HIT 101 An Introduction to the EMR and Healthcare IT Market - PDF document

1 HIT 101: An Introduction to the EMR and
HIT 101: An Introduction to the EMR and Healthcare IT Market Course Content  The Scope of the EMR /HIT Market  Mobile Technology Advances  Incentives in the HIT Market  The Role of Certified Healthcare IT Consultants  Review Quiz and Resource Links Page The Scope of the EMR /HIT Market Meaningful Use (MU) under HITECH is having its intended effect of driving EMR adoption. Physician practices of all sizes, ranging from urban multi - specialties with 100 or more physicians down to single country doctors, are either replacing their existing EMRs or buying new ones. Ambulatory EMR sales – both first - time and replacement – have shot up dramatically over the past two year s and options are more plentiful than ever. In addition, overall healthcare IT s pending is expected to increase exponentially within the next 5 years. Much of that growth stemming from spending on electronic health record (EHR) solutions, mobile health apps and efforts to comply with new government information exchange requirements. R ecent mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare IT market point to growing private - sector interest in software, which will see sales grow at rate of more than 30% annually from 2012 to 2014. A recent industry report notes that consumers are keenly interes ted in the benefits of mobile health technology. The mobile health market is estimated to hit $2.1 billion by the end of the year. It has grown by 17% in each of the past two years. A significant driver behind that double - digit growth rate is the increasi ng use of smartphones , slates and pads. By the end of this 2011 , 50% of mobile phones in the U.S. are expected to be smartphones, up from 21% in 2009. Several major competitors have jumped into the smart pad market to compete with iPad on a variety of plat forms. The wide range of emerging technology options offers more flexibility and access for EMR and medical community users. Additionally, as practices implement these solutions into their

2 former paper environments, their ongoing
former paper environments, their ongoing need for technical support , maintenance, inventory management and upgrades will grow. An estimated 50,000 new health IT professionals will be needed to help U.S. health care providers make and manage the shi ft to electronic health records, meet meaningful use crit eria and maintain those new systems. HIT 101: An Introduction to the EMR and Healthcare IT Market Mobile Technology Advances In addition to the EMR boom; healthcare - related mobile apps are set to become hugely popular. A major research firm projects that some 500 million people will be using such apps within five years. A recent online survey sponsored by the wireless industry association CTIA found a similar level of interest in health - oriented apps. In the CTIA survey, 78% of respondents said that they were interested in mobile health products and services and 15% said that they were extremely interested in learning more. "This signifies that the awareness among the consumers regarding [mobile health] services is increasing, which has played an important role in the growth of the market," the RNCOS report said. More tha n 72% of physicians in the U.S. are now also smartphone users. More than 25% of all U.S. physicians have iPads or other smart pads. Healthcare apps for smartphones and pads are one of the main reasons for this increased usage. There are already more than 1 2 ,000 mobile applications related to health, and about 40% of those are designed for healthcare professionals. That figure includes remote monitoring and healthcare management applications. Apple's iTunes store now has over 6,000 mobile health apps. EMRapp roved.com supports an ongoing mobile health APP directory relevant to EMR clients which points to the best vetted and selected iPad and Android APPS for health professionals, students and patients. Many of the major EMR players have recognized a need for A PP driven access to progress notes and EMR data. For those who have not built a dedicated APP, many IT firms

3 are downloading remote desktop APPS (R
are downloading remote desktop APPS (RDP) to accommodate web access of the local or remote host EMR. As the technology health market surges ahead, there is also an emerging call within the medical community for a dedicated wireless spectrum for healthcare use. That spectrum would augment commercial mobile broadband networks, which have significant coverage gap s and face reliability issues. H ealthcare providers and the aeronautics industry association have also urged the FCC to approve a mobile body area network (MBAN) plan. The new radio spectrum would create a wireless body sensor network for remotely monitoring critically and chronically il l people via small wireless devices. That would allow caregivers to track a person's health status and take swift action in any emergencies. All of these medical industry initiatives indicate that mobile market growth will also be explosive within the next few years. Technology consultant groups educated specifically to address medical community ne eds will be poised to absorb this significant rise in demand for consultant guidance and assistance. HIT 101: An Introduction to the EMR and Healthcare IT Market Incentives in the HIT Market More than 21,000 providers hav e registered to participate in the electronic heath record incentive program of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and about two - thirds are ready to confirm that they have met the meaningful use requirements. The f irst Medicare incentives were paid out in May of 2011. Medicaid has paid out $2.7 million so far to providers under the EHR incentive program . T here are now over 300 certified EMR solutions for practices to review and consider. Between 2011 and 2015, it is predicted that 350,000 or more physicians will implement an EMR and use it in their daily practice. Insurance companies and patients as consumers are also encouraging practitioners to expand their electronic communications. Incentives and service requests further driving overall de mand in the

4 marketplace. The Role of Certified
marketplace. The Role of Certified Healthcare IT Professionals Physician practices are now seeking IT groups with comprehensive understanding of their unique needs to assist with the technology infrastructure and guidance required to impleme nt electronic medical records systems and other medical applications. An understanding of the industry, the specific needs of medical environments, proper practice workflow assessments, healthcare security requirements and a wide variety of incentive appl ications are just a small portion of what the medical community expects from a skilled Healthcare IT firm. Due to the explosion in this specific segment, there are not enough IT groups with the depth of knowledge required to assist this rapidly expanding m arket. Consultants hoping to capture this market will need to know more in order to satisfy the needs of this unique and diverse community. HIT 101: An Introduction to the EMR and Healthcare IT Market Review Quiz and Resource Directory The REVIEW QUIZ for each course will help you to prepare for the final exam. Use your participant login code to take each review quiz. You are welcome to take each quiz multiple times to help you prepare. It is recommended that you take each quiz once at the end of the l esson and all of them again just prior to taking the final exam. Click button below to take the quiz for this lesson. The RESOURCE DIRECTORY for the HITU University Program includes links to HIT Samples, Templates and Contracts which may be reviewed an d/or modified for your HIT business. It also includes a directory of helpful online links and resources to help with client counseling and additional self - education in the EMR/HIT market. Finally, a link to the HITU Marketing Toolkit is provided to assist with your medical community marketing and outreach efforts. If you have any questions regarding this selection of resources, you may contact our program team at (800) 671 - 1028 ext #33. Educational Content Copyright © 20