5 Tips To Guide Your EHR Through Meaningful Use Stage 2

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Looking for tips to navigate MU stage 2 requirements?  View one tip on drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checks below and visit http://www.dosespot.com/meaningful-use-tips to download all 5 certification tips!

Meaningful Use Stage 2: Tip #2 –

§ 170.314(a)(2) Drug-drug, drug-allergy interaction checks

Objective: In addition to providing drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checks, this criteria requires EHRs to adjust the level of interactions based on user roles (ie: administrator).

Tip: Provide an easy-to-use user interface so a user can quickly adjust the interactions. DoseSpot allows the user to turn on and off the drug-drug and drug-allergy interactions as well adjust the severity level display between minor, moderate and major interactions.

Click here for more blog posts at ePrescribing.org on Meaningful Use.

DoseSpot Announces Groundbreaking Technology to Route e-Prescriptions Telepathically

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DoseSpot Announces Groundbreaking Technology to Route e-Prescriptions Telepathically

DoseSpot, an industry leader in electronic prescribing (e-Prescribing) integration platforms for medical and dental software, today unveiled new groundbreaking technology to route e-Prescriptions telepathically directly to a pharmacist, sending prescriptions in a matter of milliseconds.

“If a prescriber can think it, they can send it” said Greg Waldstreicher, President, DoseSpot. “We are thrilled to be innovating within the e-Prescribing market and upholding our commitment to creating greater efficiencies for healthcare professionals. Cloud-based software will soon be a thing of the past with the emergence of telepathic communications.”

The ability for prescribers, including doctors and dentists as well as telehealth providers to send prescriptions telepathically is the first of its kind. DoseSpot continues to make enhancements to the telepathic communications network and is currently beta testing sending telepathic prescriptions directly to patients.

April fools! DoseSpot prescribers unfortunately do not have the capability to send e-Prescriptions telepathically but they are equipped to:

• Safely and efficiently send prescriptions electronically to more than 65,000 pharmacies
• Automatically check for dangerous drug-drug and drug-allergy interactions
• Aggregate prescription history data from community pharmacies in addition to patient medication claims history from payers and pharmacy benefit managers
• Request information on patient insurance eligibility and formulary at the time of prescribing

Learn more about DoseSpot today at www.DoseSpot.com. That is no joke!

About DoseSpot

DoseSpot is a Surescriptsâ„¢ certified e-Prescribing platform specifically designed to integrate with electronic health record, practice management, and telehealth software. DoseSpot has provided affordable and integratable e-Prescribing solutions to more than 45 medical & dental software companies since 2009. For more information, please visit http://www.DoseSpot.com.

Bear River Mental Health Prescribes with DoseSpot

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About Bear River Mental Health:

Bear River Mental Health (BRMH) provides comprehensive mental health services to more than 3,000 patients annually at their eight locations across Utah.  Delivering mental health services according to the best practice guidelines with respect to appropriate medical necessity for more than 35 years, BRMH offers an array of services including:

• Assessments

• Behavior Management

• Crisis Management

• Medication Management

• Peer Support

• Psychological Testing

• Psychosocial Rehabilitation

• Psychotherapy

• Residential Services

• Respite Care

• Skills Development

e-Prescribing Integration:

“DoseSpot support is second to none” exclaims Thad Hunsaker, BRMH.  All eight of the BRMH offices use DoseSpot, with physicians accessing the e-Prescribing solution from multiple locations.  Thad explains, “Geographic location hasn’t added any difficulty where the service is provided online.” As a mental health organization, BRMH uses DoseSpot for more than just e-Prescribing.  “Patient medication management has long been an integral part of our treatment.  DoseSpot helps us manage this process online” adds Thad.  DoseSpot equips physicians with the capabilities to build a patient’s medication profile and then automatically review any drug-drug and drug-allergy interactions.

For the rest of this Case Study please visit http://www.dosespot.com/bear-river-mental-health.

OpenEMR Integration Functionality and Features

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OpenEMR is an electronic health record (EHR) and practice management application that can be downloaded with the click of a button. OpenEMR has a longstanding reputation as an open-source software (OSS) solution, after first being established 10+ years ago. It is ONC Complete Ambulatory EHR certified and qualifies physicians using the software for meaningful use incentive payments. EHR companies like CureCompanion have successfully integrated a mobile friendly interface layer on top of OpenEMR, running on a secure cloud.

OpenEMR includes a wide-range of features including:
• Patient Demographics
• Patient Scheduling
• Electronic Medical Records
• Medical Billing
• Clinical Decision Rules
• Patient Portal
• Reports
• Multilanguage Support
• Security
• Free Support

What is the only thing missing from OpenEMR? The answer is e-Prescribing. DoseSpot e-Prescribing can and has been integrated into an OpenEMR solution seamlessly and in just a short amount of time. e-Prescribing integration expands on the long list of features to include the routing of new and refill prescriptions electronically, drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checking, ability to view a patient’s medication history and check their insurance eligibility and formulary information.

