Verizon introduces new IT consulting services for health care providers

In its continuing efforts to help the health care industry accelerate the use of electronic medical records, Verizon is expanding its Medical Data Exchange platform to allow more types of digital patient health data to be shared.

Previously, the Verizon Medical Data Exchange facilitated transcriptionist-to-physician and physician-to-physician sharing of dictated notes – itself a significant step in the adoption of electronic medical records.  The expanded offering now enables a wider range of health care providers – from large health systems to rural hospitals to small physician practices – to securely and privately share additional digital records such as X-rays and lab results.

To help enable this transition, Verizon is introducing new IT consulting services that are well-suited to meet the needs of providers that can now use the Medical Data Exchange. These professional services will help members of the exchange quickly leverage the nationally available platform as more providers increasingly embrace electronic medical records.

"The Verizon Medical Data Exchange is a first-of-its-kind platform and another important step in realizing the promise of a truly digitized health care system in the U.S.," said Peter Tippett, vice president – technology and innovation, Verizon Business.  "The expanded capabilities of our data exchange will help accelerate the shift from paper-based to electronic-based medical records, and in the process help speed patient diagnoses and drive productivity and cost efficiency throughout the U.S. health care system."

Verizon continues to sign on new members to the expanded exchange, including Alert Notification, a personalized emergency notification and health records provider; Amaji, a provider of digital clinical documentation services; NLP International Corporation, a provider of natural language processing software; Tolven Inc., a provider of open-source health informatics software solutions; and ZyDoc Medical Transcription, a provider of medical knowledge-management solutions.  These members join the founding members of the group, which include Verizon; ICSA Labs, an independent division of Verizon Business; the Medical Transcription Industry Association; and medical transcription companies MD-IT, MedQuist, MxSecure, Sten-Tel and Webmedx.

In addition, the Medical Transcription Service Consortium, which was created to support the operation of the exchange, has been renamed to reflect the consortium's expanded mission and focus.  The new name for the group is the Medical Data Exchange Consortium.  ICSA Labs continues to play a key role in managing the consortium and its activities as a neutral third party.

"Verizon is delivering on the initial promise of moving the focus of its Medical Data Exchange beyond transcriptions to encompass the entire health care ecosystem," said Amy DeCarlo, principal analyst – security and data center services, Current Analysis. "Opening up the platform  to other forms of medical records will encourage the sharing of digital information in a secure manner."

Verizon Medical Data Exchange Brings the U.S. Closer to Broad EMR Adoption

Beginning in 2011, the U.S. federal government will offer health care providers financial incentives to spur the widespread adoption of electronic health records.  As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, a total of $27 billion will be invested over the next decade, representing the first substantial commitment of federal funding to boost adoption of electronic health records across the U.S. health care system.

Launched in March, the Verizon Medical Data Exchange is a pivotal step toward the sharing of electronic medical records in the U.S.  Available nationally, the exchange is designed to meet meaningful-use requirements established under the 2009 Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act. These requirements are a set of interoperability standards, implementation specifications and certification programs intended to certify electronic health record technology to enable clinicians to better coordinate patient care and reduce administrative costs.

"The Verizon Medical Data Exchange enables us to help our clients demonstrate meaningful use in several critical ways," said Robin Daigh, vice president, marketing and business development, MD-IT.  "Meaningful use requires that hospitals and eligible physicians securely and electronically share health information. With minimal investment and a mandatory security audit, the exchange helps meet these requirements with the added benefit of maintaining existing provider work flows."