Or, We've Been So Busy We Haven't Had Time for Blogging!
Or, The Bottom Line Is: Everybody Loves EMR!
Dear Poor, Neglected, Though Ever-Constant, Blog Readers,
So much to say, so little time, as I write this now while sitting at booth 2964 at AAO 2009. That's right, live blogging! (Although, admittedly, because of limited internet access, I won't be able to publish this post until I go upstairs... But let's pretend it's totally live.)
Live blogging -- which is to say, the instantaneous transmission of information -- is perhaps emblematic of what we at IO Practiceware perceive to be a new era of doctors and their staff embracing technology! Which is to say: it looks like the ophthalmology community is finally (dare I say it?) embracing EMR!!!
Quite the revelation, I know. And, sure, maybe it's slightly premature. But I'm going to roll with it. It's like when you really, really, really like a boy and right after he kisses you you blurt out that you want to marry him and have his babies, only to find that it was way too premature, and way too effusive, and, uh, on second thought, he doesn't really feel the same way, and, uh, let's be friends.
But let's put aside my relationship issues. Let's instead talk more about this new climate of EMR warm and fuzzies. That's right: warm and fuzzies. We at IO Practiceware have been so pleased by the positive feedback we've been getting from the health care community, and especially those of you who have been following our product for a while, and especially especially those of you who have decided to take the plunge and implement our software.
Indeed, we have always suspected that the slow-turning gears of EMR acceptance would finally come full circle, but it's quite amazing to encounter affirmative feedback firsthand.
Why is this the case, you ask? Good question. We suspect that, most generally, EMR has become less scary. More specifically, with the newly-released CCHIT guidelines, the whole concept of certification has become more or less demystified (...much more on this topic in the next post...). What's more-- the practice landscape is now replete with success stories. EMR is no longer associated with failure, no longer the harbinger of doom. Instead, it is the gateway to the future! It is truth! It is beauty! It is freedom!
Bohemian maxims aside, AAO 2009 has been awesome. Thank you to all the folks (current customers included!) who have helped keep our spirits high. And, to those of you who want to join the party, be sure to check out our company website. Click here to contact us. We would be happy to set up a demonstration for you.
More to come soon!
It's good to be back.
--FR
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Coming Attractions: AAO Joint Meeting, Oct 24-27
(A sneak peek of what's coming up after the New York Retina Congress)
American Academy of Ophthalmology, Oct. 24-27, 2009
San Francisco | The Moscone Convention Center
IO PRACTICEWARE EXHIBITING AT BOOTH 2964
Click here for a complete list of exhibitor "virtual booths." IO Practiceware's is listed under the letter "I" -- or you can scroll through to page number 10 (we are the first listing at the top).
American Academy of Ophthalmology, Oct. 24-27, 2009
San Francisco | The Moscone Convention Center
IO PRACTICEWARE EXHIBITING AT BOOTH 2964
Click here for a complete list of exhibitor "virtual booths." IO Practiceware's is listed under the letter "I" -- or you can scroll through to page number 10 (we are the first listing at the top).
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
CCHIT Town Call's anticipated gist: "HURRY UP."
Hate to say, "I told you so," but CCHIT's latest take on the long road to EMR adoption goes a little something like:
HURRY UP.
Their latest statement, released earlier today, urges health care providers not to wait until Spring of 2010 to begin adoption, because this will most likely prevent them from establishing meaningful use by the 2011 deadline. Press release excerpted below:
“We are concerned that providers could not achieve meaningful EHR use in 2011 if they wait until Spring 2010 – the expected date of HHS final approval of requirements – to begin adopting this technology,” said Mark Leavitt, M.D., Ph.D., Commission chair. “CCHIT has analyzed the recommendations of the Federal HIT Advisory Committees and is preparing to offer new paths to certification beginning this October. We invite vendors and developers to join us on a Town Call as we finalize the details of this process.”
CCHIT's Town Call, the latest in a series of group web conference whose intention is to incorporate the thoughts and concerns of doctors, practice administrators, as well as EMR vendors, will be hosted on September 3 at 1PM EST. Complete information on how to join the discussion listed below.
DATE: 9/3/2009
TIME: 1:00pm EST / 12:00pm CDT
WEB CONFERENCING: Information on how to link up online available here.
AUDIO: To use computer audio, you need speakers and microphone, or a headset.
To use telephone conferencing:
US/Canada Dial-in #: (866) 900-5706
Conference ID: 27236682
HURRY UP.
Their latest statement, released earlier today, urges health care providers not to wait until Spring of 2010 to begin adoption, because this will most likely prevent them from establishing meaningful use by the 2011 deadline. Press release excerpted below:
“We are concerned that providers could not achieve meaningful EHR use in 2011 if they wait until Spring 2010 – the expected date of HHS final approval of requirements – to begin adopting this technology,” said Mark Leavitt, M.D., Ph.D., Commission chair. “CCHIT has analyzed the recommendations of the Federal HIT Advisory Committees and is preparing to offer new paths to certification beginning this October. We invite vendors and developers to join us on a Town Call as we finalize the details of this process.”
