TEPR 2006 Wrapup

We had a great time in Baltimore at the 2006 TEPR Conference and were happy so many of you came by to see our new booth. TEPR was an exciting time for us as we debuted our EMR product, AdvancedEMR.

Jim Pack, President and CEO, also discussed the launch of our EMR for PRWeb. You can hear the interview here.

Viggo Madsen, Vice President of Sales, gave a presentation on the hidden costs of EMR implementation. Using the analogy of an iceberg, Madsen noted the cost of acquisition is just the tip. "Below the water" includes costs like hardware, training, IT staff and implementation. You can find out more here.

We were impressed by another presentation given by Dr. Richard S. Dick of InnovaTrend Inc., a consulting company focused on employing technology to improve healthcare. Dr. Dick's presentation made the case for a common sense approach to EMR implementation. Citing an industry statistic that 50% of EMR purchases fail to be implemented, Dr. Dick commented EMR software that doesn't force a doctor to change their encounter style has the best opportunity to be used properly.

Thanks again to those of you who came by to see us in Baltimore. We look forward to attending TEPR next year.

Critics Unhappy HIPAA Violations Seem to go Unpunished.

Imagine if a Federal law was drafted, implemented and put into the record books as a law of the land, but no violator paid a single fine and was essentially released on their own recognizance. What if in a three year period, over 19,420 grievances were made, but no punishment? That's the real-life scenario some critics of HIPAA are complaining about.

HIPAA was designed to help protect patient privacy and insure portability of medical records for insurance purposes. Though, since 2003 when HIPAA went into effect for many hospitals, insurance companies and medical related businesses, thousands of complaints have been lodged, but no fines have been levied.

The Office of Civil Rights, a division of Health and Human Services, which oversees HIPAA, has taken a stance of "voluntary compliance" by letting violators fix infractions by themselves. The Washington Post recently wrote, "The government has closed more than 73 percent of the cases...either ruling there was no violation or allowing...entities simply to promise to fix whatever they had done wrong."

Critics are concerned HIPAA has no teeth and private patient data remains vulnerable. More alarming to critics is the move to centralize data storage of patient records which could allow even more data to be at risk. Recent data breaches by top financial organizations and the 26 million veterans in the VA breach only add fuel to this sort of speculation.

On the other hand, the medical industry feels HIPAA is being enforced in a fair manner. HIPAA was originally passed in 1996 and technological standards were very loosely specified at the time. Some medical professionals feel the law is complicated and open to interpretation. By looking at grievances on a case by case basis, more training and clarification is being applied which could reduce future complaints.

Winston Wilkinson, who heads the Office of Civil Rights, claims his office has "been able to work out the problems...by going in and doing technical assistance and education to resolve the situation."

Considering the law has only been in force for a few years and the small provider segment just came into effect a few months ago, it may be too early to pass judgment. With an 80% compliance rate, it's apparent the medical industry has taken steps to meet HIPAA rules. Hopefully technology adoption and improvements within the industry will make it easier in the future and reduce the number of complaints.

Resource

Government Takes Soft Line on Medical Privacy

Quotable Quote
Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died.