TechAdvisory.org » gloStream

Is Your EMR as Simple as gloEMR?

Editor — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:30:00 +0000

A number of outside influences tend to affect attitudes around electronic medical record (EMR) implementation and training. We’ve come to expect our technology to be plug-and-play, thanks to the era of Windows and the Apple computer. But EMRs may be more complicated.

EMRs are more complicated than other technologies because they exist in a complicated environment—one that is dominated by regulation, documentation, and coding. The medical industry just isn’t simple by nature.

With that said, not all EMRs are created equal; some are easier to use than others. As a result, as the EMR market evolves, users are beginning to prefer and focus on certain technologies, driving many EMR products off the market and EMR companies out of business. As EMR companies discontinue products and the support for those products, they are leaving many doctors who thought they were using reliable, long-lasting EMR solutions stranded.

gloStream is the exception in an industry of complicated products, mainly because it is based on the popular Microsoft platform. Because Microsoft Word is the de facto template editor standard, and most people already know how to use it, training time is condensed. Moroever, our gloDNA and gloLive processes ensure that doctors using our EMR are up to their full patient load in a matter of days or weeks — not months.

If your EMR can’t promise such simplicity, consider switching. gloStream offers attractive discounts to practices that convert from other EMR software to gloEMR.

Fast and Easy EMR Implementation: One Real-World Example

Editor — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 16:00:00 +0000

Fast and easy describes the entire process of EMR implementation at Chicago Nasal & Sinus Center. That’s because the EMR the practice chose, gloStream’s gloEMR, comes with the backing of solid Microsoft technology, ample training, and around-the-clock local support.

Concern about implementation is one of the largest stumbling blocks to transitioning to an electronic medical record (EMR), but the change isn’t always difficult. That’s what Chicago Nasal & Sinus Center found, anyway.

The practice has one physician, a physician assistant, a nurse/surgical coordinator, a CT technician, a receptionist, and practice manager. It sees about 100 patients per week and has about 5,000 active patient files.

To streamline procedures, make the practice more efficient, and save money, Chicago Nasal & Sinus Center explored a number of EMR options. Ultimately, it found gloStream’s gloEMR to be the perfect fit.

“The impetus to explore an EMR was based on our increasing patient volume, the increasing demands of documentation and correspondence, and the upcoming government mandates,” says Practice Manager Becky Pritikin. “The search for an EMR was, at least in part, to decrease the burden of charting and make it more efficient.”

A number of features attracted the practice to gloStream, which uses the latest technology available to offer powerful, single-click access to all patient information, customizable templates, and exceptional voice-recognition technology. “We selected gloStream because of the stable platform (Microsoft Windows) with an established word processing program (Microsoft Word) that we were already familiar with and using,” Pritikin says. “gloStream is a very adaptable system, allowing us to create our own document templates, formatting the EMR in a fashion similar to our paper charts.”

According to Pritikin, employees were very receptive to implementation and took to the training very quickly. Meanwhile, implementation costs have been offset by the $20-billion government stimulus program as well as savings on postage, stationery, and print cartridges.

Understanding the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative

Editor — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:40:11 +0000

Want to get 2% back on your Medicare services? Consider the Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, referred to as PQRI for short.

What is the PQRI?

The 2006 Tax Relief and Health Care Act established a voluntary quality reporting program for physicians.

Under the program, eligible professionals who satisfactorily report data on quality measures for covered services furnished to Medicare beneficiaries receive incentive payments.

Each year, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) implements the PQRI through an annual rulemaking process published in the Federal Register.

Are you eligible?

Click here for a list of eligible professionals. For 2009, the definition has been expanded to include audiologists.

How does it work?

Eligible professionals (EPs) do not have to enroll in the PQRI. You simply report the quality measures. There are two ways to do so.

First, you can report quality measures data through claims. If you choose this method, just report the appropriate quality data codes on service lines of Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) professional-services claims.

Second, you can report quality measures data to a qualified registry. If you participate in a qualified registry, you should expect to receive more information from the registry on how to participate.

For 2009, there are a total of 153 quality measures (52 of them are new). Most measures can be reported through claims submission or through a PQRI registry. However, unlike in 2008, in 2009 a subset of the quality measures is reportable only through registries.

Note that CMS is testing electronic health record (EHR) data submission in cooperation with EHR vendors. At this time, however, there is no PQRI incentive payment available through EHR-based data submission.

How much is the incentive?

For 2009, the incentive is 2% of the eligible professional’s estimated total Medicare Part B Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) allowed charges.

