2011 HIMSS Physician IT Leadership Award

HIMSS - News: Meet Our Members: Russell Leftwich, MD, FAAAAI ...
Dr. Russell Leftwich, MD, FAAAAI, FCCP, Chief Medical Informatics Officer for the Tennessee Office of eHealth Initiatives is the recipient of the 2011 HIMSS ...

Axolotl - Exciting Announcement

April 11, 2011

 

To: All Axolotl Customers 

Today, Ingenix made an exciting public announcement along with our colleagues in the other Health Services businesses of United Health Group.  We announced that in response to market needs for comprehensive solutions to the often broad and complex challenges presented by today’s dynamic health care environment, we intend to unify our brand presence under a new Optum master brand.  While Axolotl will remain Axolotl, we are now part of OptumInsight per the first bullet below.
 
Optum will be the name for our overarching Health Services business, comprised of what you now know as Ingenix, OptumHealth and Prescription Solutions.  Over the course of executing on a strategic migration plan, these three businesses will take on new brand names:

• Ingenix, the leading health information, technology, services and consulting company, will become OptumInsight;
• OptumHealth, which supports population health with solutions that address the physical, mental and financial health needs of individuals and organizations, will maintain its name, but will evolve its brand design and positioning; and,
• Prescription Solutions, which specializes in the delivery, clinical management, and affordability of prescription medications and consumer health products, will become OptumRx (although the PBM services will continue to be named Prescription Solutions).

 
This strategy is driven by what clients and partners are telling us.  More often, solutions to the greatest challenges you face require expertise from more than one of our companies.  The intent of the Optum brand strategy is to make all of the capabilities easier to identify, understand and access, as we collaborate across our businesses to enable solutions that will help you succeed in improving the quality and efficiency of health care amidst great economic and regulatory challenges.
 
With the Optum brand structure, we’ll continue to serve you based on what you need – whether it is a comprehensive solution that draws from the combined strengths of our three Services businesses, or a critical, focused solution offered by one of the three.
 
For now, it is business as usual, and we remain focused on the important work we are delivering for our clients.  Our new brands will become more visible to you beginning this summer, while the tactical migration of the brands will happen over the next 12 to 18 months, with a focus on minimizing any disruption to our clients.
 
We look forward to continuing to work with you, and to learning about your needs and how we might bring the vast resources of Optum to bear for you.  Together, we can make health care work better for everyone.
 
Best regards,
 
Sincerely, 

                

 Glenn A. Keet                          
 President                                

    Toll Free: 888.296.5685  |  www.axolotl.com  |  160 West Santa Clara St, Suite 1000  |  San Jose, CA 95113



2010 State Health Plan

January 4, 2010 The Division of Health Planning is pleased to announce that the 2010 Tennessee State Health Plan has been approved and adopted by Governor Phil Bredesen on December 23, 2010. The State Health Plan is the result of an extensive process that sought the input of the public, stakeholders, and health and health care experts. This edition fulfills the requirements of the enacting legislation. The 2010 State Health Plan can be read by clicking here

ELECTRONIC HEALTH RECORDS INCENTIVES REGISTRATION STARTS JANUARY 3, 2011

CMS, ONC Outline Resources to Assist Eligible Providers

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                        Contact: CMS Office Media Affairs

December 22, 2010                                                               (202) 690-6145

Today the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) announced the availability of registration for the Medicare and Medicaid electronic health record (EHR) incentive programs.  CMS and ONC encouraged broad participation and outlined online and in-person resources that are in place to assist eligible professionals and eligible hospitals who wish to participate. 

Beginning Jan. 3, 2011, registration will be available for eligible health care professionals and eligible hospitals who wish to participate in the Medicare EHR incentive program.  On January 3, registration in the Medicaid EHR Incentive Program will also be available in Alaska, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Michigan, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.  In February, registration will open in California, Missouri, and North Dakota.  Other states likely will launch their Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs during the spring and summer of 2011.

"It's time to get connected," said David Blumenthal, MD, MPP, National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.  "ONC and CMS have worked together over many months to prepare for the startup on January 3^rd.  ONC's Certified HIT Product List  includes more than 130 certified EHR systems or modules and is updated frequently.  ONC also has hands-on assistance available across the country through 62 Regional Extension Centers

"We look forward to continuing to work with CMS to assist eligible providers in 2011 and future years."

Eligible professionals and eligible hospitals must register in order to participate in the Medicare and Medicaid EHR incentive programs.  They can do so, starting Jan. 3, 2011, at a registration site maintained by CMS.

To prepare for registration, interested providers should first familiarize themselves with the incentive programs' requirements by visiting CMS' Official Web Site for the Medicare and Medicaid EHR Incentive Programs.  The site provides general and detailed information on the programs, including tabs on the path to payment, eligibility, meaningful use, certified EHR technology, and frequently asked questions.

For more information  please read CMS press release issued today (12/22): https://www.cms.gov/apps/media/press/release.asp?Counter=3887&intNumPerPage=10&checkDate=&checkKey=&srchType=1&numDays=3500&srchOpt=0&srchData=&keywordType=All&chkNewsType=1%2C+2%2C+3%2C+4%2C+5&intPage=&showAll=&pYear=&year=&desc=&cboOrder=date

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TENNCARE RECEIVES FEDERAL APPROVAL TO MOVE FORWARD WITH PROVIDER INCENTIVE PROGRAM

TENNESSEE IS THE SECOND STATE TO RECEIVE APPROVAL

 NASHVILLE – TennCare officials announced today that Tennessee received federal approval to move forward with the Bureau’s Electronic Health Record (EHR) provider incentive program.  Tennessee is the second state in the country to receive approval of its implementation plan combined with a commitment for federal implementation funding. 

 Tennessee’s EHR provider incentive program will provide incentive payments to eligible professionals and hospitals and will be administered by TennCare.  Those who qualify for the program will receive federally-funded payments to offset the cost of purchasing, implementing and operating a certified EHR system so long as the provider uses it in a way that meets federally defined criteria known as “meaningful use”.

 The aim of the EHR provider incentive program is to improve quality and efficiency of care by encouraging the adoption of Health Information Technology and Health Information Exchange. 

 The federal government approved Tennessee’s Implementation Advance Planning Document (IAPD), which includes an initial $5.3 million budget – 90 percent federally funded – to offset the cost of system development and to administer the first year of the EHR provider incentive program.  Tennessee also received approval for its State Medicaid Health Information Technology Plan (SMHP), which outlines the state’s plan to administer the program.

 Funding for Health Information Exchange and Health Information Technology initiatives was established in the HITECH Act (Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act), which is part of the American Re-Investment and Recovery Act of 2009.

Eligibility criteria and incentive payment details for TennCare’s EHR provider incentive program are available on TennCare’s website: http://www.tn.gov/tenncare/hitech.html. Information on “meaningful use” and the certification process, including a link to the list of currently certified products, can be found on the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) website: http://www.healthit.hhs.gov.