Washington Report- November 30, 2011

November 30, 2011 “The only way to stabilize costs without cutting benefits or provider fees is to improve care to those with the highest health care costs.” Marilyn Tavenner, who was selected by President Obama to succeed Dr. Donald Berwick as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).This week’s edition of the Dell weekly Washington Report:  CMS Leadership Changes – Will the recent CMS leadership changes affect ICD-10 implementation?  Discover Health IT – by Andrew W. Litt, M.D., chief medical officer, Dell Healthcare & Life Sciences  HealthWatch – A weekly digest of the latest news in the healthcare industry  #TopTweets – A few tweets worth noting this weekCMS Leadership ChangesWill the Senate be more welcoming to Tavenner?Last week, the White House announced that Dr. Donald Berwick, who has been theadministrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) since 2010, will resignhis position on December 2nd, which is four weeks before his recess appointment expires.Berwick was first nominated by President Obama in April of 2010, but the Senate, which isrequired by law to confirm the nomination, failed to do so. In fact, 42 Republican Senators,which is more than enough to block the appointment, asked Obama to withdraw thenomination because they opposed Berwick’s praises of Great Britain’s socialized healthcaresystem. Many Republicans pledged to block Berwick’s confirmation as CMS administrator.Although many Democratic Senators praised Berwick for his innovative ideas and efforts toimprove the healthcare system by carrying out Obama’s health reform bill, they did not makeaggressive attempts to confirm the nomination.The Obama administration has nominated Marilyn Tavenner, who has been the principaldeputy administrator of CMS since February 2010, to be Berwick’s successor. She will serve asinterim administrator until the Senate votes to confirm her as the new leader. Tavenner haspracticed as a nurse, a hospital executive, the secretary of the Virginia Department of Healthand Human Resources and served as acting CMS administrator before Obama nominatedBerwick in 2010. She is recognized more for her effective management style than her policystances, as Berwick was. It is still unclear whether Tavenner will face the same Republicanopposition as Berwick.Unlike Berwick, Tavenner is recognized as a pragmatist and has not yet been criticized forradical policy changes, but she will not have an easy time facing the Senate in the nominationhearings. Tavenner has kept a low profile in CMS, and she never testified before Congressduring the federal health reform law hearings. Working quietly behind the scenes, she hasbeen described as a “chief implementer” of the health reform law, overseeing thedevelopment of rules and overhauling payment systems.

In Berwick’s case, Obama bypassed the traditional Senate confirmation by allowing Berwick arecess appointment. The Senate has a few months to fully scrutinize Tavenner before it votesto confirm the nomination in the spring. Though it is too early to tell whether the RepublicanSenators will be more welcoming to Tavenner than Berwick, many Republicans outside ofCongress approve the appointment. The American Medical Association also released astatement of their approval of Tavenner: “We have worked extensively with her in her role as deputy administrator, and she has been fair, knowledgeable and open to dialogue. With all the changes and challenges facing the Medicare and Medicaid programs, CMS needs stable leadership, and Marilyn Tavenner has the skills and experience to provide it.”We can expect Tavenner to follow the same path as Berwick, but possibly her managementstyle will cross party lines and gain the approval of both Republican and Democratic Senators. Return to topDiscover Health ITby Andrew W. Litt, M.D., chief medical officer, Dell Healthcare & Life SciencesIn my career as a practicing neuroradiologist and hospital administrator, I was involved inmany IT purchasing decisions. Each of those engagements began with a problem that neededsolving. Though we often had a vision of where we needed to be, never once did we startwith a solution and work backwards. Rather, our most productive engagements were those inwhich we collaborated with our partners to build customized solutions that met our uniqueneeds.That’s why I’m so impressed with Dell’s new Discover Healthcare IT interactive tool. Thisvirtualized website allows users to find pain points on the website they can relate to andexplore potential solutions – all from their own point of view. Whether you represent ahospital, payer organization or physician practice, you’ll find something you can identify withduring your virtual tour.You’ll see clinicians and administrators using Dell solutions to improve patient care and safety,augment clinical collaboration, enhance the patient experience and make the reimbursementsystem more efficient and effective. You’ll see IT professionals using Dell innovations to givecaregivers the power to do more – whether through mobile solutions, cloud computing,consulting or other services. This interactive tool lets you choose what to explore, and opensthe door to a new world of information-driven healthcare.The challenges in healthcare have never been more complex for providers, patients andpayers, and we know that technology alone is not the answer. That’s why Dell’s staff ofhealthcare experts – including physicians, nurses and administrators – is working with ourtechnology experts to analyze real-world problems and create end-to-end solutions that bringtogether services, process improvement consulting and targeted, customized IT technology.Give Discover Healthcare IT a test drive and tell us what you think at DellHealth@dell.com. Return to top

