INC ONCERT C ARE
EMR
AND
PMS N EWSLETTER
T HE EMR E XPRESS
V OLUME 2, I SSUE 7

N OVEMBER 2010
HEALTH CENTER IMPLEMENTATION UPDATES
Primary Health Care, Inc. kicked off their PM implementation with INCC, CY Solutions
and their implementation team on October 22, 2010. Weekly calls have been scheduled to
start the week of November 8.
Peoples Community Health Clinic, Inc is moving along since their PM kick off September
7. After three days of PM administration training their team is working on homework,
looking forward to end user training the end of November, and a PM Go Live midDecember.
Siouxland Community Health Center continues on with their EMR Implementation. Preloading training for the SCHC staff kicked off the end of September, and they are staying
the course for their February 2011 EMR Go Live date.
EMRs HELP TO IMPROVE „People, Planet, Profits'
You want an EMR, but you also want a return on your investment. At least one nonhealthcare pundit believes you should look past just the financial bottom line and see that
EMRs can provide benefits for the "3 Ps" of sustainability--people,
planet, profits.
A post on the Triple Pundit blog says that EMRs deliver on all three
areas, with better patient care, a smaller environmental footprint
and fewer write-offs of accounts receivable.
Source: Jennifer Hicks, Triple Pundit http://
www.triplepundit.com/2010/09/01/are-electronic-medical-records-away-to-the-triple-bottom-line/
HELP DESK REMINDER
To open a help desk ticket with INCC, go to the http site:
http://192.168.1.34
Your login is your network/computer username and password that
you use to sign into your computer each day.
For Centricity manuals, training videos, and presentations,
go to the ftp site: ftp://192.168.1.27/
I NSIDE THIS
ISSUE :
T HIRD I MPLE-
2
MENTATION
S PECIALIST
J OINS INCC
T EAM
C ONFERENCE
2
PRESENTATIONS
ON EMR AND
MU
EMR C LINICAL 3
C ONTENT S UBCOMMITTEE
A VOIDING
EHR DISAS-
4
TERS
EMR & MU
T RAINING
AND E VENTS
5
I NCENTIVE
6
PAYMENTS
Free HIT
Certification programs
6
P AGE 2
T HE EMR E XPRESS
T HIRD I MPLEMENTATION S PECIALIST R OUNDS O UT T EAM
Kyle Pedersen has joined the INCC staff to assist Kyle Haindfield and
Jennifer Cox as a third implementation specialist. Kyle started on September 20, 2010 and has plunged right in to getting to know the needs
of the centers and adding GE Centricity to his repertoire.
Kyle comes to us from Allscripts/Eclipsys where he was an Implementation/Professional Services Consultant for more than 3 years, having
worked with clinics and practices in 38 states to implement EMR and
PMS solutions. Kyle brings a background of clinical workflow and implementation experience, as well as PM and coding experience to the
team, and will be attending Alliance training to gain exposure to our
model. Kyle has a Bachelors of Science in Training & Development
from Iowa State University.
Kyle lives in Clive, and in his spare time, you will find Kyle enjoying
snow sports in Colorado, getting his hands dirty with service projects
and leadership development locally and around the midwest, and always being in the loop with great restaurants and live music.
Kyle Pedersen can be reached at kpedersen@ianepca.com or at 515-333-5027.
2010 IA/NEPCA ANNUAL CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AVAILABLE
The Iowa Nebraska Primary Care Association’s Annual Conference was held at Honey Creek Resort in Rathbun,
Iowa on October 28-29, 2010. Several sessions related to the topic of electronic medical records. To review all
presentations provided to IA/NEPCA from this conference, go to: http://www.ianepca.com/
news_and_events/2010_annual_conference_presentations.php
Two sessions of particular importance include:
"The Patient-centered Medical Home and the Future of American Medical Care" - Dr. Ed Wagner
"Achieving Meaningful Use of Certified Electronic Medical Records" - Kim Downs, IFMC
Kim Downs, RN, CPHQ, Senior Direction of Operations at IFMC reminded us of the MU Clinical Quality
Measures:
Hypertension: Blood Pressure Measurement
Preventive Care and Screening Measure Pair: a) Tobacco Use
Assessment b) Tobacco Cessation Intervention
Adult Weight Screening and Follow‐up
Weight Assessment and Counseling for Children and Adolescents
Preventive Care and Screening: Influenza Immunization for
Patients 50 Years Old or Older
Childhood Immunization Status
Seiji Hayashi, MD, MPH, Chief Medical Officer for HRSA BPHC also discussed the importance of health centers use of electronic medical records and meeting the meaningful use measures.