CCHIT's Town Call, the latest in a series of group web conference whose intention is to incorporate the thoughts and concerns of doctors, practice administrators, as well as EMR vendors, will be hosted on September 3 at 1PM EST. Complete information on how to join the discussion listed below.
DATE: 9/3/2009
TIME: 1:00pm EST / 12:00pm CDT
WEB CONFERENCING: Information on how to link up online available here.
AUDIO: To use computer audio, you need speakers and microphone, or a headset.
To use telephone conferencing:
US/Canada Dial-in #: (866) 900-5706
Conference ID: 27236682
IO Practiceware to Exhibit at ASRS's Retina Congress 2009, New York City
Hello, dear, friendly, and inexusably neglected, Blog readers!
Let it be here writ that IO Practiceware, paragon of EMR vendor-ship and goodwill toward ophthalomology, will be exhibiting at the upcoming ASRS Retina Congress of New York.
Will you be in attendance? Here are all the details you need to know:
The American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) Presents
RETINA CONGRESS 2009
September 30 - October 4, 2009
Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers
IO PRACTICEWARE EXHIBITING AT BOOTH 230
Booth number 230, is, for your information, a corner booth! And corner booths are reserved only for the most illustrious and popular individuals. It's like how Jack Nicholson always sits in one of the front rows at the Academy Awards. (Here is a complete ASRS booth floorplan.)
If you are not already signed up to attend the meeting, registration has unfortunately been closed to newcomers. But there's always next year or, if you'll be in San Francisco in October, AAO 2009.
Let it be here writ that IO Practiceware, paragon of EMR vendor-ship and goodwill toward ophthalomology, will be exhibiting at the upcoming ASRS Retina Congress of New York.
Will you be in attendance? Here are all the details you need to know:
The American Society of Retina Specialists (ASRS) Presents
RETINA CONGRESS 2009
September 30 - October 4, 2009
Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers
IO PRACTICEWARE EXHIBITING AT BOOTH 230
Booth number 230, is, for your information, a corner booth! And corner booths are reserved only for the most illustrious and popular individuals. It's like how Jack Nicholson always sits in one of the front rows at the Academy Awards. (Here is a complete ASRS booth floorplan.)
If you are not already signed up to attend the meeting, registration has unfortunately been closed to newcomers. But there's always next year or, if you'll be in San Francisco in October, AAO 2009.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Smartphone Survey Results
From Softwareadvice.com:
Last week, Software Advice set out to answer the question: Which smartphone will own the healthcare market?You can find those results here.
Doctors, nurses, students and many others in the healthcare industry responded to our survey.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Reductive Positivity Amidst the Mire of Uncertainty
Dearest Readers,
Sure, sure, sure, we're all like, "What's going to happen with EMR?" "What if I don't get my incentive payment?" "Why won't Craig call me back?"*
(*This concern may, in fact, apply only to me.)
Friends, I have the answer: We must accentuate the positive. Because my last post was a real downer. And because things could always be worse. You could, for example, be Amy Winehouse. And -- what's more -- there have been some truly encouraging developments in the past few months with respect to EMR certification:
1) CCHIT is working around the clock alongside ARRA to define meaningful use for EMR vendors. Sure, it's still half-baked, but we can nevertheless smell its cake battery goodness emanating from the kitchen into the living room as we watch cartoons with our baby brother and fight over the remote control. And, sooner or later, Mom's gonna call us in for dessert. And by "Mom" I mean CCHIT/ARRA, and by "dessert" I mean we'll know for sure what the heck "meaningful use" means. And then lots of $$$ for you and your practice via the stimulus package's incentive payment plan.
2) Who am I really to push you to make a decision before you're ready, but: when you think about it, there is actually no reason to fret about the impending certification criteria. As I wrote in this article, EMR vendor compliance is an absolute, unconditional, take-no-prisoners, definite MUST. As in, vendor survival will depend solely on this compliance. As in, no need to delay. As in, what are you waiting for? As in, I won't hold it against you if you continue to wait, but there are some extremely important reasons why you shouldn't, like this one, for example.
3) IO Practiceware continues to be awesome. If you're not part of an ophthalmology practice, I'm sorry IO can't offer you our ophthalmology-specific software -- but if you are, you can smile broadly and pat yourself on the back for choosing the field in which the best EMR vendor in the universe has chosen to specialize. And then you can buy our software. (Why are we the best EMR vendor in the universe? Here are a few reasons why.)