HealthWatchA weekly digest of the latest news in the healthcare industry“Super Committee” Stalemate- The Joint Select Committee on Budget Reduction, alsoknown as the “Super Committee,” released a statement early last week that “…it will not bepossible to make any bipartisan agreement available to the public before the committee’sdeadline.” Hopes that the committee could solve our nation’s budget crisis have been put onhold. Both sides of the aisle are pointing fingers, and the American public is beyond frustrated.The “Super Committee” understands the budget crisis needs to be resolved and not leftunsettled for the next generation.Concerns about Meaningful Use- KLAS and the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA)surveyed 216 radiologists, revealing that nearly 40 percent of participants have concernsabout Meaningful Use (MU). They are concerned either with the lack of clarity around MUguidelines or decreased efficiency as a result of adopting the guidelines. Many radiologistsbelieve the MU guidelines could be targeted more toward radiology. Sixty percent of thesurvey respondents plan to qualify, or consider qualifying, for MU incentive payments but onlysix percent feel as though they are well-educated on the MU program.Retail Clinics on the Rise- Researchers at Rand Corporation found that the use of retailclinics has increased 10 fold between 2007 and 2009. While reviewing the data of 13.3 millioncommercially insured patients under the age of 65, researchers found that 3.8 million peoplein the group visited a retail clinic at least once. Patients who visited retail clinics, which tendto cost 30 percent less than physicians’ offices and 80 percent less than emergency rooms,tended to be women under the age of 44 who lived in areas where the median annual incomewas more than $59,000. Retail clinics can treat many common issues such as upper respiratoryinfections, ear infections and the flu.Mobile Services Improving Patient Communications- Text4Baby is the first free mobilehealth information service in the United States, providing a health education texting serviceto underserved pregnant women and new mothers. A study funded by the Alliance HealthcareFoundation, and conducted by researchers at the National Latino Research Center atCalifornia State University and the University of California, San Diego, found that the freetexting service proved effective in improving patient-provider communication, remindingpatients about appointments and encouraging patients to take healthy steps for themselvesand for their babies. More than 75 percent of the 160 women surveyed said the servicealerted them of health warning signs during their pregnancies that they would not haveotherwise recognized. More than 70 percent said the text messages they received prompteddiscussions with their physician, and 63 percent said the program helped them rememberappointments and to receive the proper immunizations.Dell Cloud Clinical Archive- Nearly a year after the acquisition of InSite One, Dell is seeingcontinued growth in cloud-based medical archives as it develops new strategic alliances andmakes plans for global deployment. InSite One’s secure, cloud-based, image managementsoftware and storage services, which is known as the Dell Cloud Clinical Archive, allows Dell’sUnified Clinical Archive (UCA) to simplify data retention, facilitate disaster recovery andallow healthcare professionals to access and share images across a variety of applications andplatforms. Dell is showcasing the UCA solution this week in Chicago at RSNA 2011, booth#8713.

Return to top#TopTweetsA few tweets worth noting this week @Perficient_HC Perficient Health IT #EHRs: An International Perspective on #MeaningfulUsebit.ly/vgHb2g #HealthIT #hitsm #EMR #MU @InformationWeek InformationWeek EHR Adoption To Reach 80% By 2016 twb.io/sKN6SB @Cerner Cerner Corporation Interactive patient systems streamline communication, boost satisfaction bit.ly/rGRgnm #healthIT @kevinmd Kevin Pho, M.D. Why medical scientists should share data is.gd/a4ZCDJ Return to topFor previous editions of The Washington Report, click here. To contact us, direct message us@DellHealth or send an email to Ask_Dell@Dell.com.

Washington Report- November 30, 2011

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Washington Report- November 30, 2011 Document Transcript