CEGEDIM BECOMES A GLOBAL PLAYER IN ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS BY ACQUIRING PULSE SYSTEMS, INC., A LEADING US HEALTHCARE SOFTWARE PROVIDER
Paris, July 28, 2010 – Cegedim, a global technology and services company specializing in the healthcare field, today announced the acquisition of Pulse Systems, Inc., a leading US healthcare software and services supplier. The move gives Cegedim access to the US market for the computerization of healthcare professionals in a very critical time for Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Practice Management (PM) software market. The Group’s Cegedim Healthcare Software (CHS) division is already one of the leading European publishers of medical, paramedical and pharmacy management software, with a market share of 119,000 healthcare professionals and over 16,000 pharmacies using its solutions in seven countries. It will now be a global player.
Considerable opportunities in the US market
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the stimulus plan proposed by President Obama and enacted by Congress in February 2009, provides around $30 billion in incentives for physicians and hospitals to implement EHR solutions. Continue Reading…
CCHIT Launches New Certification Programs
The Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) just announced three new certification programs on its website today, Tuesday July 27, 2010. The new programs will certify electronic health record (EHR) software targeted towards behavioral health, dermatology, and long-term and post-acute care (LTPAC). The LTPAC program includes add-on certifications for EHRs used in skilled nursing and home health facilities.
Dr. Karen Bell, Commission chair, comments: “These certification programs represent the Commission’s ongoing commitment to increase the value of health IT for patients and providers by addressing the needs of individual medical specialties, care settings and patient populations.” Dr. Bell also stated that the new certifications “go beyond the current federal minimum requirements” to meet the long-term needs of healthcare providers in terms of functionality, interoperability, and security.
CCHIT consulted with a wide range of physicians, hospitals, payers, purchaser, and consumers. They also conducted pilot testing with several Health IT developers to help form and refine their certification requirements. Health IT vendors underwent a non-binding certification “pretest” to help CCHIT gauge what EHR features represent the current industry standard.
XLEMR is very excited to have been one of the eight health IT developers who participated in the pilot program. We focus on providing EHR systems that are simple, mobile, and efficient. Our mobile architecture allows LTPAC providers to see patients in facilities that lack internet and cell phone connectivity.
XLEMR has been working with the LTPAC community for many years. We feel it is an under-served, yet growing market. LTPAC will become increasingly important as the baby boomer generation ages. Providers will need more efficient ways to care for their patients. We believe EHR systems are an important tool that will allow providers to see more patients and improve their quality of care. To that end, we are very excited about CCHIT’s LTPAC certification.
Read the article.
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Ryan Ricks
Security Officer |
Thoughts about Meaningful Use Regulations
The widespread adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) throughout the healthcare system received another boost last week when the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its final criteria for the meaningful use of EHRs within the incentive program established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. After releasing preliminary meaningful use regulations back in January, the agency spent the past several months collecting the thoughts and opinions of anyone and everyone in healthcare who took the time to submit one. CMS has said these factored into the finished product quite heavily, so score one for transparency. Continue Reading…
HIT Policy Committee’s Meaningful Use Workgroup Hearings
These are two final hearings that the Meaningful Use Workgroup will hold on the meaningful use criteria.
- Date: Thursday July 29th
Time: 9am to 3:30pm EST
Topic: Population Health
Meeting Location: OMNI Shoreham Hotel, Washington DC
DIAL IN INSTRUCTIONS:
Web: At least 10 minutes prior to the meeting start time, visit: http://altarum.adobeconnect.com/MU
Select “enter as a guest”
Types your first and last name into the field
Click “enter room”
Audio: You may listen in via computer or telephone
US Toll Free: 1-877-705-2976
International Direct: 1-201-689-8798 - Date: Thursday, August 5th
Time: 8am – 3pm EST
Location: Washington Marriott at Metro Center, Washington DC
Topic: Care Coordination
DIAL IN INSTRUCTIONS:
Web: At least 10 minutes prior to the meeting start time, visit: http://altarum.adobeconnect.com/MU
Select “enter as a guest”
Types your first and last name into the field
Click “enter room”
Audio: You may listen in via computer or telephone
US Toll Free: 1-877-705-2976
International Direct: 1-201-689-8798