To learn more about DoseSpot e-Prescribing, visit www.DoseSpot.com.

One Touch EMR Prescribes with DoseSpot

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Case Study:

One Touch EMR is designed to be simple and instinctive, allowing physicians to chart as fast as possible on their iPads and desktop computers. What makes their system unique is it was designed and developed by Dr. Robert Abbate, a physician who understands how physicians think and knows what is needed to provide an effective EMR solution that removes complexities rather than adding obstacles. Dr. Abbate designed One Touch EMR to replicate the medical school workflow students are trained in, making the solution more intuitive to physicians with the perks of being affordable and mobile. One Touch EMR is Stage 1 Meaningful Use certified and is used by more than 400 physicians across the United States.

e-Prescribing Integration:

During the planning and development stages of the One Touch EMR app, Dr. Abbate searched for an e-Prescribing platform that would seamlessly connect with his sleek and intuitive user interface. After thoroughly reviewing his options, Dr. Abbate selected DoseSpot because of its quick integration and easy to use user interface.

For the rest of this Case Study please visit www.DoseSpot.com/onetouchemr-case-study .

XLDent Prescribes with DoseSpot

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Case Study:

XLDent™ began researching integration of an e-Prescribing solution when it was mandated in Minnesota. However, this was not the only reason they considered adding e-Prescribing.  XLDent™ had already developed a written prescription module within their software that could be fed to the Doctor Portal, but it did not contain the patient’s entire prescription history. The company was looking for a solution that could offer dentists a comprehensive view of a patient’s medication history from a mobile device, such as their smartphone when away from the office. Their interest was also to include a clinical decision support tool that would help clinicians improve patient outcomes.

Solution:

XLDentâ„¢ chose DoseSpot because of the ease of integration, its easy-to-use user interface, and the fact that it met all of their feature criteria. “The development team at DoseSpot was and continues to be great to work with!” said Dawn Christodoulou, President of XLDent. “They are very engaged and responsive to our needs.”

Doctors Utilize Mobile Devices

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It’s no surprise that doctors are using mobile devices more than ever in the workplace. Pagers have long been replaced by iPhones and tablets, providing doctors with on the go access to:

• Patient medical information and history
• e-Prescribing software including drug-drug and drug-allergy interaction checking
• Email
• Medical references including image libraries
• Research resources; and
• A nearly unlimited number of applications courtesy of the Apple App Store

The latest in medical software advancements include telehealth capabilities, allowing doctors to visit with their patients via video conferencing software in addition to phone and email communication. Doctors can also connect with fellow healthcare professionals on their mobile device to discuss a patient encounter or field a question with the click of a button.

Adoption of health information technology continues to grow as organizations go for Meaningful Use certification. A 2013 survey fielded by Deloitte revealed that 43 percent of physicians currently use smartphones or tablets to access electronic health records, e-Prescribing and applications for communicating with other health care professionals. Additionally, 73 percent of physicians surveyed believe that health information technology will improve the quality of long term care provided.

Last year was a big year for adoption of mobile technology in healthcare but 2014 is slated to be the biggest yet. Stay tuned for an upcoming whitepaper on the current telehealth market plus the latest in industry trends and utilization.  Pre-register to receive the telehealth whitepaper at http://www.dosespot.com/telehealth-whitepaper.

Most Common e-Prescribing Questions Asked by Dentists

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We talked to a lot of dentists over the course of the three-day ADA Annual Session.  Between handing out our awesome #dosespotted t-shirts and providing demos, we fielded questions on all things e-Prescribing.  Below is a compilation of the questions most frequently asked and our attempt to answer them as enthusiastically as we do in person!

What exactly is e-Prescribing? e-Prescribing stands for electronic prescribing.  With e-Prescribing, dentists can route prescriptions electronically to the patient’s preferred pharmacy in addition to reviewing the patient’s medication history and insurance information.

What are the advantages of e-Prescribing? Where do we start?  In short, e-Prescribing saves time, increases efficiency and improves safety and security.  Dentists that e-Prescribe with DoseSpot can instantaneously route prescriptions, check for dangerous drug-drug and drug-allergy interactions and access dental specific medication information with the click of a button, to name a few.

What does ‘dental specific’ e-Prescribing mean? DoseSpot has an exclusive partnership with Lexicomp to provide dental specific medication information within the e-Prescribing workflow. This means dentists can access crucial medication information such as a medication’s effect on dental use & dental treatment, dental usual dosages, and many more! 

Can my office staff use it? Yes! With DoseSpot specifically, proxy accounts can be created that allow staff members to enter patient information and utilize a subset of features.

What are the next steps to getting e-Prescribing at my practice? We are glad you asked this one.  Just give us a call at (888)-847-6814 or visit DoseSpot.com/lexi

I’m not a dentist but am interested in learning more about e-Prescribing, what do I do? We have good news, we also integrate with both medical and telehealth software companies.  Call us, we’d love to talk to you.