So there it is folks, as promised. Reductive positivity. Because, in the words of the atomic particle: "I was pretty bummed yesterday when I lost my electron -- but you know what? Now I'm more positive."
--FR
Sure, sure, sure, we're all like, "What's going to happen with EMR?" "What if I don't get my incentive payment?" "Why won't Craig call me back?"*
(*This concern may, in fact, apply only to me.)
Friends, I have the answer: We must accentuate the positive. Because my last post was a real downer. And because things could always be worse. You could, for example, be Amy Winehouse. And -- what's more -- there have been some truly encouraging developments in the past few months with respect to EMR certification:
1) CCHIT is working around the clock alongside ARRA to define meaningful use for EMR vendors. Sure, it's still half-baked, but we can nevertheless smell its cake battery goodness emanating from the kitchen into the living room as we watch cartoons with our baby brother and fight over the remote control. And, sooner or later, Mom's gonna call us in for dessert. And by "Mom" I mean CCHIT/ARRA, and by "dessert" I mean we'll know for sure what the heck "meaningful use" means. And then lots of $$$ for you and your practice via the stimulus package's incentive payment plan.
2) Who am I really to push you to make a decision before you're ready, but: when you think about it, there is actually no reason to fret about the impending certification criteria. As I wrote in this article, EMR vendor compliance is an absolute, unconditional, take-no-prisoners, definite MUST. As in, vendor survival will depend solely on this compliance. As in, no need to delay. As in, what are you waiting for? As in, I won't hold it against you if you continue to wait, but there are some extremely important reasons why you shouldn't, like this one, for example.
3) IO Practiceware continues to be awesome. If you're not part of an ophthalmology practice, I'm sorry IO can't offer you our ophthalmology-specific software -- but if you are, you can smile broadly and pat yourself on the back for choosing the field in which the best EMR vendor in the universe has chosen to specialize. And then you can buy our software. (Why are we the best EMR vendor in the universe? Here are a few reasons why.)
So there it is folks, as promised. Reductive positivity. Because, in the words of the atomic particle: "I was pretty bummed yesterday when I lost my electron -- but you know what? Now I'm more positive."
--FR
Monday, July 20, 2009
Not Enough EMR to Go Around?
Did you not have your dose of Cold Hard Truth this morning? Well, here's a pill or two:
There is an impending capacity overload for EMR vendors. IO Practiceware and, from what we've heard, our competitors have been working around the clock to accomodate the ever-growing surge of interest from practices planning to adopt EMR systems.
And while we will continue to provide the best possible service for every practice that's been queued up for a 2009 implementation, there's no freaking way we'll be able to support this level of interest if it grows at a more steeply exponential rate. Which means we'll have to cap off the volume of our customer base, and increase in the number of implementations per quarter at a much more steady, deliberate, and slow-moving pace. Which means some potential customers will, sadly, lose out.
The EMR industry as a whole -- and IO Practiceware in particular -- is having difficulty imagining how the EMR industry can satisfy the coming demands. Delivery times are lengthening, not only for IO, but for others in the industry. And the unfortunate reality for buyers is that practices that persist in twiddling their thumbs will ultimately lose out. Because, quite frankly, there won't be enough EMR to go around!
Think Christmas, Tickle-Me-Elmo, Ferbie. Same idea. Except, like, way, way more important.
If you're a prospective buyer, identify what's holding you back, and then demand that your questions be answered. IO Practiceware understands the Buyer's Dilemma with respect to CCHIT, but we've made our response pretty clear. (Article here.)
So: no pressure. Actually-- yeah, pressure.
There is an impending capacity overload for EMR vendors. IO Practiceware and, from what we've heard, our competitors have been working around the clock to accomodate the ever-growing surge of interest from practices planning to adopt EMR systems.
And while we will continue to provide the best possible service for every practice that's been queued up for a 2009 implementation, there's no freaking way we'll be able to support this level of interest if it grows at a more steeply exponential rate. Which means we'll have to cap off the volume of our customer base, and increase in the number of implementations per quarter at a much more steady, deliberate, and slow-moving pace. Which means some potential customers will, sadly, lose out.
The EMR industry as a whole -- and IO Practiceware in particular -- is having difficulty imagining how the EMR industry can satisfy the coming demands. Delivery times are lengthening, not only for IO, but for others in the industry. And the unfortunate reality for buyers is that practices that persist in twiddling their thumbs will ultimately lose out. Because, quite frankly, there won't be enough EMR to go around!
Think Christmas, Tickle-Me-Elmo, Ferbie. Same idea. Except, like, way, way more important.
If you're a prospective buyer, identify what's holding you back, and then demand that your questions be answered. IO Practiceware understands the Buyer's Dilemma with respect to CCHIT, but we've made our response pretty clear. (Article here.)
So: no pressure. Actually-- yeah, pressure.
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