HHS announced final ruling for ACO

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued its final ruling last week for Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs). The proposed ruling was initially released in March and after public comment period, some significant changes were made and released last Thursday.
Within the 696 page document, there are sections that outline the measures on which reporting will be [...]

6 reasons not having an EHR will put your practice at risk

For many physicians who are not currently using electronic medical records are constantly being told through one form or the other of how EHR will help improve patient’s health, reduce their operational costs and allow them to see more patients. And study after study shows the benefits of capturing patient health information electronically.
But as we continue [...]

Ambulatory practices preparing for ACOs and medical homes

For large ambulatory care providers, buying an electronic health record (EHR) is only one piece of the puzzle.This is especially the case when we look at how health care is transforming. Under many of the new mandates and reform efforts, we begin to recognize that many more components above and beyond a standard EHR will need to [...]

Other areas that physicians will look at closely when selecting a new EHR product

To date, over 900 EHR applications have been certified through an ONC-Authorized Testing and Certification Body (ATCB). While this has added a plethora of choices for physicians in terms of which to choose and how to attain meaningful use, given the tight deadlines and limited timeframe, the high number of vendors and technology options can [...]

What is the future of capturing patient information?

For much of the healthcare market, whether you’re part of a hospital system or medical practice or not, you are constantly faced with paper-based documents. And for those who’ve made the leap and gone digital, there are still challenges to be faced in the effort to liberate the industry from paper altogether.
For organizations that have [...]

The Importance of Encrypting Your Mobile Devices, Ensuring No Patient Data is Exchanged

I had recently been asked by a friend to assist in recovering data that was previously stored on a smartphone. I had plenty of disclaimers to provide, as I have had no prior experience with this type of phone, but when a friend is in distress, instincts kick in and I ended up doing some [...]

Simple Steps to Streamline Vitals Capturing

It is no news that the implementation of an EHR does add more workflow for everyone in the organization initially.  And as we continue to identify new ways to streamline the workflows in the clinical department, it is has to ignore how some simple tasks do require time that may not be necessary.
Currently, almost every [...]

Smartphones and Medical Data Exchange

Smartphones have significantly changed the way we interact and use data. But despite the wide use of Microsoft previous Windows Mobile operation system in the manufacturing and enterprise settings, there seems to be a larger demand for Apple and Google devices in the healthcare arena. Read More

Reda Chouffani is the Co-Founder of Biz Technology Solutions, [...]

Forward Thinking For Your Back-up Solution

HIPAA and Your Back-up Solution
164.308 Administrative safeguards (7)(ii)(A) Data backup plan (Required). Establish and implement procedures to create and maintain retrievable exact copies of electronic protected health information.
A recent survey stated that only 37 percent of companies that back up their data actually test its integrity and recoverability. And about 77 percent of that group fail to restore their [...]

Online Backup to Protect Your Data

In addressing the backup issue, we usually find ourselves relying on IT to monitor the backup logs, or a designated staff member who is responsible for rotating and transporting the media off-site. This increases the chance of an unsuccessful backup job. With a proven and cost effective online backup solution, you’re assured of summarized daily [...]