point of patient care, so you don’t have to search through multiple disconnected systems.5. Begin the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 now. The final rule on ICD-10 codes was released by the Department of Health and Human Services on January 16, 2009, and yes, it is true that you have until October 1, 2013 to implement ICD-10 codes. ICD-10 is a fast moving train that your organization will want to jump on if it expects to receive payments for services provided after the deadline. Transitioning to ICD-10 codes is not an overnight process; it requires a culture transformation. ICD-10 implementation impacts every member of the healthcare community, and providing adequate education and training is the first step to a successful transition. Stay focused on the positive: the greater specificity of ICD-10 codes plus improved clinical documentation will result in a more effective capture of healthcare information and better quality of care.

As we think about priorities for 2012 in healthcare IT, the number one question must be: Howdoes HIT improve the quality of care while reducing cost? Providers will be facing hugefinancial and clinical pressures this year and we need to be ready with the answers tomitigate those challenges. It’s going to be an exciting year of possibilities. Let’s get started. Return to topCan Healthcare in Ireland Heal the Recession Blues?by Jamie Coffin, Ph.D., Vice President & General Manager, Dell Healthcare & Life SciencesIreland’s healthcare system has come a long way. Four years ago, the Euro Health ConsumerIndex report ranked it 11th out of 31 countries – a vast improvement from its 26th position in2006.Ireland is catching up with the rest of Europe on other healthcare indicators, too. While Irishlife expectancy had trailed behind the rest of the EU, today it stands at 80 years — two yearslonger than the EU average. This can be attributed to two factors: improved treatment ofcirculatory system diseases, which has reduced death rates by 39 percent, and a significantincrease in health services spending. Over the past decade, Ireland’s total public healthexpenditure has increased from €7.2 billion in 2001 to €15.5 billion in 2009. However, therewas an estimated slight dip in 2010 to €14.8 billion.The healthcare recessionUnfortunately, Ireland’s healthcare gains could now be reversed. Like many other countries,Ireland is coping with recessionary pressures that have put a severe strain on the healthcaresystem. This has been accompanied by greater demands on health infrastructure. AlthoughIreland’s healthcare system is currently free to all, the level of coverage favors economicallyweaker groups. Medical cardholders include 33 percent of the population, and there has beena 30 percent rise in their numbers over the last decade. Economic pressures caused anincrease of 9 percent between 2008 and 2009 alone.Mary Harney, TD, former Minister for Health and Children admitted, ―We are now in a periodwhere resources are severely constrained. Protecting and enhancing our health gains andcontinuing to improve health services will require working both more efficiently and moreeffectively.‖Ireland has tried to balance the impact of reduced healthcare spending with improved servicedelivery. For example, public acute hospitals have moved to more day case treatments. Aftera 139 percent increase over the last decade, the 650,000 day cases handled annually inIreland’s hospitals now outnumber their inpatients.Along with current resource constraints, Ireland must also address the problem of futurehealthcare planning. A study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) points outthat Ireland’s growing and aging population could make the country’s current healthcare

practices unsustainable by the year 2021. The emphasis now needs to shift from acutehospitals to primary, community and continuing-care services.ESRI estimates that an additional 13,000 residential, long-term care facilities will be requiredby 2021. It also predicts a shortage of general practitioners (GPs) resulting from the morefrequent need for GP consultations among the elderly.The government has factored these considerations into its long-term planning andunderstands that the aging population will increase the demand for high quality andaccessible healthcare.Like many other countries, Ireland needs to plan for future demographic changes, while alsocoping with recessionary pressures. If it can execute a forward-thinking strategy grounded inthe current economic environment, Ireland will be able to transform these healthcarechallenges into opportunities for significant growth and improved care. Return to topHealthWatchA weekly digest of the latest news in the healthcare industryBiomarker Tool to Detect Alzheimer’s Disease Earlier- In a report from CMIO, Finlandresearchers have developed a new tool, PredictAD, that enables physicians to diagnoseAlzheimer’s disease earlier through the use of decision support. The tool analyzes biomarkerreadings from a patient and compares these markers to other patient data in a securedclinical database. The markers are included in a mathematical model that creates an imageand offers supporting data to gauge the advancement of the disease. Researchers claim thetool will increase accuracy of diagnoses and offer physicians more data to support theirassessments.The Use of Telemonitoring in ICU- South Carolina’s Tuomey Healthcare System will launchtelemonitoring ICU services this April. The ―tele-ICU‖ services will deliver virtual monitoringby physicians and care specialists on a 24-7 cycle in the system’s hospitals. The services areexpected to significantly improve patient outcomes and patient safety, and the services couldalso lead to reduced mortality and length-of-stay. Each patient’s room includes two-wayvideo access for face-to-face consultations with the patient and healthcare team. The NewEngland Healthcare Institute (NEHI) suggests all community hospitals with 10 or more ICUbeds should adopt some form of tele-ICU care.Shift Your Focus to the ED to Cut Costs- A column published by Hospitals & Health NetworksDaily suggests that health leaders should focus efforts on the emergency department (ED) andembrace a D2D, or ―door-to-doc,‖ model. D2D works under the assumption that patientdemand and traffic variability can be predictable and the D2D model should be used todetermine appropriate staff levels and help EDs operate more efficiently during peak and offhours. The system can also reduce ED visits that are not necessary and decrease wait times aspatients are immediately taken to an intake room in which an ED worker will evaluate themfor further care. This way, emergency beds are saved for those truly in need.

Health IT Funds Appropriated for DOD and VA- President Obama recently signed theomnibus spending package, which included health IT appropriations for the Department ofDefense (DOD) and Veterans Affairs (VA). Lawmakers set aside $1.4 billion for DOD health ITspending, but this money is restricted for an EHR system until the agency meets certainrequirements. The DOD must first identify a cost-effective, interoperable EHR infrastructureand define the role of the DOD-VA Interagency Program Office in developing the EHR system.The omnibus spending package allotted $3.11 billion for VA health IT spending, and it willprimarily be used for health IT operations and maintenance, salaries and systemsdevelopment, enhancement, modernization, and the Virtual Lifetime Electronic Recordproject. Return to top#TopTweetsA few tweets worth noting this week Dell Healthcare @DellHealth #mHealth where it’s really needed - A #Smartphone App that Diagnoses Malaria from a Drop of Blood - via Forbes onforb.es/rIHFIX #apps HIMSS @HIMSS #Patients as Consumers--> are you comfortable with this new verbiage? @astupples weighs in buzz.mw/_WPatg EHRtv.com @EHRtv ZirMed helps us achieve an Understanding the 5010 Transition in Real-Time on the www.EHRScope.com blog bit.ly/s7TEq7 Medical Economics @MedEconomics Government may collect your data to evaluate regional extension centers bit.ly/rBWa0X #medicine #doctors Dell Healthcare @DellHealth #Intel Q&A w/David Zirl, @DellHealth - Five Questions about Medical Archiving and Security - intel.ly/iCDxuQ #MCC #UCA ONC @ONC_HealthIT Our #HealthIT glossary can help you learn more about the terms mentioned on this site: bit.ly/pbVPe7 Return to top

For previous editions of The Washington Report, click here. To contact us, direct message uson Twitter @DellHealth or send an email to Ask_Dell@Dell.com.Click here to go back to the Washington Report homepage.Download this weeks full Washington Report.Subscribe to the Washington Report.

Washington Report- January 5, 2012

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Washington Report- January 5, 2012 Document Transcript