PRESS RELEASE
THE DARK REPORT
21806 Briarcliff Dr.
Spicewood, Texas 78669
512-264-7103 o
512-264-0969 f
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: Ron Martin
rbmartin@darkreport.com
AUSTIN, Texas (MARCH 12, 2015) — Of the 1,956 ambulatory “complete” EHRs certified in 2011, only 547 were certified at the end of 2014. That means 75% of certified EHR systems have failed to gain certification as compliant with the requirements of Meaningful Use Stage 2.
Most lab managers are surprised to learn that nearly 1,500 EHR systems are likely to never become certified as compliant with MU-2. As a consequence, many of these labs’ client physicians will be stuck with an EHR product that does not certify as MU-2 compliant, and thus likely to be assessed a penalty of at least a 1% cut in their Medicare reimbursement, as early as this year.
Consequently, labs may see a flood of requests from client physicians in the process of buying an MU-2 compliant EHR product to replace their existing EHR system. And when these physicians do buy a new EHR product, these same lab managers will get the first call requesting an electronic LIS-to-EHR-interface to support lab test ordering and lab test resulting.
“If it sounds like déjà vu, it is,” states Robert L. Michel, Editor-in-Chief of THE DARK REPORT. “These labs have already spent plenty of money and lots of management time to implement an effective LIS-to-EHR interface with their client physicians. Now, they face the possibility of spending a similar amount of money a second time.”
To help laboratories understand all the challenges, and to provide them with smart solutions, THE DARK REPORT has arranged for a timely webinar entitled “What All Labs Need to Know about Recent Developments in Meaningful Use: Why Medicare Penalties Loom for Physicians and How Labs Can Execute Better Interfaces at Less Cost” on Wednesday, March 25, 2015 at 1:00 PM EDT. The distinguished faculty of this web conference, Ken Willett and Pat Wolfram from Liaison Healthcare Informatics in Portland, are experts in the field, and have been programming EHRs since the early 1990s, when the first pioneering EHR systems were under development.
To provide webinar attendees with perspective on all the challenges that have come from Meaningful Use Stage 2, Willett and Wolfram are arranging a case study by an innovative clinical lab organization. Participants will hear about methods this laboratory’s IT team has developed to help their lab’s client physicians get more value from the LIS-to-EHR interface.
“In addition to a robust discussion about the challenges and problems associated with MU-2, our webinar leaders will also provide attendees with an understanding of what is coming in MU-3,” said Michel. “This information will give participants an important head start on the next phase of the federal government’s Meaningful Use program.”
Among the practical guidance to be presented during this 90-minute webinar:
- Important changes and new developments with Meaningful Use that directly and indirectly affect labs and their client physicians
- How labs can prepare to meet the demands from physicians for EHR interfaces to support their attestation of meeting MU requirements
- Why physicians are switching EHR products and ways laboratories can help them buy a more effective EHR system, and save their labs money in the process
- Smart ways that innovative laboratories are supporting interoperability and care coordination
- New developments in decision support and lab test utilization by payers: What the UnitedHealth and BeaconLBS experience in Florida
has to teach labs everywhere
As an extra value-added benefit of this webinar, the end of the session will be opened up for a live Q&A. For more information about “What All Labs Need to Know about Recent Developments in Meaningful Use: Why Medicare Penalties Loom for Physicians and How Labs Can Execute Better Interfaces at Less Cost” and to view webinar details including presenter biographies and pricing, visit http://tinyurl.com/peop9lx. You may also contact Ron Martin at 512-264-7103.
About THE DARK REPORT
Established in 1995, THE DARK REPORT is the leading source of exclusive business intelligence for laboratory CEOs, COOs, CFOs, Pathologists and Senior industry executives. It is widely read by leaders in laboratory medicine and diagnostics. The Dark Report produces the famous Executive War College on Laboratory and Pathology Management every spring, which showcases innovations by the nation’s and globe’s leading laboratory organizations. Dark Daily is an Internet-based e-briefing intelligence service, read worldwide by thought leaders in laboratory and pathology management. Other well-known conferences conducted by THE DARK REPORT are Lab Quality Confab (on the use of Lean and Six Sigma methods in labs and hospitals) and Molecular Summit (on the integration of in vivo and in vitro diagnostics). THE DARK REPORT co-produces Frontiers in Laboratory Medicine annually in the United Kingdom; Executive Edge bi-annually in Canada; and The Business of Pathology bi-annually in Australia.
-end-
