Industry Insight

CodeRyte Chosen for Enterprisewide Computer-Assisted Coding

CodeRyte, Inc, a supplier of natural language processing technologies in healthcare, recently announced that the University of Texas System (UT System) has chosen CodeRyte as the preferred source of computer-assisted coding for its health institutions and associated facilities.

UT System selected CodeRyte for the strength of its natural language processing technology, consistent coding strategy, ICD-10 preparedness, and widespread benefits realization across a client base that includes almost 70 health systems. UT System plans to leverage the full suite of CodeRyte products and services, including its standard computer-assisted coding product, CodeAssist, for outpatient and inpatient, as well as DataScout, its data-mining technology that searches and extracts clinical information from free-text and structured medical records.

— Source: CodeRyte

 

Baylor Health Care System Deploys AT&T Healthcare Community Online

Baylor Health Care System is one of the first hospitals in Texas to create an enterprise health information exchange (HIE) to improve access to patient information across the community of care.

Baylor is deploying AT&T Healthcare Community Online to help more than 4,000 physicians on the medical staffs at Baylor facilities exchange patient information and share applications in a highly secure manner.

“When patients go to different Baylor locations, they expect us to know them and recognize their information. Physicians need the right information at the right time, not only in their offices and facilities, but also from home or in the car,” says David Muntz, senior vice president and chief information officer for Baylor Health Care System.

With AT&T Healthcare Community Online, physicians can exchange information such as patient profiles, medical history, and prescriptions; improve workflow efficiency and streamline processes associated with physician orders and referrals, lab orders and results, medications, and discharge planning; locate millions of patient records; analyze patient information and help bring evidence-based information to the point of care; integrate with existing practice management systems in their offices; send clinical messages among healthcare providers; and access 58 important applications, such as dictation, claims, and eligibility.

— Source: AT&T Inc

 

QuadraMed Announces Deal With DeVry to Enhance Medical Coding Education

QuadraMed Corporation, a provider of healthcare technologies and services that improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of patient care, recently announced a five-year agreement with DeVry University to incorporate QuadraMed’s Quantim suite of HIM coding, compliance, and record management solutions into the school’s health sciences curriculum.

DeVry will provide medical record, coding, and billing students with access to Quantim coding, compliance, and record management solutions for the completion of course requirements, including real-life case studies and assignments. By utilizing the same technologies that are currently used at more than 800 hospitals, DeVry students will receive the experience and expertise needed to succeed in the burgeoning HIM field.

— Source: QuadraMed Corporation

 

Orion Health Announces Acquisition, International Collaboration With Microsoft

In two complementary agreements, Orion Health and Microsoft Corp have joined efforts to address the electronic health needs of care delivery systems worldwide.

Orion Health Asia Pacific has signed an agreement to purchase Microsoft’s hospital information system (HIS) software assets, including radiology information system/picture archiving and communication system (RIS/PACS) software, previously known as Amalga HIS. In addition, the two parties have signed a memorandum outlining their intent to comarket their health information exchange (HIE) and data aggregation and analysis products—Orion Health HIE and Microsoft Amalga Unified Intelligence System (UIS)—to the public and private HIE and integrated delivery network (IDN) markets.
 
Orion Health will sell and market the HIS and RIS/PACS software as Orion Health HPM (Health Process Management) suite. The new software will complement the company’s existing range of clinical workflow and data integration applications.
 
The collaboration between Microsoft and Orion Health will enable public and private HIEs and IDNs to deploy Orion Health’s broad HIE and workflow solutions alongside the powerful data aggregation, analytics, and reporting capabilities of Microsoft Amalga UIS. The combination of the solutions will enable HIEs and IDNs to more easily view and report on a broad set of individual and population patient data, helping improve quality of care and care coordination across the community while also reducing costs.
 
 — Source: Orion Health

 

Credential Aims to Ease Transition to EHR Systems, Expand Technology Use

As healthcare providers expand their use of IT solutions for patient care and medical practice administration, CompTIA, the nonprofit trade association for the IT industry, has introduced a new credential for IT workers serving the healthcare market.

The CompTIA Healthcare IT Technician specialty certification is a vendor- and technology-neutral credential that covers the knowledge required to implement, deploy, and support HIT systems, including EMR/EHR systems.

CompTIA also recently announced that the first CompTIA Authorized Quality Curriculum approved courseware for the Healthcare IT Technician specialty certification is now available from Element K. The instructor-led training focuses on essential HIT concepts and terminology as well as how to deploy and support EMR/EHR systems.

“The CompTIA Healthcare IT Technician specialty certification addresses both technical proficiency and knowledge of healthcare terminology and regulatory requirements,” Terry Erdle, executive vice president of skills certification for CompTIA, says. “Individuals who earn this credential will be well positioned to install, administer service, and support healthcare IT systems in a broad range of clinical settings.”

Potential candidates should possess a basic understanding of a medical practice workflow while adhering to code of conduct policies and security best practices. The exam is intended for IT professionals who are CompTIA A+ certified or have 500 hours of hands-on IT technical experience in the lab or field, plus the knowledge and skills necessary to deploy and support HIT systems in clinical settings. The specialty certification can also be used to validate the technical skills of healthcare professionals with adequate training or experience in the basics of IT hardware installation and maintenance.

Areas of HIT covered in the exam include regulatory requirements, organizational behavior, IT operations medical business operations, and security.

— Source: CompTIA