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Apps are all the rage in healthcare and pretty much everywhere else. Despite so much buzz about consumers using mobile healthcare apps, however, the options proving useful are few and far between…With some 165,000 health-related apps available, in fact, a mere 36 comprise nearly 50 percent of downloads… Two key data points illustrate how almost all of the apps fall short: Just 10 percent can connect to a device or sensor while a mere 2 percent sync into providers' systems,...that functionality could greatly improve both accuracy and convenience of data collection.

Processing third-party claims and dealing with insurance companies can be frustrating even for the most experienced pharmacy technicians...there are a number of tools available to pharmacists and techs to make it easier to adjudicate and reconcile prescription claims…Technicians looking to improve workflow in their pharmacies might consider using one of the following services.

• eConcile (FDS) - automates the reconciliation process, eliminating the need for paper checks and verifying the accuracy of third-party payments. The tool will also identify unpaid or underpaid claims, reducing the potential for write-offs…
• EnsurePay (PBAhealth) - automated service that allows pharmacies and technicians to reconcile third-party claims electronically…works by comparing remittance files submitted by a pharmacy to incoming payments..claim will be electronically reconciled… allows its users to manage the process entirely
• Scriptmax (Innovatix) - Web-based prescription claim support program and data analytics service available to long-term care, home infusion, mail-order, retail, and specialty pharmacies…helps to improve the accuracy of the adjudication process, matching third-party payments with adjudicated amounts… performs a number of reviews,…

Managers of EHR systems share what they like – and what they'd like to see changed..When we set out to survey Healthcare IT News readers about their electronic health record platforms,..survey was limited to readers who were actively engaged in the management or use of an EHR…After asking them to rate the systems numerically, we posed two open-ended questions: "What do you like best?" and "What would you change?"...responses demonstrated a sense of passion about the importance EHRs continue to play in delivering clinical care – and a sincere desire for the systems' continued improvement.

Allscripts , Cerner , Epic , eClinicalWorks , GE Healthcare , McKesson , MEDITECH , NextGen ,Siemens

When the clock ticks in a new month and the entire healthcare industry is thereby mandated to begin using the new ICD-10 code set, there will most likely be glitches here and there…given the limited testing…that has taken place to date, it's impossible to predict with certainty whether those will be small and easily ironed out -- or significant enough to severely disrupt cash flow and launch more downstream problems…some organizations are establishing ICD-10 command centers…a help line to triage savvy billing, IT or coding representatives...

Lots of hospitals are snapping up clinics and physician practices. One major consultancy recommends they also consider acquiring digital health startups and other vertically-integrated companies…Healthcare M&A in the U.S.,..totaled $241 billion by May 2015, the highest year-to-date figure ever,…increasingly popular as M&A targets are digital health start-ups, typically those offering health-related products or services in ehealth, telemedicine, population health management, health analytics, remote monitoring, wearable technology...

Sen. Alexander, chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee,…called for a delay and a phased-in implementation of Stage 3 of the electronic health-records program…we should delay until Jan. 1, 2017, making of the final rules for Stage 3 of the federal government’s program to require doctors and hospitals to create electronic health-record systems…should be phased in at a rate that reflects how successfully the program is being implemented…about a quarter of a million physicians and about 200 hospitals face Medicare penalties if the current Stage 2 rules are not revised. Only about 12% of physicians and 40% of hospitals have been able to comply thus far …

Xerox announced…that it would be continuing its partnership with MO HealthNet, Missouri’s Medicaid division, to help combat prescription drug abuse by coordinating patient care between providers, MO HealthNet and pharmacists…Xerox’s prescription clinical authorization tool, pharmacists can investigate whether a patient recently received an opioid prescription and will receive a notice to acquire prior authorization before dispensing it…Missouri does not have a statewide, electronic prescription drug monitoring program, so physicians and pharmacists have limited visibility into other medications a patient has...

Telehealth represents a burgeoning,…opportunity for pharmacy operators, one that has the potential to not only drive traffic into a store, but also to drive new customers into that store…Pharmacy represents a…touchpoint for telehealth operators...making pharmacies that provide access to telehealth services a convenient and less-expensive option for those consumers who are assuming a greater portion of their individual healthcare costs…also an opportunity to improve outcomes through telehealth/retail pharmacy partnerships…many…doctor associations,…support telehealth models,..making retail pharmacy operators fielding in-store telehealth services attractive care partners for health systems.

The required Oct. 1 conversion to the ICD-10 coding system will be worth the costs and headaches, supporters say….With up to seven alphanumeric characters in ICD-10 compared with a maximum of four numeric digits in ICD-9, there will be lots more room for the codes to accommodate new medical conditions and procedures. With ICD-9, "we've just run out of space," … Advocates also say ICD-10 will allow providers to keep better track of patient care and aggregate data to perform quality-improvement analysis. It also should give hospital and physician leaders sharper tools for analyzing the impact of new procedures and managing population health. They'll be better able to track individual pracces and identify inappropriate practice variation.

National Community Pharmacists Association…announced that it will collaborate with consumer-direct lab testing innovator, Ulta Lab Tests, to roll out an online community lab testing platform to participating community pharmacy members across the country. The arrangement will offer community pharmacy patients direct access to lab tests and health screenings...customers can order select low-priced lab tests without the need to obtain a prescription from a local physician…then can easily access lab test information…review and track their test results for each biomarker from their personal and secured dashboard at their convenience.