As we come to yet another year end, we reflect back on the year. There is a new leader at ONC, the ICD-10 transition is truly happening, Meaningful Use Stage 2 has had some changes, more healthcare provider organizations in the United States have implemented an Electronic Health Record and Patient Engagement initiatives are off to the races. IT Departments within provider organizations are busier than ever and many EMR experienced resources continue to turnover as the industry slowly matures.
With 2014’s imminent arrival and initiatives culminating during that time, good advice would be to stay focused, remember that stay ahead of the game and make sure to try and get as much done in advance as possible so that there is time for adjustments as you get closer to the dates that projects are required for completion. For ICD-10, vendors really need to bear in mind that they are holding up project completions across the country and need to be aware that if they want to charge customers to be ICD-10 compliant with their software, they risk potential loss of relationships with those customers. Most vendors have not charged their provider customers with an ICD-10 compliant version and that is the best thing that they could have done. If you don’t have an ICD-10 compliant version of your software by now or have a statement of readiness, recommendation would be to re-evaluate your vendor and product and think about alternatives.
Think about the cloud, think about what it would take to get there. This year is also about analytics. With all of this information now at your fingertips, think about how the organization can leverage this information to achieve better outcomes. XP to Win7 migration is around the corner. Be mindful of the risks associated with HIPAA. Think about the enterprise architecture your organization has. In 2014, this blog will discuss these topics, including a topic covering areas that cover the patient experience and security as well.
Until then, stay safe, enjoy your New Year’s celebrations and see you in 2014.
Healthcare Interoperability 