Allscripts

ALSO NOTED: Sutter claims nurse strike won't affect operations; Wash. group pushes for patient care reporting; and much more...

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 07:59:50 -0400

> With thousands of its nurses poised to go on a 10-day strike, Sutter Health is telling the public that business will still go on as usual. Article

> The Puget Sound Health Alliance has been given access to Medicare information, which it plans to use to foster public reporting on patient care. Report

> The recent merger between health IT vendors Allscripts and Misys Healthcare could be a sign that the industry is due for consolidation. FierceHealthIT

> Here's a striking number: Apparently, almost one-third of New York City residents are enrolled in the state's Medicaid program. Article

And Finally... As if one batch of contaminated heparin wasn't enough... Article

Coalition promises free e-Rx technology to all MDs

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 19:01:38 -0500

All U.S. physicians should have free online access to electronic prescribing technology before the end of the month, courtesy of a new initiative from various tech firms, health insurers, and major physician groups. The $100 million National E-Prescribing Patient Safety Initiative (NEPSI) launched Tuesday with a Washington press conference attended by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Medicare chief Dr. Mark McClellan, as well as what one speaker called a "who's who of technology across the United States."

Electronic health records vendor Allscripts is providing the Web-based software called eRx NOW, Wolters Kluwer Health the drug-interaction checking, and SureScripts the electronic connectivity to pharmacies. Other participants include computer makers Dell and Fujitsu, as well as Microsoft, Cisco Systems, and, for real-time mobile access, Sprint Nextel. Nationally, Aetna and WellPoint have pledged to offer the financial support that long has been lacking from payers, while Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey has joined on a local level. Google is building a custom search engine for users. Additionally, 13 regional healthcare provider organizations--notably Brown & Toland Medical Group in San Francisco and the LSU Health Network in Louisiana--have agreed to assist with recruiting physician users to the system, which should be available nationwide by Jan. 31. Their first challenge be convincing a skeptical physician community that NEPSI is not a soft drink that contributes to the nation's obesity problem.

For more on this project:
-read the coalition press release
- check out the NEPSI website

PLUS: Time reports on "Cause of Death: Sloppy Doctors." Article

ALSO: Independence Blue Cross expands e-Rx program in PA. Report

ALSO NOTED: GE Healthcare buys Biacore; Effort to block physician reimbursement cuts gains steam; and much more...

Mon, 19 Jun 2006 20:00:50 -0400

> GE Healthcare will pay $390 million to buy Sweden's Biacore, a maker of machines for the life sciences industry, extending GE's move into that business after the purchase of Amersham International. Article (WSJ sub. req.)

> Sen. Hilary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) talked up EMRs at a conference on Long Island attended by hundreds of healthcare execs. Article

> Lawmakers say they plan to introduce legislation that would block pending Medicare reimbursement cuts targeting physicians. Article

> UBS Research forecast a good year ahead for AllScripts based on rising IT demand in healthcare. Article

And Finally... Faced with a bed shortage, a hospital sends a patient to a nearby bed and breakfast. Article

ALSO NOTED: WHO head dies after clot surgery; Critics warn bird flu plan not good enough; and much more...

Mon, 22 May 2006 20:00:50 -0400

> Dr. Lee Jong-wook, the head of the World Health Organization, died on Monday after emergency surgery for a blood clot to the brain. Article

> Ten former employees came forward to accuse CEO Haddad of Boston's Caritas Christi Health Care System of harassment since the Boston Globe's article on his behavior. Article

> French RFID company Tagsys is moving from Marseilles to Cambridge. Tagsys chairman Bernard E. Vogel comments, "I look at Boston, and I see it is to RFID what Silicon Valley was to information technology." Article

> AllScripts CEO Glenn Tulman sat down for an interview with HISTalk. Blog

> Critics at local health agencies are warning that the federal bird flu plan may not be good enough. Officials told Congress they need basic medical supplies and drugs. Article

And Finally... Iranian authorities dispute reports that bird flu is ravaging the country. Article

AllScripts, WebMD Health surge forward

Tue, 02 May 2006 20:01:35 -0400

The markets took note as AllScripts released first quarter numbers that show improvement in the company's software business. Revenue from software and related services nearly doubled to $28.3 million. Allscript's shares were up ten percent today, rising to $19.85 before showing signs of cooling. Despite some versions that suggest that earnings were below expectation, investors appear to be cheered by increased future earnings forecasts. AllScripts acquired A4Health Systems in January. The company provided the Emergency Department System which Midland Memorial Hospital announced it will purchase yesterday

WebMD Health shares rose five percent yesterday on word that the company is making good on its growth projections. WebMD Health says unique monthly users to its network increased 23 percent to 29.2 million, with total traffic of 746 million page views during the quarter, up 27 percent from a year ago.

