Picis commends inclusion of ED in final rules for ARRA HITECH meaningful use criteria

Picis executives today weighed in on the final rules for the ARRA HITECH meaningful use criteria issued this week. The company commends policy makers for their comprehensive and diligent work to create a flexible, workable solution that lays the foundation for a strong electronic health record (EHR) plan for the future of U.S. health care. Serving the high-acuity areas of the hospital for more than 15 years, with an installed base of 1,800 facilities worldwide, Picis applauded the rules' emphasis on the high-acuity areas - and specifically, the inclusion of the emergency department (ED) as an eligible place of service. This allows medication orders written electronically in the ED to qualify toward the requirements for Computerized Physician Order Entry (CPOE).

“Our foresight with PulseCheck 5.0 puts us in position to move to next step - certification - as soon as Authorized Testing and Certifying Bodies (ATCBs) are identified.”

"Several of our executives worked directly with legislators, regulators and industry leaders to encourage the inclusion of the ED in the meaningful use final rule," said Todd Cozzens, Picis CEO and Vice Chairman. "This final rule fully supports our ongoing commitment to helping to improve the delivery of care in the most cost- and care-intensive areas of the hospital. The new criteria will compel hospitals to implement robust solutions that will comply with all three stages of meaningful use. For example, a hospital that installs the Picis ED PulseCheck system today will be able to meet its entire hospital CPOE threshold in as little as nine months, thereby greatly accelerating our clients' ability to capitalize on ARRA HITECH funding."

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Because many of the most important quality measures in the final rule apply directly to the high-acuity areas of the hospital - the ED, OR and ICU - Picis specialty solutions put hospitals in a better position to meet the quality and core measures in a timely manner. In the ED, Picis ED PulseCheck Version 5.0 already currently offers:

• 100 percent compliance with ARRA functional requirements - hospitals using or implementing Picis ED PulseCheck today are already ahead of the game;
• A quicker path to CPOE compliance - typically a complex, costly and time-consuming process, implementing a house-wide CPOE system may take years, and often suffers from physician adoption issues. Picis ED PulseCheck 5.0 can be implemented in as little as six to 12 months, and consistently garners praise from clinicians for its unobtrusiveness to the ED workflow. This makes ED PulseCheck a smart alternative for meeting the 30 percent threshold within the timeframe of the Stage 1 meaningful use requirements; and,
• Integration with Healthcare Information Exchanges (HIEs) - this capability improves the flow of communication between health care providers of all types.

"Both existing Picis ED PulseCheck 5.0 customers and prospective customers can feel confident and secure that our specialty EDIS can help them overcome one of the biggest hurdles required in meaningful use - attaining the 30 percent compliance with CPOE for medication orders," said Dr. Mark Crockett, M.D., F.A.C.E.P., President, Picis Emergency Care Division. "Our foresight with PulseCheck 5.0 puts us in position to move to next step - certification - as soon as Authorized Testing and Certifying Bodies (ATCBs) are identified."

In the perioperative and critical care environments, Picis products are currently nearly 90 percent compliant with ARRA final rule requirements. The next release planned for Q1 2011 will be fully ARRA compliant, with application for certification from an ATCB to follow.

Source Picis