Have we left any of your questions unanswered?  Feel free to tweet us any questions @DoseSpot or give us a ring (888)-847-6814.

Government Shutdown and Impact on HealthIT

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As we enter day three of the government shutdown, below are a few insightful healthIT and e-prescribing related articles that we think are great resources.

Also to keep in mind, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology website and Twitter handle (@ONC_HealthIT) are not being updated at this time.  You can find the Department of Health and Human Services contingency plan here.

Happy reading and keep up the awesome work!

ONC to take hit in government shutdown

‘Should Congress fail to pass legislation to continue funding the federal government, as it appears likely, the Department of Health and Human Services will be forced to furlough more than half of its employees. And the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT would be hit particularly hard.

Of the total 184 on-board staffers at ONC, only four would be retained and charged with handling “orderly phase-down and suspension of operations.”

Indeed, a government shutdown would mean ONC will put on hold its standards and interoperability work, privacy and security policy activities, clinical quality measure development, as well as maintaining the Certified Health IT Product List.’

According to Tom Sullivan, Editor, Government Health IT

What the Government Shutdown means for HealthIT Development

‘Non-essential US government operations are shut down as of last night.  That has some impacts on us in the Health IT Standards development space:

1. You won’t be able to test your CCDA documents or your implementation of the Direct transport.  TTT is down (the DNS name isn’t even found right now).
2. IHE testing supported by NIST will be offline (the servers are being shut down).
3. The Certified Health IT Products List won’t be updated.  It will still function, but you won’t see newly certified products after 9/27.  Certifiers can still operate if they have local copies of test tools.
4. Federal Employees engaged in standards development will not be on HL7 or IHE calls, or responding to e-mails.  You may see SOME e-mails today ensuring an orderly shutdown, but that will be it until things are resolved……..’

According to Keith Boone, Technology Blogger, Standards Architect at GE Healthcare, Director at large for Health Level Seven

Government shutdown could cause ‘chaos’ for ONC, health IT

‘John Halamka, FierceHealthIT Editorial Advisory Board member and CIO at Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, passed along an email to FierceHealthIT from one of his employees which said that, because the National Insitute of Standards and Technology is closed, certification of technology systems will be delayed. Document verification efforts, instead, will take place manually, it said.’

‘Meanwhile, FierceHealthIT Editorial Advisory Board member Todd Richardson, vice president and CIO at Wausau, Wis.-based Aspirus, Inc., said he isn’t too worried about the shutdown.”Perhaps I’m a mid-west pundit, but I don’t get too alarmed by all the noise coming out of D.C., and certainly am not about to make any rash decisions about which projects I need to look at stopping or slowing down,” Richardson, also a FierceHealthIT Editorial Advisory Board member, said in an email.’

According to FierceHealthIT

Government Shutdown Halts Health IT

‘The shutdown’s impact on health IT goes much deeper than the lapse in social media activity. It’s also being felt by multiple key ONC programs. For example, the administration of the Certified Health Information Technology Product List (CHPL) has stopped reporting to work. The CHPL maintains a public repository of EHR systems that have been tested and certified to ONC standards. Providers can only use products from this list to qualify for MU and receive payments under the program.

Work on the federally-funded Standards and Interoperability Framework has also ceased. This program is a collaboration of government agencies and private organizations geared toward improving the interoperability of health IT systems. In addition, the ONC will be unable to continue other standards, testing, and policy activities — all of which could have a marked impact on health IT privacy, security, and clinical quality measure development.

Finally, even though MU incentive dollars are still being paid out to providers during the shutdown, a lengthy government standoff could stall provider efforts to meet current Stage 1 and upcoming Stage 2 MU requirements. For example, without continued certification and testing, many health IT systems will remain uncertified, potentially stalling a healthcare provider’s ability to meet MU targets.

While the government shutdown isn’t “halting” health IT, it’s definitely an unwelcome obstacle standing in the way of continued health IT progress. Hopefully, the shutdown is short-lived.’

According to Ken Congdon, editor-in-chief, Healthcare Technology Online

Meaningful Consent

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Healthcare providers have long advised patients on making informed care decisions.  Now, patients can rely on providers for guidance on how their electronic patient information is shared.   Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HSS) launched, Meaningful Consent, a new site for physicians to better help their patients navigate health information exchange (HIE).  Resources featured include customizable tools, law and policy information, videos and tutorials.

Key background information:

• HIE is the way healthcare providers share and access health information using technology
• HIEs share patient information between participating healthcare providers regarding a patient’s health information for treatment and payment
• Patient education and engagement is important to help them understand their options and outcomes of each option

Meaningful Consent is important to improve healthcare information technology and educate patients on HIE to foster greater trust in physician communication and health technologies. As the trend grows and HIEs evolve, it’s vital to have both physicians and patients engaged and informed to improve care and health outcomes.

Read the HSS press release here.