- see this article from Smart Money.com

Midland Memorial signs with AllScripts

Mon, 01 May 2006 20:01:36 -0400

Midland Memorial Hospital announced a deal with AllScripts to deploy Allscripts Healthmatics ED in its emergency department. The system allows personnel to document new arrivals at bedside, improving patient flow and clinical documentation processes. Midland Memorial plans to integrate the system with the Precision 2000 Admit-Discharge-Transfer (ADT) system by McKesson. Midland Memorial is somewhat of a pioneer in that it's the first major site for the OpenVista system produced by MedSphere Systems.

- read this AllScripts release

SPOTLIGHT: Microsoft announces healthcare push

Mon, 17 Apr 2006 20:01:33 -0400

There are a few significant developments in Washington already this week in advance of the WHCC: Microsoft announced Knowledge-Driven Health Plans, a healthcare initiative that the company says "will improve care and reduce costs" by encouraging providers to adopt Microsoft software. The software giant announced more than 20 partners in the drive, including Hewlett-Packard, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and AllScripts. Article

Strong showing for eClinicalWorks in Boston

Sun, 16 Apr 2006 20:01:35 -0400

If the word of Massachusetts doctors is anything to go by, the electronic medical record system made by eClinicalWorks may be the next big thing. In an experiment arranged by the Massachusetts eHealth Collaborative, about 180 doctors' groups in three communities have been given all expense-paid EMR installations as part of a pilot project. The practices were treated to presentations by GE Healthcare, Allscripts and NextGen as well as eClinicalworks. The verdict was almost unanimous: 170 of the 180 practices participating chose eClinicalWorks.

"It's fair to say we didn't have any expectation that a lot of practices would go to a single system," comments Micky Tripathi, chief executive of the eHealth Collaborative. ''That was somewhat unexpected."

- read this Boston Globe article

PLUS: FierceHealthcare editor Matthew Holt interviewed eClinicalWorks CEO Girish Kumar a few months ago. The post is archived on The Health Care Blog. Blog

ALSO NOTED: AHLTA getting poor reviews; B&T told to back off in Chinatown; and much more...

Wed, 12 Apr 2006 20:00:50 -0400

> The DOD's new AHLTA electronic medical record system is getting some poor reviews from military physicians who say that it's slowing them down. Report

> Buck Consultants, a unit of outsourcer, ACS is working with ON Semiconductor to provide a range of healthcare consulting services. Release

> Dissident shareholder Accipiter Capital is suing hospital chain LifePoint. Article

> In San Francisco, giant medical group Brown & Toland is told to back off from trying to sign physicians in Chinatown to exclusive contracts. Report

> Deloitte Consulting's Jacques Mulder argues that medical and technology is advancing so fast that we have no way of deciding how to deal with it. Report

> The Wall Street Journal profiles the doctor at the center of the controversy over HCA's West Virginia hospital. Dr. John Anderson King is believed to have changed his name to Christopher Wallace Martin. The former orthopedic surgeon faces more than 100 malpractice suits filed by former patients. Article

> Allscripts CEO says that healthcare should look to the auto-repair system as a model for efficient automated transactions with insurers. Article

> A Mexican company is the maker of a new antivenin being tested in the Southwest that is believed to be the best available for scorpion stings. Report

And Finally... Intuit is getting seriously into the personal health accounting business. It has a deal with Ingenix, the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary, and will put out new products for healthcare under the Quicken label next year. Article

ALSO NOTED: Canadians say SARS experience prepares them for H5N1;NY public hospitals face crisis; and much more...

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 19:00:50 -0500

> Canadian hospitals say their experience dealing with the 2003 SARS epidemic has a left them a little bit better prepared for a pandemic. Article

> Chutes & Ladders: Aneesh Chopra, Virginia's new technology czar, moves into government from a position at the Advisory Board. Article

> New York City's public hospital system is in danger of running out of cash, officials at the Health and Hospitals Corporation said yesterday. Rising costs and a missing payment from New York State are blamed. Article

> A CDC-backed study finds emergency rooms across the county are unprepared to deal with pediatric trauma cases. Article

> In Connecticut, St. Francis Physician Hospital selected the AllScripts TouchWorks electronic health record. Article

> Four small Pennsylvania hospitals that participated in a pilot test that let them perform angioplasties are suing the state in a bid to continue offering the procedures. Article

> Two Utah hospitals withdrew from the trial of the synthetic blood substitute PolyHeme, following word that Northfield Laboratories concealed an earlier trial. Article

> This essay by a nurse who moved to a HIT software company talks about the real world issues healthcare software designers need to focus on. Blog

And Finally... A ten-year-old Oregon case involving the suspicious deaths of patients and a registered nurse who moved from hospital to hospital is raising questions. Article