Cygnus Workstation Solutions for Healthcare
Cygnus creates wood and metal computer workstation solutions with a focus on the healthcare industry. Wall mounted computer desks, charting stations, articulating arms and medication cabinets are some of our largest sellers.
This blog is a place where we share articles of interest as well as new product updates.
HHS panel says ease 2011 meaningful use tests
 By Mary Mosquera on GovernmentHealthit.com
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
A Health and Human Services advisory group today recommended the government abandon an “all or nothing” approach to its plan for offering doctors and hospitals financial incentives next year for getting electronic health record systems up and running. In a meeting of HHS Health IT Policy Committee, members recommended the government relax some 2011 requirements for “meaningful use” of health IT in order to give providers more flexibility in qualifying for the plan in their first year of eligibility. The Committee recommended providers be able to defer up to five proposed measures of meaningful use from 2011 to 2013. Six measures – including showing the ability to perform e-prescribing and providing patients an electronic copy of their heath records -- would remain fixed first year requirements. Under the committee’s Feb. 17 proposal, providers would still have to meet 80 percent of the original meaningful use measures. The shift would establish a common set of health IT functions among providers qualifying in the first year of eligibility while providing them options for ramping up for the new technology. [Continue Reading] Labels: #meaningfuluse, Health IT, Meaningful Use
posted by Dan Laninga at
 
Meaningful Use Rules Now Official
 HDM Breaking News, January 13, 2010 Agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services on Jan. 13 officially published two rules covering the meaningful use of electronic health records provisions of the HITECH Act within the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Publication of the rules starts the clock for the public comment period, with both rules having a March 15 deadline for comment. The proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services defines "meaningful use" of electronic health records to qualify for Medicare and Medicaid incentive payments. It lays out a series of measures to collect and report data to government agencies. The rule is 169 pages long in a PDF format. An interim final rule from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology sets initial standards, implementation specifications and certification criteria for EHR technology. The rule is 33 pages long in a PDF format. A forthcoming rule will establish an EHR certification program. The rules are available at gpoaccess.gov/fr/index.htmLabels: Electronic Health Records, Electronic Medical Records, Healthcare IT, Meaningful Use, meaningfuluse
posted by Dan Laninga at
HHS defines rules for receiving billions for e-health systems
 BY ALIYA STERNSTEIN 01/04/2010From http://www.nextgov.comRecently released government standards for electronic health record systems show what medical professionals must buy to receive some of the nearly $20 billion in stimulus funding set aside to encourage the development of technology, and Web-based technologies that Google and Microsoft developed may be eligible purchases in the future, IT specialists say. The Health and Human Services Department issued preliminary guidelines on Dec. 30, 2009. Medical professionals who make "meaningful use" of certified electronic health records, as defined by the department, will be eligible for up to $44,000 in Medicare bonus payments during the next five years. One preliminary rule dictates the types of technologies providers must use to be eligible for the incentives, setting initial standards and criteria for certifying the systems. A separate proposed rule defines meaningful use as complying with specific procedures -- including the reliance on certified technologies -- in ways that enhance the coordination of care, engage patients and families, and ensure privacy. [Continue Reading] Labels: Healthcare IT, HIT, HITECH Act, Meaningful Use
posted by Dan Laninga at
MGMA: Many Physician Groups Not Yet Ready To Invest in EHRs
 From iHealthBeat.org
Many physician group practices are likely to delay electronic health record adoption because of logistical and financial concerns, experts said this week at the Medical Group Management Association's annual convention, Healthcare IT News reports. MGMA represents 22,500 medical group administrators and managers from across the country. Robert Tennant, senior policy adviser for MGMA, said most of the physician practices MGMA represents will not qualify by 2011 for incentive payments under the federal economic stimulus package. Under the stimulus package, health care providers who demonstrate "meaningful use" of EHRs will qualify for incentive payments through Medicare and Medicaid. However, the federal government has yet to issue a final definition for meaningful use. [ Continue Reading] Labels: healthcare care, Meaningful Use, MGMA
posted by Dan Laninga at
No vendor is perfect on 'meaningful use,' report concludes
June 08, 2009 | Bernie Monegain, EditorOREM, UT – Even as the healthcare IT industry awaits the official definition of "meaningful use" from the federal government, a new report from KLAS examines which electronic medical record products should fit that description. The report, "Meaningful Use Leading to Improved Outcomes," assesses how well core clinical vendors are delivering solutions for CPOE, nursing automation, medication administration and other key areas. Nine EMR vendors are profiled in the report: Cerner, CPSI, Eclipsys, Epic, GE, McKesson, Meditech, QuadraMed and Siemens. "Since the introduction of the stimulus package and its provisions for health IT, much of the market rhetoric and industry debate has centered on the concept of meaningful use – what will it entail and how will it impact the receipt of stimulus dollars," said KLAS Founder and Chairman Kent Gale. "Whatever the final definition of the term, if improved patient outcomes are indeed the ultimate goal, then some form of clinician adoption will be critical." "In particular, deep adoption among physicians is pivotal to the overarching success of an EMR implementation," Gale said. [Continue Reading]Labels: CCHIT, CPOE, Healthcare IT, Meaningful Use, medication administration
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