The Health Care RFID Blog

How do “you” plan to account for the people that need your service when:

• Medicare reimbursements are falling?
• more people are projected to go through the system?
• no funds are available for expansion?

Do You Know How Your Organization Can Get a Piece of the Pie?

On Friday, Feb. 12, the White House announced nearly $1 billion in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds designated for healthcare providers to use toward the implementation of health information technology (HIT) and to train thousands of workers for healthcare jobs. According to an article in HealthLeaders Media, these funds are expected to help make HIT available to more than 100,000 hospitals and primary care physicians by 2014 and to support the training of thousands of people for careers in healthcare and HIT. Of the $1 billion allocated for this initiative, $750 million is set aside in grant awards that will help enable more healthcare providers to have access to HIT and help facilitate healthcare providers’ adoption of electronic health records (EHRs).

With HIMSS 2010 right around the corner, funding will certainly be top of mind for healthcare providers looking at thousands of different HIT options. Do you know how to go about getting these funds for your organization? Do you know the types of HIT implementations that are eligible to receive these funds?

It’s somewhat ironic that so many exciting – and cost-saving – technologies are available to serve the health care industry, including advanced RFID and RTLS solutions, but in these economic times many health systems have been forced to cut technology investments. The White House announcement provides more opportunity for health care organizations to go beyond EMR implementation and look for additional HIT that will help drive efficiencies and ultimately improve patient care. Because the RFID/RTLS technology solutions that Dynamic Computer provides can greatly reduce costs, minimize risks and improve patient care, many of our prospects are eligible for these grants, but likely not aware of the guidelines.

In a past blog post we introduced our partnership with IMGrants, a funding research program offered by Ingram Micro to qualified resellers.  This relationship affords us the ability to help you identify, apply for and maximize federal funds, including those that are a result of the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, as well as state and foundation grant sources for projects. IMGrants is helping us connect healthcare providers with the money they need to improve their bottom lines and delivery of service.

Through our IMGrants partnership we can help you answer your key questions about obtaining grants and the types of HIT eligible for the more than $750 million in new grant funds. We will be at HIMSS10 (booth 2920)and encourage you to stop by to learn more about how Dynamic can help your organization through this dramatic change in the healthcare industry.

Healthcare IT News today reported that a new study says health care costs could be cut by 40 percent using a “connected healthcare” model. The report, by the Massachusetts Medical Device Industry Council (MassMEDIC) and Cambridge Consultants, surveyed leading health care providers, payers, patients and technology leaders.

The survey shows that focusing on patient well-being will improve patient outcomes and that coordinating care “will reduce wasteful spending in defensive medicine, inefficient claims processing, medical errors and emergency room services” (Healthcare IT News, Sept. 18).

The articles describes the integrated connected care model:

“An integrated connected health approach advocates an end-to-end solution, giving patients control as well as responsibility and connecting them with a wide network of healthcare professionals and online applications. This integration can be achieved through a range of technologies, beginning with electronic medical records…”

Many respondents had a limited view of connected health, understanding the concept as electronic medical records or remote monitoring.

A surprising 40 percent of people surveyed said they were unaware of any examples or solutions for the connected health approach. Advocates call for a national educational campaign on the implications for improved patient  care and outcomes.

Those who did believe in the approach’s potential for cost-savings largely anticipated that it would take 4-15 years to achieve widespread adoption in the US (90 percent).

For more information about this report, view the full article on Healthcare IT News.

The article also references the PriceWaterhouseCoopers’ Health Research Institute report released in August that estimated $1.2 trillion dollars in wasteful spending each year in the US health care industry — more than half of the total amount spent annually ($2.3 trillion).

Contact us to learn how an RFID-integrated solution could help your health care facility support a connected health care model by automatically and accurately capturing critical data and integrating the information in real time across virtually any electronic system, including electronic medical records.

According to Healthcare IT News, hospitals are seeing significant cost benefits due to participating in Premier healthcare alliance’s Accelerated Supply Chain Endeavor (ASCEND) program.

The article reports that members are saving up to 24 percent in supply-related expenses. The program helps control costs by simplifying purchasing processes and negotiating contracts with suppliers.

Premier Purchasing Partners President Mike Alkire was quoted by the publication: “The program is allowing them to drive lower prices, reduce total cost of care without sacrificing quality and create metrics and benchmarks that ensure continuing progress.”

Hospital purchasing departments concur. “ASCEND has helped us achieve immediate savings that are sustainable over time,” according to one purchasing manager who was quoted for the article.

Premier boasts 2,200 hospital members and 63,000 other healthcare sites in the US. It is the country’s largest health care group purchasing organization (GPO).

Dynamic Computer Corporation is a Premier contracted supplier, offering RFID solutions for Asset Tracking and Management through the GPO to its members. For more information on saving costs with an RFID solution purchased through Premier, contact us today.

Sign up for a Webinar on Friday (Sept. 18) at 11 am to learn more about Dynamic’s RFID solutions to improve patient care, reduce costs and minimize risks.