Healthcare IT Squad

How Apple and Opera Mini just exposed your Medical Records to the world

Well, really just a subset of potentially mischievous Norwegians, but I digress. As of Friday, March 16th, 2010, the Opera Mini app for iPhone and iPad ranks as the most popular download in the Apple App Store with supposedly over 1 million+ downloads thus far. Approved by Apple on March 13th, 2010, the Opera Mini app is the first and only non-Safari alternative web browser for the iPhone and iPad. We’re quite sure that the iPhone and iPad see some use in the health care trenches. So, we’re gonna go out on ...

How Apple and Opera Mini just exposed your Medical Records to the world is a post from: Healthcare IT Squad

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – Part 9: The 3 Hour Rule

Fear not my friends – officially, there is no “3 Hour Rule”. However, CMS guidelines state that intensive rehabilitation services are generally recognized as “at least three hours of therapy per day at least five days per week” from the combination of core therapy disciplines (OT, PT, Speech Language Pathology or Orthotics/Prosthetics). The week is defined as a rolling seven day period using the day of admission as day one. CMS does provide special concessions for medical necessity by allowing flexibility in the actual delivery of the 15 hours of intensive therapy ...

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – Part 9: The 3 Hour Rule is a post from: Healthcare IT Squad

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – Part 8: Other Services Documentation

While CMS does recognize the value of psychological, neuropsychological, recreational therapy, music therapy, and/or respiratory therapy services on a patient-by-patient basis; these services should only be used adjunct to the primary IRF therapies (PT, OT, SLP, Orthotics/Prosthetics) and are not included in the IRF-PPS payment. These services can be covered by Medicare if medical necessity is well documented by the rehabilitation physician and is ordered as part of the overall plan of care for the patient. The documentation design for these groups should meet individual practice guidelines, but does ...

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – Part 8: Other Services Documentation is a post from: Healthcare IT Squad

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – Part 7: PT, OT, SLP, & Orthotics/Prosthetics

To meet IRF admission requirements, the patient must require therapy from at least two of the four core therapies: Occupational Therapy (OT), Physical Therapy (PT), Speech-Language Pathology (SLP), and/or Orthotics/Prosthetics. One of the two necessary therapies must be PT or OT. Initial Eval Upon admission to the IRF, one of the core therapies must conduct an initial evaluation and provide intensive therapy within 36 hours from midnight on the day of the patient’s admission. For example, if the patient is admitted at 3pm on Friday, the patient must be evaluated and intensive ...

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – Part 7: PT, OT, SLP, & Orthotics/Prosthetics is a post from: Healthcare IT Squad

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – Part 6: Physician & Nursing Documentation

Rehab facilities must clearly demonstrate an interdisciplinary approach in the provision care. According to the CMS, IRF services must “be ordered by a rehabilitation physician with specialized training and experience in rehabilitation services and be coordinated by an interdisciplinary team, including at least a registered nurse with specialized training or experience in rehabilitation; a social worker or case manager (or both); and a licensed or certified therapist from each therapy discipline involved in treating the patient.” It is imperative for the informatician to understand the documentation requirements of each specialty ...

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – Part 6: Physician & Nursing Documentation is a post from: Healthcare IT Squad

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – Part 5: Interdisciplinary Plan of Care & Team Meetings

Rehab facilities must clearly demonstrate an interdisciplinary approach in the provision care. According to the CMS, IRF services must “be ordered by a rehabilitation physician with specialized training and experience in rehabilitation services and be coordinated by an interdisciplinary team, including at least a registered nurse with specialized training or experience in rehabilitation; a social worker or case manager (or both); and a licensed or certified therapist from each therapy discipline involved in treating the patient.”12 It is imperative for the informatician to understand the documentation requirements of each ...

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – Part 5: Interdisciplinary Plan of Care & Team Meetings is a post from: Healthcare IT Squad

Why the iPad will not be used for Health Care IT

With the much-hyped release of the iPad, Apple has their sights set on the Amazon Kindle’s market share; and I’m sure they will do well. However, some health care IT industry heavyweights have gone so far as to suggest that the iPad will be greatly utilized in the health care setting and revolutionize the way we do business. While I do think the iPad is incredibly shiny and is great computer replacement for your grandma, I think it’s a bit of an exaggeration to suggest that it will ever be fully ...

Why the iPad will not be used for Health Care IT is a post from: Healthcare IT Squad

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – Part 4: The Functional Independence Measure (FIM)

Established in 2001 as the common instrument to assess rehabilitation patients9, the FIM tool consists of 18 functional assessments (13 motor and 5 cognitive). This non-discipline specific tool is used to objectively measure the type and amount of assistance required for a disabled person to perform basic life activities safely and effectively (i.e. their burden of care). FIM is a seven-level scale ranging from a score of 1 (complete dependence) to a score of 7 (complete independence). A score of zero can be used to indicate that the assessment ...

