A Different Flavor for EHR...DocuTAP

© Nezezon / Stock Free Images

The latest buzz surounding electronic health record provider, DocuTAP, is the additional venture capital financing for the Sioux Falls company founded in 2000.  The $11.9M injection is earmarked for increased marketing.

What caught my eye is their departure from the “vanilla” EHR varieties.  DocuTAP’s is focusing on one of the fast growing healthcare “flavors du jour” - Urgent Care.  The company appears to know its niche – experiencing significant growth over the last 12 months and consequently, tripling their workforce to support their services. 
"How Sweet!"... for their financial partners, Bluff Point Associates and Bessemer Venture Partners.  Read more

Assn Seeks EHR Data Standards

With the rapid deployment of electronic health record systems, there'a a concern about the ad hoc way in which health care data management processes and procedures are being developed.

This has led the American Health Information Management Association to convene stakeholders and focus on establishing guidelines to ensure data integrity, patient safety, quality and the prevention of billing errors.  Stakeholders at the November meeting will include health care professionals, health plans, quality organizations and vendors as well as the Dept. of Health and Human Services. This comes at a time when federal and state regulators are cracking down on billing fraud and data privacy and security.  >>Read more

Dermatology EMR Adding Specialties

What's your time worth?...is the question posed by the developers of an EMR for dermatologists.  

The highly fragmented EMR market boats 1,000 options.  EMR developer Modernizing Medicine has focused its Electronic Medical Assistant (EMA) on visual-oriented specialties that lend themselves to a touch-based platform.  Preferring the “big fish, small pond” approach, their EMA development path focused on covering small and midsized specialty practices.  First offerings covered dermatology, ophthalmology and optometry.  This fall products for plastic and orthopedic surgeons will be introduced. 

>> Read more, View EMA demo

Modernizing Medicine co-founder and chief medical officer Micheal Sherling, a practicing dermatologist, said their number one goal for EMA is to save doctors time and, as a result, money.

Source:  MedCity News

Checklist: Physical Therapy EMR Search

An industry blogger, physical therapist and electronic medical records advocate, Nitin Chhoda, cautions against a “one size fits all” approach to an EMR solution.  As physical therapy EMR usage continues to expand, Chhoda suggests key criteria for an effective vendor search:  Specialization, Flexibility, Ease of Use, Requirements, Tech Support.  >>Read more

How Safe is Patient Data?

SmartMoney sounds the alarm...and prompts the question: 

How well are health care providers protecting sensitive patient info?

A Risky Rx for Your Digital Records

SmartMoney Magazine - By Tania Karas - June 12, 2012

Few health care trends have gotten as much press of late as the mad rush into electronic health records.  Physicians, driven by the promose of better care, cost savings and nearly $23 billion in new federal incentive payments, are racing to turn their scribbled medical records into digital files.  Thirty-five percent of hospitals now use such systems, more than double the share two years ago, according to U.S. government figures.  bur for all the hype about electronic records, little attention has been paid to what some say is a serious weak spot:  When those sensitive bits and bytes fall into the wrong hands, it's often patients who feel the pain.

 

Since 2009, there have been more than 420 security breaches involving the records of some 19 million patients, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office for Civil Rights.  And such breaches are on the rise. >>Read more