For more information

For details, please visit the CMS PQRI web site, or see the attached data sheet .

gloStream’s gloEMR Version 5.0 Receives 08 CCHIT Certification

Derek Brown — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:21:54 +0000

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI – The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology today announced that gloStream’s product gloEMR version 5.0 is a CCHIT Certified 08 Ambulatory EHR additionally certified for Cardiovascular Medicine and Child Health and meets the Certification Commission’s electronic health record (EHR) criteria for office-based use. Ambulatory EHRs are designed for physician offices and clinics where most Americans get their healthcare. The Commission – a private, nonprofit organization – is the recognized certification body in the United States for certifying health information technology products.

Apollo Health Street and gloStream Announce Partnership to Support gloStream Products

Derek Brown — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 05:10:43 +0000

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. – (Business Wire) Apollo Health Street, a provider of world-class information technology to the nation’s healthcare organizations, and gloStream, an electronic medical record and practice management software provider, today announced a new partnership in which Apollo Health Street will make its services available to gloStream’s national network of technology partners. Apollo’s services are an additional option for gloStream partners who wish to supplement their support services.

“gloStream builds comprehensive and user-friendly EMR and PM applications for physicians, and we’re glad to collaborate with them to maximize the application’s capabilities for the physicians who rely on it,” said Dan Walsh, senior vice president of information technology for Apollo Health Street. “Our team of healthcare and IT experts will offer gloStream’s clients around-the-clock, cost-efficient support so that business processes and patient care continue uninterrupted.”

Apollo Health Street’s IT services offer a single point of contact for all technical support of gloStream’s products and solutions, which are the only ones on the market embedded with Microsoft Office®. Apollo Health Street has already begun support for two gloStream clients, including one in Rochester, NY.

“We’re constantly looking for unique strategic partners who can augment our resellers’ offerings,” said Mike Sappington, gloStream’s chief executive officer. “Apollo offers a robust set of support options that can help our channel provide even more value to the physicians they serve.”

“Smart EMR and PM technology is increasingly critical to the healthcare industry, and we are eager to work with gloStream to make an already-excellent product work even better for healthcare industry leaders and clinicians across the country,” added Andrew DeVoe, chief executive officer for Apollo Health Street.

About gloStream

gloStream provides physicians and healthcare facilities with certified electronic medical record and practice management solutions delivered and supported through a nationwide network of local technology partners. gloStream products are secure, easy-to-use applications and the only solutions on the market embedded with Microsoft Office. Through a simple user interface, robust voice recognition technology, and single-click access to all patient information, gloStream products help doctors improve patient care by streamlining workflow and creating efficiencies in office administration. For more information, visit www.glostream.com or call 1-877-456-3671.

About Apollo Health Street

Apollo Health Street partners with hospitals and healthcare organizations across the country to achieve healthcare’s True Return. Enhancing our clients’ team and resources, Apollo Health Street develops tailor-made, world-class solutions to tackle the financial and IT challenges faced by the nation’s hospitals, physician groups and healthcare payers. Our solutions combine award-winning customer service with healthcare domain expertise, sophisticated technology and global resources. The result is a strengthened bottom line to offer excellent patient care today and tomorrow. Apollo Health Street provides customized payer, hospital, physician, IT and strategic support services to more than 170 healthcare partners throughout the nation. Headquartered outside Philadelphia, Apollo Health Street has seven operational centers of excellence strategically located throughout the United States. For more information about Apollo Health Street call 1-800-350-5781 or visit www.apollohealthstreet.com.

gloStream Achieves 2008 CCHIT Certification!

Editor — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 10:54:14 +0000

gloStream is very proud to have gained this certification, and we’re
equally proud that we have achieved full CCHIT certification in 06, 07
and 08 – every year that certification has been offered. This a
significant milestone that clearly demonstrates our commitment to
developing products that have me the highest standards for
functionality, security and interoperability.

Microsoft sees the future in gloStream

Derek Brown — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 04:52:42 +0000

President Obama is talking a lot about how the U.S. health care system needs to be modernized—and one company helping modernize it is gloStream, which offers the only electronic medical record (EMR) on the market embedded with Microsoft Office.

EMRs allow health care providers to exchange information electronically. They can look up patient records, prescribe drugs, maintain statistical data, and more—all with the click of a mouse.

gloStream’s EMR has a simple user interface that utilizes voice recognition technology and offers single-click access to all patient data—which in turn helps health care professionals work more efficiently and safely.

Plus, it has the support of Microsoft: Its utilization of Microsoft technology (including Microsoft Office) offers health care professionals an EMR that is secure, reliable, customizable, and affordable.

Health care professionals won’t want to waste time implementing an EMR such as gloStream’s. Those who do so soon are eligible to receive as much as $64,000 in incentives per professional, thanks to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) signed into law by President Obama on February 17, 2009. Late adaptors, on the other hand, may have their fee schedules reduced.

gloStream’s EMR is delivered and supported through a nationwide network of local technology partners. Give us a call and we’ll help you explore ways this technology can help your company grow.

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