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V OLUME 2, I SSUE 7
INCC/ALLIANCE EMR CLINICAL CONTENT SUBCOMMITTEE
THE WORK ADVANCES
Health center staff have been consistently meeting over the past year to review clinical content and protocols in
the GE Centricity product as well as the additions and revisions created by the Alliance of Chicago. INCC and the
Alliance of Chicago have been working with the continual leadership, input and guidance of INCC health centers.
Often there has been one, if not two, meetings each month. The next meetings are scheduled for Thursday, November 11 and December 9, 2010. All meetings run from noon – 1:30 pm CT. INCC provides the dial-in #
and web meeting details in advance of the calls with a reminder and the applicable materials.
To facilitate this process, there are many health center clinicians who agreed to serving as a subject matter experts
on the content areas still needing to be reviewed. Content areas still to be discussed include: geriatrics, alcohol
screening, and telephone nursing, including IV fluid administration, medication administration and triage.
We appreciate the continued feedback provided by each center on these calls and for the review of content and
protocols with all providers at each center. All centers, regardless of your EMR vendor, are welcome to review
the clinical protocols identified and agreed upon through this process. In general people are accepting of the content/protocols, yet have questions about the process, flow and the visual aspects of the information in the EMR.
Clinical content areas discussed to date includes:
Asthma age less than 5 yrs
Pediatric well-child, including EPSDT
Asthma age 5-99
Adult Preventive Care
HIV male and female
Cardiovascular/Hypertension
Chronic Pain Management
OB
Adult depression
Hepatitis C
Diabetes
Behavioral Health
Participation in this subcommittee is open to all. Let Deb Kazmerzak or Dawn Gentsch at IA/NEPCA know if
you are interested in being added to the subcommittee distribution list.
Two-Year HIT Degrees are available through:
Des Moines Area Community College http://www.dmacc.edu/welcome.html
Eastern Iowa Community College District http://www.eicc.edu/
Iowa Lakes Community College http://www.iowalakes.edu/
Indian Hills Community College http://www.indianhills.edu/
Metropolitan Community College http://www.mccneb.edu/
Northeast Iowa Community College-Calmar http://www.nicc.edu/
Northwest Iowa Community College http://www.nwicc.edu/
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T HE EMR E XPRESS
AVOIDING EHR DISASTERS
1. Leadership and support from the top – Successful EHR implementation requires absolute support from upper
management within an organization. Support needs to be unwavering throughout the inevitable “ups” and “downs” of
project implementation.
2. Physician Champions and EHR advocates – In order to ensure success, physician and other clinician EHR
champions should be identified and recruited. Physician champions serve as the positive driving force for EHR implementation.
3. Set unified goals and realistic expectations for change management – Define objectives up front, and stick
to those goals. Workflow changes using an EHR are inevitable and people need to be patient and realize that the transition to an EHR may not be smooth, but in the long run will pay off. Strive for compromise among clinicians in defining
common goals.
4. Avoid “vapor ware” – If choosing a vendor system, make sure that the selected vendor system can deliver what it
promises by talking to other clients. You do not want to be the beta test site for promised functionality that does not
really exist. Be wary of functionality that exists in the “next release of code” or the “next system upgrade” that is not due
for several months. Do not believe it unless you can see it.
5. Project management – Effective implementation is dependent upon utilizing a project manager who can coordinate all aspects of the implementation, from hardware to software to testing and training, across clinicians, administrative staff, IT staff and the vendor/s. This individual needs to be an effective communicator dedicated to all aspects of the
EHR project.
6. Map out an implementation timeline with flexibility expected – Choose a timeline for implementation
milestones with the realization that dates can change. It is important to focus on specific deliverables due by specific
dates. If deadlines are offset in an egregious manner, then the project should be reassessed for any serious problems that
would prevent success.
7. Involve clinicians and staff in the decision-making process – Involve front line physicians, nurses, and other
support staff in the EHR implementation, including the system selection process, workflow definition and process redesign. Engage physician staff in the design of EHR components such as order sets, flow sheet views and documentation
templates. Keep people up to date with implementation tasks and progress.
8. Avoid “Scope creep” – Do not be thrown off by requests for added features or functionality that were not part of
the original change management goals. Table or “park” those items for post implementation prioritization and review.
Freely adding on to the scope of the originally defined work plan creates extra tasks and confusion that may not be attainable within the defined timeframe for implementation. Scope creep throws people off from their goals.
9. Test, Test, Test – The value of testing cannot be underestimated when implementing an EHR. Hardware
setup needs to be tested. It is absolutely essential to test new workflows within the context of the new EHR
software. Engage front line staff in the testing process well in advance of the EHR go-live date.