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – Part 4: The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) is a post from: Healthcare IT Squad

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – Part 3: The Patient Assessment Instrument (IRF-PAI)

Implemented in 2002, the IRF-PAI is a patient-specific set of clerical and clinical assessment data collected at both admission and discharge7. CMS regulations require completion of the IRF-PAI only for patients admitted to IRFs who are covered under Medicare Part A fee-for-service for the inpatient rehabilitation stay. While commercially available options do exist for the automated submission of the IRF-PAI, many IRFs hire PPS coordinators to thoroughly examine clinical documentation, provide variance education, and ensure compliance with CMS guidelines prior to submission. Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation (UDSMR) offers ...

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – Part 3: The Patient Assessment Instrument (IRF-PAI) is a post from: Healthcare IT Squad

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – Part 2: The Pre-Admission Screen

Conducted within the 48 hours immediately preceding IRF admission, the preadmission screen can only be performed by “a licensed or certified clinician (or group of clinicians).…A licensed or certified clinician is an individual who is appropriately trained and qualified to assess the patient’s medical and functional status, assess the risk for clinical and rehabilitation complications, and assess other aspects of the patient’s condition both medically and functionally.” The preadmission screening also serves as the initial determination of whether or not the patient’s admission to the IRF is considered reasonable and ...

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – Part 2: The Pre-Admission Screen is a post from: Healthcare IT Squad

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – EMR Documentation Design Series

Beyond the inherent hurdles of change management and adopting electronic medical records (EMRs), Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities (IRFs) also have many unique documentation needs. Although stand alone rehabilitation-specific electronic documentation systems are available, their overall cost and lack of integration capabilities make many products poor candidates for inpatient health care facilities with an existing EMR. Many IRFs must leverage the flexibility of their specific EMR to meet their documentation needs. In this series, we’ll discuss some of the strict IRF regulatory guidelines set by Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and ways to ...

Inpatient Rehab Facility (IRF) – EMR Documentation Design Series is a post from: Healthcare IT Squad

How to switch from IT to Healthcare IT – The Essential Job Skills

C.P. { immuno-padding: 10px } Yep, you read it right…circle circle dot dot – Cootie Protection. Hospitals are incubators for all things viral and bacterial (because all the sick people are there! ) You will be exposed to the nasty bugs that are passing through your community at any given time. Make sure that your immunizations are up to date – including Hepatitis B (HepB), Tetanus and Diptheria (Tdap), Varicella (Chicken Pox), Measles/Mumps/Rubella (MMR), and the seasonal/H1N1 flu shots for good measure. It is also time to hone up on those hand-washing ...

How to switch from IT to Healthcare IT – The Essential Job Skills is a post from: Healthcare IT Squad

Plastic Surgeon releases personal practice iPhone App…err advertisement

Dr. Steven M. Denenberg, a facial plastic surgeon in Omaha Nebraska, has provided the opportunity for iPhone and iPod Touch users to put their where their mouth is with his $0.99 app. I find it very interesting (read brilliant) that the good doctor is charging other people to view what basically amounts to an advertisement for his practice. I guess if you can cough up the coin for a face lift, then what’s another dollar, right? Ugh..I feel a maddening rush of personal advertising apps being submitted to the App Store. From the ...

Plastic Surgeon releases personal practice iPhone App…err advertisement is a post from: Healthcare IT Squad

Google Maps releases Flu Shot Finder

Google has released a handy feature using their maps to help you locate or hunt down (depending on your level of anxiety) both the seasonal and the H1N1 vaccines. 1. Goto www.google.com/flushot and enter your address. 2. Pick your favorite County Health Department or franchise pharmacy. 3. Call to verify and to arrange an appointment if necessary. 4. Pray that you don’t die before the appointment. 5. Roll up your sleeve…or pull down your pants if you want to make the nurse snicker. 6. Slap down some dinero or co-dinero. 7. Live your life… and take two ...

Google Maps releases Flu Shot Finder is a post from: Healthcare IT Squad

Drummond Group Inc. (DGI) enters the Electronic Health Records certification game.

“Move it on over. Rock it on over Move over little dog, a big, old dog is movin’ in“…Hank Williams Watch out CCHIT, the Drummond Group (DGI) just eye-balled your business model and plans to crash your monopoly game night. With CCHIT certification ringing in close to $40k for a 3 year certification pending no major changes to your software functionality, the very wise Drummond Group now has an opportunity to get in on the $$$ millions that CCHIT will make for these first few years of vendor of certification. CCHIT has the ...

Drummond Group Inc. (DGI) enters the Electronic Health Records certification game. is a post from: Healthcare IT Squad

Sam’s Club EMR – Wholesale Healthcare?

It’s seems everyone these days is trying to get in on the EMR game – and maybe CCHIT certification will shake off the stragglers. But for the moment, it looks like Walmart is throwing its big ol’ hat in the ring too. For only $12k (for Dell hardware) and $12k-$36k/year (for eClinicalWorks software licensing) you too can have your own electronic medical records system! I’d like to think that Walmart has an ace up it’s sleeve secondary to it’s sheer geographic dominance, outright buying power, and 3rd world economy-crippling ability to negotiate price. ...

Sam’s Club EMR – Wholesale Healthcare? is a post from: Healthcare IT Squad