10. Train, Train, Train – Successful EHR implementation requires thorough staff training. Tailor training to
meet the needs of office staff based on their experience with computers and their role within the organization.
Training does not end with the first day of system go-live. Create a group of staff who are system “superusers”
that others can go to for immediate assistance, and who can serve as point people for system and process issues
that develop post go-live.
In Partnership with: The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services grant 90RC0004/01. IA-HITREC-05/10-021 Reprinted by INCC with permission from IFMC.
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V OLUME 2, I SSUE 7
EMR TRAINING & EVENTS (upcoming and archived)
The IFMC Health Information Technology Regional Extension Center offers a monthly webinar training. The
past trainings are available online at no cost. http://www.iowahitrec.org/news_events
Upcoming sessions include:
Project Management: Change is a Positive Thing
11/30/2010 Noon CST
Discover how to create a project plan and engage the key stakeholders in
your project. Includes how to prepare staff, keep the team on target, set
goals, and accomplish milestones.
Evaluation and Improvement: Optimizing EHR Benefits
01/25/2011
Discuss how to conduct a post –EHR implementation, evaluation and impact analysis. Explore improvement
opportunities to meet meaningful use criteria.
Health Information Exchange: Protecting Your Patient and Your
Organization 02/22/2011
Discuss best practice guidelines to ensure health information privacy and security in
an electronic environment.
All live and archived webinars are free. Register at www.IowaHITREC.org
Moving Towards Meaningful Use
Wednesday, December 1, 2010 ~ 10:00 a.m. - 3:45 p.m. CT
Holiday Inn - Kearney, Nebraska
Wide River Technology Extension Center (TEC), Nebraska’s Regional Extension Center, invites you to join
Health Information Technology and Health Information Management professionals from around the state for
this informative one-day program. Designed to focus on meaningful use, health information exchange, Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and accelerating project management, there is sure to
be a number of valuable takeaways from this event.
The cost to attend is $25.00, which is the cost for food and beverages during the event. Registrations are nonrefundable, but are transferable to another person in the same clinic.
Go to http://www.widerivertec.org/home/eventregistrationform.aspx and fill out the online form. You will then be
sent a confirmation e-mail with instructions on how to submit payment for attending this event. RSVP by
Wednesday, November 24, 2010 Questions? Contact Jennifer Rathman, Communications Manager, at
jrathman@widerivertec.org or 402.476.1700
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T HE EMR E XPRESS
9943 Hickman Rd. Suite 103
Urbandale, Iowa 50322
Phone: 515.244.9610
Fax: 515.243.3566
V ISIT
Fall Leaves
U S O N L I N E AT :
WWW. IANEPCA. COM
“Meaningful Use of
Fall Leaves”
FREE HIT CERTIFICATE TRAINING PROGRAM‟S AVAILABLE AT
IA and NE COMMUNITY COLLEGES
Seventy community colleges from across the nation received funding for the new HIT program, part of a larger $144
million HHS award from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. In the Midwest 17 community colleges in ten states have formed the Midwest Community College Health Information Technology Consortium.
"The institutions receiving awards will develop necessary roadmaps to help health care providers and hospitals implement and effectively use electronic health records,” said Dr. David Blumenthal, national coordinator for the HHS
initiative. The new non-credit certification targets health industry professionals and is part of President Barack
Obama’s requirement that every U.S. citizen have an electronic medical record by 2014. The goal is to make health
care more efficient, transferable and reduce errors.
These programs provide short-term training in specific roles that will support the implementation of electronic health
records. The curriculum focuses on job specific training in six workforce roles to support implementation of EHR.
These certificate programs can provide you with the skills, confidence and connections you will need to thrive in the
HIT field. We recommend that applicable health center staff register and obtain this certification.
The DMACC Health IT Certificate Program will provide training in four roles that have been identified: 1. Implementation Support Specialist, 2. Implementation Manager, 3. Technical/Software Support Staff, and 4. Trainers. A
completed application with a $25.00 registration fee is required. Courses start every 30 days and it is estimated to
take six months to complete the certificate. To learn more about the DMACC HIT Certificate program.http://
go.dmacc.edu/programs/health/healthinfotech/Pages/welcome.aspx
The Kirkwood Community College Certificate Program is set up in a similar manner. Follow this link to learn more:
http://www.kirkwood.edu/site/index.php?d=1034
Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, NE was also funded and their first cohort started in September. Tuition
is free for qualified applicants. http://www.mccneb.edu/hitp/
See page 3 of this newsletter for links
to Iowa community colleges that offer
a 2 year AAS degree in HIT